WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:15.280 Hi, my name is George Sinclair. I'm the lead pastor of Church of the Messiah. 00:00:15.280 --> 00:00:20.500 It is wonderful that you would like to check out some of the sermons done by Church of the Messiah, 00:00:20.500 --> 00:00:25.440 ! either by myself or some of the others. Listen, just a couple of things. First of all, would you pray for us 00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:31.920 that we will open God's Word well to His glory and for the good of people like yourself. 00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:37.280 The second thing is, if you aren't connected to a church and if you are a Christian, 00:00:37.280 --> 00:00:43.040 we really, I would really like to encourage you to find a good local church where they believe the Bible, 00:00:43.040 --> 00:00:49.280 they preach the gospel, and if you have some trouble finding that, send us an email. We will do what we can 00:00:49.280 --> 00:00:55.120 to help connect you with a good local church wherever you are. And if you're a non-Christian, 00:00:55.119 --> 00:01:00.320 checking us out, we're really, really, really glad you're doing that. Don't hesitate to send us 00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:05.280 questions. It helps me actually to know, as I'm preaching, how to deal with the types of things 00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:07.679 that you're really struggling with. So God bless. 00:01:12.319 --> 00:01:17.519 Let's just bow our heads in prayer for a minute. Father, sometimes your Word is shocking to us 00:01:17.519 --> 00:01:25.840 us. And we don't entirely know what to do with it. Often, Father, we just try to forget it and move on. 00:01:26.640 --> 00:01:32.799 But Father, this is your Word, Psalm 109. And it is hard for a lot of us Canadians to get our minds 00:01:32.799 --> 00:01:39.120 around. And so we ask that your Holy Spirit would do a gentle but powerful work in our minds and our 00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:46.560 hearts. And bring your Word with all of its beauty and all of its richness and all of its wisdom deep 00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:53.760 into our lives that your Word might form us. And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Please be seated. 00:01:53.760 --> 00:02:04.000 So I don't know how closely you were paying attention when Ross started to read that. But if you're 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:12.000 wondering, they go, one moment, did that Psalm just say, did that Psalm just ask to kill that person? 00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:18.240 Like, did that Psalm just ask God to impoverish his children? Like, was that what it just said? 00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:29.520 Well, it did. And, you know, I have to say several things. So on Monday morning, I started to look at 00:02:29.520 --> 00:02:36.240 the text to prepare myself for the sermon this Sunday. And after I came back from my first look 00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:41.600 at the text, I said to Louise, Louise, I don't know why I picked this Psalm. You really got to pray for me. 00:02:41.599 --> 00:02:48.719 I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with it. And so you might even be wondering why, 00:02:49.280 --> 00:02:53.680 I mean, I think Louise said, why did I pick this Psalm? And the answer is this. So we're going 00:02:53.680 --> 00:03:00.799 through any, we're preaching on 10 Psalms between Psalm 91 and Psalm 120. Different speakers have 00:03:00.799 --> 00:03:07.280 picked different ones. And there is this cursing Psalm. And one of, I think one of the jobs of a 00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:13.920 presbyter and elder should be to help ordinary Christians read the Bible for themselves wisely 00:03:13.920 --> 00:03:19.039 and well. That should be part of my job. That should be our church's hope that people can read 00:03:19.039 --> 00:03:26.400 the Bible themselves wisely and well. And so if I just avoided uncomfortable Psalms like this, 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:31.199 I wouldn't be helping you or serving you. So we're going to look at it. And, you know, 00:03:31.199 --> 00:03:35.120 one of the things that's really struck me, I was thinking about this on my drive in this morning, 00:03:35.120 --> 00:03:41.039 like this was a Psalm, I really need to sit with it for the whole week and pray into it and think 00:03:41.039 --> 00:03:48.000 about it. But I now, I'm really glad this Psalm is in the Bible. And I hope by the end of this sermon, 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:54.640 you also will be glad that it's in the Bible. And in fact, if you sit with it and not dismiss it, 00:03:54.640 --> 00:04:02.240 it ends up having a very profound emotional power and beauty. And so here, let's have a look. So open 00:04:02.240 --> 00:04:08.800 your Bibles. If you don't have a Bible of your own, there are some Bibles over there. And it's Psalm 109. 00:04:08.800 --> 00:04:16.960 Ross only read about half of the Psalm. But we'll read the whole Psalm. And it's Psalm 109. And this 00:04:16.960 --> 00:04:23.759 is how it goes. It begins by saying to the choir master a Psalm of David. So David is the author of 00:04:23.759 --> 00:04:30.719 the Psalm. And it goes like this, Be not silent, O God of my praise, for wicked and deceitful mouths 00:04:30.719 --> 00:04:39.120 are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues. Notice there, wicked and deceitful 00:04:39.120 --> 00:04:45.519 mouths, in other words, people speaking. And they're speaking with lying tongues against the David, 00:04:45.519 --> 00:04:51.759 against the Psalm, whoever the poet and the prayer. Verse 3, They encircle me with words of hate 00:04:51.759 --> 00:05:00.639 hate and attack me without cause. In return for my love, they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer. 00:05:01.279 --> 00:05:09.839 So they reward me evil for good and hatred for my love. Now, one of the things about the Bible is the 00:05:09.839 --> 00:05:16.719 Bible is very, very, very realistic, but