HLBC Psalm 109:26-27 Sunday Night Devotional

Please turn to Psalm 109:26-27. This is page x on the chair bible in front of you. It will also benefit you to have your copy of God’s word open the entire time as we keep pushing our heads deeper and deeper into the text.

As you are turning there let me ask you what you would do if there were false accusations made towards you that if proven true would bring life in prison or even death. If those false accusations are made against you, what is your gut reaction, what is the instinct that would kick in and take over? Well in our passage this evening we are going to see what David’s gut reaction was this scenario.

Read Psalm 109:26-27

Main Point: God Saves According to his Love and For His Glory. So, Pray to the Lord For Salvation.

God Saves According to His Love (vs. 26)

In both of our verses David is referencing an enemy. In verse 26 he asks God to save him from his enemy and in verse 27 he asks God to show his enemy who has saved him. Likely, David is speaking of either Saul or Absolom. Weather it is Saul, Absolom, or another figure from David’s life, David is clearly in great distress from his enemy. We can see from the preceeding verses in the chapter his enemy is coming against him with false accusations. David describes his battle against his enemy as if he cannot win. They repay his good with evil, his love for hatred. David contrasts himself with the enemy to explain all of the false accusations against him, are just accusations if turned around toward his enemy.

So what does David do in a situation that he knows evil and pain are racing towards him? Does he grab a sword to strike down his enemy? Does he bring his side of the story to governmental officials? No, he does something much more powerful: he speaks to the one who has complete control over this world. DAVID PRAYS! This is not to say he couldn’t have taken his side to government officials or justly struck down his enemy, but instead of depending on himself or on others, he depends on God. In one of the weakest moments of his life, David prays to God for salvation.

(minor app) That is the request we come to in verse 26: David is asking God to save him from his enemies: “Help me, O Lord my God”. What words of utter surrender. David is putting himself as completely vulnerable before God for salvation. Seasoned Christian here tonight, resist the temptation to pass over the obvious. In times of distress, where does David turn? Who does David ask for help? He calls on the name of the Lord! This may seem like a no-brainer, I’m in trouble, call on God. But friend, in times of distress, how often is your instinct, your gut reaction: prayer. Or is it try to solve the problem first then pray? Do not let you belief of the sovereignty of God push you away from prayer, let your belief that God is in control of all things cause you to run to prayer.

Then we have to ask what does it mean that David asks for God to help him? All we have to do is keep reading the passage. Look down in your bibles to verse 26: David asks God to save him, according to the love of God. Just to warn you, in our passage, that phrase: “Save me according to your steadfast love”, is an iceberg. Maybe when we read it the first time it was like seeing an iceberg above the water—we only saw part of it. It seemed to be a good and true phrase, maybe bumper sticker worthy, but a phrase like this is worthy of a 5 volume set, thousands and thousands of words written on it and then, you still wouldn’t get to the bottom of its depth.

It is a dangerous thing David is asking, because we do not know what God’s love will bring in our life. We know his love for salvation, we know he has promised to bring those he has saved home, we know all of the promises in the bible, but the bible is not exhaustive. It is sufficient for salvation, but God does not reveal every single action he will ever do in the bible. So why it is a dangerous thing to put yourself under the love of God? Well, let us look to Christ and see what happened to him when he asked for God to save him and Christ put himself under the love of the Father:

This is God’s love brothers and sisters:

22 And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). 23 And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. 25 And it was the third hour when they crucified him.

When Christ was in the garden of gethsemane and prayed for God’s will to be done, he was asking for the Father to save him, according to the love of the Father. The love of the father then looked like sending him to the cross.

(Unbeliever App) If you are an unbeliever here today, you may be confused on how God sending his son to die is loving. But friend, it was God’s love for you that sent his son to the cross. God sent Christ to the cross to pay the penalty for your sin, which is death. Then, Christ was not defeated on the cross, he was not defeated by his enemy. Jesus Christ rose from the grave and is now sitting at the right hand of the father in Heaven interceding for all who put their faith in him and repent from their sin that sent him to the cross. I ask you, is there a greater act of love than for God to die for you? Accept his offer of salvation, and trust in him alone.

(General Believer App) You have trusted in God for your salvation from your sin, now trust him through prayer. Ask God to save you from the trials of this life, knowing the salvation you desire may not line up with God’s, but that God’s will always prevail. What a wicked world we would live in if God’s love did not reign supreme over all things. If something happened to you, you wouldn’t know if it was God’s love or if God was looking the other way and an accident slipped in. Having this knowledge of the love of God should cause you to pray and then trust the outcome of your prayer as God making good on his love. Pray to the sovereign one, knowing he has an undefeated love.

2. God Saves For His Glory (vs. 27)

look now to verse 27: “Let them know that this is your hand; you, O Lord, have done it!”

In understanding the passage, we have to know of whom David is speaking of when he says “them”, and in the context of the chapter it is revealed to be his enemies. David is asking God to save him, and then let his enemies see so that he can gain the glory. David wants to be saved publically and in a way that his enemies can see the Lord’s strength, not his own. This makes sense right? If David wanted for his strength to be shown he would have taken on his enemy with sword like we talked about, but David turns to prayer which gives God the glory. Then David believes God will cause this to happen: if you pay close attention to David’s language at the end of the verse, he speaks as if the Lord has already answered his request.

We know God grants David’s request because we can read of his story in 1 Samuel, but David’s request in answered ultimately through Christ. God brought glory to himself while he was on the cross. We can even look to the Roman Centurion standing by Christ’s crucifixion to see this as true, as he called Christ the very son of God. God is faithful to save according to his love and to bring himself glory.

So what should we do? Once again, we should pray! We should pray to God to ask him to show evidence of his love in our life. Then brothers and sisters, we should tell others of his hand, so that he can get the glory.

My grandfather, the same one who has cancer, was saved by God at the age of 77. I will never forget after the service in which he was baptism, my grandma said “ I prayed for this....for 50 YEARS!!” My grandfather heard the gospel thousands of times before he was saved, and my grandmother prayed thousands of prayers before he was saved. And what glory God gains out of a story of praying every single day for fifty years before God brings salvation.

(General app) Let us not only be a congregation who prays to God for salvation, but who prays that the Lord will glorify himself through his salvation. Then, to tell others of his salvation!

(Older Saint App) Older saints in our congregation with adult children and grand-children, I would encourage you to tell of God’s salvation over your long life. You have lived so much longer than us and seen God’s hand in your life so much more. So bring him glory by telling these stories to us, your church. But also, to your adult children and grand children. By it, the Lord may save unbelieving children or grand-children you have or if they’re saved he may use your stories of God glorifying himself in your life to encourage them in their walk with the Lord. The Lord is kind to encourage us and save those in our life by recounting stories of his love.

Praise God that he has saved us and brought glory to himself by one act: sending Christ to take on the wrath meant for us.

Let us now apply this text through a congregational prayer. I am going to lead us in a prayer of Psalm 109:26-27, and would you echo back these prayers in your heart to God.

Let’s pray.