Hated Without a Cause #1

David isn't claiming sinlessness as he goes through Psalm 69. He's confessing sin and fall before God.

What he saying is Lord. They have no reason to treat me as they do. I have not wronged them and yet they are opposed to me.

Have you ever been persecuted or treated unfairly. No apparent didn't leave you feeling angry, sad, anxious or even confused hello and welcome to the truth pulpit with Don Greene, founding pastor of truth Community Church in Cincinnati Ohio I build right today. Don continues his series called a cry for justice will show us how to turn our oppressors over to God, trusting him to deliver justice at the right time and in the right measure. Let's join our teacher now for part one of a message called hated without a cause on the truth pulpit as we start this song.

That's our starting point is that we are dealing with a God of of faithful love toward us. David is able to appeal to this God for deliverance because he knows that God is a God of love and compassion toward him, who cares for him in the midst of even his unjust suffering.

Beloved is that your fundamental concept of God answer the question carefully answer it well answered. According to Scripture because you think God is is going to determine the trajectory of the rest of your life.

Theology has consequences and for us who are Christians we look at the cross and we see we see our theology of the love of God fully informed. He loved us and gave himself for us in this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved sync your roots deep in to that groundwater of the character of God, seek your roots deep into the ever flowing love of God toward you and I have a suspicion informed by biblical truth that it will change your life to realize that this God is so good and so loving and so gracious to his own and that that is his fundamental disposition toward us now as we come to Psalm 69.

David is pleading with God to save him from his trouble. He was bearing shame and rejection. For the Lord's sake, and he does three fundamental things here will just kinda break this down into three points here. He asks God to answer him. He asks God to repay David's oppressors and he looks forward to a time of universal praise and restoration so there is a cry for help. The cry for for judgment.

You might say.

And then there is a hope, and in anticipation of a time of praise yet to come and will see this in David's life will see it mirrored in the life of Christ.

Psalm 69 is frequently applied to Christ as will see. And so this is a song of rich biblical significance.

How would we find our path forward in when were in these times hated without a cause.

Well first of all it that's just kinda follow the Psalm along here would put it this way our first point will stated this way as it is that we ask God for deliverance. We ask God for deliverance. It's easy to forget to ask under the weight of the problems we forget to ask David and forget to ask, and so you you open in verses one and two. Let's look at it together. David prays save meal God for the waters, have threatened my life I have sunk in deep Meyer and there is no foothold. I have come into deep waters in a flood over flows me drowning here is a metaphor for his problems in the sense of vulnerability that he has. He realize it's the what's happening immediately could be an immediate threat to his life. Now when it comes to drowning. I don't often do this but hey were friends will do something a little bit different when I think of drowning, I can't help but think of the time on our honeymoon. Not all of us but mine and Nancy's honeymoon.

I literally nearly drowned in the pool of the hotel that we were staying in.

It's a frightening memory.

To this day, as I remember at the pool wasn't that deep but I'm not too good in water, and I'm not a swimmer and I went to stand up in the pool and I realized that I was in water that was over my head, took in a little bit of water and I started to panic and I had the sense very vivid. Today, almost 30 years later that that my life was in immediate danger here now thanks be to God. Nancy reached over and grabbed me in and literally saved my life at that point she hadn't been there I would've gone down and in that sense of that sense of vulnerability in panic and in the fact that there is an immediate crisis here is the sense that David is using as he describes in a metaphor.

The problems that he's facing God.

This is sweeping over me. This is coming over my head and I need help right now before I go under and waters in Meyer point to the danger. There was no easy way out for David. Look at verse three, where he says I'm weary with my crying. My throat is parched. My eyes fail while I wait for my God. And so he's describing that in the midst of the danger he's feeling the physical effects of the trials and the weight that it has had upon them my throat as part Florida been been crying out to you so long on my my throat is dry. I've exhausted myself and yet there he is still waiting still calling upon the Lord, the process had exhausted him, but here in Psalm 69 is calling out once more for God's deliverance and he shows us in verse four. The source of his trouble. The source of his difficulty and it ties in with what we were saying earlier about the people in the enemies that he was facing in verse four he says those who hate me without a cause, or more than the hairs of my head, those who would destroy me are powerful being wrongfully my enemies what I did not steal. I didn't have to restore he's on the receiving end of injustice. There are multiplied enemies that it seems like there are more than he can count. And these aren't simply little snippy puppies biting at his heels.

These are men that have influenced men with power who are rising up against him, and who are arrayed against him in there more than he can humanly handle. Been there, have you been there where someone had a measure of position or influence or authority and the repose to you, exercising and unjust things against you, and you don't have the human ability to respond. You can't reach for the side of the pool to pull yourself up. That's a position that David was in his and it isn't it sweet to be a Christian to believe in the full authority of the word of God and to be able to come to a song like this and find expressed the deepest sorrows of our soul in a spirit inspired way that can encourage and help us. I'm not the first person to go through this in spiritual life, I see that David has walked the path that I have trod. Let me find the way forward that he found apparently from the fact that he wrote this song he came out okay. On the other side.

