Would you turn to the 109th Psalm? This is what is known as one
of the imprecatory Psalms. And that word means that the
psalmist is cursing people. He's calling for a curse upon
people. Really, this is the most imprecatory
of the imprecatory psalms, the way David curses. But before
we read this psalm, I want to read verse eight. Let his days be few and let another
take his office. Now, what's that a reference
to? That's a reference to Judas. This passage is quoted in Acts
chapter 1. So we know with regard to this
psalm this is a psalm where the Lord is cursing Judas. Interestingly I've read commentaries
and so on in the last week with regard to this psalm and they
say this is an Old Testament psalm. It's in the New Testament
we know better than this and that's ridiculous. This is a
inspired by the Holy Spirit psalm. Every word is inspired and indeed
it is a imprecatory psalm, but it's the Lord praying against
Judas. That is all this is, and really,
we should never pray the way this prayer. Would you wish,
well, as we read this, I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy,
but this is the Lord praying against Judas and all like him. Verse one. Hold not thy peace, O God, of
my praise. For the mouth of the wicked and
the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me. They have
spoken against me with a lying tongue. They compass me about
also with words of hatred and fought against me without a cause. I gave them no cause to feel
the way they do against me. For my love They're my adversaries,
but I give myself unto prayer and they have rewarded me evil
for good and hatred for my love. Now here begins the curse. Set
thou a wicked man over him and let Satan stand at his right
hand. When he should be judged, let
him be condemned and let his prayer become sin. Let his days be few and let another
take his office. Let his children be fatherless
and his wife a widow. Let his children be continually
vagabonds and beg. Let them seek their bread also
out of their desolate places. Let the extortioner Catch all
that he hath, and let the stranger spoil his labor. Let there be
none to extend mercy unto him. Neither let there be any to favor
his fatherless children. Let his posterity be cut off,
and in the generation following, let their name be blotted out.
Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the Lord.
And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out. Let them be before
the Lord continually that he may cut off the memory of them
from the earth." Now that's the curse. And what a curse it is. Here's why. Verse 16. Because
that he remembered not to show mercy. but persecuted the poor and needy
man that he might even slay the broken in heart. As he loved
cursing, so let it come unto him. As he delighted not in blessing,
so let it be far from him. As he clothed himself with cursing
like as with a garment, so let it come unto his bowels like
water and like oil into his bones. Let it be unto him as the garment
which covereth him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually,
let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the Lord, and
of them that speak evil against my soul. But do thou for me,
O God the Lord, for thy name's sake, because thy mercy is good,
deliver thou me For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded
within me. I'm gone up like the shadow when
it declineth. I am tossed up and down as the
locust. My knees are weak through fasting,
and my flesh faileth of fatness. I became also a reproach unto
them. When they looked upon me, they
shake their heads. Help me, O Lord, my God. O save
me according to thy mercy, that they may know that this is thy
hand, that thou, Lord, hast done it. Let them curse, but bless
thou. When they arise, let them be
ashamed, but let thy servant rejoice. Let mine adversaries
be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their
own confusion as with a mantle. I will greatly praise the Lord
with my mouth, yea, I will praise him among the multitude, for
he shall stand at the right hand of the poor to save him from
those that condemn his soul. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for the
gospel of your son, how we thank you that he saves
the poor and the needy. Lord, I ask in Christ's name
that you would make every one of us poor and needy, that we might be rich and have all the riches of your
grace. Lord, we pray for your presence, we pray that you would
be pleased to speak to us, we pray for our time of fellowship
after the service that your blessing would be upon that. Bless us
for the Lord's sake. Be with all your people wherever
they meet together. Lord, those that are going through
trials, we pray for your grace upon them. Those that are in
sickened body and sickened spirit, we pray for your blessing upon
that. Lord, we're so thankful that
you always bring good out of evil. We're so thankful for who
you are. Now bless us for the Lord's sake, in his name we pray,
amen. Now these are the words of the
Lord praying against Judas. I mean, you look at that curse,
would you pray that against your worst enemy? Praying that their
children would be beggars and vagabonds and that the sin of
their parents would be remembered, that they might be condemned
and damned, I would not pray that against my worst enemy. But this is the Lord praying
with regard to Judas and all like him. Now, you and I can't
pray a prayer like this, nor should we. As I've said some
said well this was in the Old Testament they didn't have the
light we have in the New Testament and they didn't realize that
we're supposed to pray for our enemies and love our enemies
and so on. But this was before the New Testament. That's ridiculous.
That's a very wrong view of the scriptures. This is the Lord's
prayer against Judas. Now he begins by saying. Hold not thy peace, O God, of
my praise, for the mouth of the wicked, the mouth of the deceitful
are opened against me. They have spoken against me with
a lying tongue. Now, have you ever been misrepresented?
