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Enemies? I have no enemies.” I’d been singing a Psalm in church one Sunday morning, one of the many Psalms in which David sings about his enemies. I was singing with my mouth, but not with my heart, because my mind had decided this was irrelevant. I was twelve-years-old, growing up in the peaceful middle-class suburbs of Glasgow. The biggest enemy I had at that point was my alarm clock. “Enemies? I have no enemies. So why am I singing about them?” It’s a question I’m sure many of you have as we open Psalm 7 in today’s podcast. So do we just skip this Psalm as irrelevant? Or is there a way to apply it to our lives?

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Paul was suffering on multiple fronts. His psoriasis felt like a thousand mosquito bites. His family was at war over whether to call their transgender son by his new name or her old name. His church was at war, maskers v anti-maskers, with casualties on both sides. He’d lost his job a few months into COVID-19 and was deeply in debt. He was almost insane with insomnia. Yet, when people asked him how he was doing, “Mustn’t complain” was his auto-response—just like his father’s.

Paul’s wife, Julia, had watched helplessly for months as Paul wouldn’t talk to her or anybody about how he was really doing. She feared an explosion was brewing. But while reading through the Psalms, Julie came across Psalm 6 and its heading ‘How to Complain.’ Excited by her discovery, she wrote down a few notes and that evening shared two insights from what God had shown her.

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Have you ever been hated by someone? It’s a horrendous experience isn’t it? In the ministry, that happens more frequently than you think. It’s happened to me a few times in the past 30 years. For no good reason, people decided to dedicate themselves to my downfall or even my destruction. They did everything they could to turn other people against me. They lied about me, they attacked me, they simply made things up.

But, you don’t need to be in ministry for this to happen. Those who were our friends can turn into our enemies. It can even happen within our own family. It’s a scary experience which makes us feel lonely, defenseless, and helpless, especially because we cannot descend to their tactics. In Psalm 5, we learn how King David responded to his enemies. He found a double comfort, God’s holy hatred and God’s holy love.

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Sometimes we make evangelism so complicated that it becomes dauntingly impossible for the ordinary Christian. Recently, a pastor told me that he was excited about a new book on evangelism. He bought it to teach his congregation how to evangelize. A month or so later, he told me the book was so complicated, even he couldn’t understand it. It would be better just to study Psalm 4, as it simplifies evangelism for all.

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I’ve had panic attacks a few times in my life, usually after times of prolonged stress. The first time it happened, I was sure I was dying and went to ER. As some of you also know, it’s so embarrassing to walk in, warning, “I’m having a heart attack,” and to walk out with a nurse saying, “It’s just stress.” Since then, I’ve had other panic attacks, but I saved myself the embarrassment and the money by pausing and praying until peace returned. Prayer is much cheaper than healthcare, and also less embarrassing. In Psalm 3, David provides us with a pattern prayer that shows us how to move from panic to prayer to peace to praise.

Sermon notes on Proverbs 14:12.

Instagraphics below. More Instagraphics here.