5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.

6 ¶ There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.

7 Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.

8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4)

There is a perpetual search among human philosophers for good, for moral truth or for true morality. Men seek for this, not because they are so obsessed with doing good, but because by doing good, they hope that “good will come upon them.” “Who will shew us any good?” They hope by their moral righteousness to be set free from fear of harm and evil, and that they will thereby know happiness and peace.

All of men’s attempts to find joy and peace apart from God have been met by failure. The present attempts will fare no better. Only God Himself is absolute good. Therefore, moral perfection can be found only by union with God. Anything less than that is less than moral, or immoral . . . sin. Union with God is possible through His Son, Jesus Christ. He is “the way, the truth, and the life.” No man comes to the Father except through Him.

The sacrifices, then, of righteousness consist of all it means to “put your trust in the Lord.” All that we do trusting in ourselves is apart from God, is unholy, and must be counted no more than sin. All that we do in dependence upon Him, His righteousness, mercy, grace, and power, is counted righteousness. It is His work in us.

Irreligious men who fear not God count themselves righteous when they prosper, when “their corn and their wine is increased.” They make the error of the men of corrupt minds of whom the Apostle warned Timothy: “supposing that gain is godliness” (I Tim. 6:5). But this is the resting place of such men. Their hope of safety is in human power and increase of worldly possessions. Yet when they lie down at night they cannot sleep. They reason that if they were able to take this power and wealth from others, will not others take it from them? They think that they have the blessing of the Lord, but have no assurance that He will protect them.

Not so with those who offer the sacrifice of the righteous and put their trust in the Lord. They have more joy and gladness than the man who just harvested a bumper crop or received a windfall from the stock market. What they have did not come from men, and man has no power to take it away. He will lie down in peace, and he will sleep. He has made a discovery worth more than all the gold and silver on earth. “Thou Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.”

-C.M.

1 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.

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.

3 But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him.

4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. (Psalm 4)

The inspired writers often speak as Jehovah Himself, as it seems the Holy Spirit imparts to them the very heart’s cry of the Creator. Such an occasion is this second verse of the fourth Psalm. “How long will ye turn my glory into shame?” Man, created in God’s image and intended to display a visible image of the glory of an invisible God, has fallen. Instead of glorifying God in his life, he lives it in vanity, deceit and corruption, bringing shame and reproach upon the true and living God. How grieved He is at our reluctance to repent and forsake our evil ways! This longing and willingness of God to save is reflected in Christ’s weeping over the city of Jerusalem, which is about to reject and crucify Him. He says again, “Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life.”

The hope of such fallen creatures as us is revealed in the first sentence of the song, “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness.” Sinful men have no righteousness of their own. Their hope of audience with a holy God is His own righteousness imparted to them through faith in Christ. God is the source and Creator of all true righteousness. Therefore we can never hope to impress Him with our righteousness. What we have is simply His own, given to us freely by His grace.

Since we are sinful creatures and have no claim on God’s goodness, we come to Him pleading His mercy. We believe that we shall be heard because He is a merciful God, and because He has proven Himself in the past. Our past help is our present hope in God. Such distress in which we must call upon God “enlarges” us . . . it causes us to grow in grace, if for no other reason than simply because such distresses bring us into a close and dependent relationship with God. The Lord has set apart such God-fearing persons for Himself, and they will surely be heard of Him when they call upon Him.

God’s mercy to sinners does not encourage them to sin and presume upon His grace. Contrariwise, it makes sin so much more to be hated by those who truly love God. They stand in awe of His holiness and goodness, they commune with Him in their hearts. Their eyes are upon His face, and their hearts are filled with His love. The more we cultivate and abide in such an attitude toward God, the less likely we are to fall into sin.

-C.M.

4 ¶ I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.

5 I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.

6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.

7 Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.

8 Salvation belongeth unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah. (Psalm 3:4-8)

This man lies down and sleeps! He may have just heard the evening news with all its frightening details. He may have just received notice of personal disaster, evil tidings, threats from deadly enemies; yet he sleeps! He takes no tranquilizers, no sleeping pills. He just lies down and rests. How can he do it?

He has cried unto the Lord. His prayer was no mealy muttering of memorized mumbling, not a parroting of prepared petition. It is a cry! “Arise, O Lord! Save me, O God.” It is a cry of distress from a heart that feels itself in mortal danger, that knows it will surely be destroyed except help comes from the Lord. He is then able to rest, for the God to Whom he cries is a Delivering God. He is a God with abundant testimony of His past deeds. “He has smitten all my enemies. He has broken the teeth of the ungodly.” He will not fail now.

This man, who lay down and slept, awakes. The Lord has heard him out of His Holy Hill Having heard him, the Lord sustains him. He is preserved. Jesus promised that he who believes in Him shall never die. When those who fear God and trust in Christ lie down, they know that they will arise. God will never suffer them to perish. How this worried, harried, frustrated generation needs to know such a God!