Have you ever been maligned? Of course you have. And it's
very painful. And I love what Charles Spurgeon
said with regard to when we're maligned, when we're misrepresented. He made this statement. I didn't hear it, I read it,
obviously, but this has always sat with me. Whatever anybody says about you,
make it a little darker and it's closer to the truth. You believe
that? any maligning of your character,
whatever it is, make it a little darker and it'll be closer to
the truth. But here, when the Lord says
this, to malign his character, He who is altogether beautiful
and glorious and holy and perfect, to malign his character? I mean,
if you're around me long enough, and if you know enough about
me, you're gonna find reasons to complain about me. Me too,
with you as well. I mean, there's no doubt about
that. We are what we are. But his character, his holy character
was maligned. What maliciousness. to do this
with him. Now verses three through five
can only be speaking of the Lord. They compass me about also with
words of hatred and fought against me without a cause. I gave them no reason to treat
me the way they've done. They fought against me without
a cause for my love. They're my adversaries. But I
give myself unto prayer, and they have rewarded me evil for
good, and hatred for my love. Now this is how men viewed the
Lord Jesus Christ. Men actually, here's our sin. This is a sin we've all been
guilty of. Men actually have been guilty of hating Jesus Christ,
the altogether lovely one, Men, you and I, all men, have been
guilty of hating Jesus Christ. All I got to do is look to the
cross. God leaves me and you to ourselves.
We're right there with him, nailing him to a cross. That's the way
men view the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's where Christ says,
set thou wicked man over him. and let Satan stand at his right
hand. And remember, this is talking
about Judas. We know that from verse eight because Peter quotes
this in Acts chapter one as referring to Judas. When he shall be judged, let
him be condemned and let his prayer become sin. Let his days
be few and let another take his office. You remember when they
had that vote in Acts chapter one? And they come up with Matthias
and I can't remember the other guy's name. They came up with
two men, and they say, show which one you've chosen. The Lord didn't
choose either of them. He chose the apostle Paul. But
they come up with that. But that's where Peter said his
bishopric, let another take. We need to find somebody to take
his place. Now look at this prayer against him. Let his children
be fatherless. His wife a widow, let his children
be continually vagabonds, and beg, and let them seek their
bread also out of the desolate places. Let the extortioner catch
all that he hath, and let the stranger spoil his labor. Let
there be none to extend mercy unto him. Neither let there be
any favor to his fatherless children. Let his posterity be cut off,
and in the generation following, let their name be blotted out.
Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the Lord,
and let not the sin of his mothers be blotted out. Let them be before
the Lord continually, that he may cut off the memory of them
from the earth. Now that's quite a curse, isn't
it? And this is the Lord's prayer against Judas and all like him. Now, if God be for you, who can be against you? If God
be against you, who can be for you? Christ is praying this prayer
against Judas and all like him. Now he goes on to describe Judas'
character. And what's the first thing he
says with regard to Judas? Verse 16, because that he remembered
not to show mercy. How offensive this is to Christ. Judas' character is brought out
here. He remembered not to show mercy. You know, the Lord said, blessed
are the merciful. The merciful. And if you've been
shown mercy by the Lord, do you want somebody to get what they
got coming to them? I want them to get what they got coming to
them. Really? I think of the man who had been
forgiven 10,000 talents, and he found the one who owed 100
pence, $15, and he grabbed him by the throat. He wouldn't show
him mercy. This is so offensive to the Lord.
May the Lord enable me and you to be merciful people. It's so beautiful, merciful,
but Judas, he wasn't merciful. He remembered not to show mercy,
but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay
the broken in heart. Now here we have a threefold
description of the believer and the Lord when he was on the cross.
Poor. What's the first beatitude? Blessed
are the poor in spirit. If you're poor, that means you
really don't have anything that you can use to recommend you
to God. You have nothing. Poor and you have great needs. Poor and needy. You need mercy. You need grace. You need the
righteousness and merits of Jesus Christ. You need his precious
blood to put away your sin. You need him to represent you
as your great intercessor. You're needy. Poor, needy, broken
in heart. Your heart's no good. It's broke.
It doesn't work. A broken and contrite heart,
O God, thou wilt not despise. Now this man Judas, he had no
love for anyone like that. He showed no mercy to someone
like that. Verse 17, as he loved cursing,
now that's not talking about curse words. That's talking about
condemning and judging people and cursing them. And he loved
cursing. He loved exposing people. He
loved people to be seen for what they are. He loved it. As he
loved cursing, so let it come unto him. What goes around comes
around. As he delighted not in blessing,
so let it be far from him. As he clothed himself with cursing
like as with a garment, judging, condemning, so let it come into
his own bowels like water and like oil into his bones. Let
it be unto him as the garment which covers him, this cursing,
let it be his garment to cover his body and for a girdle wherewith
he is girded continually. Let this be the reward of mine
adversaries from the Lord and of them that speak evil against
my soul. This is the Lord speaking. He's
speaking of Judas and all like him. But, verse 21, do thou for
me Oh God, the Lord, isn't that your prayer? It's the prayer
of the Lord, but it's our prayer too. Lord, do for me. Act in my behalf. Don't leave
me to myself. Do for me. I love it when the
Lord said to Bartimaeus, what wilt thou that I should do unto
thee? Oh Lord, remove my sin. Lord, give me a heart that believes,
a heart that loves. Give me the, do thou for me. And this is the Lord's prayer.
