Psalm 141
A Psalm of David.
1Lord, I cry unto thee: Make haste unto me; Give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee. 2Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; And the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. 3Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; Keep the door of my lips. 4Incline not my heart to any evil thing, To practice wicked works with men that work iniquity: And let me not eat of their dainties. 5Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: And let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, Which shall not break my head: For yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities. 6When their judges are overthrown in stony places, They shall hear my words; for they are sweet. 7Our bones are scattered at the grave’s mouth, As when one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth. 8But mine eyes are unto thee, O God the Lord: In thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute. 9Keep me from the snares which they have laid for me, And the gins of the workers of iniquity. 10Let the wicked fall into their own nets, Whilst that I withal escape.
Yet again David is asking the Lord for help, he does so quite often in his Psalms. He has sought rescue from many an enemy seeking to slay him. David also asks the Lord to hurry, crying out, “make haste unto me” in verse 1, this too is a reoccurring theme found in the Psalms of David.
His previous prayers go something like this…
“Hurry and help me hide from king Saul who wants to kill me!”
“Hurry and guide me so I know what to say to these Philistines!”
“Hurry and help me!” “Rush to my side and be my guide!”
So, why the rush this time? Who is threatening David and prompting this urgent prayer?
The answer we see in verse 3.
Psalm 141:3 Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; Keep the door of my lips.
David is concerned about himself and what he might say. His prayer in essence is “hurry and protect me from me!”
Wow, Me too David, me too! I can so relate to you!
My own mouth has done more harm to me than any of my critics or foes. My undisciplined speech has set so many snares in which I have fallen, I can’t begin to count them, my mouth truly is often a fool’s trap!
Hurry Lord, hurry and help me from me!
David understands that his own heart has often led him astray which leads him to pray verse 4.
Psalm 141:4 Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men that work iniquity: And let me not eat of their dainties.
David confesses that he is tempted to admire and imitate those that do wrong so he asks God to hurry and help him conquer the desires of his own heart!
Yes, David! I find myself longing for things that I should not, being jealous of those that enjoy the sweet fruit of iniquity. Please remind me of the bitter aftertaste of such sin.
Hurry and help me from me!
The next verse was very convicting to me.
Psalm 141:5 Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: And let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, Which shall not break my head: For yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.
The wise Psalmist then recognizes that God usually sends help via a delivery service, some human messenger or guide.
It is a wise person who recognizes that they are not always right and is willing to seek help and guidance from God. It is good to ask the Lord to rush and rescue us from ourselves but what if that guidance and help come by way of another’s rebuke? Are we willing to listen? I must admit that my pride has often thrown up walls and caused me to take offense to correction.
There is so much more that I could say about this Psalm but time will not permit me. I do pray that God will hurry and help me conquer my greatest enemy, ME and that if he sends a friend to help with that struggle that I will recognize the blessing and accept correction well.
Will you join me in praying this prayer?