As most of you know, last Lord's Day evening from 1 Samuel chapter 17, we read and reveled in David's great courage to stand up for the honor and glory of God when nobody else would. From the biblical narrative that expounds upon David's great victory over Goliath, I submitted that the heartbeat of the Christian faith is to have a spirit of active faith as opposed to a spirit of passive indifference. I also proposed that This is precisely why we enjoy reading passages of men and women who are willing to take a stand for what is right and for what is true. We enjoy being exposed to such passages because they inspire us to live for the Lord with a greater decree of faith, conviction, and boldness. We treasure the historical writings about the Hebrew midwives having enough backbone to fear God more than the Pharaoh's evil command in their refusal to kill male babies. We are motivated by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and their fearless stand not to bow when everybody else around them was bowing to the golden image. were stirred by Daniel's refusal to pray to King Darius when the decree was made by the king that no one in the land should pray to any other god except for him. We lean into the account of Esther putting her own life on the line for the sake of the Jews who were about to be annihilated. And we often refer to the moment that Peter and John were commanded not to teach in the name of Jesus Christ by the Sanhedrin, and they respond by saying, we cannot help but speak the things that we have seen and heard. Beat us if you will, censure us if you must, we're going to obey God rather than man. There's a reason why these biblical accounts are so well-known and well-liked. Interwoven among all such accounts are the elements of unwavering faith, exceptional courage, and extraordinary conviction, which always leads to God stepping in and bringing about a great victory. The same could be said about the biographies of the men and women God has used throughout the centuries, throughout church history. In reading about Martin Luther, William Tyndale, Charles Spurgeon, John Bunyan, William Carey, David Brainerd, the martyrs that are referred to in the Fox's Book of Martyrs, and a host of pastors, teachers, missionaries, Bible translators, What are we captivated by in their life? Are we not captivated by their holy resolve to live for Christ? Are we not appreciative that they were willing to put their lives on the line for the sake of the gospel? Are we not challenged by their determination to do something as it pertains to advancing the kingdom of God? Similar to David's willingness to approach the giant in the name of the Lord, these who we consider to be great heroes of the faith did not possess a spirit of defeatism or a spirit of apathy. On the contrary, they were people who intimately knew their God and they stood firm, taking action. They were people who were thoroughly convinced that there was a cause worth fighting for. They were people who believe that the Bible is God's inspired, preserved, and authoritative word. They believe that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. And they believe that all believers have the responsibility to glorify God with their life. I think it is safe to conclude that this is one of the primary reasons why we love hearing about David defeating Goliath with a sling and a stone. I mean, he was a young man full of faith. He was a young man full of courage. He was a young man full of conviction. He was a young man full of a holy passion for the things of God. We joyfully celebrate this particular reality in David's life. We warmly embrace the fact that through his faith, God used him to accomplish great things and we are easily prone to be captivated by the successful moments that were brought about his courage. All the while we forget that the stands that David took led him to a very dark and difficult moment in his life. This leads me then to the topic that I want to highlight from David's words in Psalm 109. The topic I wish to speak to you this evening is the high cost of being a courageous Christian. what standing up for Christ leads to. The high cost of being a courageous Christian, what standing up for Christ leads to. Psalm 109. Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise, for the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me. They have spoken against me with a lying tongue. They compassed me about also with words of hatred and fought against me without a cause. For my love they are my adversaries, but I give myself unto prayer. And they have rewarded me evil for good and hatred for my love. Set thou a wicked man over him and let Satan stand at his right hand. When he shall be judged, let him be condemned, and let his prayer become sin. Let his days be few, and let another take his office. Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow. Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg. Let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places. Let the extortioner catch all that he hath, and let the stranger spoil his labor. Let there be none to extend mercy unto him, neither let there be any to favor his fatherless children. Let his posterity be cut off, and in the generation following, let their name be blotted out. Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the Lord, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out. Let them be before the Lord continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth. Because that he remembered not to show mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart. As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him. As he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him. As he clothed himself with cursing as with a garment, so let it come into his bowels like water and like oil into his bones. Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth him, and for girdle wherewith he is girded continually. Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the Lord, and of them that speak evil against my soul. But do thou for me, O God the Lord, for thy name's sake, because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me. For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me. I am gone like the shadow when it declineth. I am tossed up and down as the locust. My knees are weak through fasting, and my flesh faileth of fatness. I became also a reproach unto them. When they looked upon me, they shaked their heads. Help me, O Lord my God, O save me according to thy mercy, that they may know that this is thy hand, that thou, Lord, hast done it. Let them curse, but bless thou. When they arise, let them be ashamed, but let thy servant rejoice. Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their own confusion as with a mantle. I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth, yea, I will praise him among the multitude. For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor to save him from those that condemn his soul. The high cost of being a courageous Christian. Having read the psalm, let me give you the three segments of the psalm that I trust will be a practical help to you as we consider what is said in connection with our own lives. If you're taking notes this evening, I want to take a few moments to reflect upon David's circumstances, David's condition, as well as David's commitment. Let's begin by asking and answering the first question. What were the surrounding circumstances in David's life at the particular moment he penned this psalm? Did David write this psalm when he was being hunted by King Saul, the king of Israel and his best friend's father, as many Bible commentaries suggest? Did David write this psalm when his own son Absalom led a rebellion against him, forcing him to flee Jerusalem? Or perhaps David wrote the words of this psalm when Ahithophel David's closest friend and trusted advisor betrayed David, aiding in his overthrow. While the psalm does not explicitly provide us with the exact details of David's circumstances, we are told that at the time the psalm was written, David was being viciously and verbally attacked for absolutely nothing he provoked. Notice verse two and three again. David says, the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened up against me. They have spoken against me with a lying tongue. They compass me about also with words of hatred and fought against me without a cause. Translation, evil men have set themselves around me without a rational reason. David is saying I did nothing sinful that would encourage these things to be. I have not done anything to provoke unnecessary war. David could say I was simply doing what God was leading me to do and others started spreading false accusations and hating me for no reason that I know. Let me pause here just for a moment so that we will rightly understand what David is dealing with. While we do not know the specific circumstances that surround this psalm, we do know that what David was encountering through these circumstances was not physical in nature, but spiritual in nature. What David was encountering in this moment did not arise from the kingdom of men, but from the kingdom of Satan. You say, how do you know this to be true? Well, I know this to be true because in the scripture, we find Satan using men to attack those who are godly for no other reason than the fact that they are seeking to honor the Lord with their life. We also know that this is true because Paul says in Ephesians chapter six that we, speaking of true believers, wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual wickedness in high places. When David says that adversaries are attacking him, For nothing sinful or foolish he has done, we can rightly conclude that Satan, the adversary of God's people, is influencing such men to attack, to discourage, to distract David in a spiritual way. Was this not true with David's interactions with King Saul? What evil did David do in stepping out by faith and killing the giant? Answer, David didn't do anything that was evil. On the contrary, he did that which was good for Israel through the Lord's enablement. Nevertheless, after that victorious occasion, David taking down the giant, the Bible says that Saul eyed David from that moment onward. When Israel went about celebrating David's great victory, saying Saul has killed his thousands, but David has 10,000, an evil spirit came upon Saul, and Saul started throwing javelins at David, even when David was playing a harp to help Saul in his condition. Saul was being controlled by the powers of hell in his determination to kill David simply because David took a courageous stand for the honor and glory of God's name and it pleased God to anoint David to be the next king in Israel. I'm hoping that we will notice in the text that the primary source of David's battle here in Psalm 109 is not physical in nature, it's spiritual in nature. The enemies are not merely human, they are demonic. And because they are demonic in nature, we find David's condition