How to Get a Good Night's Sleep

6 · Establishes the divine origin, inspiration, and purpose of Psalm 4, arguing that God cares about believers' distress down to the level of sleep and that Scripture equips us for practical life concerns including rest

He's given us Psalm 4 to help us with that. Psalm 4 is in Holy Scripture, which is breathed out by God and helpful for training and correcting in righteousness and equipping us for every good work, like falling asleep at night. And God loves us dearly. He doesn't want us to be in distress, to lose sleep over adverse circumstances. He desires for us to rest and particularly to rest in Him. So he inspired David to write this Psalm. He preserved this Psalm. God Almighty, Lord of the universe, who Josh talked about as being this great God over all the universe. He cares about us, even down to our ability to fall asleep. what a good Heavenly Father.

7 · Signals the structural approach of the sermon: tracing David's emotional and spiritual journey through Psalm 4 from distress to rest in six distinct stops

With that being said, I want to take us on a journey this morning, an emotional, spiritual journey with King David. we're going to trace this spiritual trek from a place of rest, or sorry, from a place of distress to a place of rest. And we're going to see that he travels through a number of stops throughout this journey from distress to rest. And he's going to travel into different phases, but ultimately he will end up in a place of rest. He will fall asleep.

8 · Full reading of Psalm 4 aloud, establishing the biblical text that will be expounded throughout the sermon

Let's read it together. Let's explore David's journey from distress to rest. Psalm 4. To the choir master, with stringing instruments, a psalm of David. David. Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness. You've 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 and 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 put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. In peace I'll both lie down and sleep. For you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

9 · Brief prayer after scripture reading asking God to bless the exposition of the text

God, almighty God, and the God who loves us, would you bless the preaching of your word.

10 · Establishes the historical-literary context of Psalm 4, noting the lack of explicit superscription but connecting it plausibly to Absalom's rebellion based on thematic parallels with Psalm 3 and the presence of distress in both psalms

All right, so let's begin our journey with Psalm 4 by looking at the context of the psalm. For what occasion and why was Psalm 4 written? Now frankly, the occasion for Psalm 4 is not incredibly clear from the text. If you look at it, you know, in the psalm, sometimes it'll have the psalm title, Psalm 4, Psalm 5, and then the subtext, it'll tell you a little bit about when the psalm was written. Psalm 4 doesn't have that. Psalm 4 doesn't say exactly when it was written. But many commentators see that Psalm 4 comes after Psalm 3, logically. And that Psalm 3 is fairly similar to Psalm 4 where Psalm 3, David's in distress and he's in distress over adverse circumstances that are similar to Psalm 4. So a lot of people connect Psalm 3 and Psalm 4 together. And Psalm 3, Psalm 3 is about Absalom's rebellion when Absalom was stealing the hearts of the men of Israel from King David and he was acting as if he were the judge and the right judge of the nation of Israel and David was forced to flee from Jerusalem because of that. A lot of people connect Psalm 3 and Psalm 4 with that where David's in distress and obviously from Psalm 4, David is in some form of distress. He's crying out to the Lord and he's asking for help from God. So the occasion may be about Absalom's rebellion, may be about something else, but clearly David is in distress.

11 · Identifies Psalm 4 as an evening psalm based on its sleep imagery and urges the congregation to see David's emotional experience as similar to their own despite the grander scale of his circumstances—Scripture addresses real life

Now second, Psalm 4 is regarded as an evening psalm. I think it's pretty clear from the text why that is. It speaks of lying down, going to sleep, and resting. So just imagine King David writing this psalm as he's tossing and turning on his bed. Maybe he's pacing back and forth and he's in turmoil and he's troubled. So while Psalm 4 is in Holy Scripture, let's not forget that Scripture is deeply connected to real daily life. That David is experiencing real things in life and that while the trials he's going through may be on a grander scale, like he's talking about losing a kingdom potentially to his son, at the same time, the emotions he's feeling, the turmoil he's feeling, the tossing and turning on the bed, the burning of his heart as he recounts conversations from the day or from the time, it's not all that different from some of the emotions that I think we can sometimes feel.

