Introduction
You're following the series Our Relationship With God. Last week, Patrice Martorano spoke to you about worries that damage your relationship with your Father. This time, he turns to something else that can play on your imagination and color your prayers: betrayal. When people hurt you, when they talk behind your back, when a little scene starts replaying in your head, it can unsettle what you're living out with God.
To answer this question, the preacher invites you to open Psalm 4. David prays there at a moment when he's being slandered. Three movements take shape: he cries out to God, he addresses his adversaries, then he proclaims his confidence. This is the prayer you're going to follow.
Article outline
- When a critical spirit stops a work of God
- Cry out to God with all your heart (Psalm 4:1)
- Speak to those who hurt you, without sinning (Psalm 4:2-5)
- Paul's lesson before the high priest (Acts 23)
- Anchor your confidence in the Lord (Psalm 4:6-8)
- Jesus, the Son of David, entered into your humiliation
1. When a critical spirit stops a work of God
Patrice opens with a story. About a hundred years ago, in the Drôme region of France, a revival rose up after the First World War. Many had left the church: they couldn't understand how the world had exploded that way. Then, in small Reformed churches, people came to Christ. The pews filled up, and there wasn't enough room. At the same time, a Baptist missionary movement began planting churches everywhere.
And then, despite this beautiful work of God, a critical spirit with bad intent settled into people's minds. Pastors denounced other pastors, churches tore apart, and the revival stopped. It's a shame. It's a concrete example of what an overly critical, negative spirit can do: stop a beautiful work of God.
Thankfully, you have Psalm 4. David was slandered too. He shows you the way through.
2. Cry out to God with all your heart (Psalm 4:1)
David begins by crying out. "Answer me when I call, God of my righteousness. Give me relief from my distress. Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer." Everything in his life is shaken. Despair rises up. "Answer me", as though he feared God might not answer.
Patrice notes a particular effect of slander: loneliness. When people talk behind your back, you no longer know who's who. You almost never learn it from the person involved, but from someone else. There's a kind of wall of silence around you, a loss of trust, and sometimes you even hold that against God.
"God of my righteousness." This isn't "look how innocent I am, look how many good things I do, so you owe it to act for me." It's a proclamation of faith: God is my righteousness. In Jesus Christ, when you believe in him (he who is innocent), you have his perfect righteousness. He is also God your righteousness.
David continues in the past tense: "You have relieved me in my distress." Patrice explains: in ancient battles, everything happened hand to hand, in a tightly packed crowd, extremely dangerous, danger came from every direction. "You have relieved me" means: you gave me room where I could see everything and know I was safe. In other words: "You have already done this for me, my God."
So what do you do when you're betrayed? You cry out to God, with all your heart. No need to polish your sentences into pretty phrases: God already knows exactly what's happening. And he's big enough not to be bothered by your shaky theology in a moment of crisis. What he wants is you.
3. Speak to those who hurt you, without sinning (Psalm 4:2-5)
"You sons of men, how long shall my glory be turned into dishonor? How long will you love worthlessness and seek after lies? Selah. But know that Yahweh has set apart for himself him who is godly: Yahweh will hear when I call to him. Stand in awe, and don't sin. Search your own heart on your bed, and be still. Selah. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness. Put your trust in Yahweh."
The Psalms were originally real feelings, real prayers. David's first prayers, in the moment this was happening to him, probably weren't as well structured. Over time, he wrote them down. And what he wrote became the songs of Israel, the religious songs of the people. Since he's king, people sing what he wants. The move is clever and beautiful: his very adversaries now have to sing this song. And there's a little message in it for them.
You don't have that kind of power. But it's very instructive for you: the moment prayer becomes song, frustrations can be shared, and his exhortation broadens out to the whole people, and even to you.
What David teaches along the way is that it's always wrong, for a Christian, to speak words that crush another person, or to build sentences meant to wound them in some way. Why? First, because it's dehumanizing. The person you insult, whom you hurt with your words, especially behind their back, is a person made in God's image. Anything you say against them stands opposed to that image. That's why David asks: why do you seek after lies? Why love these worthless things? Christians have a different standard, Christ's.
