WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.780 Psalm 141, a Psalm of David. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:59.980 Psalm 141, a Psalm of David. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:29.980 Psalm 141, a Psalm of David. 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:32.000 Psalm 141, a Psalm of David. 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:34.000 Psalm 141, a Psalm of David. 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:37.700 Joshua Harris, who's like the famous author of I Kiss Dating Goodbye. 00:01:37.980 --> 00:01:40.159 He was actually used to be part of our denomination. 00:01:40.159 --> 00:01:49.259 And a former megachurch pastor of Covenant Life Church announced on Instagram that he's fallen away from the faith, basically. 00:01:49.260 --> 00:01:55.820 And that by every measure he has for defining a Christian, that he's not one based. 00:01:56.179 --> 00:02:09.299 And I think the next month in August, Marty Sampson, who was kind of like a, you know, childhood, you know, hero of mine in a sense of because I love to listen to Hillsong United. 00:02:09.300 --> 00:02:24.520 He was one of the leaders of the music, basically announced on his Instagram page that, like, he's like, well, I'm genuinely, I guess, not, you know, believing my faith anymore or what, something along those lines. 00:02:24.600 --> 00:02:26.240 Genuinely losing his faith, he said. 00:02:26.240 --> 00:02:34.080 So, I mean, these things show us that the allure of unbelief is real, right? 00:02:34.140 --> 00:02:36.360 It happens to people. 00:02:37.000 --> 00:02:41.080 And we need to be kept from that if we're going to enjoy that eternity with God. 00:02:41.560 --> 00:02:44.040 And that's what Psalm 141 is really about. 00:02:44.039 --> 00:02:49.039 It's teaching us that we should pray to God to keep us from the deadly company of evildoers. 00:02:50.340 --> 00:02:54.159 And there are two main things that help us to do that in this matter. 00:02:54.639 --> 00:03:00.639 So, the first half of the Psalm, verses 1 to 5, is about praying to God to keep our mouths. 00:03:01.299 --> 00:03:02.840 That's the first point, prayer. 00:03:03.819 --> 00:03:08.379 And then second is, verses 6 to 10, remembering the deadly fate of the wicked. 00:03:09.000 --> 00:03:09.579 So, remembrance. 00:03:09.580 --> 00:03:14.300 So, it's those two things that keep us till the end, according to this Psalm. 00:03:15.380 --> 00:03:18.340 So, he begins by praying to God in verses 1 to 2. 00:03:18.439 --> 00:03:21.000 And he expresses a sense of urgency about this request. 00:03:21.180 --> 00:03:21.280 He says, 00:03:21.340 --> 00:03:23.200 O Lord, I call upon you. 00:03:23.500 --> 00:03:24.420 Hasten to me. 00:03:25.180 --> 00:03:27.260 Give ear to my voice when I call to you. 00:03:27.600 --> 00:03:30.080 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you. 00:03:30.320 --> 00:03:33.320 And the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. 00:03:34.520 --> 00:03:39.439 So, just as God accepts a pleasing incense or a sacrifice from his people, 00:03:39.439 --> 00:03:44.639 he's asking God to hear his prayers because David sees this as urgent and important. 00:03:44.800 --> 00:03:45.759 There's no time to waste. 00:03:45.879 --> 00:03:46.159 So, he says, 00:03:46.319 --> 00:03:47.479 Hasten to me, O God. 00:03:49.500 --> 00:03:55.139 And I think sometimes Christians can be complacent and take perseverance for granted. 00:03:55.699 --> 00:03:57.520 But it's not something we can take for granted. 00:03:57.759 --> 00:04:00.360 There's a sense of urgency, importance to it. 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:02.099 We need to ask God for help. 00:04:02.099 --> 00:04:07.340 And then we get to the main body of David's prayer in verses 3 to 4. 00:04:07.539 --> 00:04:09.639 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth. 00:04:09.799 --> 00:04:11.699 Keep watch over the door of my lips. 00:04:12.340 --> 00:04:14.379 Do not let my heart incline to any evil, 00:04:14.500 --> 00:04:17.920 to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity. 00:04:18.399 --> 00:04:20.480 And let me not eat of their delicacies. 