1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,080 Turn to the book of Psalms and then find Psalm 109. 2 00:00:05,280 --> 00:00:07,140 Psalm 109, now I'm gonna be honest with you 3 00:00:07,140 --> 00:00:09,040 right out of the gate this morning. 4 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:13,180 Psalm 109 is a difficult part of scripture. 5 00:00:13,180 --> 00:00:15,380 It's one of those sections of the Bible 6 00:00:15,380 --> 00:00:17,780 that at times you see well-meaning Christians 7 00:00:17,780 --> 00:00:21,520 try to apologize for or to dance around 8 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:24,860 even though they shouldn't, you sometimes find that. 9 00:00:24,860 --> 00:00:26,920 As we've seen in this preaching series so far, 10 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:29,800 there are many Psalms that are very comforting. 11 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:32,840 There are Psalms that are encouraging. 12 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:35,160 There are Psalms that stir our souls 13 00:00:35,160 --> 00:00:37,640 to higher heights of praise and worship 14 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:40,400 as we've seen over the last three Sundays, 15 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:42,320 and then there are Psalms like this one. 16 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:46,380 But the hard truth is life isn't always comfortable. 17 00:00:46,380 --> 00:00:50,620 Life isn't always encouraging or stirring, 18 00:00:50,620 --> 00:00:53,820 and so the Psalms reflect that truth. 19 00:00:53,820 --> 00:00:55,560 Evil in the world is real. 20 00:00:55,560 --> 00:01:00,260 Human sin is deep and pervasive in every corner of the earth. 21 00:01:00,260 --> 00:01:04,200 Injustice and corruption and slander are replete 22 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:07,140 in every structure and every institution 23 00:01:07,140 --> 00:01:09,780 that mankind designs. 24 00:01:09,780 --> 00:01:12,400 So why shouldn't there be Psalms written 25 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:15,720 to reflect that situation, 26 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:17,840 especially when God's people are suffering 27 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:19,720 and under attack and crying out for help? 28 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:23,620 The fact is you would expect to see Psalms just like that, 29 00:01:23,620 --> 00:01:27,020 what we call imprecatory Psalms. 30 00:01:27,020 --> 00:01:29,760 In particular, you'd expect to see them show up 31 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:31,600 in the worship life of Israel, 32 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:34,960 who as a people and a nation have suffered greatly 33 00:01:34,960 --> 00:01:36,560 for thousands of years. 34 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:40,860 And so Psalm 109 is considered the fiercest 35 00:01:40,860 --> 00:01:42,380 of all the imprecatory Psalms 36 00:01:42,380 --> 00:01:44,740 in the entire collection of Psalms. 37 00:01:45,900 --> 00:01:48,080 What we're gonna hear this morning is David lay out 38 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:53,720 somewhere around 30 imprecatory curses against his enemies, 39 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:56,120 using very severe language. 40 00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:59,220 So Psalm 109 is a difficult read if you are squeamish 41 00:01:59,220 --> 00:02:02,500 about the concepts of divine judgment and wrath. 42 00:02:02,500 --> 00:02:06,400 In fact, C.S. Lewis once described this Psalm as, quote, 43 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:09,540 striking us in the face like heat from the mouth 44 00:02:09,540 --> 00:02:10,700 of a furnace. 45 00:02:11,940 --> 00:02:12,840 Oh, that's all. 46 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:16,840 Now, as a reminder, we've covered a few 47 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:19,580 of the imprecatory Psalms already in this series. 48 00:02:19,580 --> 00:02:20,980 There are seven in all, 49 00:02:20,980 --> 00:02:23,260 five of which were authored by David. 50 00:02:23,260 --> 00:02:27,180 Let's make sure we remember what that term imprecatory means. 51 00:02:27,180 --> 00:02:30,320 It refers to the invoking of judgment 52 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:35,320 upon a people or an individual who stands opposed to Yahweh, 53 00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:38,000 stands opposed to his people, 54 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:39,860 and stands opposed to his purposes. 55 00:02:39,860 --> 00:02:42,900 Now, the reason you see David authoring most of them 56 00:02:42,900 --> 00:02:45,140 is because in the Old Testament context, 57 00:02:45,140 --> 00:02:47,640 he is serving as God's anointed king 58 00:02:47,640 --> 00:02:49,580 over the nation of Israel. 59 00:02:49,580 --> 00:02:52,920 So any attack against God's anointed king, David, 60 00:02:52,920 --> 00:02:57,580 is by extension an attack against Yahweh himself. 61 00:02:57,580 --> 00:03:00,820 So that's why we see David involved in these things so often. 62 00:03:00,820 --> 00:03:03,160 By the way, I don't want you to be confused by this either. 63 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:06,560 You find imprecatory language not just in the Psalms. 64 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:07,920 You'll find it in the Torah. 65 00:03:07,920 --> 00:03:09,700 You'll find it in the prophets. 66 00:03:09,700 --> 00:03:11,900 And this may come as a surprise to you, 67 00:03:11,900 --> 00:03:15,100 you will find imprecatory language in the New Testament 68 00:03:15,100 --> 00:03:17,000 as well, more on that later. 69 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:19,880 But no matter how difficult the language is in these Psalms, 70 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:21,740 listen now, we cannot dismiss it. 71 00:03:21,740 --> 00:03:25,180 We cannot apologize for it or try to dance around it 72 00:03:25,180 --> 00:03:26,920 because all of scripture, we're told, 73 00:03:26,920 --> 00:03:29,940 is inspired by God and profitable for us, 74 00:03:29,940 --> 00:03:33,020 which means there are lessons in Psalm 109 75 00:03:33,020 --> 00:03:34,880 that we need to learn. 76 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:36,220 So let's dive in. 77 00:03:36,220 --> 00:03:37,700 Let's do what we've been doing each and every week. 78 00:03:37,700 --> 00:03:40,100 Just a brief outline of what the structure 79 00:03:40,100 --> 00:03:41,920 of this Psalm looks like. 80 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:43,800 I've sectioned it off. 81 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:45,960 If you're one of those people that likes to draw 82 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:47,540 on your Bible, bring a pen. 83 00:03:47,540 --> 00:03:48,740 It's good to mark up your Bible. 84 00:03:48,740 --> 00:03:50,080 Did you know that? 85 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:53,340 It's not some book that you can't highlight 86 00:03:53,340 --> 00:03:55,300 and circle and do all that stuff. 87 00:03:55,300 --> 00:03:57,020 So I've got three different lines here 88 00:03:57,020 --> 00:03:58,720 broken up into four sections. 89 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:03,320 Verses one to five reflect the attacks that David is under. 90 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:07,620 This huge section in the middle are the imprecatory curses 91 00:04:07,620 --> 00:04:11,160 that David calls down upon his enemies. 92 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:14,160 I've titled the third section, Just Help Me, okay? 93 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:15,860 And we can all sort of identify with that. 94 00:04:15,860 --> 00:04:19,900 And then finally, at the end, you see David's vow of praise. 95 00:04:19,900 --> 00:04:21,660 So we're gonna walk through that structure 96 00:04:21,660 --> 00:04:23,340 in that particular way. 97 00:04:23,340 --> 00:04:24,840 So let's look at the first section. 98 00:04:24,840 --> 00:04:27,680 Look at verses one through five in your Bible. 99 00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:28,640 Here's how David begins. 100 00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:31,820 Oh, God of my praise, do not be silent. 101 00:04:31,820 --> 00:04:34,140 How many of you guys have ever prayed that before? 102 00:04:34,140 --> 00:04:36,580 Lord, please don't be quiet right now. 103 00:04:36,580 --> 00:04:38,020 Please don't be silent. 104 00:04:38,020 --> 00:04:42,040 Verse two, for they have opened their wicked 105 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:45,700 and deceitful mouth against me. 106 00:04:45,700 --> 00:04:49,740 They have spoken against me with a lying tongue. 107 00:04:49,740 --> 00:04:53,520 They have also surrounded me with words of hatred 108 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:58,520 and fought against me or attacked me without cause. 109 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:03,360 In return for my love, they act as my accusers. 110 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:05,120 But I am in prayer. 111 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:06,560 And the better translation there is, 112 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:09,660 but I give myself to prayer. 113 00:05:09,660 --> 00:05:12,660 Thus they have repaid me evil for good 114 00:05:12,660 --> 00:05:14,760 and hatred for my love. 115 00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:16,660 Now these first five verses are crucial 116 00:05:16,660 --> 00:05:19,140 to understanding not just this psalm, 117 00:05:19,140 --> 00:05:21,100 but to understand the broader context 118 00:05:21,100 --> 00:05:23,900 of imprecatory language in the Bible. 119 00:05:23,900 --> 00:05:26,780 In these five verses, David describes this series 120 00:05:26,780 --> 00:05:29,220 of accusations that have been leveled against him 121 00:05:29,220 --> 00:05:31,420 and he makes two very important claims 122 00:05:31,420 --> 00:05:33,020 that you have to understand. 123 00:05:33,020 --> 00:05:35,380 Number one, he claims that he is innocent 124 00:05:35,380 --> 00:05:38,020 before these accusers, that he has acted 125 00:05:38,020 --> 00:05:41,160 in good and loving ways towards these people 126 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:43,260 who are now leveling charges against him. 127 00:05:43,260 --> 00:05:46,660 And number two, he describes in this very severe way 128 00:05:46,660 --> 00:05:49,460 the iniquity of these people that have apparently 129 00:05:49,460 --> 00:05:53,740 conspired against him and are now leveling these charges. 