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["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] Can I please have everyone find their seats and grab their songbooks and we're gonna turn to page number 83 We're gonna be singing I'm Going Higher Please find your seats and grab your songbooks and turn to page number 83 Page number 83 I'm Going Higher Page number 83 and let's go ahead and sing it out on the first Often I've watched the clouds up in the sky Always I've heard they were men miles high Men as they sailed out of sight far away I said I'm going far higher someday I'm going higher, yes, higher someday I'm going higher to stay Over the clouds and beyond the blue sky Going where none ever sicken or die Love wants to meet in the sweet by and by I'm going higher someday Page number 83 let's go ahead and sing it out on the second verse Men sail the ocean or soar through the air Scarce can the natural eye see them up there Some seek for fame which will soon will decay I'm going higher, yes, higher someday I'm going higher, yes, higher someday I'm going higher to stay Over the clouds and beyond the blue sky Going where none ever sicken or die Love wants to meet in the sweet by and by I'm going higher someday Moses went up in a mountain and prayed Glory came down while alone there he stayed But he came back he just went there to pray I'm going higher, yes, higher someday I'm going higher, yes, higher someday I'm going higher to stay Over the clouds and beyond the blue sky Going where none ever sicken or die Love wants to meet in the sweet by and by I'm going higher someday Page number 83 let's go ahead and sing it out on the fourth Often my soul has been lifted above Lost in the ocean of God's mighty love Though I am higher than once still I say I'm going higher, yes, higher someday I'm going higher, yes, higher someday I'm going higher to stay Over the clouds and beyond the blue sky Going where none ever sicken or die Love wants to meet in the sweet by and by I'm going higher someday Let's sing it out on the last Soon will the Savior appear bless His name Someday this earth will be all wrapped in flame Then as I see the fire mounting so high I'm going higher, beyond the blue sky I'm going higher, yes, higher someday I'm going higher to stay Over the clouds and beyond the blue sky Going where none ever sicken or die Love wants to meet in the sweet by and by I'm going higher someday Great singing. Welcome to Verity Baptist Church in the Wednesday evening Bible study. Let's open up in a word of prayer. Father God, thank you so much for this church, Lord. Thank you for these people who come out here on a Wednesday evening to serve you. I pray that our singing would glorify you, Lord, and pray that you would bless the service to come. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Alright, turn in your songbooks, page number 224. We're going to sing There Shall Be Showers of Blessing. Page 224. Page 224. And let's go ahead and sing it out on the first. There shall be showers of blessing This is the promise of love There shall be seasons refreshing Sent from the Savior above Showers of blessing Showers of blessing we need Mercy drops round us are falling But for the showers we plead Page 224. Let's sing it out on the second verse. There shall be showers of blessing Precious reviving again Over the hills and the valleys Sound of abundance of rain Showers of blessing Showers of blessing we need Mercy drops round us are falling But for the showers we plead Page 224 on the third There shall be showers of blessing Send them upon us, O Lord Grant to us now a refreshing Come and now honor thy word Showers of blessing Showers of blessing we need Mercy drops round us are falling But for the showers we plead There shall be showers of blessing Though that today they might fall Now as to God we're confessing Now as on Jesus we call Showers of blessing Showers of blessing we need Mercy drops round us are falling But for the showers we plead Great singing. Amen. All right. Well, let's take our bulletins this evening and we'll look at some announcements real quickly. We're glad that you're with us, of course. If you need a bulletin, just raise your hand and one of our ushers can get one for you. If you need a bulletin, just put your hand up and we'll get one for you. The verse this week, Psalm 92, 13, those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. And that's a good verse there. We like that. If you open up your bullets and you'll see our service time Sunday morning service 10 30 a.m. We do invite you to be with us, of course, on Sunday morning on the Lord's Day for church Sunday evening service at 6 p.m. And we're glad you're here for the midweek service. If you look at our sowing times, our main sowing times on Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. And then we have additional sowing times on Thursdays and on Sundays at 2 p.m. So if you'd like to go sowing, there'll be an opportunity for you to be able to do that, of course, this weekend. And if you look across the page there, you'll see that we've got our biblical leadership institute that we're launching this fall. And if you're interested in that, man, you can go by the foyer and grab one of these brochures that are over there. And make sure you sign up for the orientation if you have, like, more information about that or, again, if you have any questions regarding that. And then, of course, Family and Friend Day is coming up, and it's our church's 14-year anniversary. You should have one of these cards in your bulletin, and we just want you to use this to invite somebody to church for Family and Friend Day. We've got lots of things going on. We'll have lunch after the service, anniversary mug as a gift for every family, the candy suckers for all the kids, special music, and then, of course, we want you to be aware that there'll be a soul-winning push the weekend of Family and Friend Day, Thursday and Friday at 6 p.m., and then Saturday morning at 10 a.m. We'd love for you to be a part of that. If you look at the homeschool group there, the P.E. class is starting back up on Thursday, September 5th, so we'd like you to be aware of that. If you look at the back of the bulletin, birthdays and anniversaries for the month of August this week. We have Ms. Rizel Lee-Wilson's birthday. It was yesterday, August 20th, and today is Ms. Joyce Nathan's birthday, August 21st. Praise Report, Money Matters, all of those things are there for you to look at, and just a real quick announcement. We have a sign-up sheet. My wife has a sign-up sheet for the Lee-Wilson family. Of course, Ms. Rizel Lee-Wilson recently had a baby, and she's out of the hospital now, and we'd like to, of course, be a blessing to brother Matt and Ms. Rizel and the kids. So if you'd like to sign up to bring a meal to the Lee-Wilson family, please see my wife after the service. She'll have a clipboard, and she'll be able to get you signed up for that. I know we've had a lot of sign-ups