Because this man fears God, he fears no man. No, he will not fear ten thousand men set against him and surrounding him on every side. This one fact he knows in his heart, and it is evident in all his actions: “Salvation belongs to the Lord.” There is only one Saviour in the universe. That is the God with Whom we have to do. His name is Jesus, and His blessing is upon all who trust in Him. We can find no other hope under which we can safely rest. We need none, for He is sufficient.

-C.M.

1 ¶ <<A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.>> LORD, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me.

2 Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.

3 But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.

4 ¶ I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah. (Psalm 3)

This psalm of David, written on the occasion of his flight from his traitorous son Absalom, affords us an opportunity to identify with a truly god-fearing man in our own often adversities and sore conflicts.

The righteous do not always march forward victoriously. They do not always shout with the voice of triumph and joyously sing the song of the conqueror. They, at seasons, find themselves fleeing from the massing hordes of enemies like this sorrowing and mourning monarch. He who sat on the throne yesterday is today fleeing for his life while the cursing Shimei flings dust and rocks at him.

Adversaries sometimes multiply themselves. They increase. At what time we hope for respite, woe piles upon the top of other woes. We scarcely have heard about one until news of another assails us. The significant word here is many. Many trouble us. Few or none comfort us. Many rise against us. It seems everyone has jumped on the bandwagon of persecution. Let one chicken in the yard get a bleeding wound, and all the other chickens will quickly peck it to death. If this is a shame in worldly circles, what a disgrace it is among professed people of God! Many there are who say, “There is no help for him in God.” Men either say this because they believe that there is no help in God for anyone . . . that God is only an illusion, a fanciful prop for the weak and foolish. Or they say it because they believe God has now forsaken their victim, and that He will not defend him against their vicious attacks.

All of this clamors to take away the faith of the God-fearing man. Shall he cast away his faith because many have turned against him and declare that there is no help for him in God? Never! Not for the God-fearing man. He fears God and no one but God. “But thou O Lord.” His God is only One, though his oppressors be many. God is a shield for me. Arrows may fly from a hundred directions. The one shield of God is sufficient to thwart them all. God is my glory. Though men rob me of my crown, my throne, my possessions, my home, my family, they have not yet touched my glory; for I glory in nothing but the God of my salvation. God is the lifter up of my head. God will be my ultimate victory. He will restore me. “There is a lifting up in honor after shame, in health after sickness, in gladness after sorrow, in restoration after a fall, in victory after a temporary defeat” (C. H. Spurgeon).

Our defeat and flight, our retreat, is temporary; our victory, permanent and final, for the Lord has heard our cry.

-C.M.

7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.

9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

10 ¶ Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.

11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. (Psalm 2)

Men, creatures of the earth, plan, hope, scheme, devise. They have ambitions, goals, objectives. God, the Creator, decrees. Some of men’s plans are worthy, some unworthy, some successful, some failures; yet men do their utmost to make them succeed. God does not simply plan . . . He decrees. He does not simply attempt to implement His decree. It is sovereign, and He has the power to bring it to pass. His decree is not merely good: It is perfect. Let us consider it.

He first declares the deity, the divinity of Christ. Jesus is the begotten Son of God. This must be the moral foundation of God’s decree concerning Jesus Christ, for if Christ be not truly God, then He has no right to the honors about to be bestowed upon Him. If we deny the Godhood of the Saviour, we destroy the foundation and reason of Christian hope. But if we establish it, then it is incumbent upon all men to receive Him as Lord.

God then declares the Lordship of Christ. He is His Son, and His inheritance is the nations of the earth. He owns not only those who love Him, but those who hate Him. All the earth is His possession, and it is within the scope of His right and power to do as He pleases. None but the Father can limit the Hand of the Son in judgment, and the Father has committed it all to Christ.

In our popular preoccupation with the goodness, the love of God, His willingness to save all who come to Him, we must not forget that there is something to be saved from. God’s goodness and love is always set against the background of His justice and wrath. Men in their natural state are in rebellion against God, and so the first word of which they are conscious if God’s decree is this: “They shall be broken with a rod of iron; they shall be dashed in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”This is the prospect facing all men when they receive God’s command to repent.

In view of such a decree by such a God, men are urged to wisdom. “Abandon your foolish destructive course, you kings and judges of the earth. You may have done what you pleased among men, but now you face a thrice-holy God, and He will have nothing but unquestioned submission and obedience.” “You may have never feared men or beast, but please know that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” All who do not fear Him live a fool’s life and die a fool’s death.

The blessed person is the wise one who puts his trust in the Lord. “Kiss the Son.” Receive Him as your King. Love Him with all your heart. He is your Owner. He must be your Judge. He will be your Saviour if you will be His willing servant.

