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6 How to Have a Peaceful Heart - Psalm 4 1-8
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Transcript of 6 How to Have a Peaceful Heart - Psalm 4 1-8
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A MANUAL FOR THE CHRISTIAN LIFE #6
HOW TO HAVE
A PEACEFUL HEART
DATE: 2/28/2010 pm
READ TEXT: Psalm 4:1-8
INTRODUCTION:
I want to preach to you about How you can have a PeacefulHeart when you go through the storms of life
In v. 8 of our text David said - I will both lay me down in
peace and sleep
As we shall see, David was going through a storm, but in that
storm he had a Peaceful Heart
The word peaceis the Hebrew word shalom
Shalom was a common greeting and farewell among theJewish people
As a greeting it was a way of asking how one was doing
Today we say - How you been?
The Jew would say - Shalom
An example is found in Genesis 29:6
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Jacob asked about Laban - Is he well?
The word wellis shalom
Jacob was asking - Is he at peace?
Joseph said to his brethren when they were brought before
him
Peace be unto youin Genesis 42:23
In the Hebrew he greeted them - Shalom
As a farewell, one was saying - Peace be unto you
We would say - You take care
When David spoke of laying down in peace he was obviously
speaking of more than a greeting or a farewell
He was speaking of the Condition of his Heart
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia defines the
meaning ofPeace as
a condition of freedom from disturbance, whether
outwardly, as of a nation from war or enemies, or
inwardly, within the soul
This is what David is talking about
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An inward freedom from outward disturbance and distress
How can we have the Peace like David experienced in hisstorms?
Lets try to answer that question as we turn another page in the
Instruction Manual for the Christian Life
Lets look at Psalm 4 and learn -
How to have a Peaceful Heart
~~~OPENING PRAYER~~~
The situation that David was in -
I. WHAT WAS DAVID FACING?
In v.1 David prays - 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
Look at the phrase when I was in distress
David references a time of great duress in his life
The word distressmeans pressed into a corner, in a
tight place
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We might say between a rock and a hard place
That word is at other times translated afflictionand
trouble
David is speaking of a time when he found himself
hemmed in by Trouble and Affliction
The word is used a lot in relation to an enemy oradversary
David is speaking of Distress that had been brought on by
the Attitudes and Actions of others
There were those that were giving David a hard time
They pressed him into a corner or tight place
The troubles in his life had been caused by others
As we look closer at the Psalm we see these Actions andAttitudes explained
First, notice:
A.What Others Were Showing
People always reveal their motives by their actions
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He says in v. 2 - 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
The word selahis like our musical rest, which is an
interval of silence in a piece of music, marked by a sign
indicating the length of the pause
David is speaking to those who have caused distress in his
life
He telling them to stop and think very carefully about what
he has just said
What is it that he is asking them to carefully think about?
He speaks of three things they have done
First - he says they had turned his glory into shame
The phrase sons of menspeak of Leadership, people of
Rank
The background to this Psalm is when these leaders had
been seduced by Absalom and with Absalom had led thepeople astray
They had caused the people to turn against David and
make Absalom king
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It was God who had appointed David as king
But the people had been led astray and made Absalom
king instead
David knew that He had no glory of his own, but God
had given him that glory
He knew that God had made him king
Yet the people had shown their rejection of both him and
God by making Absalom king
Warren Wiersbe said - The people werent justdeposing a king; they were fighting against the Lord who
had placed David on the throne
It was Gods Glory the people had turned into Shame
Secondly - David speaks of how the people love vanity
The word vanity speaks of that which was
worthless or empty
What these people wanted, loved, and were following
was Empty and Worthless
Thirdly - David speaks of how the people seek after
leasing
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The word leasingspeaks of that which is deceitful
or untrue
The people were not only following vain things
But also believing lies
And as a result, were following something deceitful
In short, David is talking about the distress that had beenbrought on because others had led many of the people
astray
And now Gods Divine Purpose and Will had been
thwarted
That is why he asked these leaders
O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into
shame?