lately, a lot of babies being born and people in the hospital, but just stick with it. I think this might be the last one at least for a little bit, so if you could help us with that, we'd appreciate it. Also, a lot of sickness going around, and just be in prayer, of course, for the church family. I'm actually not feeling well myself tonight, and so if it's okay with you, I'm going to go ahead and try to shorten the service as much as possible. We're going to skip the prayer sheet tonight, but I would like you to have it in hand. If you need a prayer sheet, I'm going to ask the ushers. If anybody needs a prayer sheet, just go ahead and raise your hand, and we'll get this to you. We're going to skip the prayer sheet. We actually have a baptism lined up tonight as well, but I've asked Deacon Oliver to take care of that after the service. So if it's okay with you, I'm just going to try to preach tonight, and then I'm going to try to get out of here. I'd like to get out of here as soon as possible, so if you could help us with that, we would appreciate it, and just be in prayer. It's very rare that I get sick, but there's a lot of sickness going around that finally hit me. I had Brother Oliver preach last Sunday. I'm going to be out of town next week, so I couldn't really ask anybody. I just need to do it myself. I'll be preaching tonight, but we'd like to move through the service as quickly as we can. Let's go ahead, and we're going to sing the chorus of the week, and we'll sing He's Able as we prepare to receive the offering. Let's go ahead and sing it out on the first. He's able, He's able, He's able, I know my Lord is able to carry me through. He's able, He's able, I know, He's able, I know my Lord is able to carry me through. He healed the broken-hearted and set the captive free. He made the lame to walk again and caused the blind to see. He's able, He's able, I know, He's able, I know my Lord is able to carry me through. Amen. Alright, we'll go ahead and have the guys come up and help us with the offering at this time. Let's bow our heads in our word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, we do love you. Thank you for allowing us to gather together tonight. We pray you'd bless the offering, the gift, and the giver. Lord, we ask that you would help everybody that's not feeling well, help them to get better soon. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Please open up to Psalm 4. Psalm 4, if you don't have a Bible, please raise your hand and I know she can bring you a Bible. Psalm 4, just keep your hand up and I'll show you what will come by. Psalm 4, beginning in verse number 1. Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness. Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress. Have mercy upon me and hear my prayer. O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? How long will ye love vanity and seek after leasing, Selah? But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself. The Lord will hear when I call unto him. Stand in awe and sin not. Commune with your own heart upon your bed and be still, Selah. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness and put your trust in the Lord. There be many that say, who will show us any good? Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more in the time that their corn and their wine increased. Thou wilt both lay me down in peace and sleep. For thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for this evening. God, I thank you for your word. I ask that you please meet with us tonight. And I say please be their pastor, please give him strength, and feel him in the spirit, Lord. We love you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Alright, we're there in Psalm chapter 4. It's Psalm 4 tonight, and of course we've been going through the Book of Psalms on Wednesday nights, and we find ourselves here in Psalm 4. And if you're with us for Psalm 3, you might notice that Psalm 4 has a very similar theme to Psalm 3, and it's not written in the same context of time, but it has a similar theme, and we'll see that tonight. I want to begin by looking at the superscription above the psalm. And if you remember, last week we talked about the superscription. We talked about the fact that some of these psalms have these little headings, and they are found in the original language. They were not added by the translators. And superscription is a term that means written above, and it refers to the various classifications, titles, and instructions that we find within the Book of Psalms. And here in Psalm 4, the superscription has an interesting word. It says, to the chief musician on Neganoth, a psalm of David. And of course a psalm of David identifies this as a psalm that David wrote. David did not write all of the psalms, but he did write a lot of them. And here the superscription tells us that this psalm was written, and it was meant to be delivered to the chief musician. And the chief musician there is a reference to, we believe, it makes sense that it is a reference to the music ministry leader, what we might call the choir director or the orchestra director for the children of Israel. And what that means is that this psalm, though it was written by David, it was meant to be used in corporate worship, and he wanted it to be sung along with the congregation as they gathered together, of course, at different feast times in the Old Testament. So we see that it's to the chief musician, and I want you to notice this word here. It says on Neganoth, on Neganoth, and that is a word that is not used, that we're not too familiar with. What I can tell you is this, that the underlying Hebrew word that is translated here as Neganoth is the same Hebrew word as used elsewhere in our King James Bible, and in other places it's translated as the song, or my song, or the stringed instrument. It's translated as their song, their music, or on my stringed instrument. So Neganoth is a sort of musical word that is talking about the fact that it's a song that is to be played with stringed instruments, and that is as opposed to maybe wind instruments. So it's being delivered to the chief musician, and it's meant to be used in corporate worship, and instructions are even given as to what kind of instruments are to be used. So that's just a little introduction there to Psalm 4. It's not a very long psalm, only eight verses, but I'd like to give you four headings tonight that we find in this psalm, and if you're taking notes tonight, of course, I encourage you to take notes on the back of your course of the week. There's a place for you to do that. Let me give you these four headings, and we'll move through this as quickly as we can tonight. Number one, we see in this psalm the promise of prayer, the promise of prayer. And you'll notice there in Psalm 4 in verse 1, it says this to the chief musician on Neganoth, the psalm of David, and then when you get into the verse, it says, Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness. Thou has