it's realistic with wisdom and it's realistic with hope. 00:05:16.720 --> 00:05:24.560 And so this Psalm is dealing with one of the rawest and most terrible situations that people can find 00:05:24.560 --> 00:05:29.920 themselves in. In fact, part of the problem, it might be for Canadians, is that we might have like 00:05:29.920 --> 00:05:37.280 maybe a day where people turn on us or, you know, but there's fewer people who've really had to deal with 00:05:37.279 --> 00:05:47.439 such a profound, raw experience of many, many people, not only people in positions of authority, but also 00:05:47.439 --> 00:05:55.519 just others turning on you. And you get a little bit of a sense of the depth of the problem there, 00:05:55.519 --> 00:06:00.319 that it sounds as if there was in fact a very affectionate relationship at one point in time. 00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:07.759 The psalmist talks about how he loves them, how he prays for him, these people, but rather than getting 00:06:07.759 --> 00:06:16.560 love and everything in return, what they get is this. And it's devastating. It's devastating to have lies 00:06:16.560 --> 00:06:22.480 told about you and to be slandered and to be deceived. 00:06:22.480 --> 00:06:32.080 You know, it's just a very, very small thing. But when we were going out of the Diocese of Ottawa and 00:06:32.800 --> 00:06:39.840 come under ANIC, and we left the Diocese of Ottawa for reasons of biblical faithfulness, back in those 00:06:39.840 --> 00:06:44.720 days there were these things, I think they're called chat rooms or whatever, and you could go and people 00:06:44.720 --> 00:06:51.120 could post things and have conversations online. And I had people in my congregation who said, George, 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:56.959 you better not read them. And I did read them a couple of times. And after I read them a couple 00:06:56.959 --> 00:07:04.879 of times, it was just, the lies that were said about me, the slander, the untruths that were said about me, 00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:15.280 the hatred that was obviously there, the self-righteous hatred against me, it depressed me for 00:07:15.280 --> 00:07:21.040 several days. It was very, very hard. And I realized why people had told me that I shouldn't look at it. 00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:26.399 It was better not to know. But at the end of the day, I realized it was important. It was important 00:07:26.399 --> 00:07:31.840 for me to know. Not that I'd look at it very often, but it was very, very hard. And that's just a very 00:07:31.840 --> 00:07:36.240 small thing. I mean, a lot of these people who are saying these things about me had been my partners in 00:07:36.240 --> 00:07:40.160 ministry and stuff like that, right? There'd been people that I'd ministered to and with. 00:07:40.160 --> 00:07:47.439 A person that I helped lead to Christ was one of the people who spoke most meanly about me. 00:07:47.439 --> 00:07:56.000 And so this is talking about very, very real situation that a lot of people experience. 00:07:56.000 --> 00:08:08.720 And it's raw. But the poet now takes a shocking turn. And if the psalm was just this, we'd probably, 00:08:08.720 --> 00:08:14.800 as Canadians, not have much to say about it. But it takes a very, very shocking term. And I can tell 00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:20.079 you right now as we get into it, that knowing the original language, the Hebrew, actually, 00:08:20.720 --> 00:08:26.560 if anything, it's just even rawer than what's said in English. And so if you look with verse 6, 00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:37.360 what's the shocking turn? Verse 6, it goes like this. They appoint a wicked man against him. Let an 00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:45.600 accuser stand at his right hand. And when my accuser is tried, let him come forth guilty. Let his prayer 00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:50.240 be counted as sin. God, whenever you hear this man praying, don't take it as a sign of virtue. 00:08:50.240 --> 00:08:58.399 Understand that even his prayers are sinful. Verse 8, may his days be few. May another take his office. 00:08:59.519 --> 00:09:05.680 May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow. He prays for his death. 00:09:08.639 --> 00:09:16.320 He prays for the death of his accusers. Verse 10, may his children wander about and beg, 00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:24.240 seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit. He prays that his entire family will be completely 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:32.879 impoverished. His house will be turned into ruins. Verse 11, may the creditor seize all that he has. 00:09:33.840 --> 00:09:42.000 May strangers plunder the fruit, the fruits of his toil. Let there be none to extend kindness to him, 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:53.440 nor any to pity his fatherless children. Complete and utter impoverishment. Verse 13, may his posterity be cut off. 00:09:54.639 --> 00:10:02.720 May his name be blotted out in the second generation. He's just prayed that if this man has any kids, 00:10:02.720 --> 00:10:06.639 that God would work in such a way that none of his children have children. 00:10:12.800 --> 00:10:21.840 This is very raw, right? 14, may the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord and let not the 00:10:21.840 --> 00:10:28.639 sin of his mother be blotted out. Let them be before the Lord continually that he may cut off the memory of 00:10:28.639 --> 00:10:33.600 them from the earth. And this is partially the fact that it's not just the accusers who are there, 00:10:34.240 --> 00:10:44.399 but they are part of a tradition and a lineage of what he's been praying about in verses one to five, 00:10:44.399 --> 00:10:54.080 or at least potentially. So what do we do with this? I think for most of us, we think it's a little bit 00:10:54.080 --> 00:11:00.160 over the top. In fact, if I was to say that I was praying this way about people that I had just 00:11:00.160 --> 00:11:06.480 mentioned back in the chat rooms when I was the pastor as we were leaving the Diocese of Ottawa, 00:11:06.480 --> 00:11:12.160 you'd say that I was over the top. And that would be, I think, valid to pray that in that particular 00:11:12.160 --> 00:11:17.040 situation, at least in every aspect of this. And some people might even wonder if that's just one of 00:11:17.040 --> 00:11:22.160 these examples of how the Old Testament God is bloodthirsty and the New Testament God is a God of love. 00:11:22.159 --> 00:11:26.959 The question would be, how could Christians pray something like this? It seems like it would be 00:11:26.959 --> 00:11:32.480 an unchristian thing to pray. But I want to make the problem harder in the short run, 00:11:34.079 --> 00:11:38.959 because if you see the problem is even harder in the short run, you begin to see the solution. 