Good morning. As Chris alluded to in his prayer, Jim Franks and I have been at our national
gathering for our church this past week and just got back last night, and so it's our
joy to welcome Jason Tippetts to come and bring God's Word to us this morning. So Jason,
I invite you to come up and join me here. Jason has been a pastor here in Colorado Springs
in our city for many years at one of our sister churches, Westside Presbyterian Church, and
has just recently begun a transition away from Westside to begin a new church plant in Buena
Vista, Colorado. And so we're excited for Jason as he begins to continue the work that we love,
which is to expand the gospel here in Colorado. And so thank you, Jason, and welcome. Thank you.
It's okay if I move this? If you said no, I didn't hear you. Well, thank you for allowing me the
privilege to—is this on? It is okay. It's a new place. I can't ever tell, and everything's
distracting to me, okay? So you might have to be a little gracious. It's really—it's great to be
here this morning. I know a lot of guest pastors say that. I mean it. I'm not sure if they do, but
I have been—we—your church has allowed us as Westside to use your building for several things,
so I've been here doing a funeral for ordination service, been here for Presbytery. I was with you
for your Good Friday service. This is the first time I've been here on a Sunday morning, so it is
really great to be here, and it's wonderful to join in other communities and worship and just see the
differences and take joy in the differences. This morning, we're going to look at Psalm 4. So if you
have your Bibles, I encourage you to turn there. God, in His good mercy and kindness, put Psalm 4 in the
easy place to find, right before Psalm 3 and Psalm 5. So if you can find those two, it just like turn a
little page. There's a couple pages. It's right there. Sorry. This morning in this Psalm, this Psalm has to do
with suffering, and as you and I have lived in this world, we know that suffering is everywhere.
Specifically in this Psalm, it's the suffering of really of David being slandered by the people
around him. There's no historical story that we know. This is exactly when this happened. Like in Psalm 3,
when Psalm 3 is about when David was fleeing from Absalom. This one here is just general. David feels
discouraged and despair because he has been slandered. And there's something about a love-hate relationship
we have with slander. At some level, we hate it because we hate to be slandered, but then if we're
really honest, we understand at some other level, we enjoy slandering other people because it brings us
some comfort, sadly. And so sometimes we do that for comfort. But let's look at this Psalm together.
Psalm 4, let me read this.
Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness. You have given me relief when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer. O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah.
But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself.
The Lord hears when I call to him. Be angry and do not sin. Ponder in your own hearts,
on your beds, and be silent. Selah.
Offer right sacrifices. Put your trust in the Lord. There are many who say,
who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord. You have put more joy
in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. In peace I both lie down and sleep.
For you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
In this Psalm, there's really a simple structure of David pleading for God's help.
David addresses his enemies who are slandering him and being very hurtful to him.
And then there's the expression of David's security in God.
We'll begin with the beginning. David pleading for God's help.
Have you, what was the place like in your life where you pleaded for God's help?
When you knew there was really nothing you could do besides trust in God's goodness and his character
and his promises. As David begins in the Psalm, we see this progression of him pleading.
And at the end, he finds comfort.
David boldly goes before God and pleads for God to answer for two reasons.
Because God is the God of his righteousness.
It says, God of my righteousness.
And he gives relief and grace.
Our struggle many times comes when we have this great, wonderful painting of the relief we want God to give us.
And the grace we want God to give us to relieve us of whatever burden or struggle we are in.
And we're probably very polite and we tell God, if you do this, if you give me this temporary thing,
everything's going to be better. I'll find some comfort.
So God, if you would just fix this, it would be okay.
But that's not at all what David is doing in the Psalm.
Because we see where he lands is not a place of him saying,
God, thank you for killing everyone who hates me.
Now life will be pleasant.
But he lands at a place of finding joy and peace in God above all things.
And David is very bold as he calls upon God.
God of my righteousness.
We all have different terms we're called.
If you have children and you're a parent, you're called father or mother.
If you are an aunt, you're called an aunt.
If you have these other names that you know, when you hear that name, you listen in a certain way.
When that human is pleading with you.
We have several kids in our neighborhood.
And the first day we met one of these little kids, I told him my name was Superman.
So for the last year, he calls me Superman.