enlarged me when I was in distress. Have mercy upon me, and notice the words, hear my prayer. So we see here in verse 1, the psalmist is crying out to the Lord, and he says, Hear me when I call, and he says there at the end of verse 1, and hear my prayer. And what we see here is a promise with regards to prayer, and I'd like you to keep your place there in Psalm 4. That's our text, obviously, for tonight. But go with me, if you would, to the New Testament book of 1 John, 1 John 5. If you go backwards from Revelation, you've got Jude 3 and 1 John, and I'd like you to find 1 John 5. This is a promise that we have in Scripture with regards to prayer. In 1 John 5 and verse 14, the Bible says this, and this is the confidence that we have in him. I want you to notice that word there. There is a confidence that we can have in prayer, and it is this, that if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us. And if we know that he hear us whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have desired of him. And one of the promises of prayer, one of the confidences that we can have in prayer is this, that you can have confidence that God hears your prayer. You can have confidence that when you and I bow our heads and we pray to the God of heaven that he hears our prayers, and we know that if he hear us whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. And I think it's important for us to understand this, that just because we pray something does not mean that God's going to give us what we want. Years ago I preached a sermon, and maybe I'll preach it again one of these days, on the subject of nine requirements for answered prayer. And there's all sorts of requirements that God gives in the Bible in regards to prayer. One is that we pray, you find it here, according to his will, so we can't pray against the will of God and expect God to answer the prayer. Also, we are told in James that we are not to pray according to our own lusts, that if when we pray, he says we have not because we ask not. But he says that oftentimes we do not receive because we ask amiss that we may consume it upon our lusts. So again, we can't be asking for selfish things, things for ourselves. The Bible tells us elsewhere that we must pray in faith, believing. So there's different requirements that we have for prayer. But one confidence that we have, one promise that we have in prayer is that God hears us. And whether God answers your prayer the way that you think he should or he shouldn't, you can have the confidence that God hears our prayer. Because when we pray to God, there are several, of course, options for God to answer that prayer. Number one, he can answer the prayer. He can say yes to our request and that's usually what we want. But we also have to realize that when God says no, that's an answer to the prayer as well. And God can answer your prayer. You say, well, how do I know if God has answered my prayer? Well, you know this, he's either said yes or he said no. He may have said wait or he may have modified your prayer. We're told in Romans that the Holy Spirit often will take the groanings of our prayers and he'll modify them into something different than what we ask. Because we often ask the wrong things, so God may modify the prayer. No matter how the prayer is answered, the confidence that you and I can have, you say what if God says no? The confidence that you and I can have is that he heard the prayer, is that he's heard our prayers. The Bible says call unto me and I will answer thee. Now you may not like the answer he gives, but we know that God has heard our prayer. So if you feel like the answer is no, at least you have the confidence knowing that God heard it and in the ultimate wisdom of God, he chose to say no. And if he chose to say no, it was for your own good. Or if he's modified it or if he's delayed it, all of these things are, of course, for your own good. Go back to Psalm 4 if you wouldn't. Let me give you a second thought here from Psalm 4. The first thing we see there in verse 1 is this promise of prayer and the promise is this, that when we call, God hears us. We have confidence that he hears our prayer. Then there's a second thing I'd like you to notice here in verse 1. I think it's very interesting. It's a phrase that you may not have noticed or if you've noticed, it might seem odd to you. It's right in the middle of verse 1. It says this, to the chief musician on Naganoth, a psalm of David, hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness. Now I want you to notice this little phrase. It says, Thou has enlarged me when I was in distress. Thou has enlarged me when I was in distress. So not only do we see the promise of prayer in verse 1, now the promise is this, that when we pray, God hears us. But we also see here the advantage of affliction, the advantage of affliction. Now those two words don't seem like they should go together. But the truth is this, that the Bible teaches that there is an advantage to affliction and the advantage is this. In Psalm 4, in verse 1, we're told that he has enlarged me when I was in distress. The word distress means extreme anxiety or sorrow or pain. In the Bible here, the psalmist is telling us that God actually uses the times of distress in our lives, the times of stress and anxiety and sorrow and pain and persecution. He uses those times in our lives to enlarge us and to grow us. Now there's lots that could be said about this. I'm not going to take the time to do it. Let me just give you a few cross references to look at. You're there in Psalm 4. Flip over to Psalm 119 if you would. Psalm 119 and look down at verse number 71. Let me just show this to you. God uses times of distress to grow us personally, to enlarge us. Psalm 119 verse 71. Notice what the psalmist says here. He says, it is good for me. Notice those words. It is good for me that I have been afflicted. Why? Why is it good for me that I have been afflicted? Here's why. That I might learn thy statutes. According to Psalm 119, when we are afflicted, these are times in which we get to know God better. We get to know the word of God better. We get to know the things of God better. God actually uses these times in our lives to enlarge us. Thou has enlarged me when I was in distress. It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes. Flip back to Job if you would. You're there in Psalm, just one book before, Job 23. I know you know this verse, but let's just look at it real quickly. Job 23. And as you turn there, let me just say this. God uses times of affliction, times of distress to enlarge us, to grow us personally, to make us better and to draw us closer to himself. And again, I'm going to try to move through this psalm quickly, so I'm not going to have you run to a lot of different places, but here's an illustration for you from the Bible. If you remember, the three Hebrew children, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, they had asked the Lord to keep them from being thrown