Psalm 129, and beginning at verse 1. Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say. Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me. The pliers plied my back, they made long their furrows. The Lord is righteous, he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked. Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion. Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which weathereth afore it groweth up, whether the mower filleth not his hand, nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom. Neither do they which go by say, the blessing of the Lord be upon you, We bless you in the name of the Lord. Amen. And the Lord will add his blessing to the reading of his truth. Let's bow in a moment's prayer. Father in heaven, we praise thee for the living word of the living God. And Lord, as we come to study this great portion of thy truth tonight, we pray that the Holy Spirit of God, the author, would be our teacher and our guide. Lead us, guide us into all truth. And Lord, even in the circumstances we find ourselves in tonight, we pray, Lord, that there will be a word from God for each one of us. Give us hearing ears, give us understanding hearts, and Lord, give us hearts to trust Thee. And Lord, we pray that Thou would bless this word to all who hear tonight. To this end, I pray that Thou would fill me with the Spirit of God and with power. I pray that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of man. We pray in Jesus' name and for his glory. Amen. Psalm 119 is the longest psalm. And if I had been asked to speak on that tonight, we'd still be singing it. And maybe in an hour's time, we'd still be singing it. But Psalm 119 is like a long hymn. But when we come after Psalm 119, there's lots of little hymns. And someone has described this as a chorus book. And we all know what chorus books are. And these choruses or these songs of degrees, they were designed to be sung as the people made their annual upward journey to Jerusalem. They were going to the house of God and they were going to meet the Lord. My friend, that's where we need to be tonight. Now it may be in days to come, we may not be able to physically come to the Lord's house, I don't know. But there's not one of us forbidden to come to the throne of grace day and daily. There's not one of us but can ascend that hill of God and come into the very throne room of heaven itself through the name of the Lord Jesus and through the merit of his blood. Now, when you read this psalm, it's a tale of woe. But then, of course, we live in circumstances today, and I don't know about you, but the news, it's a tale of woe. So the Lord is relevant. Is it a mistake that this is our portion of Scripture tonight? Absolutely not. And although it's a tale of woe, what it does, it shows us the bigger picture of the sufferings of the children of God. Someone has said there's not really a cheerful note in this whole psalm. And as you've sung it, and as you've heard it read, well, that's pretty true. The first half is a lament about the affliction that has heaped upon the righteous and those who are coming up to the house of God to worship the Lord. It speaks of the injustice of the sufferings that the people of God have to endure. I told you it wasn't really cheerful. And then the second half, it's really a prayer for divine justice against those who oppress the people of God. So again, we hear about injustice and we see it cataloged. And then in the second part of the psalm, we have an all-out prayer for the vengeance of God to be reigned upon them. And yet this psalm emphasizes a wonderful truth. And that is that the wicked will not prevail against the people of God. And that's what we need to get from this psalm tonight. Verse two sums it up. Yet, it's great, many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say. Then he repeats it, many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, yet have they not prevailed against me. My friend, that's all you need to know when there's troubles and trials and there will be. We need to know that they will not prevail against the people of God. We think of 2 Corinthians and the Apostle Paul, and how he could say in 2 Corinthians 4, 8, and 9, there he says, we are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. Remember, you're troubled on every side at the minute. Maybe you've listened to the latest report from Boris and you wonder how on earth or what and where the next few months are going to be. But are you distressed? You ought not to be. Perplexed? Maybe. But not in despair. Persecuted? But not forsaken. Cast down? but not destroyed." And this is the theme of this portion of the Word of God in Psalm 129. Although there is trouble, and although there is trial, and although there is heartache and persecution, we will not be defeated. The Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians, later on in chapter 11, he goes through a list of the things that he suffered. Of the Jews, five times received high stripes, save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods. Once was I stoned. Thrice suffered shipwreck. A night and a day have I been in the deep. In journeyings often, perils of waters, perils of robbers, and perils of mine own countrymen, and perils of the heathen." We maybe haven't got halfway through that, less than we think we're bad. But look at the Apostle Paul. And yet he didn't write those words under inspiration of the Spirit of God to complain. but to show that the Lord was sovereign and that the Lord delivered him out of all his troubles. As I say, there's