The God Who Satisfies
Psalms 4
July 15, 2018
Tonight we come to the 4th Psalm, and I don’t mind telling you that
It is one that proved a little difficult for me.
Namely because of an apparent interruption or break in continuity.
• It is a Psalm which begins in verse 1 with David crying out to God asking God to hear his prayer.
• But without ever even naming the request that he would make to God, David, without warning, stops addressing God and begins addressing the “sons of men” or the world.
• And then again in verse 6 he returns back to addressing God.
The flow is what puzzled me.
• Was David in the middle of worship and bothered by the perceived apathy
around him? Did he just stop mid-prayer to address carnal worshipers and
to tell them to get their act straight?
• Was David prepping for an evangelistic crusade (about to go on visitation)
and simply asking God to go with him?
Without knowing the absolute setting
It’s a little difficult to know exactly what is going on.
Here’s what we do know.
The heading says: “For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of David”
• Ultimately this was a song to be sung by the choir.
• Ultimately this is a message for the church.
So the intention here is that the church be edified
By the message that is contained in this song.
It is also possible that it is a song meant to awaken false believers
Who sit in the midst of the congregation.
So the question is: WHAT IS THE MESSAGE THAT DAVID SEEKS TO GET ACROSS TO THE CONGREGATION?
And that is an easy answer.
Namely that God is All-Satisfying
This, by the way, is a CONSTANT THEME OF SCRIPTURE.
• Even in preparing for VBS this coming week and working on the text and Bible studies and songs that will be sung, the satisfaction of God is a central theme.
• The whole theme of VBS is Philippians 3 where Paul acknowledges that following Christ has literally caused him to “suffer the loss of all things”
• But in the very next breath Paul rejoices in that because in losing all things he gained Christ, and having been found in Christ, he gained all that he needed for true and total satisfaction.
• In fact, Paul’s satisfaction in Christ is proven in the fact that after losing all things and gaining Christ, Paul determined to never go back. Instead he continued to pursue Christ.
Philippians 3:12 “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.”
Like Abraham, as the writer of Hebrews put it.
Hebrews 11:15-16 “And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.”
This was certainly Paul.
Even ending the letter with a statement of his great contentment in life,
Despite the fact that he had lost everything.
Philippians 4:11-13 “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
The theme there is satisfaction in Christ.
It is the same satisfaction that Asaph came to realize in the famed 73rd Psalm.
Psalms 73:25-28 “Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.”
That is the same satisfaction that David is also declaring
Here in this 4th Psalm.
And in reading the Psalm,
The reason for the interruption, or break, or lack of continuity
Is because David’s satisfaction in God
Actually seemed to sneak up on him.
• The Psalm came on a day when David started out in prayer,
• But as he recounted the goodness of God in his own life,
• David couldn’t even keep going without testifying to just how satisfying God is.
Let me show you.
#1 DAVID’S SUPPLICATION
Psalms 4:1
It begins with David in prayer.
• Obviously David has a request on his heart.
• He has something he is about to bring before the Lord.
Now, we don’t have any idea what that is,
Because David never gets around to it.
Instead, his prayer begins with the worship and adoration
That we are also instructed to begin our prayers with.
We remember our Lord’s instruction:
Matthew 6:9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.”
• Prayer is to begin with a hallowing of God’s name.
• Prayer is to begin with the exaltation of who God is, and worship of His
greatness.
On one hand
• It would be the common courtesy that you would extend to any important
person who took the time to listen to you.
On the other hand,
• It is the absolute deserved response of God because of who He is.
Prayer begins with a contemplation and exaltation
Of exactly who it is you are addressing.
And that is how David begins his prayer.
Verse 1 is bookended with a simple request.
“Answer me” and then “hear my prayer”
And in between we find the exaltation of David.
We know he is praying.
We know he has a request he wants to present.
But before he gets there he is taking a moment
To acknowledge the God he is presenting this request to.
And David actually begins to acknowledge
How great God has been in his life.
In fact he gives 3 great benefits of God.
1) JUSTIFICATION
“O God of my righteousness”
This is an all-encompassing term,
But certainly one that we understand.
Spurgeon said it like this:
“It means Thou art the author, the witness, the maintainer, the judge, and the rewarder of my righteousness.”
(Spurgeon, C.H. [The Treasury of David; volume 1; Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA] pg. 34)
Certainly David would have understood the concept and doctrine of justification.
• After all, it is spelled out clearly in the life of Abraham.
• Genesis 15:6 “Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”
Certainly David understood the concept of our righteousness being witnessed upon by God.
• This too occurred in the life of Abraham.