12 · Invites the congregation to imaginatively enter David's experience and signals the structural movement of the sermon through David's six-stop journey from distress to rest

And so, let's place ourselves in David's heart and mind and soul as we think about this psalm, as we consider this psalm. But not really all that different. What he's going through is not really all that different from what we can experience on a daily or weekly basis. So, now that we place ourselves in David's position, in his mind and heart and soul, and we kind of get a feel for what he's feeling, let's see, let's trace out how he moves from distress to rest.

13 · Announces the six-stage structure of the sermon, outlining the progression from distress to rest that will organize the exposition

So, he'll take six stops on his journey today. We've got six stops on the journey. First, David will be in distress. Second, he'll lament. Third, he'll express faith. Fourth, he'll counsel and care for his enemies. Fifth, he'll find contentment in the Lord. And then sixth, finally, he will go to sleep and rest. Let's explore David's stops on this journey.

14 · Expounds Psalm 4:1, arguing from the imperative language and the translators' use of exclamation points that David is in genuine, urgent distress at the psalm's opening

All right, so first, stop one, distress. Clearly, David's in distress as he starts out this psalm. Look at verse one. Answer me when I call, O God, in my righteousness. You give me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me. And hear my prayer. All right, so in verse one, David is calling out to God, crying out to the Lord. And we can see this in two ways specifically I want to call out. First, look at the strength of this language. He's saying, answer me. Be gracious to me. Hear my prayer. This is strong language. Second, notice that there are exclamation points in this. Two of the first three lines have exclamation points. And I don't know about you guys, but I don't see a lot of exclamation points in the Bible. English translators don't, they use exclamation points fairly sparingly. You know, I think of like Isaiah 6, where Isaiah is seeing the angels worship the Lord. and there's an exclamation point there. And I think of John 1, where, you know, John the Baptist sees Jesus coming towards him at the Jordan. The English translators use exclamation points to express that language. So clearly, clearly, by using the exclamation points in the beginning of this psalm, David is in real distress. That's what I'm trying to emphasize. David's distress.

15 · Draws a theological and practical claim from David's behavior: in distress, David's first move is toward God, not just fixation on the problem—a godly pattern we should follow

But, what does David do in the first verse? Being in distress? Well, David moves towards God. David moves towards the Lord. He says, answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness. And this God of my righteousness is a very personal address. O God of my righteousness. But consider, when you're in distress, is your first inclination to move towards the Lord? Is your first inclination to move towards God? Now, praise God if it is. Praise God if it is. But, consider, isn't it easy sometimes to just focus on the distress? To be distress-focused. To be distress-aimed. Rather than God-focused and God-aimed.

16 · Analogy comparing distress-fixation to standing in a rainstorm forgetting you're holding an umbrella—illustrating how believers can forget God is the solution when overwhelmed by circumstances

It's like, remember the rainstorm a couple, like a week or two ago where we had just ultimately flooding, even in here in the gym? It's like you're walking out in the rain and you've got raindrops all coming down around. You've got wind going and you forget that you've got an umbrella in your hand that can protect you from the rain. You forget the solution. That's what being distress-focused is like.

17 · Expounds Psalm 4:4-5, noting the Hebrew complexity and Paul's citation in Ephesians 4, and arguing that David counsels his enemies to process anger before God without sinning—a word of instruction to those opposing him

Now, from this place of faith, because David is now in faith, he moves on, he continues his journey, now arriving in such a place of confidence in the Lord, such hope in him, that he can counsel, and he can give advice even to his enemies. Look at verses 4 and 5. be angry and do not sin. Honor your own hearts on your beds and be silent. Offer right sacrifices and put your trust in the Lord. On these verses, David has a word, a word for those who are dishonoring him, shaming him, talking about him, behind his back, lying about him. And what's his counsel? Well, verse 4 is very familiar to us. And if you've read Ephesians recently, it'll be familiar to you. Paul talks about it in Ephesians 4. Be angry and do not sin. It's a familiar one. When you look at the Hebrew, the Hebrew is complex. It can mean be angry, it can mean be perturbed or agitated, even tremble. The heart of David's counsel that he's giving to his enemies is to feel your anger, to feel your agitation, and to work through it before the face of God.

