Well, let us turn to God's Word. We read in the 109th psalm, but I want to direct you to words that we find at the end of the 137th psalm. So, turn please to Psalm 137. And considering the passage, the second part of the psalm from verse 5, through to verse 9. Psalm 137, verse 5 through 9.

If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth. If I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.

Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem, who said, Raise it, raise it, even to the foundation thereof. Our daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed, happy shall he be that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.

As I said, we were reading in the 109th Psalm and we read it only a few days ago at home and I was very struck then by how much of that psalm is in the form of imprecation. The first 20 verses you may have observed as we were reading through the psalm, those first 20 verses are very striking because David is continually praying against his enemy and praying for the destruction of his enemies in the greater part of the psalm. It runs to 31 verses but the first 20 verses are very much in that tone as David prays against the enemy and it made me think again about the whole matter of what we call these imprecatory Psalms and of course we have the same here at the end of the 137th Psalm where we have mention of Edom and Babylon

The seven remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem, who said, Raise it, raise it, even to the foundation thereof. The psalm is clearly associated with the time of the Babylonian captivity, where they're in exile, the opening words, By the rivers of Babylon there we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion. And it was the Babylonians, spoken of there at verses 8 and 9, who had taken them into exile, but Oedon had rejoiced in the destructions of Jerusalem. And Oedon, of course, the descendants of Esau, as we see back in Genesis 36, there in the opening words, now We're told there that these are the generations of Esau who was Edom. So the Edomites are the descendants of Esau.

And we think of the language at the beginning of Malachi, the prophecy of Malachi, where the Lord God says, was not Esau Jacob's brother? Yet I loved Jacob and hated Esau." And those words are then taken up by the Apostle in Romans chapter 9. So these two men, twins, Esau and Jacob, and yet one loved and the other hated, one chosen, the other rejected what enmity there was and here is the psalmist in this psalm praying against the Edomites who so rejoiced in the destructions of Jerusalem and then those Babylonians and how the language at the end concerning the Babylonians is so strong O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed, happy shall he be that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.

It's imprecatriots It's pleading for God to come and destroy the enemies of his people and I thought it might be profitable to try to say something with regards to Psalms that are in this in this line of things really, strange words, and I know many people are so offended by the language that the psalmist uses on these several occasions.

So I thought we might consider the subject of imprecation for a little while, and to observe two things. The difficulty of the passage with regards to what the Lord Jesus himself says in the course of his ministry in the New Testament Scriptures, the difficulty of implication, and then in the second place to say something with regards to the necessity of it, why it's here in Scripture.

First of all then to say a little with regards to the difficulty, and we find it in so many places. Again when we turn over to Psalm 139 and the language that we have there at the end of that psalm, as David again speaks against his enemies, verse 21, Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate Thee? And am not I grieved with those that rise up against Thee? I hate them with perfect hatred. I count them mine enemies. And then how he would have that God should search himself, search me O God and know my heart, try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting and he says that immediately after speaking of this great hatred that he bears towards the enemies of God and therefore the enemies of David himself.

These are hard words then that the psalmist uses in these various psalms, and there are many other psalms that we could also turn to. Well, how can we reconcile such language with the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we think of the way in which Christ himself speaks in the course of his ministry, the language that we have in the Sermon on the Mount, and I'm sure you're well aware with the passage there in that fifth chapter of Matthew, the sermon that Christ is preaching.

We come to the end of that chapter, verse 45, or rather, Verse 43, following, Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But says the Lord Jesus, I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you, that ye may be children of your Father which is in heaven. For he maketh his Son to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

It seems the Lord's teaching is so very different to the language of the psalmist. he's using so many times. But then, what Christ said is also taken up by his apostles as they follow his teachings. Paul in Romans 12 and verse 14, Bless them which persecute you. Bless, he says, and curse not. Verse 20, Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him. If he thirsts, give him drink, for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head." And not only Paul, but we have similar language in 1 Peter chapter 3 and verse 9, not rendering evil for evil or railing for railing, but contrary-wise, Blessing, knowing that ye are there unto called, that ye might inherit a blessing.