into the fiery furnace. They did not want to go into the fiery furnace. And of course, if you remember, they said to Nebuchadnezzar, our God is able to deliver us from the fiery furnace. They had faith believing that God could do it, and they said, but if he doesn't, we're still not going to bow. And in the story, of course, they still get thrown into the fiery furnace, and you and I, if we were living through that, as we were being grabbed and pushed into that fiery furnace, we might have the tendency to think that God failed us, that God allowed us, because what we try to do in our lives is to avoid the fiery furnace at all costs. But of course, in the story, we know that when the three Hebrew children go into the fiery furnace, a fourth man appears. And Nebuchadnezzar looks, and he says, did we not throw three in? And he says, there's a fourth man, and the fourth man, he said, looks like the Son of God. And what we find is this, that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were never closer to the Lord Jesus Christ than they were in that fiery furnace. And though we pray that God would keep us from going through the furnace, what God sometimes does, and what he oftentimes does, is he goes through it with us, and he enlarges us. This is why the psalmist said, it is good for me that I have been afflicted. Notice how Job said it, Job 23 and verse 10. In Job 23 and verse 10, the Bible says this, but he knoweth the way that I take. This is Job speaking about all the trials and troubles that he had gone through. He said, when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. And the idea is this, that God is refining me, God is making me better, when he hath tried me, he said, I will be better for it. So, we see that there's an advantage to affliction, and we should not always recoil from the distresses and afflictions in our lives, because here's some things that we can know. We can know that when we pray, God hears our prayer. And we can know that, like Job said, he knoweth the way that I take. He knows what's going on in my life. He knows what I'm going through in my life, and when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. Go back to Psalm 4, if you would, and look down at verse number 2. So, we see the promise of prayer in verse 1. We see the advantage of affliction in verse 1 as well. And then I want you to notice that in verses 2 through 5, we see the warning to the wicked. And what David does here is that he shifts his attention to the wicked of the world. Notice at the beginning there of verse 2, he says, O ye sons of men. So, in verse 1, his attention was directed upward. He was thinking about God and speaking to God, literally praying to God and asking God to hear his affliction and acknowledging to God that God has enlarged me when I was in distress. And then in verses 2 through 5, he shifts his attention to the sons of men, to the men of this world, to human beings. He says, O ye sons of men. And he's talking to wicked men, and what we see is a warning to the wicked. I want you to notice that what David does in verses 2 through 5 is that he gives us some things that the wicked should question and some things that the wicked should know and some things that the wicked should do. And let's just look at those real quickly. In verse 2, he gives us some things that the wicked should question. And there's actually three questions that he asks in verse 2. I want you to note them there. He says, O ye sons of men, how long will ye, notice he says, number 1, turn my glory into shame. Number 2, how long will ye love vanity? And number 3, the idea is how long will ye seek after leasing Silah? So he asks these three questions. How long will ye first turn my glory into shame? And what David is talking about is he's referring to the fact that there are people that are taking his glory, things that are a glory to him or bringing glory to God, and they are turning it into shame. They are railing on him. They are falsely accusing him. They are reviling him. And he's asking these wicked people. He says, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? Now let me just give you a verse. You don't have to turn here. I'll just read this for you. But in Matthew 5 verses 11 and 12, Jesus said this. He said, Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Jesus said, Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. So when people take your glory and turn it into shame and your family attacks you and your friends or your co-workers or neighbors or whoever it might be, and they take things that they should be glorying in, the fact that you got saved, you're going to church, you're living for God, you're reading the Bible, these things, and they turn it into your shame. They revile you and they persecute you and they speak evil against you. Jesus says that we should rejoice. We should be exceeding glad because he says great is your reward in heaven. And he says, the Bible says in Jesus' teaching here that there is a direct correlation between the amount of rewards that you will receive in heaven and how much crap people talk about you, excuse my language. And so that's something to rejoice about. That's something to be exceeding glad about. So he asks the question, How long will ye turn my glory into shame? And then I want you to notice the second question there in verse 2. He says, How long will ye love vanity? Love vanity. And the word vanity is defined as something that is shallow or empty. And of course we can't, I can't think of the word vanity without thinking of the book of Ecclesiastes, and I'd like you to just go to it quickly, Ecclesiastes chapter 2. You're there in Psalms if you go past Proverbs into Ecclesiastes. Go to Ecclesiastes chapter 2. And I'm not going to take the time to run through all of Ecclesiastes 2, but let me just give you the context. Ecclesiastes 2 gives us a rundown of Solomon's chase for vain things, his pursuit for vain things. In Ecclesiastes 2 and verse 1 we see that he is chasing pleasure. It says, Solomon says, I said in mine heart I will prove thee with myrrh, therefore enjoy pleasure. In verse 2 he says that he talks about laughter and myrrh is what it says. In verse 3 we see that he was chasing alcohol. He says, I saw in mine heart to give myself unto wine. In verse 4 we see that he was chasing possessions. He says in verse 4, I made me great works, I builded me houses, I planted me vineyards. In verse 5 he says, I made me gardens and orchards and planted trees of all kind. In verse 6 he says, I made me pools of water. In verse 7 he says, I got me servants and maidens, also I had great possessions above all. So we see that he was chasing pleasure, he was chasing wine, he was chasing possessions. Then we see in verse 8 that he was chasing money. He says, I gathered me also silver and gold and peculiar treasure. We see in verse 8 that he was also chasing entertainment. He says, I got me men singers and women singers and musical instruments. In verse 9 we see that he