This morning we'll be taking a look specifically at verses 11 to 14, but we will read the entire psalm for context. Psalm 35. Hear now the word of the Lord, beginning in verse 1. Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me. Fight against those who fight against me. Take hold of buckler and shield and rise up for my help. Draw also the spear and the battle axe to meet those who pursue me. Say to my soul, I am your salvation. Let those be ashamed and dishonored who seek my life. Let those be turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me. Let them be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the Lord driving them on. Let their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them. For without cause they hid their net for me. Without cause they dug a pit for my soul. Let destruction come upon him unawares, and let the net which he hid catch himself. Into that very destruction let him fall. And my soul shall rejoice in the Lord. It will exult in his salvation. All my bones will say, Lord, who is like you, who delivers the afflicted from him who is too strong for him, and the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him? Malicious witnesses rise up. They ask of me things I do not know. They repay my evil for good to the bereavement of my soul. But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer kept returning to my bosom. I went about as though it were my friend or brother. I bowed down mourning as one who sorrows for a mother. But at my stumbling, they rejoiced and gathered themselves together. The smiters, whom I did not know, gathered together against me. They slandered me without ceasing. Like godless jesters at a feast, they gnashed at me with their teeth. Lord, how long will you look on? Rescue my soul from their ravages, my only life from the lions. I will give you thanks in the great congregation. I will praise you among a mighty throng. Do not let those who are wrongfully my enemies rejoice over me, nor let those who hate me without cause wink maliciously, for they do not speak peace. but they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land. They opened their mouth wide against me. They said, aha, aha. Our eyes have seen it. You have seen it, O Lord. Do not keep silent. O Lord, do not be far from me. Stir up yourself and awake to my right and to my cause, my God and my Lord. Judge me, O Lord my God, according to your righteousness, and do not let them rejoice over me. Do not let them say in their heart, aha, our desire. Do not let them say we have swallowed him up. Let those be ashamed and humiliated altogether who rejoice at my distress. Let those be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves over me. Let them shout for joy and rejoice who favor my vindication. And let them say continually, the Lord be magnified, who delights in the prosperity of his servant. And my tongue shall declare your righteousness and your praise all day long. Well, as I stated in my prayer, we are continuing on the subject of fasting, which we began a few weeks ago. As you recall, we initially considered this subject at its most basic level, and then we began to dig deeper. So far, we have seen that fasting at its most basic level, is abstaining from food and drink. It is a common practice, as we have seen. Now, last week in particular, we looked at Leviticus 16, verses 29 to 34. That is the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. which coincidentally we celebrated, or I should say it was celebrated, yesterday, October 12th. Based on Leviticus 16, 29 to 34, we concluded that the external act of fasting actually points to a deeper reality. If you recall in Leviticus 16 in particular, there is this repeated phrase as it pertains to this inward reality. Leviticus 16.29 again states, this shall be a permanent statute for you. In the seventh month, on the 10th day of the month, you shall humble your souls and not do any work, whether the native or the alien who sojourns among you. And then again, we saw in verse 31, It is to be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, that you may, again, humble your souls. It is a permanent statute. Now, as I mentioned last week, this phrase, humble your souls, can and is also translated as afflict your souls. And so this is a reference to fasting as we observed from several passages last week. Fasting then is nothing less than the affliction and humbling of the soul. Now, one of the other key passages which we did not take a look at last week was Psalm 35, 13. This particular passage of scripture we will look at today. Again, in this text, David states, "...but as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I humbled my soul with fasting, and prayer kept returning to my bosom." Again, that word humble there is the same word ana translated in Leviticus 16. as afflicted. Again, Psalm 3513 says that David humbled or afflicted his soul. But how did he do that? Well, the text tells us he humbled and afflicted his soul with fasting. But At this point, perhaps we're getting a little bit ahead of ourselves. What I'd like to do for a moment is, before looking at verses 11 to 14 in detail, I want us to step back a bit and consider Psalm 35 as a whole. Now, in general, the context of Psalm 35 finds David lamenting against individuals or enemies who unjustly persecute him. Now, the specific occasion and time of the psalm is unknown. Perhaps it was whilst David was fleeing from King Saul. Or perhaps it could have been a foreign power whom he had at one point entered into covenant with, who had now become his accuser in his old age. Whatever the cause, In the psalm, David presents his case before God, moving from complaint to prayer, and then a promise of praise. Now this pattern