WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:09.740 Heavenly Father, we are glad this evening to know that we are on your side. 00:00:11.519 --> 00:00:21.839 The Almighty God, the Lord, the Sovereign Lord, the Heavenly Father loves us. 00:00:21.839 --> 00:00:30.899 Though we were once your enemies, Lord, you have reconciled us to yourself through your Son. 00:00:30.980 --> 00:00:42.039 And now we are here as members of your family, your sons and daughters, your grateful servants. 00:00:45.060 --> 00:00:47.700 So we pray that you would meet with us now. 00:00:48.600 --> 00:00:49.420 Speak to us. 00:00:49.420 --> 00:00:52.420 Listen to us. 00:00:58.060 --> 00:01:00.540 Lead us and be glorified by our time together. 00:01:01.420 --> 00:01:03.439 In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 00:01:05.460 --> 00:01:07.280 We're in Psalm 35. 00:01:16.439 --> 00:01:18.599 I guess eventually we'll finish the Psalms. 00:01:20.239 --> 00:01:21.500 Slowly making our way. 00:01:21.700 --> 00:01:24.420 In 120 weeks or something. 00:01:25.560 --> 00:01:27.099 Well, Psalm 119 will take us a bit. 00:01:27.799 --> 00:01:30.599 We'll probably have to break that one up a little bit. 00:01:31.659 --> 00:01:32.980 In like three years. 00:01:32.980 --> 00:01:39.359 It goes by quickly. 00:01:39.359 --> 00:01:40.020 It happens. 00:01:40.820 --> 00:01:42.280 Genesis is flying by. 00:01:42.800 --> 00:01:43.840 That's like three chapters. 00:01:47.659 --> 00:01:50.340 Psalm 35 verses 1 to 28. 00:01:50.580 --> 00:01:51.420 This is the Psalm of David. 00:01:52.020 --> 00:01:53.140 Read it out loud for us. 00:01:53.140 --> 00:02:00.120 Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me. 00:02:00.120 --> 00:02:03.280 Fight against those who fight against me. 00:02:04.280 --> 00:02:08.319 Take hold of shield and buckler and rise for my help. 00:02:08.319 --> 00:02:13.219 Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers. 00:02:13.780 --> 00:02:16.659 Say to my soul, I am your salvation. 00:02:17.000 --> 00:02:20.959 Let them be put to shame and dishonor who seek after my life. 00:02:20.960 --> 00:02:27.200 Let them be turned back and disappointed who devise evil against me. 00:02:27.199 --> 00:02:31.759 Let them be like shaft before the wind. 00:02:32.659 --> 00:02:34.979 With the angel of the Lord driving them away. 00:02:35.859 --> 00:02:38.439 Let their way be dark and slippery. 00:02:38.599 --> 00:02:40.519 With the angel of the Lord pursuing them. 00:02:41.219 --> 00:02:43.759 For without cause they hid their net for me. 00:02:44.159 --> 00:02:46.359 Without cause they dug a pit for my life. 00:02:46.959 --> 00:02:49.699 Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it. 00:02:49.699 --> 00:02:53.199 And let the net that he hid ensnare him. 00:02:53.759 --> 00:02:55.959 Let him fall into it to his destruction. 00:02:57.159 --> 00:03:00.280 Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord. 00:03:00.399 --> 00:03:01.919 Exalting in his salvation. 00:03:02.539 --> 00:03:05.399 All my bones shall say, O Lord, who is like you? 00:03:05.560 --> 00:03:09.060 Delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him. 00:03:09.339 --> 00:03:12.000 The poor and needy from him who robs him. 00:03:14.139 --> 00:03:15.719 Belicious witnesses rise up. 00:03:16.099 --> 00:03:17.919 They ask me of things that I do not know. 00:03:17.919 --> 00:03:20.599 They repay me evil for good. 00:03:21.219 --> 00:03:22.579 My soul is bereft. 00:03:23.239 --> 00:03:26.399 But I, when they were sick, I wore sackcloth. 00:03:26.819 --> 00:03:28.539 I afflicted myself with fasting. 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:31.199 I prayed with head bowed on my chest. 00:03:31.399 --> 00:03:34.379 I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother. 00:03:34.979 --> 00:03:36.599 As one who laments his mother. 00:03:37.079 --> 00:03:38.719 I bowed down in mourning. 00:03:39.779 --> 00:03:43.519 But at my stumbling, they rejoiced and gathered. 00:03:43.699 --> 00:03:46.779 They gathered together against me wretches whom I did not know 00:03:46.780 --> 00:03:48.159 tore at me without ceasing. 00:03:48.960 --> 00:03:53.939 Like profane mockers at a feast, they gnash at me with their teeth. 00:03:54.740 --> 00:03:57.099 How long, O Lord, will you look on? 00:03:58.120 --> 00:03:59.620 Rescue me from their destruction. 00:03:59.819 --> 00:04:01.460 My precious life from the lions. 