Maybe, just maybe, the God of lovingkindness and compassion that delivered David would have the same kind of mercy on me that he had on David as well and all of a sudden your your eyes or pivoting pivoting away from the enemies, and toward the God who loves you the God of compassion, the God who saved you and that is a great encouragement that alone I should say would be encouragement enough, but then you realize that there's something even better.

Something even greater going on in this song.

David's life was merely a foreshadowing. It was merely a something of a prediction of a greater fulfillment to come in a greater David in our Lord Jesus Christ look over at John 15 with me. John 15 in verse 24 what David experienced was to be fulfilled in the coming of Christ. At this point, Jesus said in John 15 verse 18. If the world hates you, you know that it is hated me before it hated you. If you are the world. The world would love its own, but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world. Because of this, the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, a slave is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will keep yours also goes on to say in verse 23 he who hates me hates my father also and he says if I had not done among them the works which no one else did they would not have sin, but now they have both seen and hated me and my father as well and look what he says in verse 25 as it pertains to the Psalm were studying, but they have done this to fulfill the word that what is written in their Law quote they hated me without a cause a quotation from this verse that we just saw in Psalm 69 verse four David's life of suffering the enemies hating David without a cause were were merely a foreshadowing of the greater fulfillment to come when Jesus Christ himself, the sinless son of God is hated by those around them, if ever, beloved, if ever there was someone hated without a cause. You understand that it's not David. Primarily it's not you and me primarily, right the one who, in whom there is no cause for hatred is the Lord Jesus Christ, the sinless, gracious, glorious son of God. There is nothing in him to provoke cause for hatred in those who hate him. The hatred comes from within their own wicked hearts. There is nothing in Christ to prompt such hatred. He was hated without a cause.

We look when we find opposition in our own sinful cells. We look and say, oh Lord, you have gone down this path more perfectly you gone but before me in this path, you know what it's like to be rejected and hated without reason. You know what that's like Lord, and you tell me that it's part of discipleship is part of me walking in your footsteps will Lord I can embrace that.

I'm not thrilled with the enemies that are hating me without reason that doesn't appeal to me on a human level the Lord what appeals to me is you've been there you know what this is like and you invite me into close communion and fellowship with you in it. As a result, that's a precious place to be for the disciple of Christ to realize we have a Lord who understands and sympathizes and has been there in the sensitive Hebrews chapter 4 verses 14 through 16. Now as we think about Psalm 69 applying to Christ, we should realize that the totality of the Psalm does not apply to Christ, particularly as you look at verse five you see that David is not making a claim to being sinless. He realizes that he himself is committed wrongfully to verse five with me he says oh God it is you who knows my folly and my wrongs are not hidden from you is is God. You know my sin. But whatever my sin may be. I haven't done anything against these enemies to deserve this kind of treatment. David isn't claiming sinlessness as he goes through Psalm 69. He's confessing sin and fall before God. What he saying is Lord, and in relationship to these men. They have no reason to treat me as they do. I have not wronged them and yet they are opposed to me now in this confession of sin.

We see this is a versa cannot possibly apply to Christ. Christ had no sin to confess he was sinless. He had never committed wrong, he was free from all sin. And so the hatred against him was even worse than the hatred against David even worse in the hatred against you and me that we sometimes face in the midst of that confession. David goes on in verse six to appeal to God for mercy so that others who trust God would not be put to shame. As a result of his situation.

Look at verse six he says, may those who wait for you not be ashamed through me oh Lord God of hosts. May those who seek you not be dishonored through me. Oh God of Israel. Now if you were with us last time. As we talked about the imprecatory Psalms.

We said that one of the motives for the imprecatory songs was a concern for the people of God that one of the reasons that we pray, is to look beyond our own circle and we see that the people of God are about tests and we put our struggles and our difficulties. In the context of the people of God who might be influenced by what happens to us, or be influenced by the way that we responded to our own trials and difficulties.

David has these has these fellow saints in mind and he says God as they are waiting for you work and help and protect me, so that they won't be ashamed so that they won't fall into discouragement thinking that God does not help his own and beloved, let me step back and invite you to kind of maybe have a little bit of an alteration a little bit of a change a little bit of a different perspective. Perhaps on your own trials. As you go through them to be mindful of the fact that the circle that is affected by your trial is greater than yourself. It's more than just you. That's at stake to remember this if you look over at Psalm 73 which we will soon get to such a wonderful Psalm in Psalm 73. The psalmist is troubled by the prosperity of the wicked, and it discourages him, he sees them prospering when they have no eye toward God at all while he seeking to be righteous seeking to live a godly life is suffering and in much difficulty and a Heath. He begins to think in verse 13. Surely, in vain, I have kept my heart pure and washed my hands in innocence fry been stricken all day long and chastened.

