Hated for Doing Right

Well, good morning again, church. Our sermon text today is Psalm 69. Let me invite you to go there

with me. If you're at home, let me encourage you to grab a Bible. If you're here in the sanctuary,

it's going to be on the screens as well. I'm going to start by reading the first 13 verses of Psalm

69, and then we'll kind of walk through the rest of the psalm as we go. But before I read the first

half of the psalm, let me pray for us, and then we'll dive in. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, thank you

that we can come to you as we are, that we don't need to clean ourselves up or get ourselves right

before we come to you, because God, you promise that you are the one who can make us right,

that you're the one who loves us as we are and changes us by your grace into who we need to be.

And we thank you that it's through your written word that you do that work of sanctifying us,

changing us, and transforming us more and more into the likeness of your own self, Lord Jesus.

So, would you in your mercy come and meet with us now as we turn to this psalm? Help us to

understand it. God, help us to receive it and help us to live it out. We pray this in Jesus' name.

Father, amen. Psalm 69.

To the choir master, according to the lilies of David,

Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire where there's no foothold.

I've come into deep waters and the flood sweeps over me. I'm weary with my crying out. My throat

is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God. More in number than the hairs of my head are

those who hate me without cause. Mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies.

What I did not steal must I now restore? O God, you know my folly. The wrongs I've done are not

hidden from you. Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, O Lord God of hosts.

Let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, O God of Israel. For it is for your

sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face. I've become a stranger to my

brothers, an alien to my mother's sons. For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches

of those who reproach you have fallen on me. When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting,

it became my reproach. When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them. I'm the talk

of those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me. But as for me, my prayer is to

you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me

in your saving faithfulness.

Well, you know, I think sometimes we can think that the Christian life is a bit like a computer

program. If we put in the right code, if we put in the right commands, then we sort of get the outcome

that we want. As long as I do it right, then I get a good result. Or we can think of the Christian

life kind of like a vending machine. If I put in the money, if I slide my credit card, then the candy

kind of drops to the bottom, and everything's good. But you know, you don't have to read the Bible for

long, especially the Psalms, to realize that is not how things work. Sometimes we can do all the right

things for all the right reasons, and the result is not material blessing and comfort, but rather

increased trouble and trial. Sometimes our genuine devotion to God, in other words, can lead to just a

flood of trouble and a flood of hatred, even, from other people. And that's what Psalm 69 is all about.

In this Psalm, it kind of falls into two broad halves. In the first half of the Psalm, David kind of lays

out his situation, and then in the second half of the Psalm, he sort of takes that situation to God in

prayer. So today I want to kind of explore this situation together, and then we'll kind of explore

that prayer together as well, and see how we can respond when our devotion to God results in hatred

sometimes from other people. So first, let's look at that situation. In these first 13 verses that we

just read, David prays, and he just lays out his heart before the Lord. And you know, that just, just

in and of itself, that is a good example for us. Sometimes when we're feeling so overwhelmed, when we

feel like we're sinking, the best place to start is to just open our hearts to God in prayer, and just

express what's welling up in there. The Psalm just starts like a rocket, doesn't it? Save me, God!

I'm sinking! And sometimes that's where we need to begin. And these opening verses where David says,

I'm sinking beneath the waves of the flood, he's desperate, but we find out in verse 4 why he's so

desperate, why he feels like he's sinking. He says, more in number than the hairs of my head are those

who hate me without cause. And as David keeps on praying, we start to see that the reason why he's so

hated, the real root of that animosity, that reproach from other people, is actually David's

sincere devotion to God. Look at verse 8. I become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother's

sons. Why? For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you

have fallen on me. David says, when I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach.

When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them. I'm the talk of people now.

You know, drunkards are making songs about me. They're reviling me. So what we see here is that

David, that people have seen the psalmist, they've seen David's devotion to God, they've seen his humble

repentance, his sincere heart of worship to God in spirit and truth, and how have they responded?

With reproach and hatred. So this psalm has a pretty particular focus. It's not just about praying when

people are out to get you in general. It's about praying when your sincere faith leads to a flood

of criticism, contempt, mockery, even hatred. So it's good to pause here and say, has that ever happened

to us? Has that ever happened to you? Has your sincere desire to please God ever made you the subject of

mockery or contempt? Has it ever gotten you into trouble with other people? David says that even

some of his own family members have turned against him in verse 8. I'm a stranger to my brothers. I'm an

alien to my mother's sons. His own brothers have rejected him. And then in verse 12, it's, you know,

it's not just who he calls the drunkards, the sort of like hoi polloi, everybody out there. It's not just,

it's not just those people who are mocking him, but he says it's those who sit at the gate.

