The Psalmist at War

Well, good morning. It's great to see all of you here. today, thank you for choosing to worship. with us today.

Let me invite you to, turn in your Bibles to Psalm 139. Psalm 139 for our time of study in, in God's word this morning. We're doing a series worship in the Psalms, and we find ourselves in Psalm 139 for the third Sunday, in a row. My goal this morning is to look at verses 19 through 22, and if you want to give a title to the message this morning, it would be The Psalmist at War.

The psalmist at war. Part of the purpose, of our purpose in having this brief series. On some of the Psalms is to encourage you to give the Psalter, the Book of Psalms, a more meaningful, place in your life. But that encouragement actually should come with a warning.

From the very moment you open the Book of Psalms, you quickly realize that there is a war that is raging between Jehovah and his Messiah, and the peoples of the earth who are fighting against them. In the very first verse of the Psalter, Psalm 11, you encounter the fact that there are people who are ungodly, who are sinners, and who are scornful, and you are told that the blessed man does not walk. After the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful.

Psalm 2 opens with the psalmist asking the question, oh Lord, why are the nations in an uproar?

And the people's devising a vain thing. The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Messiah, saying, let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us. The theme of this conflict continues. Into Psalm 3, where in the first verse of that Psalm, the psalmist says, oh Lord, how my adversaries have increased.

Many are rising up against me. And he goes on to say in verse 6, I will not be afraid of 10,000s of people who have set themselves against me round about. Arise, oh Lord, save me, oh my God, for you have smitten all my enemies on the cheek, you have shattered the teeth. Of the wicked.

What language These are just the 1st 3 Psalms. And they feature the language of conflict and war in addition to the other themes that we find in them. The theme of conflict keeps showing up even in the Psalms that follow Psalm 3, and it's actually not until Psalm 8. That we find our first conflict-free song.

Before the language of conflict starts showing up again in Psalm 9. Ben Patterson, I think, is right when he gives warning to anybody who opens the Book of Psalms in order to work through each of the Psalms. In his book on the Psalms entitled God's Prayer Book, Ben Patterson says, get ready. Things are going to get violent, even bloody, very quickly.

So consider that your warning. Clearly, the psalter, the Book of Psalms is not a place for somebody who wants to escape and avoid conflict. The psalter actually explains the conflict that rages, and it invites us into that conflict and calls upon us to take one side or the other. And if you truly are reading through the Psalms and imbibing the spirit of the Psalms, you will find yourself being changed.

You'll find yourself turning into a fighter. You'll find yourself getting more and more drawn into the conflict that rages between Jehovah and those who are his enemies. As Patrick Reardon says about the Psalms, the Psalms are prayers for those engaged in an ongoing conflict. No one else need bother even opening the book.

Now he's not telling you, don't read the Psalms if you don't find yourself in a particular conflict. What he's telling you is that the salter is for those who are engaged in the big war. Between Jehovah and his enemies. And I begin on this note.

Today, because in our passage today, Psalm 139 verses 19 through 22, the theme of conflict resurfaces as it does throughout the psalter, and when it resurfaces in this Psalm, it takes us a little bit by surprise. We have studied the 1st 18 verses of Psalm 139. We've seen how David is dazzled by God's omniscient love for him. And by God's overwhelming, loving involvement in his life that we studied last week, David is thrilled at these realities, yet he gets spooked by it, and there is a part of him that wants to flee from this God.

He tries fleeing. But fails. And after some deep meditation on God in this Psalm, David ends up in a place of delightful resignation, captured by God's love. And we see David at the very end of Psalm.

139:18, saying the words, I am still with you. Clearly David is not trying to run from God anymore. To God he says, when I awake, and what that could mean is when I awake from my state of worship, I'm with you, Lord. One of the slogans of the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign is, I'm with her.

And if you hear anyone say the words, I'm with her, right away, not only who they are for. But you also know automatically who they are against. You automatically know that anyone who is with her is against. Donald Trump Well, in verse 18, David speaks to God and his slogan is, I'm with you.