was chasing success. He says, I was great and increased more than all that were before me. And what's interesting to me is that Ecclesiastes is by all accounts considered an ancient book. I mean it's an ancient book, obviously it's in the Word of God, but the secular world would say this is an ancient book. And it's interesting to me that this ancient book sounds a lot like 2024 today. Because these are the things that people are chasing today. Pleasure, drugs and alcohol, possessions, money, entertainment. They're chasing after success, they're going after these things. And here's a man in Solomon who says, not only did I chase after it, he says, but I got it all. He said, I acquired it. Look at verse 10, Ecclesiastes 2 and verse 10. He says, And whatsoever mine eyes desired, I kept not from them. I withheld not my heart from any joy, for my heart rejoiced in all my labor. And this was my portion of all my labor. So here we have a man who got all of it. Education, he got it. Money, he got it. Prestige, he got it. Wealth, he got it. Possessions, he got it. Respect, he got it. Women, wine, all of it. He got all of it. And he tells us that whatsoever mine eyes desired, I kept not from them. And in a carnal mindset, in a worldly mindset, a worldly person might look at Solomon and say, well he's got it all. He's got to be real happy with life. I want you to notice how Solomon tells us how this all ended up for him. Ecclesiastes 2, look at verse 17. He says, Therefore I hated life. It's very powerful. And you say, well that's just the Bible. Okay, then why are all these musicians and all these actors and all these rock stars committing suicide, drowning themselves with drugs and alcohol. He says, Therefore I hated life, because the works that I wrought under the sun is grievous unto me, for all is vanity. He says it's all empty and vexation of spirit. Vexation means it's distressful, it's irritating. Look, you and I in our lives are going to have to get to the place where we realize that there's more to life than mammon. There's more to life than material wealth. There's more to life than where you live and what you drive and what you wear. And you can succeed in all those things and still be miserable. Now what's interesting is, and what we're going to see here in Psalm 4, is that you can have none of those things and be happy in the Lord. Because none of those things bring contentment. So we see this question, and you, especially you young people, maybe some of you old people, you can't teach an old dog new tricks, I guess is what we're constantly finding out. But maybe you young people need to set your eyes on the things above. Set your eyes on the things of the Lord and realize that there's more to life than these temporal things. Go back to Psalm 4 if you would. Look down at verse number 3. So in verse 2 we see the three questions. How long will you turn my glory into shame? How long will you love vanity? How long will you seek after leasing? In verse 3 he tells us two things that they should do. He gives them advice. First he says, here are three questions you should ask, or three questions David would say that I'm asking you. And then in verse 3 he says, but no. He says, but no. And then he tells them two things that they should know. And I think these are two things that the wicked should know. I think these are two things that all of us should know. The first thing is this. He says, but know that, here's the first thing, the Lord has set apart him that is godly for himself. And what he says here is that, remember these are the people that are turning his glory into shame. And these are the people that are attacking him. Excuse me. I missed the last question there. I apologize. I'm not feeling well. Did I mention that? My mind is a little not all there. We missed the question, seek after leasing. Remember he asked the question. Let me just show that to you real quickly in Psalm 4 and verse 2. I apologize. I'm going backwards here. But if you look at verse 2, he says, the questions are, how long will you turn my glory into shame? How long will you love vanity? And then the third question is this, seek after leasing. How long will you seek after leasing? The word leasing is defined as deceit or falsehood or lying. And he's asking them, how long are you going to seek after leasing? What's interesting is that there are people who are actually seeking and searching to be lied to. There are people all over this country. Real quickly if you would, just go with me to 2 Timothy chapter 4 in the New Testament. If you find the t-books, they're all clustered together. 1 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy and then Titus, 2 Timothy chapter 4. Look at verse number 3, 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 3. The Bible says this, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. But after their own lust shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears and they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables. So I want you to notice that the Bible here is telling us that there is coming a time when people are going to turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables. And I'm here to tell you that that time is now. That time is here. There are people all over this country and all over this world. There will be churches on Sunday morning filled, big giant auditoriums filled with people who do not want to endure sound doctrine but they want to be lied to. They just want to be made to feel good. They shall heap unto themselves teachers having itching ears after their own lust shall they heap to themselves teachers. And they're going to turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables. Why is it that many people don't like a church like Verity Baptist Church? Because of the fact that we tell them the truth. We preach the truth. And they want to turn away their ears from the truth. And I would say this. You and I need to always be people who love truth. People who love truth. People who seek truth. People who want truth. We should always want truth in our lives. Anyway, go back to Psalm. Keep your place there in 2 Timothy actually if you don't mind. Keep your place right there. We're going to come right back to it and go back to Psalm 4. So remember, now we see that he's telling them things that they should do. Verse 3, or excuse me, the things they should know. Verse 3, but know that, but know that. So here are the two things he tells them they should know. Number one, the Lord has set apart him that is godly for himself. Again, remember, he's talking to his enemies. He's talking to the wicked. They're turning his glory into shame. They're attacking him. They're causing distress on his life. And he tells them, he says, look, there's something you should know. And I think it's interesting because here David is talking to his enemies. And if you got a chance to talk to your enemies, what would you say? I don't know what you'd say. I don't know what I'd say, but I know what David said and I think it's good. He said, there's two things you should know. This is David speaking to his enemy. He says, the first thing you should know is this, that the Lord has set apart him that is godly for himself. And this is David's way of saying, I'm one of God's people and God knows who I am and the Lord has set me apart for himself. Did you keep your place there in 2 Timothy 2? Go back, if you would, excuse me, 2 Timothy, you're in chapter 4. Go back to 2 Timothy 2. Look at verse 19. 