The Battle
"Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men; Preserve me from violent men, Who plan evil things in their hearts; They continually gather together for war."
Psalm 140:1-2
To deny we live in a treacherous world is like denying that we breathe. Our enemies may change, but life without them is impossible. For David, his enemies were men who sought to destroy him out of jealousy and envy. Others opposed to David were gripped by greed and a lust for power. But the list of our enemies does not end with those who have their share in fallen nature.
We ourselves can become our own worst enemy. The lust of our flesh, the lust of our eyes, and the pride of life seek to destroy what God seeks to do in restoring us to His image.
Then there is our archenemy, the devil, who seeks to kill, steal, and destroy.
But there is another, this fallen world. That spirit fosters rebellion against God from within everything from manmade religion to politics. This is a fact of life in a fallen world.
Therefore, pray as David prayed. Seek divine intervention. Put on the whole armor of God and stand. And in standing, accept nothing less than ultimate victory.
Where to Turn in the Battle
"But my eyes are upon You, O GOD the Lord; In You I take refuge; Do not leave my soul destitute."
Psalm 141:8
The psalmist sees two battles before him. First, there is his own sin with which he must struggle. Here he has sinned through words. Secondly, he faces a battle with wicked people, people who tempt him to respond in such a way that will cause him to fall into their trap. On both fronts he wisely looks to God for help.
Surely David's tongue is not the only one that has gotten anyone into great trouble. Nor are we faultless in how we deal with our enemies. At times we run in fear, and at times we fight in the energy of our own folly and sin. Instead, make it your aim to be led by the Spirit. Before you speak or before you act, be one who looks to God for guidance. This one principle of a life in the Spirit that could save you loads of money, time, heartache, and sin.
Our Strength in Time of Trouble
"When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then You knew my path. In the way in which I walk they have secretly set a snare for me."
Psalm 142:3
At times, life in a fallen world appears to leave us standing alone in the face of an all-encompassing flood of trouble. King David's biography, we read in the scriptures, confirms his life to be a series of such circumstances. But David never let such a vision of his life end there. He is the one who has left us an amazing heritage of living faith; he ultimately never saw himself alone before the flood. "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living" was his firm conclusion (v. 5).
Yes, in real life, in a tough world, in the land of the living, he found God as his refuge and God as his hope. David's hope in God was so sure that in the face of a flood of overwhelming troubles he boldly proclaimed to God, "You will deal bountifully with me" (v. 7).
Though all may seem lost, when our God is put in the center of the troubles of life, we can be assured His bountiful blessing!
God's Grace to Overcome Condemnation
"Do not enter into judgment with Your servant, for in Your sight no one living is righteous."
Psalm 143:2
David finds himself in an extremely trying situation. Without God's divine intervention, he is sure to be overcome and destroyed. He feels crushed under the weight of his troubles with a dark shadow of despair hanging over his head (v. 3-6).
He cries out to the only one he knows who could help him; he cries out to God. But in that moment, he is struck with his own unworthiness. If God based His help on how much David deserved it, David knows he is doomed. He turns first to God for grace for his own life. If God entered into judgment with David, he knows he will surely be condemned, left alone to face his painful struggle.
Therefore he pleads for grace first for himself (v. 2) and then rehearses within his soul the kindness God has given him in years past. This honest approach in seeking God replaced the unbelief that otherwise would have overcome him. If God helped him based on his own righteousness, he was surely doomed.
But boldly David can expect God's help. He is sure God will teach and lead him because God is kind and good. In a crisis, we have all had Satan accuse us, tell us we are unworthy of God's help. Write this psalm upon your heart and you, like David, will win over both the devil's condemnation and the troubles that may weigh heavy upon your soul.
Psalms 140
~ To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
1 Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men;
Preserve me from violent men,
2 Who plan evil things in their hearts;
They continually gather together for war.
3 They sharpen their tongues like a serpent;
The poison of asps is under their lips. Selah
4 Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;
Preserve me from violent men,
Who have purposed to make my steps stumble.
5 The proud have hidden a snare for me, and cords;
They have spread a net by the wayside;
They have set traps for me. Selah
6 I said to the LORD: "You are my God;
Hear the voice of my supplications, O LORD.
7 O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation,
You have covered my head in the day of battle.
8 Do not grant, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;
Do not further his wicked scheme,
Lest they be exalted. Selah
9 "As for the head of those who surround me,
Let the evil of their lips cover them;
10 Let burning coals fall upon them;
Let them be cast into the fire,
Into deep pits, that they rise not up again.
11 Let not a slanderer be established in the earth;
Let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him."
12 I know that the LORD will maintain
The cause of the afflicted,
And justice for the poor.
13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name;
The upright shall dwell in Your presence.
Psalm 141
~ A Psalm of David.
1 LORD, I cry out to You;
Make haste to me!
Give ear to my voice when I cry out to You.
2 Let my prayer be set before You as incense,
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 incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice wicked works
With men who work iniquity;
And do not let me eat of their delicacies.
