What to Do When Someone's After You
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
I occasionally have what I call a fat person dream. These are little dreams that remind me to get in shape and stay in shape.
I will dream that someone is chasing me and I am running as fast as I can to try to get away.
Often I will not get away or will find myself panting, only to wake up and be out of breath.
Now, if this happens to you, it might be a sign of sleep apnea. A lot of times my mask has slipped off my face and that’s why I’m out of breath. A few times I strangely saw Jessie with a pillow raised over my head, but I’m sure that was a coincidence, right?
However, there are times where we really do feel like people are out to get us. What do we do when that happens and how do we respond?
A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite.
1 O Lord my God, in you do I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers and deliver me,
2 lest like a lion they tear my soul apart, rending it in pieces, with none to deliver.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands,
4 if I have repaid my friend with evil or plundered my enemy without cause,
5 let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it, and let him trample my life to the ground and lay my glory in the dust. Selah
6 Arise, O Lord, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake for me; you have appointed a judgment.
7 Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you; over it return on high.
8 The Lord judges the peoples; judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me.
9 Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end, and may you establish the righteous— you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God!
10 My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day.
12 If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow;
13 he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.
14 Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies.
15 He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made.
16 His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends.
17 I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.
Observations
Title tells us this is a psalm concerning a Benjaminite named Cush
He is insulting David
He is of the tribe of Saul
David finds refuge in God (vv. 1-2)
David Looks Into His Own Heart (vv. 3-5)
David Requests God to Act (vv. 6-7)
David Submits to God’s Judgment (vv. 8-11)
David Warns the Congregation (vv. 12-16)
David Sings Praises to God (v.17)
Christ Connection:
This psalm ultimately points to Christ who was slandered and accused falsely, yet rested in God’s divine justice and vindication. Christ went to the grave and bore the attacks of the men who killed Him, but was raised to life victoriously and vindicated in front of them as the legitimate heir and Son of God.
1. Find Refuge in God (vv.1-2)
1. Find Refuge in God (vv.1-2)
1 O Lord my God, in you do I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers and deliver me,
2 lest like a lion they tear my soul apart, rending it in pieces, with none to deliver.
We don’t know who the man is who is mentioned or why he is attacking David
Could be a man like Shimei who didn’t believe that David had a legitimate right to the throne (One of the purposes of 1-2 Samuel is to give legitimacy to David’s throne. He is constantly shown as not trying to take the throne for himself.)
He was of the tribe of Saul
The vagueness only adds to it’s application in worship
At it’s core, someone is attacking David’s character and maybe even trying to kill him
David describes himself in animal terms with the king of beasts rising up to devour him
David does not turn and direct his words to his attacker, but directs them in prayer to God. To often we try to speak to our attackers before we’ve spoken to the Lord.
David pours his heart out to the Lord and flings himself into God’s arms in faith
Application:
Go to God with your complaints and your troubles
Pour out your heart before Him
2. Examine Your Own Heart (vv. 3-5)
2. Examine Your Own Heart (vv. 3-5)
3 O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands,
4 if I have repaid my friend with evil or plundered my enemy without cause,
5 let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it, and let him trample my life to the ground and lay my glory in the dust. Selah
David acknowledges his own ability to sin and asks God to examine him.
Is he guilty of the sin he’s accused of?
Did he sin unknowingly?
Illustration: Blind spots
Everyone has them
We need to consider that God might be using someone else to point them out. God used other nations (even pagan ones) to discipline His own people.
Types of Wrongs
Repaid friends with evil
Plundered
David asks God to punish him if he has done wrong
Application:
Examine your own heart to see if there is any truth to the claims of your attacker
Don’t repay evil for evil, but show kindness and goodness
In the Church, remember that we are all part of the same body
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function,
9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.
12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.
17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.
18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Follow Matthew 7 and get the plank out of your eye in order to help get the speck out of your brother’s eye
Also remember that if it is a brother or sister that we have an issue with, they are Christ’s and when we attack them, we are attacking Christ, even if they are a “knot-head”
We ought to seek reconciliation because the gospel at its core is a message of reconciling sinners to God and to each other as the body of Christ.
3. Call on God to Act (vv. 6-7)
3. Call on God to Act (vv. 6-7)
6 Arise, O Lord, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake for me; you have appointed a judgment.
7 Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you; over it return on high.
Sometimes a person is simply an enemy of the gospel and we call on God to defend us
Arise - when God gets up, things start to roll -> battle cry from Numbers
God will be angry at those who rebel against His anointed (Jesus is the ultimate anointed one)
God may allow the wicked to endure for a time, but there is a judgment appointed for them (v.6b)
At the end of the day, the challenge to David was not to himself personally as much as it was to his position and authority that God had given him with the covenant.
Remember that David pictures Christ
Application:
Call on God to defend you and trust yourself to Him
Remember that God’s timeline is not the same as your own
Don’t forget that we are seeking to win a heart rather than destroy a person
4. Submit to God’s Judgment (vv.8-11)
4. Submit to God’s Judgment (vv.8-11)
8 The Lord judges the peoples; judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me.
9 Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end, and may you establish the righteous— you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God!
10 My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day.
God is the only true judge
9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.
12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
James reminds us that we are sinners too and need to mourn
He then tells us to submit ourselves to God’s judgment.
David did this many times when he wouldn’t take Saul’s life and waited for God to give the kingdom to him
God had promised and He always keeps His promises
Judge me according to my righteousness and integrity - can we pray this prayer?
God knows the thoughts and intents of a person as well as their actions
God is a righteous judge and will always rule correctly
Application:
Pray for those who persecute you
Show kindness and seek to win them to the Lord
Leave the judgment to God
5. Warn Others While You Can (vv.12-16)
5. Warn Others While You Can (vv.12-16)
12 If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow;
13 he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.
14 Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies.
15 He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made.
16 His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends.
A call to repent
A warning of judgment
There is a day coming when the patience of God will run out
God will bring judgment and it will come swiftly and completely
There is a birth like that described in James 1:14-15
Application:
Repent of sin while there is time
Call others to repentance as well
6. Praise God for His Righteousness (v.17)
6. Praise God for His Righteousness (v.17)
17 I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.
Application:
Give thanks to God
Sing praise to God
Conclusion
When we feel attacked, we can feel a rally cry of war. Instead we need to go to the Lord to get perspective, give it to Him, and wait for His outcome.
In the end, we are to be like Jesus. We are not to slay the wicked, but seek to save them.
We may have to be brought low, but God will raise us up with Christ.
If we gain our brother, we have gained more than the world’s riches could ever offer.
Remember again these words from the brother of Jesus:
19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back,
20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
