Latest / Faith by annm2705 / 918. Bible Study: Psalm 4 (Evening Prayer? Search the heart, Seek God's mercy, God - please hear me, I trust in You)

Transcript

918. Bible Study: Psalm 4 (Evening Prayer? Search the heart, Seek God's mercy, God - please hear me, I trust in You) · Faith by annm2705

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  Psalm 4 from the book of Psalms. First, let's pray.
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  Dear Lord, please speak to us through the Psalms that David
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  expresses. Here we ask that we have wisdom
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  and understanding in Jesus name. Amen.
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  So this Psalm is pretty short and I really don't have a lot to
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  add to it after reading it. But the study Bible has some
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  things that I will read first. There's something that covered
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  was covered in chapter 3 in the study Bible, but I didn't read
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  it because it was on the next page.
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  But it's about what are the different kinds of Psalms.
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  It says there are many ways to categorize the psalms.
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  Some focus on content like trouble, trust, praise, prayer,
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  joy, repentance. Others emphasize the use of the
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  psalms like public ceremonies, private prayers.
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  Still others analyze style and technique.
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  Some general categories include the following #1 hymns of
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  praise. Many psalms were used in temple
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  worship, and some even include directions for the song leader.
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  Many are still used today as the basis for hymns and praise
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  choruses #2 complaints. Life is tough and many of the
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  psalms reflect that. People turn to the psalms in
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  times of distress because the psalms are honest and meet them
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  right where they are #3 royal or messianic.
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  Many psalms revolved around the king and were intended to be
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  used for public occasions in the life of the nation of Israel.
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  Early Christian teachers, however, recognized that these
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  psalms contain prophetic allusions to Jesus Christ, the
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  King of Kings, and #4 occasional referred to as Songs of ascent.
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  These psalms were so named because they were sung by
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  Israelite pilgrims as they went up to Jerusalem for the annual
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  festivals. There were psalms for other
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  special occasions as well #5 Wisdom.
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  A few psalms illustrate the difference between human Foley
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  and godly wisdom, between sinful and righteous behavior.
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  Other categories could also be listed.
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  Historical penitential curses and creation.
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  So there's quite an there's expressions of people like as it
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  said in the very beginning of the book, it was saying these
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  are about people's emotions and how they're dealing.
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  But it's interesting that the study Bible actually does say
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  that these are, you know, some of them contained prophetic
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  allusions to Jesus Christ, which we are finding already in the
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  very few first Psalms that we read.
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  OK, so Psalm 4 is what we'll read today.
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  So I'll I'll begin reading that and then go through just a few
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  questions and answers from the study Bible.
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  This is for the director of music with stringed instruments,
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  a Psalm of David. Answer me when I call to you, my
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  righteous God, give me relief from my distress.
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  Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
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  How long will you turn? Will you people turn my glory
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  into shame? How long will you love delusions
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  and seek false gods? Know that the Lord has set apart
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  his faithful servant for himself.
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  The Lord hears when I call to him.
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  Tremble and do not sin. When you are on your beds,
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  search your hearts and be silent.
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  Offer the sacrifices of the righteous and trust in the Lord.
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  Many Lord are asking, who will bring us prosperity?
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  Let the light of your face shine on us.
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  Fill my heart with joy when their grain and new wine abound
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  in peace. I will lie down and sleep for
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  you alone. Lord, make me dwell in safety.
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  And that ends the Psalm. So here's a few of the questions
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  and answers. Is God required to answer our
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  prayers? Because God has committed
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  himself to us in a covenant relationship, He promises to
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  respond to our prayers. So it isn't surprising that
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  David expected God to answer him.
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  Yet we must recognize that God responds to His people in many
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  different ways and sometimes communicates with us by using
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  unexpected sources, the teachings of Scripture, the
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  wisdom of the church, the provision of nature, the
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  insights of friends, the influence of the Holy Spirit.
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  Sometimes He waits to give us a clear response until it is a
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  better time for us to receive it.
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  What's what false gods do people seek today?
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  Many are obvious money, fame, material things.
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  Others are less obvious. Family, work, education, church
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  security, nationalistic fervor, political ideology, physical
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  appearance, the values and powers that determine how we
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  spend our time and money are the gods we worship today.
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  In David's day, societies and nations worshipped different
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  deities, which were usually represented by idols.
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  Today, we too have false gods that pull at our hearts, but
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  they're less obvious. Perhaps they're more dangerous
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  because of that. Why, in the middle of a prayer
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  did David talk to the people? There is disagreement about why
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  these words to people appear in a prayer to God.
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  Some think David was quoting A proverb or passage that would
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  have been familiar to his readers.
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  Others think this was a congregational Psalm during
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  which the priest first addressed God and then the congregation.
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  Still others say this Psalm was possibly formed by combining
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  parts of more than one Psalm. How has the Lord set apart his
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  faithful servant? God's faithful people are set
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  apart because of God's presence and power in their lives.
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  Their special relationship with God is not because they are
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  better than other people, it is because God has set them apart.
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  As part of this special relationship, God hears the
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  prayers of the faithful. What were sacrifices of the
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  righteous? These were sacrifices that
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  number one, met the requirements laid down by God found in
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  Leviticus chapter 1 and 2 that arose from correct motives of
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  reverence for God, and that's found in Psalm 51 verse 17.
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  What are some of the So are some times of the day better for
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  prayer than others? David likely prayed at scheduled
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  hours of the day because there was a clear rhythm to worship
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  life in Jerusalem, which was shaped by temple activities.
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  In this case, David's reference to morning prayers most likely
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  actually most likely strikes the urgency of a particular matter.
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  He couldn't do anything else until he had asked God to
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  resolve a troubling problem. Thus it is unlikely that this
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  text was meant to teach us that morning is the best time for
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  prayer. Any time is appropriate time for
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  prayer. Now I just read for chapter 5,
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  which that's not that wasn't supposed to be part of what we
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  were covering today. But that's interesting that
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  about the morning prayers because I think for me
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  personally, that is the time that I I feel most connected to
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  God or there's, I don't know more, more most drawn.
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  And then it seems like as the day goes on and the end of the
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  night, I, I do try to pray as well, but I just have a, a
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  different, I guess it's just all of the things that happened
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  throughout the day that affect that, that sense of calmness and
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  peace that I wake up with typically in the morning and
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  that that's my quiet time with God.
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  So it's kind of interesting to hear what that just said.
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  But anyway, that is the that'll conclude Psalm 4.
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  And then tomorrow, hopefully, we will cover Psalm 5.
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  Thank you.