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:46.000 So if you have your Bibles, although we'll be on the screen, I ask you to actually go up. If, 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:51.919 Claire, could you put up verse eight again? May his days be few, may another take his office. 00:11:52.159 --> 00:12:01.679 Now take, turn in your Bibles to Acts chapter one. Acts chapter one. And what's happened is 00:12:03.039 --> 00:12:10.959 Jesus in the Luke, which was the book before this, Jesus has died on the cross. He's been buried. He's 00:12:10.959 --> 00:12:19.120 risen from the dead. And we see that for 40 days, he appears, makes appearances, and eats food, and speaks 00:12:19.120 --> 00:12:23.440 to people, proved to hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people that he's fully resurrected. 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:29.200 And then just before this, we have the ascension on the 40th day. Jesus ascends into heaven. 00:12:30.399 --> 00:12:35.519 And then in the 10-day period between the ascension of Jesus into heaven and the coming of the Holy 00:12:35.519 --> 00:12:41.120 Spirit on the day of Pentecost, this incident happens. And so there's a large group of them in an 00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:46.320 upper room that they're praying. And it's not up there on the screen, but in those days, Peter stood 00:12:46.320 --> 00:12:51.679 up among the brothers and sisters. And then he says this, verse 16, which I think will be on the screen, 00:12:51.679 --> 00:12:56.960 brothers and sisters, the scripture had to be fulfilled. Look, the scripture had to be fulfilled, 00:12:56.960 --> 00:13:04.399 which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those 00:13:04.399 --> 00:13:11.279 who arrested Jesus. Note this, you know, sometimes I, there's a whole pile of, you know, I'm sorry, 00:13:11.279 --> 00:13:17.199 baby, I'll, there's a whole pile of, you know, YouTube apologists going after Protestants about our 00:13:17.199 --> 00:13:21.600 belief in the authority of scripture. And, you know, I'll say that my wife sometimes, you know, 00:13:21.600 --> 00:13:25.439 I'll see somebody saying, look at the three main verses that this whole doctrine rests on. There's 00:13:25.439 --> 00:13:31.600 hundreds of verses that express this. It's hundreds and hundreds of verses. It expresses the biblical idea 00:13:31.600 --> 00:13:38.480 that it's the Holy, when we hear scripture, it's the Holy Spirit speaking. He uses ordinary people, but it's 00:13:38.480 --> 00:13:44.320 the Holy Spirit speaking. And there's nothing else like it. Tradition is important, creeds are important, 00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:49.680 theology is important, guides are important, all those things are important, but there's something unique 00:13:49.680 --> 00:13:55.600 about scripture. So, you know, listen to that again in verse 16. Brothers, the scripture had to be fulfilled. 00:13:55.600 --> 00:14:03.600 Why? Well, it's because the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:08.879 who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. Then jump down to verse 20. For it is written in the 00:14:08.879 --> 00:14:13.840 book of Psalms, may his camp become desolate and let no one, let there be no one to dwell on. And, 00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:16.320 here's the key, and let another take his office. 00:14:16.320 --> 00:14:27.840 That part of the imprecations, the curses, that's what he quotes. That's what the apostles and the New 00:14:27.840 --> 00:14:40.480 Testament sees as the Holy Spirit speaking. So we can't just dismiss this text. We have to deal with it. 00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:49.519 And it's not just a prophecy. I mean, the implication of it is that when the Holy, if it's the Holy Spirit 00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:55.920 speaking, if what we hear is that God used David of his own free will and his own creativity and his 00:14:55.920 --> 00:15:00.080 own imagination, and out of all of the words that David spoke, some of the words are words that the 00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:07.120 Holy Spirit actually speaks using David. And that means it's something that was good for David's hearers, 00:15:07.120 --> 00:15:13.200 for those who came between David and Jesus, and the days of Jesus, and even today. It has this 00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:22.960 constant relevance and power. So what do we do? Well, here's where it's important to sit with the text 00:15:22.960 --> 00:15:34.000 and to appreciate the brilliance of the poet prayer to create tension. You feel intense? Should we be 00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:41.919 praying like this for people? Well, there's this tension which is created. And now we go into these 00:15:41.919 --> 00:15:50.559 next few verses, which are a combination of lament and also though still this type of asking for God to 00:15:50.559 --> 00:16:01.279 do particular things. So look at verses 16 to 20 of Psalm 109. Now once again, he's still talking about the 00:16:01.279 --> 00:16:05.360 the people who are the leader or the leaders of the people who really accused him. He says, 00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:13.039 for he did not remember to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and the brokenhearted 00:16:14.480 --> 00:16:17.839 to put them to death. 