Sabbath Sanctuary: God Grant You Peace

The week has been long and filled with many trials. It has had its chaotic moments and its enjoyable moments. In the midst of the trials, I am so grateful to the Lord, for He proved Himself faithful yet again. He is a good God. He is a faithful God. He is a loving God. There are many things screaming at me—warning that I am going to fail or be taken by the waves of the storm.

The enemy of our soul makes these plans against you and I so that we will lose heart and faint in the way. He seeks to cause us to take our eyes of the Lord so that we will sink. Many trials and circumstances come to trample on our peace—he comes to steal our peace. But we need not succumb to his devices.  

Tucked away in the Old Testament, in the book of Numbers, is found a priestly blessing given to the priest from the Lord to speak over the people of Israel. It is included in the duties of the Levites in chapters 1-8.

“The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them: The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’ So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them” {Num. 6:22-27 NASB}.

I love this blessing. In the midst of all the chaos and fighting to enter the promised land, the Lord bestows a blessing on the people. He commands Aaron to speak these words over the people to put His glorious, holy Name on them. How magnificent is He. When their enemies come against them, they shall fear God and know that they are messing with the Lord’s people:

“So shall they fear The name of the LORD from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him” {Isaiah 59:19 NKJV}.

When the enemy of our soul comes against us, the Lord is the standard over our lives to fight him off and give us the victory. The Lord is the only safe place to run. What astonishes me is that only the priest could recite this blessing over the people and they had to say exactly what the Lord commanded. It was not the words of men but of God. To fight the enemy, we must not rely on the words of men, but be equipped with the sword of the Spirit—the precious and powerful Word of God. The Word was the weapon Jesus used to battle Satan in the wilderness, and He has equipped us for battle with that same Word.

The priestly blessing includes three promises that we can rest in on this Sabbath; meditate on this promise: The Lord will bless and keep us; He will provide us with everything we need. He will go before us in battling the evil one and keep us from harm. The most kind and loving God will make His face shine on us and be gracious to us. Imagine the Great I AM’s very face will shine for our benefit and joy because of His everlasting love. The Lord will lift His countenance upon us and give us peace; God remembers His people—and He always will. In the last part of the blessing He promises peace—shalom. This doesn’t only mean that there will one day be an end to our warfare; it is also His promise that day by day we are being renewed and refreshed:

“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day” {2 Cor. 4:16 NASB}.

He will take us from brokenness to wholeness. No matter where we have been, He is leading us where we need to go, and He will give us shalom so that we can rest. Rest in His blessing this Sabbath. God will provide everything you need; and bring you into His rest.

Psalms To See Me Through: Psalm 4—To The Victorious One

For the Choir Director; On Stringed Instruments. A Psalm of David.

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. O sons of men, how long will my honor become a reproach? How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception? Selah. But know that the Lord has set apart the godly man for Himself; The Lord hears when I call to Him. Tremble, and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, And trust in the Lord. Many are saying, “Who will show us any good?” Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O Lord! You have put gladness in my heart, More than when their grain and new wine abound. In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For You alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety. {Ps. 4 }.                                                                                                                         

The choir director does not impart the full implication of this song. The Hebrew word means conductor, the head of the entire Temple Orchestra.[1]  David desired a beautiful instrumental that would sear the song upon the hearts of people for generations to come,

“The subtleties and intricacies of the Temple music stress that the art of musicology is an essential wisdom, for melodies have the power to arouse the soul as nothing else.”[2]

The root of the word, natsach (naw-tsakh') can be translated in two ways. One is eternity, and the other is victorious. This is so powerful. The first meaning speaks to David’s intentions with his songs; they had eternal implications. The second interpretation is quite fitting; David was no stranger to victory; God fought many battles on his behalf—and handed him the victory. 

The Talmud interprets this word as a reference to God; “To Him who causes victory, a song unto David.”[3] David had complete confidence in the God that fought and won many victories for him. He trusted that he could cry out to God again and that the Lord would deliver him.  

You have relieved me in my distress; be gracious to me and hear my prayer {v.1}.  

The Tehillim translates the verse:

When I call, answer me, God of my vindication, You have relieved me of my distress, be gracious to me and hear my prayer {v. 2}.[4]

When David called out, he knew he stood righteous before God, When I call answer me—God of vindication.  The word used here is literally my righteousness. When we stand righteous before God and cry out to Him in trouble, He will vindicate us—set a table for us in the presence of our enemy. Your enemy may be a circumstance and not a person; God will be your vindication. This does not necessarily mean you will get the outcome you are asking for, but righteousness is on your side. When David presented this psalm to the conductor, it was for all generations to come. We can find encouragement and trust that the same God that saved David and gave him the victory will fight on our behalf and give the victory. He is fighting for you. 

David speaks out to his enemies;

 O sons of men, how long will my honor become a reproach? How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception? Selah. But know that the Lord has set apart the godly man for Himself {vv. 2-3}. 

The righteous can always stand before the Lord in confidence {see Heb. 4:16}. David knew that Absalom was being deceived by someone and being used as a pawn in a much bigger scheme in this attempted coup; but David trusted God and knew that he would be given the victory.

David is our teacher in challenging times, “This declaration is an eloquent expression of one of David’s most cherished credos. Never be discouraged by the terrible burdens and pressures of life. Every frustrating enfeebling situation is, in reality, a divinely given opportunity to overcoming adversity.”[5] When we learn to overcome adversity, it empowers us to persevere. 

But know that the Lord has set apart the godly man for Himself; the Lord hears when I call to Him {v.3}.

I love the rendering in the Tehillim Commentary; 

“Recognize that just as Hashem distinguished His devoted one, Hashem will listen when I call upon Him.” 

This is a direct warning to his enemies, tread carefully. I will call on the Lord, and He will answer me. God has called us to be a peculiar people, not to be like the nations. When you are devoted to God, He will be devoted to you, and He will answer when you call. 

Tremble, and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and trust in the Lord.” {vv. 4-5}.

David repeatedly admonishes the righteous to trust the Lord. This is one of our secrets to enduring trials. Sleep is one place where God speaks to us; there are no distractions. Many times, our dreams are the illustration of our soul, it is a way of working through issues we face. When David admonished through his song to tremble, “The Sages of the Talmud interpret this…A person should constantly arouse his good inclination, to battle against his evil inclination.”[6] When we lay down those things that bring us trouble, we can be still and at peace, trusting in God, whose banner of righteousness is over us. 

Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O Lord! You have put gladness in my heart, More than when their grain and new wine abound. In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For You alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety. Many are saying, “Who will show us any good? {vv.6-8}.

Nothing in the world can bring true contentment. Without God, all our treasures, and all the plans we have, do not bring happiness and contentment. When we have laid aside our trouble {cast your cares on Him 1 Pet. 5:7} and find our contentment in the Lord, He enables us to sleep in peace, no matter the depth of trial we are facing. When we live right before Him, He is Jehovah Tsidqenu—the Lord our Righteousness; and He reigns as Jehovah Shalom our peace, and we can rest in Him our Shiloh.

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[1] Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the New American Standard Version (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995).

[2]Avrohom Chaim Feuer, trans., Tehillim, The Book of Psalms, “Psalm 4” (Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1995), 82.

[3] Ibid.

[4] This translation’s verses differ; the translators regard the heading as verse 1. This is translated verse 1 in major translations.

[5] Ibid., 83.

[6] Ibid., 86.