Psalm 55. Psalm 55, and keep in mind, as
we read this Psalm, these are the words of David, these are
the words of Christ. Psalm 55, Give ear to my prayer. Oh God. And hide not thyself
from my supplication. Attend unto me. And hear me. I mourn in my complaint. And
make a noise. Because of the voice of the enemy.
Because of the oppression of the wicked. For they cast iniquity
upon me, and in wrath they hate me. My heart is sore pained within
me, and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. Fearfulness
and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me. And I said, oh, that I had wings
like a dove. For then would I fly away and
be at rest. Lo, then would I wander far and
remain in the wilderness. I would hasten my escape from
the windy storm and tempest. Destroy, oh, Lord, and divide
their tongues. For I've seen violence and strife
in the city. Day and night they go about it
upon the walls thereof, mischief also, and sorrow are in the midst
of it. Wickedness is in the midst thereof,
deceit and guile depart not from her streets. For it was not an
enemy that reproached me, then I could have borne it. Neither
was it he that hated me, that did magnify himself against me,
then I would have hid myself from him. But it was thou, a
man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet
counsel together and walked unto the house of God in company.
Let death seize upon them and let them go down quick into hell
for wickedness is in their dwellings and among them. As for me, I
will call upon God and the Lord shall save me. Evening and morning
and at noon while I pray and cry aloud and he shall hear my
voice. He hath delivered my soul in
peace from the battle that was against me, for there was many
with me. God shall hear and afflict them,
even he that abideth of old, Selah. Because they have no changes,
therefore they fear not God. He hath put forth his hand against
such as be at peace with him. He hath broken his covenant.
The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his
heart. His words were softer than oil,
yet were they drawn swords. Cast thy burden upon the Lord. and he shall sustain thee, he
shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. But thou, O God,
shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction. Bloody and
deceitful men shall not live out half of their days, but I
will trust in thee. Let's pray. Lord, we ask in Christ's name
that we would have your presence in our midst, that you would
speak to our hearts through your word, that Christ might be exalted,
that we might be enabled to hear the joyful sound. Lord, drive
away anything that would distract us and disable us from hearing
from you. Accept our thanksgiving. We're
so thankful for who you are. We're so thankful for the salvation
that's in your son. Now bless us for the Lord's sake. Be with our friends that aren't
here. Keep them by your grace. Lord, we pray for those people
who have experience such difficult times in eastern Kentucky. We
pray for your hand of mercy in that place. We Pray for our friends
that are going through difficult times, sick in body, sick in
mind, sick in soul. We pray for your blessing upon
them. Lord, we confess our sins, we
pray for forgiveness and cleansing, and we pray that we might be
found in thy son. Be with all your people wherever
they meet together. In Christ's name we pray, amen. Now we're going to look at this
psalm First. As the words of David. And then
we're going to read it once again as the words of the Lord Jesus
Christ. The words of David. Give ear to my prayer. Oh God. And hide not thyself. For my supplication, I want to
be heard, don't you? I want to be heard by the living
God. And that's what David is asking.
Give ear to my prayer. Verse two, attend unto me and
hear me. I mourn in my complaint and make
a noise. Now, what does this say about
phony, upbeat religion? You've been around that, you've
seen it, where everybody's acting so positive and all it is is
phony. Now here, David says, I mourn
in my complaint. Oh, his heart was heavy at this
time because of the voice of the enemy. Because of the oppression
of the wicked for they cast iniquity upon me. And in wrath they hate
me. Now this is when he's fleeing
from his enemies from Saul and all that they were saying with
regard to him. He said, my heart is sore pain
within me. And the terrors of death are
fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling are
come upon me. And horror hath overwhelmed me.
Now he's talking about how he felt. This is the man after God's
own heart. And this is how alone and isolated
and afraid he feels with regard to himself. You've heard of fight or flight.