00:16:21.279 --> 00:16:26.639 We're talking the killing fields of Cambodia. We are talking people in our country who are sex 00:16:26.639 --> 00:16:33.519 trafficked. We are talking about people intentionally targeting people to get them 00:16:34.319 --> 00:16:41.759 using drugs to be completely and utterly ruined. We are talking serious stuff. There's a range of this 00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:48.879 type of hatred and lies and deception. And by the way, indirectly throughout all of this, you see the way 00:16:48.879 --> 00:16:56.159 that we should be. You know, when it says here that he did not remember to show kindness, but pursued the 00:16:56.159 --> 00:17:02.960 poor and needy and the brokenhearted to put them to death, it's indirectly telling us that to be a 00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:09.119 follower of Christ means that rather than pursuing the poor and needy to kill them or the brokenhearted 00:17:09.119 --> 00:17:16.719 to hurt them, we are to protect them. We are to seek to help them. And verse 17, it goes on, that was a bit 00:17:16.719 --> 00:17:24.559 of an aside. He loved to curse, but curses come upon him. He did not delight in blessing, may it be far from 00:17:24.559 --> 00:17:33.039 him. He clothed himself with cursing as his coat, may it soak into his body like water, like oil into his bones. 00:17:33.039 --> 00:17:39.039 May it be like a garment that he wraps around him, like a belt that he puts on every day. 00:17:40.559 --> 00:17:46.559 May this be the reward of my accusers from the Lord, those who speak evil against my life. 00:17:52.319 --> 00:17:56.319 If you were an innocent citizen in Gaza, 00:17:56.319 --> 00:18:05.359 and Hamas is using you, a Christian in Gaza, as a human shield, hoping that you will be killed 00:18:06.000 --> 00:18:08.639 and then spared, how should you pray? 00:18:11.839 --> 00:18:19.759 If you are in parts of northern Nigeria or the Congo, where gangs and armed groups of 00:18:19.759 --> 00:18:25.919 Islamic State militants are going around and killing Christians and burning churches, 00:18:25.920 --> 00:18:26.960 how should you pray? 00:18:29.680 --> 00:18:34.640 If you have survived the killing fields of Rwanda, how should you pray? 00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:41.840 If you were a Christian in Auschwitz or a Jew in Auschwitz, how should you pray? 00:18:43.600 --> 00:18:49.440 If you were part of the killing fields of the Cambodia, how should you pray? 00:18:49.440 --> 00:19:03.680 If you were part of those terrible rape gangs that have been going on, aided and abetted by government 00:19:03.680 --> 00:19:06.960 officials in England, how should you pray? 00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:20.000 If you are in a situation here in Canada of terrible sexual abuse by parents, and maybe even with your church turning a blind eye, 00:19:20.960 --> 00:19:22.720 how should you pray? 00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:29.600 Maybe you pray like this. 00:19:35.600 --> 00:19:38.240 You see, I mean, good grief. 00:19:38.799 --> 00:19:43.039 I pray that my kids and my grandkids never have to pray a prayer like this. 00:19:43.039 --> 00:19:46.480 I pray they never have anything so horrific happen to them. 00:19:46.480 --> 00:19:52.079 But some people in this congregation have had those things happen to them. 00:19:54.640 --> 00:20:01.680 Some people listening right now have had these things, or maybe having these things happening to them, 00:20:02.400 --> 00:20:07.599 where lies are being told about them to ruin their lives and ruin their children's lives. 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:09.839 And it's happening right now. 00:20:09.839 --> 00:20:11.119 How do we pray? 00:20:16.399 --> 00:20:18.159 See, the Bible talks about... 00:20:18.159 --> 00:20:19.279 It's not hallmark. 00:20:19.839 --> 00:20:24.000 It talks about the whole range of human experience, even the most horrific things. 00:20:26.079 --> 00:20:35.679 And it talks about it, the real person in the real life, their real heart, in light of a real God and a real Savior. 00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:40.080 And we see some of that here in this particular psalm, obviously a range. 00:20:41.200 --> 00:20:42.560 My explain... 00:20:42.560 --> 00:20:48.240 I can give you some other examples in my life of campaigns of lies and deception against me. 00:20:48.240 --> 00:20:49.360 And that's like a... 00:20:49.360 --> 00:20:56.560 You know, if this is like, you know, these killing fields over here, you know, and there's a range like this, 00:20:56.560 --> 00:20:59.039 I'm way over here, but we're still on the range. 00:20:59.039 --> 00:21:02.160 And some of you have never experienced it, and praise God, you never have. 00:21:02.160 --> 00:21:10.240 But if you never have, you need to see, realize that you need to be quiet a little bit and learn and listen from people who have. 00:21:11.920 --> 00:21:18.400 See, people expect, many people, Christians included, but many Canadians expect the Bible to be like a hallmark card. 00:21:19.279 --> 00:21:23.920 And they reject it because they say, oh, it's just like a hallmark card, just, you know, vague sentiments. 00:21:23.920 --> 00:21:29.920 But then when they get texts like this, they reject the Bible because it's too real. 00:21:29.920 --> 00:21:36.480 You know, if you reject it because it's hallmark and you reject it because it's not hallmark, the problem is you, not the Bible. 00:21:36.880 --> 00:21:38.720 There's something problem inside of you. 00:21:38.720 --> 00:21:49.839 And as well as that, you know, even many of our secular friends and many Christians, if they complain about this text or feel uncomfortable with it, it shouldn't be in the Bible, they have no ground to judge. 