• Genesis 22:12 “He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
David understood that God was the maintainer of his righteousness.
• It was David who famously wrote:
• Psalms 23:1-3 “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.”
He also understood God as the judge and rewarder of his righteousness.
• Psalms 51:1-4 “Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge.”
The point is that David fully understood that
Not only was righteousness the prerogative of God,
And not only did God demand righteousness from His people;
But David also knew that the righteousness God demanded
Was also a justifying gift from God.
In short, David knew that all God required, God also provided.
• He wasn’t just a righteous God.
• He wasn’t just a God who demanded righteousness.
• He is a God who supplies it.
• He is a God who cultivates it.
• He is a God who sustains it.
David was coming to the God who had justified him
And declared him righteous.
We certainly understand that beautiful concept
As we are also declared righteous
Through the saving work of Jesus Christ.
That is the first acknowledgement David makes.
2) DELIVERANCE
“You have relieved me in my distress”
We actually saw this just last week
As David was on the run from Absalom and despite the threat against him DAVID WAS ENABLED BY GOD TO LAY DOWN AND SLEEP.
GOD DELIVERED HIM.
The word “relieved” there literally means “enlarged”.
That is to say God pulled him out of his claustrophobic predicament
And gave him peace.
Psalms 118:5-9 “From my distress I called upon the LORD; The LORD answered me and set me in a large place. The LORD is for me; I will not fear; What can man do to me? The LORD is for me among those who help me; Therefore I will look with satisfaction on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in princes.”
As we said last week, this is what God does for His people.
He delivers them…ALWAYS
• Sometimes it is a deliverance from danger
• Sometimes it is a deliverance out of danger
• Sometimes it is a deliverance inside the danger
And as David begins to acknowledge God in this opening of his prayer
He first acknowledges God’s justification and God’s deliverance;
(Both of which David enjoyed.)
3) FELLOWSHIP
“Be gracious to me and hear my prayer”
David is asking for God to hear him
And David understands that he has no leverage in the request.
• There is nothing in David that can force God to answer.
• There is nothing even in David that deserves for God to answer.
David understands that if God does answer
It will be for one reason and one reason only, and that is GRACE.
Every answered prayer we receive from God
Is a 100% demonstration of His grace,
For He certainly owes us nothing.
AND THIS IS WHY THE PSALM MAKES AN ABRUPT SHIFT.
David is merely listing the great benefits of God in his life.
• He lists that God has justified him
• He lists that God has delivered him
• David acknowledges that if God answers him, it will be nothing short of grace
And it’s like at this very moment
DAVID BECOMES OVERWHELMED with the truth he just stated.
WHY?
Because God has many times answered him.
(God answers him all the time)
And this will be the central boast
That David will make to the world here in just a moment.
Peak down to verse 3, “But know that the LORD has set apart the godly man for Himself; The LORD hears when I call to Him.”
While acknowledging God’s goodness to him
• David doesn’t even get around to making this new request.
• Instead he gets lost in amazement over all that God has done for him.
• And instead of continuing on with the request,
• David arises to give testimony of God’s goodness.
• David determines to testify of his great God to a world that doesn’t understand satisfaction like David has.
Why is David going to address the world?
BECAUSE DAVID IS OBSERVANT.
He will actually share his observation of the world in verse 6, “Many are saying, “Who will show us any good?”
That is to say that David recognizes that the world
Is clothed in an extreme lack of fulfillment and in dissatisfaction.
We see that as well.
It was in 1965 when Mick Jagger wrote that time honored classic,
“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
That is our world.
Saturated with discontentment, always scurrying and running to the next thing that will give them fulfillment.
• My goodness we all watched on the news this past Thursday where people
lined up for hours to get a good deal on a “Build-a-Bear”. It was an insane
picture.
• And it will be duplicated the next time a “Black Friday” sale is announced or
the next time Apple releases a new iPhone.
• People will scurry and wait and push and claw for the next new gadget that will
finally give their life meaning.
Well David saw the same rat-race occurring around him.
And as he was in the middle of prayer, recounting the greatness of God in his life, THE LIGHTBULB CAME ON.
David already has exactly what the world needs.
And that is why he arises from prayer and enters the pulpit.
David’s Supplication
#2 DAVID’S SERMON
Psalms 4:2-5
Here David is addressing the “sons of men”,
That is to say, David is addressing humans.
And there is good reason to assume that David is addressing the godless pagan who has no interest in God.
After all, look at how David defines them in verse 2
“how long will my honor become a reproach? How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception? Selah”
David defines this new audience
As those who are on a tireless search for satisfaction
And as those who are searching in the absolute wrong place.