And those who sit at the gate in the ancient world, they would have been sort of the leaders

of the community. They would have been the respected community members who sit at the gate of the city

to make judicial decisions over things that are happening in the life. They were sort of the ruling

council. So everyone has turned against David here. Now, you know, as we think about this, you know,

I'm sure we can think of lots of things about sincere devotion to God. There are lots of elements

about having a heart sincerely devoted to God that could bring on this sort of alienation

and contempt from other people. But in this Psalm, David pinpoints something very specific in verses

10 and 11. Verses 10 and 11, he says, I humbled my soul with fasting. I made sackcloth my clothing.

What is that describing? What is that reality talking about? Well, those are ways of talking about

genuine, humble repentance. The mark of genuine spirituality, of real zeal for God

is humble repentance, a contrite spirit. And David says that humble, contrite spirit,

walking with repentance towards God, that has made him the target of countless enemies.

Friends, you see, in the gospel, we admit the biblical message of salvation, what the core message

of the Bible is about. In that saving message of the Bible, we admit that we are sinners who are saved

by sheer grace. There's nothing that we can do to make us right with God. We confess that we need a Savior.

And that confession, that humble confession of repentance, that at the end of the day,

the fact that we're all sinners, is the most offensive thing about the message of the Bible.

That we cannot save ourselves, that all our good works are not sufficient,

that there are no truly good people in the world, that all have sinned and fall short of the glory

of God. And only those who admit their sin and receive God's rescue and his son will be saved.

That message, what David is showing us here, is one of the most offensive things

about true biblical spirituality. Because in our fallen hearts, we just, we recoil against that message,

don't we? We want to think that my own performance, my own life is good enough for God to owe me favor.

I want to think that what I have done is the thing that grants me a place in God's favor.

We are inescapable in our self-justification. We're always going to look to something to then hold up

and say, God, you have to bless me. I'm good enough now. My good works, my performance, my credentials.

But the gospel comes in and says, no, you still need a savior. Because whatever it is you're building

your identity on, it's going to crumble in the end before the perfect wrath and love of God.

That message is at the heart of the gospel.

And it is always offensive to our natural human hearts.

And so, as Paul says

in 1 Timothy 3.12,

all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus

will be persecuted.

Now,

this situation that David is laying out here

that he describes, I think it's both a comfort and it's a challenge to us.

Before we move on to the prayer,

let's just pause and think about the situation.

I think it's both a comfort and it's a challenge.

It's a comfort because,

brothers and sisters,

if you have lost friends,

or if you've been alienated

from some of your family relationships,

or if you've lost your reputation at work

because of

your sincere desire

to please God,

then Psalm 69

comes with a word of comfort and says,

you're not alone.

You stand

with a countless

host of saints

who've gone before you,

who have walked that road.

You're not alone.

Be comforted.

Be encouraged.

But,

I think we also have to admit

that this situation's a bit of a challenge to us,

isn't it?

You know, this week as I was

studying Psalm 69,

I've had to ask myself,

you know,

is my own humble heart

of repentance

and sincerity for God

shaping my life so much

that I experience

reproach

at times,

exclusion,

like David did?

Or is my life

really just

indistinguishable

from the world around me?

Is how I use

my money?

Is how I use

my time?

Is how I use

my body

any different

from the world around me

who don't know

the God of grace?

You know,

there are always going to be things

in the gospel,

in biblical Christianity

that will be appealing

to any culture

in which it stands.

But there are also

going to be things

that go against

the grain

of any culture.

So we have to ask ourselves,

we have to take the challenge

and say,

am I living in line

with the truth of the gospel,

with that humble,

repentant heart,

or am I just

indistinguishable

from the world around me?

So there's a challenge

here for us.

And it's a challenge

to renew

our sincerity

towards God.

To say,

Lord,

renew

my passion for you,

my zeal for you,

my devotion to you,

my humble commitment to you.

So that's the situation

that David is under here

and we can often

relate to it

and we can take comfort

and we can take challenge

from it.

But starting in verse 13,

David turns from

kind of laying out

the situation

to now asking God

to respond.

He turns from the situation

to prayer,

to petition.

He's not content

just to lay it out.

