Let's take our Bible and go to Psalm 109. You know, as you're turning there, I just love our church family. And I love studying the word. I love praying for the church family. I love meeting with the elders. We love conducting membership interviews and seeing God bring new people into membership. What a joy it is. And what an awesome thing to be part of a local church family, a body of Christ that loves the Lord and loves his word and loves the gospel. And I'm so thankful to be part of what God is doing here all together as we grow in Christ together. I do want you to know Psalm 109, maybe you read it ahead of time, but I do want to say this. I pray and I hope that this Psalm will be useful and beneficial to you. I wish it wouldn't necessarily, if you know what I mean, with the trials and the afflictions that we're going to read about in a little bit, but God's word is perfect and timely and sufficient. And there were a couple of commentaries that apologized for this kind of a harsh language. So I'm not here to apologize for God. I am here to read the Bible and preach the Bible because all scripture is God breathed and profitable for us. So don't get mad at the preacher tonight. I'm just preaching what God's word says. I do want to read it as I preach through it, but I do want to start by reading verses 1 and 2, and then verses 30 and 31. Verses 1 and 2, here's God's word. Oh God of my praise, do not be silent. For they have opened the wicked and deceitful mouth against me. They have spoken against me. with a lying tongue. And then skip down to verse 30. With my mouth, I will give thanks abundantly to the Lord. And in the midst of the many, I will praise him. For he stands at the right hand of the needy to save him from those who judge his soul. It often is the case that true Christians can often find themselves in the most vulnerable and toughest of trials. What I mean by that is that we can often find ourselves in the most hurtful and painful and gut-wrenching verbal assaults. We know what it is to be verbally assaulted, public defamation, harsh slanders, untrue gossip, I think you would agree with this, that the most painful trials are usually not physical in nature. You can get a new car, you can get more clothing, you can, you know, it's not physical in nature, but more the pain is the interpersonal trials, the relational trials with others. Psalm 109 teaches that. Psalm 109 teaches about responding to the tough verbal attacks that come your way in life. And what I find so amazing in Psalm 109 is the attacks are not physical in nature, but they are verbal accusations against David. They're like swords. They're like swords that pierce through your chest. They're like needles which fiercely penetrate deep below the skin and it hurts. These verbal assaults are like a lion that pounces and then plunders the prey. The verbal assaults can be like bandits that are hiding and waiting and lurking and watching. These verbal attacks can often feel like stray dogs that are greedily waiting to come unseen at night. They try to find some trash to put into their mouth and drag through the streets. How do you respond when you're on the receiving end of a verbal attack? You've been there. Maybe at work, maybe with a relative, maybe with a parent, a child, a relative, a neighbor, a coworker. What do you do and where do you go when the verbal accusations assault you? And they hurt and they wound and they pierce and they scar and they harm. You know, by way of introduction, let me just, comment briefly on a couple of other places in the Bible where we read of such things. In James chapter 3 verse 6, the tongue, the tongue is said among our members is that which defiles the entire body and it sets on fire the course of our life and the tongue is set on fire by hell. Have you ever felt the power of a destructive tongue, perhaps in family conflict? Listen to Psalm 31 verse 18. Let the lying lips be mute, which speak arrogantly against the righteous with pride and contempt. Maybe there was someone perhaps in a religious environment. Maybe someone at work. Maybe somebody that you knew well, and they spoke arrogantly and deceitfully, and they accused you, and they slander you, and like David said in Psalm 31, it pierces you. Or Psalm 59, verse 7. David says, behold, they belch forth with their mouth. Swords are in their lips. And then they say, who hears? Maybe an arrogant person. says something about you or to you or behind your back and it hurts. It hurts because you feel pierced through with the sword of their words. Sadly, honestly, can anyone relate to that? This is hard. This is difficult. Paul says in Romans 3, their throat is an open grave. With their tongues, they keep deceiving. The poison of asps is under their lips and whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. What's somber about all of this is that's describing all mankind. Oh, how desperately we need a savior. Proverbs 18, 21. Maybe you've quoted this in your own family. Death and life are in the power of the tongue. Death and life are in the power of the tongue. Plagued by vile, murderous, angry words, David writes this prayer. Psalm 109. Now, something interesting about this, in verses 1 through 5, they are plural. It's the they. Here's what they do. Beginning in verse 6, everything switches to him. Almost like the ringleader. Almost like the main spokesman for the assaulting group. And the psalm talks about those with wicked mouths in these words. They are lying. They have hateful words. They are accusers. They show no love. They are full of cursing. They speak evil. If you can relate, so