Psalm 143:1-6 “Hear my prayer, Yahweh. Listen to my petitions. In your faithfulness and righteousness, relieve me. Don’t enter into judgment with your servant, for in your sight no man living is righteous. For the enemy pursues my soul. He has struck my life down to the ground. He has made me live in dark places, as those who have been long dead. Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me. My heart within me is desolate. I remember the days of old. I meditate on all your doings. I contemplate the work of your hands. I spread out my hands to you. My soul thirsts for you, like a parched land. Selah.”

All mankind sins. All mankind continues to sin. Even saints, who know better! It’s something we continue to struggle with throughout life. Even though we’ve escaped the eternal penalty for our sins through Jesus Christ, we aren’t completely free from committing sin until we enter into glory. So, we need to continue to ask God for mercy and forgiveness in everyday life, because we need His help and protection. In the midst of violence and oppression, when our hearts are overwhelmed, we need to dwell on God and seek His face. He is the only one who can help us. He is the only one who can sustain us. He is the only one who can give us hope and peace!

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

For additional worship: Kyrie Eleison

Psalm 142:1-7 “A contemplation by David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer. I cry with my voice to the LORD. With my voice, I ask the LORD for mercy. I pour out my complaint before him. I tell him my troubles. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, you knew my route. On the path in which I walk, they have hidden a snare for me. Look on my right, and see; for there is no one who is concerned for me. Refuge has fled from me. No one cares for my soul. I cried to you, LORD. I said, ‘You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.’ Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need. Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name. The righteous will surround me, for you will be good to me.”

This could refer to either 1 Samuel 22 or 1 Samuel 24. David was hiding from Saul in both instances. The prayer is so intense that it literally “pours” out of David. He reminds us that in times of extreme distress, when it seems that no-one else cares, God does. He is our refuge and all that we need (our portion) in life. When He helps us we should join with the righteous in praising His name.

For additional worship: Wonderful Merciful Savior

Psalm 141:5-10 “Let the righteous strike me, it is kindness; let him reprove me, it is like oil on the head; don’t let my head refuse it; Yet my prayer is always against evil deeds. Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock. They will hear my words, for they are well spoken. ‘As when one ploughs and breaks up the earth, our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol.’ For my eyes are on you, LORD, the Lord. I take refuge in you. Don’t leave my soul destitute. Keep me from the snare which they have laid for me, from the traps of the workers of iniquity. Let the wicked fall together into their own nets while I pass by.”

David’s longing is to be righteous. He doesn’t want to be caught up in the plans of the wicked, because eventually they will be judged.

We’re reminded here that we don’t just need God’s help to live righteous lives, we also need the help of other believers.

Proverbs 27:5-6 “Better is open rebuke than hidden love. The wounds of a friend are faithful, although the kisses of an enemy are profuse.”

Galatians 6:1 “Brothers, even if a man is caught in some fault, you who are spiritual must restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, looking to yourself so that you also aren’t tempted.”

It’s a challenge to speak God’s truth to others. It’s even more of a challenge to speak gently and appropriately.

For additional worship: Under His Wings

Psalm 141:1-4 “A Psalm by David. LORD, I have called on you. Come to me quickly! Listen to my voice when I call to you. Let my prayer be set before you like incense; the lifting up of my hands like the evening sacrifice. Set a watch, LORD, before my mouth. Keep the door of my lips. Don’t incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice deeds of wickedness with men who work iniquity. Don’t let me eat of their delicacies.”

We sometimes believe that our Christian walk is up to us. That’s only partly true. One of the best things we can do, rather than try to make it on our own, is to humbly submit ourselves to God, and ask Him for His help to live for Him.

Matthew 6:13 “Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

2 Peter 1:3-4 “seeing that his divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and virtue, by which he has granted to us his precious and exceedingly great promises; that through these you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust.”

Romans 8:11 “But if the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”

Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

For additional worship: Savior, Again to Thy Dear Name We Raise

Psalm 140:9-13 “As for the head of those who surround me, let the mischief of their own lips cover them. Let burning coals fall on them. Let them be thrown into the fire, into miry pits, from where they never rise. An evil speaker won’t be established in the earth. Evil will hunt the violent man to overthrow him. I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and justice for the needy. Surely the righteous will give thanks to your name. The upright will dwell in your presence.”

This is more than just a cry for vengeance. This is a request for God to allow the evildoers own evil to catch up with them. “Let the mischief of their own lips cover them.” “Evil will hunt the violent man to overthrow him.” This sometimes happens naturally, but David is asking God to make sure of it, because God cares for the afflicted, and brings justice for the needy!