He says,

okay God,

now you've got to do

something about it.

And there are three

broad things

that David's going to pray for

in the second half

of Psalm 69.

First,

he's going to pray

a prayer for rescue.

And second,

he's going to pray

a prayer for justice.

And then third,

he's going to pray

a prayer of hope

and encouragement

for others.

So a prayer for rescue,

a prayer for justice,

and a prayer of hope

and encouragement

for others.

So first,

let's look at this

prayer for rescue.

We're going to pick up

in verse 13

and go to verse 18.

Let's read that.

Let me read that for us.

David says,

But as for me,

my prayer is to you,

O Lord,

and an acceptable time,

O God,

in the abundance

of your steadfast love.

Answer me in your

saving faithfulness.

Deliver me from sinking

in the mire.

Let me be delivered

from my enemies

and from the deep waters.

Let not the flood

sweep over me

or the deep swallow me up

or the pit close

its mouth over me.

Answer me,

O Lord,

for your steadfast love

is good.

According to your

abundant mercy,

turn to me.

Hide not your face

from your servant,

for I am in distress.

Make haste to answer me.

Draw near to my soul.

Redeem me.

Ransom me

because of my enemies.

Now,

when we feel like

we're sinking

beneath a flood

of unjust reproach

and hatred,

David's showing us here

that first

we have to pray

for God

to rescue,

to deliver.

I mean,

I think it would be

very ironic,

don't you,

to try to save ourselves

when the primaries

reason we're being

criticized

is because we believe

that we can't

save ourselves,

right?

So rather than

anxiously plotting

and planning

and fretting

and maneuvering

when we experience

unjust pressure

and attack

and reproach,

our first response

should be to pray

for God

to deliver.

Don't let me sink,

God.

Sustain me.

Hold me up.

We can bring this

to God in prayer.

prayer.

And David marshals,

he sort of draws out

of his experience

all sorts of words

and images here

to talk about God

rescuing him.

But note

where he ends

in verse 18.

He says,

redeem me,

God.

Ransom me.

You know,

we can often glide

pretty quickly

over these

words.

You know,

David takes

one,

two,

three,

four,

five,

six verses here

to basically say,

save me,

God,

right?

And we can sometimes

just kind of glide

over them.

But sometimes it's good

to slow down

to sort of hit the brakes

when we get to these

parts of the Bible

and really just sort of

slow down

and focus in

on what's being said.

You know,

the Bible uses

all sorts of words

to describe God's

saving work.

There's no one word

that can capture

its fullness.

So sometimes it's good

to just slow down

and listen to these words.

David says,

redeem me

and ransom me.

The language of redeem,

of redeeming,

that's the language

you would use

when a family member,

when a near relative

sees you

in distress.

You know,

in the ancient world

maybe a famine

has come through

and you've lost

your fields,

you've had to sell

your property,

you've become

a hired hand,

your ability

to get your feet

under you

has been lost,

you're just systemically

down and out.

There's no way up.

Well,

a redeemer

is that relative

who comes,

sees you in distress,

they come to your side

and they buy back

your land for you

and they buy back

your equipment

and your livestock

for you

and they restore it

to you

and they put you

back on your feet again.

You remember

the book of Ruth?

The book of Ruth

is sort of a great book

in the Old Testament

about redeeming,

about a redeemer.

Boaz was the redeemer,

the nearest relative

of Ruth and Naomi

when they come back

to the land of promise

and they're completely destitute,

they've lost everything

and Boaz is the nearest relative

and he sees them in distress

and what it means

for Boaz

to be a redeemer

in that moment

is to marry Ruth the widow

and rescue

the family from ruin.

He binds himself

to the family

in marriage

to redeem them,

to rescue them.

Now think about Psalm 69.

David had lost his friends.

He'd even lost

his family relationships.

Everybody

was turning against him.

But he prays to the Lord

who's his redeemer.

The Lord is the one

who sticks closer

than a brother,

the one who will not leave us

destitute or alone,

the one who will see us

in our distress

and restore to us

what we've lost.

David says,

redeem me God.

Be my redeemer.

But the Lord

doesn't just redeem,

he ransoms.

David says,

ransom me,

oh God.

Now a ransom

in the ancient world

was a payment.

It was a price

that you paid

to set something free

when it was trapped.

If you had fallen

into slavery,

a ransom could be paid

to give you

your freedom again,

to liberate you.