18 · Draws a theological claim from David's counsel: that caring for enemies' souls rather than seeking revenge is a supernatural, godly response made possible by faith in God

So David, he's counseling his enemies, and he's giving them advice to work through their anger, potentially even at him, but to do it in a way that's not going to sin against the Lord. To feel it, to deal with it, to work with it, and ultimately get a place where you trust in the Lord again, and you've turned back to the Lord. What I want to highlight here is that David, David is in a place where he's got enemies, but he's counseled them truly. He's counseled them rightly. He's counseling them even kindly. I think this is a supernatural response.

19 · Hypothetical scenario of a doctor caring for a patient who is publicly slandering him, illustrating the supernatural nature of David's care for his enemies despite their opposition

Think about it, like if you're a doctor, a doctor, right? And you've got this patient who is just blasting you over social media, and that you're still willing to diagnose life-saving antibiotics that are going to help this patient to live. David is tender-hearted towards his enemies. David cares so much about his enemies' souls, and about God's glory, he's willing to still counsel them and care for them. He's not bitter. He's ready to forgive and even care for his enemies.

20 · Direct exhortation to cultivate the same tender-hearted posture toward opponents that David demonstrated in Psalm 4

May we have a kind of heart for those who oppose us or stand against us.

21 · Transition reviewing the journey so far and building anticipation for the final two stops: contentment and rest

All right, we've seen David's journey from distress to lament to faith to counseling his enemies. We've got two more stops, and they are just glorious.

22 · Expounds Psalm 4:6-7, noting that even after David's counsel, some still doubt God's goodness, and David's response is to turn away from their skepticism and toward God himself

The stop five on the journey from distress to rest, contentment. Look at verses six and seven. There are many who say, who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord. You put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. Even after David's counsel to his enemies, there are still some people who are doubting God. We're not listening. They're wondering if God's going to act for their good. These people may be the same people that he counseled before. They may be a different group of people, the commentators, they vary. What I think is most important to pay attention to is David's response to them. David turns Godward. David takes his eyes off the people's response, and he looks to the Lord.

23 · Analogy comparing the spiritual coldness of doubting God to the gray winter months in Kansas City, and God's favor to the warm sunshine returning in spring, illustrating David's prayer for God's face to shine on his people

Lord. So, think back to number six. Be careful for a second, and think about the blessing that God gives to Moses for Aaron to bless the people of Israel with, for God to shine his face upon the nation. And now consider, we've got a lot of sun right now. It's nice, it's sunny out, but think back to like mid December, to like mid February, maybe early March in Kansas City. It is gray. It is dark, it can be dreary, it can be cold. It's kind of like what the nation of Israel, David is interpreting the nation of Israel as feeling at this moment. They feel distant from God, they don't feel, they feel maybe coldness or distance from the Lord. But then, think about what it feels like around Easter time, when the sun shines bright again and it's yellow and it's warm and the flowers start to bloom and the grass starts to grow again. It's that blessing of the light of God's face shining upon the nation that David is praying for and asking for God to warm the hearts of the people of Israel.

24 · Expounds the climactic verse of the psalm (Psalm 4:7), arguing that David finds deeper joy in God himself than others find in abundant material blessings—God is the source of all satisfaction

And not only does David call for God to shine his face upon his people, but he then provides the climax and most beautiful verse of the psalm, verse 7. You put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. But David takes solace, more than that, David takes joy in the goodness of God. He looks all around him and he sees people celebrating worldly things and grain and wine. And now, grain and wine, they're not bad things, right? They're not bad things, but they're not the best thing. And they're not what David is seeking to fulfill his heart with. David is looking to the greater gift, the greater satisfaction, the source of all grain and wine and ultimately joy. David looks to the Lord.

