Psalm 4 - Rest for the Righteous
The following is a sermon manuscript preached on August 25, 2024 at Providence Church in Mansfield, Ohio.
Psalm 4
Rest for the Righteous
To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have relieved me in my distress;
Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
How long, O you sons of men,
Will you turn my glory to shame?
How long will you love worthlessness
And seek falsehood? Selah
But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly;
The Lord will hear when I call to Him.
Be angry, and do not sin.
Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah
Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,
And put your trust in the Lord.
There are many who say,
“Who will show us any good?”
Lord, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us.
You have put gladness in my heart,
More than in the season that their grain and wine increased.
I will both lie down in peace, and sleep;
For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
Introduction
Have you ever struggled to sleep? There are countless things that might keep us up at night. Certainly, fear and anxiety will cause sleeplessness. Anger and frustration at the schemes of evil men may as well. These are not new problems. These struggles did not develop in the 21st century. David faced these same struggles that many of us face today, three thousand years ago.
It’s one thing to recognize the struggle; it’s another to know the cure. Does Scripture speak to the cure for sleeplessness? It certainly does. There can be physical causes for sleeplessness. Ecclesiastes 5:12 reads:
The sleep of a laboring man is sweet,
Whether he eats little or much;
But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep.
Gluttony and overindulgence can cause sleeplessness, while physical labor tends to bring sweeter sleep. In Proverbs 3:21-26, we learn that peaceful sleep is found in the path of wisdom and discretion. Living a righteous life tends to lead to blessings. But what about those people who do all the right things and still struggle with sleeplessness? Is there any hope for them? Solomon writes in Psalm 127:
Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
It is vain for you to rise up early,
To sit up late,
To eat the bread of sorrows;
For so He gives His beloved sleep.
Unless the Lord gives His beloved sleep, all their efforts, all their faithful living, all their diet, medication, and therapy will be in vain. This brings us to the theme of Psalm 4, our merciful Lord alone provides peace for His people.
We begin this morning with David’s Petition in verses 1-3.
1. David’s Petition (vv. 1-3).
Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have relieved me in my distress;
Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
How long, O you sons of men,
Will you turn my glory to shame?
How long will you love worthlessness
And seek falsehood? Selah
But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly;
The Lord will hear when I call to Him.
David asks the Lord to hear him when he calls, but, as David raises his petition, consider who it is he calls upon: “O God of my righteousness.” While most English versions translate this verse the same way, the “my” refers to the compound idea, my righteousness-God. God’s own character defines righteousness, and in His actions, God is always righteous and defends righteousness. This concept is the basis for David’s petition throughout Psalm 4: “God, you are righteous, defend righteousness!”
It's important to consider this first phrase by the rest of Scripture to help clarify what is meant here. David is not appealing to God based on his personal righteousness, but rather, on the grounds of God’s own righteousness. We learn in Romans 3:10 that no one is righteous, “no, not one.” But, as we read in 2 Corinthians 5:2, through the death and resurrection of Christ, God imputes, or credits the righteousness of Christ to us “that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
So, the righteousness in David, and in any other believer, is not their own righteousness, but, literally, the righteousness of God Himself! In Christ, David can plead with God to hear his prayers on the basis of the righteousness that defines the very character of God, being that same righteousness that rules his own heart and that same righteousness that is at stake in the cause he now brings before the throne of God.
This righteousness of God being at the very core of David’s petition should cause us to ask, what if David brought an unrighteous petition? It would be an assault on the very character of God! If the righteousness of God is the basis for God hearing and answering prayers, an unrighteous plea cannot possibly be heard or answered. This is why we ought to pray according to the revealed will of God. This is why our pleas should be based on the character of God. God is not some magical genie who grants wishes without qualification. Or, to put it more directly: God is not your slave. While he delights in giving His children good things, he defines what is good, and he gives what is good. So, if David were to ask according to his carnal desires, God could not answer in righteousness. God hears and answers the righteous pleas of those he has made righteous through the blood of Christ, because he is Himself righteous and the source of all righteousness.