Patrice adds, in parentheses: "When I preach, I always preach to myself first." Christians must never use their words to degrade, hurt, or belittle anyone, especially their enemies. That's hard.
4. Paul's lesson before the high priest (Acts 23)
The apostle Paul found himself in a similar situation. In Acts 23, he stands before the council. He begins to speak, and the high priest orders him struck on the mouth. In that culture, that's one of the greatest insults you could give someone.
Paul, somewhat heated, replies in Acts 23:3: "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit to judge me according to the law, and command me to be struck contrary to the law?" That's harsh. But someone reminds him he has just insulted the high priest. So Paul catches himself: "I didn't know, brothers, that he was high priest. For it is written, 'You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.'"
That's a great example for you. No one is better than Paul, and sometimes things will come out of your mouth that shouldn't. But he also shows you that it's not too late to walk it back and say what's right. A Christian must not insult, nor speak evil of another.
Go back to David. "Know that Yahweh has set apart for himself him who is godly." Remember this choice God made. For a long time, before becoming king, David was hunted, pursued by another king. Twice it seemed God had delivered his enemy into his hands: he could have taken his sword and ended the story right there, without consequence. What did he say? "I will not touch the Lord's anointed." And he let him go. Exactly what his adversaries would not do for him. So David proclaims: God has set apart a man for himself, and he hears when I pray.
Maybe you're thinking, "Okay." Remember Paul too. When he was still called Saul of Tarsus and was persecuting the church, the risen Jesus Christ revealed himself to him on the road to Damascus. A light so bright he fell from his horse, blinded. And the Lord said to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" In his head, Saul could have answered, "I'm not persecuting you. I'm just persecuting those people in the church." But what Jesus actually says is: "Those people, when you persecute them, you're persecuting me." God has set apart a people for himself. That's what David is recalling here.
And then David says something very powerful: "Stand in awe, and don't sin. Search your own heart on your bed, and be still." In other words: be angry if you must, shake off your rage, do what you need to do, but don't sin through slander. There's a moment when this is completely natural: you're an emotional being, anger is one of the emotions you have, and there's nothing inherently wrong with it. But you're not required to sin against another person just because you're angry.
"Search your own heart." Maybe you need to say certain things, but eventually, on your bed, you have to reach a point where you say, "Alright, it's all been said," a point where you stop. For you, that might be two hours of jogging, or building something, or whatever it takes to burn off that very negative energy so you can finally think clearly.
The apostle Paul takes up this very same word in Ephesians 4:26: "Be angry, and don't sin. Don't let the sun go down on your wrath, and don't give place to the devil." The church is full of people who sometimes get angry with one another, who have small conflicts with each other. That's life. Paul adds a clock to it: try to calm down the same day. The longer you hold onto that anger, the more likely it becomes bitterness. And there, you're facing something unimaginable: giving the devil a foothold. In other words, the devil takes your anger and turns it into something absolutely horrible.
What Paul, along with David, is telling you is that you need to arrive at that moment of calm where you hand it over to God. Psalm 4:5 puts it this way: "Offer the sacrifices of righteousness. Put your trust in Yahweh." Among David's people, a sacrifice was offered for sin. In other words: own up to what you've done, ask forgiveness. Thankfully, you no longer have to go to Jerusalem to offer oxen or pigeons. Jesus Christ died for you. The sacrifice has been made. Today, you need to ask forgiveness from him, and it's he who forgives you, and who rebuilds that trust.
What strikes Patrice in particular this week, studying this psalm, is that David turned all of this into a song to instruct his enemies. He doesn't convince them, they're likely people within God's own camp. And what's beautiful is that this grace extends to people who make mistakes, like you and him.
5. Anchor your confidence in the Lord (Psalm 4:6-8)
"Yahweh, let the light of your face shine on us. You have put gladness in my heart, more than when their grain and their new wine are increased. In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep, for you, Yahweh alone, make me live in safety."
For David, the joy of the Lord surpasses material blessings. It's worth more than all his adversaries' riches. "When their grain and new wine are increased" (even when they have everything they need), what matters more to me, David says, is when you put joy in my heart. Why? Because you can be very wealthy and very unhappy. Very wealthy and always looking over your shoulder to make sure no one is standing there with a dagger. The joy of the Lord is worth far more than that.
