|
INTRODUCTION
This is the longest Psalm that we have had to deal so far. It is again a Psalm written by a real person
with real feelings in a real situation. To believe in the inspiration of Scripture does not lessen those facts that I have just stated. When dealing with the Psalms we must always keep these facts in mind and
in doing so it will make the Psalms live for us. It will also help us to cope with some of the difficult statements that we find in the Psalms.
1. THE PERSECUTION THE PSALMIST EXPERIENCES (vs. 1-2).
Notice the word "all" in v 1. The Psalmist is not just being pursued by one or two people here, but by
many. We do not know who these people where but in the title, Cush is mentioned, so Cush is at least one of these people, Cush was from the same tribe as Saul, and so perhaps this is in connection with
Saul's pursuit of David. We simply don't know, and it's not important for understanding the Psalm.
What is clear is that these pursuers are dead serious in their pursuit. For the Psalmist's
anticipates that he will end up in bits and pieces in the same way as an animal would that has been attacked by a lion (v 2)
Now once again we have a Psalm in front of us that paints the picture of a believer in the true God, being
in dire straits. His enemies are persecuting him, and as we go through this Psalm we will see that he is being persecuted unjustly. The point of application I want to make from this is that persecution for
the believer is not unusual or uncommon.
In fact according to the Bible it is the common experience for the Christian. Persecution that is
unjust is what we find time and time again in the Scriptures. So we are going to have a paper chase for a few moments to prove this point. Look at Psalm 119:86; Matthew 5:10-12; John 15:20; Romans 12:14; 1
Corinthians 4:12; 2 Corinthians 4:8-9; 2 Timothy 3:12; Hebrews 11:36-37. Therefore you and I should not be surprised when we are persecuted. In fact if we are living for God as we ought to be living, then we will be
persecuted, and unjustly as well.
I want us to lay to bed once and for all that myth that Christians who know the blessing of
God will only have good times in their lives. The truth is that Christians who know the blessing of God in their lives will be persecuted as a result. Now church history reveals many methods of persecution
that the church has faced down through the generations. Thankfully most of them we do not have to face in this country. But one type of persecution that we face is the type faced by this Psalmist's (v
4). We all underestimate the power of the tongue, slander, scorn and misrepresentation can rip God's people to pieces and leave us in tatters. Sticks and stones may break our bones but names will never hurt us is just not true. This Psalmist was being accused of things that he did not do (v 4). In work at home, in our communities people will slander us, falsely accuse us and misrepresent us, if we are living for our God. But that is exactly what happened to Jesus when he walked this earth therefore it is what we should expect. But how do you deal with it? Well how did the Psalmist's deal with it.
2. THE PSALMIST SUBMITS HIMSELF TO GOD (vs. 3-5)
For the second time the Psalmist's uses the phrase "O Lord my God" (vs. 1 & 3). He
recognises that God is His source of refuge and if deliverance is going to come, it will come from God. In these verses David is committing his whole situation to the Lord and is submitting to Him. He is
confident that he is innocent of the accusations made against him, and therefore can say what he says. He could not have done this without some sort of self-examination, and having done so he realises that there is
no truth in these accusations against him.
There is nothing like a clear conscience; But having one means that we have to have regular self-examination of our lives, and of course, confession and putting right of any known sin. Only then can we commit our way and destiny into God's hands, only then can we rely upon God to be our refuge and deliverer.
3. HE PLEADS TO GOD FOR JUSTICE (vs. 6-9)
So having stated his situation and his innocence and having examined himself, he submits himself to
God. David now asks God to act, to bring justice into the situation. He assumes rightly, that false accusations make God angry because it is sin and therefore asks God to act. David probably has a
court scene in mind, for after all the court is where you get justice.
David asks God to judge His case (vs. 6 & 8) and to judge all who oppose the righteous (vs. 7 &
9). If you like David is asking the judge of all the earth to do right. Of course David can do this because he knows where he stands in relation to God and in relation to this particular case (v 8). He
knows that God is righteous (v 9) and therefore will judge rightly and will come down on the side of the righteous (innocent).
There is nothing wrong with asking God to judge. When we are falsely accused then we can go to God and ask
Him to judge the situation, knowing that God who is righteous will judge rightly. If we do this it will stop us from judging the situation and meeting out our own justice. Of course if we are going to do
this then we need to make sure that we stand in a right relationship with God, and with our fellow citizen's. For it is only God who not only sees our actions but searches our minds and hearts.