David continues his plea by recognizing that God has aided him in previous distress. Consider the life of David, and you will find one account after another of God relieving David when he was in difficult circumstances. God delivered David from the lion and the bear, from that Philistine giant, Goliath, from the hand of Saul, and even from the hand of his own rebellious son, Absalom. God’s faithfulness throughout David’s life serves as another reason David once more calls on God in faith that He will deliver.
David concludes verse 1 by pleading for mercy and, once more, that the Lord would hear his prayer. When David asks for mercy, we should recognize that he comes in humility and brokenness. He does not claim entitlement to God’s favor based on a righteousness of his own. Instead, he rests in the grace and mercy of God.
In verse 2, David lays charges against his adversaries. He calls them “you sons of men.” These sons of men may be specifically the powerful men of Israel who often opposed David, such as the house of Saul and the supporters of Absalom. It is also possible that David speaks more generally of sons of men being distinct from sons of God. By their character, it is evident these men were enemies of God, and, consequently, sons of men in a spiritual sense.
David presents three charges against these sons of men. First, he asks how long they will turn his glory into shame. When David speaks of his glory, he may be referring to the royal position God had given him as king over Israel. David’s son, Absalom, and many of the high-ranking officials of Israel did plot against David to crush his kingly glory. But it was not merely David’s glory they attacked, but the source of David’s glory: the glory of David’s Lord. Second, these sons of men loved worthlessness or vanity. They preferred their delusions and fantasies over the reality of God’s good and gracious rule. Third, they sought falsehood. If it were not enough to live by vanity and scoffing, they also loved lies. In every way, these sons of men hated what is good and true, even reality itself.
Verse 2 concludes with Selah, a call to stop and consider. What is the character of the enemies of God? They love scoffing, vanity, and lies. Let the tree be known by its fruit.
In verse 3, David concludes his petition by identifying the righteous man whom the Lord will hear. Notice that the righteous man is not the man who musters up sufficient goodness from his own soul. He is not the man who proudly proclaims himself to be a model of righteousness. No! He is that man the Lord has set apart for Himself! The godly man is the man whom God has foreknown, predestined, called, and justified. The godly man is the man whom God is sanctifying and will assuredly glorify. David was such a man. He was set apart from his family and his father’s house to serve as God’s chosen King of Israel. But every other sinner saved by God’s glorious grace is also set apart by the Lord, for Himself, to godliness.
And this godly man is that man who cries out to God through the righteousness God has imputed to him. And God, according to His own righteousness, will assuredly hear His chosen saints! David concludes, “The Lord will hear when I call to Him.” It is not that the Lord could hear, might hear, or should hear. There is nothing uncertain in this! The Lord will hear His people because they are His people. The Lord will hear His people because they have been purchased by the precious blood of Christ! The greatest comfort for the people of God is that God has chosen to set His love on them, and no one will ever stop Him from loving them!
David was right to bring his petition before the Lord in faith that God would hear and answer. David’s life often illustrates the validity of this confidence, but there have been many others who have likewise trusted in God and been delivered in times of distress. In 1 Kings 18, God used the Prophet Elijah to demonstrate the foolishness of idolatry and destroy the worship of Baal in Israel, but these glorious events quickly sour in Chapter 19. Wicked Queen Jezebel sought to kill Elijah, and he fled for his life. In verse 10, we see that Elijah believed that he was the last remaining prophet of the Lord in Israel. Like David, he appeals to the righteousness and faithfulness of God in this moment:
So he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”
Elijah makes a very personal appeal: it is God’s covenant, God’s altars, and God’s prophets that have been so violently attacked. Will God uphold His righteousness? Will God prove His faithfulness?
In this moment of deep distress, God reveals His glory to Elijah, then sends Elijah to anoint two kings and a prophet to carry out His plan of judging wickedness and restoring righteousness to the land. Finally, God assures Elijah that he has reserved seven thousand in Israel who remained faithful to Him.
Our gracious Lord hears the petition of His people and moves on their behalf. He will uphold the righteous because he is Himself righteous, he has made them righteous, and he will hear and defend them to demonstrate His righteousness.
There is much for the Christian to learn and apply from David’s petition. Like David, we will undoubtedly face seasons of distress, even despair. Leaning on our own wisdom, or even pragmatic, formulaic, spiritual solutions, we are likely to be disappointed. We are likely to be left without the peace we so earnestly desire.
