Meditation 267
Psalm 4
In this psalm the psalmist seems to be having an internal conversation in which he is pouring out his distress to God, giving snappy retorts to those who harass him, and reminding himself of the goodness of God. It seems that he has been tormented for following the one true God and that he is pouring out his distress to God. At the same time he is also venting against those people who do not believe that the God of the covenant is superior to the gods of the land where the psalmist is living. In the day this psalm was written there were fertility gods of the land that had been worshiped for generations. They were to be appeased by offering sacrifices, if the gods were happy there would be a good harvest, if the gods were vexed then there could be famine and drought. The psalmist knows that God is not fickle in this way.
As the psalmist begins his questioning he knows that God has given him room. (verse1) “The Psalmist is acknowledging the Lord’s willingness not to micromanage, to give him room to question, to let him work out the insecurities surrounding his belief.” (Shaunna Hannon. Working Preacher) Out of the depths of worry and confusion the psalmist is confident that he can talk to God, that God who is faithful will hear his prayer, that God is truthful and that God will put gladness in his heart. The psalmist is confident that he may bring his questions to God, he is also confident that when other people disrespect him for following God, that he will have a good answer to all of their doubts and taunts.
The psalmist begins by saying that he is in distress. We have all known what that is like, whether our distress if from grief, from disappointment or from the way others can frustrate us. We have been where the psalmist is at the beginning of Psalm 4. As the Psalmist voices his distress, he remembers by the time he gets to verse 3 that “the Lord has set apart he faithful” and “the Lord hears when I call.” By the time we get to verse 7 the psalmist knows that the Lord will put more gladness in his heart than when the grain and wine abound. The psalmist lived in an agricultural society and an abundant harvest would be a time of great rejoicing. Even the great rejoicing of an abundant harvest pales beside the light of the Lord’s face.
It seems that the psalmist is being pushed to give an account of why he believes in God, why he worships God rather than gods and when he is pushed for an answer it is the character of God and God’s past actions that give the psalmist content for an answer. There are times the psalmist is full of questions, but when he lies down and calls to mind all that God had done, he is able to sleep in peace. We can take the psalmist as an example. Our questions and frustrations can be brought to God who will give us room to pace and question and rant if needed. If there are those who question our faith stance, what will the answers be that we give? I know of some women in congregations where I have served who have been the ones in their family who have been faithful in worshiping God. Their siblings upon reaching adulthood left this part of their lives behind, and would suggest that the faithful one would think of herself as better than they. Such comments can be hurtful taunts. Usually the answer is a gentle statement of what she finds in worship rather than giving as good as have been given. Knowing God well allowed these women to give an answer to those who were disrespectful. When the light of the Lord’s face shines on us, we are able to reflect that light.