Sticks and Stones
Psalms 52
October 6, 2019
We were all taught the phrase as kids,
“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.”
It was our parent’s way of teaching us to be tough,
To not wear our feelings on our sleeves and to not be overly sensitive.
I certainly grew up in that type of atmosphere.
• Ridicule and sarcasm and joking and humiliation were love languages in our
house growing up.
• You learned to develop thick skin quickly or else you didn’t survive.
And yet, I have been forced to learn many times over upon being grown
That not everyone was raised to be as resilient in that area as I was.
Many times Carrie has had to remind me,
“Rory, not everyone was raised with Bryan Mosley.”
You’ve certainly noticed it, but it seems that in recent years there has been a rise in sensitivity in regard to words that are spoken.
ON ONE HAND we’ve got the false teachers who have embraced the “Word Faith” movement who ascribe all sorts of power to our speech.
• Their warped mentality is based upon the fact that since God spoke the world into existence that we too now have the power to create our own destinies with our words.
• This is the theological basis behind ministries like that of Joel Olsteen who has fully embraced the secular beliefs of the power of positive thinking and the power of positive speech.
Certainly the world has taken a notice of things like that.
Even reading about African cultures
• I’ve learned that in many parts of Africa losing your temper or getting angry is considered a very terrible sin because in your anger you might say something negative about a person and thus bring a curse upon them.
We are starting to see that type of mentality in our day.
OF COURSE WE ARE ALSO BOMBARDED NOW WITH what we might call the “Words Hurt” movement.
• It is our hyper-sensitive culture to anything that might be deemed offensive or hurtful or racist or sexist or homo-phobic or controversial or whatever.
• A culture with thin skin that needs a safe space or a cry room when people say “mean things” to them. And anymore things that I never thought of as mean are even being added to those categories.
That is where all the hate-speech laws are beginning to come from.
But you can see that we have a culture that has become
Overly sensitive both to the power and to the pain of our words.
Now I don’t want to downplay the importance of our words.
• Certainly even the gospel message of God has been ordained to be spread through the use of words.
• Certainly Jesus even reminded that every careless word we speak we will give an account for it on the day of judgment.
• Certainly many a false prophet is responsible for much innocent blood because of their false words.
So we are not downplaying the importance of words.
But at the same time we do recognize that perhaps our culture
Might have become a little hyper-sensitive.
Well, if you are one who is easily offended by what people say…
Or if you are one who is easily hurt by mean words…
Or if you are one who lives in fear of reckless curses being cast…
Tonight it might do you some good
To tune in to David’s message of Psalms 52.
It, like the previous Psalm, is one that comes to us with a context.
“For the choir director. A Maskil of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”
Well, before we dive into the text, let’s check out this context.
TURN TO: 1 Samuel 21
Now as you turn, I would bring to your mind the events of 1 Samuel 20.
• It was in 1 Samuel 20 that David suspected that Saul was out to get him and Jonathon did not quite believe it.
• So they concocted a plan where David would skip supper and Jonathon would attend and find out Saul’s true intentions.
• Jonathon learned that Saul did indeed want to kill David
• And we got that story about Jonathon shooting an arrow and telling the lad to run further which was a hint to David to flee for Saul wanted to kill him.
• So David fled.
And then we come to 1 Samuel 21.
(READ 1-7)
So you see now understand at least part of the setting.
• David has fled
• He fled to Nob
• He ate the consecrated bread
• And there we see he was discovered by a man named Doeg the Edomite.
If you go on in the chapter you find that David took Goliath’s sword and fled Gath where he had to feign insanity just to escape.
(Incidentally that incident inspired both Psalms 34 and Psalms 56)
Now look at 1 Samuel 22
(Read 1-10)
• There is the incident regarding Doeg.
• In an attempt to gain favor with Saul and no doubt profit from the news Doeg actually ratted out David and slandered Ahimelech the priest.
The result?
(Read 11-19)
• And so for Doeg it wasn’t just slander, but also murder as he had destruction in his heart all along.
(Read 20-23)
And there we have the setting now for the writing of the 52nd Psalm.
David has just received word about this new executioner for Saul
Who is breathing out threats and attacking the people of God.
I’m sure Abiathar was distressed.
I’m sure David’s men are concerned.
David was clearly angry about it.
AND TO THAT DAVID WRITES THIS PSALM.
It is a Psalm that deals with the lies and threats
And destructive plots of the enemy.
So, if anyone has ever
• Said “mean things” to you
• Or given you “threats”
• Or “hurt your feelings”,
Pay attention to Psalms 52
Where we learn how God’s children handle such things.