-C.M.

1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?

2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,

3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.

5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.

6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. (Psalm 2)

For those who would prove that God has a sense of humor, this passage affords the only testimony of God’s laughter. The subject matter, however, precludes there being any humor in this laughter.

Set before us is the arrogant rebellious attitude of the rulers of human governments who own no God but themselves. They rage and fume against the restrictions put upon them, their governments and their behavior by the decrees of the Almighty. They are filled with vain ambitions, pompous illusions of grandeur, exaggerated estimations of their persons and powers. These earthling rulers take counsel among themselves, with the vain hope of breaking the laws and limitations placed upon them by a sovereign God. They disagree, fight and war among themselves until God appears on their horizon; and then they unite and gather themselves together against Him and His Anointed. It is interesting to remember that Pilate and Herod were confirmed enemies until Jesus Christ entered their lives. From that day forward they became friends, united by their common hatred for Christ. This is a common refrain among men who are accustomed to grinding other men under their tyrannic heels. “We will not have this man (Christ) to reign over us.” They are unaccustomed to submitting themselves to men, and they think that they will not submit themselves to God either.

The Lord will have them in derision. He laughs at the foolish attempts of men to overthrow His good purpose. That God is not amused is clear in the next verse. He is angry. “He shall speak to them in His wrath.” When God speaks to wicked men, they hear no voice from heaven. Rather, they experience His displeasure. He “vexes” or troubles them. No nation has flaunted the moral laws of God, defied the divine order of justice, integrity and human relations, and survived to boast of it. All who have are now extinct, with the exception of the newest crop who will also soon follow them to the same inglorious grave.

God has established His own King. Jesus Christ has been crowned King of kings and Lord of lords in the court of heaven. And though earthly rulers will not willingly own His Lordship, He yet rules over them. To Him every knee will ultimately bow and every tongue will confess His Lordship. It would be wise if we did it now while He is yet willing to be our Saviour also.

-C.M.

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish. (Psalm 1)

In this first psalm, the writer draws upon rich imagery to mark out a sharp contrast between the righteous, the “blessed man,” the man whom the Lord “knows,” and the “ungodly,” those who fear not God. The God-fearing man does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly. Their counsel or philosophy does not chart the course. The wisdom or reason of unconverted worldly minded men is set on mischief, avarice, greed, worldly lust, malice, temporal things. The godly man reasons differently. He delights in God’s law, God’s counsel, the inspired scriptures, God’s leadership by the Holy Spirit. He meditates upon them, thinks on them continually. They become a part of his being, and direct his every action and undertaking.

The righteous man does not stand in the way of sinners. His anchor is not theirs. He is not established by what they are. Their hope is in temporal things, wealth, power, the admiration of men, the achievements of men. He is established in Christ. He is like a tree planted. It is fixed forever, never to be moved as long as it lives. Like a tree planted by the rivers of water, the godly man is fixed in Christ Who is the way, the truth, and the life. All that man needs to sustain him and make him fruitful flows from Christ. As the planted tree brings forth fruit, so the righteous brings forth lasting fruit.

The ungodly do not stand. They have no certain fountain of water, so they dry up. They are not fixed, so they drift with the wind. They will not stand in the congregation of the righteous, and cannot stand in the day of judgment which will surely come.

The “blessed” man does not “sit” in the seat of the scornful. The scornful is a fool resting upon a false hope. He is at ease when he derides the righteous and mocks the warnings of a Holy God, but his rest and security are a delusion. It will surely fail. The blessed man rests under the shadow of the wings of the Almighty. The righteousness of Christ is his hope and refuge. Because his “leaf,” the vitality of his life, gathers food from the eternal God, it shall never with, but will prosper in all that he does.

-C.M.

“Now therefore be wise, O kings. Be instructed you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear. And rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry”.

Psalm 2:10-11.

Present day kings of the earth should not be thought to be heads of state. That may have been true in times past, but power is rarely in their hands now. The Hitlers, Stalins, Titos, and Sadam Husseins may have a short day, a passing flash of glory, but they are soon overthrown in today’s world climate. No, the abiding power that holds sway over the minds and souls of today’s populace are those who sit at the heads of colleges and universities, determining what will be taught as truth. They are the popular authors and publishers of books who hold sway over the reading public, actors and producers of movies and television entertainment, who created a fantasy, a false illusion of values and realities of life. They are the news Anchors and talk-show Hosts who frame and color every event and pending consideration with a contempt for anything spiritual or godly. Included, also in today’s despots are Supreme court judges who, appointed for life, are free to frustrate the will and minds of the people and rule them by perverse interpretation and application of sound and wholesome laws.