is actually found three times throughout the psalm. First in verses 1 to 10, then in verses 11 to 18, and then finally in verses 19 to 28. And so David concludes the first cycle in verses 9 and 10 with the words, and my soul shall rejoice in the Lord. It shall exult in his salvation. All my bones will say, Lord, who is like you, who delivers the afflicted from him who is too strong for him, and the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him? Then again, in verse 18, he concludes the second cycle with the words, I will give you thanks in the great congregation. I will praise you among a mighty throne. And then finally, in verses 27 to 28, he ends the cycle with the words, let them shout for joy and rejoice, who favor my vindication. And let them say continually, the Lord be magnified, who delights in the prosperity of his servant. And my tongue shall declare your righteousness and your praise all day long. Now, as we carefully consider the content of David's prayers, we find that what he calls for is nothing less than divine judgment and justice. He says in verse 8, for instance, let destruction come upon him unawares, and let the net which he hid catch himself, into that very destruction let him fall. And again in verse 26 he says, let those be ashamed and humiliated altogether who rejoice at my distress. Let those be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves over me. Now, going back to verses 11 again, we see that David begins the second cycle of lament, prayer, and promise of praise. It is in these verses that David increases our understanding of fasting. So, the goal for today is to build upon what we have learned so far as it regards to the subject. We will approach these verses under the following two headings. First, the character of the king, and then second, intercessory fasting. First, consider with me Point number one, the character of the king. Again, beginning in verse 11, David says, malicious witnesses rise up. They ask of me things I do not know. They repay me evil for good to the bereavement of my soul. The word malicious here is the word translated as Hamas. It means violence, cruelty, and injustice. And so David says that these types of witnesses rise up against him with the intent to repay his goodness to them with evil. Again. David did good to them, and yet they repaid him with evil. Now, David was a good king. In fact, outside of the Lord Jesus Christ, David was the greatest king in the history of the nation of Israel. Now, last week, if you recall, we had considered one of the most wicked kings of Israel. That is none other than King Ahab. King Ahab was king in Israel who led the people into gross idolatry. David, on the other hand, who typifies Christ, was zealous for the worship of the one true God. He desired that the people would worship God and God alone. We see this reflected in Psalm 69 verses 9 to 10, for instance, where he says, For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me. When I wept in my soul with fasting, it became my reproach. If you recall, these same words were repeated by our Lord Jesus Christ in John chapter 2, verses 17, as he cleansed the temple. And so David loved the Lord, and the Lord loved David. In fact, David was called a man after God's own heart in 1 Samuel 13, verse 14. So David was the exact opposite of King Ahab, except in one instance. One way in which David was similar to Ahab was in the instance of taking something that did not belong to him. David, like Ahab, would have innocent blood shed and this displeased the Lord So much so that in recalling the legacy of David in 1 Kings 15 verse 5, it says, David did what was right in the sight of the Lord and had not turned aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the case of Uriah the Hittite. This sin of David reminds us that even though David was much like Christ, David was in fact not Christ. David also fell short of the glory of God. Now still, There is much that we can learn from one of the greatest kings of Israel. As we carefully read David, we see that he hungered and he thirsted for God. David would write in Psalm 34, verse 8, Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. And again in Psalm 63 verse 1, O God, you are my God. I shall seek you earnestly. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh yearns for you in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Now it is not inconsequential that David speaks of food and drink in relationship to God, nor is it inconsequential that David was a man who frequently fasted. Both are connected. But here's a question as it relates to the connection. Was it David's hunger and thirst for God that led him to frequently fast? Or was it his habit of frequently fasting that intensified this desire? I believe that it is both. One fed the other. The desire fueled the practice, and the practice was intensified and the practice intensified the desire. Now, to be certain, the desire, the hunger for God comes only from God, John 6, 44. But in fasting, our hunger and thirst for God can be intensified. You know, it's like when people seek to get healthy and they go through a process of detoxing their body for some future physical benefit. Fasting can be a way to detox the soul for the future benefit of heaven. It is a time to hit the reset button and to refocus on Christ. Perhaps you find yourself being drawn away by the lust of the eyes or the lust of the flesh or the boastful pride of life. Or perhaps it's more subtle. As one writer notes on the subject, The most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable and almost incurable. Jesus said some people hear the word of God and the desire for God is awakened in their hearts. But then, as they go on their