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:04.120 I will thank you and the great congregation. 00:04:04.300 --> 00:04:06.300 In a mighty throng, I will praise you. 00:04:07.159 --> 00:04:11.159 Let not those rejoice over me who are wrongfully my foes. 00:04:11.159 --> 00:04:16.300 And let not those wink the eye who hate me without cause. 00:04:16.819 --> 00:04:18.719 For they do not speak peace. 00:04:18.860 --> 00:04:22.259 But against those who are quiet in the land, they devise words of deceit. 00:04:22.719 --> 00:04:24.839 They open wide their mouths against me. 00:04:24.899 --> 00:04:26.180 They say, Aha! Aha! 00:04:26.379 --> 00:04:27.939 Our eyes have seen it. 00:04:29.139 --> 00:04:30.560 You have seen it, O Lord. 00:04:31.060 --> 00:04:32.100 Be not silent. 00:04:32.560 --> 00:04:34.360 O Lord, be not far from me. 00:04:34.360 --> 00:04:37.580 Awake and rouse yourself for my vindication. 00:04:38.120 --> 00:04:40.780 For my cause, my God and my Lord. 00:04:42.080 --> 00:04:45.319 Vindicate me, O Lord, my God, according to your righteousness. 00:04:45.860 --> 00:04:48.040 And let them not rejoice over me. 00:04:48.699 --> 00:04:50.540 Let them not say in their hearts, Aha! 00:04:50.660 --> 00:04:51.780 Our hearts desire. 00:04:52.199 --> 00:04:54.379 Let them not say we have swallowed them up. 00:04:54.759 --> 00:04:59.280 Let them be put to shame and disappointed altogether who rejoice at my calamity. 00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:04.659 Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me. 00:05:05.000 --> 00:05:11.019 Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, 00:05:11.599 --> 00:05:16.299 Great is the Lord who delights in the welfare of his servant. 00:05:17.119 --> 00:05:22.259 Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long. 00:05:22.259 --> 00:05:31.860 During the American Civil War, a man asked President Abraham Lincoln, 00:05:32.279 --> 00:05:35.719 Which side do you think God is fighting on? 00:05:35.959 --> 00:05:37.759 The Union side or the Confederate side? 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:39.959 And he gave the famous reply, 00:05:40.599 --> 00:05:43.680 Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side. 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:48.019 My greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right. 00:05:48.019 --> 00:05:51.399 And that's, he makes a good point, right? 00:05:51.459 --> 00:05:57.879 Because it's often people try to co-opt God for their purposes, their plans and agendas, 00:05:58.180 --> 00:06:01.579 Instead of trying to submit to his will and follow what he does. 00:06:02.620 --> 00:06:06.259 And that's kind of the background here. 00:06:06.319 --> 00:06:13.459 Because David's enemies here are claiming that they've caught David in the act of basically violating the covenant 00:06:13.459 --> 00:06:16.099 that he made with them before the Lord. 00:06:16.100 --> 00:06:21.360 And with that false accusation, they're attacking him. 00:06:22.180 --> 00:06:22.980 That's the basis. 00:06:23.100 --> 00:06:26.140 So you broke the covenant, so now we're going to enforce the covenant by attacking you. 00:06:26.200 --> 00:06:26.960 So that's basically what it is. 00:06:26.960 --> 00:06:31.460 So there's both a legal struggle here and a military struggle. 00:06:31.840 --> 00:06:36.080 And you see that in verse 1, where David cries out to God for help. 00:06:36.340 --> 00:06:38.660 Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me. 00:06:39.100 --> 00:06:40.920 Fight against those who fight against me. 00:06:40.920 --> 00:06:43.160 So the word contend has legal overtones. 00:06:43.680 --> 00:06:45.560 And the word fight has military overtones. 00:06:46.100 --> 00:06:50.160 But here, David is confident that God's on his side. 00:06:50.320 --> 00:06:53.720 Or rather, he knows that he's right with God, that he's on God's side. 00:06:54.120 --> 00:06:59.580 Because he can confidently cry out to God, knowing that he will act on his behalf and not on behalf of his enemies. 00:07:00.320 --> 00:07:04.080 And it's really cool how he imagines God in verses 1 to 10. 00:07:04.180 --> 00:07:06.240 He imagines that he's like this mighty warrior. 00:07:06.420 --> 00:07:08.879 He has the shield and buckler, the spear and javelin. 00:07:09.240 --> 00:07:10.840 And coming to his rescue. 