Psalms 4

 Psalms 4:1 says,To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm of David. There is an introductory instruction, then verse one begins, Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.  David calls on God, whom he calls the God of his righteousness, to hear him.   He said God had enlarged Him, or made him greater than he was on his own when he was in times of distress.  If God is to help us in times of distress, He must be our God personally.  Verse two adds, O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah.  God asked how long people would turn His glory into vanity.  Anytime we deny, doubt, or misuse the word of God, we are making it a vanity, or nothing.  Verse three declares, But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him.  David said that God had set apart to Himself those that were godly, those that put their faith in Him, and that He would hear them when they called to Him, just as He heard David when He called.  God will always hear His people, those who follow Christ by faith, when they call out to Him.  Verse four adds, Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.  David may have been a great King, but he told people to stand in awe of God and to commune with Him even while they were in bed.  We should never lose our awe of God nor have times when we do not commune with Him.  Verse five states, Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.  David said our faith should lead to action.  We should offer sacrifices to God and put our faith in Him.  When we become followers of Jesus Christ, we sacrifice all that we have to Him and there should never be a time when our faith in Him falters.  Verse six says, There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.  David said many people would ask who would show them any good and would call on God to shine the light of righteousness on them.  Though the people of the world may never show any goodness to Christians, God has already shined the light of righteousness on us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.  We simply have to accept His sacrifice to live in His light.  Verse seven declares, Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.  David said God had put gladness in his heart more than material blessings did.  We need to have that same gladness of heart today because of our relationship with Jesus Christ.  Verse eight adds, I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.  Even though he was often under attack, David said because of  his faith in God that he could sleep in peace.  As followers of Christ, we should be able to sleep without worry today.  God is still in charge and our victory through our faith in Jesus Christ is already assured.