can David. And this is a psalm for you. And I wish I could tell you that you'll never need to quote this psalm to yourself because your life will be great with all the relationships and you'll never deal with conflict and people talking behind your back. But I can't say that. It's living in a fallen world. And when we are battling this, we need help. We need clarity. We need biblical counsel from God and from His authoritative Word. So how do you respond? How do you respond? From the psalm, I want to give you four responses. And maybe this is oversimplifying it. We're going to fly through this, but I want to give you four simple responses because sometimes in the moment emotionally, we don't need like a long outline. We just need a really simple. Four responses. Number one, the first thing to do that David models right here, verbalize your troubles. Not responding emotionally. That's easy for us to do. Not responding emotionally, but rather hurrying to God and hurrying to His Word and, as we heard tonight, to the immutability of the character of our God. to go to the throne of grace, where Jesus, our great high priest, has gone ahead of us all the way into heaven, and he made a perfect redemption, and he can sympathize with us in our weaknesses. So, the psalm begins. Look at verse 1. Oh God of my praise, don't be silent. He's praying. David is praying. Verses 2 to 5, here's what he's doing. He's verbalizing. He's telling God, God, here's what's going on. Verse 2, they have opened the wicked and deceitful mouth. Verse 2, they have spoken against me with a lying tongue. Verse 3, they have surrounded me with words of hatred. End of verse 3, they have fought against me without cause. In verse 4, in return for my love, Well, they act as my accusers. Verse 5, they have repaid evil for good and hatred for my love. This is a tough situation. It reminds me of Ezra. Remember that man Ezra in the Bible? The Jewish people were taken to Babylon for 70 years. They come back from their exile. and Zerubbabel leads the Jewish people in the rebuilding of the temple, and the oppositions, and the discouragements, and the enemies, and the deceivers, and the thugs, and even the hired opponents are brought to the temple work, and accusations are written to the king by three guys, Bishlam, Midradoth, and Tabeel in Ezra chapter 4. Falsely accusing. Falsely accusing. They're not going to pay taxes. They're not going to be good citizens. They're not going to be useful to the kingdom. Stop their work. What a false, lying accusation. turn a few pages after that to the book of Nehemiah, the book of Nehemiah. He comes a few years after that and he rebuilds the walls and the enemies led by Sanballat. They are angry mockers, public defamers. They reproach the Jewish people conspiring and fighting against the Jews in Nehemiah four. and then Nehemiah 4.9, but we prayed to our God about this. We need that. We need the pattern of God's people that we verbalize, we tell God what's going on. By the way, did you notice in verse four, I skipped over a little phrase. In return for my love, they act as my accusers, but as for me, I'm in prayer. Actually, in the Hebrew, it's so emotional, there's no verb. David forgot the verb. But as for me, prayer. It's all David can do. He is for prayer. He is a man of prayer. He loves prayer. He prizes prayer. He goes to God, begging God for his grace and telling God what's going on in life. So what do you do when these difficult times come? It all begins very simply learning from David. Verbalize your trouble. Don't hide it. Don't ignore it. Don't go first to social media. Don't go to Google. Go to God. Second, not only should you verbalize your troubles, number two, trust your God. Trust your God. Now, let me preface what I'm going to say with these words. You see it in your notes there. God had only one son without sin, but he has no sons without affliction. Affliction is like the heat and the pressure that shapes and shines the metals. And God brings trials into our lives to write the image of Christ upon us. Now, when you're on the side of receiving the afflictions, here's what you cannot do. Take revenge. Here's what you cannot do, retaliate. Our Savior didn't, and neither can we as his followers. God said, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. In fact, I think one of the best things we can do in learning from the scriptures is that we need to make up our mind now to follow this blueprint when the enemy's arrows are flung at the bullseye of our soul. We have to resolve now, I cannot and I will not retaliate. I have to trust my God. Now, fasten your seatbelt. Beginning in verse 6 are what we call imprecatory prayers. Let me define that briefly. An imprecation is a prayer to God asking God to judge or curse his enemies. It is a prayer to God asking God to judge the enemies. And there are many of these imprecatory prayers. I mean, just look at the verses here, verse 6 to 19, and you'll notice the key word, let, let, let, let. That's the, it's the prayer. God, let this happen to the enemies. God, let this happen. Some commentaries didn't even comment on this portion. Some commentaries said that this is so Old Testament-like, we as the New Testament church could never pray this. I don't agree. I believe this is God's word, just like Matthew, just like Mark, just like Luke, just like John. I gave you a few of my thoughts on the imprecatory Psalms on the third page or second page of your outline there in a little bit. But I want you to walk through this with me because what I want you to see here is this. I want you to see how David