Count God's Enemies As Mine

Minister:
Date: PM
Text: Psalm 139:19-22
Psalters: 222, 208, 385, 383
  1. David is speaking of Jehovah's enemies (not his personal enemies).
    1. They are "wicked" (19a).
    2. They are blasphemers (20), showing their hatred of God, of Christ, of Scripture, and of God's church.
    3. They "rise up against" God (21), making themselves to be gods, in control of their own lives.
    4. They are "bloody" (19b), i.e., killing literally or with hatred: persecuting saints, approving abortion, hating personal enemies.
  2. What about these wicked?
    1. First, God will surely slay them. “Surely” means that David is certain divine punishment will come.
    2. This judgment of God is designed to teach His elect to withdraw themselves from their society.
      1. "Depart from me" (19) is putting them out of his court (a physical separation), befitting the Old Dispensation's types.
      2. In the New Dispensation the antithesis is a spiritual separation.
    3. Further David hates them, i.e., holds them in aversion, and is “grieved” with them (to loathe or detest).
      1. He hates those who hate good, of which hatred he is not ashamed. "Perfect" is full or complete.
      2. How do we manifest this hatred?
      3. Such is our love and esteem for our God’s glory that we pray divine judgment on them for their unrepentant evil.
    4. David makes it a personal matter when he counts God’s enemies as His.
    5. All this must be done in and with humility for we have not made ourselves to differ.
  3. The justification of this hatred.
    1. David thereby asserts his own devotion to God and to godliness, despising all that is contrary to it.
      1. Instead of thinking about ourselves we are focused on Him Who is the love of our life and His glory.
      2. Love for God and godliness is defective if it does not generate abhorrence of sin, starting in ourselves, and in others.
    2. Let us show our love for God by also counting as our enemies those who are His (let them be one and the same).
      1. To hate a man for his own sake or for any evil done to us is wrong, but a loyal subject is not a friend of traitor.
      2. We realize that there is a fundamental difference between them and us - made only by grace.
      3. Let us appeal to God (21b) that we take no pleasure in those who rebel against Him and refuse to love Him.