Psalm
141 English
Standard Version (ESV)
Give
Ear to My Voice
A
Psalm of David.
141
O
Lord, I call upon you; hasten to me!
Give ear to my voice
when I call to you!
2
Let
my prayer be counted as incense before you,
and the lifting up of my
hands as the evening sacrifice!
3
Set
a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
keep watch over the door of my lips!
4
Do
not let my heart incline to any evil,
to busy myself with
wicked deeds
in company with men who work iniquity,
and 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 for my head;
let my head not refuse
it.
Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.
6
When
their judges are thrown over the cliff,[a]
then they shall hear my
words, for they are pleasant.
7
As
when one plows and breaks up the earth,
so shall our bones be
scattered at the mouth of Sheol.[b]
8
But
my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord;
in you I seek refuge;
leave me not defenseless![c]
9
Keep
me from the trap that they have laid for me
and from the snares of
evildoers!
10
Let
the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I pass by safely.
Have
you ever been surrounded by wickedness?
The answer should be “yes”, because this world is wickedness. However, there are times when we might see
that wickedness clearer than we ever have before. It would be so easy to just join the crowd
and become a part of it. But that is
when we need to pray that we do not bend to their wicked ways. People, especially wicked ones, have a
tendency to draw us into their little schemes.
If we don’t join in we are ridiculed and made fun of. What do we want to do? We want to ridicule right back at them.
David
recognizes this and he doesn’t want to be like those who are wicked. He asked the Lord to guard His mouth and keep
watch over his lips. At one time I had
that verse posted on my computer at work and should probably put it there
again. Often times we can jump right in
to the sin of a filthy mouth when we hear filthy language. I am not talking just about cussing but the
filthiness of gossip, slander, and just flat out unwholesome talk. We get caught up in the news of the day and
we become a part of it.
When
we experience this, the One we need to go to is God. We need to ask Him for strength to not
succumb to the evilness around us. David
did this and even when he could have killed his enemy, he allowed him to
live. He could have so easily said, “He
deserved it” yet he chose to honor the king, his enemy, and not to follow in
his path. In doing this He ultimately
honored God.
We
need to also remember that the righteousness man may have advice that we don’t
want to hear but that God wants us to hear.
So often people just want to hear what is fluffy and nice. But God has placed people in our lives who
may rebuke us, if they are righteous it can bring us healing, if they
discipline us, it is out of kindness. A
righteous person finds it difficult to do these things but knows that is what
is best for their friend. Don’t discount
the words from a person who truly loves the Lord but rather pay heed to
them. Seek God and His Word and know,
that even in the midst of darkness there is light and the light is God shining
down on us.
Seeking
Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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