Well, this is flight. This is how he was feeling at
this time. And I said, oh, that I had wings
like a dove, flight. For then would I fly away and
be at rest. I'd just get myself out of this
mess if I could. No, then would I wander far off
and remain in the wilderness. I would hasten my escape from
the windy storm and the tempest. I would just get out of here
if I can. I would fly away and be free
from this tempest, this windy storm. And look, he prays against
his enemies. Destroy, oh Lord, and divide
their tongues. For I've seen violence and strife
in the city. I see what they're about. Day
and night they go about it upon the walls thereof. Mischief also
and sorrow are in the midst of it. Wickedness is in the midst
thereof. Deceit and guile depart not from
her streets. Now David is calling things as
he sees it. And this is the truth with regard
to man. Wickedness and deceit. Now David says, and this is so
painful to him, have you ever been betrayed by a friend? Have
you ever had a true friend stab you in the back? I'm sure everybody
here has. Well, this is what David is speaking
of. For it was not an enemy that
reproached me. Then I could have borne it. Neither
was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me. Then I would have hid myself
from him, but it was thou. Some think this is talking about
Ahithophel, who was typified as Judas. I'm not sure, but he
says it was thou. A man mine equal, my guide, and
mine acquaintance. And acquaintance means the one
that I know you and you know me. There is a true relationship
between these people that he says you stabbed me. We took
sweet counsel together and walked into the house of God in company.
How must that have pained him that this had taken place? Now
look what he says. Let death seize upon them and
let them go down quick into hell for wickedness is in their dwellings,
and among them, this is David's wish for his enemies. Now, this
is Christ's wish for his enemies. That's the only way we can truly
understand that, because I'm not praying with regard to anybody
I know, let him go to hell. I pray the Lord saves them. I
wanna have that attitude toward everybody, but this is really,
as we're gonna see, this is Christ speaking, and him speaking against
his enemies. Make no mistake, Christ has enemies,
and he is going to pray against them. As for me, David says, I will
call upon God, and the Lord shall save me. I want to say the same thing,
as for me. I will call upon God and the Lord shall save me. You see, whosoever, you hear
that word? Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. As for me, I'll call on God,
Lord, I'm calling on you to save me now. Save me by who you are. Verse 17, evening and morning
and at noon, will I pray? Now, prayer. What a privilege. That's the breath of the believer.
Prayer. And he says it morning, noon
and evening, will I pray and cry aloud and he shall hear my
voice. He hath delivered my soul in
peace from the battle that was against me. For there were many
with me." You see, if everybody's against you, God's with you. And everything, all things, are
working together for your good. Many are with you, no matter
what the war might be. Many are with you if you're a
believer. God shall hear, verse 19, God
shall hear and afflict them, even he that abideth of old.
Isn't it wonderful to think of God being eternal? He abides
of old. He never had a beginning. Every
attribute of God is seen in the fact that he never had a beginning. What he is, he always was, and
he always will be, and that's the God we worship. Oh, isn't
that wonderful? He abides of old. Now, he says, because they have
no changes, therefore they fear not God because nothing's happened.
Seemingly everything's fine. God's not going to do anything
about what I'm doing because they have no changes. They fear
not. They think everything's fine. But let me remind you,
God always pays his debts. And it's true. If God be for
us, who can be against us? But if God be against us. Who
can be for us? Verse. 20. He's speaking of the same
person that he spoke of in verse 12. He had put forth his hands
against such as be at peace with him. He had broken his covenant. The words of his mouth were smoother
than butter. But war was in his heart. His
words were softer than oil. He said all the right things,
yet they were drawn swords. Now I hope and pray that I and
you and all of God's people will be able to do this. Cast thy
burden upon the Lord. Whatever it is. What a blessed
privilege. Remember, cast all your cares
on the Lord, for he careth for you. Whatever that burden is,
cast it upon the Lord. He has broad shoulders and a
strong back. And I say that I hope reverently.
Cast your burden on the Lord. You know, it's amazing how we
bear our burdens when we're called upon to cast them upon the Lord.
Cast thy burden upon the Lord and he shall sustain thee. What a promise of grace. He shall
sustain me. He shall never suffer the righteous
to be moved. Now here's the fact of the matter.