00:21:51.039 --> 00:21:54.960 Because they themselves do the same thing, but think they get a pass. 00:21:54.960 --> 00:21:55.759 Why am I saying this? 00:21:56.000 --> 00:22:08.720 Sorry, if you've never seen the very first Star Wars movie, and I haven't kept track of the Star Wars universe, I have no idea if the original movie done by Dick Lucas is now number 73 in the Star Wars. 00:22:08.880 --> 00:22:10.299 Like, I have no idea what that is. 00:22:10.340 --> 00:22:15.400 But the very first movie that was ever done, and if you haven't seen it, I'm going to spoil it for you. 00:22:15.480 --> 00:22:16.360 Block your ears. 00:22:16.359 --> 00:22:22.399 But part of the whole point of the movie is to stop the Death Star from destroying the rebels. 00:22:22.859 --> 00:22:29.439 And at the end of the movie, they kill the Death Star, literally killing thousands of people, and everybody cheers. 00:22:32.879 --> 00:22:39.359 Well, why is it all right for Hollywood to kill thousands of people, but you can't have a psalm like this in the Bible? 00:22:40.039 --> 00:22:42.579 And now I'm going to be very politically incorrect. 00:22:43.939 --> 00:22:45.719 What about this generational thing? 00:22:45.720 --> 00:22:51.440 Well, the smart people in our country think that it's completely and utterly just. 00:22:51.960 --> 00:23:00.339 For something that was done 200 or 225 or 250 years ago, that I have to pay for it. 00:23:01.259 --> 00:23:06.640 Even though 200 years ago, my parents were peasants in Northern Ireland. 00:23:07.920 --> 00:23:12.519 And nobody from my family even came to this country until the 50s. 00:23:12.519 --> 00:23:16.779 But that's seen as wisdom in the Supreme Court. 00:23:17.240 --> 00:23:19.059 It's seen as wisdom at the universities. 00:23:19.059 --> 00:23:21.680 It's seen as wisdom in all of the mainstream media. 00:23:22.680 --> 00:23:28.720 That somehow or another, five or six or seven generations later, not even of the same generation, that we should pay. 00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:31.859 So how can you be uncomfortable with a text like this? 00:23:31.859 --> 00:23:40.839 In fact, what our culture wants in both of these cases is vastly more bloodthirsty and lacking in mercy. 00:23:41.479 --> 00:23:46.699 You see, even psalms like this, what's the point of the psalmist praying for this? 00:23:46.959 --> 00:23:56.259 Part of the point of the psalmist praying for this is that if the children of the accusers hear it, they repent and avoid that fate. 00:23:56.259 --> 00:24:01.900 That's the whole point in the psalms, you know, how the punishment will go to the second or third generations. 00:24:02.019 --> 00:24:03.539 It's not that God's necessarily going to do it. 00:24:03.779 --> 00:24:09.279 It's for them to learn, these are things that your parents taught you that you shouldn't do. 00:24:10.400 --> 00:24:11.160 Stop it. 00:24:11.779 --> 00:24:12.119 Turn. 00:24:12.740 --> 00:24:18.720 God takes no delight in the death of the wicked, but rather that they would turn from their wickedness and live. 00:24:18.799 --> 00:24:19.660 That's his heart. 00:24:19.660 --> 00:24:27.500 But there's grace and there's mercy, there's forgiveness, which we do not get in our culture by the elites on these issues. 00:24:27.600 --> 00:24:29.540 They have no grounds to talk about it. 00:24:30.940 --> 00:24:37.160 See, the fact is, when we have a problem with, when we think we can do it but God can't, then we have a problem. 00:24:38.040 --> 00:24:39.220 And we are not wise. 00:24:40.759 --> 00:24:45.220 And the other thing about this text is if you think about it, listen a little bit about, you know, 00:24:45.220 --> 00:24:49.579 you know, he loved to curse, let him be, like, let curses seep into him. 00:24:49.839 --> 00:24:58.700 If you go back and now that you understand that the accusers are actually trying to have the poet prayer killed and ruin his family, 00:24:59.140 --> 00:25:06.839 then what you actually see in this text is there's something very, very powerful about it that we understand at a very, very deep, at a deep level. 00:25:07.960 --> 00:25:10.620 You know, just before I went on holidays, I was talking to somebody. 00:25:10.619 --> 00:25:12.959 It's a very regular conversation I have. 00:25:13.019 --> 00:25:17.959 How could God judge somebody who never knew about him and never knew the Bible or any of those things? 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:18.939 How could God judge them? 00:25:19.659 --> 00:25:22.319 And I say, well, because, in fact, the Bible talks about how to do that. 00:25:22.639 --> 00:25:25.619 And the simple answer is that God is unbelievably fair. 00:25:26.379 --> 00:25:28.719 That at the last day, nobody can say that God's unfair. 00:25:29.139 --> 00:25:35.619 And so that if he's dealing with somebody who's never, you know, had, never had any type of whatsoever of understanding of God or his ways, 00:25:35.619 --> 00:25:45.179 all God has to do is say, we're just going to replay your life and we're going to make a note of all of your moral judgments and how you judge and what you pursue. 00:25:45.839 --> 00:25:49.319 And we'll use your own standards to judge you. 00:25:50.239 --> 00:25:52.279 And every single person would fail. 00:25:52.279 --> 00:25:55.599 And there's something very similar here. 00:25:55.700 --> 00:26:02.440 You see, at the end of the day, the end of the end of the end of the end, one of the ways to understand what happens in terms of God's judgment is he says, 00:26:03.500 --> 00:26:05.859 you know, I basically have a choice. 00:26:06.680 --> 00:26:10.559 I can say, like Frank Sinatra, I did it my way. 00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:16.159 Or I can say, I need your way, Lord. 00:26:17.519 --> 00:26:23.779 And if I go all through my life saying, I did it my way, I did it my way, I did it my way, then God can say to you and me at the end, 00:26:24.480 --> 00:26:27.519 you have chosen cursing over blessing. 00:26:28.359 --> 00:26:29.799 Cursing is what you will receive. 00:26:30.519 --> 00:26:32.559 You have chosen lies over truth. 00:26:33.200 --> 00:26:34.559 Lies is what you will receive. 00:26:35.139 --> 00:26:37.819 You have chosen greed over generosity. 00:26:38.279 --> 00:26:39.940 Greed is what you will receive. 00:26:40.559 --> 00:26:42.279 You have loved a curse. 00:26:42.839 --> 00:26:44.319 You will become a curse. 00:26:45.339 --> 00:26:47.539 And dwell in curse. 00:26:48.679 --> 00:26:49.940 You love death. 00:26:50.500 --> 00:26:51.659 You will dwell in death. 