We Are Safe in Christ
Psalm 4:1-8
- We’re continuing our study through the book of Psalms, and we’ve made it to chapter 4.
- When I was a kid, I loved playing tag with my friends.
- We’d find as many kids as we could, and we’d find big fields to play in.
- Every game we played, we had to determine where the safe zone would be.
- The safe zone was the place you could run to when you were being chased by whoever was “it.”
- If you got there before they tagged you, then you were safe, and they had to go chase someone else.
- As Christians, the enemy is always “chasing” us around, but thankfully, we have a safe-zone we can run to…our Lord Jesus Christ.
- So let’s look at 3 reasons we are safe in Christ.
I.) We are safe because He hears us- Vs 1-3
- Years ago, there was a big news story about a little baby girl that got stuck in a well in Texas.
- Her name was Jessica McClure.
- For 58 hours, rescuers tried to get her out of the abandoned well, where she had fallen in to an 8-inch opening.
- She was 22 feet below the ground and it was extremely difficult to get to her.
- But the rescuers heard her singing about Winnie the Pooh, and that gave them hope, and motivation to keep working to get her out of the well.
- Although little baby Jessica was deep below ground, trapped in the well, she was safe because she could hear the rescuers, and the rescuers could hear her.
- As long as they could hear her, they knew she was alive, and their efforts could still save her.
- And finally, after 58 hours, baby Jessica was rescued from that well.
- Just like baby Jessica knew she was safe, King David understood that he was safe because he knew that God heard him, whenever he called out to Him.
- Here, we see his impassioned plea, as he says, “Hear me when I call, Oh God of my righteousness!”
- Obviously, David knew that God heard him, regardless of whether he asked Him to or not.
- But this plea shows us how close to the Lord he truly was.
- He’s stating it more as a fact than as a request…
- “You hear me when I call, Oh God!”
- That’s because David understood that he couldn’t demand anything from God.
- He had no right to do that…
- But he also knew that God loved Him, and He knew that He could go to God, and God would listen because He’s God, and He’s loving and merciful, and generous.
- David knew that God heard him when he called because God loved him, not because He was somehow obligated to listen.
- Notice that David addresses God with a title…Oh God of my righteousness!
- Once again, we’re really seeing David’s humble heart…
- He doesn’t say, “Hear me God because I’m righteous…”
- No, He says, “Oh God of my righteousness…”
- David recognized that outside of God, he was nothing but a filthy, lost, unrighteous sinner.
- He recognized that even though he might be an earthly king, that in no way made God his subject, and God didn’t have to obey his orders.
- David obviously was used to people obeying His orders, but from this we can see his humility…
- When he came before God, he didn’t view himself as “Mighty King David…”
- No, he was humble, coming before God as His unworthy servant…
- One of the things I love about David is that he’s called a man after God’s own heart, but he doesn’t go around bragging about that to everyone.
- He also doesn’t go before God and say, “Hey God, it’s me, you know, the man after your own heart…I’ve been really good again, so add it to my list!”
- No, David’s heart was humble, especially when he was praying to His Lord.
- Notice that next, he says, “You have relieved me in my distress, have mercy on me and hear my prayer.”
- Don’t miss what he just did.
- He pointed back to previous times when God relieved him in his distress, when God was merciful to him…
- He pointed back because those times of deliverance were times he was safe in God’s hands.
- God did it then, and David knew He could do it again, and He would do it again, simply because He is God!
- One of the things we can do to remember what God has done for us is to write about it…
- Many Christian men and women keep journals, all about what God has done for them and what He’s delivered them from…
- When times get tough, they look back, and read about what God did for them then, and He reminds them that He can do it again.
- Never forget what God has done for you…
- In vs 2, David shifts from praying to God, to now addressing his enemies.
- “How long will you turn my glory to shame? How long will you love worthlessness and seek falsehood?”
- David was close to the Lord, and was blessed by the Lord, and that caused his enemies to be jealous.
- In their jealousy, they sinned by spreading malicious slander and lies about David.
- This isn’t a problem that was just isolated to David though…
- It’s been an ongoing problem among men for ages…
- It even happened to Jesus when the religious leaders spread vicious lies about him and when they tried to turn almost every glorious thing He did in His ministry into shame.
- In vs 3, instead of continuing the questions, David now states some facts for his enemies to hear.
- “The Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly…the Lord will hear when I call to Him.”
