Sticks and Stones
The Many Moods of David • Sermon • Submitted
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Sticks and Stones
Emotion: Devastation from Words
(ESV)
To the choirmaster: according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
1Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
2Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
3May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts,
4those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?”
5“Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord; “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
6The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.
7You, O Lord, will keep them; you will guard us from this generation forever.
8On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among the children of man.
Introduction:
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. That is a lie. Words hurt, they cut to the core. The scar of words lasts longer than the scar of a physical wound. Story of a time when words hurt. This is where David finds himself. Even though David has enjoyed the blessings of God and knew he was God’s anointed, he finds himself at a time in life when people are saying things. We don’t know what the situation was when David wrote this psalm, but we know David is feeling the sting of someone else’s words. In his pain, David turns to the Lord and in the midst of voicing his pain he also remembers God hears and God heals. When words hurt, David reminds us that God’s words heal.
I. People’s Words Hurt
I. People’s Words Hurt
Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone;
for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
Everyone utters lies to his neighbor;
with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
(1-2)
Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases to be,
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
Hurtful words can be overwhelming.
Hurtful words can be overwhelming.
Hurtful words can be overwhelming.
i. They isolate us. - David looks around and seems to say, “I can’t find one godly man.” He can’t find anyone who honors the covenant anymore. Where are the God-followers. When godly men and women do not speak up, it leaves the liars to be heard. And after awhile it seems the only people left are the liars. It is overwhelming when all you hear are hurtful words.
ii. They tear us down. - Those hurtful words tear us down. We tell young children, “Just don’t listen to him. Ignore her. You know its not true.” But we still hear those words, and they are powerful.
When all a child hears is how stupid they are or how ugly they are, they start to believe it. And pretty soon nothing will convince them they are not. People’s words can overwhelm us and they can drive us to our knees. This is where we find David in this psalm.
iii. They can drive us to our knees until we cry out. David was so overwhelmed he turned to the only place he could think of, God the Father. He couldn’t find another godly person; he felt alone and hurt but he knew He could turn to his loving Father and voice his hurt and his anguish. They were only words, but they still overwhelmed him.
Man’s words hurt.
Man’s words hurt.
They speak falsehood to one another;
With flattering lips and with a double heart they speak.
i. Lies – We see this in our culture today. Lies are commonplace. I see this every day.
People will look me in the face and lie to me. They think, “He won’t know and I will get away with it.” They think it is okay to lie if it gets me what I want. They lie about how old they are, they lie about where they live; they lie about what they did and they lie about what they didn’t do. It is okay to lie if everything comes out good. No it’s not.
A lie is a lie. People want to convince you the truth is relative and that there are no absolutes. What may be the truth for you does not have to be the truth for me. There are absolutes. What we see is, The farther our culture moves from God, the more lies abound. The farther we are removed from the standard of what is good the easier it is to do and justify what is bad.
David groups lies and flattery together.
ii. Flattery – Is just nice lies. There is an ulterior motive
1. Herodians to Christ - Listen to the words of the Herodians as they came to speak with Jesus:
2. Herodians to Christ - Listen to the words of the Herodians as they came to speak with Jesus:
And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any.
Flattering words, but they are meant to trap. Meant to make you feel good and then let your guard down.
“Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?”
Matt 22.17
3. Judas to his master - comes to Jesus in the garden and calls him Rabbi, teacher. it was a sign of respect. But to Judas it was just flattery, meant to put Jesus as ease as Judas betrayed him. Judas’ simple word “Rabbi” was a lie, he didn’t respect him, else he would not have handed him over to be killed.
iii. Two-facedness - Flattery is hypocrisy. you hear and see one thing, yet a lie lurks underneath. That hurts and it cuts deeper than any sword ever could.
II. People’s Words are Powerful
II. People’s Words are Powerful
(3-4)
a. Flattery and boasting are powerful ways to manipulate people.
May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
The tongue that speaks great things;
Who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are our own; who is lord over us?”
May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
The tongue that speaks great things;
Flattery and boasting manipulate people
Flattery and boasting manipulate people
i. We use flattery to butter people up and get what we want.
ii. We boast so that we seem to be more than we are. - You know the kind of person, the one that will tell people how good they are. They do this so they will feel more important and they do this to intimidate others. It gives them a sense of power.
b. Our powerful words lead us to arrogance
Powerful words lead to arrogance
Powerful words lead to arrogance
May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, The tongue that speaks great things; Who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail; Our lips are our own; who is lord over us?”
Ps12.3-4
i. We use our tongues to defend us - we think we can talk our way out of anything and if we talk long enough we think we will win. David is tired of it. He is tired of hearing arrogant people who have no need for God.
ii. We use our tongues to manipulate and get our way
iii. We use our tongues to set ourselves over others
1. No one can tell us what to do
2. You’re not the boss of me.
a. We say this of others. And eventually we will say this of God
b. We say this of God.
David’s prayer is that God will stop all of the lying, that He will shut the mouths of all those speaking against him.
Man’s words are powerful, but God’s words are even more so.
III. God’s words heal
III. God’s words heal
“Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy, Now I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will set him in the safety for which he longs.”
“Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy, Now I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will set him in the safety for which he longs.” The words of the Lord are pure words; As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.
(5-6)
Ps12.
a. He knows we hurt and He hears our cry
David knows God will answer his prayers. God hears us. These are comforting words when it seems people are against us and nothing is going right. These are comforting words and they are words we need to hear.
b. God’s words bring us to a place of safety
(5b)
We need to realize God does more than hear; He protects us. David is right where he needs to be, crying out to God and trusting God to hear Him and rescue Him.
The words of the Lord are pure words; As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.
Ps
David is surrounded by people who are saying ugly things about him and people who are lying on him. That barrage of words hurts. But he knows where to find good words. He knows where to find healing.
c. God’s words are pure. There is no deceit in them - We have the same words that David had, and a few more. When the world gets you down , go to the Bible. You will find comfort and safety there. You will find pure words of love and comfort.
IV. God’s words are more powerful
IV. God’s words are more powerful
7 You, O Lord, will keep them; You will preserve him from this generation forever. 8 The wicked strut about on every side When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.
(7-8)
a. We find protection in God’s words (7)
i. He guards us from those who would slander and hurt us.
ii. We can be confident He will protect us. He protected David and He has taken care of generations before us.
b. People are still going to lie, they are going to flatter and they are going to be two-faced. rut They will strut about and boast and even think they have you beaten. But we know better than that:
i. We need to remember that God’s words are more powerful
ii. His words are tried and tested.
Conclusion:
The Word of God is powerful and true. We, as Christians, are going to have people attack us. We are going to doubt. When we feel like we have been torn down by someone else’s words we just need to remember God’s words are pure, they are loving and they have been proven time and time again. When the world shouts you down, you don’t have to shout back. Just cry out to God and trust Him.