00:04:21.480 --> 00:04:22.899 So, David's well aware of, 00:04:23.159 --> 00:04:25.360 I mean, obviously, 1 Corinthians wasn't written then, 00:04:25.360 --> 00:04:28.600 but he's well aware of the idea in 1 Corinthians 15, 33, 00:04:28.740 --> 00:04:30.699 that bad company ruins good morals. 00:04:32.500 --> 00:04:33.660 What's quoting from there, 00:04:33.720 --> 00:04:37.180 so that saying may already have been circulating probably somewhere from Proverbs. 00:04:37.860 --> 00:04:42.720 And so, he asks God to not let his heart basically drift toward evil, 00:04:42.860 --> 00:04:44.840 incline, lean toward evil, 00:04:44.960 --> 00:04:49.439 because he has himself felt the pull of the delicacies of this world, 00:04:50.060 --> 00:04:50.860 this sinful world. 00:04:50.860 --> 00:04:56.259 And so, he prays that God would keep him from busying himself with the wicked deeds 00:04:56.259 --> 00:04:58.199 in company with men who work iniquity. 00:04:59.240 --> 00:05:05.660 And the primary way that God's keeping of us takes place is in the arena of speech. 00:05:06.439 --> 00:05:07.379 He says in verse 3, 00:05:07.520 --> 00:05:09.379 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth. 00:05:10.060 --> 00:05:12.139 Keep watch over the door of my lips. 00:05:13.220 --> 00:05:14.720 Guarding our speech is crucial. 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:18.740 You guys are all aware of the famous passage in James 3, 2 to 5, 00:05:18.740 --> 00:05:19.160 which says, 00:05:19.160 --> 00:05:44.260 And so, the basic idea behind that is, 00:05:44.260 --> 00:05:45.860 if you can control your tongue, 00:05:46.379 --> 00:05:48.360 then you can control your whole self. 00:05:48.360 --> 00:05:53.020 Because that's how unruly and difficult the tongue is to control. 00:05:54.240 --> 00:05:59.879 And a slip of the tongue have cost people jobs, relationships, even their lives. 00:06:00.540 --> 00:06:02.960 And when we start speaking of evil, 00:06:03.740 --> 00:06:05.600 and that's the concern that David has here, 00:06:05.660 --> 00:06:07.759 when we start speaking of evil, 00:06:08.199 --> 00:06:09.960 when we start delighting in evil, 00:06:10.100 --> 00:06:12.360 when that starts to be the subject of our conversations, 00:06:12.360 --> 00:06:15.080 when we start our conversations, 00:06:15.080 --> 00:06:20.060 our conversations tend to start to be dominated by the things of this world, 00:06:20.500 --> 00:06:23.439 it's a matter of time before we start doing evil. 00:06:24.660 --> 00:06:27.840 And so, David asks God to guard his mouth, 00:06:28.180 --> 00:06:29.699 keep watch over his lips, 00:06:29.819 --> 00:06:31.920 like a guard, like a soldier, 00:06:32.520 --> 00:06:35.420 a sentry at the door of his lips. 00:06:35.420 --> 00:06:39.920 And David knows that at times he'll fail, 00:06:40.020 --> 00:06:40.759 he will need correction. 00:06:40.980 --> 00:06:42.080 And so, he says in verse 5, 00:06:42.079 --> 00:06:54.319 So, David understands that the rebuke of a righteous man, 00:06:54.959 --> 00:06:57.379 he compares to being struck. 00:06:57.800 --> 00:06:59.319 Obviously, being struck hurts, 00:06:59.879 --> 00:07:03.299 but it's a kindness because if he's struck and therefore repents from this, 00:07:03.479 --> 00:07:08.379 the eternal peril that he avoids is preferable to that temporal pain. 00:07:08.379 --> 00:07:10.899 And so, he calls it a kindness. 00:07:11.399 --> 00:07:13.259 And he says it will be like oil for his head. 00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:16.000 This is actually a very vivid image 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:17.579 because back in the ancient world, 00:07:18.159 --> 00:07:20.740 oil wasn't as common. 00:07:21.100 --> 00:07:25.079 And usually, it was really only people who were anointed, 00:07:25.420 --> 00:07:26.459 like kings or prophets, 00:07:27.019 --> 00:07:31.060 kind of understood what it felt like to have oil run over their heads. 