5 Let the righteous strike me;
It shall be a kindness.
And let him rebuke me;
It shall be as excellent oil;
Let my head not refuse it.
For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked.
6 Their judges are overthrown by the sides of the cliff,
And they hear my words, for they are sweet.
7 Our bones are scattered at the mouth of the grave,
As when one plows and breaks up the earth.
8 But my eyes are upon You, O GOD the Lord;
In You I take refuge;
Do not leave my soul destitute.
9 Keep me from the snares they have laid for me,
And from the traps of the workers of iniquity.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
While I escape safely.
Psalm 142
~ A Contemplation of David. A Prayer when he was in the cave.
1 I cry out to the LORD with my voice;
With my voice to the LORD I make my supplication.
2 I pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare before Him my trouble.
3 When my spirit was overwhelmed within me,
Then You knew my path.
Inn the way in which I walk
They have secretly set a snare for me.
4 Look on my right hand and see,
For there is no one who acknowledges me;
Refuge has failed me;
No one cares for my soul.
5 I cried out to You, O LORD:
I said, "You are my refuge,
My portion in the land of the living.
6 Attend to my cry,
For I am brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors,
For they are stronger than I.
7 Bring my soul out of prison,
That I may praise Your name;
The righteous shall surround me,
For You shall deal bountifully with me."
Psalm 143
~ A Psalm of David.
1 Hear my prayer, O LORD,
Give ear to my supplications!
In Your faithfulness answer me,
And in Your righteousness.
2 Do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
For in Your sight no one living is righteous.
3 For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life to the ground;
He has made me dwell in darkness,
Like those who have long been dead.
4 Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me;
My heart within me is distressed.
5 I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all Your works;
I muse on the work of Your hands.
6 I spread out my hands to You;
My soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah
7 Answer me speedily, O LORD;
My spirit fails!
Do not hide Your face from me,
Lest I be like those who go down into the pit.
8 Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning,
For in You do I trust;
Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,
For I lift up my soul to You.
9 Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies;
In You I take shelter.
10 Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Your Spirit is good.
Lead me in the land of uprightness.
11 Revive me, O LORD, for Your name's sake!
For Your righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble.
12 In Your mercy cut off my enemies,
And destroy all those who afflict my soul;
For I am Your servant.
Psalms 140
Chief Musician – the head of the musicians in the Temple
…of David – l'david (Heb.) can mean "composed by," "dedicated to," or "in the collection of"
This short psalm of supplication focuses on the character of evil people and the prayer of the psalmist that they will be defeated, their evil boomeranging back upon them.
v. 1 Deliver…from evil men // preserve…from violent men – A typical Hebrew double parallelism: "deliver" is fine-tuned to "preserve;" "evil men" is further clarified as a "violent man."
v. 2 in their hearts – The Scripture is clear: evil begins in the inner life (James 1:14-15).
they continually gather together for war – The aggressiveness of the evil person is in focus here.
v. 3 They sharpen their tongues like a serpent – Picture the evil person by reference to several body parts, culminating in the "hands", i.e. the part of the body that finally carries out the final evil act of violence against the righteous.
v. 4 to make my steps stumble – i.e. to "trip him up"
v. 5 The proud have hidden a snare for me, and cords – The poet lays together several images of hunting; he is being relentlessly pursued by his enemies.
v. 6 I said to the LORD: "You are my God" – The focus of the psalmist begins to shift from his adversaries upward to the Lord.
v. 7 You have covered my head in the day of battle – In open battle the head is, of course, the most vulnerable and exposed part of the body; hence the many varieties of helmets from ancient times.
v. 9 As for the head of those who surround me – The poet, picking up the idea of the "head" from verse 7, prays that the evil of the wicked will be turned back upon them.
v. 10 Let burning coals fall upon them – the description of the destruction of Sodom (Gen. 19:24-25)
v. 11 a slanderer – "man of the tongue"
v. 12 the LORD will maintain – restates the poet's trust that God will, indeed, defend the oppressed and attacked Psalm 141
This is another short psalm of supplication.
of David – l'david (Heb.) can mean "composed by," "dedicated to," or "in the collection of"
v. 1 LORD, I cry out to You… give ear to my voice – This phrase immediately identifies the psalm as a supplication – a prayer of request and entreaty to God.
v. 2 incense …the evening sacrifice – The poet calls up images that associate his prayer with the rituals of the Temple.
the lifting up of my hands – Formal (i.e. Scriptural, memorized) Jewish prayers in the biblical period were often spoken standing and with the hands raised.
v. 3 Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth – The psalmist expresses through his prayers his concern that he not move to the side of the evildoers, either deliberately or as a reaction to their attacks upon him
v. 4 do not let me eat of their delicacies – The evildoers are pictured as a "party group," gathered around the drinks and delicious appetizers; the poet prays that he won't be suckered in to joining them in sin.
