Wednesday, January 12, 2022

Dark Times - Psalms 3-5

Psalms 4:1 (ESV)
TO THE CHOIRMASTER: WITH STRINGED INSTRUMENTS. A PSALM OF DAVID.
Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have given me relief when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

The above opening verse of Psalm 4 is the theme of the entire song.   David has written this song for the nation of Israel to remind them that when things are tough and seemingly out of control, God has everything in control.   David is calling out for “relief” from the distress he is facing.  We are not told the exact struggle David is facing.  He simply uses the word “distress.”   The word is used about 100 times in the Old Testament.   It doesn’t necessarily describe the situation but rather what the situation is creating in the spiritual, the emotional and the psychological life of the person in the situation.   Apparently King David was in a stressful time that was impacting him in many facets of his life.   Even though he was the king of Israel, something had impacted his life in a way that created “distress.”  His solution was to turn to three aspects of God’s character through prayer: 

1. David appeals to God’s righteousness.   He confesses that God is his “righteousness.”  So, puts his trust in the fact it is God who declares him righteous because God is righteous.  God’s righteousness is that aspect of His character that everything God does is done in perfection and in justice.  So, whatever the distress David is facing, he confesses that God has allowed it in His righteousness. 

2. He appeals to God’s grace.   It is only because of God’s grace that he can find relief from this situation.   He realizes that the “relief” he gets might not be a change in his situation, but rather God’s grace to live through the situation.   This is Paul’s statement in 2 Corinthians 12:8-10.  Paul stated that in tough situation God’s grace was sufficient.   


3. He comes to God with confidence that God will “hear” his prayer.   That is a boldness in a dark time that only believers can have.  They can rejoice that God gives us an audience to speak to Him and that hearing allows God’s grace to flow through the situation and demonstrate God’s righteousness toward us ... even in dark times.  

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