These are they who rage, fume, and rail against God’s anointed King. They have determined that they will break the decrees of God, despise, slander and trod His blessed Son underfoot. They will change times and seasons, pervert right and wrong, and thumb their noses at every convention among civilized and orderly society that has the slightest connection with the Almighty.

The power of these creators of “political correctness” have succeeded in eliminating the hated three-letter “G” word from polite society and public speech! Profanity, obscenity and cursing is not only permitted, but admired; but let someone suggest that God exists or has anything to do with whatever comes to pass, and he is immediately censored, ridiculed, and silenced.

God’s laughter at this sort of thing must not be construed to be an indication of His sense of humor. It is a laugh of derision. Jesus Christ was not, as is usually portrayed by these “kings”, merely a good man, a social reformer who, unfortunately, ran afoul of the religious and political climate of his day, and had his objectives frustrated. No, the Almighty has set His King on High. All power is in His Hand…right now. All He needs do to ask the Father, and God will put a man, a king, a nation, in His Blessed Had to do with whatever He pleases. They are all His inheritance. Far from being frustrated Jesus accomplished exactly what He came to do…the redemption of His people. If the kings of the earth were wise, and not fools, they would be bowing at His feet, kissing His blessed Hand, and begging Him to be their Savior and King.

– C.M.

“My voice You shall hear in the morning O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You. And I will look up. For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, nor shall evil dwell with You. The boastful shall not stand in Your sight: You hate all the workers of iniquity….The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.” (Psalm 5:3-6)

The Bible tells us that God is love. That statement is certainly true. Love is not merely an attribute of God: it is the essence of His Person. Love exists in the universe; men are capable of love and nobility only because they are made in the image of the Creator, and as finite mortals, partake in measure of Infinite Immortality.

God’s love, however, is popularly misrepresented. The enemy of our souls has cleverly twisted this Divine Benevolence to a caricature of a smiling old Grandfather who indulges the meanness and wickedness of people as merely innocent mischievousness. The Bible does not permit this concept, for the God of the Bible is Holy. Holiness is also the essence of His Person. Holiness is not suspended by love during the willful evil acts of men. His anger is ready to burn hot against all who practice wickedness.

Our text tells us that God positively hates all the workers of iniquity, that He abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful. It is no small part of our prayers for His protection and deliverance to know that God is no friend of those who devour and persecute the righteous. We are made to understand that God is the Avenger of the downtrodden and abused, and are not moved to strike out against those who oppress us. Our God will do that much better, and far more effectively than we can. We are forbidden to hate them with a bitter carnal hatred, for our God hates them with a perfect and Holy Hatred.

So rather that rise in the morning, trembling and fearful of what may befall us during day, we may come before God with thanksgiving, praise and adoration, laying all our petitions in His Hand. If we are His obedient trusting child, He loves us with a holy and divine love. That means He will put a difference between us and all those who would oppress us. He destroyed the Egyptian army in pursuit of His liberated people. He will do no less for us. He is imminently worthy of our adoration.

– C. M.

“Lord how have they increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. Many are they who say of me. ‘There is no help for him in God”. (Psalm 3: 1-3)

It is no easy matter to maintain our faith and peace when reversals seem to multiply against us. Our lives are on a fast track downhill. One ill tiding falls close on the heels of another. No small part of these manifold blows is the knowledge that everyone is taking note of them. Everyone who has had any peeve, envy, resentment or ill feeling toward us is taking courage from our miseries, and prophesying total ruin.

David’s son, Absalom has succeeded in mounting a rebellion against his father, and has enlisted much support. He has gathered such a host of the king’s enemies that the man whom the Lord loves is obliged to flee. Political bootlickers and news pundits, sensing David’s job performance approval has sunk to new lows, prophesy his case to be hopeless. “Not even God can help him now”!

Amazing! The arrogance of men! God may be God, and He may be supreme, sovereign and omnipotent; but after all those attributes are merely theological shibboleth. Nobody really counts on them as reality when they must be applied to the hard facts of circumstances. A few people may be over-ruled by God. Even a large number may be set aside by God’s power. But when it comes to a great multitude of people…all of them against us, is it not foolish for us to hope in God putting all those people’s opposition down?

But that is precisely what David did. “I cried unto the Lord with my voice. And He heard me from His holy hill. I lay down and slept: I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.” Nothing yet had changed on the public scene. The gainsayers were still shaking their heads. Enemies were still gloating. The rebellion was still growing, and David was still retreating. But the outcome of the battle was settled, and David was resting peacefully in that. One fact outweighed everything else that was happening: vs.8: “Salvation belongs to the Lord”. There is not enough flesh on earth, nor enough demons and devils in the heavenlies to overthrow God’s salvation. It is exclusive His alone to withhold or grant. Blessed is that man whose hope is in God.

– C. M.