way, they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life. In another place, he said, the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. The pleasures of life. and the desire for other things. These are not evil in themselves. They are not vices. They are gifts of God. They are your basic meat and potatoes and coffee and gardening and reading decorating, and traveling, and investing, and TV watching, and internet surfing, and shopping, and exercising, and collecting, and talking, all and all of them can become deadly substitutes for God. Again, fasting can help bring us back to our senses. For in fasting, as we declare that we hunger and thirst for food, so too do we declare that we hunger and thirst for God. In fasting, We are reminded that we are more than just biological machines. We are body and soul beings in need of both physical and spiritual food for survival. Again, you recall the words of our Lord Jesus Christ after he fasted in the wilderness. Matthew chapter 4 verses 1 to 4 again states, Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he became hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, if you are the son of God, command these stones to become bread. But he answered and said, it is written, man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Again, on another occasion, in John 4, 34, as his disciples were urging Jesus to eat, Christ responds in this manner. In John 4, 30, we read, they went out of the city. and were coming to him. Meanwhile, the disciples were urging him, saying, Rabbi, eat. But he said to them, I have food to eat that you do not know about. So the disciples were saying to one another, no one brought him anything to eat, did he? Jesus said to them, my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Again, Christ is touching his human nature, hungered for God. He hungered for the Word of God. He hungered for the will of God. Like David, he hungered for God. So, we should do the same as well. As we fast, we not only humble and afflict our souls, but we hunger for God. And fasting can increase this hunger, even as we physically hunger for food. It's like the emptiness in your stomach as it begins to growl with a longing to be filled, so too is our soul seeking fulfillment and satisfaction in Christ. This sense of our need and satisfaction in Christ is sharpened in fasting. Now, A hunger for God will inevitably lead us not just to look up for more of God, but also to look out. We will look out for the needs of others as well as ourselves. This hunger for God will lead us to intercede on behalf of others with fasting and prayer. David, like Christ, interceded on behalf of others. David, as we see in our text today, interceded with fasting. Going back Again, to Psalm 35, beginning in verse 13, David again writes, but as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer kept returning to my bosom. I went about as though it were my friend or brother. I bowed down mourning as one who sorrows for a mother." You see, David fasted for friend and foe alike. He was genuinely concerned with the well-being of others. Again, consider how David intercedes with fasting on behalf of his terminally ill son in 2 Samuel 12 verses 15 to 23. Now again in 2 Samuel 12 beginning in verse 20, this is after David fasted and prayed and the child died. We read So David arose from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes. And he came into the house of the Lord and worshipped. Then he came to his own house, and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate. Then his servant said to him, what is this thing that you have done? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but when the child died, you arose and ate food. He said, while the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. For I said, who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me that the child may live. But now he has died. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me. Now. This hits us close to home, doesn't it? Brethren, we do not need to look far to see ones even in our own midst like David. What should they do when able to? And what can we do as we come alongside our brethren in this great time of trial? David again says, while the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. For I said, who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me that the child may live. as the souls of our brothers and sisters are afflicted as they weep and mourn. We can weep and mourn and fast right alongside them. For even as David says, who knows, the Lord may be gracious to us. See, when your children ask, why are we fasting for such and such a person? Or why are we fasting for such and such a reason? We can respond, that the Lord may be gracious. Again, fasting is not just for ourselves. It is a way to intercede on behalf of others that they may find grace in the time of need. Now, the older saints understood this. Let me read for you the introduction to the book, Fasting, Prayer, and Humiliation for Sin. It says, during the late spring and early summer of 1625, a serious outbreak of plague occurred in London. In this climate of snowballing panic came an official proclamation on July 3rd from the Palace of Whitehall regarding a public general and solemn fast to be held throughout the land on Wednesday, June, July 20th, 1625, and then every Wednesday following as long as the plague lasted. It was in this context that the Puritan author Hildersham preached eight sermons in Ashby from 1625 to 1626. And he preached those eight sermons just on that one verse from Psalm 3513. Now, it's hard for us to imagine this today, But in those days, the government called the people to fast. Elizabeth I, for example, had commanded a national fast during an