This is the teaching then that we find in the Gospels, in the New Testament epistles. And what are we to make of these differences? Well, we know for a start that in the Old Testament God's kingdom, although spiritual, God's kingdom is always a spiritual kingdom, and yet there in the Old Testament, where we see Israel as a wonderful type of the New Testament church, they're very much blessed in terms of this world, and the things of this world. Deuteronomy 28, for example, there are blessings that are pronounced upon the children of Israel if they walk in obedience. If they disobey, there will be curses. But the blessings are more materialistic, we might say. They'll be favored with good harvest. And if they're disobedient, there'll be great dearth and famine and so forth. Deuteronomy is a chapter full of blessings and cursings. So there is a difference with regards to the Old Testament.

When we come to the New Testament, we see quite clearly that the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ is obviously spiritual, as was the case in the Old Testament. But it's not only spiritually in its nature when we come to the New Testament, but also in its form. Christ says, my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight? Again, he says the kingdom of God is not, or the Apostle says, the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Paul says the Kingdom of God is not in words but in power.

And so when we come to the New Testament there is this difference. There are many things in the Old Testament that we might say are more carnal or natural. but under the gospel everything about the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ is spiritual both in nature and also in form and I know I've said this before but I was very struck Some years ago, in looking at a volume of the Psalm paraphrases of Isaac Watts, you're probably aware that he actually paraphrased the whole of the 150 Psalms.

And in the preface to his paraphrases, this is what Isaac Watts says. He speaks of putting the Psalms in Christian dress, he says. He puts them in Christian dress. So what he does is this, with regards to the imprecatory psalms, where the psalmist uses sharp invectives against his personal enemy, I have endeavored to turn the edge of them against our spiritual adversaries, sin, Satan, and temptations. That's how he deals with it. He has to, in all honesty, deal with the whole of the Psalms, so what can he make of those Psalms like Psalm 109 or the end of the 137th Psalm? Well, he turns the edge, in many ways, against self, the all nature, sinful self, or against Satan. And I think that's a helpful thing. It reminds us there's a difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament.

So there are difficulties, one acknowledges that, but there is also a reason, is there not, why we have such Psalms in the Old Testament. And so in the second place, to try to say something with regards to the necessity of imprecation. And when we look at this particular 137th Psalm, And what the psalmist is saying there at verses 5 and 6, it's almost self-implication. He speaks of himself, if I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth. If I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief, joy! And I like the remarks of Leupold, one of the Lutheran commentators. He says on these words, they have the force of, May my vocal organs suffer paralysis. May the ability to speak forsake me altogether. Why would he say that? Well, surely it's because we ought really to be those who would speak in support of God and His Church and His cause. We must raise our voices. We're not to remain silent. The Lord has given a banner to them that fear Him, that it may be displayed. because of the truth and so we we should take accounts of those who are the enemies of the Lord and the enemies of his cause and his gospel and his ordinances. If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth. If I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.

It's important that we're those who would contend earnestly for that faith once and for all delivered to the Saints in the language of Jude 3. Can we say in all honesty that Jerusalem is our chief joy? When we speak of Jerusalem of course we think not in terms of the city that's there to this day in the Middle East but we understand Jerusalem Zion to suggest the idea of the church God's spiritual people and where there is a church of course there will be a gathering of that people now come together Shiloh unto him shall the gathering of the people be

We're not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, we're to delight in all that is represented to us here in these verses concerning the cause of God and the cause of truth. We know that even in the Old Testament there was always that true spiritual Israel in the midst of the nation and not all Israel that are of Israel. Isaiah utters those remarkable words in the opening chapter of his prophecy. If the Lord had not left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, we should have been like unto Gomorrah. There was always a very small remnant.

And we are to be those who would contend for the people of God and the cause of God it was God who was preserving his people there in the exile in Babylon and he would in due course restore them to that land of promise he knew the thoughts that he thought towards them they were thoughts of peace and not of evil And it was Jeremiah who was very much charged with being the prophet to those who were there in captivity. And we have remarkable things, don't we, therefore, in that book that bears his name, The Prophecy of Jeremiah.

And the parable that he tells, for example, in the 24th chapter, the parable of the figs Jeremiah 24 at verse 5 and the following verses and he says again the word of the Lord came unto me saying thus saith the Lord the God of Israel Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that I carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good. For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land, and I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. And I will give them in heart to know me, that I am the Lord, And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. For they shall return unto me with their whole hearts.

And that's for the evil figs, which cannot be eaten. They are so evil. Surely, thus saith the Lord, so will I give Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt. and I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse in all places whither I shall drive them. And I will send the sword and famine and the pestilence among them till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.