But do thou for me, O God, the Lord, for thy name's sake, because
thy mercy is good, deliver thou me. Now, when the Lord is praying
this prayer, he's giving us the one reason that we can pray.
Do this for your name's sake. Do this for Christ's sake. Lord,
do thou for me for Christ's sake. That's an argument when my heart
is dead as far as the way I feel, and I don't feel the Lord's presence,
and I feel nothing but my sin. Oh, here's the only plea I have
in prayer, but this is the only plea we always have for Christ's
sake. Do thou for me for thy name's
sake. For Christ's sake, be kind, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven
you. Do thou, do thou for me, O Lord
God, for thy name's sake, because thy mercy is good. Deliver thou
me, for I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within
me. Now somebody says, how could
that be the prayer of Christ? That's easy to answer. You know
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich, oh the
riches of Christ, who can describe them? Yet for your sakes he became
what? Poor. that you through his poverty
might be rich. Oh, the poverty the Lord experienced
much more acutely than you and I know. You know, I think about
the Lord being made sin, clueless as to what all that means. And
you are too. And so is everybody else. That's
why the Lord turned the lights out with this transaction that
was going between him and his father. I am poor and needy, my heart
is wounded within me. And the Lord's describing himself,
I'm gone like a shadow when it declineth, a shadow disappearing. I'm tossed up and down as the
locust before a mighty wind, really an insect before the wind.
My knees are weak through fasting and my flesh faileth of fatness. I've become also a reproach unto
them. When they looked upon me, they
shake their heads. Isn't that what happened on the cross? Wagging
their heads, wagging their tongues. Help me, oh Lord my God, oh save me according
to thy mercy. Now I thought about this prayer,
help me. Help me, well that's a good prayer.
Help me. Remember the Syrophoenician woman
when the Lord said I'm not sent but to the lost sheep of the
house of Israel. She'd been asking for help and he answered her
not a word. comes again asking for help and
mercy. And he said, I'm not sin, but
to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. You know, that is,
here's exactly what that is. I've only come to save the elect.
That's what the Lord says to this woman. Does she say, well,
there's no point in me seeking. No, she came and worshiped him
saying, Lord, help me, help me. Oh, what a prayer. Lord, help
me. If you don't help me, I won't
be helped. Can you pray that prayer? The Lord Jesus did. If
you don't help me, I won't be helped. Help me. Oh, Lord. Oh, save me according to thy
mercy. Verse 27, that they may know
that this is thy hand, that thou, Lord, has done it. Now when our
Lord was on the cross, he wanted everybody to know, I'm not a
martyr, I'm not a victim, I'm here because God put me here
as the sin bearing, sin putting away substitute. This is what
the Lord's done. Thou, Lord, has done this. And
this is what he wants everyone to know. That they may know that
this is thy hand, that thou, Lord, has done it. Let them curse,
but bless thou. When they arise, let them be
ashamed, but let thy servant rejoice. Let mine adversaries
be clothed with shame and let them cover themselves with their
own confusion as with a mantle. Now, this reminds me that God's
judgment is always just. You know, I heard somebody say
recently, they talked about what they call double predestination.
You're not being sound on predestination if you don't believe in double
predestination. Like the people who are damned
were simply, well, God predestined this one to be damned, so damned
they will be. Everything is under God's control
and the scripture says ungodly men who were ordained of old
to this condemnation. I mean, the Bible uses language
like that, and I like using language like that because it's biblical.
Whatever God says, it's just the best way to say it. But a
man is not damned because God simply arbitrarily predestinated
him to be damned. A man's damned because of his
own sin. Amen? A man is damned, judged
by God because of his sin. And this is what the Lord is
saying, let mine adversaries be clothed with shame and let
them cover themselves with their own confusion as with a mantle. They brought this on, but yet
he says, I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth. Yea,
I will praise him among the multitude for he shall stand at the right
hand of the poor to save him from those that condemn his soul. Now I think of the Lord standing
as my representative to save me from those who would condemn
me. Now who's gonna, who's my main
problem? Me. My sin. My sin. I love that passage of scripture,
and this is what goes with this passage of scripture. To save
him from those that shall condemn him, who shall lay anything to
the charge of God's elect? Somebody condemns me, the Lord
stands for me. He represents me. Who shall lay
anything to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. Who is he that can condemn? Bring
it on. Who is he that can condemn? It's
Christ that died. Yea, rather that's risen again,
who's even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession
for us. He stands at your right hand,
and he represents you before the Father, and it's all good. Now when we read something like
this in the scripture, would you ever pray this against somebody? Of course you wouldn't. I wouldn't
pray this for my worst enemy but the Lord prays against Judas
and all of his all who are just like him in that sense. And I
think about what the Lord said when he said I pray for them.
I pray not for the world but for them which you've given me. He prays in salvation for those
the Lord has given him. But he intercedes against those
who are his adversaries. What a horrible thing it is to
be an adversary of the Lord. May the Lord deliver us from
that plight. But once again this is the word
of God.