130 00:05:53,740 --> 00:05:56,200 And those are the two most important conditions 131 00:05:56,200 --> 00:05:58,180 for imprecatory prayers. 132 00:05:58,180 --> 00:06:01,880 And they should be known as very rigorous conditions. 133 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:04,920 Only somebody who is in right relationship with God 134 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:08,020 someone who has examined himself 135 00:06:08,020 --> 00:06:10,420 and humbly confessed his own sins, 136 00:06:10,420 --> 00:06:12,120 in the words of Jesus later, 137 00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:14,620 has taken the log out of his own eye. 138 00:06:14,620 --> 00:06:17,560 Only in that condition should anyone dare to pray 139 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:20,100 as David is about to pray. 140 00:06:20,100 --> 00:06:21,740 And only those who are truly wicked 141 00:06:21,740 --> 00:06:24,740 and utterly opposed to the purposes of God 142 00:06:24,740 --> 00:06:28,340 should ever be the target of an imprecatory prayer. 143 00:06:28,340 --> 00:06:29,740 So those are the conditions. 144 00:06:29,740 --> 00:06:32,180 Innocence of the one praying 145 00:06:32,180 --> 00:06:35,880 and utter wickedness of the target of the prayer. 146 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:38,220 So notice David feels the heat from his enemies 147 00:06:38,220 --> 00:06:41,860 but his first response is not to shoot back 148 00:06:41,860 --> 00:06:45,360 a verbal nasty response. 149 00:06:46,580 --> 00:06:47,900 I can't highlight that enough. 150 00:06:47,900 --> 00:06:49,700 His first response is not to go, 151 00:06:49,700 --> 00:06:52,320 well I'm gonna shoot back a nasty response. 152 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:54,360 This is so important for you and I. 153 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:57,040 This is an area where I see people in the church 154 00:06:57,040 --> 00:06:59,200 fail all the time. 155 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:01,880 Both church members and leaders. 156 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:03,940 Somebody hurts our feelings. 157 00:07:03,940 --> 00:07:05,500 Somebody slanders us. 158 00:07:05,500 --> 00:07:08,140 Somebody accuses us or they attack us 159 00:07:08,140 --> 00:07:10,180 or they just criticize us. 160 00:07:10,180 --> 00:07:12,620 Somebody gossips about us. 161 00:07:12,620 --> 00:07:14,480 Sometimes it's done quietly 162 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:16,660 and you hear about it through a third party. 163 00:07:16,660 --> 00:07:18,780 Sometimes it's done out in the open. 164 00:07:18,780 --> 00:07:21,260 And what do we tend to do in response? 165 00:07:22,660 --> 00:07:24,700 What does our flesh want to do? 166 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:28,300 We all know the answer to this, right? 167 00:07:28,300 --> 00:07:31,160 We wanna quickly and efficiently 168 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:34,980 have a sassy comeback, right? 169 00:07:34,980 --> 00:07:37,540 To strike back in self-defense 170 00:07:37,540 --> 00:07:40,940 and also to deliver an equally painful shot 171 00:07:40,940 --> 00:07:42,880 at the person that has hurt us. 172 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:46,580 To make them look and feel just as bad as we do. 173 00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:49,420 Here's what the Bible calls that. 174 00:07:49,420 --> 00:07:51,180 Returning evil for evil. 175 00:07:52,620 --> 00:07:54,200 That's important to understand. 176 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:55,800 Now every situation is different 177 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:59,000 so how we handle each situation is gonna vary. 178 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:01,960 There are gonna be times when something happens 179 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:06,000 and we are going to choose to overlook the offense. 180 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:08,000 We're gonna show grace and just let that 181 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:10,600 sorta fall off of our shoulders. 182 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:11,780 We're gonna let that go 183 00:08:11,780 --> 00:08:14,980 and let love cover a multitude of sins. 184 00:08:14,980 --> 00:08:18,420 Other times it is necessary to confront that sin 185 00:08:18,420 --> 00:08:20,180 and to set the record straight. 186 00:08:20,180 --> 00:08:21,960 But how we do that, 187 00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:24,620 how we do that is incredibly important. 188 00:08:24,620 --> 00:08:27,660 And it requires humility and it requires wisdom. 189 00:08:27,660 --> 00:08:30,220 And oftentimes it requires getting wise counsel 190 00:08:30,220 --> 00:08:31,600 before taking action. 191 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:33,560 But two things can be said for sure. 192 00:08:33,560 --> 00:08:38,160 Not reacting instantly and impulsively 193 00:08:38,160 --> 00:08:39,540 is very, very important. 194 00:08:39,540 --> 00:08:43,140 Just so that you don't return one sin with your own sin 195 00:08:43,140 --> 00:08:44,700 and return evil for evil. 196 00:08:44,700 --> 00:08:46,440 And the second important thing 197 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:48,480 is what you see David doing here. 198 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:52,380 His first response to being accused is what? 199 00:08:52,380 --> 00:08:53,220 To pray. 200 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:55,120 To go to prayer. 201 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:56,380 To give himself to prayer. 202 00:08:56,380 --> 00:08:59,480 He turns to the one he knows can deliver him 203 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:02,420 and will ultimately vindicate him 204 00:09:02,420 --> 00:09:05,460 and will show that ultimately it's God's power 205 00:09:05,460 --> 00:09:08,960 and God's glory that matters and not his own reputation. 206 00:09:08,960 --> 00:09:10,400 That is a hard thing for us, right? 207 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:11,900 That requires humility to say, 208 00:09:11,900 --> 00:09:13,400 ultimately the more important thing 209 00:09:13,400 --> 00:09:16,800 in this brewing conflict is not my reputation 210 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:18,400 but God's reputation. 211 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:19,840 So I'm gonna go to him in prayer. 212 00:09:19,840 --> 00:09:22,440 David decides in wisdom to cry out to the Lord 213 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:25,780 and then to leave the situation in his hands. 214 00:09:25,780 --> 00:09:26,940 Because not only does he, 215 00:09:26,940 --> 00:09:29,080 he knows that he doesn't really have the strength 216 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:31,160 to fix the problem, 217 00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:34,160 but he knows ultimately this is God's work 218 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:36,020 to fix the problem, not his own. 219 00:09:37,020 --> 00:09:41,260 So he says, while my enemies are flapping their gums, 220 00:09:41,260 --> 00:09:44,460 while they are accusing me using false words, 221 00:09:44,460 --> 00:09:45,800 trying to do me harm, 222 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:49,740 what I'm gonna do is talk to God about this. 223 00:09:49,740 --> 00:09:51,280 That's a good posture to take. 224 00:09:52,480 --> 00:09:54,840 Now, let's look closer at David's innocence 225 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:55,880 and the guilt of his enemies. 226 00:09:55,880 --> 00:09:57,920 Obviously, David is first and foremost, 227 00:09:57,920 --> 00:09:59,340 he's a worshiper of God, 228 00:09:59,340 --> 00:10:01,680 he is a man after God's own heart. 229 00:10:01,680 --> 00:10:03,720 Does that mean he's perfect? 230 00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:05,020 Absolutely not. 231 00:10:05,020 --> 00:10:08,020 But in examining his life and in his writings, 232 00:10:08,020 --> 00:10:10,060 you can't help but recognize 233 00:10:10,060 --> 00:10:13,820 that David maintains a consistent heart of confession 234 00:10:13,820 --> 00:10:17,840 and repentance and a passion to honor and praise the Lord. 235 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:20,500 So he opens Psalm 109 in that very posture. 236 00:10:20,500 --> 00:10:21,900 Look what his very first line is, 237 00:10:21,900 --> 00:10:23,480 oh God of my praise. 238 00:10:23,480 --> 00:10:24,540 Oh God of my praise. 239 00:10:24,540 --> 00:10:28,180 That is a great way for any worshiper to begin praying. 240 00:10:28,180 --> 00:10:30,680 Notice then, as David comes to his request for help, 241 00:10:30,680 --> 00:10:32,480 notice where he focuses. 242 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:33,960 And you might, again, if you have a pen, 243 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:35,160 you like to circle things, 244 00:10:35,160 --> 00:10:37,600 you might wanna circle three words in your Bibles here. 245 00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:40,260 Verse two, mouths. 246 00:10:40,260 --> 00:10:42,960 Also verse two, tongue. 247 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:45,800 And verse three, words. 248 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:48,800 Mouth, tongue, words. 249 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:51,840 So David is being slandered by false accusations. 250 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:53,680 He says, they've opened their wicked 251 00:10:53,680 --> 00:10:55,680 and deceitful mouths against me. 252 00:10:55,680 --> 00:10:58,780 They have spoken against me with a lying tongue. 253 00:10:58,780 --> 00:11:00,720 And notice the contrast that he's trying 254 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:01,880 to draw for us here. 255 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:04,580 His enemies have their poisonous mouths open. 256 00:11:04,580 --> 00:11:06,960 They're flapping their gums all over the place. 257 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:09,520 And at the same time, what David perceives is 258 00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:11,400 silence on behalf of God. 259 00:11:13,300 --> 00:11:15,260 So can you, do you understand the weight 260 00:11:15,260 --> 00:11:16,500 of what he's feeling? 261 00:11:16,500 --> 00:11:18,500 Yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap. 262 00:11:18,500 --> 00:11:21,400 Yap, yap, yap, silence. 263 00:11:22,560 --> 00:11:24,460 He's in a desperate place. 