We may learn from David how we ought to approach God. He is righteous and loves righteousness. He is the one who has made us righteous and calls us to practice righteousness. Will he not hear and defend the righteous cause? When we bring our petitions before God, may we appeal to His character. May we seek His honor and ask Him to uphold that honor.
When enemies of God come against us, may we appeal to God, not out of anger or frustration, not for our own personal relief or gain, but may we speak against their sins. May we condemn scoffing, vanity, and lies, and may God judge in righteousness. May he vindicate the righteous cause.
Finally, may we trust in the sovereign hand of God. It is God who has set us apart. It is God who foreknew, predestined, called, and justified us. We can trust Him to complete that good work of sanctification and glorification. And since He has set His love on us, we can trust that He will hear when we call to Him.
Brothers and sisters, never underestimate the power of prayer. The prayers of the righteous are powerful because our righteous God delights in answering the righteous prayers of the people he has made and is making righteous. Our merciful Lord will provide rest for the righteous.
David presents the instruction of the Lord as our second point in verses 4-5:
2. The Lord’s Instruction (vv. 4-5).
Be angry, and do not sin.
Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah
Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,
And put your trust in the Lord.
In these verses, David begins to instruct the rebels of verse 2 in the ways of the Lord.
To the average modern evangelical, verse 4 may seem counterintuitive, even offensive. Many want to say that anger is never legitimate. It is worth considering that the Hebrew word used here can be translated several other ways. Often it is translated tremble, and the NASB takes this approach here. The King James translates it as stand in awe. Some of the other ways this word is translated include: cause to shake, be in anguish, or provoke to anger. So, which is the best translation? I believe this question is answered in an unexpected place. This verse is quoted by Paul in Ephesians 4:26, and Paul quotes it as “Be angry, and do not sin.” Before the time of Jesus Christ and the Apostles, the Hebrew Old Testament had been translated into Greek, and this Greek translation, attested by the Apostle Paul, provides clarity for rightly understanding the Hebrew word here. Certainly, the other translations are accurate translations of the Hebrew word, but whether you take this as trembling, standing in awe, or something else, at the root is anger.
Therefore, we may conclude that there exists righteous anger. Righteous anger is not a quick or hasty anger, as we read in James 1:19-20. Righteous anger does not assist in the Devil’s work as we see in Ephesians 4:27. Righteous anger is rooted in the wrath of God, which, though it may be held back by His patience and mercy, always fuels His acts of judgment and justice. God’s righteous anger is displayed throughout the Scriptures, from avenging the righteous blood of Abel, to the final day of judgment, and every just and righteous judgment between. Righteous anger rises against sins and desires to see sinners saved, God glorified, and Christ’s kingdom advanced.
So, yes, there is a time for anger. There is a time to follow God in hating evil and boldly condemning it. David, himself, models this righteous anger in verse two as he speaks against the scoffing, vanity, and lies of the wicked sons of men around him. But even in those times when anger might be appropriate, David adds the necessary qualification, “do not sin.” If the cause is unjust or unrighteous, as was the case with these rebels, David instructs, they ought to forsake their anger altogether. But even in a just cause, anger must be tempered. It must be patient and longsuffering as God’s anger is.
David continues by instructing his hearers to “meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still.” This is not a call to second-guessing or rehashing every mistake you ever made. This is not a call to worry and anxiety. It is a call to honest self-examination. It is a call to leave behind the noise and business of everyday life, and, in the stillness of the night, consider one’s own heart and motives to ensure they are aligned with the righteousness of God. Certainly, these rebel sons of men needed this self-examination that they might come to repentance, but even the most devout sons of God need this reminder to examine their hearts and desires that they may renew their pursuit of righteousness.
But, as I already mentioned, this is not a call to anxiety and endless second-guessing. David instructs meditation, followed by being still. If this call to stillness were not enough, David adds another “Selah.” Let all things come to a rest. Examine your heart, seek to love and do the Lord’s will, then be still. Trust in the sovereignty of our God who works all things for the good of His people. Yes, even the most devout saints make mistakes. David, himself, made his share. But God is good and gracious. God forgives sins and reconciles with His people through the blood of Jesus Christ.
