Nobody likes me
Everybody hates me
Guess I’ll go eat worms
Big, fat, juicy ones
Long, thin, slimey ones
Itsy bitsy, fuzzy wuzzy worms

Down goes the first one
Down goes the second one
Oh, how they wiggle and squirm!
Big, fat, juicy ones
Long, thin, slimey ones
Itsy bitsy, fuzzy wuzzy worms

Up comes the first one
Up comes the second one
Oh, how they wiggle and squirm!
Big, fat, juicy ones
Long, thin, slimey ones
Itsy bitsy, fuzzy wuzzy worms
Nobody likes me
Everybody hates me
Guess I’ll go eat worms!

Source: Musixmatch, Songwriters: Willie White, Nobody Likes Me (Think I’ll Go Eat Worms) lyrics © Swing Beat Songs, Ole Purple Cape Music, Chicken Baby Songs, Clean Up Your Office Songs

What an awesome child’s song, right?!  Maybe I’m making light of David’s predicament with his enemies; but it seems David is demanding that God take care of those who hate him.  David also outlines vividly what should be done to his enemies who no longer respect him! David is down, perplexed, betrayed, confused, so he honestly goes before God to see what He can do for him.  It is okay to be honest before God for God knows what is in our hearts before we speak a word, but it is not okay to dwell in the darkness when we think God is not acting on our behalf in the ways we think He should at the right time. 

God is sovereign and knows exactly what we need when we need it most.  And one more thought, God might be transforming us in a circumstance that we cannot change.  I’ve seen, heard, and experienced this with myself! 

Instead of “eating worms” of worry that self-implodes our inner peace with God or reacting with self-destructive tactics of revenge because of fear and disappointment of not being liked and revered by all.  Instead, let us look up to our God and shower Him with thanks for always being with us, protecting and providing for us, while remembering all the ways He has rescued us in the past and present.  May our hearts be emptied of bitterness as we leave the warzone of hate to be filled with the love of God who knows no bounds in His love for us. 

May we cry out for wisdom but close our prayers as Jesus did; May your will, not mine, be done.  Jesus demonstrated how we need to respond to those who hate, slander, abuse, lie with efforts to kill our reputations with his entire life on earth.  While others accused falsely; He was silent.  Jesus put others interest ahead of his own.  He laid down His equality with God to walk in human skin so others could see, hear, touch, the living God. How deep the Father’s love for us…

Psalm 109

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

^1-5 My God, don’t turn a deaf ear to my hallelujah prayer.
    Liars are pouring out invective on me;
Their lying tongues are like a pack of dogs out to get me,
    barking their hate, nipping my heels—and for no reason!
I loved them and now they slander me—yes, me!—
    and treat my prayer like a crime;
They return my good with evil,
    they return my love with hate.

^6-20 Send the Evil One to accuse my accusing judge;
    dispatch Satan to prosecute him.
When he’s judged, let the verdict be “Guilty,”
    and when he prays, let his prayer turn to sin.
Give him a short life,
    and give his job to somebody else.
Make orphans of his children,
    dress his wife in widow’s black;
Turn his children into begging street urchins,
    evicted from their homes—homeless.
May the bank foreclose and wipe him out,
    and strangers, like vultures, pick him clean.
May there be no one around to help him out,
    no one willing to give his orphans a break.
Chop down his family tree
    so that nobody even remembers his name.
But erect a memorial to the sin of his father,
    and make sure his mother’s name is there, too—
Their sins recorded forever before God,
    but they themselves sunk in oblivion.
That’s all he deserves since he was never once kind,
    hounded the afflicted and heartbroken to their graves.

Since he loved cursing so much,
    let curses rain down;
Since he had no taste for blessing,
    let blessings flee far from him.
He dressed up in curses like a fine suit of clothes;
    he drank curses, took his baths in curses.
So give him a gift—a costume of curses;
    he can wear curses every day of the week!
That’s what they’ll get, those out to get me—
    an avalanche of just deserts from God.

^21-25 Oh, God, my Lord, step in;
    work a miracle for me—you can do it!
Get me out of here—your love is so great!—
    I’m at the end of my rope, my life in ruins.
I’m fading away to nothing, passing away,
    my youth gone, old before my time.
I’m weak from hunger and can hardly stand up,
    my body a rack of skin and bones.
I’m a joke in poor taste to those who see me;
    they take one look and shake their heads.

^26-29 Help me, oh help me, God, my God,
    save me through your wonderful love;
Then they’ll know that your hand is in this,
    that you, God, have been at work.
Let them curse all they want;
    you do the blessing.
Let them be jeered by the crowd when they stand up,
    followed by cheers for me, your servant.
Dress my accusers in clothes dirty with shame,
    discarded and humiliating old ragbag clothes.

^30-31 My mouth’s full of great praise for God,
    I’m singing his hallelujahs surrounded by crowds,
For he’s always at hand to take the side of the needy,
    to rescue a life from the unjust judge.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

We learn from Bible scholars that David’s enemies hated him so they falsely accused cursed him (v. 17–19). David’s attempts to return good for evil failed, and the wicked showed him no mercy.  So, David responds by taking his case to God.  But David felt God was not listening as quickly as he thought He should.

Often, we cry out to Him but nothing seems to happen—we think. How do we respond when God does not act as quickly as we think he should?  David reminded the Lord that he did not pray only when he needed help, for he praised the Lord often and thanked Him for His mercies.  But, bargaining with God or telling him how good we are is not the way to God. 

Warren Wiersbe writes with another viewpoint to consider;

God was silent but the enemy was vocal, speaking hateful, lying words and accusing David of crimes he had never committed. The word translated “accusers” (vv. 6, 20, 29), or sometimes “adversaries,” gives us the English word “Satan,” one of the names of the Devil (see 38:20; 71:13; Job 1–2; Zech. 3). Satan is the accuser (Rev. 12:10) and the adversary of believers (1 Pet. 5:8), and he uses people to accomplish this work.”—Wiersbe Study Bible

David’s enemies were unfairly asking God to crush him. In response, David simply asked God to settle the issue and turn his enemies’ curses and plans back on their own heads. Years later, the prophet Jeremiah prayed a similar prayer against the enemies who wanted to kill him (Jer. 18:18–23), and the Lord did not rebuke him.  God knows what is going on and though our trial may not turn out as we expect; God will rescue us from the judgements of others.

At the end of David’s lament; we learn a lesson in humbly ourselves before God when we feel unfairly accused in circumstances out of our control.  As a faithful son of the covenant, David had a right to ask God for the help he needed. His desire was that God might be glorified by showing mercy to His servant. He wanted God to do some wonderful thing that only He could do so his enemies would know that Jehovah was fighting David’s battles. Like David, we can cry out to God for help.  Always.

Avoid eating worms and wait on God!

Finally, David promised to praise the Lord and give glory to Him when all these trials were ended, and he did. After David had been made king over all Israel, he brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem and sought to honor the Lord (2 Samuel 5–6). God did help David, in His own time and His own way.  God will do it again and again for us!

Lord,

Thank you for conviction and correction as we seek you this morning through communion and reading your Word. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for always leading us to truth. Thank you, Jesus for saving our souls and making us whole. Cleanse our hearts, remove what does not belong. Renew our minds, transform our thinking. Refresh our souls with your new mercies for today and restore the joy and peace of your salvation at work within us.  To you be the glory, honor, and praise!  May Your Will be done in all the details of our lives today and always.

In Jesus Name, Amen