And guys, as soon as you say, I'm with God, you've just chosen sides. To be with God means that you are taking God's side in the cosmic war that rages. Between Jehovah and those who make war against Him. So we shouldn't be surprised actually when we come to verses 19 through 22 and begin hearing the things that David is against.

And it's these verses that we'll study today. Before we read these verses, I just wanna warn you that the language in verses 19 through 22 is harsh. But remember, this is the language of a man on the battlefield in the war that rages between God and those who rise up against him. Most of, most of us make some allowances.

For the language that people use on the battlefield, right? And we probably should do that here as well. So let me read these verses to you beginning in verse 19. David says, oh, that you would slay the wicked, oh God.

Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed, for they speak against you wickedly, and your enemies take your name in vain. Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with the utmost hatred.

They have become my enemies. And all God's people said, All God's people said, what? But this is the word of the Lord, and may God help us to understand. His words this morning.

The language of these verses is challenging. It makes us uncomfortable and because of this discomfort, there are some people who would just prefer to skip over these verses and jump to verse 23 and 24. There are some who would give these verses only a shallow glance and write them off as some archaic, outdated, Old Testament thing that doesn't Have anything to do with Christian thinking today. Some are quick to criticize these verses and just say that David is flat out wrong to say some of the things that he says in these verses.

It's actually good for us, as God's people to encounter passages like this in the Bible. that challenge us and maybe even initially upset us. It's good for us to put our nose in the text and engage deeply with these kinds of text and allow God through passages like this. To teach us things that we would not have learned any other way.

So what we'll do this morning is we'll try to take an honest look at these verses and let them speak for themselves and then we'll gather our thoughts and try to make sense of it all in the end, OK? What we see in this passage, here's how we'll break it down, 7 expressions of David's disposition against those who make war against God. 7 expressions. The first of which is he calls upon God to slay the wicked.

He says, oh, that you would slay the wicked, oh God. Literally, what he's saying is, if only you would slay the wicked. Oh God, this is not just a request. This is an expression of longing.

This is a strong and passionate desire in the heart of David that God would kill the wicked. Well, who are the wicked that David is wanting God to slay? According to the theological dictionary of the Old Testament, where they took all the occasions where the Hebrew word for wicked occurs, they came up with this definition or description of wicked people. Wicked people, it says, were guilty of violation of the social rights of others.

They were violent, oppressive, greedy, engaged in plotting against and trapping poor people and quite willing to murder to gain their ends. In a word, they threatened the community. They were dishonest in business and in the courtroom. These people hated the Lord.

The word, the Hebrew word that is translated wicked is not the normal word for sinner that we find in the Old Testament, that the scripture says all people are. This word speaks of a level of sinfulness. And, and rebellion where a person is intransigently criminal. Even psychopathic in their reckless disregard for all who stand in their way of getting what they want.

These people exploit. They abuse, even abusing others sexually, and they kill people. They've declared war against God and against God's ways. Very simply put, these are people who very well may be beyond the point of repentance, and death is virtually the only thing that will stop them from their sinning.

And David is saying, oh, that you would slay. The wicked, oh God. David has more on his heart that he wants to express. He turns now to the wicked themselves, and he delivers an exclamation directly at them, which brings us to David's second expression of his disposition against those who make war against God.

And that is he calls upon the wicked to depart from him. He calls upon the wicked. To depart from him. He says, depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.

Now the wicked are obviously in David's presence in order to win him over to their wicked ways. David will not be won over by them. He will not be teaming up with them. In fact, he rebuffs their efforts and says, depart from me.

In other words, turn aside from me. Get out of my face. I want nothing to do with you and with your ways. Look at what he calls them.

He calls them men of bloodshed. Indicating that these men are murderers. And they have additional murders in their hearts. Which gives you some idea of the depth of wickedness that they were engaging in.

And David is telling such men to get out of his presence. He wants them to have no position of influence in his life. You see, guys, when you, when you come to a place in your life where you love God, And you are captured by his love as David is, you don't give places of influence in your life to wicked people. You don't give places of influence.

In your life to those who violate the law of God, and who murder those who bear the image. Of God. This would include even those who advocate for the murder of babies. Little innocent image bearers of God.

