PSALM
141 – “Like Burning Incense”
(Lament
Psalm of David)
VERSES
1-2: Prayer for a Prayer
Vs. 1 –
Right outta the chute, David does not hold back on his passion,
crying out to the Lord twice in one breath. David's prayer is that
God would hurry up and hear his prayer. Does that mean he is praying
about his praying??
Vs. 2 –
“Let my prayer be set before You as incense”: David
wanted his prayer to God to be as sweet as the incense that burned
day and night in the tabernacle. God specified that His High Priest
(originally Aaron), burn incense on a golden altar morning and night
as a sweet smelling offering to the Lord (Exodus 30:7-8). It was
burned as a symbol of the perpetual prayers of the people (“pray
without ceasing” - 1 Thessalonians 5:17), along with their
sacrificial offerings. Here's the really cool part: In Revelation
5:8, the Apostle John shares his vision of the prayers of the saints
(that's us!) rising like incense to heaven, where the angels add more
incense (heavenly incense) and then present them to God.
VIDEO: Tony Alonso "Psalm 141" - https://youtu.be/W8LyZ2SID_U
💛NUGGET:
Since the Cross, our prayers have been made acceptable and pleasing
to God by the sacrificial cleansing blood of Jesus. He is the
embodiment and fulfillment of the incense sacrifice.
"Christ gave himself for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Ephesians 5:2).
VERSES
3-7: Prayer for Justice
Vs. 3-4
– David recognized that he needed to deal with his own sinful heart
before asking God to deal with his enemies. “Keep watch over
the door of my mouth”: refers to the sins of his mouth:
slander, lies and gossip.
Vs. 5a –
David prays for the righteous to strike and rebuke him. Why?
Because David knew he could trust the rebuke of righteous men to be
offered in loving admonition to bring him into a deeper relationship
with the Lord.
Vs. 6-7
– Here we go throwing people off the cliffs. Yikes. It's almost
impossible to imagine, but in biblical times, conquered enemies were
literally destroyed by being pushed or thrown off cliffs (2
Chronicles 25:12). The knuckleheads of Nazareth even tried to throw
Jesus off a cliff but He went all ninja on them and escaped (Luke
4:28-30). David's imprecation was that his enemies would die a cruel
death so that he could be delivered from their wicked attacks.
VERSES
8-10: Prayer for Deliverance
Vs. 8 – “But my eyes are upon You, O God the Lord”: I wonder
if Peter recalled this verse after a night of water walking with
Jesus?
💛NUGGET:
The secret of an unwavering faith is to keep your eyes on the Lord.
Vs. 9-10
– These two verses complement each other: David prayed for God to
keep him out of the traps of his enemies, but let them fall into
their own traps, not unlike the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote...
[David's
prayers of Psalm 141 were answered. “From the sequel of the
history we find that the hope and assurance here expressed by the
Psalmist were not vain. He escaped all the snares that were laid for
him on every side.” (Horne)]
💛
PSALM
142 – “Only the Lonely”
(Maskill
of David)
The
superscription says: “When he was in the cave. A prayer.”
This is the second psalm David
wrote while hiding from King Saul in a cave (see Psalm 57).
VERSES
1-3: DAVID'S PLEA
Vs. 2 –
“I pour out my complaint
before Him; I declare before Him my trouble”:
God wants us to lay it all out... pour ALL our troubles out before
Him and then (here's the hard part) DON'T PICK THEM UP AGAIN. Get in
the habit of doing this and you'll be well on your way to Philippians
4:6.
💛NUGGET:
The purpose for prayer is not to update God on our needs or troubles.
Our prayers prepare our hearts to receive His blessings and
deliverance.
VERSES
3-4b: DAVID'S PLIGHT
Vs. 4 –
“No one cares for my soul”. In verse 3, David declared
that God knew his path... which makes the statement that “no one”
cares invalid. God cares.
💛NUGGET:
God does not want us to be lonely but sometimes we need to be
alone.
VERSES
5-6: DAVID'S PORTION
Vs. 5a –
“I cried out to You... I said, You are my refuge... my
portion...”
“If David had not cried he would not have said; and if the Lord had not been his refuge he would never have been his portion. The lower step is as needful as the higher.” (Spurgeon)
Vs. 6 –
“For I am brought very low;” God sometimes allows us to
be brought low – all the way to the bottom of our own
self-sufficiency – so that we can learn to surrender all to Him.
VERSES
6b-7: MY PROSPECT
Vs. 7a –
“Bring my soul out of prison”:
This was likely a figure of speech. It is no surprise that being
stuck in a damp, dark cave felt like prison to the shepherd boy who
had been anointed king.
