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When Words Wound, Give Yourself to Prayer (Psalm 109) · (Un) Common thoughts of Christ

• 0:00
  Bernard: Here is a short meditation on Psalm 109, focusing on the first 5 verses, and the last 10 verses of the psalm.
• 0:08
  Bernard: We call this podcast—“But I Give Myself Unto Prayer” There are seasons in the life of a believer when words hurt deeply.
• 0:17
  Bernard: Not necessarily blows.
• 0:19
  Bernard: Not necessarily outward persecution.
• 0:21
  Bernard: Sometimes it is simply words.
• 0:24
  Bernard: Words spoken falsely.
• 0:26
  Bernard: Words misunderstood.
• 0:27
  Bernard: Words repeated.
• 0:29
  Bernard: Words of accusation.
• 0:31
  Bernard: And Psalm 109 opens with David in just such a place.
• 0:35
  Bernard: He says:“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.” Psalm 109:1–2 David is surrounded by words.
• 0:53
  Bernard: But notice where he begins.
• 0:56
  Bernard: He does not begin by answering his enemies.
• 0:59
  Bernard: He begins with God.
• 1:01
  Bernard: “Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise.” That is a beautiful expression:“O God of my praise.” Even before the trouble is settled, God is still the One David praises.
• 1:13
  Bernard: His circumstances have changed.
• 1:15
  Bernard: The attitude of others toward him has changed.
• 1:18
  Bernard: His reputation may have been attacked.
• 1:21
  Bernard: But God has not changed.
• 1:23
  Bernard: And so David turns to Him.
• 1:26
  Bernard: He says in verse 3:“They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause.” There are times when a believer may sincerely say before God,“I do not understand why this is happening.” David says it was“without a cause.” And perhaps the most painful part comes in the next two verses:“For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.
• 1:53
  Bernard: And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.” That expression in verse 4 is remarkable:“But I give myself unto prayer.” David does not say,“I will answer every accusation.” He does not say,“I will make everyone understand.” He does not even say,“I will defend my reputation.” He says:“I give myself unto prayer.” There is something very precious in that.
• 2:22
  Bernard: When words surround us, prayer gives us somewhere to go.
• 2:26
  Bernard: When we cannot control what others say, we can still speak to God.
• 2:30
  Bernard: When we cannot straighten every misunderstanding, we can place ourselves before the One who understands perfectly.
• 2:38
  Bernard: And perhaps that is one of the hardest lessons in Christian experience.
• 2:43
  Bernard: There are some things we cannot fix with explanations.
• 2:47
  Bernard: There are some things we cannot resolve by saying more.
• 2:51
  Bernard: There may even be times when saying more only produces more words.
• 2:56
  Bernard: David’s answer is:“But I give myself unto prayer.” Then, later in the last 10 verses of the Psalm, the focus turns away from the adversaries and we hear something much more personal.
• 3:09
  Bernard: David says in verse 21:“But do thou for me, O GOD the Lord, for thy name’s sake: because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me.” Notice that little phrase:“But do thou for me.” David has reached the place where he is no longer occupied with what others are doing.
• 3:28
  Bernard: He is asking what God will do.
• 3:31
  Bernard: “But do Thou for me.” There is rest in that.
• 3:34
  Bernard: We spend so much energy thinking about what another person should do.
• 3:39
  Bernard: They should understand.
• 3:41
  Bernard: They should correct what they said.
• 3:44
  Bernard: They should apologize.
• 3:46
  Bernard: They should see the matter differently.
• 3:49
  Bernard: But faith eventually comes to this place:“Lord, I cannot control what they do.
• 3:54
  Bernard: But do Thou for me.” And David does not appeal to his own goodness as David says:“Because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me.” His hope rests in the character of God.
• 4:07
  Bernard: Not in his own strength.
• 4:09
  Bernard: Not in his own ability to defend himself.
• 4:12
  Bernard: But in the goodness of God's mercy.
• 4:15
  Bernard: Then David opens his heart:“For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.” That is very honest language.
• 4:24
  Bernard: “My heart is wounded within me.” Scripture does not pretend that the godly never feel wounds.
• 4:31
  Bernard: Faith does not mean that words cannot hurt.
• 4:34
  Bernard: David does not say,“None of this bothers me.” as he states plainly:“My heart is wounded.” Yet he takes the wounded heart to God.