v. 5 Let the righteous strike me – The psalmist is willing to accept strong correction from those who are on God's way.
v. 6 Their judges are overthrown by the sides of the cliff – A difficult verse to interpret. Perhaps it refers to the practice of executing convicted criminals by throwing them off of a cliff. In this case, then, the sense is: May the rulers of the wicked experience the final judgment for their evil.
v. 7 Our bones are scattered at the mouth of the grave – Another difficult verse; the NIV tries to untie the knot by making the verse a quote of what the wicked rulers from v. 6 say of their fate. This is a possibility.
v. 8 Do not leave my soul destitute – This verse does not mean: "Don't let me be depressed!" Rather, it means that God does leave the life of the psalmist exposed to attack by the evildoers.
v. 9 snares…traps – The prayer that the plans of the wicked to attack the righteous will "boomerang" on their own head is a well-known theme in the psalms (Ps. 140:5-6). Psalm 142
The heading of this urgent prayer of supplication (see v. 1) references a frightening incident in the life of David recorded in 1 Samuel 24.
Contemplation – maskil (Heb.) There is no precise and certain meaning known for this term. It may mean a meditation on instruction.
v. 3 When my spirit was overwhelmed within me – The idea in Hebrew is: "When my spirit collapses in on itself…"
then You knew my path – At the moment of deepest discouragement, the poet reflects on the fact that all of his troubles are NOT unknown to God, who knows his entire path from beginning to end.
they have secretly set a snare for me – As in its close neighbors, metaphors from the theme of hunting (traps, snares, etc.) appears in this psalm (Ps. 140,4-5; 141:9, 10).
v. 4 on my right hand… there is no one…no one cares for my soul – The psalmist feels completely deserted. In the Psalms, the "right hand" is the direction from which help comes; hence the particular sense the poet has of being deserted.
v. 6 Deliver me from my persecutors – These are the ones who "secretly set a snare for me" (v. 3).
v. 7 Bring my soul out of prison – The poet may literally be trapped in prison (v. 3) or be using the image of entrapment to express his predicament.
The righteous shall surround me – Instead of being encircled by enemies, God will deliver him and put him in the midst of the worshippers of God. Psalm 143
v. 1 my prayer…my supplications – This immediately identifies the psalm as a prayer of supplication, a plea for God to act into the life and situation of the psalmist.
In Your faithfulness… and in Your righteousness (answer me) – These two qualities of God's character, His consistency ("faithfulness") and His absolute moral reliability ("righteousness") will define how He answers our prayers.
v. 2 in Your sight no one living is righteous – Better translated, "no living being" comes close to the moral purity of God.
v. 3 the enemy – those persecuting and pursuing the poet
He has crushed my life…made me dwell in darkness – i.e. in the realm of the dead
v. 4 my spirit is overwhelmed …my heart… is distressed – Note the increasingly tight focus in the poetic parallel: spirit : overwhelmed // heart : distressed.
v. 5 I remember the days of old – The psalmist meditates on God's mighty acts that has delivered him or God's people in the past.
v. 6 My soul longs for You like a thirsty land – God's merciful presence is to the poet like the promise of rain in a parched desert.
v. 7 My spirit fails! – The poet is at the end of himself.
the pit – sheol (Heb.) the realm of the dead
v. 8 Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning – The psalmist pleads with God, that after the "dark night" of his soul, the "sunrise" will come and he will experience God's deliverance and mercy.
I lift up my soul to You – The poet picks up the idea of his "outstretched hands" in prayer from verse 6 and says, "My soul is in my hands, lifted up to You in prayer!"
v. 9 In You I take shelter – The idea is that God "covers" the psalmist with His love and protection.
v. 10 Teach me to do Your will – i.e. that which is pleasing in Your sight
Your Spirit is good… lead me in the land of uprightness – Better translated, "Let Your good Spirit lead me on to level ground."
v. 11 Revive – "re-give me life"
bring my soul out of trouble – i.e. out of the narrow place in which he finds himself
v. 12 all those who afflict my soul – "the enemies of my life" (Heb.)
Prayer Focus
"When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then You knew my path. In the way in which I walk they have secretly set a snare for me."
Psalm 142:3
There are always those who seek to do us harm, Lord. Sometimes because we follow You and sometimes because they don't follow You. Guard our paths today, Lord, and keep us from falling into traps laid by enemies as well as friends. Guide our steps, Lord.
Christian Childbirth Classes
It has been exciting to watch the Lord grow the Christian Childbirth classes from being just Calvary members, to an incredible outreach. Pregnant couples now come from all over the valley. The majority of class members are not familiar with Calvary, including couples that are nonbelievers, believers, those at risk, those with normal pregnancies, etc. It is amazing to see the Lord showing His truths through devotions, prayer, and fellowship.
Prayer Points
- that the Lord would continue to expand the borders of this outreach as well as bringing in our own church family
- that the nonbelievers would see the truth of Jesus and be drawn to desire a relationship with Him
- that God would be glorified through this ministry