In their mother's wombs. You should refuse to give such people a place of influence in your life, and I might add, you should also refuse to vote for such people to serve in positions of influence in our society as well. David commands these murderous, wicked men. To depart from him.

Obviously their murderous ways and their wicked actions stand as reasons why he wants them out of his presence. But he states two additional things that they do that serve as reasons why he wants them to depart from him. Which brings us to David's 3rd expression of his disposition against those who make war against God. And that is number 3, he complains about how the wicked speak against God.

He's complaining about the way they talk. About God. He says, for they speak against you, Lord, wickedly. The they that he's talking about are the wicked men of bloodshed.

These wicked murderers don't just do violence against people, they also speak against God wickedly, David says. Literally, the Hebrew text reads this way, they speak of you for devious. Purposes. And I want us to go with that literal wording this morning.

Clearly, this includes the idea of them speaking against God with malicious purposes. We have modern examples of this like Christopher Hitchens, who likened the God of the Bible to the dictator of North Korea. Speaking against God. In a wicked way.

But keep in mind that technically in the Hebrew text the word against is actually not in the text. The Hebrew is simply they speak of you for devious purposes. And if we take the literal wording. Of this statement at face value, we would learn that evidently wicked people sometimes speak of God.

They talk about God, and they make pronouncements about him. They may even do so at times in a way that doesn't sound on the surface like they're actually talking against God. But David is saying whenever they speak about God, their intent is devious. It's all a part of their plan to accomplish a wicked goal.

of persuading people against God and against His ways. This past week, the Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine, who claims to be a devout Christian spoke to an audience of 3700 people attending the annual Human Rights Campaign national dinner. Tim Kaine is a Roman Catholic and he acknowledged in his speech, he acknowledged in front of his audience that being a Catholic makes it awkward for him to both be a Catholic and also be affirming of the homosexual lifestyle.

But he uses Genesis one.

You think Genesis is not relevant? In his speech this week, he cited Genesis one. To show how he gets around that awkwardness. Listen to what he said.

My full, complete, unconditional support for marriage equality, meaning same-sex marriage, is at odds with the current doctrine of the church that I still attend. But My church also teaches me about a creator in the first chapter of Genesis, who surveys the entire world, including mankind, and said, it is very good. It is very good. Who am I to challenge God?

For the beautiful diversity of the human family. I think we're supposed to celebrate. Not challenge it. Don't be mistaken.

Tim Kaine knows better. Than to say this. He's willfully ignoring the fall of Genesis 3. When not everything was good anymore.

Surely Tim Kaine. does not believe that God's pronouncement that everything is very good in Genesis one, that that means that all things and all people in the world today must therefore be good. That would mean that Tim Kaine would have to affirm and celebrate Donald Trump as good. Most importantly, In his statement, Tim Kaine ignores the fact that when God in Genesis one, pronounced all of creation good, there was only one marriage in existence.

And that was a heterosexual marriage. But I share this episode from this past week because on this occasion, we see Tim Kaine speaking about God and even quoting the Bible. But he did so with devious intent to mislead. And to misrepresent God and to lead people away from What the Bible actually teaches.

That's what wicked people do. David says, Look at what David complains about next regarding the wicked, which explains why he wants them to depart from him and why he wants them to have no position of influence in his life. This brings us to the fourth expression of his disposition against those who make war against God. And that is he complains about how the wicked take God's name in vain.

Verse 20 he says, and your enemies take Your name in vain. The words your name are not in the Hebrew text, but virtually every translation. puts that there because the language that he uses, the word take and the word vein, is lifted from the third of the 10 Commandments in Exodus 20. David refers to these criminally wicked and God talking murderers as God's enemies here in verse 20, and David says these enemies of God take his name in vain.

The word take literally means to lift up. They lift up the name of God in vain, which is the same word used in the 10 Commandments. When God says you shall not lift up the name of the Lord your God. In vain David clearly has this commandment in his mind and he's saying that these wicked murderers violate the third of the 10 Commandments.