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 19. 2 Timothy 2 19. Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal. I just want you to see this. 2 Timothy 2 19. Having this seal, look at these words. The Lord knoweth them that are his and let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. And what we see in this verse is that aren't you thankful that the Lord knoweth them that are his? The Bible says that God knows you. God knows me. God knows the number of hairs we have on our head. And as a result, we should seek to be godly. We should depart from iniquity because David said the Lord has set apart him that is godly for himself. So David is talking to his enemies and he's saying, look, there's something you should know. If you're going to continue to attack me. Because remember, the questions he asked them is, how long? He says, how long are you going to turn my glory into shame? And how long are you going to seek after leasing? And how long are you going to love vanity? He's asking them, how long are you going to keep this up and how long are you going to do it? And then he says to them, there's a couple things you should know and one is this, that the Lord has set apart him that is godly. And he's referring to himself. And you might say, well, David wasn't that godly. I mean, we could give him some of the responsibility for what happened with Absalom. We could definitely give him responsibility for the things that happened with Bathsheba. But I want you to notice there, that in verse 1 he said this, hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness, that would enlarge me when I was in distress, have mercy upon me and hear my prayers. I want you to notice that he said there, O God of my righteousness. And what we need to remember is that any righteousness that you and I have comes from God. And the only righteousness that we can glory in is the, we can glory in the cross and in the righteousness of the Lord. So he says, the Lord has set apart him that is godly. And then I think this is interesting and I honestly, I'm not sure if I'm making any coherence sense to you tonight. But anyway, just let me get through this if you would. I think this is super interesting. The second thing that David says to his enemies, he says, you need to know two things. One is that the Lord has set apart him that is godly. And then he says, there's a second thing that you should know. And it is this, the Lord will hear when I call unto him. I think that's interesting. He's talking to his enemies. He's talking to the people that are attacking him. And he says, there's something you need to know. There's something you need to know. What do we need to know, David? You need to know that the Lord has set apart him that is godly for himself. You need to know that the Lord knoweth them that are his. But there's another thing that you need to know. If that doesn't scare you, you should know this, the Lord will hear when I call unto him. And David's response to his enemies is this, you need to know that you're messing with a praying man. And that ought to always be our response. You know, in life, my wife and I have found out that there are lots of things that are not within our control. There are lots of things that we like to have certain outcomes and certain things to go a certain way that we cannot control. We cannot force it. We cannot manipulate it. We say, but what can you do? We can pray. And I think oftentimes prayer should be our first response and what we end up doing is we allow it to be our last resort. And our response to adversity should always be this, that the Lord will hear me when I call. And the threat that David is giving to his enemies is this, you should know this, the Lord hears me when I pray. And I think that's an encouragement to us when we feel helpless and we feel like we cannot control things, that David's response basically to his enemies is this, they're attacking him and his response is, I'm going to pray about this. And you should know that God hears my prayer. It's the equivalent of a child saying, I'm going to tell my daddy. I'm going to tell my dad. I mean, David is saying, the Lord has set apart him that is godly. He says, the Lord is my father. He's my shepherd. And the Lord will hear me when I call unto him. So he gives them some things that they should question. He gives them some things that they should know. And then I want you to notice there in verses four and five, he then gives them some things that they should do, some things that they should do. Now in verses four and five, what we have is six statements, but they are coupled by the word and. So they end up becoming three statements. And I think the word and connects them for a reason. So we should look at them in connection. And I want you to see these statements. And I could preach a lot about these statements. I'm not going to, but let me just show them to you real quickly. In verse four, we find the first statement and it is this, stand in awe and sin not. Stand in awe and sin not. And the idea, what David is telling them is that you are not standing in awe of God. And the proper response, the proper response when we do stand in awe of God is you'll sin not. And we could look at a lot of passages of this notable passage in Isaiah. When Isaiah said, I saw the Lord high, holy and lifted up. He got a view of the throne of God and the awesomeness of God. When Isaiah saw the power and the awesomeness of God, if you remember, he said, I'm a sinful man. He said, I'm a man of sinful lips. And he begins to confess his sin. If you remember Peter, when Jesus asked to use his boat and after that miracle, it became apparent to Peter that Jesus was more than just a man. That he was God in the flesh. And when that became clear to him, he begins to confess his sinfulness. And the idea is this, that you and I will never get serious about our sin until we get a proper view of God. And so David says here, stand in awe and sin not. When we stand in awe of God with godly fear and trembling and reverence, then we won't sin against God. Then I want you to notice the second statement there in verse 4. He says, commune with your own heart upon your bed and be still. So David is advising the wicked and he's telling them, here's something you should do. You should stand in awe and sin not. And then he says, you should commune with your own heart upon your bed and be still. I think the application for us in 2024 is this, that we need to