David’s instruction does not end with forsaking sin, but continues with a call to “offer the sacrifices of righteousness.” That is not merely burnt offerings from a hypocritical or unbelieving heart, but acts of devotion and piety from faith and love for God. This begins with self-sacrifice, laying down one’s own carnal desires and pleasures to serve God. It continues with love and service to neighbors, and it overflows in worship and devotion to our good and gracious God.
David concludes his instruction with a call to trust in the Lord. Serve the Lord without doubts and fears. Trust not in the finite wisdom and strength of men, but in the infinite wisdom and strength of God. Trust in His sovereign plan and His bountiful grace. Put your trust in the Lord!
Even in days of trouble, trusting in the Lord leads to rest. Consider the Prophet Isaiah. Isaiah was called to a long and difficult ministry in Israel in a generation that had grown very hardened against the Lord. Invasion from foreign kings, especially the Assyrians, was a constant threat, and it often seemed inevitable that God would use this empire to hold the people of Israel accountable for their sins against Him. Yet throughout this book, Isaiah returns to speak of the rest in trouble that may be found in trusting in the Lord.
In the song of salvation written for the days when Judah would be delivered from her enemies, Isaiah declares:
You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You. (Is. 26:3)
In Chapter 30, God promises that if His wayward people will return and rest in Him, they will be saved, yet they continued to lean on their own strength. Perhaps the greatest illustration of this comfort in the Lord comes in Isaiah 40:30-31:
Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
There are times I wish I could run like I did ten years ago. But even then, I got tired. I would still need to rest. But those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. Those who trust in the Lord will find perfect peace in Him. Those who rest in the Lord will find salvation in Him. Even when enemies gathered and the world as he knew it seemed to be falling apart, Isaiah knew that our merciful Lord alone provides peace for His people.
What may we learn from verses 4-5 of Psalm 4? There is a time for righteous anger, but that anger must remain righteous. May our anger only rise against sin. May it seek the salvation of sinners, the glory of God, and the growth of Christ’s kingdom.
Let us learn to meditate in the stillness of the night on the grace and goodness of God. May this meditation lead to stillness and trust in the Lord, not anxiety about our own shortcomings. Yes, we all fall short of the glory of God, and it is necessary to confess and repent of our sins. But, when we rightly understand both the power of Christ to save and the love and grace He has already poured out on us, this time of meditation must lead to confidence that Christ will continue and complete His work in us. Rest in the sovereignty of our good and gracious Lord.
It may seem that the sacrifices of righteousness are a matter of Old Covenant worship that do not continue today. It is true that the burnt offerings have ceased. Christ died once for all for the sins of His people, as we see in Hebrews 10. Any burnt offering after the death of Christ would be a hypocritical mockery, not a sacrifice of righteousness. But there are still righteous sacrifices. Hebrews 13:15-16 states:
Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
So, much like in David’s time, the difference between a sacrifice of righteousness and a sacrifice of hypocrisy lies in the heart. While the sacrifices of blood and fire are abolished, we offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to the Lord, as we see in Romans 12:1. Our words and our actions ought to be a continuous righteous sacrifice. This is the life of the Christian!
But just as it was in David’s time, it is in ours. Many offer hypocritical sacrifices. The legalist creates a thousand sacrifices that God has not required and takes no pleasure in. These sacrifices can look very different. One may forbid hanging shutters on your house, while another may advocate lighting candles for the dead. One may forbid certain hair and clothing styles, while another requires absolute obedience to seven manmade principles in order to be protected from the Devil. Hypocritical sacrifices are abundant in our day.
We are called to offer the sacrifices of righteousness. We are called to continuous praise to God and to extend His grace and goodness to those around us. Our flesh is drawn to lists of rules and simple formulas, but these inevitably end in hypocrisy. We are called to surrender our lives to Christ, entirely. It is far simpler, yet far more difficult. Simpler, because Christ’s sacrifice and His righteousness are perfect and complete! Difficult, because no one in the flesh seeks God in this manner. You cannot, in your flesh, offer sacrifices of righteousness. But in the Spirit, with a regenerate heart and reformed desires, you will live for Christ and delight in His standards of righteousness.
