They have surrounded me with words of hatred, and fought against me without cause. In return for my love they are my accusers, but I give myself to prayer. Thus they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love. (vs3-5)
Bless the Lord. Men may oppose us, as they did the Son of God, but He stands with us in the end, hears our prayers, and He will reward us with pleasures, while the wicked are punished. We don't desire men's destruction, but if they won't repent... if they continue in hating the Lord's love... then we bow, even as Jesus did, and pray that they be destroyed in their hatred. He says, "They have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love" (vs5). We want wickedness punished and righteousness exalted.
Give yourself to prayer! Don't let the wickedness of men turn you away from obedience. He says, “Do not keep silent, O God of my praise! For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful Have opened against me; They have spoken against me with a lying tongue. They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, And fought against me without a cause. In return for my love they are my accusers, But I give myself to prayer” (vs1-4). God is your refuge. He is the One who answers your prayers and gives you comfort in the time of need. He hasn't promised smooth sailing, but when the storm arises and unjust hatred is poured out upon you, He will lift you up. Because our reward is GREAT in heaven, turn your eyes there in prayer. He says, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt 5:11-12). Don't give hatred for hatred or hide the gospel to make a false and sinful peace. But, commit yourself, like Christ, to Him who judges righteously and know it will be will in the end (1 Pet 2:23).
Secondly, bow to God punishing sinners who won't repent. He says, “Set a wicked man over him, and let an accuser stand at his right hand. When he is judged, let him be found guilty, and let his prayer become sin” (vs6-7). Christ wept and pleaded with sinners to be saved, but He pleaded their destruction, if they wouldn't turn. He doesn't say, “You've hated Me unjustly, but that's not a problem. Peace to you.” Instead, He hates them with perfect hatred, a hatred that is the just response to gospel love being rejected. He says, and Peter quotes this referring to Judas, “Let his days be few, and let another take his office. Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow” (vs8-9). If you won't have God's love in Christ, if you refuse to be chosen, predestined, and redeemed... if you refuse to be made whole, then He prays that your rebellion and uncleanness be punished. He says, “Let his children continually be vagabonds, and beg; let them seek their bread also from their desolate places. Let the creditor seize all that he has, and let strangers plunder his labor” (vs10-11).
Many say, “It doesn't matter if you obey Christ. You'll go to heaven your own way, so long as you're sincere”. Even the atheist, Christopher Hutchinson, who recently died, is “happily surprised to meet God”, according to the pulpits of men. But, it is not so. Everyone who refuses to be saved will be damned, and those who unjustly hate the righteous will not be rewarded with those who served the Lord Jesus amidst the cavils of men. He says, “Let there be none to extend mercy to him, nor let there be any to favor his fatherless children. Let his posterity be cut off, and in the generation following let their name be blotted out” (vs12-13). This cruel rejection of Christ will be met with the holy hatred of God, and we WANT it so. “Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out” (vs14). Believing on Christ, we say by confession, let all unbelievers be damned. Building the ark, we say with Noah, let this generation be damned for refusing to enter in (Heb 11:7).
Finally, it will be well with you, so not only pray in trouble but expect great answers from God. He says, “But You, O God the Lord, deal with me for Your name's sake; because Your mercy is good, deliver me” (vs21). Sin says, “Compromise, and you'll be happy. Eat the forbidden fruit, and it will be better for you”, but these are Satan's deceptions. There is great reward in obedience, even though it isn't always immediate. The right way may cause much anguish, but it is only temporary. In the end, righteousness is always rewarded by the God who hears and sees you. He says, “Help me, O Lord my God! Oh, save me according to Your mercy, that they may know that this is Your hand – that You, Lord, have done it” (vs26-27)!
He won't have you suffer in vain, but He'll give peace, power over persecutors, and He'll give you unspeakable riches in heavenly bliss. Indeed, “Let them curse, but You bless; when they arise, let them be ashamed, but let Your servant rejoice” (vs28). Christ didn't come to be hated only, but also to be loved by all the Father gave Him. His agony in enduring the cross, while beyond description in His sufferings, made way for the salvation of many, and He is now enthroned in glorious joy. He says, “I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth; yes, I will praise Him among the multitude. For He shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those who condemn him” (vs30-31). You and I will get peace by the Spirit, even when sinners hate us, because they cannot stop the Comforter, and like Christ, we'll soon be removed from all suffering, granted our every desire eternally, and we'll know by face to face contact with God that He is a rewarder of those who suffer for Him obediently. He is the One who gives peace, which conquers everything the devil's minions can throw at us.
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