There are 3 points here.
#1 DAVID’S REBUKE
Psalms 52:1-4
The rebuke here is simple.
It is a rebuke of anyone and everyone who would “boast in evil”
It is against anyone who supposes themselves to be a “mighty man”
And who would let their mouth run loose.
Certainly Doeg was on David’s mind,
But the Psalm would certainly reach farther than just him.
And to this man David has a question:
“Why do you boast in evil, O might man?”
The insinuation of David is that it is a foolish thing.
• Perhaps Doeg was uttering more threats…
• Perhaps Doeg was bragging about slaughtering the priests…
• Perhaps Doeg was lying about what actually happened when he saw David…
It doesn’t matter.
THE POINT IS that David questions the wisdom in such a boast.
Because: “The lovingkindness of God endures all day long.”
There is that favorite word CHECED again which speaks of God’s loyalty.
It’s foolish to attack God’s people
When God remains loyal to them at all times.
It’s foolish to run your mouth about the people God loves
When God maintains loyalty to them.
That is David’s point.
Doeg, you’re not making a very wise decision here.
Doeg was bosting in evil.
David then goes on to describe what he means.
This is what boasting in evil looks like.
1) IT IS TO DEVISE DESTRUCTION (2)
“Your tongue devises destruction, like a sharp razor, O worker of deceit.”
It speaks of using the tongue to bring about the destruction of a person.
Was this not what Doeg did regarding Abiathar?
Surely Doeg would eventually kill him,
But first Doeg used his tongue to get Saul to give the order.
It was his slander, it was his testimony that first condemned Abiathar
Before he was allowed to kill him.
That is what slander does.
• It sets out to destroy.
• It certainly sets out to destroy the reputation of another if not their life in total.
And David says that is what it means to “boast in evil”
2) IT IS TO DESIRE DECEPTION (3)
“You love evil more than good, Falsehood more than speaking what is right.”
This person just enjoys lying.
• It doesn’t matter if it is about something important or something little.
• They just enjoy the art of deception.
It can be outright lying to someone’s face
Or it can just be the subtle art of exaggeration.
The truth is too boring so the story is embellished to make it even better.
And when you take a person like that
Who is also bent on destruction
Then the condemning evidence is hard to overcome.
(Just look at our political world for an example)
3) IT IS TO DEVOUR THE INNOCENT (4)
“You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue”
They just use their words to swallow up the innocent.
They conquer their victims through their deceptive words.
It is slander in its most intense form.
And David says this is what it is to “boast in evil”
This made Doeg feel like a “mighty man”
When he could lie and deceive and consume the priests of God
Through his slanderous lies.
And of course we are reminded that
This sort of mindset and behavior is nothing at all like God.
We studied a couple of Sunday nights ago in Psalms 50
Psalms 50:20-21 “You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother’s son. “These things you have done and I kept silence; You thought that I was just like you; I will reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.”
Clearly such behavior is not like God, and we would not defend it.
The New Testament even reminds believers
That such speech must not be a part of the Christian life.
Colossians 3:8-10 “But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him”
Ephesians 4:29 “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.”
Ephesians 5:3-5 “But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”
James 3:5-12 “So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.”
Clearly we understand that such boasting in evil is not a trait of godliness.
What you should also realize is that it is actually a trait of Satan.
SATAN DEVISES DESTRUCTION
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
• Or we could read about the temptation of Jesus where Satan actually tried to get Jesus to throw Himself off the temple or even bow down and worship him.
• Or we could go to Eve in the garden and listen to Satan give Eve counsel only meant to destroy her.
SATAN DESIRES DECEPTION
John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
• Jesus said you can’t listen to anything that comes out of his mouth. He prefers lying to truth.
SATAN DEVOURS THE INNOCENT
Revelation 12:10 “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.”
• He constantly accuses and seeks to turn God against the innocent.
That is what Doeg was doing and David tells him it is foolish
Because all the reckless boasting and lies and slander
Will not change the loyal love of God.
Remember Romans 8?
Romans 8:33 “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;”
It’s hard to condemn someone with slander to God
When God was the One who justified them when they were a sinner.
It’s just a foolish effort.
And that is what David says first.
It is a rebuke of Doeg and anyone who would use their tongue
To try to destroy or deceive or devour someone else.
And that is not all.
First was David’s Rebuke
#2 DAVID’S REVELATION
Psalms 52:5-7
David wants Doeg and anyone like him
To understand where this is headed.
