Psalm 141
Notes
Transcript
Psalm 141
Most people recognize the dangers of peer pressure.
Most young people have to deal with it in some form or another.
It is wise for parents to teach their children to have courage against peer pressure, to be able to say know when someone tries to get them to do drugs, or drink alcohol, or start smoking, etc.
The Bible teaches us to stay away, and don’t listen to sinners.
10 My son, if sinners entice thee, Consent thou not.
15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them; Refrain thy foot from their path:
Resisting sinners influence is the theme of this Psalm.
He prayed for the Lord to help him stand against the pull of wicked men.
Teenagers are not the only ones who may be tempted or enticed to do wrong.
Sin is all around us, and we are surrounded by temptations and tempters.
What can we do when the Evil try to Entice you to Join their Wicked Ways?
Let’s ready Psalm 141...
The first thing we ought to do when we are enticed by evildoers is...
I. Cry to the Lord for Help
I. Cry to the Lord for Help
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.
David cries out for God to help him, and hurry about it!
Listen - Give ear to my voice
There is an urgency in the call - Make Haste - Give ear
There must have been a real and present temptation for Him.
He prayed with urgency for help!
He twice said he cried out to God
He begged God to hurry, act at once
He asked him to give ear - to listen attentively to him
He asked God to hear his voice…vocal, not silent prayers.
Secondly, He asked God specifically for Him to accept his prayer.
He likened it to the incense that burned in the temple, which was a symbol of the people’s prayers rising up to God.
The priest offered to lambs as daily sacrifices, one in the morning and the other in the evening.
Perhaps his specific mention of the evening suggests that he prayed this at the end of the day.
Either way, when we feel the pressure from those around us to do something sinful, we need to cry out immediately to God.
13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
We need to cry out for His help as He has promised that He would.
Secondly, we need to
II. Ask God to Keep You Strong
II. Ask God to Keep You Strong
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 practise 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.
David understood the power of temptation, and He understood his own weaknesses.
He knew He needed God’s help.
He asked God to:
A. Guard My Tongue
A. Guard My Tongue
Set a watch, O Lord before my mouth; Keep the door of my lips.
I know some people that need to pray that prayer, me included.
David did not want to speak sinfully.
so He asked God to guard his tongue.
In another Psalm David committed to God His tongue...
1 I said, I will take heed to my ways, That I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, While the wicked is before me.
James, in his epistle, warns us about the power of the tongue!
2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
It’s so easy to say the wrong thing, especially in anger.
Secondly He asked God to
B. Push My Heart Away from Sin
B. Push My Heart Away from Sin
I have prayed this prayer…Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men that work iniquity. Let me not eat of their dainties.
Lord, can’t you just fix my heart for me?
Can’t you just remove the desire to lean toward sin?
We tend to give into that which we lean toward!
The dainties in this verse speaks to delicacies, luxurious portions of food, but it is being used as a poetic symbol of the evil deeds that these evil men are doing.
C. Send Me a Godly Counselor
C. Send Me a Godly Counselor
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.
David wanted to be held accountable.
He prayed for God to raise up a righteous person to counsel and correct him.
Are you willing to listen to rebuke, the Bible tells you who you are…dependent upon how you respond to rebuke...
8 Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: Rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.
Listen to your father’s instruction
5 A fool despiseth his father’s instruction: But he that regardeth reproof is prudent.
Ecclesiastes says...
5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.
The pretty words of the fool may sound good, but it is far better to listen to rebuke…which is not very pleasant…from a wise man!
Because...
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
Oh how we need faithful friends who will be willing to do the uncomfortable thing and confront us when we stray, or sin.
We talked about hungering and thirsting for Righteousness on Sunday, Is our desire to do the right thing stronger than our desire to have the pleasures of sin?
If our heart is in the right place we will beg God to do whatever he can to help us and keep us from sin.
When a friend rebukes you, be sure to take it to heart!
Pray about what has been said, and search your heart…ask God to show you what they see.
Listen and change what needs to be changed!
Cry to the Lord for help
Ask God to Keep you Strong
In the last part of verse 5 through verse 7 we see David tells us to...
III. Pray Against Evil
III. Pray Against Evil
5b 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 cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth.
