Psalm 150

¹ Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.
² Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.
³ Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre,
⁴ praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute,
⁵ praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.
⁶ Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.

As you read this psalm, I hope you will stop and realized that everything in your world is not “All about Me”. However, as you look at this psalm you will see that we are to praise the Lord. As you look at these verses you will get the picture of a modern church service:

• Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet
• praise him with the harp and lyre
• praise him with tambourine and dancing
• praise him with the strings and flute
• praise him with the clash of cymbals
• praise him with resounding cymbals
• Let everything that has breath praise the LORD

Why Praise God?

For his acts of power

For his surpassing greatness

What is this surpassing greatness? Paul answers this in Ephesians 1:3-14.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ: even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love: having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved: in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, making known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him unto a dispensation of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth; in him, I say, in whom also we were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worked all things after the counsel of his will; to the end that we should be unto the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ: in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation,– in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God’s own possession, unto the praise of his glory.

As I finish another reading of the Psalms and Proverbs today, I realize that this month is almost over another month is almost upon me. This month I seasoned my daily readings with the daily devotional by Charles Swindoll title Wisdom for the Way. I found this devotional at the Goodwill store where I buy some of my books. On the inside cover I discovered these words “For Lindsey From the Craig’s May 2001”. The subtitle of this devotional is Wise Words for Busy People. How this book came from the Craig’s to Lindsey and then to me is a mystery, but as I look to the surpassing greatness of God, I realize how God can use a book to influence a person.

On page 62 of this devotional Charles Swindoll starts off the reading by writing “The only way we can come to terms with reality-is by trusting God, regardless.” As I continue to read this devotional, I noticed there were only two paragraphs. The first paragraph centered the words I and me. It is a matter of if I am trusting him, or if I do or don’t allow God in my world as I face each and every issue in my daily routine. The second paragraph centers on the word we. We can’t wait for conditions to be perfect, instead we must go on trusting. This gift of the Craig’s to give Lindsey a treasure to help her along the way is an example of their trusting God to work in her life. Sometimes it might appear that we have fail, however because of the surpassing greatness of God their gift might produce fruit elsewhere. As this simple devotional starts with an individual, the end result because of the surpassing greatness of God will be a group result.

Verse six “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.” forces the reader to one conclusion and that is we are to praise the Lord. The journey that begins with the first breathe that a child takes at birth to the last breath we take before we pass from this life to eternity must include the process of praising the Lord.

Psalm 149

¹ Praise the LORD. Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints.
² Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King.
³ Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp.
⁴ For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation.
⁵ Let the saints rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds.
⁶ May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands,
⁷ to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples,
⁸ to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron,
⁹ to carry out the sentence written against them. This is the glory of all his saints.
Praise the LORD.

As we study God’s Word some concepts are hard for us to understand. As I study the attributes of God and focus on His goodness and kindness as well as His great mercies that He has impart not only on my behalf but on to all who call on his name, it sometimes becomes difficult for me to picture God as One who will inflict vengeance and carry out the punishment of the sentence that is written against the those that have not called upon his name. Thankfully for me the message I must give to the world is not this message of the future judgment of God against the wicked of this world, but a new song a message of a way of salvation to all who will believe. As I study these verses, I must realize that there will be a time of judgment ahead, but until then there is hope for anyone that still wants to come to Him. In Jude’s book (the second to the last bible of the Bible) in verses twenty-one through twenty-four we are told to keep ourselves in the love of God and have mercy on those who doubt. So, when I am confronted by others to explain how a loving God could be such a God of vengeance, I will explain to them that I am only beginning to understand the workings of God and that some concept about God is still beyond my understanding. I can compare my understanding of the complete nature of God to that of a 3rd grader’s understanding of calculus. Some things are just beyond my understanding. However, by reading Psalm ten I get a picture of how wicked the evil man truly can be.

This psalm ends with a plea for God to arise and take action against the wicked and evil man and call him into account for what he has done. Then this happens to the evil it will become the glory of all his saints. This day will come when the Lord returns. Why the delay? Peter answers this in II Peter chapter three “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance”. How then should we live “Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for these things, give diligence that ye may be found in peace, without spot and blameless in his sight. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote unto you”.

But why don’t the wicked see their coming judgment? The answer can be found in Psalm fourteen, Psalm fifty-three, and Romans chapter three.

Psalm 148

Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord from the heavens: praise him in the heights.

Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.

Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.

Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.

Let them praise the name of the Lord: for he commanded, and they were created.

He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass.

Praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps:

Fire, and hail; snow, and vapours; stormy wind fulfilling his word:

Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars:

Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl:

Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth:

Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children:

Let them praise the name of the Lord: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.

He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the Lord.

Praise the LORD. The theme of a believer’s walk should center on praising the Lord. This psalm focus on all of God’s creation praising Him. For his name alone is excellent and his glory is above the heaven. May your walk today be on praising the Lord.

Psalm 147

¹ Praise the LORD. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!
² The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel.
³ He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
⁴ He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.
⁵ Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.
⁶ The LORD sustains the humble: but casts the wicked to the ground.
⁷ Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make music to our God on the harp.
⁸ He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills.
⁹ He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call.
¹⁰ His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man;
¹¹ the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.
¹² Extol the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion,
¹³ for he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your people within you.
¹⁴ He grants peace toyour borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat.
¹⁵ He sends his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly.
¹⁶ He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes.
¹⁷ He hurls down his hail like pebbles. Who can withstand his icy blast?
¹⁸ He sends his word and melts them; he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.
¹⁹ He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel.
²⁰ He has done this for no other nation; they do not know his laws.
Praise the LORD.

This is a Psalm to the love of God for the nation of Israel. As we loook at the love of God to Israel we can see the type of love that a parent should have for their child. Having seven children myself, I have come to recognized that they have their own individuals traits and that they will make their own decisions. As a parent you will have to give up the control of your child’s environment. As a parent we can instruct, guide and lead, however the most important part of training up a child is to model the Godly life.

Psalm 146

¹ Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul.
² I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
³ Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.
⁴ When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.
⁵ Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,
⁶ the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them the LORD, who remains faithful forever.
⁷ He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free,
⁸ the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous.
⁹ The LORD preserves the sojourners and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
¹⁰ The LORD will reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the LORD.

If you are like me and read five Psalms and a chapter of Proverbs a day then you are on the last or second to the last day of the month today. These last five psalms are what I call the Praise Psalms. The reading of Psalm 146 reveals to the readers Christ a picture of the promise King. In Christ the reader would have found hope and help from the burdens that encompassed their lives. He would uphold the cause of the oppressed and give food to the hungry. He would open the eyes of the blind and restore health to the broken bodies. He would meet the needs of the fatherless and widows but would frustrate the ways of the wicked. However, when he came to earth two thousand years ago, he became the rejected one that was pictured in Isaiah chapter fifty-three.

Who hath believed our report?

And to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground:

he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him,

there is no beauty that we should desire him.

He is despised and rejected of men;

a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:

and we hid as it were our faces from him;

he was despised,

and we esteemed him not.

Surely he hath borne our grief, and carried our sorrows:

yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions,

he was bruised for our iniquities:

the chastisement of our peace was upon him;

and with his stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray;

we have turned every one to his own way;

and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed,

and he was afflicted,

yet he opened not his mouth:

he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter,

and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.

He was taken from prison and from judgment:

and who shall declare his generation?

for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

And he made his grave with the wicked,

and with the rich in his death;

because he had done no violence,

neither was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him;

he hath put him to grief:

when thou shall make his soul an offering for sin,

he shall see his seed,

he shall prolong his days,

and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied:

by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many;

for he shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great,

and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;

because he hath poured out his soul unto death:

and he was numbered with the transgressors;

and he bare the sin of many,

and made intercession for the transgressors.

As the readers after the time of Christ look back on the Savior and his work, we have a detail history of his walk found in the Gospels. We are also given the promise of his return. However, with this return we also will see the doing away with the ways of the wicked. With this hope in mind how can we not praise the Lord.

This promise of the Lord’s return is very important for Christians as they make a stand for Christ in the world today. As I read the Lord’s words concerning his kingdom found in Matthew chapter twenty-five, I ask myself these questions: am I a wise or foolish virgin, a profitable or unprofitable servant, a sheep or a goat. The answer depends upon which phrase would I want to hear. “Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels” or “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world”. Peter informs us that if we have the correct view of the Second Coming of the Lord it will help us from being carried away by the error of the wicked. Knowing this are you looking for that coming day?

Psalm 145
Of David.