Finally, we are called to put our trust in the Lord. We are not to trust in chariots and horses, not the arm of flesh, not the formulas of men, but, simply, the Lord. Our Lord is good and gracious. He delights in giving His people good gifts. He delights in hearing and answering their prayers. May we trust in the Lord, be still, and rest in Him.
As our minds are stayed on Christ, may we find perfect peace in Him. In the darkest valleys may we wait on the Lord, that he might renew our strength. May we remember that Christ provides rest for the righteous and peace for His people.
So far, we have considered David’s petition and the Lord’s instruction. Now we come to the Lord’s response in verses 6-8:
3. The Lord’s Response (vv. 6-8).
There are many who say,
“Who will show us any good?”
Lord, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us.
You have put gladness in my heart,
More than in the season that their grain and wine increased.
I will both lie down in peace, and sleep;
For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
In times of trouble, there will always be doubters. It may be that these many who doubt are David’s opponents in this psalm, the sons of men. In verse 2, we got a glimpse of their scoffing, so it would make sense that they might also question the goodness of God here in verse 6. But this doubt could also be expressed by David’s friends and counselors. Whatever the current distress may have been, even they may have doubted that any good would be coming in this moment.
Notice that David does not even respond to the doubts of men. Rather, he turns to the Lord and asks that He might lift up the light of His countenance upon them. While the sons of men sought earthly good, pleasure, comfort, and ease, David here desires heavenly good, that the grace and favor of God might be poured out on them. David puts his trust in the Lord.
What is the light of the Lord’s countenance? Countenance is similar to face, but it more closely describes the expression or appearance of one’s face that displays the feelings of the heart or soul. So, the light of the Lord’s countenance would be the favor of the Lord’s heart towards His children, His demonstration of love towards them.
The Lord hears and responds to David’s petition, and we get a glimpse of the Lord’s response in David’s joyful praises in verses 7-8. Nothing more surely brings joy to the people of God than the gracious presence of God. Carnal sons of men rejoice in times of plenty. They rejoice in a bountiful harvest, in wealth and ease. But sons of God rejoice even in difficult times because God has put gladness in their hearts!
David is not merely satisfied with the goodness of God; he prefers it to the state of his adversaries. These carnal sons of men looked at the outward appearances. They rejoiced in their own prosperity and in David’s downfall. David is confessing his indifference to their prosperity. To David, it is irrelevant that his enemies are wealthy as long as he may delight himself in the Lord. As he delights in the Lord, David may confess with the Apostle Paul:
Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need (Phil. 4:11-12).
Even while writing from a Roman jail, Paul delighted in and was strengthened by the presence of Christ. It is this same Spirit at work here in David’s heart that he might delight in the favor of the Lord more than all the pleasures and prosperity of men.
This heartfelt rejoicing in the Lord leads to rest for the righteous. David finds that he can both lie down in peace and sleep. Even in this time of distress, this gladness that the Lord has placed in his heart brings peace. When he lies down, his meditation is on the Lord, not on the plots and schemes of the sons of men. And as he meditates on the Lord, with gladness in his heart from the Lord, the troubles all around him fade, and David finds peaceful sleep. This sleep in peace could be taken at least two ways. First, the fear of men has been overshadowed by a trust in the sovereignty of God, so peaceful sleep naturally follows. Second, even the fear of death is shattered, as the righteous man rests in the hope that the Lord will receive his soul when he sleeps the sleep of death. In life or in death, the righteous man need not fear. By night or day, God is faithful, and His promises are true. There is peace and rest for the righteous in Him.
Finally, David confesses the exclusivity of the Lord as his protection. The Lord, alone, made him dwell in safety. David could have a great army protecting him, and it would not matter if the Lord stood against him. But with the Lord protecting him, all the assembled armies of all the surrounding nations would not be sufficient to shatter his peace. Let the sons of men scoff, let the kings of nations rage, let the Devil and his demonic host conspire – if the Lord shields His people, they will certainly dwell in safety. There is rest for the righteous because our merciful Lord alone provides peace for His people.
In Psalm 63, David expands and illustrates many of the themes set forth here in Psalm 4. He describes his need for the Lord as the need for water in a desert.