leaves it in the hands of God. He doesn't take revenge, he doesn't take vengeance, he leaves it in the hands of God in prayer. So, let's begin in verse 6. Appoint a wicked man over him, whoever the spokesmen of these accusers are, and let an accuser stand at his right hand. When he is judged, let him come forth guilty, and let his prayer become sin. Let his days be few, let another take his office. May he be utterly rejected. Utterly rejected. Now, it goes on to prayers, listen, to God for his ruin. Verse 9, let his children be fatherless. Let his wife be a widow. Let his children wander about and beg. Let them seek sustenance far from the ruined homes. Let the creditor seize all that he has, and let strangers plunder the product of his labor. Let there be none to extend loving kindness to him, nor any to be gracious to his fatherless children. Let his posterity be cut off in a following generation. Let their name be blotted out." Whoa. Notice, by the way, David is not taking personal revenge. He's leaving it in the hands of God with earnest and urgent prayer. Third, he prays for their reputation. to be smeared. Verse 14, let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord. Do not let the sin of his mother be blotted out. Let them be before the Lord continually that he may cut off their memory from the earth because he did not remember to show love and kindness, but he persecuted the afflicted and the needy man and the despondent in heart to put them to death. And if that wasn't enough, then we go to verse 17. where David is gonna pray, God, give them their recompense. Look at the prayer, verse 17, here it is. And he loved cursing, so it came to him, and he did not delight in blessings, so it was far from him. But he clothed himself with cursing as with a garment. and it entered into his body like water and like oil into his bones. Let them be to him as a garment with which he covers himself and for a belt with which he constantly girds himself. Let this be the reward of my accusers from the Lord and of those who speak evil against my soul. That's a lot of prayers. And that's a lot of judgment language. I do want to bring out a few things. David is not spiteful. He's not taking personal vengeance. You know what he's doing? He, as the king of Israel, David is receiving their accusations and their attacks, and David is praying, submitting, and giving honest requests to God. God, you need to uphold your own covenant promises. Here's the key to this prayer. Genesis chapter 12, verse 3. We call it the Abrahamic Covenant. covenant that God made with Abraham. Here's what God says, the one who blesses you, I will bless. The one who insults you, meaning Abraham, Jewish people, the nation of Israel, the one who insults you, I will curse unto destruction. What is David saying? God, do what you said you'd do. These people are rising up against God, and they're rising up against God's leader in Israel. And David is not taking vengeance. He's not personally attacking. He's saying, God, be faithful to the Abrahamic covenant. The one who would insult you and your people, judge them. Oh, the man Jeremiah, you know him. The weeping prophet. Do you remember that verse in Jeremiah 17, verse 18, when Jeremiah said, let those be put to shame who persecute me, destroy them with a double destruction. Double destruction. You think, oh, Jeff, I'm a New Testament Christian. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5, you are to love your enemies. That's true. But in that same sermon, Matthew chapter 6, our Lord teaches a model prayer. And in that prayer, Jesus taught us to pray, let your kingdom come. Do you know what will happen to the wicked when Jesus comes back? I mean, the book of Revelation, it's a bloodbath. He comes and he destroys his wicked, his enemies, those who lived wickedly. Jesus will return all the way to earth, Revelation 19, and he will come waging war and he will come and judge the wicked. When we pray the Lord's prayer, that's an imprecatory prayer. taught by our Savior. Oh God, do what you have promised. Bring the kingdom. We love what is righteous and we hate what is evil. God, don't let evil triumph. Restore righteousness. That's trusting your God. That's not taking matters into your own hands. It's trusting God. So, what do you do when this happens? Number one, verbalize your troubles. Number two, trust your God. And now, here's the game changer. Verse 21. Reorient your perspective. Verse 21. But as for you, O God, focus is off of self onto God. But as for you, O God, the Lord, deal kindly with me for your namesake, because of your loving kindness. It is good. Deliver me. I am afflicted and needy, and my heart is wounded within me. 23, I'm like a passing shadow. When it lengthens, I'm shaken off like the locusts. My knees are weak from fasting. My flesh has grown lean without fatness. I become a reproach to them. When they see me, they all wag their head in shame. Help me, O Lord, my God. Save me according to your lovingkindness. Let them know that this is your hand. You, Lord, have done it. Let them curse, but you bless. When they arise, they shall be ashamed, but your servant will be glad. Let my accusers be clothed with dishonor. Let them cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe. You want to know the key that helps you refocus in these times? the covenant love of God. You can't put your hope in enemies. You can't put your hope in yourself. You can't put your hope in this world. You can't put your hope in a circumstance to change. But do you know what you can put your hope in? The unchanging covenant love of a saving