¹ I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever.
² Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.
³ Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.
⁴ One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.
⁵ They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
⁶ They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds.
⁷ They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
⁸ The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.
⁹ The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.
¹⁰ All you have made will praise you, O LORD; your saints will extol you.
¹¹ They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might,
¹² so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

¹³ Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.
¹⁴ The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.
¹⁵ The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time.
¹⁶ You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
¹⁷ The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made.
¹⁸ The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
¹⁹ He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.
²⁰ The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.
²¹ My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.

As I have read and study the Psalms these last one hundred and forty five days the most common theme in this study is our relationship with the Lord. This relationship is one that I cherish. The psalmist gives the reasons for having this relationship with the Lord.

Below are his reasons:

I will exalt you, my God the King.

I will praise the Lord’s name for ever and ever.
Every day I will praise the Lord.

I will extol the Lord’s name for ever and ever.
Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise.

The Lord’s greatness no one can fathom.
One generation will commend the Lord’s works to another.

They will tell of the Lord’s mighty acts.
They will speak of the glorious splendor of the Lord’s majesty.

I will meditate on the Lord’s wonderful works.
They will tell of the power of the Lord awesome works.

I will proclaim the Lord’s great deeds.
They will celebrate the Lord’s abundant goodness

They will joyfully sing of Lord’s righteousness.
The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.
The LORD is good to all.

He has compassion on all he has made.
All you have made will praise the Lord.

LORD; your saints will extol you.
They will tell of the glory of the Lord’s kingdom.

They will speak of the Lord’s might.
So that all men may know of the Lord’s mighty acts

They may know of glorious splendor of the Lord’s kingdom.

The Lord’s kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.

The Lord’s dominion endures through all generations.

The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.
The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to the Lord.

The Lord give them their food at the proper time.
The Lord open his hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
The LORD is righteous in all his ways.

The Lord is loving toward all he has made.
The LORD is near to all who call on him.

The Lord is near to all who call on him in truth.

The Lord fulfills the desires of those who fear him.

The Lord hears their cry and saves them.

The LORD watches over all who love him.

The Lord will destroy all the wicked.

So hopefully you can also agree with his list.

Psalm 144
Of David.

¹ Praise be to the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war my fingers for battle.
² He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.
³ O LORD, what is man that you care for him, the son of man that you think of him?
⁴ Man is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow.
⁵ Part your heavens, O LORD, and come down; touch the mountains, so that they smoke.
⁶ Send forth lightning and scatter the enemies;shoot your arrows and rout them.
⁷ Reach down your hand from on high; deliver me and rescue me from the mighty waters, from the hands of foreigners
⁸ whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are deceitful.
⁹ I will sing a new song to you, O God; on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you,
¹⁰ to the One who gives victory to kings, who delivers his servant David from the deadly sword.
¹¹ Deliver me and rescue me from the hands of foreigners whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are deceitful.
¹² Then our sons in their youth will be like well-nurtured plants, and our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace.
¹³ Our barns will be filled with every kind of provision. Our sheep will increase by thousands, by tens of thousands in our fields;
¹⁴ our oxen will draw heavy loads. There will be no breaching of walls, no going into captivity, no cry of distress in our streets.
¹⁵ Blessed are the people of whom this is true; blessed are the people whose God is the LORD.

Verse three ask the question “O LORD, what is man that you care for him, the son of man that you think of him?” This is the type question that could be used in a group discussion, as well a question that could be used for self-examination. The phase “son of man” is a phase that leaded me to the books of Ezekiel and Mark. This phase is used at least eighty eight times in the New Testament and in Ezekiel it is used around ninety times as God’s reference to Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 2:3 “And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children ofIsrael, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day.” Ezekiel was sent as the prophet to Israel during their captivity in Babylon. Ezekiel’s’ message was to a rebellious nation that had rebelled against the way of God. This captivity was a fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy about Israel’s seventy years of captivity (Jeremiah 25:1-14) for Judah’s refuse to repent of their rebellious way. After these seventy years in Babylon the Jewish nation never return to the worship of idols of other Gods.

In Mark 2:2-12 Jesus saw the faith of the four who brought the one that was sick of the palsy and said to him son that sins be forgiven. However, when certain of the scribes heard Jesus they accused him of blasphemies. But Jesus replied “that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) Arise and take up their bed and walk”. Here , Jesus, the Son of God referred to himself the title Son of man. Jesus took on this title to become the sin offering for mankind. Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” So we should learn for Judah’s mistake and repent of our rebellious ways. This offer was made to all, just read John 3:16.