264 00:11:24,460 --> 00:11:26,660 And the volume of slander coming his way 265 00:11:26,660 --> 00:11:27,600 is so overwhelming. 266 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:30,980 He says here in verse three, they've surrounded me. 267 00:11:30,980 --> 00:11:32,180 And it can feel like that. 268 00:11:32,180 --> 00:11:33,840 When you're under attack sometimes 269 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:35,740 and the yapping is happening, 270 00:11:35,740 --> 00:11:39,080 it can feel like you're being encircled by a mob, right? 271 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:42,220 They act as my accusers, David says in verse four. 272 00:11:42,220 --> 00:11:45,120 So he cries out, Lord, of all the times, 273 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:48,800 please don't be silent now. 274 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:49,960 Please don't be silent. 275 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:51,000 I need you. 276 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:53,560 These men are assassinating my character. 277 00:11:53,560 --> 00:11:55,300 They are attacking my life. 278 00:11:55,300 --> 00:11:57,540 Father, speak up for me. 279 00:11:58,700 --> 00:12:00,200 And then there's a righteous request 280 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:02,340 because according to David's solemn word here, 281 00:12:02,340 --> 00:12:05,200 these accusations are not based in righteousness. 282 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:06,640 They're not based in truth. 283 00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:09,720 In fact, they're the opposite of righteousness and truth. 284 00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:11,820 Look at the severity of the words he uses. 285 00:12:11,820 --> 00:12:14,280 Again, if you wanna circle some key words in here, 286 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:15,760 verse two, listen to the words. 287 00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:20,760 Verse two, wicked, deceitful, lying. 288 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:23,660 Verse three, hatred. 289 00:12:23,660 --> 00:12:25,640 Verse five, evil. 290 00:12:25,640 --> 00:12:28,300 That is really serious language 291 00:12:28,300 --> 00:12:29,800 that David is drawing for us here. 292 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:32,180 Not only is he innocent of these accusations, 293 00:12:32,180 --> 00:12:36,640 not only has he not done anything to deserve these attacks, 294 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:39,520 but he says here, I've been nothing but good and loving 295 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:42,720 to these very men who are now slandering me. 296 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:44,420 He's been a benevolent king. 297 00:12:44,420 --> 00:12:46,620 He's ruled over them as a good shepherd, 298 00:12:46,620 --> 00:12:47,620 but in verse three, he says, 299 00:12:47,620 --> 00:12:49,420 they've attacked me without cause. 300 00:12:49,420 --> 00:12:52,320 In return for my love, they accuse me. 301 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:54,500 In verse five, they've repaid me evil for good 302 00:12:54,500 --> 00:12:57,300 and hatred for my love. 303 00:12:57,300 --> 00:12:59,940 Now, if you've experienced this type of thing 304 00:12:59,940 --> 00:13:01,940 in church life or outside of church life, 305 00:13:01,940 --> 00:13:03,700 you know how that feels. 306 00:13:03,700 --> 00:13:06,200 I've done everything I can to love this person 307 00:13:07,100 --> 00:13:08,580 and what have I gotten for it? 308 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:10,540 This is hurtful. 309 00:13:10,540 --> 00:13:12,740 This is painful. 310 00:13:12,740 --> 00:13:15,180 Now listen, friends, this is what makes David's enemies 311 00:13:15,180 --> 00:13:17,620 worthy of imprecatory prayers. 312 00:13:17,620 --> 00:13:21,520 This is what makes them worthy of divine wrath, 313 00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:23,400 the way they're treating a righteous man. 314 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:26,320 How wicked people treat the righteous 315 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:29,860 is symptomatic of a much bigger problem. 316 00:13:29,860 --> 00:13:32,640 It means that in essence, they have a great hatred 317 00:13:32,640 --> 00:13:35,900 and rebellion towards God himself, 318 00:13:35,900 --> 00:13:38,840 that they would treat God's righteous king in this way. 319 00:13:38,840 --> 00:13:40,480 Now, David doesn't name names here. 320 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:42,940 It would be nice, because then we'd have a specific story 321 00:13:42,940 --> 00:13:44,120 we could go to in the Old Testament. 322 00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:44,940 We could put a map up. 323 00:13:44,940 --> 00:13:46,220 It'd be amazing, right? 324 00:13:46,220 --> 00:13:49,580 He doesn't name names, doesn't identify his accusers, 325 00:13:49,580 --> 00:13:52,860 and what's interesting here is some Old Testament scholars 326 00:13:52,860 --> 00:13:54,960 believe that he doesn't name names 327 00:13:54,960 --> 00:13:56,800 because he wants to give his audience 328 00:13:56,800 --> 00:13:59,300 a little bit more thought to think about 329 00:13:59,300 --> 00:14:02,160 what's the being behind the slander? 330 00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:05,040 What's the being behind the accusations? 331 00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:07,940 Keep in mind that the Hebrew word for accuser 332 00:14:07,940 --> 00:14:10,500 in verse four is what? 333 00:14:10,500 --> 00:14:11,340 Satan. 334 00:14:12,980 --> 00:14:13,820 Satan. 335 00:14:13,820 --> 00:14:16,780 That is who Satan is. 336 00:14:16,780 --> 00:14:20,420 Revelation 12 tells us he is the accuser of the brethren, 337 00:14:20,420 --> 00:14:24,060 and he is expertly skilled at manipulating people 338 00:14:24,060 --> 00:14:27,460 to use their mouths and their tongues and their lies 339 00:14:27,460 --> 00:14:30,120 to attack God's people and to divide them. 340 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:34,340 He has honed this skill for many, many years, 341 00:14:34,340 --> 00:14:36,600 and he's an expert at it. 342 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:39,500 Spurgeon once declared this important truth. 343 00:14:39,500 --> 00:14:42,140 He said, in all of Satan's armory, 344 00:14:42,140 --> 00:14:46,140 there are no worse weapons than deceitful tongues. 345 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:48,280 I think that's true. 346 00:14:49,340 --> 00:14:52,040 It's especially satanic when someone receives good 347 00:14:52,040 --> 00:14:54,380 but then returns that good with evil. 348 00:14:54,380 --> 00:14:59,360 It's especially satanic when you give hatred back for love. 349 00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:03,060 And keep in mind, this might be shocking, 350 00:15:03,060 --> 00:15:04,500 but it shouldn't be shocking. 351 00:15:04,500 --> 00:15:07,900 This attack against David is not coming from the Philistines 352 00:15:09,140 --> 00:15:12,840 or the Edomites or the Aramaeans. 353 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:15,940 It's coming from within his own house, 354 00:15:15,940 --> 00:15:17,680 from the kingdom of Israel. 355 00:15:18,780 --> 00:15:19,880 Does that shock you? 356 00:15:21,140 --> 00:15:22,640 Because this is a principle that we see 357 00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:25,540 throughout church history and right up to today. 358 00:15:25,540 --> 00:15:28,360 Almost all the division in the church 359 00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:30,820 and most of the damage done to our credibility 360 00:15:30,820 --> 00:15:34,860 in front of the world comes from within our own house, 361 00:15:34,860 --> 00:15:36,120 from the church itself. 362 00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:37,520 It comes from internal attacks. 363 00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:39,360 We call it friendly fire, right? 364 00:15:39,360 --> 00:15:43,760 Doesn't come from atheists or the LGBT community. 365 00:15:44,660 --> 00:15:46,160 It comes from within our own house. 366 00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:47,700 It's sad, but it's true. 367 00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:50,100 Now, why does that happen? 368 00:15:50,100 --> 00:15:54,080 Again, because the enemy uses one of our greatest weaknesses, 369 00:15:54,080 --> 00:15:57,740 our impetuous tongues, to get in there 370 00:15:57,740 --> 00:16:00,640 and to divide us one against another. 371 00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:04,220 And we'll come back to that truth in our conclusion today. 372 00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:07,960 There's a lot going on in these first five verses. 373 00:16:07,960 --> 00:16:10,460 Let's move on to the second section in Psalm 109. 374 00:16:10,460 --> 00:16:12,460 Let's look at these imprecatory curses. 375 00:16:12,460 --> 00:16:15,560 Now, I am not gonna walk through each one of them in detail. 376 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:16,960 I don't have time for that, 377 00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:19,240 but I'll make a few observations as we go along. 378 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:21,700 Here is the long list, verses six to 20, 379 00:16:21,700 --> 00:16:24,140 of these imprecatory prayer requests 380 00:16:24,140 --> 00:16:26,980 that David has for the Lord, beginning in verse six. 381 00:16:26,980 --> 00:16:31,580 Appoint a wicked man over him, David says, 382 00:16:31,580 --> 00:16:34,380 and let an accuser stand at his right hand. 383 00:16:35,420 --> 00:16:38,160 In other words, Lord, let him experience the very thing 384 00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:40,120 that he is attempting to do to me. 385 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:46,600 Now, this principle comes out of a very basic 386 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:51,600 Old Testament concept known as lex talionis in Latin, 387 00:16:52,300 --> 00:16:54,560 the law of retribution, 388 00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:58,100 where the severity of the punishment is exactly proportional 389 00:16:58,100 --> 00:16:59,380 to the crime itself. 390 00:17:00,340 --> 00:17:03,680 It punishes the criminal with the very same injury 391 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:05,340 that they inflicted upon their victim. 392 00:17:05,340 --> 00:17:08,040 And so David is asking God to return the favor 393 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:09,320 on the head of his enemy. 