Psalm 141-4.11.22
Scripture
Psalms 141:3-4 NIV
“Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. 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.”
Observation-What does it say?
In this psalm David cries out to the Lord. He prays enthusiastically to God to protect him from the evildoers around him. He prays that God guards his mouth, his actions, and his heart so he doesn’t fall trap and be like those evildoers. He would gladly accept the discipline of the godly rather than to fall into that sinful lifestyle. David prays against the wicked. He yearns for God to rid them of such rule, this way the people can see that the words that David speaks and the God he serves are just and true.
Understanding-What does it mean?
Never stoop to the level of your enemy.
Everyone knows I love superheroes and comics! And one thing a superhero always does, (whether in the comics or in the movies), is whenever they catch their enemy and they have a chance to inflict so much pain and vengeance on them for the wrongs they’ve committed, the superhero always pulls back. He or she is more or less often quoted as saying, “If I give in, I am no better than my enemy.” As a person who loves watching “revenge flicks”, I hate to admit it, but that drives me CRAZY!!! I mean the story always has a really evil villain who maybe hurts or kills the hero’s family; Or sometimes even hurts and injures lots of innocent people. The point is it really has you so mad at the bad guy, that you can’t wait for some good old fashioned “Old Testament” revenge…”an eye for an eye” to be inflicted on the bad guy. But here David, (one can argue to be the world’s first superhero, because he defeated Goliath), seeks help from God. With all the evil and sinfulness around him, David could have easily just caved into it and said, “what’s the point, no one listens to me anyways.” But he earnestly seeks the Lord. He cries out to God for strength so that he doesn’t stoop to his enemies’ level. He prays for God to be his vengeance instead of taking justice into his own hands. David trusts in God’s justice, not his own. It’s like at the end of those superhero stories where instead of the hero inflicting brutal revenge on his enemy, the hero hands them over to the cops and trusts in the justice system to do its job. So in short, be the superhero God calls us to be. Trust in Him. Not that our will be done, but His will be done.
“Don’t ever say, “I’ll pay them back for what they did to me!” Wait for the Lord. He will make things right.”-Proverbs 20:22
“See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.”-1 Thessalonians 5:15
Life Application
The superpower of prayer.
Did you know that prayer is a superpower? Prayers can change hearts, heal the sick, and change circumstances. With all the wrong that goes on in the world, we tend to bad mouth and slander our leaders. We begin to create a negative and angry culture amongst ourselves. We vent to anyone on social media who is willing to listen and if they disagree with our opinion, we “cancel” them and they become our enemies. How about if instead of doing that, we prayed for our enemies? How about if we prayed for God to reveal any hidden sins in our own hearts? Prayer can do miraculous things. And why shouldn’t it?! Its power comes from God. So let’s pray for our enemies. The Bible tells us to even love our enemies and just like the great Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Love is the only power that can turn enemies into friends.”
-Moses Gaddi
Psalm 140 - 4.8.22
Scripture
Psalm 140:13
Surely the righteous will praise your name,
and the upright will live in your presence.
Observation – What does it say?
David pens this psalm during a time of great distress. There are evil and violent men who are causing him to cry out to God for protection. Based on what we know of David’s experiences, this could have been written during a battle David was fighting, it could have been when Saul and his entire army was hunting David down to kill him, or even when his son Absalom was trying to kill him to take his throne.
David was no stranger to hard times and experienced many life-threatening situations. And he had developed the habit of turning to God and crying for help. But he not only cried for help, not only complained and vented about his situation. David always seemed to finish with a declaration of faith and trust in God to come through.
In this instance, he declared prophetically, by faith, that the outcome would be him praising God and living in God’s presence.
Understanding – What does it mean?
The upright will live in God’s presence.
That phrase is really what stood out to me in all this passage. I have experienced God’s presence. At times it has felt like a warm blanket surrounding me, other times like inexpressible joy, other times like peace and the deepest rest coming to my soul. Sometimes I’ve experienced God’s presence in the form of physical healing, a revelation of truth, or God bringing freedom from demonic attack.
Regardless of how God’s presence is manifested, I know that it’s what I was created for. I was created for Him. I was created to dwell in his presence, to glorify him and enjoy him forever. That’s God’s intended purpose for all of us! To live in unbroken unity with him, continually walking in step with his Spirit, aware of his continual presence with us.
The wicked may be striving to accumulate wealth or status, but we are striving to experience greater levels of God’s presence – ever increasing intimacy with God. And there is something about purity and being “upright” that leads to this intimacy.
Matthew 5:6
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Psalm 24:3-4
Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
The one who has clean hands and a pure heart…
Life Application
Be upright and pursue God’s presence!
God, purify my heart! Bless me and your church to be upright and to have integrity. We long for your presence, to experience more of you. Not only for our own benefit, but for the benefit of those around us. May we walk in such intimacy with you, your presence resting so heavily upon us, that we become a point of God encounter for everyone we come into contact with. Holy Spirit, we invite you to convict us of sin and grant us godly sorrow that leads to repentance, so that we may experience greater levels of your presence. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Psalms 04.07.22
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 139: 2, 4
You know when I sit down and when I rise up
my entire life, EVERYTHING I do;
…You are INTIMATELY acquainted with all my ways.
Even BEFORE there is a word on my tongue —still unspoken,
Behold, O Lord, You KNOW it all.
OBSERVATION:
A Psalm of David who understood deep intimacy with God.
UNDERSTANDING:
It’s deeply Personal…
It’s not just that God Created Everything—HE Created me.
It’s not just that God Knows Everything—HE Knows Everything about me.
It’s not just that God is Everywhere—HE is Everywhere With me.
(Enduring Word)
LIFE APPLICATION:
David modeled “personal relationship” with God. His Psalms look like a SOUL Journal in and of themselves. As a man “after God’s own Heart” David experienced the “Spirit of God” coming upon him in great power when Samuel anointed him King (1 Samuel 16:13). This equipped David for all God had called him to. “We can do nothing apart from God”.
Today we can experience the same intimacy with God as David did through faith in the completed work of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection.
“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13)
“The sheep that are My own HEAR My voice and LISTEN to Me; I KNOW them, and they FOLLOW Me.” (John 10:27)
Lord Jesus,
Thank You that You desire deep intimate relationship. Draw me Close and Closer. Forgive me for the times I hold back. I want to be ALL in…wherever YOU Lead me. You don’t look at our failings or weakness. You look for our willingness and heart. Build courage in me, and help me to be ok with feeling awkward as You stretch me more. My hope and trust are in You. amen.
Tina L. Kudelka