The commandment you shall not lift up the name of the Lord your God in vain means a variety of things. It includes many things. At the very least, it's a prohibition against people swearing by the name of God and then failing to keep their promise. And you can write down in your notes, Leviticus 19:12, where God specifically talks about that.

That when you swear falsely by my name, you are profaning my name. Lifting up the name of God in vain would also include using God's name as a profanity or as an expression of disgust. It would also include using God's name in sentences in which you're saying things about God. that are untrue.

And David here is taking offense at the fact that these criminally wicked, murderous men are lifting up the name of God in vain. It hurts, David. It's part of what is so offensive. To David about them.

Notice here in this passage, guys, that David is not complaining about the fact that the wicked are saying mean things about him. Although I'm sure they did. He's not talking about, like he's not taking anything personally here. He's upset about the way they talk about his God and use God's name in vain.

So he looks at these wicked men of bloodshed who speak about God wickedly, and use his name in vain, and he says to them, depart from me. I don't want to team up with you. I refuse to give you any position of influence in my life. David continues and in verse 21, we encounter yet another expression of his disposition against those who make war with God.

That's number 5, he tells God that he hates those who hate God. He says in verse 21, do I not hate those who hate you, oh Lord? According to the theological dictionary of the Old Testament, the Hebrew word that is translated hate speaks of an attitude toward persons who are detested. And with whom one wishes to have no relationship.

The hated persons are considered foes or enemies and are considered utterly unappealing. According to this definition, there are those who hate God in this way. They despise him, they want no relationship with God. They treat God as an enemy, and they find him utterly unappealing.

And David says here, basically that he hates those who hate God in this way. They are his foes. And they and their ways are completely unappealing. To him.

Again, we're just taking this at face value. We'll gather our thoughts at the end. This is what the text says. And if you're listening to this and you think what David says here is harsh to your ears, then his next expression of enmity against those who make war against God will sound even harsher to your ears.

Which brings us to David's 6th expression of his disposition against those who make war against God. And that is he tells God that he loathes those who rise up against God. He says, and do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with the utmost hatred.

The word loathe here is an intense word that embodies the idea of a strong emotional and even visceral reaction. This is something that you feel. It's a gut reaction. You feel it in your gut.

It's the way you respond, guys, to a foul smell or a disgusting sight that makes you start to heave. It's the way my son Brendan used to feel about taco pasta shells when we would serve that at the dinner table. He did not just dislike them. He did not even just hate them, they made him gag and heave at the dinner table, ruining everyone else's meal.

This is what David feels. When he looks upon people who rise up against God. Imagine how passionate he is about the glory of God. He loves God so much that when he sees people rising up against God, he responds with a visceral response of loathing.

These are people actively engaged in raising their fist against the beautiful and altogether good God of heaven, and they try to influence others to join them in their warfare against Jehovah God. And it turns David's stomach to see them act. And make war and live the way they live. And by the way, just when you think David should maybe back down and moderate his tone a little bit, he actually ratchets up his tone even more.

And says, I hate them with the utmost hatred. The Hebrew word translated utmost speaks of a limit or a boundary. David is saying to whatever degree it's possible and appropriate to hate evildoers like this, I am right up to that boundary line. I hate them with the utmost hatred.

Observe what David says next, which brings us to his final expression of his disposition against those who make war against God. And that is he announces that God's enemies are his enemies. He says at the end of verse 22, they have become my enemies. Earlier David spoke of these people as God's enemies, and now here he's saying they've become my enemies.

David is saying a state of hostility exists between me and them. And them and me, Lord, if they are your enemies. Then they're my enemies. I am with you, Lord.

So if they are at war against you, then that means that they are at war against me. So interestingly, verse 18. ends with David saying to God, I am with you. And verse 22 ends with David essentially looking at God and pointing to God's enemies.

And saying I am against Them Now, have we been fair with the text? what do we make of all of this? if you guys are working off of the insert that's in your bulletin, flip it over. There are more notes on the back, children.

pull the sheet out of the clipboard and flip it over. There are more notes on the back. what do we make of what David is saying here? Is David right to speak this way?