00:26:52.579 --> 00:26:53.960 What can be more fair? 00:26:54.079 --> 00:26:55.299 What can be more horrible? 00:26:57.980 --> 00:27:01.379 That God actually, at the end, gives you what you desire. 00:27:03.700 --> 00:27:05.879 What you have spent your life pursuing. 00:27:08.059 --> 00:27:09.799 What can be more terrible? 00:27:10.559 --> 00:27:16.220 And that's what David, the psalmist, has prayed. 00:27:17.539 --> 00:27:20.500 What you've desired for others is what you will receive. 00:27:20.500 --> 00:27:36.980 Now, there's something else as well here, which talks very powerfully about how we experience evil and how we respond to it. 00:27:36.980 --> 00:27:42.460 And it's a little bit about, well, let's look at this next bit. 00:27:42.460 --> 00:27:49.240 Because the fact of the matter is, like, when I've been attacked like that, there are several things that I tend to do. 00:27:50.440 --> 00:27:51.700 I'll be very honest. 00:27:52.120 --> 00:27:54.319 I have revenge fantasies. 00:27:54.319 --> 00:28:01.740 I imagine terrible things happening to the other person. 00:28:01.740 --> 00:28:06.240 Well, what happens? 00:28:06.240 --> 00:28:08.259 The psalmist, right? 00:28:08.259 --> 00:28:16.799 He sets the beginning of the problem, creates tension, begins to clarify what's really going on and where our human heart is. 00:28:17.019 --> 00:28:19.000 And then he moves into the conclusion. 00:28:19.279 --> 00:28:20.960 Look at verses 21 to 39. 00:28:20.960 --> 00:28:50.940 Look at that. 00:28:50.940 --> 00:29:20.920 Verse 22. 00:29:20.920 --> 00:29:22.920 Verse 22. 00:29:22.920 --> 00:29:26.920 Verse 22. 00:29:26.920 --> 00:29:28.920 Verse 22. 00:29:28.920 --> 00:29:32.920 Verse 22. 00:29:32.920 --> 00:29:36.300 Let them know that this is your hand, that you, O Lord, have done it. 00:29:36.299 --> 00:29:40.720 In other words, when justice is done, when there is vindication, 00:29:41.359 --> 00:29:43.440 help people to see that it's not an accident. 00:29:44.240 --> 00:29:47.159 It's not an impersonal process like karma, 00:29:47.159 --> 00:29:51.119 but that the Lord, the sovereign Lord, has actually done something. 00:29:51.859 --> 00:29:54.079 Verse 28, let them curse, but you will bless. 00:29:54.440 --> 00:29:57.460 They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad. 00:29:57.960 --> 00:30:00.339 May my accusers be clothed with dishonor. 00:30:00.419 --> 00:30:02.859 May they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak. 00:30:03.000 --> 00:30:06.220 With my mouth, I will give you great, give great thanks to the Lord. 00:30:06.299 --> 00:30:08.299 I will praise him in the midst of the throng. 00:30:09.319 --> 00:30:12.960 His accusers, their mouths are filled with lies. 00:30:13.360 --> 00:30:14.980 He wants his mouth. 00:30:15.680 --> 00:30:16.900 If you go back to the beginning of the psalm, 00:30:17.000 --> 00:30:19.880 their mouths are filled with lies and hatred and deception. 00:30:20.059 --> 00:30:25.339 Verse 30, at the end, he wants his mouth to give great thanks to the Lord, 00:30:25.779 --> 00:30:28.360 and I will praise him in the midst of the throng. 00:30:28.819 --> 00:30:29.860 That's the prayer. 00:30:30.579 --> 00:30:33.539 Not that my mouth will be just as good as telling lies, 00:30:33.740 --> 00:30:35.779 just as good as hatred as them. 00:30:35.779 --> 00:30:38.480 In fact, God, make me even better at lying. 00:30:38.660 --> 00:30:40.000 Make me even better at hatred. 00:30:40.160 --> 00:30:41.720 Make me even better at deception. 00:30:41.839 --> 00:30:44.039 That's what happens with revenge fantasies, right? 00:30:44.079 --> 00:30:47.559 Oh, just watch me get unleashed, and I'll really let them go. 00:30:47.940 --> 00:30:50.339 That's not what he wants his mouth to be filled with. 00:30:50.559 --> 00:30:52.339 He doesn't want to become a curse. 00:30:52.680 --> 00:30:54.119 He doesn't want to become a lie. 00:30:54.420 --> 00:30:55.920 He doesn't want to become hatred. 00:30:55.920 --> 00:31:00.640 So he says, with my mouth, I will give great thanks to the Lord. 00:31:00.700 --> 00:31:03.759 That's what I, Lord, help my mouth to be a mouth of thanks, 00:31:03.759 --> 00:31:08.180 to be praised in the midst of the throng, for he stands at the right hand. 00:31:08.340 --> 00:31:11.080 God stands beside the needy one. 00:31:11.200 --> 00:31:13.300 He stands beside the oppressed. 00:31:13.299 --> 00:31:17.379 He stands beside the one who is maligned and hated. 00:31:17.779 --> 00:31:19.220 He stands beside them. 00:31:19.480 --> 00:31:20.460 He is Emmanuel. 00:31:20.960 --> 00:31:28.819 He is God with us in our midst to save him from those who condemn his soul to death. 00:31:28.899 --> 00:31:34.279 It describes Jesus as Emmanuel, God with us. 00:31:34.279 --> 00:31:39.700 You see, the fact is that when these terrible things happen to us, 00:31:41.099 --> 00:31:45.960 we often just get completely and utterly overwhelmed with depression, 00:31:47.000 --> 00:31:50.160 with powerlessness, with despair, 00:31:50.899 --> 00:31:53.940 and we maybe alternate that with fantasies in our mind 00:31:53.940 --> 00:31:58.180 about all the bad things that can happen to those people who are so unjustly hating us. 00:31:58.799 --> 00:32:00.000 But we don't pray. 00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:04.680 We worry, but we don't pray. 00:32:09.559 --> 00:32:11.119 This is telling us to pray. 00:32:12.500 --> 00:32:17.420 And rather than having our time spent in revenge fantasies 00:32:17.420 --> 00:32:21.279 and feelingness of despair and powerlessness, 00:32:21.519 --> 00:32:22.839 we are encouraged to pray. 00:32:23.740 --> 00:32:24.519 To pray. 00:32:24.900 --> 00:32:26.000 To tell God about it. 00:32:26.000 --> 00:32:30.220 And we're reminded that God is Emmanuel. 00:32:30.980 --> 00:32:31.980 That he knows. 00:32:32.119 --> 00:32:35.680 In fact, this is part of the great brilliance of this connection of this psalm 00:32:35.680 --> 00:32:39.880 to the story of Judas with Jesus. 00:32:40.859 --> 00:32:42.720 Jesus was lied about. 00:32:43.059 --> 00:32:44.380 He was pursued. 00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:47.519 He was pursued to the point of death. 