PSALM FOUR THE SOUL'S SEARCH! In his fourth Psalm the singer deals quite graphically with his soul's search. It is evident by his opening words that he sees that men love vanity and seek after leasing (the old English word for 'lying'). Men love delusions and seek after false gods. There is an emptiness in the heart of man which can only be explained by the lies he feeds his mind upon. Everything of his own doing which man worships is false. The soul of man is never satisfied with the false. At some time or another each of us comes to a realisation that only reality truly satisfies us. We become aware that in the very heart of us there is a seeking after reality. Our hearts yearn for something better than the vanities with which we entertain ourselves. The singer outlines the searching of his heart. He declares that God has enlarged him when he was in distress. Here then is the first secret we discover in our soul's search. Suffering enlarges the life. Suffering is one of the chief forces which contribute to our development. Through distress there comes an enlargement of our character. CHARACTER is a Greek word the original meaning of which indicates TO CARVE or engrave with a carving tool. Suffering is the sharp tool which carves out our character. Through distress there comes to us a stronger influence on others. In the furnace of pain there is one who walks with us. Through distress comes spiritual enlargement. Suffering teaches obedience. Obedience is very difficult to learn, but when we have learned it, what we have suffered does us a great deal of good. So the soul in its search discovers the enlargement which comes through suffering. The next secret the psalmist unfolds in his song is that God sets apart the godly for Himself. Holiness is not just a doctrine. It is the Christian way of life. It is not expressed in an attitude or in clothing, it is a fact of LIFE. The godly is set apart for God. The Lord's portion is His People. They are set apart with His name on them. It is possible that you give God your attention; you give God your gift; you give God your time; but the most difficult thing of all is to give Him YOURSELF, wholly and unreservedly. This is how to be set apart. Recently, I read a missionary letter in which the writer explained a very big problem, then concluded by saying, "This is God's problem, not mine!" How wonderful to be able to find such fulfilment. But, that is not all that the soul discovers in its search. The singer continues with his song, "Stand in awe." There are times when we must stand still and see what God can do. This standing still is described in three measures by the psalmist:- 1. Self examination. "Stand in awe and sin not". Examine yourself before you examine others. This is very necessary as it curbs our tendency to criticism. When we have thoroughly examined ourselves, we will be less prone to examine others. 2. Solitude. " Commune with your own heart." Don't let others form your opinions for you. Your heart should be the guest room for the Almighty. Jesus Christ said, "If a man love me, he will keep my words, and my Father will love him and we will come unto him and make our abode with him." 3. Stillness. "And be still". If you have to struggle and strive for something, you may very well find when you get it, that it is not worth having. This is real living - TO KNOW HIM. Towards the end of the psalm, when the psalmist begins to develop the theme of gladness, he touches the heart cry of humanity. "Who will show us any good?" Every human heart longs for the good time. There can be a fullness for our lives which the Word of God calls "THAT GOOD". Some say that the great thing is to enjoy ourselves while we can. But as time passes we discover that the new becomes old, the bright becomes dull, and the effervescent becomes flat, the fresh becomes stale, and the soul NEEDS something far more than pleasure. Some say that success is the great thing. Will success satisfy your soul?...Will it bring all you long for?... are all the successful happy? The classic example is Alexander the Great, who when he had conquered the then known world, sat down and wept because there was no more to conquer. The psalmist cries, "Lift up the light of thy countenance upon us. The smile of God is our satisfaction. He puts gladness in our hearts, more than harvest or winemaking. Copyright (c) 1995, Hedley Palmer. All rights reserved. ---------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/hpalmer/psalms: ps-004.txt .