being overwhelming in nature. This is the second truth that is repetitively highlighted throughout the psalm. Having assessed something of David's circumstances, I want us to take note of David's condition. Look at verse 22. David says, I am poor and needy. My heart is wounded within me. Verse 23, I am gone like the shadow when it declines or lengthens. I am tossed up and down as the locust. In other words, David feels that his life is simply just wasting away. He feels agitated. He feels frail. He feels weak. He feels like a locust that is being blown away by a strong desert wind. Verse 24, his knees are weak. Why? Because his body is becoming thin through intense hunger. Verse 25, he's the object of scorn to his accusers when they say to him, God is not with you. David is the source of mockery, tauntings, criticisms. This is David's distressing condition. This is his condition that is demonically influenced. David feels beat up, not just by men, but by Satan himself. David is weak, David is weary, David feels betrayed, David feels burdened, David feels mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually exhausted and overwhelmed. David feels lonely. And no doubt David feels perplexed as to why God would allow such circumstances to cause him to feel that way. I can't help but think that perhaps David in this moment might be fighting a little self-pity like the prophet Elijah did. I mean, it would only be natural to wonder why God is permitting evil men to rise against Him when He has exercised faith and exhibited great courage in standing for righteousness. David's only human. He's a man of like passions as we are. He's only a sinner saved by grace. I mean, if godly Elijah struggled with such thoughts, if godly Job struggled with such feelings, perhaps David did too. Perhaps David is curious as to why he is suffering at the hands of evil men for living for God. Why he's enduring persecution for living for Christ. Why he has to run for his life in a condition of physical and spiritual weariness when he's endangered his life for the sake of the people he loved. Isn't this our usual response when we stick out our necks for God and sacrifice for the sake of others? Don't we think and sometimes murmur, at least under our breath, Lord, I've done all this for you and this is what I'm repaid with? Lord, I've devoted my time, my energy, my money to your causes with a pure heart and pure motive. Lord, you know, and sorrow is my reward. I mean, shouldn't I be rewarded with some earthly ease? Shouldn't I experience some tangible recognition for all my sacrifices? I mean, think about it, David could say, Lord, Lord, listen, I was just serving food to my brothers in obedience to my father. I was not looking to be some great one. I was not looking for a fight with a giant. It's not my fault that the men of Israel were acting like sissies. And even when I did go, I didn't know what was going to happen. I went trusting in you, and you, Lord, you won the battle, not me. I wasn't seeking to be Saul's replacement as the king. You, Lord, you sent the prophet Samuel to anoint me with such a task. You chose me over my brothers. I didn't sign up for this. So why should I suffer so severely for doing that which is fitting with your will. David could say, I've done nothing wrong. Yet I feel so tired, so downcast, so overburdened. These are David's complaints to God. Lord, I'm tired. Lord, I'm hungry. Lord, I'm crushed. Help me. Lord, don't be silent toward me. Arise and defend my cause. This then leads us to examine the third feature of the psalm which I've entitled David's Commitment. Having examined David's unwanted circumstances, as well as David's unpleasant condition, I want us to examine in our third point David's unwavering commitment among his unwanted circumstances that were producing unpleasant conditions. The question under this third point is, how does David respond to the unjust criticism of men and the unceasing attacks of Satan? How did he respond? Did he get bitter at God? Did he seek to take matters into his own hands and attack those who were attacking him? Did David resent helping others though they were unthankful for the courageous stands that he took? In all of the chaos that has been poured into David's life, what did David do? Well, I find in this Psalm, David persevering in the same three elements of worship that he is always mentioning throughout the Psalms. In the Psalm, we find David praying to his God, David praising his God, and David persevering in faith, knowing that God will help him in his greatest time of weakness. Look at verse four. For my love, they, my enemies, are my adversaries, but I will give myself to prayer. Lord, you see what they are doing to me. I have no control over their attitudes and over their actions. Lord, you see that. You know what is causing in my life. You know I do not wish for this. I have no power over that, but I have power over me and what I do. So I will give myself unto prayer. That's a loaded statement. David doesn't just say, I'll just pray a little prayer and just leave it at that. I'll just utter one request to God and then step back. I will give myself, I will pour myself into asking for help. And over 20 times David says let, let, let in the King James and may, may, may in the New American Standard and English Standard Version. David is pleading for God to intervene. David is asking God to fight his battles for him. David is, as a great warrior, remembering that the war is not physical but is