Vs. 7b –
Notice that David is not asking God to deliver him so that he can go
hunting with the boys or eat figs under the tree. He asks for
deliverance so that he can praise God's name. David wants to glorify
God with his rescued life in such a way that makes the “righteous
surround” him.
[“This
prayer of David was heard and answered; he was delivered from his
persecutors, enlarged from his distress, exalted to the throne, and
joined by all the tribes of Israel.” (Horne)]
💛NUGGET:
On the evening of Oct. 3, 1226, St. Francis of Assisi was dying: His
last prayer was, precisely, the recitation of Psalm 142. [St.
Francis] exclaimed with the Psalm: 'I cry with my voice to the
Lord, with my voice I make supplication to the Lord' and he
recited it to the last verse: 'The righteous will surround me; for
thou wilt deal bountifully with me'" ("Legenda
Maggiore" [Major Reading], XIV, 5, in: Franciscan Sources,
Padua-Assisi, 1980, p. 958).
💛
PSALM
143 – “Your Servant”
(Lament
Psalm of David)
[The
Septuagint (Greek OT) and some ancient versions add a superscription
saying this was written when David was fleeing from his son Absalom.]
This is
the last of seven Penitential Psalms (songs of confession and
humility). It was customary in the early church to sing these psalms
on Ash Wednesday.
VERSES
1-6: THE PENITENCE
Vs. 2 –
“Do not enter into judgment with Your servant, for in Your sight
no one living is righteous”: David asked for God's mercy rather
than His judgment (smart man!) because only God is righteous. This
statement by David of his own unrighteousness is what classifies this as a
Penitential Psalm.
Vs. 3 –
“Dwell in darkness”: “Darkness” here literally means
“dark places”; likely a reference to David taking refuge in
caves.
VERSES
7-12: THE PRAYER
Vs. 7 –
Get me out of here and make it snappy!
David
makes three requests for guidance in verses 8-10:
1)
“Cause me to hear your lovingkindness” (verse 8a)
“Lovingkindness
is one of the sweetest words in our language. Kindness has much in it
that is most precious, but lovingkindness is doubly dear; it is the
cream of kindness.” (Spurgeon)
2)
“Cause me to know the way in which I should walk” (verse 8b)
David
needed God's guidance as well as His “hesed” (lovingkindness).
3)
“Teach me to do Your will” (verse 10a)
David
needed protection and obedience.
Vs. 10b
– “Your Spirit is good”:
God is the Original Good.
Vs. 11a
– “Revive me, O Lord,
for Your name’s sake!”:
David asked for revival based on the character of God rather than
his own merit.
Vs. 11b
– “Bring my soul out of trouble”: “I can bring it in,
but thou only canst bring it out.” (Trapp)
Vs. 12 – Our submission sets God’s promises in motion...
💛
PSALM
144 – “Happy People”
(Royal
Psalm of David)
This
psalm is widely believed to have been written after David was
recognized as king over all of Israel.
VERSES
1-2: PRAYER FOR PROTECTION
Vs. 1-2
– David busted out all the names he could think of to identify God
as his Safe Place:
- My rock
- My faithful love (hesed)
- My fortress
- My stronghold
- My deliverer
- My shield
- My refuge
VERSES
3-8: PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE
Vs. 3 –
These are the same questions the psalmist asked in Psalm 8:4, but
from a different perspective. Here the question is asked in the
light of verses 1-2 with emphasis on the LORD as a warrior rather
than God as Creator.
VERSES
9-11: PRAYER FOR VICTORY
Vs. 11 –
“Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners”: A
repetition from verses 7-8).
VERSES
12-15: PRAYER FOR PEACE
Vs. 15 -
“Happy are the people whose God is the LORD”
"God is
the highest good of the reasonable creature; and the enjoyment of him
is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to
heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most
pleasant accommodations here. Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives,
or children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows; but
the enjoyment of God is the substance. These are but scattered beams;
but God is the sun. These are but streams; but God is the fountain.
These are but drops; but God is the ocean. Therefore it becomes us to
spend this life only as a journey towards heaven, as it becomes us to
make the seeking of our highest end and proper good, the whole work
of our lives; to which we should subordinate all other concerns of
life. Why should we labor for, or set our hearts on, any thing else,
but that which is our proper end, and true happiness?" (Jonathan
Edwards)
💛
READING FOR TOMORROW: Chapters 145-147
LINK TO READING PLAN:
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