Now you see,

in Psalm 69,

David is experiencing

the agonizing realization

that there is a cost

for sincere devotion to God.

There's a cost

for that.

But when we pray,

ransom me,

oh God,

because of my enemies,

we're reminded

that God

is willing

to pay a cost

for us.

Ransom me.

You know,

when God liberated

his people

from slavery in Egypt,

the great saving act

in the Old Testament,

the exodus from Egypt,

when God liberated

his people

from slavery in Egypt,

what was he doing there?

He was putting

his own name

on the line.

His reputation

was now bound up

forever

with the fate

of his people.

He was willing

to pay the cost

with his own name

to set them free.

But in the New Testament,

we see that God

isn't just willing

to put his name

on the line for us.

God's willing

to give his own son

for us.

God's willing

to pay the cost

fully.

Jesus willingly came

and ransomed us,

paid the price

to set us free.

And if that is true,

if we know

that the God

of the universe

has paid the price

for us,

if he has ransomed us,

if God has ransomed us,

then we know

that our enemies

can never really

destroy us.

How could our enemies

sink us

when God

is our redeemer,

when God

is our ransom?

No flood

could ultimately

shake us.

No amount

of torrent

or torment

or criticism

around us

could shake us

if we have

the Lord God

as our redeemer,

if we have

the Lord God

willing to put

his own self

on the line

for us?

How could he let us

sink beneath

the weight

of our enemies?

Never.

So David's confident

that at the acceptable

time,

in verse 13,

at the right time,

in God's

good timing,

he will be delivered.

But after praying

for rescue,

David then turns

to praying

for justice.

This is the second

part of David's prayer,

a prayer for justice.

And this is

verses 19

through 29.

Let me read

19 through 29

for us.

David says,

you know my reproach

and my shame

and my dishonor.

My foes are all

known to you.

Reproaches have

broken my heart

so that I am

in despair.

I looked for pity

but there was none

and for comforters

but I found none.

They gave me poison

for food

and for my thirst

they gave me sour

wine to drink.

Let their own table

before them

become a snare.

When they are at peace

let it become a trap.

Let their eyes be darkened

so they cannot see.

Make their loins

tremble continually.

Pour out your indignation

upon them

and let your burning anger

overtake them.

May their camp

become a desolation

and let no one dwell

in their tents.

For they persecute him

whom you've struck down

and they recount

the pain

of those you've wounded.

Add to them

punishment upon punishment.

May they have

no acquittal from you.

Let them be blotted

out of the book

of the living.

Let them not be enrolled

among the righteous.

But I am afflicted

and in pain.

Let your salvation

oh God

set me on high.

Out of his deep

anguish

David prays here

in these verses

that God would deal

with his enemies

in perfect justice.

That all the wrong

that they've done

he says

God let it be done

back to them.

You know

you can look through

these verses

22 through 28

and see all the ways

in which David's

sort of recounting

his own experience.

His own table

has become a snare.

His eyes have been darkened.

He's trembling continually.

His enemies are always

saying to him

throughout the Psalms

there's no salvation

for you David.

You're not going to be

a part of God's plan.

And David's just saying

God

act in justice.

Give to my enemies

what they deserve.

Now

how do we make sense

of a prayer like this?

It seems pretty harsh

doesn't it?

Well first

we have to see

that prayers like this

in the Psalms

and this prayer here

in Psalm 69 in particular

is an expression

of a soul

in deep

anguish.

A soul that has

experienced

deep

deep

wrong.

So

before

we criticize

or we dismiss

such a prayer

you know

maybe it's helpful

to go back

to those moments

in our own life

when perhaps

we've tasted a bit

of that anguish

and injustice.

And when we go back

and we remember

those moments

in our own life

that own bitter

anguish

you know

we can start to realize

that the hearts cry

for justice

the hearts cry

for things to be

made right

that heart cry

resounds deeply

in the bones

of creatures

who are made

in the image

of God

and sometimes

that anguish

it cries out

in this kind of form.

So this is an expression

of a soul

in deep anguish

crying out to God

for real justice.

But second

notice that the prayer

is horizontal

it's not vertical

and this is what I mean

notice that what David

is praying here

is not

God

let me

make things right

with my enemies

let me

give to them

what they gave to me

just give me a chance

God

let me pay them back.

It's not what David

is praying

is it?

