Psalm 141

A Bible Devotion from Psalm 141

God Is Greater Than Our Heart

1 O Lord, I call upon you; hasten to me!
Give ear to my voice when I call to you!
2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,
and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!

3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
keep watch over the door of my lips!
4 Do not let my heart incline to any evil,
to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with men who work iniquity,
and let me not eat of their delicacies!

5 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.Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.
6 When their judges are thrown over the cliff,
then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.
7 As when one plows and breaks up the earth,
so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of Sheol.

8 But my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord;
in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!
9 Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me
and from the snares of evildoers!
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I pass by safely.

Psalm 141, NKJV

Psalm 141 is a prayer of David that we would do well to pray each morning before we start our day. There seems to be a sense of desperation in verses 1 and 2; David has learned through a lifetime experience that he will accomplish nothing apart from the help of God. How often do we forget that simple truth? We dash off to our daily routine confident that we are ready to face the world. But are we? In truth, we should not even dare to set one foot out the door until we have fallen before God in a plea for help and mercy for the day.

We are reminded again that David is so human in verses 3 and 4. How many times do we wish we could stuff our words back into our mouths? Once spoken, however, the damage is done. Even more importantly, we need to cry out to God to guard our hearts, for we are so prone to run with the wicked.

Let a righteous man strike meit is a kindness; let him rebuke me it is oil for my head. Mastering this verse will probably take a lifetime of prayer to accomplish; oh how easily we are offended, especially if someone dares to try to rebuke or correct us. Then, to go a step further and think of it as kindness certainly requires the grace of God.

In pondering these verses, it is easy to only see our shortcomings and the waywardness of our heart. In 1 John 3:20, John encourages us with these words, Whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Psalm 141 shows how much David understood this. Remember, man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks upon the heart. This same God is greater than our hearts!

Psalm 141 concludes with the wonderful words of David, My eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless! As this Psalm began, so it ends! David calls upon God as his only help and deliverance.

Remembering that God is greater than your heart, pray that God will guard your heart and keep you from compromising your Christian testimony.

Next: Psalm 142 - God Is My Refuge

More Devotions on the 141st Psalm from my blog, Daily Bible Devotions.

Dainties of the Wicked, verses 1-4

Perspective, verses 5-7

Keep Me, verses 8-10