Journal

Psalm 4 - There is room for our distress

Posted on November 26th, 2005, in the afternoon

I've been reading and meditating on Psalm 4 this week as part of my series on Worshipping with the Psalms.

Psalm 4, again attributed to David, continues the theme of God's faithfulness in times of trouble. While Psalm 3 talks of God upholding David in the face of his enemies, Psalm 4 is about honouring God in those times. It's a very practical psalm.

Several voices speak in the text: in verse 1 David asks that the Lord would hear; verse 2 is God questioning his people; verse 3 is David replying to the people's implicit criticism; verse 4 may still be David or perhaps God encouraging the people to faithfulness; verse 5 is David to the people; verse 6 is David reporting the people's cry to God; the conclusion in verses 7 and 8 is David's devotion to God.

The first thing to note from the psalm is simply the fact that we can be wholehearted worshippers of God even in our troubles. There is a profound line in the first verse: one that mostly seems to be interpreted in translation, but the NRSV preserves it and the NASB mentions it as the literal translation in a marginal note:

You gave me room when I was in distress.

Psalm 4.1, NRSV

Worshippers will have distress, but there is space for our distress in the heart of God and in his worship.

I've often heard people begin a time of sung worship with an exhortation along the lines of "let's leave our problems and worship God." (I may have done it myself, and I've certainly led songs to that effect.) There is something in that. We sometimes hold on to things as 'problems' that are a self-indulgent waste of our time and energy. I think there is also something about a gathered worship meeting (as opposed to the worship of our lives) that may make this the appropriate way to lead. This psalm is clearly not promoting distress, and there are times when a gathered worship meeting can remind us to get over ourselves.

(Actually, it seems that people with real troubles are often less likely to feel unable to worship than people indulging themselves in their 'problems'. The honesty and selflessness of worship are the opposite of clenched self-indulgence, so it's hard to hold on to things and to be worshipping.)

But there are obviously kinds of distress that aren't self-indulgence, and finding ourselves in the midst of that kind of trouble does not disqualify us from worship.

So how do we worship in those times?

David criticises those who make lots of spiritual-sounding noise, complaining O that we might see some good!. That attiutude is simply a lack of trust, and I think is what David refers to as sin in verse 4. There's an arrogance in that attitude, and self-pity, as if pulling God up for not doing his job properly.

Here is the counsel of Psalm 4:

When you are disturbed, do not sin;
ponder it on your beds, and be silent. (Selah)
Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord.

Psalm 4.4-5, NRSV

Worship, in this psalm, is trusting obedience.