not a cheerful note in this psalm, but my friend, tonight it is triumphant. And that's what we need to see. The central message of this psalm is that there is a bigger picture in the lives of believers that we don't always see. You and I look at our lives tonight, and we look at how things are, and we look at how things are in our family, and we look at how things are in the world around us, and in, well, let's mention Corona. We couldn't get through the night without mentioning Corona. Well, the Lord has allowed it to be here. And there are many things to trouble us. And if we just take these blinkered eyes and we just look on those troubles, we will be in despair. Medically speaking, I could tell you things that would make the hair stand on your head if you had any. But what would that do? What I want to tell you is our sovereign God is in control. And He's your Lord and He's mine and He will look after us. And that there's nothing will happen, the child of God, that is not for our good and for his glory. But if we get this blinkered view and all we can see is Corona, and all we can see are those that oppress us, and all we can see are those who have the wicked prospering all around us, we will get discouraged. And maybe we will feel in despair. But what this Psalm does, it takes us to step back. And it shows us the bigger picture. I was thinking as I was driving, I've been in Ballymena tonight, and I'm here. I was thinking, you know, you could be standing in a room, and your son or daughter, and they're just a little child, and there's a man standing over them with a knife. And all you can see is your precious son or daughter and the hand of a man with a knife. And you think it's terrible. And you think it's horrendous, and it is. But then when you take a step back, oh, now things are different. Because there's an anaesthetist at the top, and the little one's asleep, and they're not going to feel it. And the man, the hand holding the knife, is a surgeon. And now you're in the cleanest operating theater in all the country, and he's doing a life-saving operation on your child. Now, when you, without those blinkered eyes, you look down and you see your child in the knife. Oh, it's terrible. But step back and see it all in the context and see the whole big picture. There's no trouble. You're going to say to that surgeon, go ahead and save my child's life. So often we just look at the things that are around us and we don't see them in the context of God's providence and the context of God's care for his people. How true the words are of Paul, we are troubled in every side. We think of all the imposition of dreadful laws that have been put upon us in this land. And I said to a brother tonight, I know this isn't particularly about pestilence, but it is trouble. I can't help but think that worst case scenario in the US, they reckon 1.2 million will die. It's a fair estimate. But what about the one million plus children they kill and abort every year? Do you think the Lord knows what he's doing? I believe with all my heart that the situation that we're in tonight is the judgment of God. We can expect nothing else. Over the world, men have flouted the laws of God. And you can expect nothing but judgment. But in the context of all this, remember the judgment in Egypt, the Lord preserved his people. And that's what we need to see tonight. This psalm takes us back from our situation. It shows us the bigger picture. It puts our troubles and our trials in context. It gives us some perspective. It gives us God's perspective. And we need to look at the situation that we're in tonight, not through our own human eyes that are full of woe and full of troubles and full of anxiety and care. We need to stand with God. Stand back from the situation and see God in the situation, graciously looking after his own people. This psalm divides into two. So I've got two points tonight, so you're thinking you'll be out very soon. Well, they're probably longer than I've had five points, so you mightn't get out just so quick. And the first thing I want you to notice is the righteous suffer. No doubt about it. The righteous suffer, but they're safe. The righteous suffer, but they're safe. We see here the persecution of the people of God, the affliction, but the Lord is protecting them. Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, yet have they not prevailed against me. Notice towards the end of verse one, may Israel now say. Now that gives us the context of who's been spoken about here and it is the whole nation of Israel. In other words, it is all of the people of God that are in view. So if you're saved here in this meeting tonight and you love the Lord and you're listening maybe on the internet, this is a message for us. Because not only does it speak of Israel, the chosen people of God, in that context, I believe it speaks of the Israel of God in terms of all of God's people, the believer. It had particular relevance to that physical nation of Israel, but I believe it applies to the spiritual Israel of which you and I as children of God are part of. And it says, now may Israel now say. And right from the time Israel was a nation, They were under attack and persecution. Many talked about Egypt and how they were afflicted under the taskmasters. But the Lord delivered them. And then they got out of Egypt and they were in the wilderness. And in that wilderness, wandering for 40 years, they had many battles and many troubles and many trials. Many battles. There was Og, king of Heshbon. Sihon king of Heshbon, Og king of Bashan. Mighty