00:32:47.519 --> 00:32:51.960 And as he was dying naked on a cross, 00:32:51.960 --> 00:32:54.579 he is taunted by his enemies. 00:32:58.099 --> 00:33:00.839 If there are those here who are going through that, 00:33:00.980 --> 00:33:04.519 if there are those here who this psalm has described in the past 00:33:04.519 --> 00:33:06.519 and you haven't completely processed it, 00:33:06.940 --> 00:33:10.639 you need to know that the Lord Jesus Christ is Emmanuel. 00:33:10.640 --> 00:33:17.100 And this psalm shows that when you are having those terrible things happen to you, 00:33:18.320 --> 00:33:19.140 he knows. 00:33:21.300 --> 00:33:22.600 He sees you. 00:33:23.880 --> 00:33:25.100 He loves you. 00:33:27.480 --> 00:33:28.540 He's with you. 00:33:30.660 --> 00:33:33.500 You know, one of the things which was so helpful for me at different times 00:33:33.500 --> 00:33:35.140 when I've had things like this happen to me, 00:33:35.759 --> 00:33:37.900 and I can't expect somebody to fix something, 00:33:37.900 --> 00:33:42.700 but gosh, it can be very helpful to just have somebody put a hand on your shoulder 00:33:42.700 --> 00:33:43.300 and say, 00:33:43.620 --> 00:33:45.900 it's a hard time. 00:33:46.980 --> 00:33:49.240 You're really doing remarkably well. 00:33:50.360 --> 00:33:51.740 I really respect you. 00:33:53.200 --> 00:33:57.380 Just a simple word of kindness or a card can be unbelievably powerful. 00:34:01.980 --> 00:34:04.380 You see, this psalm also shows something else 00:34:04.380 --> 00:34:05.519 because at the end of the day, 00:34:05.519 --> 00:34:08.159 it gives us a bit of a window as we come to an end of the sermon 00:34:08.159 --> 00:34:09.800 about what salvation is like, 00:34:09.860 --> 00:34:12.519 is that David wants justice to be done, 00:34:13.039 --> 00:34:16.420 and he wants to be vindicated. 00:34:17.340 --> 00:34:18.900 And part of what salvation is, 00:34:18.960 --> 00:34:20.300 is that justice is done, 00:34:20.380 --> 00:34:21.599 and we are vindicated. 00:34:23.119 --> 00:34:25.519 When we come into union with Christ, 00:34:27.519 --> 00:34:30.940 it's not just a matter that the bad things are taken away, 00:34:30.940 --> 00:34:34.980 but it's also a matter of being clothed with righteousness. 00:34:35.260 --> 00:34:39.740 It's not just in a sense that the bad things we've done are all dealt with, 00:34:40.220 --> 00:34:44.840 but the actual goodness of Christ clothes us and starts to form us, 00:34:44.860 --> 00:34:46.539 and you can see that dynamic here. 00:34:47.440 --> 00:34:52.159 And that other thing about it brings us to the very final thing here, 00:34:52.260 --> 00:34:57.280 which is that I don't think we Christians who now know about Jesus 00:34:57.280 --> 00:34:59.300 can just pray Psalm 109. 00:35:00.040 --> 00:35:02.440 There's some nuances in how we have to pray. 00:35:04.780 --> 00:35:07.900 A couple of years ago, I was helping another church, 00:35:08.400 --> 00:35:10.060 a pastor in another church, 00:35:10.060 --> 00:35:13.060 who was having a problem with two couples in conflict. 00:35:13.059 --> 00:35:22.299 And one of the couples in conflict were overwhelmingly, 00:35:22.559 --> 00:35:24.460 no, it wasn't like 100% and zero, 00:35:24.699 --> 00:35:25.880 but it wasn't 50-50. 00:35:25.980 --> 00:35:27.380 It was probably like 90-10. 00:35:28.360 --> 00:35:32.659 And in 90-10, one couple was very, very, very, very aggressive 00:35:32.659 --> 00:35:34.340 and assertive and hounding. 00:35:35.639 --> 00:35:38.599 And part of the problem is, I can easily imagine, 00:35:38.679 --> 00:35:40.059 I was thinking about this this week, 00:35:40.139 --> 00:35:41.059 God brought it to memory. 00:35:41.159 --> 00:35:42.699 That's one of the advantages of prayer, right? 00:35:42.699 --> 00:35:44.799 You pray and God brings things to your mind. 00:35:45.619 --> 00:35:49.460 And I realized that if that Psalm 109 was read to that couple 00:35:49.460 --> 00:35:50.719 that were the worst offenders, 00:35:51.139 --> 00:35:54.899 they would probably come up to me afterwards and say, 00:35:54.980 --> 00:35:56.559 George, I really need to hear that prayer 00:35:56.559 --> 00:35:58.000 because that's what's happening to me. 00:35:59.639 --> 00:36:01.980 They wouldn't see themselves as the ones 00:36:01.980 --> 00:36:03.879 who are actually being prayed against. 00:36:05.639 --> 00:36:07.359 See, David, who wrote this psalm, 00:36:07.399 --> 00:36:08.659 also wrote a psalm that said, 00:36:08.759 --> 00:36:11.439 we flatter ourselves too much to detect or hate our own sin. 00:36:11.440 --> 00:36:13.400 So I'm not saying this to minimize it. 00:36:14.139 --> 00:36:15.940 I mean, if there's anybody here 00:36:15.940 --> 00:36:18.019 who's been profoundly sexually abused, 00:36:18.079 --> 00:36:20.480 and you're maybe being profoundly sexually abused right now, 00:36:20.539 --> 00:36:22.480 especially if you're sexually abused as a child, 00:36:22.720 --> 00:36:23.880 it is not your fault. 00:36:24.679 --> 00:36:27.380 It's 100% the fault of the terrible man 00:36:27.380 --> 00:36:29.139 or the terrible woman or the family 00:36:29.139 --> 00:36:31.039 or the church that's allowing that to happen. 00:36:31.280 --> 00:36:32.240 I'm not saying that. 00:36:32.239 --> 00:36:35.719 But when I'm saying that there's this extreme from here to there, 00:36:35.839 --> 00:36:37.219 when you're getting closer to this end, 00:36:37.259 --> 00:36:38.659 it's not always 100%. 00:36:38.659 --> 00:36:40.699 There's some things that you yourself can do 00:36:40.699 --> 00:36:42.519 that make things worse. 00:36:42.879 --> 00:36:45.539 But the main thing is that we can be morally blind. 00:36:45.539 --> 00:36:49.279 We can be morally blind. 00:36:50.159 --> 00:36:51.880 And we could even be at this extreme 00:36:51.880 --> 00:36:53.300 and think that we're the ones, 00:36:53.559 --> 00:36:56.159 the ones doing the terrible murdering and lying, 00:36:56.279 --> 00:36:57.639 that we're the ones who are being hurt. 00:36:57.739 --> 00:37:00.539 And this psalm is a challenge for us to say, 00:37:00.639 --> 00:37:01.559 is it I, Lord? 00:37:02.539 --> 00:37:04.480 Have I done something in the past? 00:37:04.579 --> 00:37:07.139 Have I contributed in some way in my workplace 00:37:07.139 --> 00:37:09.440 or in my family to something which is so horrible? 