Every morning he says I think he's thinking ruminating in his mind and he says with what I'm seeing. I must be a fool.

I must be wasting my time. Why am I going through all of the hardship of trying to follow God and righteousness when it brings me sorrow and suffering.

When people have no regard for Yahweh are living the high life they have prosperity and there are no pains in their lives. Why am I doing this he says, look at what changes him look at what restrains his thinking. He says in verse 15.

If I had said I will speak thus, in other words, if I I realize that if I gave voice to what I've been thinking here something very bad would happen. Verse 15 Psalm 73. He says behold, I would have betrayed the generation of your children. He says, and here's what I want you to see beloved.

He says this is not just about me. There are a circle of relationships that I have that I have responsibilities and commitments and I have love to your people who are around, and who see me in my suffering to see me in my difficulty father for their sake I can't speak what I have been thinking in my heart because I would betray them if I gave voice to these kinds of accusations against God. I would deflate the spiritual encouragement of those around me. I'm not an island. Here I gotta think about someone beyond myself as I go through this trial. Now, beloved, I realize for some of you. The trials are very deep and that you get discouraged. Some people some people take the occasion of those things to withdraw from the people of God to step back from them to push the people of God a way to start to voice things that that that should never be said like on social media and things like that. Not so for us brothers and sisters.

Not so for us. We realize that that we cannot let ourselves get carried away with our discouragements and questions. We can't voice these kinds of doubts because to do that would be a betrayal to those who would otherwise be encouraged as a CS persevere part of your responsibility in your trials. Christian friend is to persevere to the glory of God.

Yes, absolutely, but also to persevere for the sake of those who around you who will look to you see your faithful life and say oh that's how it's done to say all they have it worse than I do and they are continuing in Christ will then that's what I should do. Also it takes us out of our naturally self-centered perspective and say I have obligations here that inform the way that I respond go back to Psalm 69 verse six. You can see this in David's thinking there in verse six, he's thinking about others beside himself. He says let those who wait for you not be ashamed through me. God be gracious and help me so that they would be helped in turn but it's not just a horizontal aspect that is informing his cry for deliverance in verse seven he is consumed with the glory of God as well. We saw this last time he says in verse seven. Because, for your sake I have borne reproach dishonor has covered my face God. I am in this position because I have sought to be loyal to you I is sought to be faithful to you and that has brought me this opposition and how severe was the opposition. Look at verse eight he says I have become estranged from my brothers and an alien to my mother's sons. He says God this is so bad that the closest members of my own family are opposed to me and even in that Christ had a greater fulfillment during his earthly life did me. Gospels tell us that even his brothers for believing in them. Even his brothers were mocking him before the crucifixion. Why are you hiding if you're the Messiah, let it be known and so even his own family was not believing him and him Christ experienced this as well. The opposition of those closest to him and beloved, if we think further and sympathize in and enter into her Christ wasn't it true that even all of the disciples fled from him on the night that he was betrayed, they all went up and fled and he was left alone foot that sink in for a moment, why was he suffering alone. Why was he in that position in the first place there to fulfill Scripture.

There to carry out to go to Jerusalem, as it were, with his face set like flint to Jerusalem so that he would fully drink the cup that the father had given to him to drink.

Why, because in love he would bring you into his kingdom, and all of the alienation. All of the hostility was part of the price that he paid part of the suffering that he experienced on earth in order to bring about a fulfillment of the saving mission for which he came to save you and save me. I love him, don't you. I love him for that. Our redemption was accomplished at the cost of great suffering to the sinless son of God, and he felt the full weight of the hostility of men and went ahead and went through it. Now we walking through lesser trials with lesser virtue find that our elder brother that are champion that are that our Savior has gone the force in the way he knows how to love having gone through it inhumane in his humanity. He knows how to lead us through it in our humanity, and that brings us comfort and confidence. We cry out to him in a sense that he will receive us well because he is been there himself. Oh, this is all about understanding who Christ is and how we respond to him that's done on green part one of a message called hated without a cause. You're on the truth pulpit will friend we hope you can join us next time for the conclusion of our series titled a cry for justice and if you'd like to hear this message again, or maybe like to share it with a friend or loved one.

Just go to the truth. Pulpit.com. While you're there we shall explore all of Don's teaching resources again. That's the truth. Pulpit.com I bill right thanks for listening and join us next time on the truth pulpit teaching God's people. God's work