battles. But the Lord delivered them. And then they got into the promised land, and there were the Canaanites to deal with. Many battles. The Lord delivered them. And later on, as they got established as a nation, the Midianites would come in. God raised up the judges. There was Gideon raised up a man for his day. And the Lord delivered them. And then we think of the Philistines, how they kept coming in and coming out and coming in. When we go into Israel's history beyond that and we get into the captivity in Babylon. But yet the Lord delivered them and brought them back. We think of the time of Haman. There was a threatened holocaust of the Jews. The Lord raised up Esther. The Lord delivered them. Troublesome times. If you had lived in Esther's time, and that decree had been given in Shushan the palace to have every one of your race killed, you would have been worried. But God delivered them. In all of these afflictions, God always stepped in to save his people. And even to this day, Of all the nations of the world, the one nation that manages through in spite of every odd, in spite of everything, it's the Jew. God's ancient people. They should have been wiped out. It looked as if they were being wiped out. But no, they're still there today. And why? Because God protected them. Verse 1 and 2 begin with the exact same words. Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth. And it emphasizes the fact that this goes right back to the very start of the nation. And you know, as the child of God, we need to realize that from the very start of our walk with God, We are going to endure persecution and affliction. You know, there are some preachers and they will get up and they'll say, you need to get saved and all your troubles will be over. And my friend, if you can find it in this book tonight, when I'm going out, you'll have to come up to me for I'm not going to shake your hand for your sake and mine. If you can find that you can get saved and all your troubles will be over, it's not in this book. I'm not saying you shouldn't get saved. We need to be saved. And the Lord looks after his people, but he doesn't promise a life of roses. 2 Timothy 3, 12. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. We need to get it into our heads. You know, there are times when people, the people of God, and something happens in their life, and they throw their hands up and they say, how could this happen? How could it not? The Lord said it would. My friend, you should expect it. If the Lord says, all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution, well, all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Rather than throw our hands up and do some sort of a holy dance and think, oh, this is terrible, should we not lift our hearts to the Lord and say, Lord, thank you for warning me. Lord, thank you for preparing me that this would happen. And Lord, thank you for the promise that you'll deliver me in it. But when we read some of these words, it's very hard not to have our minds drawn to Christ. And of course, as we look at the word of God, if we are not drawn to Christ, we're not reading it right. Old Martin Luther's, his whole watchword as he read the scriptures. He said it was his desire to see Christ in every verse of every chapter of every book in the Bible. My friend, if you read this book, which is The Living Word, And that word is not just W-O-R-D with letters in it. It's the word who was in the beginning with God and the word that was God. So this is the living word. This is Christ written down. That's why it's a precious book. That's why it's an important book. The Lord says, lo, I come in the volume of the book. Not in just the New Testament and a few passages in the Old. But in the volume of the book, it is written of me. And so if we read this and we don't see Christ, we have missed the point. And my friend, if you read the scriptures and you miss Christ, you've missed the best part of it. Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth. Now let's apply that to Christ, which I believe it does. You think of when the Lord Jesus Christ was born, He was hunted out of the country by Herod. Then he had those silent years in Nazareth where he was subject to Mary and to Joseph, lived and worked as a carpenter. But once he started his earthly ministry, how persecuted he was. He came back to his home town after his baptism in the Temptations. He came back to Nazareth. The first thing he did when he came back to Nazareth, he went to church. There's a lesson for us there. And it says, he went into the synagogue as he was wont to do. You know, there's a whole lot of believers and they're not wont to go anywhere, let alone the church. But my friend, if the Lord in glory did, we need to follow his example. So he went into the church and they give him a portion of the scriptures to read. Providentially, they give him a scroll that was Isaiah. And he began to read it. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to preach peace. And he said, this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. In other words, I am reading the prophecy of Isaiah written 500 years before, and you are hearing it delivered to you, to your ears by Messiah. This day is this prophecy fulfilled in your ears. Now, what do you think they would do? Lord, it's great you're here. No, they dragged him through the streets and they tried to throw him over the hill and they left it to kill him. They didn't want to hear. He suffered at the hands of the Jewish leaders and ultimately by the Romans. Virtually the whole world was conspired against Christ to destroy him. But he was victorious. He's the ultimate embodiment of this principle of this psalm. The life of Christ illustrates that how through the greatest of suffering and affliction, the Lord brings blessing. Now, if you asked any of the disciples, there were the disciples maybe the night after the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. Ask them, was this a victory? Absolutely not. As far as they were concerned, it was the greatest defeat they had ever known in all of their lives. They were looking at what they could say. They were looking at it from a human perspective. They weren't standing back and saying that in the hand of God, that terrible suffering was the very thing that would bring eternal salvation. They didn't see the big picture. And when we come to these words that we read here, the pliers plied upon my back, they made long their furrows. Undoubtedly a reference to the cat of nine tails. A whip that the Romans used, long leather thongs, Tied into that, bits of metal, bits of bone. And as they trailed it across the back, it was plied. You know, these people weren't just giving him a token scourging. It says, the pliers plied upon my back. And there's a sense in which they went systematically right across it till it was all plied. This just wasn't a lash. And then it says, they made long their furrows. They made sure they were as long as possible. That's what the Lord Jesus Christ suffered. What an awful thing. Look at the small picture there and you see the Son of God in defeat. Look at the circumstances there and you think that God the Son is being defeated in everything. And yet he was fulfilling the scriptures to the letter. And then when he was nailed to the cross, man had done his worst, and God the Father unleashed his sword against his son in the three hours of darkness. What worse could have happened? Then he died. Look at the picture as the disciples saw it. He was finished. He was defeated. Three and a half years of their lives were wasted. But no, in the sovereign hand of God, what did it say in verse two? They have not prevailed against me. And you know, there's many ways we could see that. How many times did the devil try to slay Christ? In Nazareth, throwing over a cliff. Bring him to the pinnacle of the temple, throw yourself over. Here, Scourging him. Many a prisoner died with the scourging. They never got to a cross. Anything and everything to prevent Calvary. And so the Lord endured this because of the great victory that was at the end of it. Then it talks about the Lord will totally cut their cords. The Lord is righteous. And here's the Lord coming in with the big picture. And the Lord is saying, yet they have not prevailed against me. He hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked. Well, now, sometimes there's allusion here to the cords that fasten the plough to the oxen. And so when the Lord cuts the cords, they're not going to do any more work. If you were out in the field ploughing with oxen and somebody cuts the cords, you may go home. There'll be no ploughing done. The Lord stops the work of the wicked. But then there's more in terms of the cord here. There's the cord of the whip that ploughed his back. And that cord is cut. He decommissions their weapons. We've heard of decommissioning, haven't we? Well, here's good decommissioning. The Lord stops their work. He decommissions their weapons. and they don't prevail against the people of God. Trouble and persecution are inevitable. All who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. You know, the Lord said, if they hate me, they'll also hate you. You know, anyone who thinks that it's a strange thing for us to be persecuted, and they can read the life of Christ and see how the Lord was persecuted, if you will live like Christ, you will be persecuted. but you'll never be destroyed. We get back to what the apostle said. Troubled, but not distressed. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Cast down, but not destroyed. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. So my friends tonight, lots of things to worry about. Lots of things to be tormented about, lots of things when we just look with those blinkered eyes that we think, what are we going to do? We need to stand back. We need to stand back with God. We need to look as he looks upon it. And as man looks on something as defeat, the Lord sees it as victory. And he turns what seems to be defeat right into victory. These sufferings are intense. We've talked about the plowing, of the back. These sufferings are repeated many a time. So just because you've come through some difficult time and you think it's over, it'll never happen again, there'll be something else waiting. But at least you'll know that the Lord will look after you the next time. But there's something that's important in this. The pliers plied my back, they made long their furrows. Not one of them is named. And we think of Lazarus, the rich man and Lazarus. Remember, the rich man went to hell, and Lazarus went to glory. The Lord doesn't name the rich man. He's not important. But that beggar at Lazarus' table, at the rich man's table, looking for the crumbs, the Lord knows his name. And the Lord records his name in this book. These other people don't matter, but the children of God, they do. The righteous suffer, but they're safe. And then the second part of the psalm, the wicked domineer, but they're doomed. These enemies of God are those who hate Zion. Look at verse five, let them all be confounded and turned back. that hate Zion, that hate