- When you and I have something that is valuable or precious to us, like old family photo albums, or a collection of valuable collectible coins for example, we don’t just leave them out in a place where they could get ruined or stolen…
- Those are things that can’t be replaced, so we set them apart, in a special place, to keep them safe.
- David tells us that as God’s people, we are valuable to Him, so He has set us apart, and in doing so, He keeps us safe.
- Safe from what?
- Safe from Satan and his minions…
- Safe from losing our salvation…
- Safe from being overcome by sin and temptation…
- Safe from anything or anyone that would want to separate us from His love.
- There are many more examples we could use, but the point is that He has set us apart for Himself.
- Not only are we set apart, but David says that the Lord will hear when I call to Him!
- In both of our studies on Sunday mornings and evenings, one of the things we keep seeing and reading about is that the false gods that heathens worship are deaf and dumb, they’re lifeless, they’re nothing!
- So, when the ungodly pray to those idols, the idols can’t hear them, and certainly won’t answer them!
- Not all of David’s or our enemies pray to false gods, but whoever or whatever they put their trust in, it’s something that can’t hear them and can’t help them.
- But God Almighty can hear us when we pray because He is listening with a caring and attentive ear.
- Just knowing that He hears us should be enough to make us each rest in Him because nothing surprises or overwhelms Him…
- We are safe, because he hears us.
II.) We are safe because our trust is in Him- Vs 4-5
- A few years ago, Sherri and I went to Sunday River Ski Resort in the western part of the state.
- It was in the Summer time though, so we did some activities other than skiing.
- One of those activities was a zip line.
- I hate heights, so I didn’t want to go up and do it, but my brother Steven and Sherri convinced me not to be a chicken!
- So up the ladder I went and looked down the hill at the other end of the line, and thought, “Wow, it looks a lot further down from up here!”
- The safety person hooked my harness up onto the clip on the line and started to count down.
- 3, 2, 1!
- I closed my eyes when I stepped off the edge, and down I went, zooming right along until I safely hit the other end and stopped.
- I probably won’t be doing that again any time soon!
- But the fact is that I had to trust that the harness and the line were strong enough to hold my weight.
- Even though I was scared to death, I was perfectly safe because my trust was in the harness and the line, and both did their job.
- King David also had to put His trust somewhere, and of course that was in the Lord.
- So, he was safe because his trust was in the Lord.
- In vs 4, he now shifts to address himself.
- “Be angry and do not sin…”
- Obviously, David had reason to be angry.
- His enemies were lying about him and slandering his name and trying their best to ruin his reputation.
- Yet he says, “Be angry and do not sin.”
- David understood that if he acted in his anger through the flesh, he would do some damage, and it wouldn’t fix things.
- So, as he puts his trust in the Lord, he gives his anger over to the Lord.
- That doesn’t mean he wasn’t angry, but he didn’t sin in his anger.
- So what could he do instead of sin in his anger?
- The next part of vs 4 says, “Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still.”
- And he adds the word “Selah” there, which means, “Don’t miss this, read it over again, remember this, it’s important!”
- Meditation involves the Christian filling his or her heart with the Word of God, and not just letting it go in one ear and out the other, but deeply thinking about it, going over it in your mind, over and over and over again, so it sticks…
- I like what Joseph Caryl says about meditation…
- “Be still or quiet, and then commune with your hearts; and if you will commune with your hearts, God will come and commune with your hearts too, his Spirit will give you a loving visit and visions of His love!”
- The book of Proverbs tells us “Be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger.”
- When a person goes to bed angry, for one thing, it’s not healthy for them…
- But on top of that, they’ll also have trouble sleeping because they’ll just keep thinking about whatever it is that made them angry, and they’ll dwell on it, and their racing thoughts will drive them crazy!
- Instead, David says to meditate on your bed and be still.
- So meditation on God’s Word and His love and His forgiveness will take your mind away from anger, and will give you peace that passes all understanding, in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- And as you meditate instead of boiling in anger, you’ll feel safe as you’ve given it over to God and trusted in Him.
- Vs 5 then tells us to offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and to put your trust in the Lord.
- David’s now shifting back to addressing his enemies, and instead of yelling at them in anger, he instead tells them what they must do to get right with God.
- They needed to turn away from their sinful plans and instead become true worshipers of the Lord, by “…offering the sacrifices of righteousness…”
- David’s enemies, and any person who doesn’t give their life to the Lord, is God’s enemy, and as such, their plans against God’s people will always fail, when looking at the big picture.