He's praying a vertical prayer

the psalm is saying

God

you be the judge

God

you give them

what they deserve

in other words

it's putting God

in the place of judgment

not me

and only when

we can pray

that prayer

vertically

only when

we can

we can pray

that prayer vertically

can we then respond

rightly horizontally

because

if we don't

put God

in our own hearts

in the rightful seat

of judgment

without minimizing

the wrong

without excusing

the wrong

if we don't

sort of lift it up

to God

and say

God

you must be

the rightful

judge here

if we don't

put God

in that place

then we will

inevitably

put ourselves

in that place

if I don't

honestly entrust

the judgment

to God

I'm going to

seek retribution

or vengeance

for myself

I'm going to

try to balance

the scales

and it might

not be

through physical

harm

but it might

be through

verbal attack

or it might

be through

just harboring

evil thoughts

in my mind

about another

person

but if I

take my

sense of

justice to

God

if I can

settle things

vertically

then I can

respond rightly

horizontally

then when I

respond to

my enemies

I can respond

with equity

or with justice

where needs

be

and I can

even respond

with forgiveness

David prayed

this prayer

from a place

of deep

anguish

a place

of deep

hurt

of being

deeply

wrong

and he

prayed it

to God

knowing that

God would

be the

just judge

but he

also prayed

it knowing

that God

promises to

protect his

people

to stand

up for the

oppressed

the downtrodden

the afflicted

this is one

of the

great

messages

of the

Bible

that God

will protect

his people

from all

harm in

the end

he prayed

this prayer

knowing that

God sees

the afflictions

of his

people

that God

knows what

it's like

do you

remember at

the end

of Exodus

Exodus 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

where the

people are

sort of

they're sort

of languishing

in slavery

in Egypt

and at the

end of Exodus

2 it

says God

heard

their groanings

he saw

and God

knew

David

picks up

that divine

reality in

verse 9

when he

says God

you know

my reproach

you know

my shame

you know

my dishonor

God

knows

my friends

how much

more can

we say

that God

knows

in light

of the

New Testament

knowing that

God the

Son took

our human

nature

was tested

and tried

in every

way that

we are

but without

sin

Jesus

lived a

life of

complete

and perfect

devotion

to the

Father

and what

did

Jesus

receive

as a

result

of that

perfect

life

of healing

and righteousness

and goodness

and love

contempt

and hatred

and eventually

crucifixion

you know

when David

writes

they gave

me poison

for food

and for

my thirst

they gave

me sour

wine to

drink

he was

speaking

metaphorically

he was

saying

look

I did

good

to them

and they

gave

me

the

worst

in

return

but when

Jesus

was hanging

on the

cross

the gospel

of Matthew

tells us

that literally

they offered

him wine

to drink

mixed with

gall

mixed with

a dull

poison

to ease

his pain

Jesus

was offered

the worst

of human

enmity

and hatred

he was

truly hated

without cause

and yet

something

happens

at the

cross

Jesus

the perfect

judge

prays for

his enemies

father

forgive

them

now is

Jesus

overturning

or is

he kind

of contradicting

prayers

like we

have in

psalm 69

is he

saying

forget

about

those

prayers

now

that

I've

come

no

he's

not

Jesus

taught

again

and again

that perfect

judgment

would come

that those

who refuse

to repent

will be

shut out

of the

kingdom

that they

will be

blotted

out of the

book of

life

Jesus

talked

more about

the reality

of judgment

than anybody

else in

the Bible

in fact

the risen

Lord

Jesus

says that

he will

himself

be the

judge

so

Jesus

wasn't

contradicting

the witness

of the

psalms

from the

cross

he was

fulfilling

it

the

judge

was

standing

in

the

place

of

the

judged

so

that

mercy

free

of

charge

could

be

extended

to

sinners

the

love

of

God

took

up

not

only

the

complaint

of

the

wronged

but

the

wrong

of

the

wrongers

to

rescue

them

so

today

we

too

can

pray

for

God's

judgment

and

for

God's

protection

for

his

people

we

can

pour

out

our

hearts

to

God

when

we

experience

hatred

without

cause

but

when

we

do

that

we're

actually

letting

God

be

the

judge

and

when

we

set

that

straight

that

allows

us

then

to

deal

with

our

enemies

with

both

justice

and

with