00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:33.980 And it would have been a very refreshing feeling 00:07:33.980 --> 00:07:35.459 because they don't have modern hygiene. 00:07:35.459 --> 00:07:38.899 So, you got like lice and different kinds of bugs in your head. 00:07:39.479 --> 00:07:41.319 And because oil, because of its viscosity, 00:07:41.459 --> 00:07:44.239 would actually kill all the lice if you pour it over your head. 00:07:45.060 --> 00:07:46.919 And so, just that kind of refreshing feeling. 00:07:47.060 --> 00:07:50.680 I mean, I kind of imagine like when I have like, I don't know, 00:07:50.799 --> 00:07:52.319 I haven't washed my hair in a few days 00:07:52.319 --> 00:07:53.599 and there's like dandruff or whatever. 00:07:54.099 --> 00:07:56.039 And then that refreshing, you know, 00:07:56.139 --> 00:07:58.879 wash of like head and shoulders. 00:07:59.699 --> 00:08:01.299 I don't know, like have you guys felt that? 00:08:01.399 --> 00:08:01.819 I don't know. 00:08:01.819 --> 00:08:02.180 Yeah. 00:08:02.980 --> 00:08:03.879 It's, you know. 00:08:04.060 --> 00:08:06.500 And so, that kind of refreshing kindness 00:08:06.500 --> 00:08:08.079 is kind of what David envisions 00:08:08.079 --> 00:08:10.959 is like being struck, you know, figuratively speaking, 00:08:11.219 --> 00:08:13.800 being rebuked by a righteous man. 00:08:13.959 --> 00:08:15.060 That it actually, 00:08:15.740 --> 00:08:19.339 because it will spare him much deeper trouble in the end. 00:08:20.159 --> 00:08:20.539 And then, 00:08:21.740 --> 00:08:23.300 but even though he is, 00:08:23.459 --> 00:08:26.019 so David is receptive to the rebuke of the righteous man, 00:08:26.019 --> 00:08:28.959 but he steadfastly opposes the wicked. 00:08:29.620 --> 00:08:31.459 And he concludes verse 5 by saying, 00:08:31.639 --> 00:08:34.720 yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds. 00:08:35.139 --> 00:08:36.319 Not time and time, 00:08:36.419 --> 00:08:37.179 but continually, 00:08:37.419 --> 00:08:39.399 steadfastly against their evil deeds. 00:08:39.939 --> 00:08:41.600 So, that's the first thing we need to do. 00:08:41.699 --> 00:08:43.100 We pray to God to keep us, 00:08:43.340 --> 00:08:44.120 keep our mouths. 00:08:44.639 --> 00:08:45.679 But in addition to that, 00:08:45.840 --> 00:08:47.159 verses 6 to 10 tell us 00:08:47.159 --> 00:08:49.139 to remember the deadly fate of the wicked 00:08:49.139 --> 00:08:51.220 so that we're kept from joining them 00:08:51.220 --> 00:08:53.199 out of a healthy fear of the Lord. 00:08:53.200 --> 00:08:57.000 And that's what verses 6 to 10 are about. 00:08:57.720 --> 00:09:00.060 So, verses 6 to 7 of the English Standard Version 00:09:00.060 --> 00:09:01.200 that I just read is actually, 00:09:01.720 --> 00:09:03.360 I think, a mistranslation. 00:09:04.080 --> 00:09:06.240 It doesn't make sense. 00:09:06.280 --> 00:09:08.460 If you look at the second half of verse 6, 00:09:08.820 --> 00:09:11.080 it suggests that the evildoers will repent 00:09:11.080 --> 00:09:13.600 and hear David's words 00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:15.520 and then acknowledge that they are pleasant. 00:09:16.080 --> 00:09:18.240 But that doesn't make sense in light of the context 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:20.100 because the first half of verse 6 00:09:20.100 --> 00:09:24.060 and verse 7 speak of their final judgment 00:09:24.060 --> 00:09:25.440 from which there's no return. 00:09:26.460 --> 00:09:28.440 So, I think the New International Version 00:09:28.440 --> 00:09:30.180 actually gets this exactly right. 00:09:31.220 --> 00:09:33.860 So, the NIV translates verses 6 and 7 this way. 00:09:34.820 --> 00:09:37.259 Their rulers will be thrown down from the cliffs 00:09:37.259 --> 00:09:39.019 and the wicked will learn 00:09:39.019 --> 00:09:40.720 that my words were well spoken. 