And so one, it just helps me feel like I'm a, like every day I just feel a little bit better.
But it's, I know when he's calling out Superman, I know who he means.
So David here is calling on, he says, the God of my righteousness.
David is claiming what God has promised.
God has promised righteousness.
Which really, we see the whole Bible, we see it's Christ.
That's the real promise.
David is not saying, God, I'm calling on you because I am righteous.
He is claiming God's righteousness because God has graciously extended his righteousness
and put David in a place of the family of God where David can receive comfort and peace and joy and rest
in a way that does not mean that his temporary circumstances are changed.
But in the midst of his circumstances of being slandered and hated by people,
there is still peace and rest.
David is not claiming that he has done good and he's not claiming to try to leverage his goodness
toward God to make God do something.
Because as much as we really want to believe the gospel, like the free grace of God,
that you are embraced more by God than you can ever, ever understand,
and you cannot be any more loved by God.
As much as we want to believe that, there's a part of us that is always thinking,
well, if I'm more obedient, God will bless me more.
And sometimes it's hidden deep.
Sometimes we're just really clear about it.
And we just get angry.
Because we're slandered or we suffer.
And our thought is, God, how could you do this to me?
God calls us to plead to him.
And part of pleading is being honest.
And it's being honest with that economy that you secretly have in your heart toward God.
Thinking, if I just do all these things right,
I can really experience heaven on earth and I'll get all the blessings I would ever want here.
But that's not God's promise.
God's promise is, when you are slandered,
when you are hurt,
when you grieve,
when you are broken,
God meets you.
So the psalm begins with David pleading,
and then God addresses his enemies.
David appeals to his enemies,
really for their good sense.
He's almost saying,
will you please stop?
Do you not know what you're doing?
It's hurtful.
It's destructive.
And in a way, he's pleading for them to stop.
He's pleading for their general good understanding of humanity.
Basically, let's just be fair to each other.
Can you stop?
He's asking them to be mature.
But David is confident that God will answer him when he calls,
because the Lord has set apart the godly for himself.
The Lord has set apart the godly for himself.
Which means,
if you trust in Christ,
God has you.
It does not mean you will not suffer.
It means in the midst of your suffering,
you can be convinced that God holds you,
and he will never let you go.
Even when you are being slandered.
But in the same way,
you are gods,
because of the work of Christ,
even when you slander others.
Because sadly,
we still have this sinful, selfish part of us.
Even us who are resting in Christ,
and we are hurt,
and our first thought is,
I'm going to hurt back,
and then it's fair.
Because that's the old economy we really like.
And that's how we treat God in the gospel.
But that's not how God treats us.
We've all been there.
Someone slanders you,
and you slander them back.
I'm sure you do it more politely,
more tactfully maybe,
more maturely,
or what we do,
is we have these fantasy arguments in our head.
Where we,
someone has slandered and hurt us,
and we have this fantasy argument in our head with them.
You know what's amazing in these?
You always win.
Don't you?
Like never at any point
have you had those fantasy arguments,
and you're like,
oh, they got me.
It's more hurt.
But in the fantasy argument,
it is us extending hurt.
You hurt me,
I'll hurt you.
What David is doing here as he is slanders,
he is pleading to God
that God would deal with his enemies.
But what God does
is God deals with David.
God matures David
through this process.
We don't have access to what God did with those enemies,
how God answered this plea.
We don't have an answer to that.
But we do know that God dealt with David.
I remember over 20 years ago,
I worked at a camp here in the mountains
during the summers in college,
and one of the things
they said over and over and over
was talk to and not about.
Talk to and not about.
That's one way that helps
when there is conflict,
when there is slander,
is talk to and not about.
It doesn't mean
when you talk to the person,
your fantasy argument
is going to actually happen
and that person is going to be shut down.
What happens in that,
if you do talk to and not about
and you deal with it in a biblical way,
is you're giving God,
allowing God this great opportunity
because you are following the pattern
of how to deal with conflict and hurt.
After David has introduced God
as righteous and gracious,
he is showing that people
fall into really only two categories.
There's either,
you are either receiver of God's grace
or you are a seeker of this world.
It's just a summary of the two categories
of where people fall in this world.
And David goes on in verse four
and he says,
be angry and do not sin.
