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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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Psalm141:5

Psalm 141:5 The rebuke of the righteous I love it! David is actually saying here that he would rather take a good punching from a friend who is righteous, than be drawn into the deceptions of the wicked! Imagine, someone close to us has noticed that we are being lured into a devious scheme or being enticed by a temptation and they come to see and call us out, and because we can’t see it they literally knock some sense into us! Not many Christians I know would take that kind of treatment on the chin, but the righteous man or woman who confronted us would actually be doing us a favour. David is right, their rebuke is a kindness. How often have we deferred passing judgement on another believer or used soothing words rather than a direct rebuke, just to avoid confrontation? The problem is, that most people don’t want to be rebuked, and they quickly refuse our advice and our judgement of their behaviour. It’s a strong man or woman who will listen, take the advice and change their ways. Howe...
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Psalm 141:4

Psalm 141:4 The delicacies of evildoers There are countless enemy attempts to disrupt our spiritual lives every day! The world around us is choc-a-bloc with lures, temptations and urgings to join the ranks of the wicked. Our modern-day culture is probably worse than any that has ever existed with its multi-media technologies, the phones and devices that fill people’s days and the giant HD television screens that occupy most houses. The content of these things is rarely for our good but rather designed to lure us into sin or to water down sin. It’s one thing being aware of this and another to stop our hearts being drawn in. Why else would so many people be drawn to watch pornography, or violent movies or ghoulish horror? Why else would large chunks of our society believe the deceptions and lies that are paraded in front of us by seemingly legitimate broadcasters? The problem with all of this subtle strategy, devised in the mind of a deadly foe, is that many are so convinced by what they...
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Psalm 141:3

Psalm 141:3 Watch what you say Well, we’ve never met this side of David have we? I’ve always thought of him as a “listener”, a man who was slow to speak, who weighed up his words before pronouncing an opinion. But maybe that was not the case, maybe David sometimes spoke rashly and later regretted it. We can all fall into that trap! The most likely scenario behind this verse is that the great king was concerned that his lips should not speak evil. This was a man who understood that the tongue speaks what is in the heart and there must be no doubt that David had good reason to think ill of his adversaries. In fact, there were some whom he hated, as we saw in Psalm 140. Maybe therefore, this was a heartfelt plea from the King, that when he was in company, the Lord would help him to keep his real opinions to himself and to not give vent to the anger, frustration and vengeful thoughts that surfaced in private. We all have thoughts that churn away in our minds but are best not expressed! We ...
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Psalm 141:2

Psalm 141:2 The Altar of Incense. The Altar of Incense was a prominent feature in the Tabernacle constructed under Moses, and also in the Temples built by his successors. This item of sacred furniture was housed in the Holy Place, accompanied by the Table of Shewbread and the 7 branched lampstand or Menorah. When the Temple rites and rules were established, there were at least two events in each day when the Altar of Incense was used, these were at the times of the morning and evening sacrifices at 9.00am and 3.00pm. (Exodus 29:38-41 and Numbers 28:3-8). These were also hours of prayer. A priest would be chosen to enter the Holy Place with burning coals and a censor of incense, and the coals would be placed on the Altar and the incense poured over them. The consequence was a cloud of sweet-smelling fumes ascending before the curtain that led into the Holiest of All, the chamber that housed the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat. It was this special task that had fallen to Zechariah...
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Psalm 141:1

Psalm 141:1 Hear me when I call - please! After spending time with King David and reading his outbursts against his enemies in Psalm 140, we might be ready to move on! But no, he continues to be angered by their threats and their actions, although the beleaguered King pays some attention to his own words and actions so we cannot accuse him of hypocrisy. Many readers skip over these Psalms, indeed we all like to be filled with positive thoughts that uplift us and inspire us, why spend so much time wringing our hands and grinding our teeth over the plots and schemes of the wicked? Perhaps these songs are a reality check, the real world is full of wickedness, all followers of Yeshua are besieged by evil at times, there are countless plots to silence us and to belittle our faith, the enemy never gives up and never withdraws. Let’s get into the real world and learn from David, shall we?   V1        This sounds a bit presumptuous, it’s hardly the c...
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