That is why he asked those who had been led astray
How long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing?
Application: What David is speaking about I have seentime and time again throughout the years
Most of the trouble in a Church follows the same pattern
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I have seen someone get upset about some matter and they
began working on other people to think like them in order
to side with them
For some strange reason the lies are easier to accept
The result is people believe what they are told
They then began to follow the lies they have been told
Not realizing that they are actually being led astray
II Samuel 15 tells us whats going on
It started with Absalom who was on a campaign to be
king
He would catch people who were on the way to see the
king
He would tell them that if he were king he would make
sure things were done right
I can hear him saying - If I were king, we would do
things differently. We would do them like they ought to
be done
It funny how everybody knows your jobs better then
you do
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II Samuel 15:5 says
And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him todo him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him,
and kissed him.
In short, he buddied up to the people and laid it on thick
The Bible speaks of Absalom as a handsome manwhose charms were hard to resist
Slowly and gradually he built him a following that led
to the disposal of Gods anointed king
You know how it works
They start calling you and acting like youre their best
friend
When in reality, they rarely ever called you before
But now they have an agenda and youre a part of that
agenda
They subtly began to tell you their story
Working to get you to agree with them
And eventually to side with them
And become a part of their plan
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It happens all the time in Churches
What most people fail to realize
And David understood is that
Their behavior showed their rejection of not just David
But God as well!
Thats why David added the selahat the end of his
words
Hes saying - You need to stop and think about what
they are doing and what they are causing you to do
To follow the disobedient is to become disobedient
And there are consequences for both
For some reason the lie is easier to believe than thetruth
And unfortunately, good people are pulled in by those
with a selfish sinful- motive
What these people were Showing had caused great
distress in Davids life
He also describes:
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B.What Others Were Saying
In v.6a he explains what the people were saying:
There be many that say, Who will shew us any good?
David was well aware of the Grumbling and Complaining
of the people
He knew what they were thinking and what they weresaying among themselves
The phrase - Who will shew us any good?means
O that we might see some good
In other words
We would like to see things different
We would like to see things done differently
They were saying
We want it to be like it used to be and do it like it used to
be done
II Corinthians 10:12 For we dare not make ourselves
of the number, or compare ourselves with some that
commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by
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themselves, and comparing themselves among
themselves, are not wise
I have heard people talk about the good old days, how itused to be
You know what they say about the good old days
The good old days are a combination of a bad
memory and a good imagination
In their thinking, ifit was different, it would be good
Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to
have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting
those things which are behind, and reaching forth
unto those things which are before
However, the question should be asked, how would it be
good?
Would what they wanted and called good, glorify God?
Would it really be to their benefit or would it merely let
them have their own way?
What some call good is really not whats best
David expressed the goodhe wanted v.6b
He wanted the Glory of Gods smile upon them
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Thats what he meant when he said
LORD, lift Thou up the light of Thy countenance uponus
That was not what they people were thinking about when
they said
Who will shew us any good?
This good was having it their way
Rather than God having His way
The tense of the verb indicates that this statement was
repeated again and again by those who were complaining
The more they complained, the more others took up with
them
What started with a few - soon became many(v. 6)
Like a growing cancer, the Discontent and Complaining of
the people spread until there was widespread infection
This story can be told over and over again
It is how most problems get started in a Church
There is usually a few that are Disgruntled and Unhappy
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And they go around saying - Who will shew us any
good?
The more they do; others began to join in with them
Things havent changed since Davids time
David confesses that the Actions and Attitudes of the
people had at one point caused him much distress
This is WHAT DAVID WAS FACING
But notice also:
II. WHAT DAVID WAS FEELING
You will notice in v.1 that he testifies:
Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress
His distress had been like being in a tight place
But God had brought him into an enlargedplace
The word enlargedmeans wide, open
Distress is like a narrow pit
But we do not have to stay there
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David said in v.7
Thou hast put gladness in my heart
David was in a Distressful Situation
But yet - his heart was filled with Gladness
Why was it that David was feeling this way?