00:07:11.679 --> 00:07:14.659 So he describes God and then calls out to him in verses 1 to 10. 00:07:15.099 --> 00:07:20.479 And then in verses 11 to 16, he recounts the malicious deeds of his enemies, what they have done. 00:07:21.039 --> 00:07:25.099 And he talks about how it's all the more painful because it's his allies, right? 00:07:25.500 --> 00:07:30.000 It's the people that he treated as his own friend and brother, as it says in verse 14. 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:32.800 And they're the ones who are repaying evil for good. 00:07:33.800 --> 00:07:35.680 And verse 16 is so graphic. 00:07:35.839 --> 00:07:40.420 He describes them as profane mockers at a feast. 00:07:40.420 --> 00:07:46.540 So it's kind of like, you know, ungrateful guests who slander their host. 00:07:47.140 --> 00:07:54.000 And when it's at, I mean, it's at the expense and goodwill of the host that they're enjoying the feast. 00:07:54.060 --> 00:07:58.439 But they're at the feast, you know, just basically chewing out the host. 00:07:58.980 --> 00:08:01.280 And they're gnashing their teeth in anger. 00:08:01.580 --> 00:08:03.740 So that's basically how David described it. 00:08:03.759 --> 00:08:06.439 So there's a lot of subversion in what they're doing. 00:08:06.439 --> 00:08:08.560 And it says in verse 19, they wink the eye. 00:08:08.660 --> 00:08:10.439 That's reference to their treachery. 00:08:10.560 --> 00:08:12.620 Really, they're kind of scheming against David. 00:08:13.319 --> 00:08:15.459 And they are the ones that have broken covenant. 00:08:15.680 --> 00:08:20.759 So it says, David says in verse 20, they do not speak peace, which is the traditional way referring to a covenant relationship. 00:08:21.199 --> 00:08:22.659 So they do not speak peace. 00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:27.659 But against those who are quiet in the land, they devise word of deceit. 00:08:29.120 --> 00:08:34.100 And then verse 21, it says, they open wide their mouths against me. 00:08:34.139 --> 00:08:35.860 They say, aha, aha, our eyes have seen. 00:08:35.860 --> 00:08:38.480 So that's an example of their false accusation. 00:08:38.620 --> 00:08:39.800 They're saying, no, we've seen you. 00:08:39.899 --> 00:08:41.720 We've caught you doing what you're not supposed to do. 00:08:42.500 --> 00:08:44.159 And you violated this. 00:08:44.379 --> 00:08:51.340 But David, he draws a very, it's a beautiful contrast between verse 21 and verse 22. 00:08:51.460 --> 00:08:54.659 Because in verse 21, they say, our eyes have seen it. 00:08:55.080 --> 00:08:58.279 And in verse 22, David says, Lord, you have seen. 00:08:58.600 --> 00:08:58.740 Right? 00:08:58.919 --> 00:09:00.740 You have seen, O Lord, be not silent. 00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:03.680 They are speaking, you know, they're bluffing. 00:09:03.759 --> 00:09:04.899 They're making stuff up, false occasion. 00:09:04.899 --> 00:09:06.980 And they haven't seen anything, yet they are speaking. 00:09:07.399 --> 00:09:10.459 So he goes to God and says, Lord, you actually have seen everything. 00:09:10.779 --> 00:09:12.679 So I need you to speak on my behalf. 00:09:13.199 --> 00:09:13.340 Right? 00:09:13.919 --> 00:09:15.799 And then, so that's David's prayer. 00:09:15.959 --> 00:09:17.740 Let them be put to shame and disappointed. 00:09:17.879 --> 00:09:18.720 That's verse 26. 00:09:18.720 --> 00:09:28.100 It's kind of a bold prayer, right? 00:09:28.100 --> 00:09:32.660 I mean, if we heard someone pray like this on a Friday night prayer service, we'd probably be like, whoa. 00:09:32.659 --> 00:09:40.299 That's, and it's a little, I think we're reluctant to pray that way in some ways. 00:09:40.519 --> 00:09:43.839 But to pray for, it's really kind of a natural thing to pray for. 00:09:43.899 --> 00:09:47.579 Because on the one hand, David prays for his protection and vindication. 00:09:48.039 --> 00:09:48.299 Right? 00:09:48.299 --> 00:09:52.959 And their frustration and judgment is just the flip side of that. 00:09:53.179 --> 00:09:53.419 Right? 00:09:53.539 --> 00:09:57.199 I mean, you can't protect the weak unless you stop the oppressor. 00:09:57.599 --> 00:09:57.699 Right? 00:09:57.740 --> 00:10:03.259 You can't, I mean, you can't vindicate David unless you judge the people who are falsely accusing him. 00:10:03.279 --> 00:10:03.379 Right? 