Psalm 4:5

“Offer the sacrifices of righteousness”

¨ Serve God purely, and not with outward ceremonies. 1599 GB
¨ The sum… is, “You boast of having God on your side, because you have free access to His altar to offer your sacrifices from there with pomp; and because I am banished from the Holy Land, and not suffered to come to the temple, you think that I am not an object of the divine care. But you must worship God in a far different manner, if you would expect any good at His hand; for your unclean sacrifices with which you pollute the altar, so far from rendering Him favorable to you, will do nothing else but provoke His wrath.” JC
¨ The dehortation [of vs. 5] passes over into exhortation in vs. 6. Of course the sacrifices were continued in the sanctuary while David, with his faithful followers, was a fugitive from Jerusalem. […] these are not offerings consisting of actions which are in accordance with the will of God, instead of slaughtered animals, but sacrifices offered with a right mind, conformed to the will of God, instead of the hypocritical mind with which they consecrate their evil doings and think to flatter God. K&D, Franz Delitzsch
¨ Let all your devotions come from an upright heart; let all your alms be sacrifices of righteousness. The sacrifices of the unrighteous God will not accept; they are an abomination, Isa. 1:11, etc. MH

“and put your trust in the Lord.”

¨ […] in [so] doing, you may rely upon God, and confidently expect His assistance, which otherwise it is in vain to hope for. Withal, he seems to reflect upon his enemies, who trusted to an arm of flesh, to their own great numbers and power, and to intimate what his course was, to wit, to trust in the Lord. MP

¨ They are to renounce the self-trust which blinds them in their opposition to the king who is deprived of all human assistance. If they will trustingly submit themselves to God, then at the same time the murmuring and rancorous discontent, from which the rebellion has sprung, will be stilled. K&D, Franz Delitzsch

Personal Summary:

There are a couple of things I would like to consider in regards to this verse. 1) How we can, with the same attitude as David, stand firm in our faith and fight against our enemies; and 2) how we are to serve the Lord as He has prescribed and to trust in Him for all things.

Calvin says to point number one, “Let us learn from this passage, that, in contending with the corrupters of true religion, who may have the name of God continually in their mouth, and vaunt themselves on account of their observance of His outward worship, we may safely rebuke their boasting, because they do not offer the right sacrifices. But, at the same time, we must beware lest a vain pretense of godliness foster in us a perverse and ill founded confidence, in place of true hope.” If we stand firm in the truth presented in the word of God, we may with the backing of God denounce the sinful pretending of religious exercise by those that continually pervert the practice of true religion. There are not multiple ways to God and there are not various versions of that God. There is one God and He has prescribed how we are to worship Him, if we stand on biblical truth then the unorthodox positions embraced by false religion, including what calls itself Christianity, is condemned by default. But let Calvin’s advice stand true, that we do not become puffed up because the Lord has revealed to us the truth contained in His word. Let us be grateful and evangelize and disciple the world that the Lord will perhaps bless our efforts and bring those He has set aside for Himself to faith through such unworthy vessels as us.

Matthew Henry says to point number two, “First make conscience of offering sacrifices of righteousness and then you are welcome to put your trust in the Lord. Honor Him, by trusting in Him only, and not in your wealth nor in an arm of flesh; trust in His providence, and lean not to your own understanding; trust in His grace, and go not about to establish your own righteousness or sufficiency.” Nothing we ultimately do in and of itself brings us favor; we are justified not on our own merits but on the perfect righteousness of Christ. But as saved men, we must serve the Lord as He has prescribed; and, in so doing, we necessarily place our trust in Him. Trust in God is the natural outpouring of genuine faith. If we cannot rely on God to do and to be what He has claimed in His holy word, then it is undeniable that there is no trust or confidence to be had at all. In Matt. 6:33 Christ tells us seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. When our exclusive focus is on serving the Lord as He has prescribed and to His glory, with no other end in mind except accomplishing that single glorious goal, then we will find the peace and confidence we so long for in our lives. Let nothing else be a motivator, He has promised in His word that He will never leave [you] nor forsake [you] and thus everything we need is accomplished by God and all that is left is to be a faithful servant until He calls us home.