Ponder in your hearts
and on your beds
and be silent.
Another way to translate this,
which I think fits better
and I'm not the only person
to think that.
Other commentators think that
and I might even have a footnote
in your Bible
that the word,
where it says be angry,
it's also translated tremble.
And it uses this
in Psalm 18 verse seven.
So if you read it that way,
tremble and do not sin.
Ponder in your hearts
and on your beds
and be silent.
What is David calling
his enemies here to do?
To tremble,
to ponder in their heart
while they're in their bed
and to be silent.
I think that's really good advice
for all of us
to have time where we separate
and we ponder.
We live in such
a distracted world
that we don't think
this is worthwhile time anymore.
If someone is to say,
all right,
next week you need to have
three hours
where you just rest.
You're not on your phone,
you're not reading a book,
you go for a walk
and you're just really
wasting time.
That's what we call it
as Americans.
You're just wasting time,
you're not being productive.
For many of us,
it's just frustrating
and it's hard.
There's a book I'm reading
and I say that very liberally.
I think I've had this book
for six weeks
and I'm in chapter three,
but it's really good, okay?
But I did open it recently.
It is called
Disruptive Witness
and it talks about
as Christians,
as the people
and family of God,
what we want
and we see it
in the Great Commission
is we want people
to know Christ.
We want people
who don't know Jesus
to be introduced to Jesus
and to grow in
what it means
to walk with Jesus.
That's one of the things
we really want.
But what happens is
when we're communicating
the gospel,
we're communicating it
in a way
that we assume
that everyone thinks
deep and thick
about this world.
That we all spend time
pondering the question,
why are we here?
But what happens is
many people in this world,
they don't ask that question.
I was talking to a friend recently
and he works in real estate
and he was asking someone
in his office,
he asked them,
what do you think it means
to live in the fullness
of your humanity?
And the person's office
was like,
what?
It doesn't make any sense.
But as Christians,
we are called
to live thick lives.
Our struggle is
we many times
choose really thin lives.
and the thinness
of our life is
you hurt me,
I'll hurt you.
You slander me,
I will slander you.
It's the thinness
of life.
But we're called
to live thick lives
built on a completely
different foundation.
So we are to ponder,
to stop,
and to wrestle
with the claims of God.
But we are too distracted
to make the time
to do that.
You're in your car,
what do you do?
Turn the radio on.
Everywhere we go,
there's music.
I'm not a big music fan.
So I like to turn music off
and just have it be quiet.
But I have four kids,
another on the way.
Sometimes I do want
to turn it up
because it's just quieter.
We're all listening
to the same thing.
But we don't spend
a lot of time
pondering.
And maybe that is
a step you could take
to live a thick life
in the midst
of your suffering.
that you take time
to ponder.
That you take time
to think.
That you take time
with God's word.
And not stick to your
read the Bible
in a year plan
where you're plowing
through stuff
so at the end of the year
you can check the box.
But take time
and take something small
from scripture
and ponder
and meditate
on the good things
of God.
Sit in the beauty
of his creation.
Aim to live
a thick,
deep life.
Because when we aim
for that,
for the richness
of life,
when there is suffering,
when there is slander,
when there is hurt,
we are equipped
to deal with that
much better
than if we just
live a thin life.
And try to do
everything we can.
There is this
fascination
in our culture
with the next
thing.
And I think
that is why
we don't,
that is why I don't
sit and ponder
more.
Because I am too
focused
on what is
the next thing.
And what do I
need to do
to accomplish
that next thing?
Instead of sitting
and resting
to have time
to ponder.
So verse 4,
be angry
and do not sin.
Again,
tremble
and do not sin.
Ponder
in your own hearts
on your beds
and be silent.
And this does not
mean that you
lay in your bed
and tweak
your fantasy
argument
to really
attack the other
person.
It is that you
sit
and you remember
God's goodness
to you.
And who you are
as a child
of God.
And the blessings
that you have
that can never
be taken away
no matter what
anyone
says about you.
even in the
midst of real
suffering,
of slander,
of hurt,
but in your
grief,
remembering God's
promise that he
will never leave
you nor forsake
you.
That is what
adds to the
richness
of our life.
life.