David prays, Keep me from evil, then he prays against evil itself.
When evil judges, that do not judge justly, are thrown down by God the evil doers will learn two things
That godly and righteous instruction is true…they will hear (hearken to, heed) God’s Word and it will be sweet (delightful) to them.
That God’s judgment is inescapable.
We learned that as we studied Amos.
There is a spiritual battle going on all around us, and many people are being wrapped up into the fight by Satan.
He does not care about them, or the destruction that he brings to their lives.
We are fighting a spiritual battle against a spiritual enemy, so we need to fight with spiritual weapons!
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
Prayer is the most effective weapon against Evil.
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
We ought to pray again and again that the evil in our nation will be destroyed and cast down!
Pray for God’s kingdom to come,. just as Jesus taught us...
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Pray for our leaders to follow the principles of God’s Word!
Pray that God might remove evil men from positions of leadership, and replace them with men Who love God.
Jesus will overthrow all evil when he returns to earth!
One day our prayers will fully be answered, but until then, may the Lord hear our cry against the Evil men of this world.
Cry out to God for Help - look for your way of escape from temptation!
Ask God to keep you strong - guard your tongue, Push your desires away from sin, send godly counselors.
Pray against Evil - that their plans will be thwarted.
IV. Ask Him for Protection
IV. Ask Him for Protection
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.
David was very aware that the evil doers were trying to draw him into sin.
He ends his prayer by calling out to God for protection from their attempts.
Why can we call upon God?
Because:
A. Only He Can Be Trusted
A. Only He Can Be Trusted
8 But mine eyes are unto thee, O God the Lord: In thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute.
Keep your eyes on Him!
You can trust Him!
Stop looking at your surroundings, your trouble, the evil and the evil doers…and focus on the Lord.
David is saying that his faith and trust were fixed on Him!
God alone is your refuge and deliverer!
He said, leave not my soul destitute…leave it not bear…in other words be my shield!
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in him, and I am helped: Therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; And with my song will I praise him.
Secondly, Because:
B. Only He Can Keep You
B. Only He Can Keep You
9 Keep me from the snares which they have laid for me, And the gins of the workers of iniquity.
He can keep you from falling into the snares and traps of evildoers.
David trusted the Lord to protect Him.
Satan lays deceitful snares in an effort to trap us into sin, and destroy any effectiveness we have for God!
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
The armor of God is God’s way of provision for us to fight against our enemy.
Then stand against the enemy!
We know His tactics, he has used them for millennia!
11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
Keep your stand, and keep your testimony!
7 Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
As I said, The devil wants to make you ineffective, but God can protect you if you will lean upon Him!
Only He can protect us…don’t go in your own strength!
Not only is He Keep You, but
C. Only He Can Defend You
C. Only He Can Defend You
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, Whilst that I withal escape.
The wicked will fall in their own nets - a prayer and statement made throughout the Psalms!
But while they are falling, I am escaping!
We have to rely on God to protect us from evil men’s attempts to draw us into sin.
Satan is seeking to devour us
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
He wants to destroy us and our testimony!
So he sets traps for us.
Watch every step…walk circumspectly!
In Jesus’ model prayer he asked God the Father to lead us away from temptation and deliver us from Evil.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
As we go about our daily lives, we need to pray through this prayer!
God knows what traps Satan sets for us…but He does not force himself on us!
Ask for His help and he will help!
He will give us wisdom to see the traps.
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
He will direct our steps and guide us by His Holy Spirit so that we can avoid falling into temptation.
23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: And he delighteth in his way.
Go to Him, Listen and obey his Will
Don’t think you got this on your own!
5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; And lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he shall direct thy paths.
realize and acknowledge your need for Him and He will direct you!
Yield and walk in the Spirit, and God will help you!
16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Put on the whole armor of God and pick up our weapons -the Sword of the Spirit and prayer.
This is the will of God for you!
He died not to just save us from Hell, but to save us from falling in this life as well!
4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:
He will help us, and keep us from evil.
3 But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.
24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
Ask the Lord for help fighting against the forces of evil!
11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, To keep thee in all thy ways.
He does not leave us alone…but we must yield to Him and pray for His help!