394 00:17:09,320 --> 00:17:12,820 He wants the accuser to become the accused. 395 00:17:13,860 --> 00:17:16,760 Lex talionis, the law of retribution. 396 00:17:18,100 --> 00:17:21,020 And verse seven says, and when he is judged, Lord, 397 00:17:21,020 --> 00:17:26,040 let him come forth guilty and let his prayer become sin. 398 00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:30,500 Let his days be few. 399 00:17:30,500 --> 00:17:33,540 Let another take his office or his position. 400 00:17:34,740 --> 00:17:36,240 Now, already you may have noticed something. 401 00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:38,820 The pronouns have changed between that first section 402 00:17:38,820 --> 00:17:40,380 and this second section. 403 00:17:40,380 --> 00:17:43,480 It started in the plural in verses one through five, 404 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:48,460 and now in this cursing section, it changes to singular. 405 00:17:49,420 --> 00:17:50,660 Look again at verses one through five. 406 00:17:50,660 --> 00:17:53,800 Five times you see they, right? 407 00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:56,860 David is describing a group of people who are accusing him. 408 00:17:56,860 --> 00:17:58,640 But now, beginning in verse six, 409 00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:03,000 you see he, him, and his being used. 410 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:04,200 Now, why is this? 411 00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:05,580 To be honest, we don't know for sure. 412 00:18:05,580 --> 00:18:07,700 This has stumped Old Testament scholars 413 00:18:07,700 --> 00:18:08,880 for thousands of years. 414 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:11,380 But the most plausible explanation is, 415 00:18:11,380 --> 00:18:12,740 although it's a group of people 416 00:18:12,740 --> 00:18:14,080 that are conspired against David, 417 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:17,580 he has in mind some man, a single person 418 00:18:17,580 --> 00:18:20,960 who is potentially the ringleader of this group 419 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:21,960 that he's speaking about. 420 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:25,360 Or perhaps, once again, he's highlighting the single being 421 00:18:25,360 --> 00:18:29,500 who is behind the group of accusers, Satan himself. 422 00:18:29,500 --> 00:18:31,460 But this much we do know, 423 00:18:31,460 --> 00:18:33,840 and we know this from the New Testament. 424 00:18:33,840 --> 00:18:36,300 There's a connection to Satan here from the New Testament. 425 00:18:36,300 --> 00:18:37,400 If you look at verse eight again, 426 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:38,640 look what it says at the end. 427 00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:43,020 Let another take his office or his position. 428 00:18:43,020 --> 00:18:46,280 That is quoted, cited in Acts chapter one. 429 00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:48,680 Peter stands up in front of the disciples, 430 00:18:48,680 --> 00:18:49,980 and I'll put the verse on the screen. 431 00:18:49,980 --> 00:18:53,860 He says, brothers, the scripture had to be fulfilled, 432 00:18:53,860 --> 00:18:57,560 which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of who? 433 00:18:57,560 --> 00:19:00,520 Of David concerning who? 434 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:05,540 Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 435 00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:08,440 He, Judas, was counted among us 436 00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:11,400 and received his share in this ministry, 437 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:14,280 for it is written in the book of Psalms. 438 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:16,840 Let his homestead be made desolate 439 00:19:16,840 --> 00:19:18,240 and let no one dwell in it. 440 00:19:18,240 --> 00:19:22,280 Now that's from another imprecatory Psalm, Psalm 69. 441 00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:26,060 But then it says, and let another man take his office. 442 00:19:26,060 --> 00:19:27,920 That's from our Psalm for today. 443 00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:30,260 So just as, get this now, 444 00:19:30,260 --> 00:19:33,660 just as Jesus is a fulfillment of the prophecy 445 00:19:33,660 --> 00:19:37,300 concerning the seat of David, in a similar way, 446 00:19:37,300 --> 00:19:41,500 Judas is a fulfillment of the seat of these wicked betrayers 447 00:19:41,500 --> 00:19:44,540 who are coming against God's anointed King. 448 00:19:44,540 --> 00:19:46,080 Amazing parallels here. 449 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:48,780 Now, let's keep going in Psalm one and nine. 450 00:19:48,780 --> 00:19:50,680 The rest of this section is very fierce 451 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:55,560 and you cannot help but judge it as very sad as well. 452 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:57,580 Because when someone sins in this way, 453 00:19:57,580 --> 00:20:00,920 with great rebellion in his heart against God, 454 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:03,800 it's not just the individual who suffers. 455 00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:08,800 The consequences of his sin spill over, right? 456 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:11,200 It's gonna spill over to his entire house. 457 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:13,040 And we know this, this is just a general principle 458 00:20:13,040 --> 00:20:14,640 of sowing and reaping. 459 00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:18,980 Listen now, a father's sin will naturally spill over 460 00:20:18,980 --> 00:20:20,780 to his entire family. 461 00:20:20,780 --> 00:20:21,780 We should know that. 462 00:20:23,020 --> 00:20:25,380 Gentlemen, we have a great responsibility in this. 463 00:20:25,380 --> 00:20:28,820 A father's sin will naturally overflow 464 00:20:28,820 --> 00:20:31,260 and spill into his family. 465 00:20:31,260 --> 00:20:34,520 And so David asked God to punish these wicked men 466 00:20:34,520 --> 00:20:36,220 over generations. 467 00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:38,660 Look at verse nine. 468 00:20:38,660 --> 00:20:43,040 Let his children be fatherless and his wife a widow. 469 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:46,880 Let his children wander about and beg 470 00:20:48,040 --> 00:20:50,740 and let them seek sustenance or food 471 00:20:50,740 --> 00:20:52,420 far from their ruined homes. 472 00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:55,420 Let the creditor seize all that he has 473 00:20:55,420 --> 00:20:59,160 and let strangers plunder the product of his labor. 474 00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:02,120 Let there be none to extend loving kindness to him 475 00:21:02,120 --> 00:21:05,760 nor any to be gracious to his fatherless children. 476 00:21:05,760 --> 00:21:08,500 Let his posterity or his line of descendants 477 00:21:08,500 --> 00:21:11,200 be cut off in a following generation 478 00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:13,100 and let their name be blotted out. 479 00:21:14,100 --> 00:21:16,340 Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered 480 00:21:16,340 --> 00:21:19,780 before the Lord and do not let the sin of his mother 481 00:21:19,780 --> 00:21:21,280 be blotted out. 482 00:21:21,940 --> 00:21:24,340 Let them be before our Lord continually 483 00:21:24,340 --> 00:21:27,880 that he may cut off their memory from the earth. 484 00:21:29,980 --> 00:21:31,520 Let's pray, no. 485 00:21:31,520 --> 00:21:33,320 Ouch, right? 486 00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:35,820 We can't end on that. 487 00:21:35,820 --> 00:21:36,660 Ouch. 488 00:21:37,620 --> 00:21:40,660 Now, before you get all upset about this, 489 00:21:40,660 --> 00:21:44,360 and I understand the emotion behind this, 490 00:21:44,360 --> 00:21:48,200 at verse 16, there's an interesting shift in tone. 491 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:50,300 And this helps explain this. 492 00:21:50,300 --> 00:21:53,940 These accusers have not just targeted the king of Israel. 493 00:21:53,940 --> 00:21:56,040 What we find out in the next few verses 494 00:21:56,040 --> 00:21:58,520 is this is a pattern in their life, 495 00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:03,520 a pattern of wickedness that deserves judgment and wrath. 496 00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:06,960 So why does David ask for all these things? 497 00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:09,760 Verse 16, because he did not remember 498 00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:12,200 to show loving kindness, 499 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:16,160 but persecuted the afflicted and the needy man 500 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:19,660 and the despondent in heart to put them to death. 501 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:22,040 He's a murderer. 502 00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:26,280 Verse 17, he also loved cursing, 503 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:29,320 so it came to him, and he did not delight in blessing, 504 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:31,420 so it was far from him. 505 00:22:31,420 --> 00:22:33,080 Listen to how the CSB puts this. 506 00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:34,520 It's so beautiful and poetic. 507 00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:38,020 It says, he loved cursing, let it fall on him. 508 00:22:39,020 --> 00:22:41,120 He took no delight in blessing, 509 00:22:41,120 --> 00:22:42,900 let the blessing be far from him. 510 00:22:44,100 --> 00:22:44,940 Lex Talionis. 511 00:22:46,540 --> 00:22:49,400 Verse 18, but he clothed himself with cursing 512 00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:50,900 as with a garment. 513 00:22:50,900 --> 00:22:55,900 As with a garment, it entered into or soaked into his body, 514 00:22:57,040 --> 00:23:00,680 like water and like oil into his bones. 515 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:01,520 Wow. 516 00:23:02,740 --> 00:23:04,220 So let it be to him as a garment 517 00:23:04,220 --> 00:23:06,280 with which he covers himself 518 00:23:06,280 --> 00:23:10,080 and for a belt with which he constantly girds himself. 519 00:23:10,080 --> 00:23:11,560 Wow. 520 00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:14,320 So as harsh as this sound, what we read here 521 00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:16,660 are biblical principles which describe 522 00:23:16,660 --> 00:23:18,600 how God will ultimately judge mankind 523 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:20,940 based on their own standards, based on their own deeds, 524 00:23:20,940 --> 00:23:23,080 based on their own hearts. 