2 Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
3 Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
4 Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties.
5 Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.
6 When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall hear my words; for they are sweet.
7 Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth, as when one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth.
8 But mine eyes are unto thee, O GOD the Lord: in thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute.
9 Keep me from the snares which they have laid for me, and the gins of the workers of iniquity.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, whilst that I withal escape
Key Verse:
8 But mine eyes are unto thee, O GOD the Lord: in thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute.
Key Observation:
Matthew Henry: “David was in distress when he penned this psalm, pursued, it is most likely, by Saul, that violent man.”
Memory Verse:
3 Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
Devotion:
I notice two things about this psalm. One is that David asks for the righteous man to correct him. In verse five, he declares that the righteous smiting him would be a kindness. As I reflect on David, I genuinely see a man that wanted above all to walk the correct course. He is named the man after God’s heart elsewhere in the Bible, and I think this is a key to why he is so honored.
I note that David was not a very good father. Part of that reason may have been that he was so busy fighting and being a king that he did not have time to raise children correctly. Amnon, the son of David, raped his niece. Absolam tried to kill his own father in a take over of the kingdom. Adonijah similarly tried to sneak the kingdom away from his brother Solomon. They were not very good sons. Solomon appears to be the exception, but I think it might be because of his mother’s efforts, not his father’s.
Even God, who loved David, would not let him build the temple: “You are not to build a house for my Name, because you are a warrior and have shed blood.”
The irony is replete in the circumstance of David being told by a righteous man of his sin. Nathan had to come before David with a contrived story that upset David horribly and caused him to call for judgment. Nathan then reveals: “David, you are the man.” I notice that David, called to account by a righteous man, did humble himself, and accepted the prophesied judgments by Nathan. When I look at David I do see a questionable father, an adulterer and murderer, and a fierce warrior. But when God looks at David, He sees a man after God’s own heart. May I say to you that David has been a help to me, for when I have done as I ought not to do, and have sinned, I can look toward David, and know that God is merciful and forgiving of sin. If He forgave David, can He not forgive me? Oh, how I need His mercy—and oh, how I am thankful that He is rich in mercy!
The second thing I notice about this psalm is found here: “3 Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.” I am altogether certain that there is no member of my body that can so quickly dishonor myself and my God. Says James: “If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.” At 59, my biggest regret is not being able to pull back words that are ill intended or ill interpreted. We are commanded in scripture to love one another, and I know I am in need of constant reminders for that.
When the end of it all is said, is not the final verse also the final say? “10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, whilst that I withal escape.” In the end, those who are judged are judged first of all because of their rejection of God’s message through His Son. They fall into their own nets. Those who believe God, and seek mercy at the alter of His sacrificed Son will escape.
Nothing But the Blood
1. What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
2. For my pardon, this I see,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
For my cleansing this my plea,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
3. Nothing can for sin atone,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
Naught of good that I have done,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
4. This is all my hope and peace,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
This is all my righteousness,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Chorus:
Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Lyrics: Robert Wadsworth Lowry
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