There is another way that we can heap burning coals on our enemies:

Romans 12:20-21 “Therefore ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing so, you will heap coals of fire on his head.’ Don’t be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

For additional worship: When in the Hour of Deepest Need (Paul Eber)

When in the hour of utmost need
we know not where to look for aid,
when days and nights of anxious thought
no help or counsel yet have brought.

Then is our comfort this alone
that we may meet before your throne;
to you, O faithful God, we cry
for rescue from our misery.

For you have promised, Lord, to heed
your children’s cries in time of need
through him whose name alone is great,
our Savior and our advocate.

And so we come, O God, today
and all our woes before you lay;
be with us in our anguish still,
free us at last from ev’ry ill.

So that with all our hearts we may
to you our glad thanksgiving pay,
then walk obedient to your Word
and now and ever praise you, Lord.

Psalm 140:1-8 “For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. Deliver me, LORD, from evil men. Preserve me from violent men: those who devise mischief in their hearts. They continually gather themselves together for war. They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent. Viper’s poison is under their lips. Selah. LORD, keep me from the hands of the wicked. Preserve me from the violent men who have determined to trip my feet. The proud have hidden a snare for me, they have spread the cords of a net by the path. They have set traps for me. Selah. I said to the LORD, ‘You are my God.’ Listen to the cry of my petitions, LORD. LORD, the Lord, the strength of my salvation, you have covered my head in the day of battle. LORD, don’t grant the desires of the wicked. Don’t let their evil plans succeed, or they will become proud. Selah.”

Wicked and violent people don’t just desire to physically hurt God’s people. They lie and slander, and they set traps. Are these metaphorical or physical traps that David is referring to? For us, I think it’s a reminder that people will try to get us to blaspheme and sin against our Lord. “Why hasn’t He come back yet?” “Why are you suffering if God really cares?” “What good does it do to follow God?” Perhaps we should take to heart the example of Jesus in the Lord’s prayer:

Matthew 6:13 “Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

Doesn’t David’s prayer seem like a longer version of that?!?!?

For additional worship: My Father Watches Over Me

Psalm 139:19-24 “If only you, God, would kill the wicked. Get away from me, you bloodthirsty men! For they speak against you wickedly. Your enemies take your name in vain. LORD, don’t I hate those who hate you? Am I not grieved with those who rise up against you? I hate them with perfect hatred. They have become my enemies. Search me, God, and know my heart. Try me, and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.”

David understands (and is probably experiencing) the evil thoughts and actions of the wicked, so He asks God to judge them. They are bloodthirsty, they hate God, and they take His name in vain. David wants to be nothing like them, so he asks God to search him to prove that he isn’t! He hates the wicked because of their actions and asks God to guide him so that He’ll be nothing like them.

Sometimes we justify our evil thoughts and actions. That’s not the way we’re supposed to be! We are to embrace holiness and despise evil to the point that we have clear consciences before God.

John 3:20-21 “For everyone who does evil hates the light and doesn’t come to the light, lest his works would be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his works may be revealed, that they have been done in God.”

For additional worship: O Thou to Whose All Searching Sight

Psalm139:13-18 “For you formed my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. My soul knows that very well. My frame wasn’t hidden from you, when I was made in secret, woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my body. In your book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there were none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is their sum! If I would count them, they are more in number than the sand. When I wake up, I am still with you.”

God knew all about us from the time we were embryos in the womb. In fact, He designed us! He is with us when life begins (before we are born), He is with us when we wake up from sleep, and He is with us all the days of our lives (which He has ordained). His thoughts should be precious to us, since He is the only one who knows all about us and all about everything. He is the only one deserving of praise!

Romans 11:33-36 “Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgements, and his ways past tracing out! ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counsellor?’ ‘Or who has first given to him, and it will be repaid to him again?’ For of him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory for ever! Amen.”

For additional worship: Untold

Psalm 139:7-12 “Where could I go from your Spirit? Or where could I flee from your presence? If I ascend up into heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there! If I take the wings of the dawn, and settle in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand will lead me, and your right hand will hold me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will overwhelm me. The light around me will be night,’ even the darkness doesn’t hide from you, but the night shines as the day. The darkness is like light to you.”

Yesterday, we saw that God is omniscient (He possesses complete knowledge). Today we see that God is omnipresent (He is everywhere at the same time). This doesn’t mean that he’s present the same way in a tree as He is in a believer! But it does mean that His spirit/presence is everywhere and we can’t get away from Him. Not in the heart of the sea, or in the heights of the heavens. In fact, even if we find ourselves in the darkness, He overcomes the darkness with light! Are you experiencing darkness in your life right now? Trust, praise, and pray to find the light.

John 1:1-5 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him. Without him, nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome it.”

For additional worship: Even the Darkness is Light to Him (Michael Card)