Under Pressure

Sermon Outline:

Deliverance: “Save Me” (vs 1-18)

Vindication: “Judge my enemies” (vs 19-29)

Praise: “Be Glorified” (vs 30-36)

Jesus: "The Messiah"

Sermon Text:

• Next to Psalm 22 and Psalm 110;

• This is the most frequently quoted Psalm in the New Testament.

• Seven of its thirty six verses are quoted in the New Testament.

• Some of the quotes you will recognise immediately;

• Some are a little bit more obscure.

This Psalm is what we call an imprecatory psalm:

• Because contained in the Psalm are imprecations,

• That’s just a clever word that means ‘curses and judgments’ against God’s enemies.

• These psalms are usually considered problems for us as Christians;

• Because Jesus taught us (Luke chapter 6 verse 27–28).

• “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

• Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you”

• And we know Jesus practiced what he preached because;

• Jesus prayed for his enemies on the cross (Luke chapter 23 verse 34).

• “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”

• So some Christians have problems with these Psalms:

• Because it sounds like these psalms are doing the opposite of what Jesus said and did.

• But Jesus did not have a problem quoting them;

• And neither did the disciples have a problem quoting them.

• Notice that they quote the imprecatory verses.

• And not just what we might call ‘the nice bits’.

• The key to understanding these imprecatory verses is always to note the context;

• David wrote of course prior to the coming of Christ.

• He did not have the full revelation of teaching that you and I have.

• And when Jesus and the disciples quote from these verses;

• They again quote them in a specific context.

• So the key to understanding and applying them is always to note the context.

Note: The key verse of the Psalm – verse 4:

I am forced to restore

what I did not steal

• These words perfectly describe the unfair situation;

• That David the Psalmist is experiencing at the time of writing;

• These words perfectly describe the unfair situation Jesus experienced;

• When he went to the cross.

Ill:

• Think of the human race aboard a hijacked jet-liner flying through time.

• God himself directed its takeoff from the divine control-tower.

• The initiator of all evil, whom we call the Devil, Managed to get a boarding pass.

• When the plane reached its cruising altitude,

• The Devil produced his weapons, threatened the pilot,

• And took control of the aircraft and all its passengers.

• Thus the plane hopped on fearfully through history;

• From airport to airport.

• Until it was caught on the tarmac at Jerusalem,

• An outpost of the Roman empire, in the reign of Tiberius Caesar,

• Where the Son of God offered himself as sole hostage;

• In exchange for the passengers and crew.

• “I am forced to restore what I did not steal”

• These words perfectly describe the work of Jesus on the cross;

Note of warning:

• When reading the Messianic Psalms to be careful;

• Because not everything in the Psalm is applicable to Jesus.

• ill: Just as a shadow is the same yet different from the object that forms it;

• Not everything in the Psalm is applicable to Jesus.

• A perfect example of that is verse 5:

• ill: “You, God, know my folly; my guilt is not hidden from you”.

• This verse cannot apply to Jesus because the Bible clearly teaches;

• That Jesus was without sin, without guilt, without folly.

• So as you look at Messianic Psalms you need to exercise spiritual discernment.

• Because there are two levels to every Messianic Psalm.

Ill:

• Think of a crossword puzzle.

• You have both the horizontal and the vertical.

In every Messianic Psalm you have the horizontal and the vertical:

• The main part of the Psalm is horizontal.

• The experience of the psalmist as he describes his own personal circumstances.

• The vertical part of the Psalm relates upward;

• They are the certain verses that speak of Jesus the Messiah;

• Question: How do we know which bits apply to each person.

• Answer: The New Testament interprets and applies what those verses they should be.

(A). THE HORIZONTAL

• The setting of the Psalm is a hurting man – David.

• He is asking God to help him against his troubles and against his enemies.

I want to divide this Psalm under three headings.

(1). Deliverance: “Save Me” (vs 1-18)

Ill:

• John Paton was a missionary in the New Hebrides Islands.