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<<To the chief Musician
on Neginoth, A Psalm of David.>> 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. {chief...: or,
overseer}{have...: or, be gracious unto me} 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. But know that
the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will
hear when I call unto him. Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with
your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. Offer the
sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD. There
be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift
thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. Thou hast put gladness
in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their
wine increased. I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for
thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety. (Psalms 4:1-8 AV)
The words in brackets {example} in the Psalm above are variants
to what the AV translators chose to render in the English language.
I find that in the permissible variants there are often key concepts
we miss if we fail to take the time to study each precious Word of
God to us. Many study Bibles will include these variants for you.
David speaks here of God having increased him during his time of
distress, or in the past tense, thus he praises God from the
mountain top, when he is feeling "his" righteousness, but
still note he fully realizes it is gracious of God to hear him.
Our Puritan forefathers understood grace like this. All of God’s
Word was of grace alone to them. They viewed the commandments of
God and all the rules we can find in the Bible not as a burden to
bear, but of grace. We speak often of grace, we sing of it no matter
where we be of the exclusive psalmist class or those who move to the
other extreme and use loud discordant music and so-called praise
choruses alone. Yet, can we view the fourth commandment for example,
as God’s grace, or is it a hindrance and drudgery to be so
restrained on our only day away from the work place?
The word leasing in verse two is interesting and not much used,
even in the older English. Many simply translate it as sin. The real
meaning I believe is closer to deceit or lie. We could read then
"How long will you pursue a lie, or How long will you seek to
deceive yourself?" I think we get closer to the heart of David
with this rendering of the Hebrew in question. We hear some speak of
men accepting the Word in their intellect, but not their heart.
Christ seems to speak of this in the parable of the sower when
speaking of those who gladly received the Word, but at the first
sign of adversity fall away.
In verse one we see David point to God as his righteousness. How
fantastic that we don’t live by our faith, but the faithfulness of
God toward us. I don’t depend upon the likes of myself, but
the awesome God of creation for my salvation. In Christ I am
righteous -- "Blessed is the man
unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there
is no guile" (Psalms 32:2 AV). "Even as David also
describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth
righteousness without works (Cf. Romans 4:6 AV). It is all, of
grace! If of grace and not earned, how dare we doubt and vainly
worry that we can lose what we did not earn to begin with. Since we
cannot pay the price for imputed sin, so we cannot earn imputed
righteousness -- all is by grace, and that of God lest any would
boast or rest upon his pride as if such could be inherited by any
less than the children of God Himself. While my purpose here is
more of meditation, prayer, and praise, I would point out here that
how we became sinners in Adam, is the same method whereby we became
righteous in Christ -- God is consistent! Thus we are guilty
by imputation through our "federal" representative, and
are declared righteous by our "Federal Representative" in
Christ. Does away with the often heathen argument about Christ being
born of Mary and the natural progression of sin to Him who was
sinless.
Verse three is a great and comforting truth, God has set us
apart for Himself, that is for His glory. As Moses so spoke to
God at Sinai, that God turn aside His wrath for the covenant’s
sake (Exodus 32:11-13) God will not desert nor destroy His chosen
people, for such would impugn His glory. As Paul explains how
the Gentile is grafted into this ancient tree he asks has God cast
away His people forever in a rhetorical question that he answers,
"God forbid." God is sovereign, God is righteous. How is
God righteous? Righteous means the complete obedience of the
current prevailing law. What law applies to God as the Sovereign
creator of all? His own law, for if He moves Himself above the law,
He is not sovereign, He is not God. What God reveals to us as law
in Scripture is but the reflection of the perfection of the same in
the economy of the eternal Godhead. Such words of promise then
are to encourage and lift us from the pits of the world, that with
David we can sing the praise of God in the light of His own
countenance (Vs. 6).
What is the sacrifices of righteousness commanded in verse five?
Is it any but the complete obedience to God’s law, which He sees
fit to perfectly keep Himself? Because the godly cannot do but what
is right, even when it appears to hurt their own temporal cause, and
the world looks on with pity and sees no hope, for the child of God,
hope is always near, for the Lord shall never forsake us. For this
reason Christ died, and it was He alone who could utter the awesome
words of the atonement, "My God why hast Thou forsaken
me?"
David speaks in verse seven of this hope as gladness in his
heart, given by God. A gladness that exceeds the mirth and
happiness of man apart from God even in the best of times. It is
thus in the sureness of the salvation we have in Christ, from the
pit of hell itself we can sing God’s praises. As the Children of
Daniel’s book, we may walk through the heat of the furnace, but
cooled by the grace of God, not even the odor of the smoke shall
cling to him who is without deceit, he who in the words of the Bible
is without guile, that is no ulterior motive, but to glorify his
Savior. Paul speaks of such times as being not drunken on the wine
of men, but high on the Holy Spirit.
What night terror stalks you in the midst of the noon day sun?
Rest child, for the captain of the heavenly host stands by your
side. Sleep well child of God, for your safety is in the Lord. In
grace God gives safety in the midst of the storm. As Christ calmed a
contrary sea, so He is able to calm the storms of life, and give you
rest.
We all acknowledge these truths from the height of God’s glory,
can we sing them from the foot of the oppressor of life, even from
the pitfalls of hell through which we must pass during our sojourn
in this veil of tears? To this end it is written the truth shall set
you free (John 8:32) and "For ye have
not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have
received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father"
(Romans 8:15 AV).
I choose to render the word "Selah" as division or
pause. So as you come to this word in verses two and four, pause and
let the words of David bathe you in the warmth and comfort of the
God who loved you from before the womb, and will stand with you
until the end of the age. Where man sees failure and despair, where
man cries hopeless, God’s elect sing of joy and that without
boundary because they have His eternal Word within their hearts. Can
it be that the fullness of the Godhead is not in each heart, for our
God is one, and He has shed His love abroad in our hearts by the
Holy Spirit who is given unto us?
By: Dr. Chuck Baynard
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