mercy

as

God

has

dealt

with

us

through

the

cross

in

both

justice

and

mercy

and

that

brings

us

to

the

third

part

of

David's

prayer

we've

seen

his

prayer

for

rescue

his

prayer

for

justice

and

the

psalm

ends

with

a

prayer

of

hope

of

encouragement

for

others

let's

pick up

with

29

we'll

read

to

the

end

and

then

we'll

finish

up

David

says

I'm

afflicted

and

in

pain

let

your

salvation

O God

set

me

on

high

I

will

praise

the

name

of

God

with

a

song

I

will

magnify

him

with

our

prisoners

let

heaven

and

earth

praise

him

the

seas

and

everything

that

moves

in

them

for

God

will

save

Zion

and

build

up

the

cities

of

Judah

and

people

shall

dwell

there

and

possess

it

the

offspring

of

his

servant

shall

inherit

it

and

those

who

love

his

name

shall

dwell

in

it

you see

when

David

prayed

this

prayer

all of

Psalm 69

he wasn't

just

praying

as an

individual

before

God

he was

praying

also

as

the

people's

king

as

the

people's

representative

as

their

head

and

that

means

that

what

was

true

of

him

was

true

of

them

as

their

king

and

that's

why

earlier

in

this

psalm

in

verse

6

David

is

so

concerned

that

the

shame

and

dishonor

he's

experiencing

for

his

devotion

to

God

is

going

to

undermine

the

faithful

people

as

well

if

they

see

the

king

being

brought

low

being

riddled

down

with

contempt

will

they

not

to

be

brought

low

will

it

not

weaken

their

spiritual

devotion

to

see

their

king

suffer

such

a

cost

for

his

devotion

to

God

David's

rightly

concerned

about

the

people

that

they're

going

to

lose

heart

when

they

see

him

experience

this

kind

of

attack

so

that's

why

the

psalm

ends

with

David's

not

just

with

David's

own

personal

rescue

or

David's

own

you

who

seek

God

even

when

you

bear

reproach

let

your

hearts

revive

do

not

think

that

these

afflictions

are

the

last

word

no

though

we

are

brought

low

now

God

will

set

us

on

high

and

we

can

be

so

sure

of

that

hope

that

even

now

we

can

praise

him

and

magnify

him

with

thanks

giving

David's

hope

and

confidence

in

God's

rescue

means

that

the

people

can

have

the

same

hope

and

confidence

as

well

because

what's

true

of

the

king

if

God

will

rescue

his

king

then

God

will

rescue

his

people

and

so

the

psalm

ends

with

this

confident

hope

that

God

will

save

Zion

he'll

build

up

the

cities

of

Judah

in

other

words

the

people

of

God

will

one

day

flourish

and

get

this

in

their

flourishing

creation

will

rejoice

heaven

and earth

will

praise

God

the

sea

just

dragging

us

forward

into

the

new

testament

pointing

us

ahead

to

the

new

and

better

David

to

Jesus

Christ

crucified

and

risen

if

the

old

testament

people

of

God

could

have

hope

when

they

saw

David

rescued

from

his

enemies

how

much

more

brothers

and

sisters

can

we

have

hope

now

that

we

see

Jesus

the

king

of

the

universe

resurrected

and

triumphant

over

sin

and

death

and

hell

for

us

what's

earlier

if

the

world

hated

him

it

will

hate

us

too

but

the

new

testament

tells

us

that

if

we

share

in

his

sufferings

we

will

also

share

in

his

glory

and

the

whole

creation

Paul

says

in

Romans

8

is

waiting

and

groaning

with

eager

longing

with

bated

breath

for

the

children

of

God

to

enter

into

glory

to

experience

the

resurrection

with

Jesus

when

he

returns

and

when

that

day

happens

and

so

when

you

are

hated

without

cause

because

of

your

sincere

devotion

to

God

remember

that

when

you

share

in

his

sufferings

you

will

also

share

in

his

glory

in

fact

the

sufferings

of

this

present

time

Paul

says

are

not

worth

comparing

with

the

glory

that

is

revealed

to

us

the

new

testament

will

even

say

that

the

sufferings

now

are

preparing

for

us

an

eternal

weight

of

glory

beyond

compare

if

we're

willing

to

pray

that

sort

of

prayer

of

hope

even

in

suffering

and

trial

if

we

let

that

hope

get

into

our

prayers

and

we

start

to

praise

God

then

like

David

we

can

start

to

think

of

others

too

and

we

can

start

to

think

of

their

well-being

even

when

we're

going

through

extremely

difficult

times

isn't

it

true

that

suffering

and

affliction

can

make

us