525 00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:26,620 Those who refuse to show mercy will not receive mercy. 526 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:31,280 Those who love to curse, a curse will come upon them. 527 00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:33,320 Those who withhold blessing should not expect 528 00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:34,720 to receive a blessing. 529 00:23:35,620 --> 00:23:37,320 This is what sin deserves. 530 00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:40,000 And if you're found in Christ this morning, 531 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:42,560 you should say, thank God that's not me. 532 00:23:43,900 --> 00:23:46,500 Thank God that I've been saved by God's grace 533 00:23:46,500 --> 00:23:48,840 through faith. 534 00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:51,640 Otherwise, that's me too. 535 00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:54,780 This is what sin deserves. 536 00:23:54,780 --> 00:23:57,240 And surely a wicked man has no complaint before God 537 00:23:57,240 --> 00:23:59,040 if he's judged by his own standards, 538 00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:00,740 if he's judged by his own life. 539 00:24:02,580 --> 00:24:05,580 Finally, David summarizes this section in verse 20. 540 00:24:05,580 --> 00:24:09,560 Let this be the reward or the payment of my accusers 541 00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:13,300 from the Lord and of those who speak evil against my soul. 542 00:24:13,300 --> 00:24:15,200 Now that last statement is important. 543 00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:18,300 David does not say, let all these things come upon you 544 00:24:18,300 --> 00:24:19,900 as a payment from my hand. 545 00:24:19,900 --> 00:24:23,400 He says, let it come upon you as a payment from the Lord. 546 00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:25,200 And that's critical. 547 00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:27,300 That's important to understand. 548 00:24:27,300 --> 00:24:30,520 In precatory Psalms, take matters of injustice 549 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:32,320 to the throne of God. 550 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:35,320 They are not to be acts of personal vengeance. 551 00:24:36,380 --> 00:24:37,980 We take them to the throne of God. 552 00:24:37,980 --> 00:24:41,320 We should never forget what Paul writes in Romans 12, 19, 553 00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:43,400 which itself comes out of the Old Testament 554 00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:44,860 from Deuteronomy 32. 555 00:24:44,860 --> 00:24:47,700 Paul says, friends, do not avenge yourselves. 556 00:24:47,700 --> 00:24:51,260 Instead, leave room for God's wrath. 557 00:24:51,260 --> 00:24:53,940 Because it is written, vengeance belongs to me, 558 00:24:53,940 --> 00:24:55,840 I will repay, says the Lord. 559 00:24:57,400 --> 00:24:59,340 So the one who prays in a precatory prayer 560 00:24:59,340 --> 00:25:04,340 must call upon God to act and then to wait upon him to act 561 00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:09,080 in his perfect timing, in his way, and as he sees fit. 562 00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:10,920 This is not about personal vengeance. 563 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:13,520 Because ultimately in precatory prayers, 564 00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:15,960 I said this earlier, should be more God-focused 565 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:17,200 than self-focused. 566 00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:20,700 God's reputation is at stake far more than our reputation 567 00:25:20,700 --> 00:25:22,300 from earthly accusations. 568 00:25:23,460 --> 00:25:26,040 So we gotta make sure we get this right. 569 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:28,560 Now earlier I hinted that there is imprecatory language 570 00:25:28,560 --> 00:25:30,840 in the New Testament, and you may have gone through 571 00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:32,440 a catalog in your brain trying to think, 572 00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:34,040 well, where do we find this? 573 00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:35,780 Let me give you a few examples. 574 00:25:35,780 --> 00:25:37,880 And then we'll talk about what this means for us 575 00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:40,120 as new covenant believers. 576 00:25:40,120 --> 00:25:44,420 Jesus himself certainly evoked a series of prophetic curses 577 00:25:44,420 --> 00:25:46,980 upon the scribes and the Pharisees, didn't he? 578 00:25:46,980 --> 00:25:51,000 In all of his woes, he used imprecatory language. 579 00:25:52,120 --> 00:25:55,220 When Simon the magician sought to buy Peter's power 580 00:25:55,220 --> 00:25:57,700 to perform wonders, Peter said this to him, 581 00:25:57,700 --> 00:26:00,440 may your silver be destroyed with you. 582 00:26:01,460 --> 00:26:04,140 Wow, right? 583 00:26:04,140 --> 00:26:06,240 Because you thought you could obtain the gift of God 584 00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:08,880 with money, may it be destroyed with you. 585 00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:12,300 Peter also pronounced sentence upon Ananias and Sapphira 586 00:26:12,300 --> 00:26:14,300 in Acts chapter five, right? 587 00:26:14,300 --> 00:26:16,500 He said, why has Satan so filled your heart 588 00:26:16,500 --> 00:26:18,000 to lie to the Holy Spirit? 589 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:22,040 You've not lied to man, but to God, and what happened? 590 00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:23,600 Ananias dropped dead. 591 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:25,840 That's pretty imprecatory. 592 00:26:27,380 --> 00:26:29,580 We know that in Galatians one, the apostle Paul 593 00:26:29,580 --> 00:26:31,940 issued an anathema upon anybody who preaches 594 00:26:31,940 --> 00:26:33,520 a false gospel, right? 595 00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:35,220 He said, let them be what? 596 00:26:35,220 --> 00:26:36,060 Accursed. 597 00:26:36,060 --> 00:26:38,200 Accursed. 598 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:40,240 If you go out and preach a false gospel, 599 00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:43,280 you're to be accursed, Paul said. 600 00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:45,740 He also cursed a false prophet and a sorcerer 601 00:26:45,740 --> 00:26:46,780 in Acts chapter 13. 602 00:26:46,780 --> 00:26:48,580 It says, fill with the Holy Spirit. 603 00:26:48,580 --> 00:26:52,140 Paul said, you are full of all kinds of deceit 604 00:26:52,140 --> 00:26:55,160 and trickery, you son of the devil. 605 00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:56,460 Woof. 606 00:26:56,460 --> 00:26:58,060 You enemy of all that is right. 607 00:26:58,060 --> 00:27:00,220 Won't you ever stop perverting the straight path 608 00:27:00,220 --> 00:27:01,060 of the Lord? 609 00:27:01,060 --> 00:27:03,720 Now look, the Lord's hand is against you. 610 00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:05,320 Similar language. 611 00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:07,360 In 1 Timothy 1, he delivered two men, 612 00:27:07,360 --> 00:27:11,360 Hymenaeus and Alexander, handed them over to Satan 613 00:27:11,360 --> 00:27:13,320 to be taught not to blaspheme. 614 00:27:13,320 --> 00:27:16,760 So these are all good examples of imprecatory language. 615 00:27:16,760 --> 00:27:19,060 So it's not just an Old Testament thing, 616 00:27:19,060 --> 00:27:23,040 but they come with caveats, don't they? 617 00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:24,440 We have to be cautious with this, 618 00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:26,140 because we can get all riled up and go, 619 00:27:26,140 --> 00:27:28,440 man, I got a whole list of things 620 00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:30,440 for my prayer time tomorrow morning. 621 00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:32,880 I got a whole list of enemies. 622 00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:34,520 Let's be careful. 623 00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:35,920 Let's remember the caveats. 624 00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:38,960 As I mentioned earlier, the primary caveat is first, 625 00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:41,360 the innocence of the one praying, 626 00:27:41,360 --> 00:27:45,160 the humility and the self-examination 627 00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:46,560 and the innocence of the one praying. 628 00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:49,560 Second, the absolute wickedness of the target. 629 00:27:49,560 --> 00:27:51,560 And what that means is, this type of prayer 630 00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:53,000 is not gonna be common. 631 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:55,240 This is not a prayer to use lightly. 632 00:27:55,240 --> 00:27:57,040 We don't drive to work tomorrow and go, 633 00:27:57,040 --> 00:27:57,880 that guy cut me off. 634 00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:00,240 He's gonna be like, I'm gonna go to work tomorrow. 635 00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:01,440 I'm gonna be like, I'm gonna be cut off. 636 00:28:01,440 --> 00:28:02,280 Imprecatory prayer. 637 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:04,120 Right? 638 00:28:04,120 --> 00:28:05,680 Or somebody at work annoyed me. 639 00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:07,520 All right, I'll get him. 640 00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:09,020 That is not the point here. 641 00:28:09,020 --> 00:28:10,960 Be very cautious. 642 00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:13,920 This is the kind of prayer reserved for those who actively 643 00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:16,700 and willfully seek the destruction of God's people. 644 00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:21,660 It's also crucial to note that in the current dispensation 645 00:28:21,660 --> 00:28:23,800 that we live under, under the new covenant, 646 00:28:23,800 --> 00:28:27,040 when there is no longer an anointed king in Jerusalem, 647 00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:30,400 we are not a believing nation of Israel. 