Many say, "Who will show us good?", a bit like "that day when I finally win," "ah, the day when things will finally go my way," "that moment when everything will finally be easy." Many say that. But you, Lord, you give me joy. David shows that his confidence isn't placed in some magical moment that may never come. He doesn't set his life aside today while waiting for something that might someday happen. He lives out today the joy the Lord gives him now through the Holy Spirit.
Because the Lord's presence gives him peace: "In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep." Why? "For you, Yahweh alone, make me live in safety." He knows he's in the Lord's hands, safe and sound.
6. Jesus, the Son of David, entered into your humiliation
David cries out to God, he speaks to his adversaries, he declares his confidence. But to talk about David without talking about the Son of David would be a mistake, because this psalm is truly messianic.
The Son of David is chosen from eternity past. He is the beloved Son: three times, the Father spoke to him aloud, with witnesses present who attested to his favor and his choosing. Everything he did was exactly what the Father had asked of him. Jesus even said before his adversaries, "Which of you convicts me of sin?" Not a single person stood up to say, "The other day, you did this." No one.
Yet he was called "a gluttonous man and a drunkard" because he ate with people who had that reputation. Behind his back, they said of him, "Ah, Jesus, you know, he really spends too much time with those prostitutes." They said he was completely deluded, that he said outrageous things. He even said he would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days.
Jesus went before you into the humiliation of betrayal. He entered into it long before you did, and he handled it in a way you never could. So that today he can enter with you into your humiliation, feel it with you, in the sense of sharing your trial, encourage you, be there so you can cry out to him. His only request is that you come. Come to him.
Key takeaways
- A critical spirit with bad intent can stop the most beautiful work of God. The preacher gives a concrete example: a revival in the Drôme, a hundred years ago.
- When you're slandered, your first response is neither rewording nor revenge. It's crying out to God, with all your heart, exactly as you are.
- Anger itself isn't a sin. What becomes sin is letting your anger produce words that crush a person made in God's image.
- Don't let the sun go down on your anger (Ephesians 4:26). The longer anger lasts, the more it turns into bitterness, and the more ground you give the devil.
- Your joy doesn't depend on some "magical moment" yet to come. It's given to you today by the Holy Spirit, in the Lord's presence.
- Jesus was the first to enter the humiliation of betrayal. He's never a distant God when people speak evil of you.
Personal application
- Is there, right now, something said behind your back that keeps replaying in your head and "coloring" your prayers? Are you ready to lay it before God, without carefully polished sentences?
- When you're angry at someone, at what point do you "search your own heart and be still"? What, concretely, helps you burn off that negative energy?
- Have you recently said something degrading about someone, even "just" behind their back? Are you ready to walk it back, like Paul, and correct it?
- Where are you currently placing your confidence for happiness: in a "once I finally have," or in the Lord who puts joy in your heart today?
- What difference does it make for you to know that Jesus entered, before you, into exactly the kind of humiliation you're going through?
Scriptures cited
- Psalm 4 · the central passage of the message
- Acts 23:1-5 · Paul before the high priest
- Ephesians 4:26-27 · "Be angry, and don't sin"
- Acts 9:1-9 · Saul on the road to Damascus
- John 8:46 · "Which of you convicts me of sin?"
Further reading
FAQ
Why does slander affect our relationship with God so much?
Because it adds a sense of loneliness and loss of trust to the pain. Since you don't know who said what, you often end up distrusting even God. Psalm 4 teaches you not to stay in that loneliness, but to cry out to him first.
Can I get angry without sinning?
Yes. David says "stand in awe, and don't sin," and Paul takes this up in Ephesians 4:26. Anger is a normal emotion. What becomes sin is letting anger produce words that hurt a person made in God's image, or holding onto that anger long enough for it to turn into bitterness.
What should I do if I've already spoken badly of someone?
Look at Paul in Acts 23. He insults the high priest, then immediately catches himself when reminded of Scripture. It's never too late to walk it back, make it right, and ask forgiveness, first from God, then from the person. The sacrifice for your sin has already been made by Jesus Christ.
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