It's time for the last installment of our study of Psalm 4! The moment that all people striving to follow God are waiting for. I guess I should really say the "thing" that all people striving to follow God are waiting for - security. I'm not one to watch the news, if I need to know badly enough one of my several iPhone news apps will send me a little message on my screen and then I'll know. But, I do know people that watch the news religiously and every one of those people will be able to answer the question, "Is there anything good happening in the area?" with the same answer - "NO!". I guess that is what the news is for, to show what a horrible situation we are in or to tell us about so-and-so getting robbed or hurt by an assailant. And yet, it seems as though news in David's day wasn't much different from what we have today. Let's read it from his pen: |
There are many who say, "Who will show us any good?" - Psalm 4:6a (NKJV)
Lord, life up the light of your countenance upon us. - Psalm 4:6b (NKJV)
But, while "seeing" God, understanding that the phrase is used in a figurative sense (John 1:18), produces hope and security it isn't all we have. He's also our source of gladness for a multiplicity of reasons
- He washed us, Christians, from our sins thereby taking away all the horror of living through eternity without him (Revelation 1:5, Acts 22:16, Hebrews 10:31, Romans 6:17).
- He gave us His divine word so that we can live a life characterized by good and abundance, realizing that the Christian life is the only one that can make a person truly happy on earth (John 10:10, 2 Timothy 3:16-17).
- He gave us the church, the group of children of God that work and live together for edification (Hebrews 10:24:25, 1 Corinthians 14:26).
Just like when we get together at Christmas or some other family gathering and we eat until we hurt produces gladness, God does the same but even more so (Psalm 4:7b). If you know me you know that I love food and I love having people to our house to eat but even if the table were full of wonderful delights there would still be something missing without God.
The security of God, with all of its gladness and hope is the best thing that anything has to offer! To the point that, instead of having to watch over our shoulders day and night we can "lie down in peace and sleep" (Psalm 4:8) because we know that God is there, He is ours and we are His.