JOYFUL COMMUNION (DELIVERANCE FROM ONE’S FRIENDS)
#522 JOYFUL COMMUNION (DELIVERANCE FROM ONE’S FRIENDS)
Scripture: Psalm 4, NIV Orig. 12/13/61 (1/78)
Rewr. 4/14/87
Passage: Answer me when I call to you, my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer. How long will you people turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false Gods? Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him. Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. Offer the sacrifices of the righteous and trust in the Lord. Many, Lord, are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?” Let the light of your face shine on us. Fill my heart with joy when their grain and new wine abound. In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, let me dwell in safety.
Purpose: Continuing series from Psalms, here sharing David’s prayer asserting God’s gracious presence in his life.
Keywords: Communion Prayer Deliverance
Timeline/Series: Psalms
Introduction
A Keene, TX, woman by the name of Marie Crawford tells about a most disconcerting experience a few years ago when she was traveling in the Appalachian Mountains. She became suddenly, and seriously ill, and knew that she must immediately seek medical assistance. She was in the small town of Banner Elk, NC. Because she was with a tour, it was necessary for her friends to continue without her.
Being thus alone, she discovered that she would have to have surgery, and that it would not be wise to wait until family arrived. Being assured that the surgery was not life-threatening, she gave her consent.
In her room, after the surgery, and as the sedative began to wear off, her first conscious thought was that someone was in her room. Not knowing what to think, or who it could be, she struggled to clear her mind. When finally managing to get her eyes opened, she was shocked to see two strange mountain women in her room. She had never seen them before. Had no idea who they were. They were sitting side-by-side in rocking chairs. Both wore bonnets, and rocked with their hands folded in their laps.
She managed to get her wits together enough to speak. “I’m sorry, ladies, you must be in the wrong room,” she said.
The younger of the two women turned to Mrs. Crawford and replied, “Now, don’t you fret honey. We ain’t going to bother you one bit. Poor Papa died in this room, right in that bed, one year ago today. Me and Mama jus’ want to set here a spell and rock, and think about Papa.”
David is in need of a time and a place where he can feast on the Father’s presence. Thus, he speaks his heart.
I. We Must First Compare with the Prior Chapter. Both are called Psalms of David. Both bear the imprint of a man at prayer. There is a noteworthy difference in the object of his prayer. There may be a heading: Psalms 3, a Morning Prayer, and Psalms 4, an evening prayer. Chapter 3 you remember was a prayer seeking deliverance from his enemies. V5 “I laid down and slept; I awakened; for the Lord sustained me.” Chapter 4, however, is a prayer seeking deliverance from his friends. V8 “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep; for thou, Lord, only makest me to dwell in safety.”
Clearly, Psalm 4 is a Prayer Psalm. V1 “hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness.” It is a prayer of David, called so in the title. Neginoth means “stringed instruments.” Note Psalm 5—Nehiloth—flutes. The anxiety of a man on the run penetrates the 3rd Psalm. Adversity surrounds him as Absalom seeks the throne. Here is the prayer of a man pressed in, not by his enemies, but by his friends. Counselors may mis-advise him. Special interests may seek favors from him. He must be a man alert to God’s leading.
II. We Also Understand the Ground Upon which David Prays. He prays because God has dealt justly with him. V1 “thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress.” “Have mercy, hear, as you have before.” He comes to God without any claim to merit. During the time of Saul’s jealous rage with David (I Sam 18:14) “David behaved himself wisely and the Lord was with him.” He comes, because he is wise, asking to be heard, because God is merciful. V3 “The Lord will hear when I call unto him.”
III. As We have Learned the Ground of His Prayer, We Know Also the Subject of His Prayer. His so-called friends have confronted him with wrong choices. V2 “O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame?” Rom. 1:21f “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” They were men of prominent station. David points them to the One who is his keeper. “The Lord will hear” (v3), and who insists upon their recognition “stand in awe, commune, offer the sacrifices,” is his very good advice to them.
It defines a “set-apartness” that we must not overlook. The Christian shares this separateness.
II Corinthians 6:17 “Wherefore, come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord.” The conditions of relationship are not changed: wrong to capitulate to the world, wrong also to avoid contact, wrong to reflect haughtiness/
arrogance.
David points his friends to a conditional trust. The condition is that they stand in “awe” of God. RSV: “Be angry and sin not.” KJV “Stand in awe and sin not.” GNV “Tremble with fear and stop sinning.” Find a place where worldly thoughts will not distract from God’s presence: “upon your bed”/“still.” Alone with one’s own thoughts, at a place of their own choosing, where distractions are minimal.
IV. Having Found Such a Place, Offer the “Necessary Sacrifices to the Lord.” Ps. 27:6 “therefore will I offer in his tabernacle, sacrifices of joy.” Psalm 51:17 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite spirit.” Isaiah 1:11 “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices.” Hosea 6:6 “for I desire mercy and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” Micah 6:8 “What doth the Lord require?”
His prayer is that they may know as he knows. Doubt, skepticism abound. V6 “There be many that say, Who will show us any good?” Such negativism abounds today. What better do we have to reflect God’s presence than the joy of relationship? V6 “Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us”—not to see us but to see God within blessing. What David has is of far greater value than the best of what they have. V7 “Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.”
David had to share what those around him needed. V
8 “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.” Psalm 3:5 “I laid me down and slept; I awakened for the Lord sustained me.” Odee Parker’s “What do I pray for?” “Peace!”
Conclusion
Listen to a final admonition from Habakkuk: 3:17-18 “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet will I rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”