00:37:09.539 --> 00:37:10.539 Is it I, Lord? 00:37:10.539 --> 00:37:13.019 Do I need mercy? 00:37:13.159 --> 00:37:14.779 Do I need to repent, Lord? 00:37:15.059 --> 00:37:17.440 Help me not to flatter myself too much 00:37:17.440 --> 00:37:18.800 to detect or hate my own sin. 00:37:19.139 --> 00:37:20.900 Help me, Father, not to be a person 00:37:20.900 --> 00:37:23.440 who's very good at seeing specks in other people's eyes 00:37:23.440 --> 00:37:25.179 and not seeing the logs in my own eyes. 00:37:25.279 --> 00:37:29.480 Is it I, Lord, standing in need of prayer and of forgiveness? 00:37:32.920 --> 00:37:34.099 Is it I, Lord? 00:37:36.179 --> 00:37:39.059 And so it is that in this prayer, 00:37:39.059 --> 00:37:41.559 if those of you who have experienced this 00:37:41.559 --> 00:37:43.079 or may be undergoing it right now, 00:37:43.159 --> 00:37:44.539 you can pray this psalm. 00:37:45.199 --> 00:37:47.159 But you need to add one other aspect. 00:37:48.619 --> 00:37:51.579 You need to pray for the conversion of your persecutors. 00:37:53.119 --> 00:37:55.860 Because God does not take delight in the death of a sinner, 00:37:55.980 --> 00:37:58.219 but rather that he will turn from his weakness and live. 00:37:58.639 --> 00:38:01.099 And this is really important to help to understand the gospel 00:38:01.099 --> 00:38:03.699 because one of the mistakes that Christians in the world makes 00:38:03.699 --> 00:38:06.079 is that somehow Christians think that we're the good people. 00:38:06.079 --> 00:38:08.699 I am not a good person. 00:38:09.460 --> 00:38:11.440 And this is not a church of good people. 00:38:12.239 --> 00:38:14.199 I am a sinner who has been redeemed. 00:38:14.960 --> 00:38:17.719 And apart from the grace of God shown to me 00:38:17.719 --> 00:38:19.219 in the person of Jesus Christ, 00:38:19.880 --> 00:38:22.699 I deserve his judgment. 00:38:22.699 --> 00:38:29.199 All I am is a beggar telling other beggars 00:38:29.199 --> 00:38:30.659 where to find God's grace. 00:38:32.480 --> 00:38:35.480 And so it is that if you pray for your persecutor, 00:38:35.899 --> 00:38:37.799 it doesn't mean that if they become a Christian 00:38:37.799 --> 00:38:39.919 that there's no earthly justice done to them. 00:38:43.259 --> 00:38:45.919 But it does mean that when justice done, 00:38:45.920 --> 00:38:51.200 that they will go to God redeemed. 00:38:52.720 --> 00:38:56.280 It is both valid to pray for earthly justice to be done 00:38:56.280 --> 00:38:59.639 and at the same time to pray for their conversion. 00:39:00.519 --> 00:39:02.680 Because a Christian is not a good person, 00:39:03.300 --> 00:39:04.820 but a forgiven person. 00:39:05.539 --> 00:39:07.380 A Christian is not better than other people. 00:39:08.180 --> 00:39:09.800 A Christian is one who is a sinner, 00:39:10.200 --> 00:39:12.420 who has put their faith and trust in Christ 00:39:12.420 --> 00:39:14.619 and is now in union with Christ. 00:39:15.180 --> 00:39:18.740 So that the guilt, the doom that I deserve 00:39:18.740 --> 00:39:20.240 fell on him. 00:39:20.940 --> 00:39:22.720 And the destiny that he deserved 00:39:22.720 --> 00:39:24.220 is offered to me. 00:39:25.260 --> 00:39:26.539 I invite you to stand. 00:39:33.539 --> 00:39:34.860 Bow your heads in prayer. 00:39:36.380 --> 00:39:39.019 Father, this psalm is maybe for some people 00:39:39.019 --> 00:39:39.820 it's even triggered. 00:39:39.820 --> 00:39:41.660 And I don't know, Father, 00:39:41.740 --> 00:39:43.500 if there are people in the church right now, 00:39:43.620 --> 00:39:45.680 somewhere on that whole spectrum. 00:39:45.900 --> 00:39:47.059 Father, there's maybe many of us 00:39:47.059 --> 00:39:48.559 who've never had anything like that 00:39:48.559 --> 00:39:49.840 happen to them so bad. 00:39:49.920 --> 00:39:50.900 And there's others who have, 00:39:50.960 --> 00:39:52.220 maybe some who are living with it. 00:39:52.280 --> 00:39:55.200 And if there are some who are living with it 00:39:55.200 --> 00:39:56.440 who are hearing these things, 00:39:56.620 --> 00:39:57.880 Father, we ask that you both 00:39:57.880 --> 00:39:59.620 grant them the courage 00:39:59.620 --> 00:40:01.500 to share a little bit with us 00:40:01.500 --> 00:40:03.559 and grant us the courage and the wisdom 00:40:03.559 --> 00:40:05.140 to know how to stand with them 00:40:05.140 --> 00:40:06.240 and to walk with them 00:40:06.240 --> 00:40:07.400 and to pray for them. 00:40:07.400 --> 00:40:12.480 And so, Father, we ask as well 00:40:12.480 --> 00:40:13.139 for each of us, 00:40:13.200 --> 00:40:14.660 you know how easy it is for us 00:40:14.660 --> 00:40:17.700 to be filled with revenge fantasies 00:40:17.700 --> 00:40:19.500 but spend no time in prayer. 00:40:19.639 --> 00:40:21.039 And we ask that you deliver us 00:40:21.039 --> 00:40:23.480 from revenge fantasies, 00:40:24.079 --> 00:40:26.200 deliver us from feelings of powerlessness, 00:40:26.500 --> 00:40:28.340 deliver us from feelings of despair, 00:40:28.760 --> 00:40:30.240 and teach us to pray. 00:40:30.460 --> 00:40:33.079 Pray and assure and certain confidence 00:40:33.079 --> 00:40:34.680 and hope that whether on this side 00:40:34.679 --> 00:40:35.759 of the grave or beyond, 00:40:35.899 --> 00:40:37.279 that justice will be done, 00:40:37.799 --> 00:40:39.440 that those of us who are in Christ 00:40:39.440 --> 00:40:40.519 will be vindicated, 00:40:40.940 --> 00:40:42.099 we will be received 00:40:42.099 --> 00:40:43.199 and welcome into heaven. 00:40:44.500 --> 00:40:45.619 And we ask, Father, 00:40:45.699 --> 00:40:46.460 for those of us 00:40:46.460 --> 00:40:48.519 who are persecuted or oppressed 00:40:48.519 --> 00:40:49.399 that you would help us 00:40:49.399 --> 00:40:50.960 to pray for our persecutors, 00:40:51.879 --> 00:40:52.919 pray for their conversion. 00:40:54.539 --> 00:40:56.059 And we ask all these things 00:40:56.059 --> 00:40:57.019 in the name of Jesus, 00:40:57.319 --> 00:40:58.619 your Son and our Savior, 00:40:59.159 --> 00:41:00.359 and all God's people said, 00:41:00.960 --> 00:41:01.460 Amen. 00:41:01.460 --> 00:41:01.679 Amen. 00:41:01.679 --> 00:41:02.679 Amen. 00:41:02.679 --> 00:41:02.679 00:41:02.679 --> 00:41:02.679 00:41:02.679 --> 00:41:02.679