648 00:28:30,400 --> 00:28:32,440 When the gospel has gone to the ends of the earth 649 00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:35,280 and we now have a universal priesthood, 650 00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:37,880 that any imprecatory prayers that we pray 651 00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:41,040 should also include a desire to see our enemies 652 00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:43,780 turn from sin and repent and be saved. 653 00:28:44,980 --> 00:28:45,820 Right? 654 00:28:45,820 --> 00:28:48,920 This is part of why we teach a dispensational view 655 00:28:48,920 --> 00:28:50,060 of scripture. 656 00:28:50,060 --> 00:28:52,800 Things have changed under the new covenant. 657 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:54,960 And so that's something we should always plead with God for. 658 00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:58,100 We pray, listen, we pray first for mercy. 659 00:28:58,100 --> 00:29:00,840 And if not mercy, then for God's justice. 660 00:29:02,100 --> 00:29:03,880 Because God is 100% of both of those things, right? 661 00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:06,940 He is completely merciful and He's completely just. 662 00:29:06,940 --> 00:29:08,280 So we can pray like David. 663 00:29:08,280 --> 00:29:10,280 We can say, oh, God of my praise, 664 00:29:10,280 --> 00:29:14,180 do not be silent in the face of this evil on the earth. 665 00:29:14,180 --> 00:29:16,280 Do not be silent, Lord. 666 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:18,480 May the gospel go out to our enemies. 667 00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:22,760 And if it's your will, do a saving work among them. 668 00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:25,760 May they turn from evil and bow at the feet of your son. 669 00:29:25,760 --> 00:29:28,460 That would be the best possible outcome. 670 00:29:28,460 --> 00:29:31,560 But if they will not repent and turn to Christ, Lord, 671 00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:33,240 then crush the head of the snake. 672 00:29:35,100 --> 00:29:38,380 Extinguish their cause, let their days be few. 673 00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:41,080 But we leave vengeance to you, Lord. 674 00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:43,720 Vindicate your great name by cutting them off 675 00:29:43,720 --> 00:29:45,680 from the face of the earth. 676 00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:48,980 We can do that in the right circumstance. 677 00:29:48,980 --> 00:29:51,220 Mercy and then justice. 678 00:29:51,220 --> 00:29:54,620 That's honestly, that's as I was writing the sermon, 679 00:29:54,620 --> 00:29:58,020 that's the only way that I feel like I can honor 680 00:29:58,020 --> 00:30:00,540 and be faithful to both of these principles 681 00:30:00,540 --> 00:30:02,200 that we have in scripture, right? 682 00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:05,940 That we wanna see our enemies turn and be saved. 683 00:30:05,940 --> 00:30:07,780 But at the same time, to be able to pray 684 00:30:07,780 --> 00:30:09,880 in the same way that David shows us 685 00:30:09,880 --> 00:30:12,540 in this particular psalm, amen? 686 00:30:13,780 --> 00:30:16,580 Okay, let's quickly look at the last two sections 687 00:30:16,580 --> 00:30:19,320 and then we'll conclude with some practical stuff. 688 00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:21,580 These last two sections beginning in verse 21, 689 00:30:21,580 --> 00:30:23,920 here we come to something that we've seen 690 00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:25,920 over and over again in the psalm series 691 00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:27,360 and that is a pivot point. 692 00:30:28,320 --> 00:30:31,860 A point in the psalm where the tone and the focus shift, 693 00:30:31,860 --> 00:30:34,900 where the psalmist's eyes come back to the glory of God 694 00:30:34,900 --> 00:30:36,400 and back to worship. 695 00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:39,740 And so David has just laid out these imprecatory curses 696 00:30:39,740 --> 00:30:43,900 and then he writes, but you, O God, right? 697 00:30:43,900 --> 00:30:49,920 But you, the Lord, deal kindly with me for your name's sake. 698 00:30:51,020 --> 00:30:53,920 Because your loving kindness is good, deliver me 699 00:30:53,920 --> 00:30:54,820 or rescue me. 700 00:30:56,120 --> 00:30:57,120 For I am afflicted and needy 701 00:30:57,120 --> 00:31:00,360 and my heart is wounded within me. 702 00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:03,000 I am passing or fading away like a shadow 703 00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:04,160 when it lengthens. 704 00:31:04,160 --> 00:31:05,900 I'm shaken off like the locust. 705 00:31:05,900 --> 00:31:08,060 My knees are weak from fasting 706 00:31:08,060 --> 00:31:12,060 and my flesh has grown lean without fatness. 707 00:31:12,060 --> 00:31:16,440 I also have become a reproach or an object of ridicule 708 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:17,800 to them. 709 00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:20,200 When they see me, they wag their head. 710 00:31:20,200 --> 00:31:22,680 They shake their head in scorn. 711 00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:25,920 Help me, O Lord, my God. 712 00:31:25,920 --> 00:31:28,180 Save me according to your loving kindness 713 00:31:28,180 --> 00:31:30,860 and let them know that this is your hand. 714 00:31:30,860 --> 00:31:32,260 You, Lord, have done it. 715 00:31:35,020 --> 00:31:37,720 So catch the key phrases here where David once again 716 00:31:37,720 --> 00:31:40,100 pleads for God's help. 717 00:31:40,100 --> 00:31:44,800 But you, Yahweh, Adonai, deal kindly with me. 718 00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:45,700 Deliver me. 719 00:31:45,700 --> 00:31:49,240 Then in verse 26, help me, Yahweh, Elohim, save me. 720 00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:53,280 And you see David pleading for help 721 00:31:53,280 --> 00:31:54,980 and for rescue on two different levels. 722 00:31:54,980 --> 00:31:56,220 First, there's the earthly level, 723 00:31:56,220 --> 00:31:57,580 then the heavenly level. 724 00:31:57,580 --> 00:31:59,980 From the earthly perspective, you see in the language, 725 00:31:59,980 --> 00:32:02,620 he is experiencing a crisis here 726 00:32:02,620 --> 00:32:05,720 that is causing him great suffering and great anxiety. 727 00:32:05,720 --> 00:32:06,920 It's an emotional crisis. 728 00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:08,800 He says it himself in verse 22. 729 00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:10,060 I'm afflicted and needy. 730 00:32:10,060 --> 00:32:12,700 He says my heart is wounded within me. 731 00:32:12,700 --> 00:32:14,000 Have you ever felt that? 732 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:15,260 You're being attacked and man, 733 00:32:15,260 --> 00:32:19,160 it just destroys you within. 734 00:32:19,160 --> 00:32:20,940 You're afflicted, you're suffering, 735 00:32:20,940 --> 00:32:22,640 and you need the Lord. 736 00:32:23,840 --> 00:32:26,180 And then he goes on to describe how that emotional crisis 737 00:32:26,180 --> 00:32:30,080 then has manifested itself in this physical person. 738 00:32:30,080 --> 00:32:32,240 I've experienced this when you're going through a hard time 739 00:32:32,240 --> 00:32:34,620 and your body can feel it. 740 00:32:34,620 --> 00:32:36,920 And he says, look, I've been fasting over this. 741 00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:38,720 I've lost large amounts of weight. 742 00:32:38,720 --> 00:32:41,760 I'm as skinny as a shadow, he says. 743 00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:43,600 His life seems to be wasting as well. 744 00:32:43,600 --> 00:32:45,760 His appearance is so awful now 745 00:32:45,760 --> 00:32:47,700 that when his enemies see him, 746 00:32:47,700 --> 00:32:50,760 they mock him and they shake their heads with contempt. 747 00:32:50,760 --> 00:32:52,640 Look what our king has become. 748 00:32:54,240 --> 00:32:56,480 This is painful stuff. 749 00:32:56,480 --> 00:32:58,580 So David pleads with God over these things. 750 00:32:58,580 --> 00:33:00,700 He needs physical restoration. 751 00:33:00,700 --> 00:33:03,140 He needs emotional restoration. 752 00:33:03,140 --> 00:33:05,040 But then there's the higher level of pleading. 753 00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:09,280 He asked for Yahweh to speak and to act for his own namesake 754 00:33:09,280 --> 00:33:11,180 and because of his chesed, right? 755 00:33:11,180 --> 00:33:14,420 His faithful covenant love. 756 00:33:14,420 --> 00:33:17,120 Lord, act because of those things. 757 00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:19,160 This is the higher level, right? 758 00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:20,800 Because those are covenantal reasons. 759 00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:22,260 This is who Yahweh is. 760 00:33:22,260 --> 00:33:24,300 He acts according to his promises 761 00:33:24,300 --> 00:33:26,240 and according to his great name 762 00:33:26,240 --> 00:33:30,140 and his love for his own glory and his own reputation. 763 00:33:30,140 --> 00:33:34,580 So David, praise, vindicate your character, Lord, 764 00:33:34,580 --> 00:33:37,940 by destroying your enemies 765 00:33:37,940 --> 00:33:41,320 and in the process restoring my health. 766 00:33:41,320 --> 00:33:43,660 And in the end, Lord, let the world see 767 00:33:43,660 --> 00:33:46,860 that it's you who has done this, not me. 768 00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:51,220 Beautiful prayer, right? 769 00:33:51,220 --> 00:33:53,360 Really God-focused, not self-focused. 770 00:33:53,360 --> 00:33:56,740 I mean, he's going through it, but it's God-focused. 771 00:33:56,740 --> 00:33:59,040 He wants the Lord to do a great work. 772 00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:01,240 And then finally, in the last two verses, 773 00:34:01,240 --> 00:34:03,200 David wraps up his prayer 774 00:34:03,200 --> 00:34:05,240 in the same way that any of us should wrap up. 775 00:34:05,240 --> 00:34:08,080 When we lay a whole bunch of prayer requests before the Lord, 776 00:34:08,080 --> 00:34:10,680 here is a great way to finish that prayer 777 00:34:10,680 --> 00:34:14,180 with a vow to continue to praise his name. 778 00:34:14,180 --> 00:34:16,280 Regardless of what God chooses to do, right? 779 00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:17,380 Because he's sovereign. 