A psalm of David.
1 O Lord, I am calling to you. Please hurry!
Listen when I cry to you for help!
2 Accept my prayer as incense offered to you, and my upraised hands as an evening offering.
3 Take control of what I say, O Lord,
and guard my lips.
4 Don’t let me drift toward evil
or take part in acts of wickedness.
Don’t let me share in the delicacies
of those who do wrong.
5 Let the godly strike me!
It will be a kindness!
If they correct me, it is soothing medicine.
Don’t let me refuse it.
But I pray constantly
against the wicked and their deeds.
6 When their leaders are thrown down from a cliff, the wicked will listen to my words and find them true.
7 Like rocks brought up by a plow,
the bones of the wicked will lie scattered without burial.
8 I look to you for help, O Sovereign Lord.
You are my refuge; don’t let them kill me.
9 Keep me from the traps they have set for me, from the snares of those who do wrong.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
but let me escape.
David is attributed to have written this Psalm and we know that sacrifice was, is and will be a huge part of the culture around worship.
“And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand head of cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the people dedicated the temple of God.”
This is the way things were done at that time. Look, David taught his family this all-in sacrifice culture.
12 Then King David was told, "The LORD has blessed Obed-edom's household and everything he has because of the Ark of God." So David went there and brought the Ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the City of David with a great celebration. 13 After the men who were carrying the Ark of the LORD had gone six steps, David sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. 14 And David danced before the LORD with all his might, wearing a priestly garment.
Every six steps.
So it is surprising and exciting that prayer and hands raised in prayer are considered a sacrifice. And this sort of sacrifice is still the way God wants us to come to him. Paul told Timothy that such worship was the pattern in all the churches everywhere.
“In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.”
So who are we lifting hands to? Who are we beseeching and who are we reaching out to? None other than King Jesus.
I look to you for help, O Sovereign Lord.
You are my refuge;
Jesus taught us how to pray and David’s prayer here parallels the Lord’s prayer in many ways.
Firstly, pray with humility.
You may mistake the tone and phrases as anything but humble, but don’t be deceived, the tone is actually humble.
You can plead v1, Hebrews 4:16 You can come boldly. You can come passionately.
You can worship v2, Make yourself the sacrifice. Romans 12:1
I just want to break into the outline and say I love to worship in my church with my church family. I love to sing and pray and raise my hands in worship. It is a great privilege to do so with all God’s people. I am so thankful for a church that sings and prays passionately and with great joy.
You can surrender v3, Let Jesus control your prayers and pray for you. Romans 8:34
You can confess v4, Tell Jesus your weaknesses. Matthew 6:13
And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.
You can love correction v5, Don’t trust yourself. 1 Timothy 5:1
Learn to love correction, it's the only way to get better and to see the perspectives you are missing.
You can trust God v6, Let Jesus vindicate you. Don’t try to prove yourself. Romans 12:19
You can wait v7, Jesus will reveal the truth. Phil. 3:15-17
You can rest v8, Jesus will protect you. 2 Thess. 3:3
You can proceed v9, Jesus will guide you through. Psalm 32:8
You will escape evil v10, Jesus will deliver you safely. 2 Tim. 4:18
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| Handwritten Psalm 141 |
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