First, notice:
A.The Experience of His Gladness
What David was going through was enough to depress
anyone
But instead, David was filled with Gladness
How could David feel the way he was feeling when he
was going through what he was going through?
See, Davids happiness was not based on what was
happening to him
Instead it was based on his relationship with God!!
The joy and happiness he was experiencing was a joy and
happiness that God had given
In v.1 we see that David had turned to the Lord in his
Distressful time
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He prays
Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness
have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer
David is very much aware that He doesnt deserve
anything from God
That is why he asks for Gods mercy
I love the way He addresses the Lord
He addresses his prayer to the -
God of my righteousness
He knew that he had no righteousness of his own
That his righteousness was of God
Because of his relationship to God
He knew that God cared for him
And therefore He cried out to God for help
God lifted him from the narrow place of Sadness to a
large place of Gladness
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Outwardly, everything was Bleak, but inwardly David
Experienced joy
Furthermore, notice:
B.The Extent of His Gladness
Notice v.7 again:
Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the
time that their corn and their wine increased
He makes mention of the harvest which was always a
celebrated time in Israel
It was always a time of great demonstrations of joy by the
Jewish people
However, the gladness he felt in his heart exceeded that
joyful occasions
The word gladnessis often translated rejoice or
rejoicing
Instead of being Discouraged, he was Rejoicing
From an earthly perspective, he had nothing to be glad
about
Yet, David had something the world didnt have
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He had a joy that only comes from the Lord
You may ask, is it really possible to have such a joy inthe distressing times of life?
I say, Yes
You can have a heart filled with gladness even in thedistressful times of life
WHAT DAVID WAS FACING
WHAT DAVID WAS FEELING
Lastly, notice with me:
III. WHAT DAVID WAS FINDING
David had more than Gladness in his heart
He says in v.8 -
I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou,
LORD, only makest me dwell in safety
He had found a peace that enabled him to be free fromeverything and anything that normally would disturb a
person
The Apostle Paul described it this way:
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And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,
shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ
It is a peace that transcends all understanding
One can be sailing troubled waters, yet be calm
One can be going through a dark time, yet not be filled
with fear or worry
That was what David was experiencing in his dark hour
He could lie down at night and sleep like a baby because of
the peace he had found
The question is, how can we have such a peace?
In CLOSING let me point out three things that David tells
us to do
First, he tells us:
A.Dont Let Your Situations Distract You
He says in v.4 - Stand in awe
The word aweliterally means to tremble
It speaks of having a fear and reverence for God
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When one fears God, they have no reason to fear anyone
or anything else
David is telling us to keep our eyes on the Lord
Dont let what others are doing consume your thoughts
Let your faith be in God
Keep your eyes on Him!
If you dwell on your situation it will fill your heart with
fear
But if you keep your eyes on the Lord, fear Him, stand in
awe of Him, there will be nothing or no one to fear
Secondly, David tells us:
B. Dont Let Your Situations Defile You
It is easy to let what others do cause you to react in a
negative way
Instead, David tells us to make sure we keep our heart
clean
He says in v.4 to sin not
Dont let your heart become filled with anger, bitterness,
and revenge
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A heart that is filled with anger will not be filled with
peace
He also says in v.4 - commune with your own heartupon your bed, and be still
He is telling us to Search and Examine our hearts
Make sure there is nothing there that would keep us from
having a peaceful heart
Thirdly, he tells us:
C. Dont Let Your Situations Defeat You
He says in v.5 - Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,
and put your trust in the LORD
David tells us that no matter what others are doing or
what others are saying
You keep on serving God and trusting Him
Dont let your situation cause you to quit serving God
Dont let it defeat you
You honor God no matter what is happening in your life
Trust God that He will take care of you
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If you will not let your situation Distract, Defile, and
Defeat you, God will give you a peaceful heart
You can be like David
When life has fallen to pieces, you can know a peace that
passes all understanding
I would remind you, you cannot have the peace of God
until you know the God of peace
Do you know Him?
We can have a Peaceful Heart even when we go through the
storms of life