00:10:03.379 --> 00:10:06.200 So it's really just the flip side of the same coin. 00:10:06.820 --> 00:10:09.860 So not really surprising that he asks for this. 00:10:10.559 --> 00:10:14.519 And David, as he cries out to God, he's confident that God's going to act on his behalf. 00:10:14.620 --> 00:10:21.559 So in verses 27 and 28, he concludes with confidence that he'll end up praising God and those others will follow him in that praise. 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:26.100 Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, 00:10:26.200 --> 00:10:29.039 Great is the Lord who delights in the welfare of his servant. 00:10:29.039 --> 00:10:34.120 Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long. 00:10:34.899 --> 00:10:38.559 So what's the significance of this psalm for us as Christians? 00:10:39.419 --> 00:10:44.179 And in John 15, 25, when Jesus is predicting his death on the cross, 00:10:44.679 --> 00:10:48.519 and he's warning his disciples that they will be persecuted as he was persecuted, 00:10:48.959 --> 00:10:51.480 he quotes Psalm 35, verse 19. 00:10:51.939 --> 00:10:52.860 And he says this, 00:10:52.860 --> 00:10:55.759 But the word that is written in their law must be fulfilled. 00:10:56.179 --> 00:10:58.579 They hated me without a cost. 00:10:58.580 --> 00:11:00.240 That's how David describes his enemies. 00:11:00.360 --> 00:11:02.240 They hated him without a cost. 00:11:02.740 --> 00:11:08.120 So this psalm is prophetic in the sense that David's suffering served as a type 00:11:08.120 --> 00:11:12.280 and a prefigurement of Christ's ultimate suffering at the hands of sinners. 00:11:12.980 --> 00:11:15.560 And though we'd like to imagine ourselves being on David's side, 00:11:16.040 --> 00:11:19.400 we are actually the profane mockers at the feast. 00:11:19.560 --> 00:11:21.960 We are the ones who are falsely accusing. 00:11:22.200 --> 00:11:26.240 We falsely accuse Jesus with our sin and with our rebellion. 00:11:26.240 --> 00:11:29.600 And in Romans 5, 10, it says that while we were enemies, 00:11:29.799 --> 00:11:32.860 we were reconciled to God by the death of his son. 00:11:32.960 --> 00:11:33.899 So we were his enemies. 00:11:34.019 --> 00:11:36.600 We were the ones who hated him without a cost. 00:11:36.960 --> 00:11:40.500 Yet Jesus is a better David, an ultimate David, 00:11:40.560 --> 00:11:43.240 in the sense that David here cries out for his vindication. 00:11:43.700 --> 00:11:46.560 But Jesus doesn't cry out for his vindication. 00:11:46.860 --> 00:11:49.940 But he dies for our justification. 00:11:49.940 --> 00:11:56.180 So he bears the suffering, the pain that these false accusers deserved, 00:11:56.500 --> 00:11:58.760 that we deserved as his enemies. 00:11:59.580 --> 00:12:03.380 And that results in our righteousness, our vindication, 00:12:03.680 --> 00:12:07.560 so that we can reconcile to him and be on his side instead of being against him, 00:12:07.640 --> 00:12:08.220 opposed to him. 00:12:08.860 --> 00:12:11.400 And that's really, that's the gospel, right? 00:12:11.460 --> 00:12:14.020 That's the wonderful grace that we get to experience. 00:12:14.019 --> 00:12:17.840 And if we make that the controlling center of our lives, 00:12:17.919 --> 00:12:21.659 then it will shape everything we do, think, and feel, and say. 00:12:22.840 --> 00:12:26.500 And as people who have been saved and have experienced that grace, 00:12:26.559 --> 00:12:29.620 then now we are actually on David's side now, right? 00:12:29.740 --> 00:12:31.620 And so because we're following in Jesus' footsteps, 00:12:31.960 --> 00:12:33.259 we too will be persecuted. 00:12:33.679 --> 00:12:36.259 And we will also become innocent sufferers 00:12:36.259 --> 00:12:39.699 at the hands of evildoers and false accusers like David is in this. 00:12:39.700 --> 00:12:43.259 And when we are experiencing that, then we could also have hope 00:12:43.259 --> 00:12:46.160 because David is confident because he's on the Lord's side 00:12:46.160 --> 00:12:49.620 that God will advocate for him and fight for him, contend for him. 00:12:49.960 --> 00:12:51.540 And we can have the same faith. 00:12:51.980 --> 00:12:55.160 And even though in this life we'll experience unfairness and injustice, 00:12:55.840 --> 00:12:59.480 we know that God sees rightly and he judges infallibly 00:12:59.480 --> 00:13:02.780 and that he will have the final say on our behalf. 00:13:02.780 --> 00:13:07.860 So with that confidence, let's maybe sing and we could turn to prayer.