God. The appeals here are grounded in God's name, and they are grounded in God's honor, even in a weak condition. Oh, how we need the saving love of God. Now, to be sure, don't miss this. The Bible is so honest. The Bible acknowledges the harassment here. The harassment, the abuse, has taken its toll emotionally, physically, and spiritually for David. It totally has. The Bible doesn't deny that. But David has only one thing to do. He has to cling to the buoy of the king's loyal love. He's got to cling to the buoy of the loyal love of God. By the way, it says right here that the enemies wag their head. Do you know what the enemies did to the greater David when he was hanging on a cross? They wagged their head at him. If you're the Christ, come down from the cross. He had the power, I suppose. He could have done that. But greater power and love, he stayed there so that he could make a finished and complete and eternal redemption. Save me by your love, David says. Let them know that this is your hand. I have to focus and refocus and reorient my mind on the covenant love of God. You say, Jeff, I hear what you're saying. How do I do that? How do I do that when these times come? I'm sure maybe there's 30 application points. Let me just give you one. One, one piece of advice. Grab hold of good hymns and learn them and read them and sing them and review them often. You know, Johnny Erickson Tata, she has a book entitled 25 Hymns for Weary Souls. Why? Because these are hymns that drip with the blood of the saints. whate'er my God ordains is right, or immortal, invisible, God-only wise. Rock of ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee. Now thank we all our God with hearts and soul and voices. It is well with my soul. I ask the Lord that I might grow. Be still, my soul. The Lord is on thy side. Bear patiently the cross of grief and pain. The God of Abraham prays, who reigns enthroned above. O'er that great modern hymn, he will hold me fast. O'er dear refuge of my weary soul, in thee when sorrows rise." We need to hold on to God and his covenant love. You can take your trust and you can stake it deep in Jesus and his saving love. You can know that God loved me first, that he sent his son to die for me, that when the Son of God, the one who is the second person of the Trinity, born of the Virgin Mary, and he lived the obedient life, and he died on Calvary's cross, and then he took the full wrath of God, so there's nothing left that could ever be done to contribute to this cross work. And then he said, as we sang, it is finished upon the cross. That's the love. that we can cling to, that we can cling to. Only believers in Jesus that have that confidence know this love. David is in these trials. The Bible doesn't minimize it. The Bible doesn't ignore it. The Bible doesn't just kind of explain it away and pretend it doesn't exist. No, the Bible is very blunt, very real. What do you do? Verbalize your troubles. Number two, trust your God. Number three, reorient your perspective on the love of God. And then, believe it or not, hear the counsel from God. Thank your God. Don't miss the irony. The psalm begins, you see it there in verse two, the wicked have opened their mouth. with deceitful words. Now at the very end, verse 30, with my mouth, let them deceitfully curse, but with my mouth, I will give thanks abundantly to the Lord. What do you have to thank God for, David? You're going through the worst trial of life. I can give thanks abundantly to the Lord, and in the midst of the many, I will praise him. Why, David? Verse 31, because he, the Lord, stands at the right hand of the needy to save him from those who judge his soul. By the way, it's not a coincidence that Psalm 110 is right after this. Verse one, sit at my right hand. That's what Messiah does. He is at the right hand of God. Did you know, by the way, Satan stands to accuse the people of God? You and I are like David. We have accusers all day long. They may be verbal that you can see, and opponents that you can see with your naked eye, but even if you can't, there is an invisible enemy. And he accuses Joshua, the high priest, was unfit to stand before God. So are you. So am I. Unfit to stand before God. We are sinful. We are unworthy. We are unable to come to God, unwilling to come to God. But, praise be to God that he clothes his people with garments of righteousness, and he gives us garments of salvation through faith in Christ. So, Jesus, like verse 31 would prophesy, he stands at the right hand of the afflicted one, and this one, the Lord himself, will save the afflicted one. What a Savior. that Jesus, as our surety, as our deliverer, He brings that certificate of debt, and He signed it, and He sealed it with His own blood, and He calls for divine forgiveness, and He calls for imputed righteousness, because He says to the Father, I died on His behalf. And through faith alone in this Savior, The obedient, righteous life of Christ is credited to you, and all of your sin is credited to the Savior on the cross. So how do I know at the moment I die, I will immediately go to heaven to be with Christ forever? It's because Jesus paid it all, and he satisfied the wrath of God, and there's no punishment left for me to bear. Jesus intercedes. This is a hard psalm. This is a hard prayer. But hallelujah, the love of the Lord never changes. The love of God never changes. By the way, our psalm ends. That God who is at the right hand of the needy will save him. Come back next week at Psalm 110. and we'll hear more about what Messiah does at the right hand of the Father. Father, thank you for your word.