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water (Ps. 63:1).
Upon finding the Lord in his sanctuary, David rejoices, because his “lovingkindness is better than life” (Ps. 63:3)
When the Lord seems far away, it is as if you were searching the desert for any sign of water and finding none. The very sight of water causes great joy! So it is with God’s people. When the Lord looks favorably upon them, all is well. Gladness is placed in their hearts. They may rejoice in times of great trouble.
David continues in Psalm 63:6-8:
When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches.
Because You have been my help,
Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.
My soul follows close behind You;
Your right hand upholds me.
It is the previous mighty deeds of the Lord that David meditates on in the night watches. This is why this night meditation leads to stillness and peace rather than the anxiety and despair of the sons of men. The Lord has supported the righteous through countless trials in the past, so they have every reason to expect Him to continue.
David illustrates the protection of the Lord with one of the most common images used throughout the Scriptures, “the shadow of Your wings.” In Matthew 23, Jesus describes this image in more detail as a hen gathering her brood under her wings. When the Lord shields His people, they may rejoice no matter the strength of their foes. When the Lord makes His people dwell in safety, the righteous find their rest in Him.
So, what may we learn from these verses? Let us not seek our rest in carnal comforts and pleasures, but in the Lord. Let us, like David, desire the light of the Lord’s countenance, His favor, His mercy, and grace. Even in the darkest of trials, knowing that the Lord is present with us, and that he favors us and will give us strength even if every son of man opposes us.
Indeed, the favor of the Lord is such a powerful force that it puts gladness and joy in our hearts no matter what our circumstances are. It is more to be desired than abundant grain and wine. There is nothing on this earth to be compared to the love of Christ for us.
This love, this grace, this favor of the Lord, is vividly displayed when God gives His children rest. Though the trials and troubles may remain, though many trials are not fully resolved in this life, the presence of our loving Lord, even on the darkest days, is still a far better comfort than the pleasures of this world without Him. Our Lord alone makes His people dwell in safety, both now and eternally.
Conclusion
There may be some here today who hear this psalm and desire this rest for the righteous. Perhaps you desire this peace our merciful Lord provides His people, but you do not know our good and gracious Lord. This is the Lord of whom Isaiah prophesied:
The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising (Is. 60:3).
You have heard of this gracious and merciful Lord, so come to his light! None of us deserves the favor of the Lord. We have all sinned and fallen short of His glory. But we proclaim the Gospel of Lord Jesus Christ, the eternally begotten Son of God, who took on human flesh, lived the righteous life we could never live, died on Calvary’s cross on our behalf, and rose on the third day, breaking the power of death and hell once and for all. If you will repent of your sins and believe in our good, gracious, and glorious Lord Jesus Christ, you will be saved! All the blessings of Psalm 4 will be yours, now and eternally. Yes, you will still face trials, but you will no longer face them on your own. The light of the Lord’s countenance will brighten your path through the darkest valleys. When you meditate on the Lord in the night, His mighty works will bring peace and stillness to your heart. You will find rest in Christ.
There are likely many among us today who have been saved by Christ, but are currently facing trials of one sort or another. Psalm 4 specifically addresses trials caused by sons of men who rise up in opposition to God and His people, yet many of the principles contained in this psalm apply to other trials as well. There is a time when you should have righteous anger against wickedness, but may you trust in the Lord and may His mighty deeds bring peace and rest to your soul. May you find peace in Christ, and may you never trade His lasting comfort for the passing comforts of this world.
As we draw to a close today, the paths of the wicked and the righteous are once more set before us. In times of trouble, call on the God of our righteousness. Call on Him because He is righteous, because He alone makes us righteous, and because He is glorified in defending righteousness. Turn away from the path of the wicked sons of men who live by scoffing, vanity, and lies. Remember that those who are godly have been set apart and made godly by the Lord, and our Lord Jesus Christ delights in hearing their prayers. No matter what the sons of men might say, the light of the Lord’s countenance is far more desirable than all the wealth of the wicked. By it, the righteous find peace and rest, because the Lord alone makes them dwell in safety. Brothers and sisters, our merciful Lord alone provides peace for His people.