Psalm 143
of David.
¹ O LORD, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief.
² Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one living is righteous before you.
³ The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground; he makes me dwell in darkness like those long dead.
⁴ So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed.
⁵ I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.
⁶ I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.
Selah
⁷ Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit.
⁸ Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
⁹ Rescue me from my enemies, O LORD, for I hide myself in you.
¹⁰ Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
¹¹ For your name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life; in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.
¹² In your unfailing love, silence my enemies; destroy all my foes, for I am your servant.

When I look at the very essence of life the bottom line is that life is a gift from God. I also believe that living life without God can very difficult and is the reason why people can seem to live a life that seems wonderful, yet they are really left with an unfulfilling emptiness. As I study this Psalm ,I must reflect upon I Samuel 27:1 “And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me any more in all the borders of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.” After seven years of running from Saul and waiting on God to intervene; David had reached a point in his life where he decided that living the life, he desired was no longer available. So, he decided with his men and their families to start over. One of the interesting facts I see in this verse is that David is leaving behind his family, his friends, and his past way of life to live with his former enemy.

This psalm probably was a representation of the type of prayers that David made before coming to this decision in Samuel 27:1. It has been stated that you must walk in someone’s shoes before you can feel and understand the pain that they experience when they go through rough times in their life. As I look at Samuel 27:1, after one of the most difficult times in my life I have a greater understanding of David’s feelings and the true sense of his prayers. To lose the daily relationship of your family, as well as your close friends and then to be treated as their enemy can break a person’s will to go on. I can still recall the very day, the very trip that I too make the decision that David made in I Samuel 27:1.

This psalm then represents a prayer of one who knows God but seems to have no understanding of the events around him. This is a prayer from someone who has dreams that are in God’s way, but not in God’s plan. Sometimes it is difficult to understand why when we try to follow God’s way our life seems to be falling apart.

The Prayer Request

Hear my prayer

Listen to my cry for mercy

Come to my relief

Bring me not in judgment

My issues with my enemy

My present state of being and my desire for you.

Answer me quickly

Do not hid your face from me

I do not desire to be like those who go down to the pit

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love.

Show me the way I should go

Lift up my soul

Rescue me from my enemies

Teach me to do your will

May your Spirit lead me on level ground

Preserve my life for your namesake

Bring me out of trouble in your rightness

Silence my enemies

Destroy all my foes

Psalm 142
of David.

¹ I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy.
² I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble.
³ When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way. In the path where I walk men have hidden a snare for me.
⁴ Look to my right and see; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life.
⁵ I cry to you, O LORD; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”
⁶ Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me.
⁷ Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me.

This was written by David when he was running from Saul. As I read this psalm and reflect on the times in my life that God seem so far from me, I can sense the desperate need that David longed for at this time in his life. These times are characterized by rejection even from those who should be supporting you. It seems during these trialing times you must defend yourself from lies and dishonest statement from friends and foes alike, that are used to discredit you and your activities. This was the case with David at this time in his life. David was being hunt down as a criminal. He was separated from his friends and family. It was at this time that David even had to take his parents from their home and leave them with the King of Moab to protect them from Saul. The only ones that surround him at this time were those who were distress, who were in debt, and those who were discontented with the events happening in Israel at that time. These people looked to David for support, and he became captain over them.

As I study the issues that David deal with at this time, found in I Samuel chapters twenty-one through I Samuel thirty-one, I can see him praying verse six of this psalm. Toward the end of this time period these words of David were recorded in I Samuel 27:1 “And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me any more in all the borders of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.” David just seem to give up at this time. The memory of the time he was anointed by Samuel to be the next King of Israel was pushed to the back of his mind. The memory of time spent in the service of King Saul and the relationship of being his son in law were history. His desire was to rest and find safety among the very enemies he once had defeated.

However, there is hope in God. David realized this in verse seven of this psalm. In this verse I see a principle that the church today needs to grasp and take hold of in order to have others gather around them. This principle is simply looking to God for deliverance instead of taking matters into my own hand. The church of Laodicea lost this principle of relaying on God to rescue and taking care of them. In Revelations 3:17 this church is characterized by these words “I am rich and have gotten riches and have need of nothing” yet to the Lord “they know not that they are wretched and miserable, poor and blind and naked”. In other words, their principle was “God helps those who helps themselves and see we have prospered by this principle.” And yet in God’s eyes they were poor, naked and blind. God intervenes in your life for many reasons, however when He does it always for His glory and refining you for his purpose. When we wait on the Lord and go through the refining process people will see God’s goodness to us.

