- how long will you love lie
- commune with your own heart
- be silent
- trust in the Lord
- lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.
Psalm 4 is short, only 8 verses, but has crucial information. It includes one of the most important prayer request. Verse two is actually the Spirit kindly asking our soul and heart, “How long will you love worthlessness And seek falsehood?” (NKJV). To all who are thinking about earthly things, like many Philippians in the bible (). God is gracious, he give sinner more chances to repent. Each time by obeying the scripture “Speaking to yourselves in psalms”, man has another opportunity listening to the Holy Spirit, and that soul may repent and turn back to God.
Meditation is commune with the heart
Verse 4 gave us the first instruction on how to practice psalm 1:2 “meditate day and night“. I play audio bible in my cellphone at bed time and repeat the words silently, in this way I commune with my own heart. And the benefit is beyond words. Lots of my understanding comes through meditation of the scripture and commune with my own heart at night.
Seek the Lord’s face
Perhaps one of the most tragic things for mankind is the refusal of praying psalm 4 verse 6, almost everyone spend their entire live pursuing happiness and good things, such as good health, good job, good house, good food, good life …… But God teach us through the Holy Spirit; “There are many who say, Who will show us any good? LORD, lift up the light of Your face on us. Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.“(MKJV). More gladness than those reap bigger harvest would be the happiest person at those times. But why no one wants to pray this psalm anymore?
Men are blind
Now I can see how blind I am, there are many scriptures explained the importance of seeking the Lord’s face, even just one verse would be enough to see the foolishness of those who don’t like to pray psalms. Psalm 30:7 LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled. This message is simple and clear, God shine his face on us means gladness in my heart, when He hide his face trouble will come. Of course not everybody pray psalm 4 once will have gladness in the heart immediately, but we need to remember what Jesus said about persistence in prayer in Luke 11:8; I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs. (NKJV) It is very sad to see many of God’s people turn to man for help but only end up in more confusion.
Unlimited meaning
When reading a psalm it may seems have the same familiar words you have read last time, but one day it suddenly has new meaning doesn’t know before. For that is the word of God, the mistake is lack of patience in reading bible and turning to man’s opinion too quickly. The more we read and pray, the more we see truth from the same scripture. Psalm 13 warns us the danger of not seeking the Lord’s face, how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? I have read and prayed this psalm more than a hundred times yet without realizing it’s importance. Why am I so slow in learning? After much meditation and prayer I can see it is all about the heart, not by reasoning or analyzing from the head, then Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 13:19 came into me; When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. Not only I don’t have a good heart like the scripture said; brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, I lived similar to pharisees some kind of hypocritical live and need to learn from Job “Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”