25 · Synthesizes David's spiritual transformation from distress to profound joy in God's goodness, citing multiple scripture passages that echo this contentment in God above circumstances

Lord, and in his journey from distress to rest, remember that guy who was so upset in verse one, who was with exclamation points, exclaiming, crying out to the Lord? Well, now, he's remembered that God is good in the most profound way that I could possibly express. He remembers that God is the strength of his heart and his portion forever. He remembers that the mercies of the Lord never fail, that they are new every morning, and great is his steadfast love. He remembers as Habakkuk would later recount, that the fig trees should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail, and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls. Yet, I will rejoice. I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

26 · Direct pastoral address noting that David's circumstances have not changed but his heart has found rest in God, and assuring the congregation that the same God offers them the same comfort and rest

But David finds rest and solace and contentment and joy in God. Circumstances haven't changed, right? The guys are still talking bad about him, but he now has found contentment, rest, peace, joy in the Lord. God that the same God who helped David to find rest and contentment and stability and peace and joy, same God for us today. It's not different. It's the same God. And if we're going through something, he can comfort us in the same way. He is for us. He didn't spare his own son for us, but gave him up for us all so that he could care for us no matter what is going on.

27 · Exhortation to follow David's pattern of finding comfort and joy in God personally during times of distress

So in our distress, may we find the same comfort as David and truly root our joy in our hopes on the God of the universe who is our heavenly father who cares for us personally.

28 · Expounds Psalm 4:8, the psalm's conclusion, where David declares he will lie down and sleep in peace because God alone makes him dwell in safety

All right. Now, finally, we observe David's last stop on the spiritual journey. Where does David end his journey? He goes to sleep and rests in the Lord. Hopefully none of you have done that yet this morning. All right. Look at verse 8. Just checking. Look at verse 8. In peace, I will lie down and sleep. Be alone, O Lord. Make me dwell in safety.

29 · Synthesizes the psalm's final movement: David can now sleep because he looks to God alone for safety, not to favorable circumstances or relational peace—a trust available to all believers

Now, David, in the face of opposition and heartache and trial, David, who was pacing back and forth next to his bed or tossing and turning on his pillow, well, he can now go to sleep. He can rest. And how can he do this? Well, to relate with the irrational storm swirling around him, he again looks to God and God alone. For you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. David is now in a place of true trust in the Lord. He's looking at his circumstances as much as favorable circumstances can be a blessing from God. He's looking to his relationships as much as relational peace can be a blessing from the Lord. He's looking solely to the Lord and the safety and security that he finds in God. What peace is David able to find? What blessing? And this peace and blessing available to us this morning as well. And ultimately in this, he's able to go to sleep and rest.

30 · Transition signaling the shift from exposition to direct application, with separate addresses to believers and unbelievers

All right, now before closing up for today, I want to try to help us to apply Psalm 4, what we just talked about, to our lives specifically and personally. So, for final application today, I want to talk to believers first, and then we'll talk to unbelievers, those who are not following Christ yet.

31 · Application to believers urging them to address practical circumstances causing distress while simultaneously pursuing heart-level rest in God, which will better equip them to handle the practical issues

Now for believers this morning, I've asked this a few times, is there anything in your life where you're experiencing distress? Fighting within the marriage, or distress with your kids, or health issues, or financial issues? Is there something in your life where you just feel this is not right? Well, seek to resolve the circumstances first. Seek reconciliation in your marriage. Seek to work with your kids and care for your kids. Do we need to provide for your finances or whatever? Don't ignore the practical. Don't ignore the circumstances. Don't over spiritualize. But, at the same time, if you can get your heart in a place of rest in the Lord, content in Christ, you'll be so much more prepared and ready to deal with the practicals of what's going on in your life. Be in a much better position to address your enemies like David, or care for your spouse or kids, or figure out how you can provide more or better for your family.

32 · Summarizes the six-step pattern from Psalm 4 as a practical guide for believers to follow when experiencing distress, moving from crying out to God through to rest

How do you do that? Well, the psalm gives us a pattern to follow. Number one, we can cry out to the Lord in our distress. We can lament and come before the Lord and express what's going on. We can then come to a place of faith, remember that God cares for us personally and specifically and hears our prayers. prayers. We can then go and try to counsel and care for those who are against us, our enemies, or whomever. We can find our contentment in the Lord and then ultimately we can go to sleep and rest in him, physically and truly. Get your heart in a place where you can say with David, you put more joy in my heart and have where the grain and wine abound. And then out of that heart, you'll be able to be so much more prepared to deal with whatever is going on in your life.