Now, the Lord makes that distinction. He made the distinction between Esau and Jacob. And He's making a distinction there between those who are the true Israel of God and those who are but Israel by name only. And what do we learn? Well, the true people of God, they must be those who would, as I say, content. contend for the truth once delivered unto the saints."

And here we see in this 137th Psalm the necessity of contending against any degrading of the worship of God. There they are in captivity and they're being scoffed at and mocked by those who now have the rule over them. Verse 3, There they that carried us away captive required of us a song, and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land? they asked. These people were just mocking really. And there are those who would mock the people of God today.

And we are to be those who would contend for the old path wherein is the good way that we might be found walking therein. We are not to stand by when God's worship is in any way degenerated. And it is. It is today. We know that in many places. And how awful it is when the worship is something that must be made interesting and attractive to the natural man. That's the arguments that are put forward. You have sort of entertainment evangelism. You make the services more friendly to the ungodly. so thou feel more at ease when they come amongst us. Surely we are to see that it is God and God's worship that must have the priority really.

The true worshippers, says Christ, shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father seeketh such to worship Him. We're to contend then for certain things, we're to contend for that that is right and not make a mockery of God and God's worship. We're to see the necessity of a real reverence when we come together for worship. We have the words, don't we, those remarkable words in the fifth chapter of the book of Ecclesiastes with regards to those who would enter into the house of the Lord. Now Solomon, think, keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, says the preacher, and be more ready to hear them, to give the sacrifice of fools, for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth, Let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God, for God is in heaven, thou upon earth, therefore let thy words be few."

And here are these Babylonians simply wanting to demean the worship that the true people of God would seek to render to His great name, or they required of us a song. How shall we sing the Lord's song in this strange land? We're to contend then for that that is right, to contend against any degrading of God, and the house of God, and the worship of God. And of course, we're to contend against any denials of the truth, and that truth that centers primarily in our Lord Jesus Christ. He says himself, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. Oh, he is the Amen, he is the faithful and true witness. And how we see John using such strong language in his writings, how John is that one amongst all the apostles who must contend for the truth of Christ's deity, the truth of his humanity, the wonder. of that union, that hypostatic union, two natures, God and man, in the one person of the Lord Jesus Christ, the language that we find then in the first epistle of John. And there in the second chapter, verse 22, "...who is a liar, but he that denieth Jesus is the Christ." He is Antichrist. that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father. But he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also." And this is the beloved John. In what language? Who is a liar? He speaks of liars, he speaks of Antichrist.

Again in that Very short, 2nd epistle, what do we find him saying, verse 7? Many deceivers are entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. What's the language that John uses? It's strong language. It's strong language against those who are the deniers of the truth as it is in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Again at verse 9 there he says, Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ he hath both the Father and the Son. Yes, these are strong words that he employs here.

I was struck by words that I read. It must have been in one of the I think you've seen one of the letters of J. K. Popham a couple of months ago when I had to give an address on Popham's Christology, his doctrine of Christ. And I did read quite extensively in the copies of the Gospel Standard when he was editing the magazine for those 30 years from about 1905 to 1935. And there were some remarkable articles there.

But I was struck because he had such a love for the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ that he made this statement. He said, when I read blasphemies of deniers of Christ's deity and sacred humanity, the words of Psalm 139 and verses 21 and 22 come into my heart. Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate Thee, and am not I grieved with those that rise up against Thee? I hate them with perfect hatred. I count them mine enemies.

It is not improper then to use that strength of language that David is wont to use against those who are the enemies of the Lord Jesus Christ. We must contend earnestly for that faith. And David, as I said before, can close that psalm, Search me O God, know my heart, know my thoughts, see if there be any wicked way in me.

We're not to pray as David is praying, say, in the 109th Psalm. I don't think we are to pray against our enemies in that way, but we're not to shy from speaking up in defense of the cause of God and truth. We should certainly contend for that truth as we see it in the Lord Jesus Christ and for that real and true worship of Almighty God.

May the Lord be pleased to help us and as we come to Him in prayer that we might not be those who would mock Him with our unbelieving prayers, that the Lord would help us to come with a single minds and a sincere heart to seek the honor and the glory of his name.

Well before we do come to prayer we're going to sing our second phrase in the hymn number 54, the tune is Jackson's 163. I am not ashamed to own my Lord, or to defend His cause, maintain the honour of His word, the glory of His cross." Hymn number 54, and the tune is 163.