They aren’t interested in David’s “honor”
I think we can safely say that he is referring to God.
Psalms 3:3 “But You, O LORD, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head.”
God is David’s honor; David’s glory.
But the people aren’t interested in God.
Instead they “love what is worthless and aim at deception”
They are constantly on the prowl
For what will gratify their sinful passions and natures.
Like we’ve so often read in the book of Ecclesiastes,
They look for gardens and parks and riches and women and drink and drugs and fame and enlightenment, etc.
And of course it is all “meaningless”.
As Isaiah announced:
Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”
Or
Isaiah 22:12-13 “Therefore in that day the Lord GOD of hosts called you to weeping, to wailing, To shaving the head and to wearing sackcloth. Instead, there is gaiety and gladness, Killing of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, Eating of meat and drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die.”
They are just the people of the world.
And not much has changed there.
In many ways our culture shares the same desires as those of a stray dog.
Constantly looking for something to eat; something to drink; and something to mate. (and not even that picky about what it is)
It is actually a search for satisfaction and fulfillment.
And David sees these people as lacking
The only thing that ever brought him fulfillment, which is God.
And that is why after addressing their futile search,
David addresses their ignorance of the truth.
Namely that until they learn the futility of their ways
And learn to seek the things of God they will never have it.
David says:
(3) “But know that the LORD has set apart the godly man for Himself; The LORD hears when I call to Him.”
This is the central, mind-blowing truth to David’s sermon.
• David started in prayer asking for God to hear and recognizing that if God would choose to listen it would only be by grace.
• And then David realizes that God has been gracious many times over for God always hears.
• And it was this satisfaction that led him to address these people who are unfulfilled.
• He is telling them to quit seeking the things of the world and to start seeking godliness.
• He is telling them to quit running for the deeds of immorality and to start running for the things of God.
For in those things we gain access to God which is truly satisfying.
He is calling the world to come have satisfaction in the presence of God.
And he even tells them specifically how to obtain it.
(4-5) “Tremble, and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, And trust in the LORD.”
You can see three steps there.
1) RECOGNIZE THE DANGERS OF SIN
David says, “Tremble, and do not sin”
As Spurgeon put it, our world gets this backward, for most of them “Sin and do not tremble” (ibid. pg. 35)
It is the call of David for the world to stop
And take account of the damning effects of sin in the world.
We’ve already seen Psalms 1
Psalms 1:4-6 “The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.”
Next week we’ll see:
Psalms 5:4-7 “For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No evil dwells with You. The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity. You destroy those who speak falsehood; The LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit. But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house, At Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You.”
We learn very quickly that sin is no laughing matter.
God destroys sinners.
God crushes sinners.
And that reality should cause trembling in everyone.
And David simply calls the world to take a moment and recognize that.
But then after grasping that doctrinal truth, David then calls for some introspection.
2) RECOGNIZE YOUR OWN SIN
David says, “Meditate in your heart upon your bead, and be still. Selah”
They are lost arts in our world today
But I promise you things like “stillness” and “meditation” and “silence” and “contemplation” are very valuable things.
They are especially valuable to the man
Who has taken a moment to contemplate the truth.
For here after asking this congregation
To contemplate how much God hates sin,
He then asks them to go to their bed
And lay there in quiet and ponder that.
Inevitably their own sin will emerge.
It’s called the conscience and God has so equipped it as to bring our wickedness to the surface of our thoughts.
Romans 2:14-15 “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them,”
This is what David is asking the world to address.
• Just stop the rat-race for a few moments,
• Put down the distractions,
• Contemplate how dangerous sin is
• And take an evening to meditate upon it.
David knows what will occur.
Man will come face to face with his sin and the horrors of judgment.
And of course then David points them to the Savior from sin and judgment.
3) RECOGNIZE THE SAVIOR
“Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and trust in the LORD.”
• EARLIER we recognized that David was addressing the wicked of the world.
• HERE we must face the possibility that these wicked are seated in church.
For here David does not rebuke them for failing to offer sacrifices
But for failing to offer “the sacrifices of righteousness” to God.
It rings in our ear all the phony offerings that were so often presented to God by the children of Israel.
How often have read God’s disdain for this:
Isaiah 1:13 “Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies — I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.”
Or we hear the cry of Malachi:
Malachi 1:8-10 “But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly?” says the LORD of hosts. “But now will you not entreat God’s favor, that He may be gracious to us? With such an offering on your part, will He receive any of you kindly?” says the LORD of hosts. “Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD of hosts, “nor will I accept an offering from you.”
It was the prophets addressing a religious people who were lost in the ceremony, but had no concern for bringing anything that God desired.
