To me, this is a typical Psalm for David, because he is once again asking God for his divine protection. I know, today that most of us have never been attacked by armies, and we’ve never been on the run, but I cannot count the number of times that I have asked God to protect me from my slanderous enemies.

In this, Psalm David, also ask God to help him guard his own heart and cover his own mouth from hurting other people. I find that when we are in a season of time where our spirits are low and people have been attacking us we have a tendency to allow the flesh to take over our heart and our speech. David and perhaps us today I’ve asked God for his divine intervention. If not we need to ask Him.

With that being said, our job is not to get back at somebody else. Our job, a Christian, is not to use what gifts God has given us to stoop lower than the sinner, especially. We are too exhibit, the nature of Christ, because Christ lives in us.

If someone comes at you with bitterness, hatred, and strife, we are not to return bitterness, hateful, and strife. This does not build up the kingdom of God; this tears the kingdom of God down. This splits the unity of a church in half. Sometimes it is a very difficult temptation to overcome, because quite frankly, the flesh is pleased when we act like this. For some people, to say something really nasty back to someone else that makes them feel good. Some people thrive on the drama.

Slide 2

Romans 12:9  Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰ Be devoted to one another in love.Honor one another above yourselves. 

Romans 12:19 Avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place unto the wrath of God: for it is written, Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will recompense, saith the Lord.

If you claim to be a Christian and you’re behaving like the enemy, be prepared for someone to call you a hypocrite. That is exactly what the world will do.

Sinning, any type of sin, will feel good for a while, But we have to pay the consequences eventually. If we return vengeance or we are vindictive, we we’ll burn the bridges we have built with other people. People will cut you off of being friends to them, because it is not healthy to have toxic people in your life. Mature Christians, will be godly and respectful towards you, but perhaps not your closest friend anymore.

So in this, Psalm David asked for protection from his enemies, but he also opens his heart to God. He wants God to keep him from lashing back. He wants to continue to have a pure heart.

Slide 3

In verse one he says the following:

¹ I call to you, Lord, come quickly to me;
    hear me when I call to you.

David is urgent for God to hear him. He pleads with God to let him be in the presence of the Lord. Then he says the following:

²May my prayer be set before you like incense;
    may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.

Have you ever burned an incense? Well, some of them are very comforting, but like candles some just release poor odors.

In David’s time the “priests” would burn incense on the altar before the morning and evening sacrifices. Incense in the Old Testament was a common representation of prayer.

Slide 4

Revelation 5:8 “And when he had taken it, the four living creaturesand the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.”

This is a beautiful picture of the God’s love and attention that He puts toward our prayers. Intense last for a long time. The aroma feels the house. God is continually hearing our prayers and they feel his house. Oh my! How wonderful! To be in the presence of the Lord.

You see, the smoke rises to the Lord. The fire represents the burning of our heart for God to intervene. Oh let our prayers be like this.

David was likely fleeing from the armies of Saul and could not attend the services. Therefore, he was praying to the Lord and using poetry to express how their prayers are pleasing to the Lord.

God desires for us for pour out hearts out before him. Before we move on: some are questioning in your heart: Pastor what is a bad prayer. This is answered in the New Testament when the pharisees prayed to sound smart and to hear their voice.

Slide 5

One instance you can study later this week is found in Luke 18:9-14. Jesus contrasts the self-righteous, arrogant prayer of the Pharisee with the humble plea of a tax collector. 

I would also consider prayer to be bad if we’re trying to barter or manipulate God with our words. For example, you are married but you think someone else is hot and you ask God to make it possible. Well, God does not bless sin.

Next in Psalm 141:3 David says:

Set a guard over my mouth, Lord;
    keep watch over the door of my lips.

David asked God, as he walks out, in these challenging times, to do it righteously.