If you belong to him, you're righteous. You say, I don't feel
righteous. Well, I don't care whether you
feel righteous or not. You are in him. You are altogether righteous. And that's how God views you.
And God views things as they really are. You have the righteousness
of Christ. And he shall never suffer the
righteous to be moved. But thou, O God, shalt bring
them down into the pit of destruction. Bloody and deceitful men shall
not live out half their days. But I will trust in thee. The words of David. Now, what
hit me about this psalm that just hit me like it never had
before, this is Christ speaking in verse 12 when he says, for
it was not an enemy that reproached me. Then I could have borne it. Neither was it he that hated
me. that did magnify himself against me, then I would have
hidden myself from him. But it was that now this is talking
about Christ's grief in. What he experienced on the cross.
Here's who was smiting him. It was that. A man might equal. Who is Christ equal? The father. He was thou, a man mine equal,
my guide, oh, how he trusted his father, and mine acquaintance. When we think of acquaintance,
we think of somebody we know who they are, but no, this is
the one I know. That's the word, the one I know. We took sweet counsel together
throughout eternity. Eternity passed. God the Father
and God the Son took sweet counsel together. Oh, the relationship.
between the Father and the Son and walked into the house of
God in company. The union between Christ and
his Father and this is what pained him and grieved him so much when
he was forsaken by God. Now let's read these as the words
of Christ. Now this is the third time we've
read this psalm. Now look at these as nothing
but the words of Jesus Christ from the cross, from Gethsemane's
garden. Verse one, give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not
thyself from my supplication. You remember when he was praying
to God, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless. Not my will. But thy be done. Attend unto me and hear me, I
mourn in my complaint and I make a noise. This is the Lord's groans
from Gethsemane's garden, what he says because of the voice
of the enemy. because of the oppression of
the wicked, for they cast iniquity upon me and in wrath they hate
me." This is all of those people who called upon his crucifixion.
My heart is sore pain within me and the terrors of death are
falling upon me. Now, when the Lord's talking
about the terrors of death, understand He's not just talking about the
physical sufferings of the cross, as horrible as they are, I don't
know anything about it, but his spiritual sufferings were infinitely
more than his physical sufferings. There are many people in the
past who were nailed to a cross because of their confession of
Christ, and they were praising God while it took place. There
are people burned at the stake, praising God. The Lord could
have done that with the physical sufferings, but we're talking
about Him being forsaken by His Father, bearing my sin, being
made guilty, feeling, experiencing everything that sin is, but the
commission of it. Now, He never committed sin.
Even when He was made sin, He never committed a sin. He's the spotless Lamb of God,
but everything with regard to sin, the shame, The guilt, the
humiliation, the feelings of abandonment he experienced. There isn't anything that you
and I have experienced that he hadn't experienced much more
acutely. My heart is sore pain within
me and the tears of death are falling upon me. Fearfulness
and trembling are come upon me and horror hath overwhelmed me.