David pulls no punches when he says, “But God will break you down forever; He will snatch you up and tear you away from your tent, And uproot you from the land of the living.”
I even like that David puts “Selah” at the end as if to say,
“meditate on that!”
In other words, God will kill you.
I don’t care how smooth your tongue is, you won’t survive this.
It does us good to remember that on the day of judgment
Our tongue will not be enough to save us
Though it will definitely be enough to condemn us.
How many do we see promised that on the day of judgment they will start begging and pleading and making excuses but none of them work.
Matthew 7:22-23 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”
Their words won’t save them, but their words might condemn them.
Matthew 12:36-37 “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Revelation speaks of those excluded from heaven as:
Revelation 22:15 “Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.”
And David wants Doeg and all those who are like him
To know that their fate is a dark one.
(6-7) “The righteous will see and fear, And will laugh at him, saying, “Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge, But trusted in the abundance of his riches And was strong in his evil desire.”
What a remarkable reality.
Not only will you be judged, but the righteous will see it, be in awe of it, laugh at it, and even mock you on that day.
Is that not remarkable?
We see this other places.
Psalms 2:1-6 “Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!” He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying, “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”
Psalms 37:12-13 “The wicked plots against the righteous And gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord laughs at him, For He sees his day is coming.”
God reserves the last laugh.
God reserves the last boast.
Beyond that, I remind you that our final words have been ordained.
Philippians 2:10-11 “so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
God has already ordained the speech of your tongue.
Did you know that even Satan will be mocked for his deceptive ways?
When you read Isaiah 14 we get there a picture of the work of Satan who has controlled numerous if not all world governments.
Isaiah 14 pronounces judgment on him.
Isaiah 14:12-20 “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ “Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit. “Those who see you will gaze at you, They will ponder over you, saying, ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, Who made the world like a wilderness And overthrew its cities, Who did not allow his prisoners to go home?’ “All the kings of the nations lie in glory, Each in his own tomb. “But you have been cast out of your tomb Like a rejected branch, Clothed with the slain who are pierced with a sword, Who go down to the stones of the pit Like a trampled corpse. “You will not be united with them in burial, Because you have ruined your country, You have slain your people. May the offspring of evildoers not be mentioned forever.”
Did you catch the mocking?
Even Satan, the chief slanderer and liar
Will be mocked on the day of his judgment.
And certainly we can learn here of the dangers of being a liar
Or slanderer of one who devours others with our tongue.
Far from being like God, it makes us like Satan,
Far from being the victors it sets us up to be the one who is ultimately mocked.
And so we could (and should) certainly stop and give a little thought
To the foolishness of using our tongues for evil.
This is not how God would have us live.
Psalms 34:11-14 “Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. Who is the man who desires life And loves length of days that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil And your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.”
But, even as important as that personal application is,
That is not really the thrust of this Psalm for us.
For David DOESN’T write this Psalm lamenting his own tongue
(he does in other Psalms like 39:1-6)
David writes this Psalm
• As a warning to his enemy who is doing all the talking.
• For the benefit of men like Abiathar who barely escaped from the slaughter of Doeg and who no doubt threatened them all.
• To show his faithful followers that they should not fear the slander and destructive threats of the enemy.
• For the benefit of those who have been mocked and slandered and threatened and lied about.
He wants the faithful to know that
The threats of the enemy cannot overcome the loyalty of God.
• Just because the enemy says he’s going to do it does not mean he can.
• Just because the enemy is lying about you does not mean he will succeed.
• Just because the enemy is laughing now he will not be laughing last.
God is loyal to His own.
God will destroy the liars and slanderers and gossips.
And it is that truth that catapults David into this final stanza.
David’s Rebuke David’s Revelation
#3 DAVID’S RESOLUTION
Psalms 52:8-9
What you will notice here are four commitments David makes
In the midst of this onslaught.
• David is being slandered.
• David is being lied about.
• David is being mocked and laughed at.
But David could almost say,
“Sticks and Stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.”
And in that confidence we see David’s resolution.
There is four of them.
1) I WILL THRIVE (8a)
“But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;”
This analogy of a thriving tree is often used to speak of God’s people.
Speaking of the righteous we read:
Psalms 1:3 “He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.”
Jeremiah said:
Jeremiah 17:7-8 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is the LORD. “For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit.”
This is David’s mentality.
There is a difference between the enemy’s threat
And God’s promise.
David stands up in this cave in the midst of his men,
Having received news of all the threats of the enemy
And David boldly proclaims to all that the abuses of the enemy
Cannot nullify the promises of God.
• God has promised that I will endure.
• God has promised that I will be fruitful.