780 00:34:17,380 --> 00:34:21,560 We can't manipulate him to act in our prayers, 781 00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:24,200 but we can vow, Lord, whatever you choose to do 782 00:34:24,200 --> 00:34:27,660 in your perfect sovereign will, I will keep praising you. 783 00:34:27,660 --> 00:34:30,560 Verse 30, with my mouth, I will give thanks abundantly 784 00:34:30,560 --> 00:34:34,600 to the Lord, and in the midst of many, I will praise him. 785 00:34:34,600 --> 00:34:38,080 So do you see how he bookends this Psalm with praise? 786 00:34:38,080 --> 00:34:39,240 The very first line was what? 787 00:34:39,240 --> 00:34:41,340 Oh, God of my praise. 788 00:34:41,340 --> 00:34:43,220 And in verse 30, in the midst of the many, 789 00:34:43,220 --> 00:34:44,620 I will praise him. 790 00:34:44,620 --> 00:34:46,080 So David is picturing a time 791 00:34:46,080 --> 00:34:48,580 when he can go back into God's house. 792 00:34:48,580 --> 00:34:51,020 And in the midst of the congregation of Israel, 793 00:34:51,020 --> 00:34:53,620 with full confidence, he can praise the Lord 794 00:34:53,620 --> 00:34:56,700 because he knows that he's going to be praised 795 00:34:56,700 --> 00:35:00,700 and he knows that his God will vindicate him over time. 796 00:35:00,700 --> 00:35:02,700 What an encouragement and an example 797 00:35:02,700 --> 00:35:04,260 that will be for the people of Israel 798 00:35:04,260 --> 00:35:07,100 to see their king doing exactly that, 799 00:35:07,100 --> 00:35:09,240 praising the Lord in his house. 800 00:35:09,240 --> 00:35:12,540 Verse 31, for he stands at the right hand of the needy 801 00:35:12,540 --> 00:35:15,580 to save him from those who judge his soul. 802 00:35:15,580 --> 00:35:17,580 David knows there's no accusation of men 803 00:35:17,580 --> 00:35:21,280 that can stand between himself and Yahweh's love for him. 804 00:35:21,280 --> 00:35:24,360 And is there a better reason to worship and praise than that? 805 00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:26,720 That nothing can divide us from God's love? 806 00:35:27,620 --> 00:35:29,000 And so we keep praising him. 807 00:35:30,420 --> 00:35:31,860 Amen? 808 00:35:31,860 --> 00:35:33,700 All right, so we got through a Psalm. 809 00:35:33,700 --> 00:35:34,540 It's a long Psalm. 810 00:35:34,540 --> 00:35:36,100 We got through it all though. 811 00:35:36,100 --> 00:35:39,500 Let this be a really good guide for the way you pray 812 00:35:39,500 --> 00:35:40,980 when you're under attack. 813 00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:46,540 Now, as we close, I want to circle back to the idea of words. 814 00:35:46,540 --> 00:35:48,420 And Adam did such a great job this morning 815 00:35:48,420 --> 00:35:51,680 praying for us in this regard, how we use our words, 816 00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:54,520 because that is the basis of the attacks 817 00:35:54,520 --> 00:35:56,560 against the Lord's anointed here, right? 818 00:35:56,560 --> 00:35:58,600 The verbal attacks from his enemies. 819 00:35:58,600 --> 00:36:02,800 And friends, in the church, this is all too common. 820 00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:06,660 It's part of the curse that has come upon us 821 00:36:06,660 --> 00:36:07,800 as natural men and women. 822 00:36:07,800 --> 00:36:08,640 Do you know that? 823 00:36:08,640 --> 00:36:10,440 It's part of the curse of original sin. 824 00:36:10,440 --> 00:36:13,880 This is why Paul says in Romans three, he says, 825 00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:16,240 you know this famous passage from Romans three. 826 00:36:16,240 --> 00:36:19,480 He says, there's none righteous, not even one. 827 00:36:19,480 --> 00:36:21,240 But look at some of the language he uses. 828 00:36:21,240 --> 00:36:26,260 He says, their throat, some of the same body parts, right? 829 00:36:26,260 --> 00:36:28,360 Their throat is an open grave. 830 00:36:28,360 --> 00:36:30,360 They deceive with their tongues. 831 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:33,020 The venom of vipers is under their lips 832 00:36:33,020 --> 00:36:36,760 and their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. 833 00:36:37,660 --> 00:36:38,760 That's natural man. 834 00:36:38,760 --> 00:36:40,160 That's who we are. 835 00:36:41,140 --> 00:36:41,960 That's a hard truth. 836 00:36:41,960 --> 00:36:45,140 We don't like hearing that, but it's true. 837 00:36:45,140 --> 00:36:48,140 We heard the same thing in our call to worship this morning. 838 00:36:48,140 --> 00:36:50,480 This is why Grant selected this passage 839 00:36:50,480 --> 00:36:51,440 from Proverbs six. 840 00:36:51,440 --> 00:36:52,540 This is what it says. 841 00:36:52,540 --> 00:36:55,240 He says, a worthless person, a wicked man, 842 00:36:55,240 --> 00:36:57,220 goes about with crooked speech. 843 00:36:58,480 --> 00:36:59,880 Crooked speech. 844 00:36:59,880 --> 00:37:03,180 He winks with his eyes, signals with his feet, 845 00:37:03,180 --> 00:37:05,960 points with his finger, and with a perverted heart, 846 00:37:05,960 --> 00:37:08,260 he devises evil. 847 00:37:10,160 --> 00:37:11,500 Wow. 848 00:37:11,500 --> 00:37:15,040 There's six things that the Lord hates, hates a strong word. 849 00:37:15,040 --> 00:37:17,000 Seven, they're an abomination to him. 850 00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:18,940 Abomination is a serious word, 851 00:37:18,940 --> 00:37:20,780 but this is how God feels. 852 00:37:20,780 --> 00:37:23,600 And among those things is a lying tongue, 853 00:37:23,600 --> 00:37:26,280 a false witness who breathes out lies, 854 00:37:26,280 --> 00:37:31,280 and one who sows discord among brothers. 855 00:37:32,220 --> 00:37:35,980 One who sows discord among brothers. 856 00:37:35,980 --> 00:37:39,360 That's who we are as human beings, like it or not. 857 00:37:39,360 --> 00:37:42,520 And even for the redeemed, even for those of us 858 00:37:42,520 --> 00:37:44,700 who have been saved by God's grace 859 00:37:44,700 --> 00:37:46,760 and are in the process of sanctification, 860 00:37:46,760 --> 00:37:50,400 still our tongue can be a real problem, right? 861 00:37:50,400 --> 00:37:52,000 You know James talks about this, right? 862 00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:55,080 It's the most famous verse about how we use our words 863 00:37:55,080 --> 00:37:55,900 from James five. 864 00:37:55,900 --> 00:37:58,840 He's talking about save people. 865 00:37:58,840 --> 00:38:01,720 He says, consider how a small fire 866 00:38:01,720 --> 00:38:06,720 sets ablaze a large forest, and the tongue is a fire. 867 00:38:07,860 --> 00:38:09,680 The tongue, a world of unrighteousness 868 00:38:09,680 --> 00:38:11,360 is placed among our members. 869 00:38:11,360 --> 00:38:15,120 It stains the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, 870 00:38:15,120 --> 00:38:18,360 and is itself set on fire by hell. 871 00:38:18,360 --> 00:38:21,440 Every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and fish is tamed, 872 00:38:21,440 --> 00:38:23,040 and has been tamed by humankind, 873 00:38:23,040 --> 00:38:25,160 but no one can tame the tongue. 874 00:38:25,160 --> 00:38:28,300 It is a restless evil full of deadly poison. 875 00:38:28,300 --> 00:38:29,140 Let's pray. 876 00:38:30,180 --> 00:38:31,140 Wow. 877 00:38:32,520 --> 00:38:34,380 Why don't we take this more seriously? 878 00:38:35,840 --> 00:38:36,680 Wow. 879 00:38:36,680 --> 00:38:37,520 And then he wraps up. 880 00:38:37,520 --> 00:38:39,720 He says, with the tongue, and this is really 881 00:38:39,720 --> 00:38:40,820 for the believer, right? 882 00:38:40,820 --> 00:38:41,920 This section here. 883 00:38:41,920 --> 00:38:45,200 With the tongue, we bless our Lord and Father, 884 00:38:45,200 --> 00:38:49,360 and with it, we curse people who are made in God's likeness. 885 00:38:49,360 --> 00:38:52,160 Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth, 886 00:38:52,160 --> 00:38:54,100 and look at that last statement. 887 00:38:54,100 --> 00:38:56,700 Church, listen, my brothers and sisters, 888 00:38:56,700 --> 00:38:59,240 these things should not be this way. 889 00:39:01,200 --> 00:39:04,500 These things should not happen in God's house 890 00:39:04,500 --> 00:39:05,620 among God's people. 891 00:39:07,180 --> 00:39:09,520 So obviously, this matters for us today. 892 00:39:09,520 --> 00:39:11,880 It's very practical, right? 893 00:39:11,880 --> 00:39:14,080 We talk about unity here at Oak Hill all the time, 894 00:39:14,080 --> 00:39:16,420 so this is very practical and very important. 895 00:39:17,460 --> 00:39:20,220 Adam alluded to it in his pastoral prayer. 896 00:39:20,220 --> 00:39:23,160 Proverbs 18.21 says, death and life 897 00:39:23,160 --> 00:39:24,660 are in the power of the tongue. 898 00:39:26,860 --> 00:39:29,040 Now that seems like an extreme statement, 899 00:39:29,040 --> 00:39:31,940 but think about this. 900 00:39:31,940 --> 00:39:33,740 Our words are never neutral. 901 00:39:35,640 --> 00:39:37,140 We don't speak neutral words. 902 00:39:37,140 --> 00:39:39,240 Every time we open our mouths to speak, 903 00:39:39,240 --> 00:39:41,480 we're speaking either one direction or the other, 904 00:39:41,480 --> 00:39:42,540 life or death. 905 00:39:44,020 --> 00:39:44,840 Think of this. 906 00:39:44,840 --> 00:39:48,580 Our tongues, with minimal effort, 907 00:39:48,580 --> 00:39:53,600 minimal effort, can speak life and love and care 908 00:39:54,720 --> 00:39:57,520 and encouragement and the building up of others, 909 00:39:57,520 --> 00:40:02,140 or, again, with almost no effort whatsoever, 910 00:40:02,140 --> 00:40:07,140 our tongues can speak hatred, hurt, strife, division, 911 00:40:08,180 --> 00:40:09,480 and the tearing down of others. 912 00:40:09,480 --> 00:40:14,480 It's the most accessible and efficient weapon 913 00:40:14,480 --> 00:40:17,660 that we can utilize. 914 00:40:21,160 --> 00:40:22,060 It's terrifying. 915 00:40:24,300 --> 00:40:26,160 And it needs to be carefully guarded. 916 00:40:27,440 --> 00:40:28,760 I'll give you an example of this, 917 00:40:28,760 --> 00:40:31,840 and, man, I hate using my own life 918 00:40:31,840 --> 00:40:32,940 as an example of these things, 919 00:40:32,940 --> 00:40:35,640 so I saw this great little note on a blog 920 00:40:35,640 --> 00:40:39,180 from a fellow pastor who gave what I think 921 00:40:39,180 --> 00:40:41,820 is a beautiful example of the contrast 922 00:40:41,820 --> 00:40:42,880 between these two things. 923 00:40:42,880 --> 00:40:44,980 It's a brief story, but let me read it to you. 924 00:40:44,980 --> 00:40:45,820 Here's what he wrote. 925 00:40:45,820 --> 00:40:49,560 He said, pastors have a special relationship with Mondays. 926 00:40:51,900 --> 00:40:54,420 We often call them Blue Mondays 927 00:40:54,420 --> 00:40:57,460 because it's the day we spend in recovery mode 928 00:40:57,460 --> 00:40:59,460 from the rigors of Sunday 929 00:40:59,460 --> 00:41:02,700 and the sermon we spent all those hours preparing 930 00:41:02,700 --> 00:41:06,080 only to see it fall as flat as the Kansas prairie. 