Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer. How long, O men will you turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods? Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD will hear when I call to him
Psalm 4 v.1-3
What an amazing resource is the book of Psalms! It is hard to imagine a situation that we can find ourselves in which is not addressed in at least one of these inspired scriptures in order to bring help, comfort, encouragement, and a fresh revelation of God himself. They can minister to us this way for they have all been penned, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, out of real everyday experiences. They may not address precisely our situation as they were written in a very different culture, but they will certainly address the underlying causes of our joy and delight, our sadness and our fears and point us to God.
Many, like Psalm 4 which we look at today, were written in times of trouble and they encourage us to take our cares to the throne of grace and in Peter’s exhortation in his first letter to ‘cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you’ (Chapter 5 v.7)
It has become a cliché to say that we live in challenging and unique times with all the restrictions, fears, and frustrations of lockdown and the impact of Covid 19 but none of these are outside the sphere of influence of our heavenly Father.
The Psalmist prays ‘Answer me when I call, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress: be merciful to me and hear my prayer’
I wonder if that is your prayer this morning. The Psalmist (David) is deeply affected by ungodly men and is comforted by the knowledge that ‘the LORD has set apart the godly for himself.’ In this particular Psalm, that ungodliness was the presenting issue and that occurs on other occasions as well and it is something that should concern all of us and drive us to prayer. However it may not be the main concern that occupies your thoughts this morning. There may well be issues that loom larger than that which are causing you distress. Be encouraged by David’s example to take them to the LORD.
Christian brother or sister, in Christ you are declared righteous and therefore ‘godly’ so today and every day you are in his loving and tender care. You thus have one who intercedes for you at the throne of grace. In his distress David turned to his righteous God and prayed for relief and v.8 of his prayer ‘I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.’ Is a glorious affirmation that God had heard and answered!
Take comfort this morning that ‘The LORD has set apart YOU for himself’ and that he ‘will hear when you call on him’.
There is no concern or distress or apparent disaster that is too great for you to share with him.
May you know God’s peace today as you follow David’s example.