Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we give you thanks that the word that you have sent out from your mouth will not return to empty, but will accomplish your purpose. It will succeed according to your intention. And so we pray that your word would be planted deeply in the soil of our hearts tonight. May it spring up, may it bear good fruit in our lives. All for your glory, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Please open your Bibles as we're looking at Psalm 4 tonight. You'll find that in the Pew Bibles, page 448. Psalm 4, here now, this is the holy, infallible word of God. To the choir master with stringed instruments, a psalm of David. Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness. You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer. O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah. But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself. The Lord hears when I call to him. Be angry and do not sin. Ponder in your own hearts, on your beds, and be silent. Selah. Offer right sacrifices and put your trust in the Lord. There are many who say, who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, oh Lord. You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. In peace, I will both lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. The words are still burned into my memory. En paz, me acuesto y me duermo, porque Solo tu, Señor, me haces vivir confiado. I'm not speaking to you in tongues. These are the Spanish words from Psalm 48, some of the first Spanish words I learned, praying them nightly with my host family when I first arrived in Mexico. In peace, I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, oh Lord, make me dwell in safely. What beautiful words of confidence and rest. And yet, these peaceful words emerge from a context of intense conflict and distress. This evening psalm pairs with Psalm 3, what we looked at last time, both showing David hemmed in by opposition. In Psalm 3, we saw him wake up with confidence. Here, we find him preparing for rest while surrounded by enemies. The journey from morning to evening, from rising to rest, it teaches us a profound lesson about finding our peace in the midst of turmoil. So here's the question. How does David move from distress to peaceful rest? More importantly, how can we follow this path ourselves? And crucially, how does David's journey as king point us to our greater king, the Lord Jesus Christ, who perfectly embodied this trust in the Father, even in his darkest hours? The psalm unfolds in three movements that trace this path from anxiety to peace. First we hear David's urgent cry to the God of his righteousness, verse one. Then his bold confrontation with those who oppose him, calling them to worship the Lord, to trust in him, verses two to five. And then finally, his declaration of confident trust leading to his perfect peace in verses six to eight. Now, through this progression, we'll discover, we'll see what the Psalm is teaching, that peace doesn't depend on favorable circumstances. Our circumstances are ever-shifting sand. True peace comes from our trust in the unshakable foundation of our God. Just as David found rest in the midst of turmoil, as Christ demonstrated perfect trust even unto death, we too can find, we can walk this path from distress to rest as we trust in the Lord. Let's begin with David's opening address as he cries out in righteousness. Answer me when I call. These opening words, when you really read them, when you really consider them, these opening words of David might shock us. This is a command directed towards the Lord. Who is David? A mere mortal to make demands of the infinite, all-powerful Creator. Yet there's no hesitation in his voice, no trembling in his approach as he calls the Lord to answer him. Why? Because he addresses God as, oh God of my righteousness. Notice carefully, David is not merely saying, oh righteous God. Of course, he is the righteous God. David knows that. But here he's saying something far more profound. He calls him God, the God of my righteousness. This is covenant language, this is gospel language. David is declaring that his righteousness comes not from himself, but is something he has received as a gift from God. Think of Abraham, who believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. David is following in his footsteps, the same footsteps of faith. He understands this as he writes in Psalm 32, blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity. This is why David can approach God with such boldness, because he comes not in his own merit, but clothed in a righteousness gifted to him by God. As John Fesco beautifully puts it, David knows that the Lord is his righteousness. The Lord has graciously forgiven him of his sins and imputed the righteousness of the coming Messiah to him. That's why he comes with such confidence, with such boldness. And look at the structure at verse one. It begins with this bold call for God to answer. It ends with a plea for the Lord to hear his prayer, but sandwiched between is this remarkable statement. You have given me relief when I was in distress. The Hebrew here paints a vivid picture. The word for distress, it's a picture of being hemmed in, squeezed between a rock and a hard place, barely able to breathe. Have you felt that kind of pressure, That suffocating feeling of being trapped. That David testifies, the Lord delivered him. He brought him out into a wide open place. That's the picture here. Now, this opening verse, it's the foundation of everything else in the psalm. Before David confronts his opponents, before he finds peace in the night, he first establishes who he's speaking to. his standing between, before the God who is his righteousness. This is why he can come with boldness. And the same is true for us. Our confidence in prayer, our ability to face opposition, our path to peace, all flow from this one truth. In Christ, God has become the God of our righteousness. Then as we come to verse two, David turns to confront his opponents. Oh men, how long shall my honor be turned to shame? With these words, David is not confronting strangers, but men of rank within his own court, his closest confidants, his advisors who are now undermining and attacking him. This betrayal cuts deep precisely because it's coming from those whom he trusted. Though we don't know the exact situation, we don't have any details