Is he off base? Let me give you some things to think about, 10 things actually that will help you to have a good perspective on what David says. In these verses. First of all, let's remember that the Psalm is inspired scripture, profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction and training and righteousness, inspired by the Holy Spirit.

So we better be very careful to read a passage like this and say David's out of line. And what he is saying? Secondly, keep in mind that these are really bad dudes that David is talking about here. The people David is speaking against just from this passage alone are described as wicked, men of bloodshed, speakers against God.

They speak about God with devious intentions. They are abusers of God's name, they are haters of God, and they are rising up in warfare against God. That's who David is talking about and reacting against In these verses. These are not just some people who are missing the mark in the standard sense of the term sin.

This is not David's wife who overcooked a meal on a bad day. These are sworn enemies of God, who wage war. Against God. They are intransigently evil.

They are men of bloodshed, doing harm, exploiting and oppressing others. These are men who in David's mind are virtually beyond the point of repentance, and the only thing that will stop them from their sinning is death. And asking God to slay such people, David is praying on behalf of all those who are being oppressed by them, and all those who would be oppressed, and even killed by these wicked people if they're not stopped by the Lord. There's another thing we should ponder if we want to have a right perspective on what David says in this passage, especially Regarding David's call for God to slay the wicked.

Let's at least appreciate the fact that David here is leaving vengeance to God. To David's credit, he's not taking matters into his own hands. Notice that he does not say, I'm going to slay the wicked. No, he leaves vengeance to God, and he's asking God as the judge of all the earth to Slay the wicked.

David is leaving vengeance to God. God tells his people in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 32 verse 35, vengeance is mine. He wants his people to know vengeance is mine. And he assures his people that he will execute his judgment upon the wicked, who do not repent.

And David here is taking God at his word, and he's wanting God to show himself faithful to his promises, and judge the wicked as he promised. But he's leaving vengeance to God rather than taking matters into his own hands. That's a great example. For us.

We don't go around killing wicked people. We take that to God in prayer. Who is the judge and who will do right by all. There's something else to keep in mind if we want to have a right assessment of David's words in these verses.

And that is, let's appreciate the fact that David isn't taking things personally. His offense is focused on what the wicked do against God. Not himself. This is not David taking personal offense at the wicked and having a personal vendetta against them because they hurt him in some way.

David is upset with how these wicked men are killing others and blaspheming the name of God and rising up in war against God. I'm sure that these wicked men were doing things against David. Personally, but his outrage is not coming from that source. His outrage comes from the fact, comes from what they're doing against God.

And even others. This is a great example for us. It's easy for us to be outraged when people hurt us personally, and boy, we can get outraged, can't we? Someone cuts us off on the freeway and we gotta slow down 10 miles an hour.

Oh, the moral outrage. That we feel. We take things personally, and it's easy to take things personally. When we shouldn't take things personally.

Guys, when people rebuff you, And speak against you because of the things that you believe as a Christian. Don't take it personally. There's a war that is going on. And such treatment goes with the territory of being on God's side in that war.

I love what Ben Patterson says. On this score, he says when a soldier gets shot at in a battle, he doesn't get his feelings hurt. It's not about him, it's about the war he's in. He doesn't look over the top of his foxhole and ask the enemy, was it something I said?

A soldier never thinks this way. He knows there's a war that's going on, and he knows he's being shot at. Because of whose side he's on, right? There's another thing to keep in mind when we look at David's words here, especially with regard to what David says about hating the wicked.

and I want, I wanna really challenge you guys to listen carefully to what I'm saying here and stick with me for the entire train of thought. Before you criticize David for saying here that he hates the wicked and At least consider the following point. And that is that the Bible teaches us that there is a sense in which God hates the wicked also. We often hear the expression, God hates the sin, but loves the sinner.

This is a true statement, but it's not telling the complete story of the Bible. Did that there are actually passages in the Bible that explicitly state that God hates the sinner? Not just the sin, but the sinner. In Psalm 55, for example, the psalmist says, the boastful, boastful shall not stand before your eyes.

