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Psalm 142:2

Psalm 142:2 Pouring out our complaints. Many of those who believe in the living God can find prayer difficult. I am one of them. It is not always easy to approach a Being that cannot be seen, and to hold a conversation with One who does not speak! That would be the excuse of the majority of Christians, which is why so many use a Prayer Book or find comfort in allowing others to do the praying for them. We all know full well that God hears and that He answers but comparing conversations with Him to the ones we enjoy with each other, can be very difficult. The trouble is, there is no one more able, more authoritative and more merciful than our God and thus we have to bring our worries, anxieties and pleadings to Him at some point, simply as a way of relieving the burdens that life throws at us. Even when we do approach the Lord with a willing heart, it’s difficult to know how to voice our requests because we simply don’t know what He is thinking or even if we’ve grasped the full picture ...
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Psalm 142:1

Psalm142:1 A cry for mercy In many Bibles the introduction to this Psalm mentions that it was written when David was  “in the cave.”  We’ve referred before to the Cave of Adullam, a place of refuge for David and a small band of followers that he had gathered around him. David was still a relatively young man and had not yet taken hold of the reigns of leadership in Israel, at that time a country ruled over by King Saul.  We first encounter the Cave of Adullam in 1 Samuel 22. As David was fleeing from Saul, who was trying to kill him, he sought refuge among the Philistines in Gath (1 Samuel 21:10-14). Realizing, however, that this was not a safe place for him,  “David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him ” (1 Sameul 22:1-2)....
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Psalm 141:10

Psalm 141:10 Passing by in safety And so we come to the last verse of this challenging Psalm. We’ve gone from the Cave of Adullum to the Altar of Incense in the Temple, to the throne of God in heaven itself. We have followed David’s attempts to keep a watch over his words and to guard his heart from the lures of his enemies. He would prefer to be struck by his righteous friends rather than become like the wicked upon whom he has poured condemnation and judgement! We’ve ploughed a field with David and realised that death and life are all tied up in that simple analogy and that we are mortal and our bodies will return to the dust. So, we who believe must fix our eyes on our Creator and take refuge in Him so that the traps and nets of the enemy do not ensnare us.  The Psalm ends with one more heartfelt cry, if those who hate us and plot our downfall have been so meticulous in their scheming ways, then David’s plea is that their devious plots completely backfire and trap those who devi...
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Psalm 141:9

Psalm 141:9 Keep me safe! Throughout his Psalms David has a preoccupation with the enemy forces that are against him and the particular efforts of individuals to entrap him. As we have noted, a close scrutiny of his life and its conflicts, shows us that barely a day passed without there being plots and schemes to undermine his authority or to hinder his journey. As King, he was constantly under threat from everyone including close family, and then there were the schemes of the rulers of the nations. No wonder his cry is,  “Keep me safe from the traps set by evildoers, from the snares they have laid for me .” David is not just aware of the traps, he knows that much of the time he is in mortal danger. It’s no different today when senior world leaders can only travel from place to place accompanied by hosts of security guards and elite marksmen. Too many Presidents, Prime Ministers and others have lost their lives because of the hatred and twisted mindsets of their enemies. David was ...
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Psalm 141:8

Psalm 141:8 My eyes are fixed on You! The previous verse of this Psalm might have left us feeling a bit desolate and afraid, for if the judgements of the Lord are to be experienced by all those who are wicked, how will any of us escape? Surely, all have sinned and fall short, are there any among us who do not break God’s laws and fail to meet to His standards of righteousness? Can we really point the finger at certain people and label them as wicked but consider ourselves to be good enough for salvation? It seems that David felt this tension and seeks to convince the Lord that his hope and trust are that He will watch over him and save him from the clutches of eternal separation and death.  There’s a difference between giving the Lord an occasional glance or a half hour per day and actually fixing our eyes on Him. Going back to the illustration of the plough (in verse 7), it is essential that a good ploughman keep his eyes fixed on an immoveable point when making the first furrow a...
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Psalm 141:7

Psalm 141:7 The inevitability of death Another powerful verse! This time “ploughing” is used as an allegory for the fate of all men and women. Once a field has been harvested and cleared of its season’s growth, the farmer moves in with his plough. In ancient times this would have been with oxen, or maybe horses if the landowner was wealthy enough. Modern farmers use tractors and heavy machinery of course. The resting earth would be turned over, and clods would be exposed where the ground had been hardened by the weather. At this point the field lies fallow awaiting seedtime once again. This verse sees humanity as those who enjoy a season of fruitfulness but once our time of harvest has passed, we die and are broken up by the rigours of death, our bones are waiting to be scattered at the mouth of the grave. We are like a ploughed field. Our lives will never be repeated, our fruitfulness cannot be reclaimed, our children may be our seed, but we no longer serve any purpose. Only Eve and h...
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Psalm 141:6

Psalm 141:6 Gos alone dispenses true justice David is, once again, fierce in his condemnation of the wicked. This verse, and verse 7 that follows, could effectively be a curse on the unrighteous, those who are the enemies of God and therefore our enemies too.  There are many in the Christian faith who call this present era in world history, the dispensation of grace. The time in which we live is seen by most followers of Jesus Christ to be an age when God withholds judgement, when all men and women are at liberty to choose to believe. This is the age of God’s mercy, patience and compassion for all men, and all are offered salvation to the moment of their very last breath. It sticks in the throat rather, to now consider the possibility that some men and women are intrinsically evil and that they are suitable for our condemnation and to become objects of our curses! Would that be the right thing to do for we do not know how they might feel tomorrow when troubles come, and they reach ...
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