spiritual and he needs the mighty one to help him. This is response number one. Response number one is to run to the throne of grace and to stay there. To run to the captain of the army. David's not the captain. There's a celestial captain. Response number two. As David reaches the throne of grace and prayer in setting his mind on God, he remembers who God is and he praises. Look at verse 30. I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth, yea, I will praise him among the multitudes. I will. I will, I'm resolved to. That's what is required of my soul in this dark, difficult time. I will continue to tell God that he knows best. David gave himself to prayer. David gave himself to praise. Response number three, David perseveres in faith, trusting that God is going to help him. Notice what David says in verse 31. David says, for he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, speaking of himself, to save him from those that condemn his soul. David does not lose hope. Saying this, he perseveres in faith despite all the attacks, despite all the confusion, and all of the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual wicked weariness. David says, I know that God will help me as I persevere. So persevering is the action that he takes. David prays, he runs to the throne of grace. Going to the throne of grace, he praises the God of all grace. Praising the God of all grace, he continues in the strength and the grace of God. So the question of all questions we're left to consider is, how does what David says apply to our life? What practical truths can we take from the psalm and be encouraged by? Truth number one, David in this psalm is a type of Christ. In its Old Testament context, what David declares foreshadows what will occur when Messiah comes. When Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah, leaves the glories of heaven from David's perspective, he, Christ, will stand, so to speak, for the salvation of his sheep, and it will cost him greatly. In providing us with a glimpse of Jesus Christ, God, through David, is teaching us that Christ will endure moments of weakness, moments of criticism, moments of slander, and moments of abandonment. In fact, this psalm has been traditionally referred to as the Judas Psalm, the Iscariot Psalm. because what is written by David in verse 8 is referenced by Luke as the prophetic fulfillment of Judas' betrayal in Acts chapter 1. Christ showed himself friendly to Judas, and Judas, for no reason other than Satan filling his heart, hated Jesus without a cause. So the first truth of application that shines from the text is all that Christ endured for the sake of our soul. When Christ took upon himself the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men, at once, think of it, at once Jesus Christ was hated by Herod without a cause. What could an innocent baby do to this mighty King Herod? And as Jesus grew, he was forsaken by his own family. He was forsaken by his own countrymen. He was hated by those he showed kindness towards. Jesus went around doing good, healing the sick, raising the dead, feeding the multitudes, casting out demons, all while others said he had a demon. His own people, the Jews, cried out for his crucifixion. And even when Jesus was suffering on the cross for doing nothing wrong, others passed by wagging their heads and said, if you are the Son of God, save yourself, get down from the cross. How did Christ respond to all of that? He gave himself to prayer. Often Christ escaped the multitudes and spent much time with the Father. Christ committed the keeping of his soul to the will of God. This is what we find in Gethsemane. Father, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but thy will be done. Lord, I commit myself wholly to you. In times of weakness, Jesus, for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, trusting that God would use his circumstances for a greater good. So what can we learn from Psalm 109? Well, we learn something about the amazing love of Jesus Christ. It teaches us what doing the Father's will comprised in Christ's holy mission to seek and to save the lost. His weakness is our strength. His sorrow is our salvation. The second practical truth we learn from the psalm is the uniting truth that there is a high price to pay for devoting ourselves to the cause of Christ. There's a high price to pay for devoting yourself to the cause of Jesus Christ. Jesus promises His followers two things, eternal life and a cross to die on. Christ tells his followers, the servant is not greater than his Lord. Don't be surprised if the world hate you for it hated me before it hates you. Paul says all who will live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. This is the irony that I mentioned at the beginning of my study. The irony about all the accounts that mention others exhibiting great faith encourages that we tend to focus on the triumphs that come of such actions while forgetting the trials that come as a result of such triumphs. Listen, we like the glory story of David against Goliath. We forget about the horror story of David being hunted by Saul afterwards. But such is the Christian life. When you step into Satan's territory, Satan is going to do everything he can to take you down. David stepped into Satan's territory. When you commit yourself to pray, when you are faithful to live a separated life, when you sacrificially give for the sake of the gospel, when you take your stands and speak the truth in love to others who are