931 00:41:06,080 --> 00:41:07,920 I like that. 932 00:41:09,320 --> 00:41:10,920 Sometimes you just feel that way. 933 00:41:11,960 --> 00:41:14,500 He says, Monday is the day that that church member 934 00:41:14,500 --> 00:41:17,660 sends an email to complain about the music. 935 00:41:21,800 --> 00:41:25,300 Or the refreshments, or how the youth group 936 00:41:25,300 --> 00:41:27,640 is meeting his family's needs, 937 00:41:27,640 --> 00:41:29,380 or any of a hundred other things 938 00:41:29,380 --> 00:41:31,580 that can be complained about in church life. 939 00:41:33,140 --> 00:41:35,280 I remember one particularly difficult point 940 00:41:35,280 --> 00:41:37,780 on a particularly difficult Monday a couple of years ago 941 00:41:37,780 --> 00:41:39,280 when I was feeling down 942 00:41:39,280 --> 00:41:42,160 after a low attendance, low energy Sunday. 943 00:41:43,020 --> 00:41:44,860 I'd also learned that a prominent family 944 00:41:44,860 --> 00:41:47,420 had announced to others that they were leaving, 945 00:41:47,420 --> 00:41:50,660 but hadn't taken the time to tell me yet. 946 00:41:52,840 --> 00:41:54,540 So I opened my email that morning, 947 00:41:54,540 --> 00:41:58,700 convinced I would probably encounter even more bad news. 948 00:41:58,700 --> 00:41:59,540 It's Blue Monday. 949 00:42:00,640 --> 00:42:03,680 But the first message was from a relatively new member, 950 00:42:03,680 --> 00:42:07,320 and his words were as humble as they were sweet. 951 00:42:07,320 --> 00:42:10,320 He was grateful for our church's faithfulness, 952 00:42:10,320 --> 00:42:12,880 for the elders clear-headed vision, 953 00:42:12,880 --> 00:42:15,480 and for the friendliness of our members. 954 00:42:15,480 --> 00:42:17,520 He loved that we valued the Bible enough 955 00:42:17,520 --> 00:42:20,360 to make it central to everything we do. 956 00:42:20,360 --> 00:42:23,660 And this one got me, he wrote, he actually thanked me. 957 00:42:25,300 --> 00:42:27,740 And with that, the Monday blues were gone. 958 00:42:28,740 --> 00:42:31,100 In just two short paragraphs, 959 00:42:31,100 --> 00:42:34,800 those words had breathed new life into my spirit. 960 00:42:34,800 --> 00:42:37,880 And suddenly I was rejoicing about the week ahead, 961 00:42:37,880 --> 00:42:41,280 ready to press on toward whatever God had for me. 962 00:42:44,380 --> 00:42:46,480 Do you see the contrast? 963 00:42:46,480 --> 00:42:48,380 Didn't take much. 964 00:42:48,380 --> 00:42:51,160 Didn't take much to bring great harm, 965 00:42:52,320 --> 00:42:55,920 and it didn't take much to breathe life into another. 966 00:42:57,120 --> 00:42:58,900 Now that example is not just true of pastors 967 00:42:58,900 --> 00:42:59,900 on Monday mornings. 968 00:42:59,900 --> 00:43:01,960 The principle of speaking death or life 969 00:43:01,960 --> 00:43:04,560 is true in all of our relationships, 970 00:43:04,560 --> 00:43:07,000 and in every conversation we have. 971 00:43:08,140 --> 00:43:09,840 Every conversation. 972 00:43:09,840 --> 00:43:11,600 The words we choose matter. 973 00:43:12,680 --> 00:43:14,440 They matter in our marriages. 974 00:43:16,080 --> 00:43:17,620 And you know that if you're a husband or wife, 975 00:43:17,620 --> 00:43:21,180 the words you choose in your marriage matter greatly. 976 00:43:21,180 --> 00:43:23,180 They matter in the way we speak to our children 977 00:43:23,180 --> 00:43:24,180 as we parent them. 978 00:43:25,760 --> 00:43:27,800 They can have long-lasting effects. 979 00:43:27,800 --> 00:43:30,840 They matter in how we treat all of the people around us, 980 00:43:30,840 --> 00:43:32,840 whether that's at work, 981 00:43:32,840 --> 00:43:35,300 or that's somebody in our community. 982 00:43:35,300 --> 00:43:36,580 They make a difference. 983 00:43:36,580 --> 00:43:39,440 They matter in our witness to this lost world 984 00:43:39,440 --> 00:43:42,020 that needs to see Jesus in us, 985 00:43:42,020 --> 00:43:46,280 but often doesn't because of the words that we use. 986 00:43:47,320 --> 00:43:50,260 They matter in our covenant life together here at Oak Hill. 987 00:43:50,260 --> 00:43:54,620 They matter in how you speak about our church. 988 00:43:54,620 --> 00:43:57,520 Your words matter in how you speak about your elders 989 00:43:57,520 --> 00:44:00,420 and your deacons and your ministry leaders. 990 00:44:01,560 --> 00:44:02,660 And you probably know this. 991 00:44:02,660 --> 00:44:04,720 The spark that lights every church conflict 992 00:44:04,720 --> 00:44:07,660 and every church split is words. 993 00:44:08,700 --> 00:44:10,900 Now, it starts deeper than that, right? 994 00:44:10,900 --> 00:44:12,660 It starts with pride and arrogance 995 00:44:12,660 --> 00:44:15,440 and self-centeredness and stubbornness, 996 00:44:16,340 --> 00:44:17,740 but when it comes to the surface, 997 00:44:17,740 --> 00:44:22,740 it comes out in our speech, in the words we choose. 998 00:44:22,740 --> 00:44:24,940 And then it devolves from there, right? 999 00:44:24,940 --> 00:44:29,680 Back and forth, accusation, anger, hostility. 1000 00:44:29,680 --> 00:44:34,680 It ends in bitterness and division, and Satan wins. 1001 00:44:35,920 --> 00:44:38,420 I've seen it too many times. 1002 00:44:38,420 --> 00:44:40,260 The enemy is really good at this. 1003 00:44:41,760 --> 00:44:43,400 Churches crash and burn. 1004 00:44:44,340 --> 00:44:46,940 Worshippers are driven away from fellowship. 1005 00:44:46,940 --> 00:44:48,900 Great discouragement comes upon those 1006 00:44:48,900 --> 00:44:50,540 striving to be faithful. 1007 00:44:50,540 --> 00:44:55,540 And sometimes people become so disheartened 1008 00:44:56,540 --> 00:44:58,640 by speech in the body of Christ 1009 00:45:00,080 --> 00:45:01,540 that they walk away from the church 1010 00:45:01,540 --> 00:45:03,420 and sometimes fall away from the faith. 1011 00:45:05,580 --> 00:45:07,560 Another victory for Satan. 1012 00:45:07,560 --> 00:45:10,560 So this is why God cares about our words. 1013 00:45:10,560 --> 00:45:12,320 He cares about our mouths and our tongues 1014 00:45:12,320 --> 00:45:13,820 and our lips and our words. 1015 00:45:13,820 --> 00:45:16,300 This is why you see him warn us over and over 1016 00:45:16,300 --> 00:45:19,440 and over again in Scripture, both Old Testament and New, 1017 00:45:19,440 --> 00:45:24,440 because it hasn't changed over all these years. 1018 00:45:25,100 --> 00:45:29,780 So may we never be those who find ourselves 1019 00:45:29,780 --> 00:45:33,740 on the wrong side of the Lord in the use of our words. 1020 00:45:35,180 --> 00:45:36,280 Let me say it again. 1021 00:45:36,280 --> 00:45:38,880 May we never be those who find ourselves 1022 00:45:38,880 --> 00:45:42,160 on the wrong side of the Lord in the use of our words. 1023 00:45:42,160 --> 00:45:46,160 Slandering him, slandering his bride, 1024 00:45:46,160 --> 00:45:51,160 slandering his leaders, slandering his people. 1025 00:45:51,820 --> 00:45:55,600 Instead, may we respond as David does in this Psalm today, 1026 00:45:55,600 --> 00:45:59,300 not with vengeance, not with an impetuous tongue, 1027 00:45:59,300 --> 00:46:00,800 but with prayer. 1028 00:46:02,540 --> 00:46:04,900 Take your beef to the Lord. 1029 00:46:04,900 --> 00:46:07,480 He's the one that can fix the problem. 1030 00:46:07,480 --> 00:46:10,140 And may we follow in the footsteps of the Lord. 1031 00:46:10,140 --> 00:46:14,720 Jesus himself, when he was reviled, what does Scripture say? 1032 00:46:14,720 --> 00:46:17,080 He didn't revile in return. 1033 00:46:17,080 --> 00:46:18,280 What did he do? 1034 00:46:18,280 --> 00:46:22,320 He kept entrusting himself to the Father 1035 00:46:22,320 --> 00:46:25,060 who always judges justly. 1036 00:46:26,060 --> 00:46:28,360 What a great truth that is. 1037 00:46:28,360 --> 00:46:30,640 With my mouth, as David says, 1038 00:46:30,640 --> 00:46:33,040 I will give abundant thanks to the Lord. 1039 00:46:33,940 --> 00:46:37,900 And in the midst of the congregation, I will praise him. 1040 00:46:37,900 --> 00:46:39,640 Will you join me in that? 1041 00:46:39,640 --> 00:46:40,780 Let's bow our heads. 1042 00:46:41,740 --> 00:46:43,040 Let's praise him now. 1043 00:46:43,040 --> 00:46:44,920 Let's praise him now. 1044 00:46:44,920 --> 00:46:49,920 Father, your word is continually amazing before us. 1045 00:46:51,960 --> 00:46:54,720 Even Lord, when we open up our Bibles 1046 00:46:54,720 --> 00:46:58,700 and we turn to a Psalm and we read this severe language here 1047 00:46:59,360 --> 00:47:02,360 and it causes us to wince just a little bit, 1048 00:47:02,360 --> 00:47:04,500 we're not going to be able to do that. 1049 00:47:04,500 --> 00:47:06,300 We're not going to be able to do that. 1050 00:47:06,300 --> 00:47:07,800 We're not going to be able to do that. 1051 00:47:07,800 --> 00:47:09,200 We're not going to be able to do that. 1052 00:47:09,200 --> 00:47:10,600 We're not going to be able to do that. 1053 00:47:10,600 --> 00:47:13,080 And it causes us to wince just a little bit. 1054 00:47:15,180 --> 00:47:18,740 It is still helpful for us and profitable for us 1055 00:47:18,740 --> 00:47:21,320 to learn what you want to tell us about sin 1056 00:47:22,580 --> 00:47:25,820 and about divine judgment and wrath. 1057 00:47:25,820 --> 00:47:29,060 And Lord, then to be nudged, 1058 00:47:29,060 --> 00:47:31,460 to even consider our own words, 1059 00:47:31,460 --> 00:47:33,760 the way that we speak to people, 1060 00:47:33,760 --> 00:47:40,940 the way that we respond to people when we're hurt. 1061 00:47:40,940 --> 00:47:43,300 Father, encourage us as a body. 1062 00:47:44,540 --> 00:47:46,540 As you know, God, it was not my intention 1063 00:47:46,540 --> 00:47:49,540 to come here and to scold, 1064 00:47:50,480 --> 00:47:52,880 but to simply warn and exhort 1065 00:47:55,120 --> 00:47:58,280 and to help us see how seriously you take this. 1066 00:47:58,280 --> 00:47:59,660 So Father, encourage our hearts. 1067 00:47:59,660 --> 00:48:03,000 We thank you this morning for your amazing grace 1068 00:48:03,000 --> 00:48:04,800 that we are a forgiven people. 1069 00:48:05,900 --> 00:48:07,560 And even though we fall short of your glory, 1070 00:48:07,560 --> 00:48:09,200 even though we fall short of the standard 1071 00:48:09,200 --> 00:48:11,400 that we have for ourselves when it comes to our words, 1072 00:48:11,400 --> 00:48:14,380 God, that you have forgiven us of our sins. 1073 00:48:15,500 --> 00:48:16,840 And we can rejoice in that. 1074 00:48:16,840 --> 00:48:18,380 And we can strive to grow in this area 1075 00:48:18,380 --> 00:48:22,980 to be sanctified in our mouths, in our lips, in our words. 1076 00:48:22,980 --> 00:48:24,220 So thank you for the encouragement 1077 00:48:24,220 --> 00:48:25,720 of Jesus Christ this morning. 1078 00:48:27,020 --> 00:48:28,820 Speak to our hearts now as we sing 1079 00:48:29,980 --> 00:48:31,460 another couple of songs, God. 1080 00:48:31,460 --> 00:48:33,360 May we praise you well. 1081 00:48:33,360 --> 00:49:01,520 For your glory we pray, amen.