00:09:41.540 --> 00:09:42.279 They will say, 00:09:42.600 --> 00:09:42.860 quote, 00:09:42.860 --> 00:09:50.560 So, that's it. 00:09:50.659 --> 00:09:54.039 So, this is speaking of God's ultimate vindication of David 00:09:54.039 --> 00:09:57.360 that when God finally throws down the wicked in judgment, 00:09:57.940 --> 00:10:00.740 they will then recognize that David was right after all. 00:10:01.259 --> 00:10:04.259 And then they will mourn their destruction 00:10:04.259 --> 00:10:05.220 saying, 00:10:05.639 --> 00:10:06.060 quote, 00:10:06.059 --> 00:10:14.259 And so, this poetic justice is highlighted 00:10:14.259 --> 00:10:16.079 by the repetition of the word mouth 00:10:16.079 --> 00:10:17.899 because earlier, right, 00:10:18.259 --> 00:10:20.699 it's precisely because the evildoers 00:10:20.699 --> 00:10:23.039 did not set a guard over their mouths 00:10:23.039 --> 00:10:24.459 like David did 00:10:24.459 --> 00:10:28.119 that they lie now at the mouth of the grave. 00:10:29.519 --> 00:10:31.219 But David, by God's grace, 00:10:31.299 --> 00:10:32.799 has not joined the company of evildoers. 00:10:32.859 --> 00:10:34.439 So, he continues in verses 8 to 10. 00:10:34.440 --> 00:10:37.120 But my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord. 00:10:37.200 --> 00:10:38.480 In you I seek refuge. 00:10:38.860 --> 00:10:40.040 Leave me not defenseless. 00:10:40.340 --> 00:10:42.320 Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me 00:10:42.320 --> 00:10:43.900 and from the snares of evildoers. 00:10:44.160 --> 00:10:46.060 Let the wicked fall into their own nets 00:10:46.060 --> 00:10:47.840 while I pass by safely. 00:10:48.300 --> 00:10:50.480 So, he understands that the things 00:10:50.480 --> 00:10:52.320 that the evildoers lure them with, 00:10:52.520 --> 00:10:54.680 the delicacies of the sinful world 00:10:54.680 --> 00:10:55.820 that David spoke of earlier, 00:10:56.420 --> 00:10:58.060 is just a trap in the end. 00:10:58.180 --> 00:11:00.700 It's a snare that leads to our death. 00:11:01.620 --> 00:11:03.500 And it's remembering that 00:11:03.500 --> 00:11:04.980 that keeps us from joining them 00:11:04.980 --> 00:11:08.360 because he could look attractive on the surface. 00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:11.120 But what, in the end, will happen 00:11:11.120 --> 00:11:12.700 is that the evildoers will be trapped 00:11:12.700 --> 00:11:13.620 by their own snares. 00:11:13.860 --> 00:11:15.379 And then they themselves will perish 00:11:15.379 --> 00:11:17.879 while David passes by safely. 00:11:19.759 --> 00:11:22.320 Wonderful image of God 00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:23.980 securing our safe passage 00:11:23.980 --> 00:11:26.320 to our fatherland, 00:11:26.320 --> 00:11:29.500 to our Savior's kingdom, 00:11:29.940 --> 00:11:31.800 to our heaven. 00:11:32.620 --> 00:11:35.420 And the good news for us, 00:11:35.520 --> 00:11:35.900 ultimately, 00:11:36.100 --> 00:11:37.520 that this psalm points to 00:11:37.520 --> 00:11:38.000 is, of course, 00:11:38.060 --> 00:11:38.980 the coming of Jesus 00:11:38.980 --> 00:11:40.800 because we have all sinned. 00:11:41.360 --> 00:11:43.180 We have all sinned in our speech. 00:11:43.320 --> 00:11:44.300 We have all sinned, 00:11:44.400 --> 00:11:46.220 not kept the guard over my mouth 00:11:46.220 --> 00:11:47.140 as we should have. 00:11:47.420 --> 00:11:48.240 We have, at times, 00:11:48.300 --> 00:11:49.760 joined the company of evildoers. 00:11:49.759 --> 00:11:51.860 And we deserve to be 00:11:51.860 --> 00:11:53.419 like these evildoers 00:11:53.419 --> 00:11:55.559 scattered at the mouth of the grave. 00:11:56.120 --> 00:11:58.220 That's exactly where we deserve to be. 00:11:58.740 --> 00:11:59.379 But instead, 00:11:59.580 --> 00:12:01.720 Jesus took our place on the cross. 00:12:01.799 --> 00:12:02.259 He died. 00:12:02.700 --> 00:12:05.220 And he was laid in the tomb 00:12:05.220 --> 00:12:06.659 at the mouth of the grave 00:12:06.659 --> 00:12:07.659 for three days. 00:12:08.179 --> 00:12:09.679 And God raised him from the grave 00:12:09.679 --> 00:12:11.919 so that we can now be spared 00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:13.379 that death that we had, 00:12:13.539 --> 00:12:14.259 we deserved, 00:12:14.679 --> 00:12:15.759 but instead can be guaranteed 00:12:15.759 --> 00:12:17.740 safe passage to pass by safely 00:12:17.740 --> 00:12:19.940 to our eternal abode with God.