have times and we need to embrace times when we stop being so stinking distracted and entertained and just think and just are still. The Bible talks about being still. God told Moses, be still and know that I am God. And God told Moses that in the midst of a very stressful situation. When they're up against the Red Sea and pharaohs coming after them and they're trapped there and they're all freaking out and they're anxious and they're distressed. And God says, be still and know that I am God. And oftentimes when we're under attack and when our enemies are raging against us, like we saw in Psalm 2. What we need to do is we need to commune with our own hearts upon our bed and be still. And look, here's all I'm telling you. And I've preached about this in the past and I'll probably just stop preaching about it because it's just going to get tired. You'll get tired of it. But there needs to be times when you put that stinking phone down. There needs to be times when you just turn off the internet and turn off Facebook and turn off all that distraction. And you commune with your own heart upon your bed when you're still and you just think and you have time to think and you have time to concentrate upon the Lord. So He tells them, stand in awe and sin not, commune with your own heart upon your bed and be still. And then notice the third statement there in verse 5. He says, offer the sacrifices of righteousness and put your trust in the Lord. And what God wants from us is for us to offer Him a life of righteousness. That's what we read about in Romans 12. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. That's what Paul said when he said, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. In the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. So David here tells us that we must offer the sacrifice of righteousness. We need to put our trust in the Lord. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him. The Bible talks about these things. And He shall direct thy path. So this is good advice for not only the wicked, it's good advice for all of us. And then I want you to notice, and we'll try to finish this up, in verses 6 through 8 we see the goodness of God. So in verse 1 we see the promise of prayer. In verse 1 we see the advantage of affliction. In verses 2 through 5 we see the warning to the wicked. And he gives them something to question, something to know, something to do. And then in verses 6 through 8 we see David again direct his attention towards the Lord and we see the goodness of God. I want you to notice there in verse 6 he says, there be many that say. And again he's talking about his enemies. Because you remember we saw in Psalm 3 where they said there is no help for him and God in Psalm 3 and verse 2. So he's kind of going back to that idea in Psalm 4 and verse 6. He says there be many that say who will show us any good. He says there are lots of people saying that no one is going to do us good, no one is going to help us. But David's response to that is this, he says, Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. So David makes this request. He says when the question is who will show us any good, the answer from David is Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. Now that might just seem like spiritual talk or religious talk to you, but that's actually a throwback and I'd like you to see it real quickly to a very famous portion of scripture known as the Aaronic Blessing. And if you would go back to Numbers, the book of Numbers, Numbers chapter 6, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Numbers chapter 6. Remember when Aaron was ordained as a high priest. He comes out and he does, the Bible says he lifted up his hands before the congregation and then he gave them this blessing which is known as the Aaronic Blessing or the blessing of the high priest. And I believe that David is referencing back this blessing because he says lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us and then here in a little bit he's going to talk about sleep. Notice there in Numbers 6 verse 24, here's the Aaronic Blessing. The Lord bless thee. This is, imagine Aaron raising his hands as the high priest over the congregation and he speaks these words. He says the Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make his face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee. The Lord, notice this is what David is referring to in Psalm 4, lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace. And David is going to talk about peace here in a little bit. And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel and I will bless them. Often times when we think of blessings we think of material things. We want God to give us a good job and a nice house and to give us health and these things. But you know the highest form of blessing is to know that the face of God and the light of God and the countenance of God shines upon us. That God looks down upon us and that he is pleased. And this is what David is referring to. Go back to Psalm 4. He says there be many that say who will show us any good. Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. So the idea is this, when our enemies are attacking and it seems like the whole world has turned against us and there is not a friend in sight, we should be satisfied to have the Lord's favor upon us. We should be satisfied to have the Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. Then I want you to notice in verse 7, so in verse 6 we see this idea of the light of his countenance and then in verse 7 we see the gladness in our hearts. In verse 7, thou hast put, and notice what it says, thou, referring to God, has put gladness in my heart. He says you put gladness in my heart and the idea here is that this is an internal gladness. It is in my heart as opposed to external gladness. Because how many of you know that there are some external things that could make you happy? But David says thou hast put gladness in my heart, notice what he says, more than, so there is a compare and contrast. And he says the gladness I have in my heart is more than in the time of their corn and their wine increase. And of course when David is writing this, he's speaking to an agricultural society and the time that their corn and their wine increase, that's the equivalent of when they got paid. That's the equivalent of they just cashed out, they just got a big bonus, they just sold something and they have a lot of money. And here's what David says, David says thou hast put gladness in my heart more than in the time that their corn and their wine increase. And the idea is this, that the gladness that God gives is an internal gladness in your heart, not an external gladness of corn and wine increase. So what's the big deal? Here's the big deal, and this is why you should care, maybe you don't, I don't know, but here's why you should care. Because if your happiness is connected to something exterior, if it is connected to your job or to your house, to