• 4:44
  Bernard: That may be one of the great differences between bitterness and prayer.
• 4:49
  Bernard: Bitterness carries the wound continually back to itself.
• 4:53
  Bernard: Prayer carries the wound to God.
• 4:56
  Bernard: David continues in verse 23:“I am gone like the shadow when it declineth.” There is a sense of weakness here.
• 5:05
  Bernard: A shadow lengthens toward evening and then disappears.
• 5:09
  Bernard: David feels diminished.
• 5:11
  Bernard: He even describes physical weakness:“My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness.” And then in verse 25:“I became also a reproach unto them: when they looked upon me they shaked their heads.” So this is not a man who is untouched by circumstances.
• 5:31
  Bernard: This is a wounded man.
• 5:33
  Bernard: A weakened man.
• 5:34
  Bernard: A reproached man.
• 5:36
  Bernard: But still a praying man.
• 5:38
  Bernard: And then comes his plea in verse 26:“Help me, O LORD my God: O save me according to thy mercy.” What a simple prayer.
• 5:47
  Bernard: “Help me.” There are times when long prayers are appropriate.
• 5:52
  Bernard: But sometimes the deepest prayer may simply be:“Lord, help me.” David does not tell God exactly how every circumstance must be resolved.
• 6:02
  Bernard: He simply asks God to intervene according to His mercy.
• 6:06
  Bernard: Then he says in verse 27:“That they may know that this is thy hand; that thou, LORD, hast done it.” David desires something greater than merely being proven right.
• 6:18
  Bernard: He wants God to be seen.
• 6:20
  Bernard: “That they may know that this is Thy hand.” There is a difference between self-vindication and divine vindication.
• 6:29
  Bernard: Self-vindication says:“I want everyone to know I was right.” But Faith says:“I want it to become evident that God has acted.” And then we come to one of the most beautiful lines in the 28th verse of the Psalm:“Let them curse, but bless thou.” What a sentence.
• 6:48
  Bernard: “Let them curse, but bless Thou.” David recognizes that man's words do not determine God's thoughts.
• 6:55
  Bernard: Others may condemn.
• 6:57
  Bernard: Others may misunderstand.
• 6:59
  Bernard: Others may speak against him.
• 7:01
  Bernard: But David looks beyond them and says:“Bless Thou.” And really, if God blesses, what more does the soul need?
• 7:09
  Bernard: If God approves, what can man's disapproval ultimately take away?
• 7:14
  Bernard: If God stands with His servant, then the servant does not stand alone.
• 7:19
  Bernard: And this is exactly where the Psalm ends.
• 7:22
  Bernard: David says:“I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude.” Notice that David moves from pleading to praise.
• 7:33
  Bernard: The trouble brought him into prayer.
• 7:36
  Bernard: Prayer brought him into the presence of God.
• 7:39
  Bernard: And the presence of God brings him into praise.
• 7:43
  Bernard: Then the final verse of this Psalm 109:“For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.” What a comforting picture.
• 7:55
  Bernard: David may feel surrounded.
• 7:58
  Bernard: He may feel wounded.
• 7:59
  Bernard: He may feel poor and needy.
• 8:02
  Bernard: But he is not alone.
• 8:03
  Bernard: The Lord stands at his right hand.
• 8:06
  Bernard: Perhaps that is the great meditation of this Psalm.
• 8:10
  Bernard: When falsely spoken against, the child of God can say,“But I give myself unto prayer.” When wounded within, the believer can say:“Help me, O LORD my God.” When others speak against us we can say:“Let them curse, but bless Thou.” And when we feel alone, the child of God can repeat with David:“He shall stand at the right hand of the poor.” The believer and child of God does not have to win every argument.
• 8:38
  Bernard: He does not have to correct every report.
• 8:41
  Bernard: He does not have to answer every accusation.
• 8:44
  Bernard: There is a God who hears.
• 8:46
  Bernard: There is a God who knows.
• 8:49
  Bernard: There is a God whose mercy is good.
• 8:51
  Bernard: And there is a God who stands at the right hand of the needy soul.
• 8:56
  Bernard: So perhaps today, rather than rehearsing the words that have been spoken against us, we can take David’s path: Give ourselves unto prayer.
• 9:06
  Bernard: And leave the rest with God.