You hate all who do iniquity. This passage is not simply saying that God hates iniquity, but it's saying that he hates. The people who do iniquity. Whatever your theology is, you have to make room in your theology for explicit statements like what we see here in Psalm 5:5.

In Proverbs 6, Solomon says there are 6 things which the Lord hates, yes, 7, which are an abomination to him. And the last 2 items on the list of things that God hates are verse 19, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife. Among brothers What do you make? of statements like these.

You can't just say, well, I think this means that God hates lying. I think this means that God hates the spreading of strife among brothers. You would be right in saying that about God, but that's not what this passage is saying. This passage says that God hates the false witness.

Who utters lies. And he hates the one, the person. Who spread strife among brothers. So given this language that we find in scripture, we have to make room in our theology for the idea that God hates not only the sin, But there is a sense in which God hates the sinner in his sin.

Think about it. If God only hates the sin, and has only love for the sinner, then why is it that he sends any person to hell? Why doesn't he just send sin to hell? If that's all that he hates.

And before you give up on me, Hang on for the next point. There, it is true biblically that there is a sense in which God hates the sinner. But there's another thought that we should ponder, and that is that opposite emotions like hate and love can coexist. In a person They're not necessarily mutually exclusive.

In other words, the presence of hate. In the heart of God towards sinners, does not mean the absence of love. For example, the Bible teaches that unsaved people are under God's wrath. And that once included all of us in this room who are believers in Jesus.

God was not just wrathful against the sins that we were committing, but he was wrathful against us. And that's why in Ephesians chapter 2, in verse 3, Paul tells us that we were children of wrath. Yet in the very next verse, after Paul says that, he tells us that God loved us. At the same time that he was wrathful against us.

So much so that he provided a way of salvation for us. So we can all look back on our pre-Christian days, those of us who now know the Lord and say God hated who I was in my sin, and he loved me too. My only point here is to show that the presence of one emotion does not exclude the possibility of the opposite emotion coexisting with that. This is definitely the case with God, and so we have to allow for the possibility of that for David.

Even now as he's speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit. It's not hard to imagine that David hated the wicked, as he says, in their sin. Yet he also would have loved them enough to rejoice if any one of them were to repent of their sins and bow their knee to Jehovah. This leads us to another thing we should consider as we evaluate David's words in these verses, especially regarding hating the wicked, and that is the cross.

In the New Testament, the cross expresses God's hate. And love At the cross we see God's hatred for sin. We also see God forsaking His Son, and crushing His Son. With the crushing that we deserved for our sins.

In Psalm 139, David prays, we've seen for God to slay the wicked, yet at the cross we see God slaying his son. For sinners. At the cross, God is saying to us all, I hate you in your sin. I hate who you are in your sin.

And I hate you in your sin, because I love you so much. In fact, I hate you and your sins so much that I have crushed my son and crushed my own heart, in order to provide a way of salvation to deliver you from your sin. So it's at the cross that the love and the hate of God is brought to its fullest expression and even resolution. Aren't you glad you have a God?

Who hated you and your sins so much that he provided a way of salvation for you. There's another thing to keep in mind if we want to have a right evaluation of David's words in these verses, and this is specifically with regard to David praying for God to slay the wicked. And that is that the New Testament, believe it or not, also models what theologians call imprecatory prayers and pronouncements. And when I use the word imprecatory, I'm speaking of a prayer or a pronouncement in which a person is calling for calamity or curses upon God's enemies.

They're actually, if you read through the Psalter, there's about 19 imprecatory Psalms in the Psalter. Nonetheless, we need to be careful about viewing the language that we see here in verse 19. As simply an Old Testament phenomenon. We actually see the same language in the New Testament.

Consider the example of Paul in 2 Timothy 4:14. He speaks about a man named Alexander, who was a coppersmith, and he says, Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil, may the Lord repay to him according to his works. That's a prayer that he's uttering for God to repay this man according to his deeds. In Galatians one, Paul says something to the Galatians that they had heard him say on other occasions prior, he says to them, as we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed.