- So, David tells them to trust in the Lord.
- What a wonderful way for David to show his enemies love instead of hate…
- He tells them what they must do to be right with God!
- That shows you the merciful heart David had, since he didn’t want even his enemies to die without trusting in the Lord.
- Trust in the Lord…
- One of the important things to realize is that many of David’s enemies were men who with their mouths said they were followers of God, but with their actions, they showed otherwise…
- They didn’t worship God with genuine, loving hearts…their sacrifices weren’t done with a right spirit.
- So, David says, “Check yourself. Trust in the Lord. Not the religious practices, but only God Himself!”
- David was safe because He trusted in the Lord, and he wanted even his worst enemies to come to a saving knowledge of God and trust in Him, so they could be safe as well.
- Obviously, David couldn’t change their hearts, but He did take the time to point them in the right direction, regardless of whether they wanted to know the Truth or not.
III.) We are safe because He blesses us- Vs 6-8
- Last year, I was diagnosed with Central Sleep Apnea, which unfortunately, is the more complex type of sleep apnea.
- I wasn’t getting any rest before that because all throughout the night, my brain was not telling my lungs to breathe, so I constantly stopped breathing, over and over again.
- After I had my sleep study, the Dr. told me I stopped breathing over 40 times each hour!
- When they figured out it was Central Apnea and not Obstructive, they gave me a machine called an ASV Machine.
- It’s just like a CPAP, but it’s more advanced...they call it an intelligence machine…
- It has a water tube that I fill with water every night and it humidifies the air for me.
- The air goes through a climate-line air heated tube and through the mask I wear to bed, and it’s a constant flow of air.
- The machine pays attention to my breathing, and it knows when I stop breathing or am breathing weaker.
- At that point, the machine increases its air pressure, and a burst of air goes in through my nose and mouth, so the machine breathes for me.
- A couple of times, I’ve held my breath to see what it does, and after about 3 or 4 seconds, a strong burst of air comes through the mask, thinking that I stopped breathing.
- Anyways, obviously, this machine is a life-saver and something I consider to be a blessing, because I can go to sleep in peace and have a restful night’s sleep, knowing that this machine is keeping me safe.
- David also felt safe because God had blessed him in many ways.
- One such way is in vs 6, where people ask the question, “Who will show us any good?” and David says, “Lord, lift up the light of your countenance upon us.”
- Those who were with David knew that he had many enemies, and that they were spreading lies and slandering him.
- It might have looked to them like no one was showing David any good.
- But David says, “Don’t look at them, look at God.”
- He’s telling them that God will bestow His favor on those who turn to Him.
- Time after time again, this was illustrated in David’s life.
- He could feel safe because God had blessed him with his favor.
- Then, in vs 7, David shifts back to addressing the Lord.
- “You have put gladness in my heart…”
- When God smiles down favorably on you and blesses you above and beyond anything you’d ever ask, you can’t help but be glad!
- I remember my mom teaching me the song, “I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart, I will enter His courts with praise. I will rejoice for He has made me glad! He has made me glad, he has made me glad, I will rejoice for He has made me glad!”
- David then compares the joy and gladness he had with the joy and gladness the world has when their crops do well.
- Obviously, it’s a good thing when the money’s coming in and you’re prosperous…
- However, money and worldly possessions are not what we live for.
- Even if we lost everything and had no money or possessions, we could still have gladness in our hearts because of God.
- So those of us who are blessed by God are glad and full of His joy, even if He has chosen not to bless us with material possessions.
- David of course was a king, and had power and wealth…
- But he wasn’t full of gladness in his heart because of that…
- No, his heart was full of gladness because of the blessings God had bestowed upon Him.
- The material riches of this world don’t last and will pass away.
- A relationship with God, however, will last forever, and the spiritual blessings He bestows upon us will last forever as well!
- David closes this Psalm by saying he will lie down in peace and sleep because God makes him to dwell in safety.
- It doesn’t matter what trials we’re facing.
- It doesn’t matter if we’re being persecuted by our enemies.
- It doesn’t matter if our enemies are lying about us.
- You and I are safe in Christ, and His blessings prove that time and again.
- G. Campbell Morgan says, “This is a glorious conception of sleep. Jehovah gathers the trusting soul into a place of safety by taking it away from all the things which trouble or harass . . . the tried and tired child of His love is pavilioned in His peace.”
- I’ll close with a line from one commentary…
- “True joy and peace depend not on circumstances but on God’s protection and provisions.”