some hobby, to even your spouse, to your children, if your happiness is connected to something that's outside of you, then that happiness could leave when that job goes away, or when that car breaks down, or when the stock market crashes, or whatever. Why was it that people were throwing themselves out of windows during the Great Depression when the stock market dropped? Because their gladness was connected to something outside of them. But David says, David says the gladness that I have, it's in my heart. Thou hast put gladness in my heart, and he says if the economy is good, I can be glad, but if the economy is not good, I can still be glad. David would say it doesn't matter who gets elected. My happiness is not connected to who sits in the White House. My happiness is not connected to what job I have, what car I drive, what clothes I wear, and look, I'm just here to tell you, if that's where you get your happiness from, you have a very shallow, empty life. So David says, thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. And of course, there's nothing wrong with having nice things and good things. There's nothing wrong with being happy with your spouse and with your children. Nothing wrong with any of that. In fact, the Bible says that happy is the man that findeth a wife. He findeth a good thing. But look, if your happiness is in your children, your children are going to disappoint you at times. If your happiness is in relationships, you're going to be disappointed at times. But David says, my gladness, and this is taught elsewhere in the Bible. Paul talked about, I've learned how to both be a base and a bound. He says, I can be empty, I can be full. He said, I can be content whatsoever state I am therewith. He said, I've learned therewith to be content. So he says, thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. And then I want you to notice, lastly here in verse 8, he talks about, so in verse 6, he talks about the light of his countenance. Verse 7, he talks about the gladness in our hearts. And then in verse 8, he talks about the peace in our sleep. He says there in verse 8, I will both lay me down in peace and sleep. I think that's where we maybe get the title to that prayer. You know, I lay me down to sleep. It's also something that is said in Psalm 3 and verse 5, I laid me down and slept. But David says here, I will both lay me down in peace and sleep, for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety. Now I want you to just make a note of this and just mark this. I want you to mark this word, both. Psalm 4 and verse 8, I will both. You see that word both there? That's an important word. I will both, he says, lay me down in peace and sleep. You say, why does he say both? Because one is not necessarily going to bring the other. And you say, what do I mean? Here's what I mean. Just because you lay down doesn't necessarily mean you're going to go to sleep. And David says here, I will both lay me down in peace and sleep. And sometimes you can lay down and not sleep. Sometimes you can lay down and the stress and distress and anxiety of life is so strong that it keeps you awake at night. And look, it doesn't matter. You can have a Tempur-Pedic mattress. You can have one of those sleep number beds where you've got a number and your wife has a number. You can have a weighted blanket. You can count sheep. And sometimes you just can't sleep. You can do the math. You ever start doing the math? You start thinking to yourself, if I go to sleep right now, if I fall asleep right now, I can sleep for six hours. If I fall asleep right now, I can still get six hours. And then you're like, if I fall asleep right now, I can still get four, four and a half hours of sleep right now before my alarm goes. If I fall asleep right now, I can still get a good 90 minutes. Just because you lay down doesn't mean you're going to sleep. And David says, I will both lay me down in peace and sleep. You say, how can David have that confidence? He said this, for the Lord only, that's the other word I want you to mark, only, makes me dwell in safety. Safety is of the Lord. And only the Lord can give you safety. Look, it doesn't matter how many guns you own. I get it. You're Republicans, whatever. I want you to have guns. It doesn't matter how many guns you own. It doesn't matter how high tech your alarm system is. It doesn't matter how much money you have in the bank. It doesn't matter how good your job is. There is a safety that only the Lord can give. There is a peace that only the Lord can give. And David says, I will both lay me down in peace and sleep, for the Lord only makes me to dwell in safety. Let's bow our heads in that word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, we do love you. And we thank you for this psalm. And there's just so many valuable truths here and things that we can learn. And Lord, I pray you'd help us to know them. And Lord, I pray that you'd help this sermon to make sense to some extent and to be a blessing to us. Lord, help us put our confidence in God. And we love you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Alright, we're going to have Brother Moses come up and lead us in a final song. We've got a baptism. I'm going to ask Deacon Oliver to take care of that. But I do want to remind you that if you'd like to help bring a meal to the Lee Wilson family, please see my wife after the service. She has a clipboard and she can get you signed up. And we appreciate you. If there's anything we can do for you, please let us know. Of course, we have soul winning this weekend. We have church on Sunday. We'd love for you to be here for all of those events. Why don't Brother Moses come up and lead us in a final song. Turn to your song book, page number 315. We're going to sing Take My Life and Let It Be. Page 315. Page 315. And let's go ahead and sing it out on the first. Take my life and let it be Consecrated, Lord, to Thee Take my hands and let them move At the impulse of Thy love Page 315. Let's sing it out on the second verse. Take my feet and let them be Swift and beautiful for Thee Take my voice and let me sing Always only for my King Always only for my King Take my silver and my gold God of my word I withhold Take my moments and my days Let them flow in ceaseless praise Let them flow in ceaseless praise Well, tonight we have Jonathan coming for baptism. Jonathan, have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? By your profession of faith, I baptize you, my brother, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, buried in the likeness of His death, raised to walk in the midst of life. I want to thank everyone for being here tonight. At this time, we'll have Brother Moses dismiss us with a word of prayer. Let's close in a word of prayer. Father God, thank You for this church, Lord. Thank You for the sermon that edified us, Lord. I pray that You would bless us as we all depart and keep us safe until we meet again. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. .