All God wanted were righteous offerings
From hearts that desired righteousness.
We understand that as the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ,
And how we hunger for righteousness so much
That we forsake ourselves and follow Him.
This is what David has in mind.
• Stop seeking the “worthless” things of the world
• Start seeking the righteousness of God
• And start trusting God for it
After all, did David not already announce that God was the provider of righteousness?
Asaph said it like this:
Psalms 50:12-15 “If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains. “Shall I eat the flesh of bulls Or drink the blood of male goats? “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving And pay your vows to the Most High; Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.”
This is what David wants as well.
IN YOUR SEARCH FOR SATISFACTION, START SEEKING GOD,
SEEK HIM WITH THE GODLINESS THAT HE SUPPLIES AND REQUIRES.
That is David’s message here to the world.
And then it moves to David’s testimony.
David’s Supplication, David’s Sermon
#3 DAVID’S SATISFACTION
Psalms 4:6-8
David is very simply here going to relay that
All the satisfaction the world seeks
Is the satisfaction that he has found in God.
And here comes David’s request.
(6) “Many are saying, “Who will show us any good?” Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O LORD!”
Listen, I want you to mark that verse in your Bible.
This is a foundational and fundamental to the purpose and function of the church.
• The church is so confused today in their strategy for how to reach sinners.
• The church is on a satisfaction and fulfillment mission, but even in that they are
backward.
• The church’s goal has been to find out what the world seeks and then to try to
convince them that this is what we offer.
And what you get is really a bad knock off job.
• Now look, I certainly don’t mind, and even enjoy things like “clean comedy” or
“clean rock music” or “family friendly” events.
But if you think for a moment that the world does, you are way off.
The church just can’t compete in that industry.
But we have something that the world doesn’t have.
WE HAVE GOD
And this is David’s prayer before God.
“God, we live in a world that is dissatisfied and can’t seem to find anything good and fulfilling. God would You please show them Your face”
I love David’s prayer there!
• He didn’t set out to show the world that the harp music of the church was as good as the harp music of the pub.
• He didn’t set out to show the world that the fellowship of the church was as fun as the fellowship of the pub.
David knew that all of those things were superficial.
He wanted God to show His face.
Upon reading this Psalm several months ago,
THIS IS HOW I PRAY FOR OUR WORSHIP SERVICES.
This is how I pray for our church.
“Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O LORD!”
God, let the world see You
And let the world see how satisfied we are in You.
Isn’t that the way the body of Christ should function?
(Can’t we sing “Take this world, my God’s enough”?)
WELL HOW SATISFIED ARE WE IN CHRIST?
Look at what David says:
(7) “You have put gladness in my heart, More than when their grain and new wine abound.”
Do you know what David references?
He references the party that occurs at the end of the harvest.
• On the day when the work is over and the grain is in the barn and the wine is in the cellar, and the celebration begins.
I don’t have to explain to you what a party like that looks like.
Many of you know, many of you may have even been before.
And David says, the “gladness in my heart”
Is better than any momentary joy I ever got from celebrations like that.
David had a joy that circumstances couldn’t give
And more importantly that circumstances couldn’t take away.
No one has ever denied that worldly parties are fun.
But they don’t last, and often times come with consequences that render the fun not worth the cost.
David had a greater joy.
David had a true fulfillment.
Beyond that:
(8) “In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You alone, O LORD, make me to dwell in safety.”
It wasn’t just joy that David got from God it was also peace.
When is the last time you got that from the world?
The world is pretty good on the “fun” department,
But the world stinks at the “peace” department.
David didn’t just get joy from God, he got rest from Him as well.
In short, he found what the world needed.
And not only did he offer it to them,
But he also stopped to thank God for it.
That is really what the last 3 verses are about.
• David quit speaking to the world in verse 5.
• In these last 3 verses he is thanking God for satisfying Him in a way that the world never could.
And there is the 4th Psalm.
GOD SATISFIES
• You have David who came to God with some request that we will never know.
• And in acknowledging how good God had been to him
• David decided to forego the request to instead proclaim God’s goodness to the
world
• And to thank God for it.
And this is the song that David commanded the choir director
To sing before the great congregation.
It is the song of our tremendous satisfaction in God.
And the implication and expectation of this song are clear.
• You should also acknowledge how good God has been to you.
• You should also proclaim to the world how satisfaction is found only in God.
• You should also stop and thank God for giving the joy and peace that the world never could.
I think we can agree that it would do the church a world of good
If we sang this song more often.
God, You’re enough!
And I thank You for the joy and peace You have supplied to my life.
