072708

July 27, Psalms of Imprecation, Parent’s Day

Lesson: Psalm 69

Sermon Title: Woe to Enemies¹

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INTRODUCTION:

I. Have you ever been in real trouble?

A. Up a creek without a paddle.

B. Going down for the third time.

C. Sinking in quicksand with no one to help.

D. To be surrounded by critics with no one to defend you?

E. To be attacked for no reason and there is no one to stand-up for you?

II. Consider the feelings and thoughts created by your worst-case scenario?

Courtesy²

It was a Saturday afternoon, and Ray had rushed down to the local supermarket to hurriedly pick up some hamburger rolls, chips and a few condiments. The big college game was going to be on, so he was having a few friends over to watch it.

The store was loaded with shoppers and as he headed for the six item express lane, the only one that didn’t have a long line, a woman completely ignoring the overhead sign slipped into the check-out line just in front of him pushing a cart piled high with groceries.

Ray was quietly fuming at the anticipated delay. But the elderly cashier beckoned the woman to come forward, looked into the cart and asked ever so sweetly, “So Dearie, which six items would you like to buy?”

A. This has probably happened to you; how did you feel?

B. If this has not happened to you, how would you feel?

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MAIN BODY

I. We are dealing here with some dangerous cargo.

Dangerous Cargo³

Our Supply Clerk at the factory where I work, discovered a box that was left on the loading dock with this warning printed on it: DANGER DO NOT TOUCH!

Management was called and all employees were told to stay clear of the box until it could be analyzed.

When the foreman arrived, he donned gloves and safety glasses, and then, very carefully opened the box. Inside were 25 signs that read: DANGER! DO NOT TOUCH!

A. It is a little like carrying a bottle of nitroglycerin

B. Or maybe it is a little like insulting a person who is much bigger than you are and who can physically or legally retaliate.

C. The danger is also that we might misunderstand.

Mad Cow⁴

Two cows are conversing in a field. The first one says to the other, "Have you heard about this 'mad cow disease' that is going around?"

The second cow responds, "Yeah, but I'm not worried about it; I'm an airplane!"

1. We are neither cows nor airplanes.

2. Like the cow, we are prone to misunderstandings.

II. The writer of the psalm is a person of deep understanding and the feelings that go with his understanding.

A. This is a psalm of imprecation.

B. What is the meaning of Imprecatory? = To invoke or call down (evil or curses), as upon a person.

1. How do you understand the meaning and purpose of the psalm?

2. How do you apply the psalm to ordinary and everyday life?

III. These Psalms have been called vindictive, breathing a spirit of revenge and hatred.

A. To some of us they may seem shocking.

B. The imprecatory psalms are mainly national songs.

1. The writer is not is not calling for personal vengeance, but for redress for the enemies of the nation.

2. Israel’s enemies are God’s enemies because Israel is God’s people.

C. These expressions find parallels in the British and the American National Anthems.

1. Second stanza of the British National Anthem

2.
O Lord our God arise,
Scatter her enemies
And make them fall;
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks,
On Thee our hopes we fix,
God save us all!

2. The third and fourth stanzas of The Star Spangled Banner

3
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution!
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

4
Oh, thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust":
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

D. The imprecations are the “outpourings of hearts animated by the highest love of truth and righteousness and goodness,”⁵ jealous of God’s honor and haters of wickedness.

E. These psalms are the result of righteous indignation provoked by the wickedness and cruelty of the oppressors, and by pity for the sufferings of their victims.

F. The denunciations of the sinner must be understood against the background of the times in which they were written.

1. In those days men expressed themselves in strong terms and with vigorous imagery.

2. The Bible writers set forth their ideas in human language and in a style familiar to men.

"The Bible is written by inspired men, but it is not God's mode of thought and expression. It is that of humanity. God, as a writer, is not represented. Men will often say such an expression is not like God. But God has not put Himself in words, in logic, in rhetoric, on trial in the Bible" (EGW MS 24, 1886).

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IV. It would really help to consider and examine the divisions of the psalm.

A. Verses 1-4: A pathetic complaint expressed in figurative language in verses 1-3, but plainly in verse 4.

B. Verses 5-12: A Confession of sin acknowledging that come results are his own fault.

1. The writer points out that his enemies are persecuting him.

2. God is to come to his aid in order that his honor may be vindicated, and the godly may not be put to shame.

C. Verses 13-21: A prayer that asks for immediate relief from the insults that he endures.

1. He has no comfort.

2. He finds no pity.

D. Verses 22-29: The image of cruelties to be inflicted on his enemies who are also the enemies of God.

1. These imprecations may be understood as a flood of righteous indignation.

2. They may also we understood as a series of prophetic denunciations that help the wicked understand the consequences of their wickedness.

3. They also might be the means of leading to repentance.

E. Verses 30-36 are words of praise.

1. The writer is confident that he will receive the deliverance for which he has prayed.

2. He calls on others to rejoice with him.

a. First the poor and humble.

b. Then those in heaven and on earth.

3. Finally, he delivers a confident prophecy for Judah and Jerusalem.

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CONCLUSION:

I. We have no room for imprecations, that is, unless, we are speaking for God.

A. But then we have to be very careful how we approach another person or even our culture and society.

1. An eye for an eye - Love your enemies

²⁷“But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. ²⁹If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. ³⁰Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. ³¹Do to others as you would have them do to you, (Luke 6:27-31, NRSVA).

2. Justice - Mercy

²³“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. ²⁴You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel! (Matthew 23:23-24, NRSVA).

3. Revenge - Vengeance is mine, I will repay says the Lord

¹⁹Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” ²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good, (Romans 12:19-21, NRSVA).

B. Penalization - In God’s own good time.

²⁶For if we willfully persist in sin after having received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. ²⁸Anyone who has violated the law of Moses dies without mercy “on the testimony of two or three witnesses.” ²⁹How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by those who have spurned the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant by which they were sanctified, and outraged the Spirit of grace? ³⁰For we know the one who said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” ³¹It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, (Hebrews 10:26-31, NRSVA).

II. We may be shocked by the language, but not by the anxious concern and evaluation of the conditions.

A. The writer is invoking the power and presence of God.

1. In his personal life.

2. In his corporate life.

B. God’s will, will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

1. We can have total confidence in this promise.

2. We can look at our world and try to help, but knowing that it will all work out in God’s own good time.

Amen!

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¹I am indebted form some of the understanding of this Psalm to the expositors and homiliticians of the Pulpit Commentary.

⁴Received from Harrison Cobb. The Good, Clean Funnies List [gcfl-info@gcfl.net]