• God has promised that He will care for me.
Why would I be discouraged or upset at the verbal attacks of the enemy?
If God is for us, who can be against us?
2) I WILL TRUST (8b)
“I trust in the lovingkindess of God forever and ever.”
Again, it is a reference to God’s CHECED or loyalty.
David reminded his people that God is loyal to them.
It is more than just being faithful, it is being loyal.
• Faithful indicates the guarantee that promises will be kept.
• Loyal indicates the assurance that promises on my behalf will be made.
You don’t just know that God will always do what He says,
You also know that God will always work for what is good on your behalf.
HE IS LOYAL TO HIS OWN.
David’s companions may say in this cave, “But David, God has made no promises regarding Doeg to us. God is not bound at all to deliver us from him.”
And David could say, “True, but God is for us, and He is loyal to us, and I have the utmost confidence that He will show up for our victory.”
That is David’s way of saying that
He is not going to get all disturbed by the threats of the enemy,
He’s just going to keep trusting God.
Sound like anyone else?
1 Peter 2:23 “and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;”
Remember Psalms 3?
Psalms 3 “O LORD, how my adversaries have increased! Many are rising up against me. Many are saying of my soul, “There is no deliverance for him in God.” Selah. But You, O LORD, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head. I was crying to the LORD with my voice, And He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah. I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustains me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people Who have set themselves against me round about. Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God! For You have smitten all my enemies on the cheek; You have shattered the teeth of the wicked. Salvation belongs to the LORD; Your blessing be upon Your people! Selah.”
David also reveals
3) I WILL THANK GOD (9a)
“I will give You thanks forever, because You have done it,”
When David wrote this Psalm deliverance was still in the future,
But David was so confident that it was coming
That he was already singing about how thankful he was going to be.
He knew God was going to deliver.
Remember this example in Scripture?
Acts 9:1-2 “Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.”
Do you remember what happened next?
The Lord confronted him from heaven and totally changed him.
God has the ability to win every battle
According to His sovereign prerogative.
Focus on that coming victory.
4) I WILL TESTIFY (9b)
“And I will wait on Your name, for it is good, in the presence of Your godly ones.”
David was going to do his thriving and his trusting
And his thanking in the presence of God’s people
So that they may also be encouraged.
He wanted God’s people to be strengthened by his example.
And think about that for a moment.
• In our hyper-sensitive world where people are so easily hurt.
• In a day when people get so easily offended.
• And they either lose their temper…
• Or they get emotionally wounded and need a safe space…
• Or they pout or whine or whatever…
David gives God’s people and different example.
• When the enemy verbally assaults and attacks…
• When the enemy lies and slanders…
• When the enemy laughs and threatens and humiliates…
Don’t get angry
Don’t get weepy
Don’t pout and whine
TRUST GOD
Focus on His loyalty to you and not the enemies threats.
When the enemy makes his assaults please understand:
THEY ARE JUST WORDS.
Be an encouragement to God’s people.
• No one ever heard someone whining or saw someone complaining and
said, “Wow, what great faith they have!”
• No one ever heard someone whining or saw someone complaining and
said, “Wow, they serve an awesome God!”
BE AN ENCOURAGEMENT.
I want to close with one more story.
TURN TO: ACTS 4
• The scene in Acts 4 is set up by the fact that in Acts 3 Peter and John healed a cripple in Jesus’ name.
• They were then preaching about Jesus in the temple and it irritated the priests and the Sadducees so they surrounded Peter and John and tried to intimidate them.
• The intimidation didn’t work, Peter kept right on preaching.
Let’s pick up down in verse 15.
(READ 15-22)
So Peter and John are certainly resolute,
But you’ll notice that it did not come without a threat.
(18) “they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus”
The church had been warned and threatened.
Now look at how Peter and John handle this.
(READ 23-31)
That’s how you handle the threats of the enemy.
(29) “And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence…”
I fear that today in the church that story might often read differently.
It might say something like:
• Peter and John got on social media and told everybody about what happened.
• Peter and John went back to the church and asked for therapy as their feelings were hurt.
• Peter and John decided to quit talking about Jesus because the danger was real and they just decided to only do good works and let that be their ministry.
The fact is, we can at times
Give way too much credit to the words of the enemy.
Don’t let his accusations and lies and slanders rattle your ministry.
God’s church is going to thrive regardless of the threats.
Trust God and give Him thanks.
And be faithful to continue to testify.
That is what David said,
That is what the early church did.
That is what we are commanded to do as well.
1 Peter 3:14-16 “But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.”