Psalm 19:14, King James Version, Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

Boy, when someone is attacking you or outright lying about you, it’s so easy to allow venom to spew from a righteous mouth.
David asked God to help him keep watch over his lips. David understood the potential our mouths have to be evil. We, born again, Christians, must realize that our tongue needs tamed. Words do hurt and they cut deeply.

Slide 6

I like to look at what James said in his letters. James 3:7–10.

7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, kfull of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people lwho are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers,3 these things ought not to be so.

I guess I like this scripture because it talks about taming wild animals. And we all know that the Pastor will take care of the animals. God sends her way. Is that an easy job? No, not always. Do you have to allow on the Lord? oh yes! It’s the same way with our tongue. Is it an easy thing to do? No! We must rely on the Lord. Thus, we see this here with David. Is wise enough to pray and ask the Lord for his help and guidance. Today we have the Holy Ghost inside of us. We just need to yield ourselves!

Now, let’s see what David says in verse four…

⁴ Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil
    so that I take part in wicked deeds
along with those who are evildoers;
    do not let me eat their delicacies.

In other words, Lord, I want to be so pleasing to you. I wanna see all of my loved ones saved. I want to pull people from the fire. I wanna do what’s right. I need the power of the Holy Ghost and I realize it. Help me, Lord! This prayer is Lord. “I need you now.!“ verse four is also a very poetic way of saying, Lord. Let me hate evil like you do. Let me not lust after the same evilness that others seek. Let me not return to my old ways, but let me look toward the future. Let me lay up treasures in heaven and not here on earth seeking what is right and doing what is right and shunning what is wrong.

Slide 7

Let’s continue reading in verse 5 David writes the following;

Let a righteous man strike me—that is a kindness;
    let him rebuke me—that is oil on my head.
My head will not refuse it,
    for my prayer will still be against the deeds of evildoers.

He says, Lord, if I stumble, and I fall, please send a righteous person to discipline me. I would much rather take criticism from a righteous person rather than a sinner.

Then we see the part that talks about oil on the head. The custom was to pour oil on someone’s head to give them a freshness. Criticism is taken easier when you’re not attacked. For example, if you’re doing the wrong thing, the world‘s gonna call you a hypocrite, but the pastor is going to help you find restoration through repentance of your sin.

In essence, David is saying if a righteous brother confronts me I will respect that person enough to take it as a refreshing to my soul. I will accept their criticism, in other words.

Here’s another good point, before we move on, David knew the history of the Jews. Let the spirit remind you here, what would happen to Israel with our hearts were hardened and they went against God? Well, the Lord would raise up one of their enemies to come against them. God has not changed his mind over sin. If he did it in the history of the Jews, he just might do that in our history.

So David is praying here that God doesn’t have to go to this drastic measure to reach him. To open his heart. That’s a great prayer for ourselves today!

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.”

Verse seven is written differently, according to what version of the Bible you have. For example, in the new living translation, you will see that this whole verse has quotation marks around it, but the other versions do not.

This seems to be some kind of expression, probably agriculturally based, that Hebrews understood in the time of David.

Slide 8

⁸ But my eyes are fixed on you, Sovereign Lord;
    in you I take refuge—do not give me over to death.

The Holy Spirit wants us to look at verse eight as the direction we should have for our life. We should be totally focused on Jesus. He should be the center of our life and the ruler of our life.

Now let’s read verse nine:
⁹ Keep me safe from the traps set by evildoers,
    from the snares they have laid for me.

David said let my enemies and the enemies of God fall to their own devices. Pretty much, Lord today’s society is just awful and it has rejected Jesus Christ; therefore let the kingdom come and your will be done.

Then verse 10 continues:

Slide 9

¹⁰ Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
    while I pass by in safety.

Did you catch the last phrase? Let all of that happen to the wicked, but don’t forget about me. Call me to your banquet dinner. Let me go to heaven. Let me have eternal life. I don’t wanna go to hell. Save me, Jesus. Hosanna to the king in the highest. Rescue me Lord.