Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb19970309.htm

PSALMS: DIARIES OF GODLY OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS
Psalm Sixty-Four - Responding Productively To Destructive Group Slander
(Psalm 64:1-10)
  1. Introduction
    1. When the believer functions in a group of people, whether it is at work, extended family gatherings, family, church or recreation gatherings, he should seek to cooperate with the group to get desired results.
    2. However, that is not always possible, for one challenge he may face is being so misrepresented by a malicious party that the whole group turns against him, slandering him!
    3. Overcoming not only the pain of this problem, but handling the slander ITSELF takes real divine insight.
    4. Psalm 64:1-10 supplies us with David's words penned in the Spirit's superintending insight on the matter:
  2. Responding Productively To Destructive Group Slander, Psalm 64:1-10.
    1. David cried unto the Lord for help in facing malicious group opposition, Ps. 64:1-2.
      1. Dreading his enemies (v. 2b), David asked God to hide him from the group's plans to harm him, 2a.
      2. David knew that in his case, his life was at stake (v. 1b), so he prayed out of desperation, v. 1a.
    2. The problem David faced was bold, malicious, group slander, Ps. 64:3-6.
      1. He complained to God that the group planned to speak painful words and aim them to be used to do great destruction to David's reputation, Ps. 64:3.
      2. They were planning to ambush David, to attack him orally on an issue for which he had no previous knowledge so he would look indefensible and thus guilty, Ps. 64:4.
      3. What is particularly difficult for David to face is the great boldness behind this effort: the group planning the attack mutually edify one another with the hope that no one will figure out their real motives and discern the attack as slander, Ps. 64:5-6a.
      4. This whole matter causes David to marvel at the great wickedness in man's heart, Ps. 64:6b.
    3. However, David expressed confidence that God would overcome the group and its effort to harm him:
      1. In contrast to the efforts of the group to harm David with their words, God will cause their own words to backfire, catching them with those words so that their own reputations are ruined, Ps. 64:7-8a.
      2. So effective will be this just recompense that others will mock at their errant efforts, Ps. 64:8b.
      3. In fact, all men will respect God and proclaim His works of deliverance for David and ponder them, 9.
    4. Accordingly, David called upon all of the righteous to respond appropriately to this Divine deliverance, 10:
      1. He called on the righteous to rejoice in God's righteousness in bringing on this just recompense, 64:10a.
      2. He called on the righteous to seek refuge in God when they are attacked with slander by a group, 10b.
      3. He called on the upright in heart to praise God in these works of His deliverance, Ps. 64:10c.
Lesson: (1) If a believer faces group slander, he must keep in mind that (2) God is Sovereign over the worst the GROUP can muster (Ps. 64:9), and that (3) He is also a JUST Judge Who can cause the slander to BACKFIRE as a PAYBACK to the group, Ps. 64:7-9! (4) Accordingly, he should call upon God for help, Ps. 64:1-2. (5) As David was a public figure, any public figure who is thus slandered s hould understant that his being thus slandered harms his subordinates, causing them to feel unsafe, a matter that should cause him to seek to edify these subordinates, Ps. 64:10.

Application: Thus, (1) the believer must NOT try verbally to attack his opponents in return for their malicious group slander efforts or he will be guilty of taking revenge which is itself sin, Rom. 12:19. (2) Rather, he must look to God for the protection his reputation needs in view of the slander's effects. (3) He is also bound to use the experience to edify others affected by his being slandered: (a) he must use the experience to encourage other believers to rejoice that God's ri ghteousness checks such dangerous, harmful malice, Ps. 64:10a. (b) He should tell others to seek God's refuge when they are attacked as he is as God's deliverance for him demonstrates it, Ps. 64:10b. (c) He should call on others to praise God in such deli verance works and not be discouraged by the wickedness that hurts their confidence in their own welfares, Ps. 64:10c.