David talks to God, and to his enemies

In Psalm 4, the first thing that David does is to appeal to God for help. 

Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Be gracious to me and hear my prayer. (v. 1)

David was being accused and his reputation assaulted - what do we do in his situation? Do we get defensive, or snap back at our accusers, or even make excuses for ourselves? Worst yet, sometimes we may be tempted to spread gossip about our opponents. At least that way, the attention is taken off of us, right? David doesn't do any of these . . . instead, he turns to God. He knows that God is the source of his strength and also the source of his peace. Verse one says that he knows God has relieved him in distress.

In the New Testament, Paul knew about great suffering, too, just as David did.

we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; 

 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;  (II Corinthians 4:8-9)

Paul spoke of turning to God in distress, too.

 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, (Romans 12:12)

The story of David and Absalom almost sounds like a movie script, no? What a sad state of affairs between father and son. David was in the middle of perhaps the most stressful period of his life, but he chose not to escape the trial, but to turn to God. David knew that God is the true mercy-giver, and that He holds the power to grant us relief in our times of stress. So, he talked to God.

David also spoke to his enemies in this psalm. Some of what he said almost seems to be directed at his errant son; perhaps these are things that he would have liked to have said to Absalom, but they are good things for us to consider today.  In verse two, David rebukes his son for turning his glory into shame. What does he mean? Absalom turned the hearts of the people against David, and there was no need for it. If Absalom had been patient and heeded David's advice, he would have been heir to the throne. Instead, he turned to slandering David and rebelling, and causing others to rebel against the king anointed by God. The results were horrifying: not only a divided family, but a lost throne, many innocent people caught in a power struggle, and many deaths.

This is still a problem for us today; there are slandering words spoken against God's people every day. These may come from actual family members -- relatives and their friends who become jealous of the blessings of God in our lives. Many times this will result in a feud which can never be won, and is also difficult to mend. Slander can come from spiritual family, as well, and many churches split because of the turmoil that results.

David also says in verse two, "How long will you love delusions?" Now, Absalom loved deceiving the people, the army leaders, and more. He, himself, was even under a delusion because he thought that a plot against David, who had the blessing and protection of the Lord, would succeed. We can see an application for us today when we think of the people who delude themselves and scheme against believers. Or when we see believers who delude themselves into thinking that their sin is hidden from God. We must not deceive ourselves. We need to be certain that we are not trying to deceive God. (It won't work!)

In verse four, David speaks to his enemies (and to his son) and says "in your anger do not sin." Oh, boy, I think we can all agree that Absalom had an anger problem! He had a lot of unresolved anger. Maybe an Anger Management 101 course would have been good for him? I don't know that they had those back then, though! Of course, Absalom's anger against his brother Ammon was justified when Ammon raped his half-sister, Tamar, and then threw her out of his house in humiliation. Absolutely. And David fell down on the job when he did not take some kind of action after the incident. But Absalom's anger grew and grew until he took matters into his own hands. The score was now one innocent raped; one guilty was murdered. Absalom's justified anger wasn't dealt with properly.  Next, Absalom's anger at his dad festered as he considered his rights to the throne; maybe he thought David should step down because he was getting up in age. Maybe he truly didn't agree with some of his policies. But instead of dealing with his issues properly, Absalom walked right into open rebellion and sin.

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 

 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. (James 1:19-20, NIV)

James is echoing the advice of David:

Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah

 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, And put your trust in the Lord. (Psalm 4:4-5)

Unresolved anger will destroy us, no matter who we are.

David first talked to God in this psalm, and then to his enemies. We'll see that he concludes his evening psalm with words that confirm his joy, peace, and sense of safety in God's care.