Psalm 141

1 Lord, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee.

2 Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

3 Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.

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.

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.

6 When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall hear my words; for they are sweet.

7 Our bones are scattered at the grave’s mouth, as when one cuts and cleaves wood upon the earth.

8 But mine eyes are unto thee, O God the Lord: in thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute.

9 Keep me from the snares which they have laid for me, and the gins of the workers of iniquity.

10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, whilst that I withal escape. (KJV)

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.

Reading 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 latter 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.