Psalm 141 is a bold prayer of David’s. He cries to the Lord for help to resist temptation and pursue holiness. This psalm is a great picture of a humble, worshipful pursuit of God.
1. Worship
First, his prayer is placed in the context of worship: “I call upon you…let my prayer be counted as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!”
Before we can learn to, hope to, try to resist sin and put it to death, we must first pursue worship and the fear of the Lord. For resisting sin is either worship or sin in itself, for Romans 14:23 reminds us that whatever is done apart from faith is sin. Thus, if we try to kill sin apart from both a desire to please God and a trust in the promises of the gospel that ultimately motivate my pursuit of holiness, then my pursuit is sinful. This rules out a religious mindset that seeks to accomplish our own righteousness apart from an awareness of our great need of Christ.
But here, David’s orientation is “I cry to YOU;” he is not hoping in himself. Rather, he is actively turning from himself and to God. This is the heart disposition the Proverb means where it says, “in all your ways acknowledge him,” and then one can hope that the Lord will keep straight and direct his path.
Here, then, we have a practical application picture of that. David acknowledges the Lord in worship, then proceeds to his request in which he hopes the Lord will graciously direct him.
2. Guard My Mouth
“Set a guard over my mouth…watch over my lips!”
David knows that one of the most dangerous parts of our bodies for sin is the mouth. James builds out this idea in James 3:6-8, “the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life…no human being can tame the tongue.”
If this is all true—that our tongue is so easily taken up by our flesh for sin and that we, on our own, cannot reign it in—then we must not try. Rather, like David, we must acknowledge the reality of our weakness to control our words and throw ourselves at the mercy of God to forgive us where we have sinned with our lips and to set a guard over our mouths that our evil might be restrained and put to death by the Holy Spirit working within us.
3. Guard My Heart
“Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds.”
Here again, the key is to begin by acknowledging my own iniquity—the evil bent of my heart that inevitably leans me toward doing wicked deeds. David’s saying, “Lord, I know my heart will want to go here or there and do evil! Please don’t let me. Keep me close and don’t let me wander and believe lies and worship created things rather than you, Creator God!”
Paul speaks here as well regarding what we busy ourselves with saying, “If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not things are on earth.” (Col 3:2) When you recognize that your tendency is to busy yourself with wicked, you have to also, like David, acknowledge that such deeds spring out of where your heart is and thus where your mind is. So killing sin begins with being “raised with Christ.” If you have become a Christian, you’ve been given a new heart and have the Holy Spirit and no longer have to set your mind on things that are on earth. You no longer have to busy your mind and heart with earthly things, earthly pleasures, earthly preoccupations. By the Spirit, you can set your mind on matters of the Kingdom, of righteousness, of salvation for yourself and others. You can busy yourself with good deeds (Eph. 2:10).
4. Embrace Rebuke
“Let a righteous man strike me – it is a kindness; let him rebuke me – it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it.”
The most loving thing our fellow worshipers can do for us sometimes is to call us out in our sin, to not hold back what might be offensive or hurt—it is a kindness—it is real love. David adds, it is an anointing thing, a blessing, a consecrating thing to be loved so well by a friend that they will not let you continue unquestioned, unrebuked, in your sin.
So again, the prayer is: “I know that I need to be rebuked: 1) Please send someone to call me out and 2) please give me a heart of humility that realizes what a gift it is to be loved like this that someone else would desire my holiness and a healthy relationship with God for me.
Of course, this doesn’t mean we have to like rebuke or that it feels good. But what is comfortable and feels good is rarely what is actually good for us. Yes, it’s painful. But, yes, it’s also good for you.
5. Gaze & Refuge
“My eyes are toward you…in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless.”
Only the man whose eyes are fixed on God, whose refuge is God, can request that he not be left defenseless. Yet when God is his refuge, he has chosen the strongest defense there is.
Our gaze must continually be turned to Christ. There are innumerable things that will attempt to steal your gaze and cause you to hope in them for satisfaction, identity, joy, peace, fulfillment, and all of them but Christ will lie. Our hearts will even affix themselves to good things like family, work, friendships, success and security, but these things cannot keep their promises if we hear from them that they will satisfy, keep, protect and save us. When our gaze drifts from Christ alone for these things, idolatry is close at hand.
There is a close connection between where our gaze lies and what we count as our refuge. What you think about, dwell on, long for and enjoy most is where you will run for security when trouble, frustration, fear, stress and weakness arise. If your gaze isn’t upon Christ, then he will not be your refuge and you will be defenseless.
Now we’re back where we started, for truly gazing upon Christ and taking refuge in him is Christo-centric, God-honoring worship.
Cameron Lockey 