When the Lord Enlarges Us Part 1
Psalms 4:1-4
Psalm 4:1-8 (NKJV)
1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
2 How long, O you sons of men, Will you turn my glory to shame? How long will you love worthlessness And seek falsehood? Selah
3 But know that the LORD has set apart for Himself him who is godly; The LORD will hear when I call to Him.
4 Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah
Part 2
5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, And put your trust in the LORD.
6 There are many who say, “Who will show us any good?” LORD, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us.
7 You have put gladness in my heart, More than in the season that their grain and wine increased.
8 I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
When we talk about being enlarged, I think of the prayer of Jabez
1 Chronicles 4:10 (NKJV) And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.
Like I have said in the past and will say again and again its ok to pray prayers in the Bible. So, this is a good one to pray.
“Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!”
Sermon: Summary: We want to heal and respond like Christ when we are offended and hurt, but where do we start?
Help from the Psalmist David after his son betrayed him and broke his heart.
This Psalm was written by King David at the time when Absalom, his son, had taken over the capitol, Jerusalem, and David and those loyal to him were leaving.
It was his sad recollection of the sad parade leaving the palace.
It was in time of sad memories of his feelings of betrayal by one whom he loved.
It was in light of the lies and painful things Absalom was saying.
It is a good guide in our dealing with hurts, offenses, and painful actions of others.
We all get hurt. There are always misunderstandings.
Sometimes, things are said that are painful to us.
It is much simpler and easier to live like a Christian when you are not hurting.
Really, our lives speak little to others about our Christian life when we are not offended.
However, when we get hurt, when painful words are said, our response is the real test of whether Christ made a real difference in our lives.
Theoretically, Christians should live with the pain of offenses different than those who do not know that Jesus Christ is good.
Being in pain is the greatest test of the difference Jesus makes in our lives.
“Nothing speaks louder to an unsaved world than a Christian who suffers successfully.” Charles Stanly.
God wants to teach us how to respond in life the right way, even when we are hurting.
So much so, that He came down to become a man to show us how to love in pain, respond in grace, and “swear to our own hurt and not change”
Psalm 15:4 (NKJV) In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the LORD; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
Jesus showed us how told us to do it, and empowered us to succeed.
However, we all must grow up to that point because it is not easy, especially when your feelings are hurt.
So, this is a prayer to Enlarge
Enlarge =OT:7337 rachab (raw-khab’); a primitive root; to broaden (intransitive or transitive, literal or figurative): KJV – be an en- make) large (-ing), make room, make (open) wide.
(Biblesoft’s New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
1). The Possibility of Being Enlarged by the Lord
To the chief Musician on Neg’-i-noth, A Psalm of David.
OT:5058 negiynah (neg-ee-naw’); or negiynath (Ps 61:title) (neg-ee-nath’); from OT:5059; properly, instrumental music; by implication, a stringed instrument; by extension, a poem set to music; specifically, an epigram: KJV – stringed instrument, musick, Neginoth [plural], song.
We often talk too much and pray too little!
Psalm 4:1 (NKJV)
1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
This was a common plea for psalms because it was a common beginning for prayers.
When you are offended or hurt, however, be assured that God is working.
He is working on your life and in the life of the one who offended you.
He will answer your prayer, your call, when you pray about the offense and the offender.
He has and will act righteously in your life and the life of your offender.
He has and will move in a way to give you relief from the pain and distress.
He is gracious and He hears your prayers.
The answer is either Yes, No, Wait, or He has something better!
Psalm 4:2 (NKJV)
2 How long, O you sons of men, Will you turn my glory to shame? How long will you love worthlessness And seek falsehood? Selah
In David’s prayer, he expresses his discomfort. Yes, it hurts.
Heart pain can be slower to heal than body pain.
David’s focus here, however, is on two things; those who hurt him and how long he will be suffering this offense.
We often ask, oh how long will this hurt?
Some grief never ends we just learn to accept it.
Or we ask, how many times will I have to endure this disrespectful treatment from this person?
Peter asked this question in Matthew 18:
“How many times should I forgive my brother? Seven times? (meaning completely)
Matthew 18:22 “And Jesus said unto him, ‘I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.’”
Not just completely, but completely forever.
We often talk too much and pray too little!
“Selah,” the best we can tell, is a musical pause representing a change.
2). The People God Enlarged
The Lord works in and through the lives of people
Psalm 4:3 (NKJV)
3 But know that the LORD has set apart for Himself him who is godly; The LORD will hear when I call to Him.
“has set apart” = “Has sanctified”.
After the “Selah,” you can often recognize a shift: A shift in position, a shift in thought, a shift in attitude, a shift in focus, etc…
In verse 2, the focus is on self and pain.
In verse 3, after the “Selah”, the focus is on the sanctification process of God in our lives.
Same subject (pain and offense), but a different focus (from my hurt to what God is doing).
God sanctifies His children. God allows offenses in our lives for our good, our purifying, our sanctification.
It is not a matter of God not hearing our prayers, but God is going to continue to allow us to be hurt and offended until He accomplishes His purpose in our lives.
Psalm 4:4 (NKJV)
4 Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah
The Hebrew word “Ragaz”, “Be angry”, stand in awe, means tremble (in fear or anger).
In The Psalmist saw the secret. When you ponder, don’t ponder on the offense. Don’t think about the offender.
Ponder your own heart.
Ponder what God is doing.
Search for God’s hand in your life.
I assure you, if you are offended and have hurt feelings, you “in all your ways acknowledge Him, He will direct your paths,” to healing and recovery.