But our
tendency is to
live this
thin,
reactionary
life.
And as
you,
as we grow
as people,
we begin to
realize that
our retaliation,
our reaction
in slander
or anger
never ever
accomplishes the
peace that we
want.
Never.
But there's
something about
anger as a
feeling that I
think it's one
of the most
desired,
like reactionary
feelings.
Because there's
something about
anger that we
feel in control.
So when someone
hurts you or
slanders you,
when you are
walking through
suffering,
understand you
have a choice.
You can go down
the path of
anger,
which feels
much better
than the
other one.
Because you
feel in
control,
you feel
powerful,
you feel
like you
are the
only person
that's just.
The other
avenue is to
feel brokenness.
Which part of
brokenness feels
out of control.
In some way it
feels more
hurtful.
In some ways it
feels like this
open pit that
you could
step into and
you feel like
you could never
ever come out.
But if we
choose the path
of brokenness,
then we see in
scripture who is
God near to?
The broken
hearted.
It doesn't say
in the Bible
God is near to
those who are
angry and
retaliate well.
It is God is
near to the
broken hearted.
So when you
are slandered,
feel the
brokenness of
that.
Feel the
brokenness with
the thickness
of life
that God will
never leave
you nor
forsake you.
Because you
can be broken
not only of
the sin of
being slandered,
you can feel the
brokenness of the
one who slandered
you and the
state that their
life is in.
And then David
commands his
enemies, offer
right sacrifices
and trust in the
Lord.
He is calling his
enemies to
come and know
the goodness of
God.
Offer right
sacrifices.
A part of that
is confession
and repentance.
repentance.
Returning to
a right
relationship with
God where
God would
become their
righteousness.
Because it is
only by faith
that we receive
his
righteousness.
It's not being
more righteous.
And even the
worst enemy of
God can receive
his righteousness.
So that
opportunity,
that situation
like this one
when David
is being
slandered
against,
just like this
situation that
you may be in
now or maybe a
close memory in
your mind where
you are slandered,
it is an
opportunity for
someone to
understand the
mercy and grace
of God.
But if you
choose anger
and retaliation,
you are doing
opposite of
what that
opportunity could
open.
David's view
of his
enemies
changes in
the psalm.
He wants
them to know
the path
of life.
And I think
that's where
we can see
God working
in our heart
in those
situations.
And I
think we've
all been
there where,
again,
you have been
hurt and you
just want to
retaliate and
squish that
person.
But your
heart grows
more in the
direction of
brokenness.
grace.
And you
begin to have
compassion on
that person.
We see there,
that's a great
growth and
maturity in
life and
understanding
relationships.
God,
David wants
them to
receive God's
grace.
There's a way
of receiving
relief when
we are in
distress.
There's a way
to grow in
confidence in
our creator and
redeemer when
we are in
hurt.
It is the way
of grace.
We all want
to be heard.
We all want
to have peace.
We all want
to have rest.
But this
psalm shows
us it is
not, those
are not
circumstantial
things.
To have
peace and
rest and
joy are
not based on
what is
presently going
on in your
life.
If they
are, you
are choosing
the thin
life.
The thick
life.
is
understanding
that only
that joy
and peace
and comfort
comes in
understanding
God's
promises.
So what
does God
provide in
the midst
of suffering
that nothing
else provides?
what is
there in
how God
relates to
humanity
that is
drastically
different than
anything else
this world
provides that
they would
call peace?
Things this
world provides
that are called
peace may be
a gated
community,
may be a
better security
system,
may be kids
that are
well-educated
and productive
members of
society.
We could
say that
would bring
a level
of peace
but that's
not at
all the
peace that
David is
talking about.
David ends
this,
so you have
put more
joy in
my heart
than they
have when
their grain
and wine
abound.
In peace
I both
lie down
and sleep
for you
alone,
O Lord,
make me
dwell in
safety.
I think
the general
nature of
the psalm
helps us
to implant
this in
our own
life.
When we
read Psalm
3,
David fleeing
from Absalom,
there's something
of history
where we
think like,
I don't
really know
what to do
with this.
Someone's
chasing me,
someone's
really not
chasing me
right now.
Well,
here,
there's this
general,
you are
slandered,
you are
in despair,
you are
hurt,
you do
not know
what to
do.
