Many think that Psalm 3 and 4 go together. Psalm 3 was to be sung in the morning and Psalm 4 in the evening. If this is true, then the situations are likely the same—David’s fleeing from his son, Absalom, who was trying to take over the kingship of Israel and kill his own father.
1
David needs God to respond to his cries. How often do we cry out to God and think that He is not willing to answer us? The problem is that we want to answer in our way in our time and that is not God’s way—notice how David recognizes that it is God who vindicates him. Like David, we must leave room for God to move when it is best in His will, which is far better than ours. Secondly David is not vindicated by his goodness, but by God. “Affliction” means “a tight space” while “freed” means “an open space.” David felt penned in by his circumstances—there was no way out, but even before the answer comes David calls on God to do as He has done in the past, to find wonderful creative ways to bring him back to freedom.
David is calling on God’s grace, not on the basis of his merit—because David knew he was suffering the consequences of his own sin. But even in that, there is grace when we call on the Lord—grace first, then God hears our prayer. In John 16:25-28 Jesus told His people that through Jesus the Father Himself loves us and will hear and answer us according to His will!
2
Though he doesn’t rely on his own innate goodness, David recognizes that people basically exalt themselves—that is basic humanity—get as far as you can by stepping over whoever gets in the way. But David recognizes that self-exaltation is a lie and one that originated with Lucifer. It is “worthless” because in the end it won’t get you anywhere. God is God and you are not. Trying to rebel against Him is like trying to fly a kite in a hurricane—you can try but I guarantee that it will be ripped from your hands. We pursue the lie that we are in charge of our own destiny, but the truth is that we are enslaved in sin to the devil until and unless we cling to Yahweh through His Son Jesus the Messiah!
3
David recognizes that God has set apart those that have faith and trust in God, rather than themselves and because of that God will hear their prayers.
4
David is begging the arrogant to “tremble” (another way to translate “anger”) and not to continue in their sinful rebellion but to reflect on their lives in hopes that they will repent.
5
Finally David hopes they will offer sacrifices to God out of a pure heart and trust in the Lord. How many times when wronged do we want the perpetrator to “get his due” and suffer? How wonderful instead to pray that they would reflect, repent, and return to the Lord!
6
There was a sincere question on the minds of Israelis at the time: will David be able to rule now? He then asks God to favor them, which He did. How many times do others or even you wonder if after a fall there is any way back again into God’s grace or into ministry? Isn’t it wonderful that as we seek God’s favor through His grace that we can find that restoration!
7 – 8
So here at the end of the Psalm we have a similar transformation in David’s thoughts and feelings as we saw in Psalm 3. He begins worried about enemies who are exalting themselves, and ends with joy—so much joy that it is like when a farmer brings in a bounteous harvest. Satisfaction turns to peace—so much peace that he can sleep peacefully.
So when attack comes rely on God for vindication, not your own efforts, and focus instead on praying for those who have wronged you that they may repent.
Psalm 5
This is one of the most beautiful Psalms in the book. It is a tender cry to God when evil seems to win the day. It is a reminder that the only thing reliable is to take refuge in the Lord rather than rely on the words of men.
1 – 2
The word “listen” means to cup one’s hand up to the ear in order to hear better. “Consider” means, in essence, put some brain power into something. David then describes his words as “sighing” which is a Hebrew word that means “to murmur.” “Pay attention” is “to prick up the ears.” “Cry” means to cry out for help.
Clearly David wants God’s attention to something very important to him. Do you ever find yourself in that spot where life suddenly becomes focused only on a serious problem? David recognizes first that his need must be directed towards God and secondly he recognizes who God is: his King and his God.
3
David is up early—his reason? He wants to plead a case to God. It seems from the Psalm that someone has said something bad about him. Doesn’t it seem a bit odd that the king of Israel would be so worried that he couldn’t sleep, gets up early and pleads to God? Wouldn’t he just have them executed? But no. David watches for God to move. Then he recites what he knows about the character of God and character of men.
4 – 6
Some strong words here. Despite what our culture says and does, our God is not one who takes any delight in things that are not like God (“wicked”). “Lodge” is a good word in verse 4 – it means to turn into a place of lodging. Put simply, people that are not like God cannot live in His presence and survive. Verse 5 echoes verse 4 but now adds the word “boastful”. It appears that whoever was in David’s life was pretty arrogant about their evil. Then David says God actually hates all evildoers and “abhors” those that shed innocent blood and act treacherously (which means being deceitful). But watch what happens now:
7 – 8
David knows he is not perfect, but he knows that the key lies in approaching God with a humble and reverential attitude and appealing to God according to His love. David’s plea is first that he would be led in a way that brings about God’s character—because of his adversaries. I like that. Often we think retribution is the first and last response. But David wants God’s heart first. You can’t see clearly to know what you should pray about others until you first want God’s heart to be yours. David knows that only in a relationship with God will he be secure. Believing the lies of his enemies will not lead to anything good.