In 1 Corinthians 16:22, Paul says, if anyone does not love the Lord, let him be. Accursed. That's an imprecatory pronouncement that Paul is making. In fact, in Revelation chapter 6 verse 9, those who are in heaven, who have been slain for their faith in Christ, and in heaven, they're praying to God.

And listen to what those slain for their faith in Christ are praying to God in heaven. They're saying, how long, oh Lord, holy and true, will you refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell upon the earth. These are souls in heaven. Described in the book of Revelation.

And this is the way people in heaven are praying. So it must be OK. To pray for God's judgment. Upon the wicked.

So evidently praying for God's judgment on the wicked is not simply an Old Testament practice that's unworthy. Of New Testament Christians. When it's done rightly, there's very much a place for praying these kinds of prayers. When you come to Psalms like this Psalm where you see this language, pray along with them.

Let these words into you and to shape you. And the way that you think and the way that you pray, don't be resistant. This is the way godly people in the heat of battle think and pray. There's yet another thought we should ponder if we want to have a right evaluation of David's words in these verses, and that is, David immediately submits his imprecatory thoughts and feelings to God's inspection.

This is beautiful to me. Immediately after expressing his thoughts and feelings about the wicked, David says to God, search me, oh God. And know my heart, try me and know my anxious thoughts and see if there be any hurtful way in me and lead me in the everlasting way. What David says in verses 19 to 22 is honest and raw, and it's from his heart, in the heat of battle.

His example teaches us that we in the heat of battle, can pour out our hearts to God. Even when our thoughts may not be perfectly neat and tidy, and perfectly balanced in every way, we can be honest and we can be real with God, and David does exactly that, but immediately after expressing what he expresses in verses 19 through 22, he lays his thoughts and his heart before God and gives God permission to search him through and through. And show him any defects. In his heart And in his thinking.

And he gives God permission to lead him onto the right path. His example teaches us that we should do the same. It seems that David may be open to the fact that his attitude. In perspective may not be 100% right, 100% perfectly balanced or complete.

What he says in this passage can all be defended as being right, but there may be other things that are underneath his words that, where his motivations may be sinful or defective in some way, and so he lays his heart before God upon communicating this to God. And says, examine me, Lord. Show me where I'm wrong. One of the things you notice about our public discourse today, especially in the season we're in right now, just weeks away from our presidential election, is that our public discourse is full of a lot of finger pointing and denunciations of other people.

And there's virtually no introspection. Imagine if Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton this coming Wednesday night and their debate. Went before our nation. And said, I'd like to take a moment to just pray to God right now and say, search me, oh God.

And know my heart. Try me and know my anxious thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the everlasting way. Imagine that. Yeah.

Anyway, if you wanna pray prayers and say things like what David says in verses 19 to 22, have at it. Just make sure that when you're done, you lay your thoughts before God and give him permission to show you any sin in you too. There's one final thing for us to ponder if we want a good perspective on what David says in these verses. And let's say it this way, while this passage clearly shows that imprecatory prayers are a legitimate response to evil, the Bible teaches that merciful prayers are also an appropriate response to evil.

These aren't mutually exclusive. There's, this isn't the only appropriate response in the Bible. Merciful prayers are also an appropriate response. Don't read our passage today and hear this message and say, oh good.

Now I get to pray and precatory prayers upon everyone that I see doing wrong and anyone who wrongs me. Actually, if you truly realize your own sin against God, And the judgment you deserve from God, and the mercy he has shown you through Christ. You would not make praying and precatory prayers upon evildoers your first and automatic response when you see evils committed, or even when people wrong you. You would take Ezekiel 33:11 to heart.

Where God says, as I live, declares the Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. If from scripture that sinners turning from their sin brings pleasure to God, then you would pray for God to bring sinners to repentance so that they might experience His grace the same way you did. So pray For God to show His mercy and to grant salvation to sinners, even to those sinners that are wronging you. Follow the example of Jesus in Luke 23:24, when from the cross, he actually prayed for those crucifying Him and said, Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing.