4. HOW CAN DAVID ASK GOD TO JUDGE IN THIS SITUATION (vs. 10-13)?
He asks because there are certain truths that stand in every generation.
a) God saves the upright in heart (v10). - God delivers those who are innocent. He sides with and protects
the upright. Now although I think the main reference here is to uprightness of heart in the sense of innocence this truth is equally true on the spiritual realm. Who does God save from their sin? He
saves the upright in heart; but who is upright in heart today. The bible declares no one is righteous not even one (Romans 3:10). Therefore, no one can be saved unless God does something to make people
righteous.
That is exactly what he did in sending Jesus for His people. When Jesus died on that cross and when we are
enabled by God to repent of our sin and to have faith in Jesus as our Saviour then two things happen. Jesus takes our sin upon himself, and therefore our sin is punished in Jesus. Secondly Jesus places His
righteousness, His perfection upon us, so that in God's eyes we are now covered with the righteousness of Christ. We are from God's perspective upright in heart and therefore to get back to our text, we are
saved, because He saves the upright in heart.
b) God is angry with sinners every day (v 11) - This is the second reason why David can ask God to judge his
situation. Because God is a righteous judge He cannot allow evil nor can He ignore it. He is opposed to it every day, and therefore David is sure in his heart that God is opposed to those who are falsely
accusing him. Again this truth is central to the Bible and to the gospel. There is a day of Judgement when God as Judge will judge each one of us accordingly. But God's judgement does not have to
wait till then, its not as if God is opposed to sin and evil but cannot do anything about it until the judgement day.
God will finally deal with all sin on that great Judgement day, but He also dishes out
temporary judgments every day. He is angry with sin, He is always angry with it, every day, it doesn't depend on what mood He is in, every day He has a settled conviction against sin and every day he acts
against it. This is what Romans 1:18ff teaches, read it for yourself. As we look at our nation today, can we not see how God is working our His wrath, against all the wickedness and ungodliness? The
ungodly laws and their consequences is one aspect of God's wrath being worked out in our land. What about us personally? God is the searcher of our minds and hearts, what does He find there? He finds sin, rebellion and evil. Is God passive to what He finds in our hearts? No! He is wrathful every day with
us. That's why if you are not a Christian you need to turn to the only One who can forgive you and can give you an upright heart. Jesus Christ Himself. For those of us who are Christians we need daily
to confess our sins to the One who loves us and has saved us.
Verses 12-13 are a warning to sinners, God is ready to strike, and His weapons are at the ready, how can we
avoid the outcome of God's wrath, which is judgement? By repenting and transferring our guilt upon God's Son, Jesus Christ. We all need to see the seriousness of our sin, God is ready to act, and will you
repent and cause God to relent from His judgement upon you? Then heed the warning and act, before God acts.
Why should you repent? Because of the futility of wickedness. Being full of evil brings forth
trouble and leads to disillusionment (v 14) It's like digging a hole, and then falling into it yourself (v 15). Sin sets it own trap (v 16), it eventually catches up with us all. Your sin will eventually
trap you, it does not lead to happiness, fulfilment and contentment but it leads to disillusionment and entrapment. That's why you must repent. That's why David's opponents must repent as well.
It is because of who God is (Righteous) that He is wrathful towards sin, and therefore acts in judgement.
These truths were the reason why David appeals to God to judge his case, and it is these same truths that led him to praise and thank God at the end of this Psalm (v 17). Because God is righteous, everything
else follows' wrath judgement etc. Therefore David thanks and praises God for who He is.
You may think that there is not much we can praise God for concerning His wrath and judgement. But
there is. It's because God is righteous that He cannot and will not tolerate sin in any shape or form. Isn't it good to know that sinners will be dealt with? When our own justice system fails,
it's good to be assured that God's justice system doesn't. He will act and His judgement will be perfect, He makes no mistakes because He searches our hearts and minds. With God there are no
miscarriages of justice.
So what about you? Where do you stand before God? Have you repented of your sin, Has God made your
heart upright through Jesus? If not then He is ready to strike, he will not put up with your sin, and therefore you need to repent now, before it's to late. In trusting Christ as Saviour you will then
be able with all God's people to thank God and praise Him because of His righteousness.
Amen
|