So, as you read this psalm reflect upon the gloom and loneliness that David must have faced during these times and the hope, he still had in God to be his refuge and his portion in the land of the living. The key to David’s life is that his heart was fully devoted to the Lord. Being fully devoted to the Lord will bring times of difficulties in our lives and these times might be hard for us to understand. However, not being fully devoted to God will bring destruction to our life. Solomon is a perfect example of someone who follows God and then decides to go and pursue his purpose. In I Kings 11:4 “As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been”. He turned from God and God left him. So, we need to be like David and realize that when our spirit grows faint within us, it is God who know our way and all we need to do is to look to him for direction.

Psalm 141
A psalm of David.
¹ O LORD, I call to you; come quickly to me. Hear my voice when I call to you.
² May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.
³ Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.
⁴ Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies.
⁵ Let a righteous man strike me, it is a kindness; let him rebuke me, it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it. Yet my prayer is ever against the deeds of evildoers;
⁶ their rulers will be thrown down from the cliffs, and the wicked will learn that my words were well spoken.

⁷ They will say, “As one plows and breaks up the earth, so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of the grave.”
⁸ But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign LORD; in you I take refuge-do not give me over to death.
⁹ Keep me from the snares they have laid for me, from the traps set by evildoers.
¹⁰ Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by in safety.

In his exposition The Treasury of David Charles Spurgeon wrote the following introduction about this Psalm “Yes, David under suspicion, half afraid to speak lest he should speak unadvisedly while trying to clear himself; David slandered and beset by enemies; David censured even by saints, and taking it kindly; David deploring the condition of the godly party of whom he was the acknowledged heard: David waiting upon God with confident expectation. The Psalm is one of a group of four, and it bears a striking likeness to the other three. Its meaning lies so deep as to be in places exceedingly obscure, yet even upon its surface it has dust of gold. In its commencement the psalm is lighted up with the evening glow as the incense rises to heaven; then comes a night of language whose meaning we cannot see; and this gives place to morning light in which our eyes are unto the Lord.”. The greatest characteristic of David is reflected in this Psalm which was his trust in the Lord. This faith includes his ability to take refuge in the Lord and Him be the one that executes judgment.

As I read this psalm today, I stopped and reflected on how I defend my personal beliefs to others. Verse three “Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips” is a warning that we must be careful in our conversations. The one area that I must focus on is how to let others see Christ in my life and the personal relationship has to my Lord. The key to sharing my faith to others is that they must see this relationship in my daily walk before I present the gospel to them. Look closely at this psalm to study how David approached his relationship with God.

His prayer:

I call to you come quickly to me, hear my voice

I present my prayer before you

I lift up my hands to you

Set a guard over my mouth

Keep watch over the door of my lips

Let not my heart be drawn to evil

Let me not take part with them

Let me not enjoy the fruit of their labors

Let a righteous man rebuke me

My prayer is against the evildoers

My eyes are fixed on you

I take refuge in you

finally keep me from their snares that I pass by in safety.

As we go about our journey on this earth, we must remember that this life is just a journey. Most people I meet along my journey do not see life as a journey. They approach their life on this earth as their total existence for eternity. Goals determine how a person lives their life. Is your goal set to reflect that the most you can get out of life on this earth, or do you strive to place treasures in heaven?

The later part of verse five “Yet my prayer is ever against the deeds of evildoers;” from the NIV is different from the ASV “For even in their wickedness shall my prayer continue”. As I look at the difference between these two phases I realize how important it is studying the Word daily. Looking at the phases we could have two different ideas about praying for the wicked. In one incident it seems we are to pray against the deeds of the wicked; and in the other it seems we pray in spite of their wickedness. How do we handle the wicked acts of those around us? This is sometimes a difficult question to answer. The answer might depend upon who the person is that is acting as an evildoer. How do you pray for a son or daughter, brother or sister, or even a very close friend when they decide to partake in the deeds of an evildoer? When looking at David’s life from the scriptures I realize that the most difficult relationships in his life were with some of his closest friends and family. Therefore, as you pray concerning the wicked and the evildoers remember to fix your eyes on God and turn over all judgment to him.