Follow the example of Stephen in Acts chapter 7 verse 60, while, while being stoned, prayed for those stoning him and said, Father, do not hold this sin against them. Follow the example of Paul in 2 Timothy 4:16, when he says that my first offense, no one supported me, but all deserted me. May it not be counted. Against them.

I don't share these examples. of Jesus and Stephen and Paul to say that there's no place for imprecatory prayers. I'm just saying that there's a place for merciful prayers too. And merciful prayers.

is actually one of the powerful ways that we wage war. When Jesus prayed, Father, forgive them. He was waging war against the sin in the lives and hearts of those who were crucifying him. And a month and a half later, God answered that prayer.

And some of those very people involved in killing Christ were calling on his name for salvation. In Acts 2 When Stephen prayed, Father, do not hold this sin against them, he was waging war. And one of the men who was there who heard what he said was a A man named Saul of Tarsus, who was holding the coats of those who were stoning him, and two chapters later, Saul of Tarsus is calling on the name of the Lord for salvation, and Saul became Paul and Paul became one of the most influential Christians ever to live.

And Paul will stand before God at the judgment one day, and God will not hold that sin of being involved in the stoning of Stephen.

He will not hold that sin against him. Jesus And what he prayed from the cross, and Stephen and what he prayed while being stoned, were very effectively waging war when they prayed their merciful prayers. And we have opportunity to do the same. In conclusion, I ask you this morning, whose side are you on?

We know from as early as Genesis 3:15 that there is A division. The human race is divided into two camps. There are those who are of the seed of the woman. who are on the side of Jehovah God, and there are those who are the seed of the serpent.

Who are aligned against Jehovah God. Those who persist in sin without repentance are of the seed of Satan. They are vessels of wrath prepared for destruction. And God will one day glorify Himself in executing judgment upon them with eternal judgment.

And it is right and good for us to be jealous for the glory of God. And to pray for God to vindicate his name in judging the unrepentant evildoers. We also know that God shows mercy to those who repent of their sins and believe in Jesus as their Lord and as their Savior, and it's right and good for us to pray for God to glorify his name and saving sinners through His Son, and it's right and good for us to rejoice. When he does so.

But I ask you, whose side are you on? If you've never looked at Jehovah, the God of the Bible, and his Messiah, And said to them, I'm with you. I urge you To choose today who you're gonna serve. And to align yourself with God.

And I also urge you to go to God this morning, together with the rest of us and say, search me, oh God. And know my heart. Try me and know my anxious thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me. And lead me.

Through your son. In the everlasting way. Let's pray together. If you're here today and you've never bowed your knee before Jesus, before the God of heaven.

Repented of your sins. And called upon the Lord's Messiah. To be your Lord and Savior, please do that. Even where you're seated right now.

Christ died for your sins that you might have forgiveness, and if you believe in Jesus, God will not just forgive you of your sins, but he would be pleasured, delighted to forgive you. And to welcome you into his family. Let's pray together. Lord, we When I, when I hear David and the fire with which he speaks, I There's something in his offense that he takes at evil that I think is missing from.

The church today, if there's one thing notable about Christians today, it's that we've lost the capacity to truly be offended by evil. And there are many professing Christian churches and professing Christians in our culture today that are falling all over themselves. to look at evil that the world is calling good and they're falling all over themselves to agree with the world and say, OK, I guess, I guess that's good, rather than being offended and morally Outraged against evil people in churches.

are agreeing to call evil good that is loathsome in your sight.

Give us a holy fire, Lord. But as you do so, not just against sin in other people, but against the sin in ourselves. And make us a righteous people who wage war. Rightly Mercifully, lovingly, delivering the gospel, good news call to sinners that they can have forgiveness and grace as we have received.

Inviting them And to your family. We thank you for passages like this that we have encountered today that stretch us and Get under our skin and make us uncomfortable, but that force us to go in directions and to think thoughts and to learn things we would not have learned any other way. Your word is amazing. We praise you and thank you for it.

We thank you for this opportunity to give of our offerings to you today, Lord, receive these funds that we give heartily and do much with everything that is given and donated for the glory. Of you, Jehovah, and of your Messiah. In his name we pray, and all God's people said,