in the heading at the top, we can get some hints from the text. For example, in verse seven, David speaks of their joy when grain and wine abound. And so some speculate perhaps they are attacking him during a season of famine, pointing accusing fingers at their king, saying, this is your fault. We are suffering because you are doing something wrong. And we don't know that for sure. Exactly why he's come under attack, whatever the circumstance, David is facing relentless opposition. But listen to his rebuke. How long shall my honor be Turn to shame, but this cry of how long, it reveals two crucial things. First, this persecution has been ongoing, it's been lasting for some time, but second, and this is vital, it also implies it cannot last forever. These opponents have wielded empty words, vain words, They're seeking after lies, they're seeking to turn David's glory to shame through their deceitful speech. Here we see the heart of worldly opposition to the Lord's anointed king. And then we see the Hebrew word selah appears here at the end of the verse. I didn't remark on this in the last psalm, but this is, as far as we know, a pause for reflection. perhaps even a musical interlude. So it's saying stop, reflect, pause. And indeed we should pause to consider that God's word is remarkable. There are always more depths as we meditate upon it. But then we see verse three. After his rebuke, here comes his exhortation. but know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself. The Lord hears when I call to him. Here's what you wicked have forgotten. Even as David speaks of himself as the godly here, what is he saying? The godly isn't someone who's worked up their own righteousness through law keeping. Remember what we saw in verse one? Rather, this is someone who has received God's grace, who stands as a beneficiary of God's covenant faithfulness. Yes, when God shows his grace, this produces a life of grateful response, but fundamentally, what do we know? God is the one who makes the godly godly. Yes, we respond to his grace. But he is the one who calls us to himself. But David's exhortation, his words to his opponents here, they are provocative. When he says, the Lord has set apart the godly for himself, he is saying, we belong to God. He has set us apart. He is our protector. And then when he says, he hears when I call, he's also He's got a warning. God will not hear those who oppose his chosen ones. Watch out when you gang up on someone who appears weak. They have a far stronger protector than you could ever imagine. This points us forward to Christ. He is the ultimate rejected king. who would face not just the whispers of the courtiers, but the hatred of all those surrounded him. As he warned us, if the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you. A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. John 15, yet through his perfect trust in the Father, even as he faced death himself, Christ showed us the path through opposition. But how should we respond when facing such opposition? David's next words are still directed at his opponents, but they're also counsel for his own heart. Their counsel that give wisdom to us, crucial guidance for handling the anger that will naturally arise when we're under attack. Verse four, be angry and do not sin. Ponder in your own hearts on your beds and be silent. These are significant words, you know them as they're directly quoted in Ephesians 4, 26. Now David uses the imperative, be angry. He's not telling us we should be angry more often, he's really prescribing what do we do when anger arises in our hearts? Now his opponents have let their anger lead them into sin. And that's where anger typically leads us as well, is it not? As James reflects, let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Now that's the general principle, it generally does not. But here David prescribes a different path. Be angry and do not sin. And then, where do you go next? First, he says, ponder in your own hearts, on your beds, and be silent. He's like a parent saying to an angry child, stop and breathe. Think hard before you do anything rash. Anger's like an energy that wants you to spring into action. David calls us to sit in stillness, let our anger subside in silence. After another Selah, an appropriate pause for meditation, comes step two. Still dealing with our anger, still dealing with that pent-up energy. Offer right sacrifices and put your trust in the Lord. Now, David, of course, he follows his own advice. Offer right sacrifices. Put your trust in a substitute, in the death of a substitute. Now, what's implied here is profound. Your true problem, your deepest problem, isn't out there. Whatever you're angry about, he's not saying that's not a problem. But here's what you need to worry about more than anything. You've gotta deal with your own sin first. You've gotta be made right with God. Before you go in your anger to deal with the specks in others' eyes, deal with a plank jutting out of your own. And as we draw near to the Lord in true worship, he reorients our priorities, he speaks to the troubles roiling our hearts. This doesn't mean that a worship service will right all the world's wrongs. Perhaps there is an injustice that needs addressing. Perhaps there is a conflict that requires resolution. But the difference lies in our hearts, especially in these final words, put your trust in the Lord. How the greater the problem is, whatever that problem is that's causing your anger, the greater it is, the more angry you are, the less likely it is that there's some simple solution that you're going to accomplish by hastily dealing with it in your anger. Even Christ, who had every right to be angry at the injustice he faced, he showed us this path of going to the Lord, putting his trust in the Lord. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to the one who judges justly, 1 Peter 2.23. Our Savior, he suffered the greatest injustice imaginable. Do you think it didn't stir up emotion in his heart? Christ perfectly embodied what it means to be angry yet without sin, always putting his trust in the Father alone. This leads us to our final point. Our David shows us how this path of trust in the Lord, even through anger and opposition, it leads us ultimately to perfect peace. There's a striking contrast in verse six. David quotes his opponents. There are many who say, who will show us some good? These people, they look at the world all around them with deep dissatisfaction. Perhaps it's this famine situation that I mentioned earlier. Or maybe they're like Solomon at some point in Ecclesiastes. They're sated with everything good that this world offers, and yet still they can find no enjoyment in it. Either way, they want good things, they want enjoyment and satisfaction, but It seems they have no intention of looking to or submitting to the Lord who is the source of every good and perfect gift. What does David say? Where does he look? Where does good come from for him? I note here I'm not following the quotation marks in the ESV. David says, Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord. This is a quotation, a near quotation, of the Aaronic Blessing of number 626. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. David is declaring, this is where my good comes from, from the blessing of the Lord's presence, from the shining of his face upon me in delight. And so I can say, you have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. Here's the comparison. It's easy to have joy in seasons of abundance, when you don't really have to even rely on the Lord. Even the godless, they can be happy then. But their happiness, it ebbs and flows like waves. It's entirely dependent on external circumstances. Yet David, despite the lack of plenty, despite being under attack, he still finds his joy. What's his secret? What is he saying here? You put joy in my heart. The Lord himself is the source of his joy. His joy doesn't depend on outward circumstances or temporal blessings. It flows from his relationship from the Lord, from the security of knowing his love. And that brings us to the conclusion of the psalm, to the profound peace of the final verse. In peace I will both lie down and sleep. For you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. One commentator calls this an exquisite expression of absolute confidence. He notes that the rhythm in the original Hebrew is as reposeful as the thought. As Spurgeon beautifully puts it, they slumber sweetly whom faith rocks to sleep. no pillow so soft as a promise, no coverlet so warm as an assured interest in Christ. Now, what is the source of this peace? Yes, in general, it is the Lord, but most profoundly, it is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one who perfectly prayed this prayer. He is the one who trusted his Father, who granted him peace, Even as he laid down, and here I'm not talking about just laying down for physical sleep, but he laid down his life for us. Through death itself, he trusted his father to provide perfect safety. And because of Christ's perfect righteousness, his perfect trust, his perfect sleep in death for you, through him, you now have been reconciled to God. You have peace with God. And that's why in Christ you can rest in peace. Yes, rest when you lie down to sleep. Christ soothes our fears. It's the fears and anxieties that keep us from falling asleep. And we cast our cares upon him. But not just talking about physical sleep. We rest in Christ even when our life comes to its end. As Jesus promised, peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. Christ is our peace. As Calvin reflects, to be free from all fear and from the torment and vexation of care is a blessing to be desired above all other things. And how do we find this blessing? It's only, only through trusting in Christ. With our hope anchored firmly in Christ who sits at the right hand of Father, we can rejoice knowing that one day we will behold the face of God in the face of Christ himself. And that's what gives us the security, that's what gives us the peace to rest each night. And so, we started this evening with that question. How do we walk with our king on the path from distress to rest? Consider the anxieties, consider the pressures, consider the conflicts that you are facing today. How do you move from anxiety to rest? First, cry out to him in righteousness. Not in our own merit, that will never suffice, but clothed in Christ's perfect righteousness. Come boldly to the throne of grace through your mediator. You can go to him. He hears you, not because of who you are, but because of his beloved son. Second, whatever the opposition, whatever the trial, we face it his way. When others turn our honor to shame, remember Christ who endured such hostility He said, the world will hate us, but instead of retaliating, we trust the Father who vindicated Christ. We trust that we belong to him. He will protect us. He will care for us. Third, we've seen how to handle anger as Christ did. Be angry, but do not sin. As Christ demonstrated perfect righteous anger, entrusting his father, entrusting himself to him who judges justly. And finally, we rest in his peace. Our ultimate peace comes not from our circumstances, but from our union with Christ. It's secured because Christ has gone through death and has risen for us. That's how our hope is anchored in Christ. Just as David found peace in the midst of turmoil, just as Christ entrusted himself to the Father even in death, we too can walk this path from distress to rest. In Christ, all our anxieties are met by his great and precious promises. And so, look not to your circumstances they are ever shifting, but in the unchanging love of our Savior who fulfills this psalms. And so, when you lie down tonight, perhaps you will recite this psalm, that look most of all to the one who fulfills this, and rest and trust on the solid rock of your Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Shall we pray? Our Heavenly Father, we give you thanks this evening. As we look at David, as we see the way that he was surrounded and hemmed in by opponents on every side, that he cried out to you and we likewise cry out to you in all our trials, in all our anxieties, and we put our trust in you, our great God, who has given us the very righteousness of Christ. We thank you for Christ's work on our behalf. We thank you not only for his example, but most of all for the salvation that he has accomplished once and for all. We pray, Father, that you would root us ever deeper in him that you would deepen our trust and that you would fill us with that perfect peace as we rest on this firm foundation. We pray, Lord, that we would know this peace and that we would be evermore growing in this trust as we look to Jesus Christ, our great King. It's in his name we pray, amen.