That is Christ from Gethsemane's garden. And I said, and you know,
as a human, I don't know how to explain this, but as a human,
he was overwhelmed. He's the man, Christ Jesus. And
he was overwhelmed with what was taking place. And I can see
him saying, oh, that I had wings like a dove, for then would I
fly away and be at rest. You remember, he did say, if
it'd be possible, let this cup pass from me. Then would I wander
far off and remain in the wilderness. I would hasten my escape from
the windy storm and the tempest. Now, this is a description of Jerusalem
in verse nine. Destroy, O Lord, and divide their
tongues, for I've seen violence and strife in the city, the place
of his crucifixion. You know what? When he told his
disciples after the resurrection to go and preach the gospel to
every creature, you already said first, beginning at Jerusalem. John Bunyan preached a sermon
entitled, The Jerusalem Sinner Saved. The Jerusalem sinner is
the worst type of sinner. He says, day and night they go
about upon the walls thereof, mischief and sorrow are in the
midst of it. Wickedness is in the midst thereof,
deceit and guile depart not from her streets. You know, Jerusalem
is also called Egypt and Sodom, the place where the Lord was
destroyed. Now, this is the Lord. And once again, I feel like a animal that I know so little
of what is being said, but this is the Lord when he was made
sin and separated from his father. It was not an enemy that reproached
me, then I could have borne it. Neither was it he that hated
me that did magnify himself against me. Then I would have hid myself
from him, but he was thou a man mine equal. This is the son speaking
to the father. It was the father who forsook
him. It was thou a man, mine equal, my guide. You know, there's
no one that trusted the father like the son. He trusted him
perfectly. He said, though he slay me, yet
will I trust him. Mine acquaintance, the one I
know, no man knoweth the father save the son. Oh, how the son
knew the father, how the son knows the father. What an infinite relationship. We took sweet counsel together
and walked into the house of God in company. Now, this is
what is known as It's called the imprecatory prayers of Christ
when he's praying against somebody. And like I said, you and I can't
enter into this. He can. Do you remember when
he said, I pray with regard to the elect? He said, I pray for
them. I pray not for the world. I'm not praying for salvation
for the world, but for them which you have given me, for they are
thine. And the people he refused to
pray for by way of mercy and salvation, he prays against those
people. Well, I would want to have the
Lord praying against you. Now, if he does, that's what
I deserve. Amen. If he does. That's what I would deserve because
of who he is. But look at this prayer. Let death seize upon them. Let them go down quick into hell. For wickedness is in their dwellings
and among them. But the Lord says, even in his
darkness, as for me, I will call upon God. And the Lord shall
save me. Now, this is the prayer of the
Lord. He has no communication from his father at this time.
He is forsaken. He doesn't feel his presence.
He doesn't feel his mercy. He doesn't feel his love. He
has nothing but his awful frown. And yet he says, as for me, I
will call upon God and the Lord shall save me. He knew this for
sure. Evening and morning and at noon
will I pray and cry aloud, and he shall hear my voice. He hath
delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me. For there were many with me,
all these people, all the holy angels, God's purpose, God's
providence, There were many with him, yet he died alone. He by
himself purged our sins. We know that. We don't want to
forget that for a second. Yet there were many with him. Verse 19, God shall hear and
afflict them, even he that abideth of old, the eternal God, because
they have no changes, therefore they fear not God. Well, we're
everything. Nothing's happened. We're OK. You'll find out, because
they have no changes. Therefore they fear not God.
I must be pleasing to God. He hath put forth his hands against
such as be at peace with him. He hath broken his covenant.
The words of his mouth were smoother than butter. And I have no doubt
this is a reference to Judas. The words of his mouth, remember
the way he betrayed the Lord with a kiss? The Lord said, betrayest
thou the Son of man with a kiss? Oh, how smooth his words were.
The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his
heart. His words were softer than oil,
yet were they drawn swords. Cast by burden upon the Lord. Interestingly, my margin reads,
cast thy gift. You know what? Whatever the Lord
has given you is a gift, a gift of His grace. Everything is a
gift of His grace. Now, it's a burden, but it's
a gift. I think of Paul saying, there
was given to me a thorn in the flesh. Who gave it to you, Paul? God did. Lest I should be exalted
above measure. This is for my good, there was
given to me a thorn in the flesh. Now cast thy gift, thy burden
upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee. This is his promise. He
shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. But thou, O God, shalt bring
them down into the pit of destruction, bloody and deceitful men, shall
not live out half their days, but I will trust in thee. You know, one of my favorite
scripture is where Job said, though he slay me, yet will I
trust him. Now, if you read the book of
Job, there wasn't much trusting going on. He was calling into
question everything God did and everything God said. But he was
speaking of one of whom this is true. Christ said, though
he slay me, yet will I trust him. Somebody had to trust God
perfectly. And let me remind you, it ain't
me and you. Soon as something goes wrong,
our hands are up. He trusted his father perfectly
and completely. And that's the faith I'm saved
by, his faithfulness.