9
How often do those who are angry at us make up destructive lies about us? It has happened to me numerous times. They are cloaked in flattery but their real intent is destruction of your character and are tools in the enemy’s hands. We want to focus on real literal attacks, but in my experience things like gossip and slander are just as dangerous. Gossip is when you tell someone something that is none of your business and slander is when you say something not true about someone in order to ruin their reputation. We as Christians do this far more often than we’d like to think.
Strong words again—“their throat is an open grave.” So it’s interesting how he says this: their tongues flatter but if you go deeper, their throat is like death. So the words they speak might be pleasant but if you dive a little deeper their intention is to cause harm.
10
The reason for God to punish them is because they have rebelled against God—not that they have spoken against David. That is always a good measure as to when you should respond. If people say things against you it’s one thing, but if they speak ill of God, that is quite another. Our problem often is that we strike back for personal insults, instead of just taking it and praying for them. The method of their punishment is interesting: it is actually of their own doing. Evil will eventually implode on itself. It’s like when Jesus said “If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand?” (Luke 11:18). Many times the very schemes of those who try to hurt you will hurt them in the end—but if you intervene because of pride and hurt—you will turn the attention back on yourself! “Drive them out” David asks. In the end the real retribution is to be kept from God’s presence.
11 – 12
The flow of this Psalm is really beautiful—David starts out pleading with God to hear him and has all these people speaking lies about him. But as he enters God’s presence he realizes how different God is from these people and how fleeting and self-destructive they really are. So all David wants to do then is draw closer to God and allow His love to shelter him, His joy to be on his lips, and His favor to surround him.
Conclusions
So when you find yourself the brunt of ridicule, taunting, deceitful lies, or out and out attacks—remember this Psalm and remember what David did:
1.He made his plea to God, not his counter attack against man
2.He realized the true character of God and how different it is from those that surround him
3.He entered into humble worship and service to God—relying on His Word
4.He saw through the flattery to the true intentions of those who attacked and asked God to bring it back on them
5.Then he continued to want to abide in God’s shelter and joy and favor
Psalm 6
Psalm 6 is one of the most heart-felt of the Psalms. In it, David is under severe stress over a chastening by God through David’s enemies. If you have ever been in a place where you feel God’s discipline in your life, then this is a psalm for you.
1 – 3
Though we don’t know the occasion for this psalm, we do know that God disciplined David at times through others. In 2 Samuel 24 David numbered Israel and God disciplined him through a plague. Gad the seer gave David a choice of 3 years of famine, 3 days of plague or 3 months of being chased by his enemies.
Can’t you just hear the intense cry of the heart here? David is feeling extreme anxiety—the kind that causes you to tremble uncontrollably. Along with that is a sense of terror. If you are old enough you have probably had times like that—where it seems that your entire world is about to collapse. Maybe it is a severe illness, accident, or death of a loved one. Perhaps it is the prospect of losing your job in a bad economy or a relationship gone bad. David was likely worried for his life—and the thing that made him even more afraid was his realization that 1) he is being disciplined for something he has done and that 2) the discipline is coming from God through an enemy.
In the Bible we see numerous examples of God using bad people to discipline His children. Take Nebuchadnezzar, for instance. God used him to discipline Israel by conquering them. But the wonderful thing about being under God’s discipline is that 1) it has a purpose and 2) it has an end. But in the midst it doesn’t seem that way.
Hebrews 12:11 “No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the fruit of peace and righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
David is crying out to God for grace in his weakness—just the place God wants us. And he wonders—why are you taking so long? I think the most common thing we lack in severe discipline is patience.
James 1:2-4 “Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.”
4 – 7
It’s okay to ask for God’s rescue; we just need to wait for His time. And notice how David couches his request: not because of his goodness but God’s faithful love.
He appears afraid he is going to die, but he so longs to worship the Lord and knows that he can’t do that once he is dead because no one on earth will hear him then!
Verses 6 and 7 are among the most emotional as David really lays it all out to God. He’s crying so much that he can’t sleep and his eyes actually hurt because of it. David himself knew a truth, though, that God knows every single tear we have: (Psalm 56:8) “You Yourself have recorded my wanderings. Put my tears in Your bottle.”
So then there is abrupt shift in verses 8 – 10:
8 – 10
Though there is no specific repentance in this psalm, we see the condition of David’s heart—broken and yet crying out to God for mercy and grace. Sometimes we won’t even know why we are undergoing discipline either. God is doing a deep work in you and the more you desire to draw near to Him and be like Him the more likely he will work deeper still—like a deep tissue massage that hurts like the dickens when it is happening but really good for your muscles over the long haul.
The Lord has heard and Lord accepts. A prayer of humble submission to God’s grace is always heard and accepted. David has gained the confidence to know that those that seek to destroy him are actually on God’s leash and will be jerked back suddenly when God has finished using them.
Conclusions
It’s okay to squirm a bit in discipline
It’s okay to cry for mercy and rescue
Because we know that no matter how difficult the circumstances, God is victorious and on the throne and loves those that belong to Him!