not living in accordance to God's word, listen, you are going to be perturbed by satanic forces. Mark it down. Why would Satan have any dealings with those who are already doing his will? There's a reason why most people don't stand for what is true. There's a reason why most church attenders are not fully committed to the things of Christ. There's a reason why most professing Christians don't evangelize. There's a reason why most men are afraid to tell their strong-willed wives no. There's a reason why most pastors let anyone do anything among the church. There's a reason why preachers preach soft sermons. There's a reason why some adult parents coddle their adult children rather than correct their adult children. They don't want a war. They want to be liked. Standing for what is fitting with God's word is hard. It's lonely. It leads to sorrow. It leads to abandonment. It leads to false accusations. It leads to attacks. It's easier to bow. It's easier to keep quiet. It's easier to float downstream rather than swim against it. But such a spirit is not appropriate with living for Christ. Living for Christ means that we will be a people who live by the book. Living for Christ means that we will be fully committed to, thus saith the Lord. And when we do so, mark it down, we will be hated. I hate to tell you this, but our church will probably always be small. Because others come into this place looking for an entertaining time. They're looking for a motivational speech. They're looking for a preacher who they can sit under for 45 minutes, but they certainly don't want a pastor who will get into their business and actually pastor them. There's a reason why the megachurches are mega. Not much of this. But so be it. The Lord Jesus says, Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. If you are persecuted for righteousness' sake, not for your weirdness' sake, if you are persecuted for righteousness' sake, you, by Christ, are blessed. So to the wind, with what everybody else says. We're doing His will, not ours. What does Psalm 109 teach us? It teaches us what Christ endured for us. It teaches us what we must endure for Him. And then finally, it teaches us how we can know Him in a personal, experiential way. Why does God allow trials, battles, attacks to come our way when we are doing everything we can to live in accordance to His will? Why? Why would God allow that in David's life? Why would God allow that in Job's life? Why would God allow that in the lives of the apostles? Why would God allow that in humble, godly, prayerful people throughout church history? Why so much sadness and loss and sorrow to such sweet Christian people? Here's the answer. because it is through such moments of suffering that we understand what our Savior went through for us. The Apostle Paul says, Philippians 3.10, that I may know him. Now pause, wait, didn't Paul already know him? I mean, he was a Christian and he was saved. Didn't he already know him? Yes, he knew him. Well, didn't he already know him theologically? Yes, he knew him. But Paul says that I may know him and the power of his resurrection. We love that part. So you see, that's the victorious part. The power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable to his death. It is through weakness that we experience his strength, Paul says. It's through the experiencing of the conformity to his death that we experience life. The psalmist says, Psalm 119, 71, it is good for me that I have been afflicted, why? So that I might learn thy statutes. First Peter chapter four, 12 through 14, beloved, don't think it's strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you. Don't stand back and think, oh, something unique is happening in my life. But rejoice inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If you be reproached for the name of Christ, be happy about it. Happy are ye, for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you, and on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. God is glorified when evil men speak evil things when you're doing Christ's will. Doesn't feel like God's glorified in such a moment, but the text tells us he's glorified by it. Why does God permit us to suffer when we take our stands for him? To identify with the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, the way of suffering is the way of sanctification. Yet, thankfully, we have the promise of Romans 8, 28. We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Case in point, here we are, thousands of years removed from David's despairing circumstances and we're being encouraged by it. His darkness is our light. His sorrow is our substance. His misery is our motivation. I know for many of you The last several months have been a season of weariness, a season of battles, a season of attacks. I know in talking to many of you, you have taken various stands among your family, among your workplace, among the church, and even among the community. And my pastoral admonition for you this evening is keep standing strong. Don't bow to unbiblical ideologies or unbiblical practices. And don't forget that through suffering comes sanctification. God will use our suffering for good. He's promised it. And remember this also. Suffering and sorrow is not forever. It may seem like it is. But it's not. God will lead to moments of rest. And if he doesn't in this life, if we know him, he will lead us to the eternal rest. And it will be worth it all when we see the one who has suffered and sorrowed for our soul. Let's pray.