the house of God, that hate the presence of God. There are many people like that in the world today. They wouldn't be seen dead in a church. They have nothing but evil and wicked things to say about the people of God. But when we look at this second part of the psalm, it's strange. This second part of the psalm, it's basically a plea or a prayer For God to forstate the intentions of evildoers and call out wrath on these people. In fact, the psalmist is praying that these people will be destroyed. And then there are people thinking, could you pray a prayer like this? Could you pray a prayer that people would be destroyed? Absolutely. And then you're saying, well, how do you square this with the command to love your enemies and do good to those that hate you and bless those which curse you and pray for those which despitefully use you? How can you then pray for the wrath and judgment of God to fall on some people? You know, there is a feeling and there is a philosophy going around today, and it's hard to find words to describe it, it's this lovey-dovey religion. And oh, we love everybody and we love even people who have no time for the Word of God and we just love everybody. Even those that reject the Word of God and those that blaspheme the Word of God, oh, we love them all. Those people need to be prayed against. And it's not wrong to do so. We are to love mercy. Yes, we're to leave vengeance to God, but these are unnamed people. You say, well, you read the rest of the Psalms. This and some other Psalms are talked about, the imprecatory Psalms, where they're praying for the judgment of God. Revelation 6 and 9. And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw unto the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And I listened to these saints of God, and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true dost thou not judge and avenge our blood upon them that dwell on the earth? Lord, when are you going to rain your judgment upon these people? Lord, rain it now. How long are you going to wait? And these are glorified saints. So it is right. that the Lord, to pray that the Lord will unleash upon these people, there is a proper time to plead for God's justice. Because if we don't, we're encouraging the wrong attitude and the wrong behavior. So how can this be squared? First of all, it's not personal. The psalmist here is not praying for one particular individual that he has an umbrage against, and he's wanting the Lord to deal with him and sort him out. He's dealing with the wicked. He's dealing with those who hate Zion. He's dealing with those who have no time for the Word of God, those that would plow the back of the Savior himself. He's praying against God's enemies. And we need to pray against God's enemies, that the Lord will defeat them. Secondly, it is motivated by a love of God's righteousness. It's motivated out of a desire to see the justice of God and God's name vindicated. And of course, he's in full agreement with God in what he does, because God will destroy the wicked. This isn't a mean-spirited prayer. C. H. Spurgeon puts it like this. It's a proper wish. It contains no trace of personal ill will. We desire their welfare as men, but we desire their downfall as traitors. Let their conspiracies be confounded, their policies be turned back. How can we wish prosperity to those who would destroy that which is dearest to our hearts? Then Spurgeon says, study a chapter from the Book of Martyrs. I imagine he's speaking of Fox's Book of Martyrs. And see if you don't feel inclined to read one of these imprecatory Psalms over Bishop Bonner or Bloody Mary. Those who were intent on destroying the people of God. And Spurgeon says, read some of these Psalms when you think of those people and how the Lord needs to deal with them. Then he goes on, maybe It may be that some wretched 19th century sentimentalist will blame you. And if so, read another imprecatory prayer over him. It is not wrong to pray for the judgment of God. It's not personal. You realize that it is not personal. But it is in line and in full agreement with God. I want you to look at the final curse. Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it groweth up. Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand, nor he that bindeth his sheaves his bosom. That's a strange curse. He's praying in this prayer of judgment upon them. He wants them to be like grass. This isn't ordinary grass. He wants them to be like the grass that's on the top of a flat roof. And there in the east, the sun is beating upon that roof, and it's hot, but you get a bit of dust, and maybe a few seeds blown there. And just for a time, there's a bit of rain. It's not like this country. And it gets moistened, and up the thing sprites. And from a distance, it looks as if it's flourishing. It looks as if the grass on the housetop is far better than the grass in your field. And it has all the looks of vibrancy, and all the looks of health, all the looks of flourishing, but it's doomed. Because the minute it dries out, it withers away. That's what the psalmist is saying. Lord, make them like that. Oh, they may look as if they're domineering. They may look as if they're better than anything else. The Lord is short-lived. It'll sprout quickly, and it'll die just as quickly. The wicked domineer, but they're doomed. And like the grass on top of the rooftop, they're worthless. It goes on to talk about the reaper. Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which whither the ford groweth up, it doesn't even get to full maturity. Wherewith the mower filleth not his hands." So this man's coming along with the scythe and he's mowing, and he looks at it and says, oh, not even bother. Not worth it. And when the man comes along to bind it up, nor he that bindeth sheaves, he just leaves it. Because the Lord is dealing with those who oppress the people of God. And then in verse 8, neither do they which go by say the blessing of the Lord be upon you. We bless you in the name of the Lord. It was the custom in the East, and you read this particularly in the book of Ruth, chapter 2-4. Boaz came into Bethlehem and said unto the reapers, the Lord be with you. And they said, answered, the Lord bless thee. And that was the greeting. In the last few days, we're not supposed to shake hands in Nepal. Great place. And the people of God, well, everybody there, they don't shake hands, they go like this. It's fine, you don't have to shake their hand and you've been respectful to them, maybe even wee bow. But the people of God, they said, Jemisi. And that means the Lord be with you. And you know it's a wonderful testimony right around that area of Kathmandu and beyond. All the people of God, and everybody's going like this here to their friends and like this here, but the people of God, they're saying, the Lord be with you. But what about these people here? The Lord is saying they're not going to get that blessing. And it's wrong to pronounce that blessing upon them. You remember in 2 John verses 10 and 11, if they come any unto you and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your houses, neither bid him Godspeed. These are the people who are maybe on the doors, and they're trying to peddle Russellism. Well, they call themselves Jehovah Witnesses, but that's wrong to even use the Lord's name in that. They're Russellites. They follow the false doctrine of Taze Russell. And there's the Mormons, every sort. The Lord says, if they come to you and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him Godspeed. You don't say all the best. You don't be partakers. He that bideth in God's speed is partaker of his evil deeds. And it's right. When someone is coming to destroy the Word of God, you let them be. You keep them out. And maybe you tell them where to go. I remember here, I don't know, 22, 23 years ago, and some of the Russellites came to the door. And down on Highfield Road, and this man was speaking 20 to the dozen. And I was standing there, and I was out of breath listening to him speak. And I said to him, of course, I had any amount of things I was going to reply back, we wouldn't listen. I said, look, if you're going to come to my door, at least you listen to what I say. But if you're not prepared to listen to anything I'm saying, you'll have to go. All right, all right, all right. So I got about 15 seconds, and he started in again. I sent him to the gate. In the name of the Lord, he was bringing false doctrine. And I didn't wish him all the best. And he was right, for he that biddeth him Godspeed is partakers of his evil deeds. Martin Luther sums this up well. The faithful in suffering always prevail and overcome, but the wicked who oppress them are overthrown and they miserably perish. So we may be afflicted, and we will be afflicted, so get used to it. And when it comes, say, Lord, thank you for warning me, and Lord, I know that they'll not prevail against me. And whether that be wicked men, or wicked people, or wicked systems, or even a wicked virus, the Lord will look after his people. They may be oppressed, but they'll not be defeated. The righteous may suffer, but they're safe. And the wicked may domineer, but they're doomed. I don't know what the next few days or weeks hold. I didn't hear the news tonight. You heard it, maybe. And I don't know where we go from here, but the Lord knows. We don't need to worry. The Lord looks after his people. I do believe it's the judgment of God, and I know that's not politically correct, and somebody takes me up on that. I could make the front of the papers. Well, so be it. But I do believe it is the Lord's judgment. But even when the Lord reigns his judgment on the land, notice the Lord protects his people. You think of the time of Jeremiah. There was Jeremiah, and he preached his heart out. You would say, Jeremiah fulfilled a wonderful ministry, and he did. How many converts had he? Maybe none. Was he a faithful preacher of the gospel? Yes, he was. Did he build a big mega church? No, he didn't. Did he build a church? No, he didn't even do that either. And when the thousands, if not millions, were slaughtered when the Babylonians came in, due to the judgment of God, and when many were taken captive into Babylon, Jeremiah didn't have to go. God looked after his child. And that's all we need to know. We will not be delivered from troubles, we'll not be delivered from trials, but we'll be kept in them. They're going to be inevitable, but they're never going to destroy us. And the Lord ultimately will destroy all those who forget him. You know there's a wee bit of grace in that, even in that prayer. He prayed that the wicked would be turned back and ashamed. And you know, is that not what people need to happen to them that are wayward and that are evil and they're vile? Does the Lord not need to turn them back from their wickedness and make them ashamed? Is that not what happened to us when we got saved? So even in this prayer of doom, The psalmist is saying, Lord, in your mercy, save them. And if you're not saved here and you have no time for the Lord, may the Lord turn you back and make you ashamed in your sin and draw you to himself.