Answer Me When I Call!
For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
“Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved my distress; show me grace and hear my prayer.
How long, O men, will my honor be maligned? How long will you love vanity and seek after lies?
Selah
Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for Himself; the LORD hears when I call to Him. Be angry, yet do not sin; on your bed, search your heart and be still.
Selah
Offer the sacrifices of righteousness and trust in the LORD.
Many ask, “Who can show us the good?” Shine the light of Your face upon us, O LORD. You have filled my heart with more joy than when grain and new wine abound. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.”
“Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!” Once more, David speaks to our needs. We aren’t sure which crisis has prompted this prayer, but obviously, David is facing severe criticism and possible physical attack as well. Notice that David addresses God as “the God of my righteousness.” David knows that before he can make requests, his heart and his hands must be clean. Unconfessed sin of any kind raises barriers between God and people and makes it impossible for us to make requests. Notice that God already knows we are sinful; we are the ones who need to make confession.
“You have relieved my distress; show me grace and hear my prayer.” Throughout David’s life, he has repeatedly gone to God for help and has never been refused. David is basing this request on a long experience with a God of grace who has answered in the past.
“How long, O men, will my honor be maligned? How long will you love vanity and seek after lies?” David is under attack by those who would slander him and spoil his name. These critics are attempting to inflate their reputations by destroying David’s. Many of us can readily identify with this!
“Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for Himself; the LORD hears when I call to Him.” God has helped David before and David is confident that God will come through for him again. There’s no point in calling someone if you don’t expect them to answer, but David is sure of God’s provision.
“Be angry, yet do not sin; on your bed, search your heart and be still.” Getting angry is a normal part of human life; however, we sin when we persist in our anger. It’s important to recognize our anger and forgive those who have offended us. We need to search our hearts because we may also have offended others and we need to face our own shortcomings as well.
“Offer the sacrifices of righteousness and trust in the LORD.” While David might be referring to animal sacrifices, what sacrifices might we offer? Once we have searched our hearts, we need to confess our sins to God and ask His forgiveness. Once our hearts are clean, we can readily trust in the Lord.
“Many ask, “Who can show us the good?” Shine the light of Your face upon us, O LORD.” If we are searching for good, which way are we looking? Are we actually searching for God to shine His light on us, or are we searching for good in all the wrong places?
“You have filled my heart with more joy than when grain and new wine abound.” Jewish feasts were generally centered around harvests when grain and new wine were readily available, allowing for wonderful celebrations. David feels God gives him even more joy than he might feel during any of these celebrations.
“I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.” No matter how many enemies surround David, he can sleep securely, knowing that God is in control.
APPLICATION: This psalm is one of my favorites for a number of reasons. During the Northern Ethnic Conflict of 1994, our village was under military occupation and we listened closely when we heard gunfire. Were those guns the military simply indicating their presence, was there a traditional funeral, or were people screaming, indicating that we were under attack? Was this the time we would need to grab the backpack with our passports and money and run for the River Oti to cross into Togo? Blessedly, we were never attacked, but we comforted ourselves with Psalm 4:8 on many occasions.
We have faced many personal medical problems. My husband jokes that he is a bionic man with artificial hips and a triple coronary artery bypass. Repeated bouts of typhoid have left me with fibromyalgia. We have lost many friends and relatives to various medical problems. At times, we have faced slanderous attacks by people hoping to gain money or influence. We can definitely identify with David as he asks, “How long, O men, will my honor be maligned? How long will you love vanity and seek after lies?” Our testimony after all these years is that God remains faithful and that He will give us peace in the midst of any trial.
King David was not a perfect man by any means. Desiring someone else’s wife, David arranged for her husband to be killed in battle. But David repented and God forgave him. We too sin and make mistakes, but God will forgive us when we confess our faults. At the end of everything, we can still say with David, “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.”
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help all who read these words to put their trust in You and to rest in You, for You alone can give perfect peace. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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