33 · Evangelistic application to unbelievers, explaining that the peace offered in the sermon requires salvation through Christ, calling them to repent and trust in Christ to have their guilt removed and be adopted into God's family

Second, for unbelievers here, for listening, the truth is I can't hold out this hope to come forward to you this morning, this hope of peace and joy and rest in God. if you're outside of Christ, the hope and peace and rest of Christ, what is not for you? Rather, after hearing the sermon, the Lord is calling you to repent from your sin and trust in Christ for salvation, to be reconciled to him so you can experience the peace and joy of a relationship with God. Truly, right now, if you are not in Christ and he's not your righteousness, you stand condemned for him. And the guilt of all your sin sits on you like a lead vest, just suffocating. the good news is that Christ can lift off that weight from your chest. That weight of guilt can come off of you and you can experience the joy and peace and rest of knowing Christ. Your sins can be separated from you as far as the east is from the west because of what Christ has done for you. So, what should you do? Turn from your sin. Turn from your rebellion. Turn from your denial of the Lord and your fear of man or whatever and trust in Christ. Confess that you are a sinner and call on the Lord for salvation. As we saw, he will hear you. He will forgive you. And he will adopt you into his family. So, if you're outside of Christ this morning, trust in Christ.

34 · Conclusion summarizing the six-stage journey from distress to rest, affirming the relevance of David's experience to believers' lives, and issuing a final charge to apply the pattern for God's glory and our joy

All right, to wrap things up, we're going on quite a journey together today. We've seen David trek from distress to lament to faith to counsel to contentment and ultimately to rest. we've seen that while David's circumstances, they may have been on a grander scale than ours, but the kingdom at stake, they're not all that different from what causes us to turn in our beds or to repeat conversations in our head or to burn in our heart at night. So, when faced with distress, there's an hour sometime in the future that we use the lessons of Psalm 4 that David exemplified God for us. May we journey from that distress to a place of renewed rest in the Lord. And ultimately, may we get a good night's sleep. All for God's glory and our joy.

35 · Closing prayer thanking God for the promises of Psalm 4, asking that the sermon would bear fruit and that the congregation would remember to move toward God in distress

Let's pray. Jesus, we praise you because you are a good God. God, you cherish us, you care for us, and you offer yourself to us. Lord, we thank you for the promises of Psalm 4, that even in our distress, we can travel from distress to rest, because of who you are and what you've done for us. We pray that the words in this sermon would go deep into our hearts, that you would bear fruit through them, that if we're experiencing distress now or in the future, we remember that we can come to you, and we can move towards you, and we can have faith in you, and whatever we're facing. Lord, we thank you, we love you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

36 · Transitions to communion by pointing to Jesus as the greater David who experienced the ultimate distress and whose work on the cross secures the peace and comfort Psalm 4 describes for believers

For communion this morning, I want to draw your attention, ultimately, to the greater David, to the greater King, Jesus Christ, the one who faced the greatest distress we could ever imagine. Let's look to him, the founder and perfecter of our faith, and for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand, seated now, listening to our prayers, at the right hand, the throne of God. And let's consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so you may not grow weary or faint-hearted. He is the greater one who called to the Lord for relief. He is the greater one who was dishonored and shamed and lied about. He is the greater one who taught others so wisely. And he is the greater one who took joy in the Lord more than anyone. Ultimately, he was the one whose body was broken, whose blood was shed, so we could be forgiven of our sins and adopted into God's family and comforted in our distress, no matter what is going on in our lives.

37 · Invitation to take communion in gratitude and faith, grounded in the assurance that God in Christ walks with believers through every trial

So come today, take communion, grateful and rejoicing that whatever is going on, and whatever may come, we can take heart that God is our God, that in Christ, God, the God of the universe, proves of us, and that he will walk with us through any trial that we may face. So, in faith, this morning, come to the table.