Where is
your comfort?
Your comfort
is in
Christ
alone.
But it's
taking those
steps to
live a
thick
life.
In this
Psalm,
there's no
answer given
to the
oppression
that David
is going
through.
There's no
answer given
for the
suffering
of David,
a child
of God.
There's no
answer given
how long
will David
suffer under
this.
No answer
given.
There's no
timeline,
there's no
reason,
and that's
frustrating.
Because when
we suffer,
if we at
least know
why,
then we
feel better.
Don't we?
There's a
part of us
that thinks,
if I know
why I'm
suffering,
I can
take it.
But God,
in his
providence,
many times,
I think
majority of
the time,
does not
give us
reasons for
our
suffering.
But as
we understand
psalms like
this, we
see it
helps us to
live a
thick life,
being more
dependent on
Christ for
peace than
we are about
the security
system in our
home, or
how much
money you
have in the
bank.
nothing will
give you the
peace that you
truly long
for.
Nothing in
this world will
give you that.
It is in
Christ alone.
And if you're
here today and
you trust in
Christ, you
probably like me
when I listen to
sermons, I
nod like,
yeah, I
believe that.
Yeah, that's
probably true.
And then I
walk out the
door, and I
live my life, and
I get frazzled by
crazy things, and
I begin to live
with a whole
different economy
than the
gospel.
There is no
greater peace
than knowing
Christ.
And this is
something we have
to remind
ourselves of
every single
day.
And that's one
reason why we're
all here this
morning, is we
understand,
we need to be
together as
God's people.
And we need to
be reminded of
what is true,
because we
slowly start to
build our own
economy of how
do I earn
peace, how do I
earn joy, how do I
earn significance, how
do I stay away from
slander, how do I
hurt people who
hurt me the best
way I can.
you have put more
joy in my heart than
they have when
their grain and
wine abound.
It truly makes no
sense that David is
being slandered and
hurt.
And he says, God, I
have more joy in my
heart than if I was
the wealthiest man in
this nation.
That is how, that is
what it means to walk
closely with Jesus.
when you can say, that
is all I have.
That is the only joy,
the deep, thick joy
that I have.
Now, there is joy in
a nice, hot cup of
coffee in the morning,
a beautiful sunset, a
hug from your family.
Those are truly joyful
things.
But it is not the joy
that David is trying to
root himself in.
In peace I both lie
down and sleep.
For you alone, O Lord,
make me dwell in
safety.
Sleeping is one of the
most vulnerable things
we do as people.
Isn't it shocking that
we live through our
day, like we do
whatever, all the
activity, we eat, and
then it comes nighttime,
like bedtime, like
seven.
And I may be getting
old.
7 p.m., and what do
we do?
We close our eyes, and
we sleep.
The most vulnerable
thing.
It's also fascinating,
animals do the same
thing.
They don't go to bed
at 7, but we sleep.
Who cares for us in our
sleep?
God does.
Every single night, you
go to sleep, and you
wake up the next day.
And I know you have
because you're here.
You went through that
vulnerable time.
You probably weren't
even stressed about it.
And here you are.
And that's a small
picture of God's
goodness.
God takes care of
his people.
And the great thing
is, the greater thing
than that is, if we
were to go to sleep and
not wake up the next
day, we are in the
presence of God, in the
fullness of joy.
And we have missed out
on nothing.
God is the only
being who truly
provides the joy that
you long for.
I encourage you to
live a life of
thickness.
Ponder and meditate
and rest in God's
goodness.
Because when turmoil
and suffering come,
and they will to all
of us, you will have
a thickness in your
life.
And you'll remember
that it is God who
really, truly cares
for you.
Won't you pray with
me?
Most gracious God,
we thank you that we
are here this morning.
We thank you that your
promises are true.
And God, we also
admit that we come to
you in such weak
faith.
We come to you and
want to distort the
grace you extend to
us.
And we pray that we
would not only know
your forgiveness, we
would experience it, and
you would increase our
faith.
That we would see the
beauty of knowing you
are the one who gives
us true joy, even
when we are on the
sharp end of
slander.
You are good, you
are faithful.
In Jesus' name we
pray.
Amen.