outbreak of plague in 1563. And James I had acted similarly in the plague year of 1603. And so the spirit of the age is reflected in the Elizabethan book of homilies devised by Cranmer, which contained a sermon on fasting that set forth the need for such a response. When God shall afflict a whole region or country with wars, with famine, with pestilence, with strange diseases and unknown sicknesses, and other such calamities, Then it is a time for all states and all sorts of people, high and low, men, women, and children to humble themselves by fasting and bewail their sinful living before God and pray with one common voice. Brethren. Again, as we even see the current devastation that is rocking our own nation, one thing that we can do is fast and pray that those who have lost everything may, at this time, find grace Again, as we think even in the wake of Hurricane Helene, we've been told that as many as 115 deaths have been confirmed with still hundreds of people still missing. There have been millions, billions of dollars even in property damage. Now, as we will see in the coming weeks, fasting not only affects the heart, but it also affects the hands. But for now, I want us to focus on the fact that one way in which we could seek to do good to those in need is through fasting and prayer. Well, returning to our text, David, again, typifies Christ at many points. One of the ways that we see this is in his kindness, even towards his enemies. Again in Psalm 35, 13 to 14, David says of his enemies that he humbled his soul in fasting and prayer and that he did so as if it was a friend or a brother. He bowed down mourning as one who sorrows for a mother. David's genuine goodness towards his enemies is like that of our Savior, who, even while he was on the cross in Luke 23-24, cries, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. Again, David in these verses is not speaking in a hyperbolic manner. In other words, this is not an exaggeration to say that David fasted on behalf of his enemies. One example that comes to mind was again that of King Saul in 2 Samuel 1, 11-12. Again in those verses we read, then David took hold of his clothes and tore them and so also did all the men who were with him. They mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan and for the people of the Lord and the house of Israel because they had fallen by the sword. David not only fasted because of his beloved friend Jonathan. But he also even fasted over that wicked king Saul. Saul was a wicked king who sought David's life on numerous occasions. How instructive then is that for us today, that we should fast and mourn even on behalf of those who are enemies of Christ. What would it look like if we fasted and prayed for our current as well as future president? Again, as we draw to a close, I once more want to point us to the son of David and David's Lord. As we step back and once more consider Psalm 35 as a whole, we see in Psalm 35 both love and compassion side by side with judgment and wrath. For the sinner, you will either experience the richness and the riches of the love of God in Christ, or you will experience utter desolation in the lake of fire for all eternity. You will either weep and mourn now over your sin, or you will weep and mourn forever and ever in the outer darkness. And so I plead with you, humble yourselves. Trust in Christ. Plead for his mercy. You see, today is the day of salvation. Now is the moment. Believe, and you will be saved. To the believer, I say, consider the words of the apostle in Romans chapter 5, verses 6 to 8. It says, for while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man, though perhaps for the good man, someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates his own love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God in Christ interceded on our behalf while we were still his enemies. Should we not likewise do the same? Should we not intercede on behalf of others through fasting and prayer? Even as we fast on our own behalf and draw closer to God, this should in turn lead us to fast on behalf of others. And so I wanna encourage you. Fast on behalf of your children, on behalf of your loved ones, on behalf of the stranger, on behalf of this nation, and on behalf of your enemies. Amen? Let's go to the Lord in a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, again we thank you for your word and I pray once more that you would take what is being said this day. We plead, we beg of you God, that you would indeed take the word preached this day and that you would Cause it like an arrow to hit the mark in the hearts of those of you who, like King Ahab, have not humbled themselves, have not turned from their sins and turned to Christ. Lord, we plead that this would be the day of salvation, Lord. Save our children, Lord. Save those who we come in contact with. Lord, we cannot do it ourselves. There's nothing that I can say of my own intelligence, of my own skill in speaking. There's nothing, Lord, that we can do. You must do it. We are shut up to you, O God. And so we pray, come in power this day. Come in conviction. Save those who do not know you, even in our own midst. And Lord, we pray for your body, that once again, this study would work mightily in the hearts and lives of your people, that we would not just take this practice up as a vain, empty practice, but that we would take it up as a means by which we draw closer to you. as a means in which our hunger and our thirst for you is intensified, even as we hunger and thirst during fasting. Help us so too, likewise, to hunger and to thirst for you, O God, for we know that only you can satisfy. And so, Lord, we pray, use this study again for the good of your people here. In Jesus' name, amen.