#893 Finest Oil

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 ESV

A Psalm of David.

O Lord, I call upon You; hasten to me - In distress, he cries out to God, Who is always there and fully aware, every king is a child. David does not want to throw up prayers as empty rites, he wants them not only to be heard, but for God to comfort him as well. This is the access of believers, that they speak to the Creator in great expectation of His reply. It is humble that the Psalmist takes nothing for granted, praying even about his prayer.

Let my prayer be counted as incense before You - This could be in the time of Saul or Absalom. If we are cut off from the ceremony of the temple, it is not the end of religion. Every believer is a walking tabernacle, a tent, temporary to this dispensation. Incense came with great detail and instruction, representing the prayers of the people, mixed to specification, set apart by the Lord, not burned with strange fire. As the smoke rises, reviewing the exactness of the ritual, it should teach us the significance of the reality, we are entering the presence of  the Holy, eternal royalty, the King of kings. 

…7 And He came and took the scroll from the right hand of the One seated on the throne. 8 When He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.… Revelation 5: 7-9

And the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice - Surrender to Lordship, and the attitude of praise, bless the Lord O my soul. Let none of these things be for earthly beholders, but out of the abundance of a thankful heart.

- “The raising up of one’s hands was symbolic of dependence on and praise of the Lord.” (VanGemeren)

Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth - So many things could be solved in this phrase, like being "slow to speak", it is a sign of maturity when we know our thoughts need checking before we give them voice. We are a danger to the persecuted when we are not careful about what we say around the wicked. Not everyone asks questions of real concern, sometimes there is a sick motive, and if we are careless then we betray those who are being viewed as prey. Do not feed the greed of the envious, for they will eat and feel justified by your words. 

Do not let my heart incline to any evil - He knows the origin of sin in practice is sin in the heart. 

23 Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life. 24 Put away deception from your mouth; keep your lips from perverse speech.… Proverbs 4: 23-24

33 Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. 35 The good man brings good things out of his good store of treasure, and the evil man brings evil things out of his evil store of treasure.… Matthew 12: 33-35

…17“Do you not yet realize that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then is eliminated? 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.… Matthew 15: 17-19

And let me not eat of their delicacies - Temptation is always geared toward the things the flesh already wants, some things which are not evil in themselves, but let us not compromise to obtain them. Even secular, wicked men realize this, and they make articles to address. At my work I have to sign integrity statements, these regarding my relationship to competitors, contractors hired by my company and sales reps from other businesses. It is easy for the natural mind to justify receiving such gifts. "There are those above me that do, I want this, I need this, it is a blessing," I have heard many an excuse, but it cost the place I receive my pay check from, the place I have promised to protect, the place my friends and coworkers earn their living at, and inflates the price of services far and above their actual value. It cuts profits and removes the potential for raises. The Psalmist sees the spiritual implications also, that friendship with this system is enmity towards God. What will men say of the God I proclaim, if as His follower, I take part in that which defiles His name? He wants to be separate.

Let a righteous man strike me, it is a kindness - 

…5 Better an open rebuke than love that is concealed. 6 The wounds of a friend are faithful, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. 7 The soul that is full loathes honey, but to a hungry soul, any bitter thing is sweet.… Proverbs 27: 5-7

Let him rebuke me, it is oil for my head - The world has created a huge market for flatterers and yes men, but those that receive such are as guilty as those that put it forth. Does not the gospel rebuke men, that all are lost, all have sinned, everyone has gone his own way, and the Lord has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all? If your friend walks along beside you, knowing full well of the dangers ahead, but conceals them to you, then he is in no way your friend. How can we say love, when we are unwilling to warn? That is self love, the desire of approval at the cost of the truth, the truth that would set them free.

- Oil breaks no heads, and rebuke does no man any harm; rather, as oil refreshes and perfumes, so does reproof when fitly taken sweeten and renew the heart. My friend must love me well if he will tell me of my faults: there is an unction about him if he is honest enough to point out my errors. Many a man has had his head broken at the feasts of the wicked, but none at the table of a true hearted reprover. The oil of flattery is not excellent; the oil so lavishly used at the banquet of the reveler is not excellent; head breaking and heart breaking attend the anointing of the riotous; but it is otherwise with the severest censures of the godly: they are not always sweet, but they are always excellent; they may for the moment bruise the heart, but they never break either it or the head. C. H. Spurgeon

- You may want a fresh anointing, yet miss it because it comes to you as correction from a righteous man or woman. “The fresh anointing which you seek in the morning may come not in rapt emotional experiences, but in the straight dealing of some fellow-disciple. Whenever anything is said which finds fault with you and blames you, receive it humbly and tenderly, asking whether it may not contain a message from your Father.” (Meyer)

Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds - I think David recognizes God's hand even in the allowance of his enemies to rise against him. He does justify Saul's actions in killing the priest, yet he does not put himself up to be the executioner of Saul, even though he has mercilessly pursued David.

When their judges are thrown over the cliff , then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant - Matthew Henry points out the consensus of some, that this is at the time when David was being hunted by Saul and accused of being a traitor.

- Some think this refers to the relentings that were in Saul’s breast when he said, with tears, Is this thy voice, my son David? 1 Sa. 24:16 1 Sa. 26:21 . Or we may take it more generally: even judges, great as they are, may come to be overthrown. Those that make the greatest figure in this world do not always meet with level smooth ways through it. And those that slighted the word of God before will relish it, and be glad of it, when they are in affliction, for that opens the ear to instruction. When the world is bitter the word is sweet. Oppressed innocency cannot gain a hearing with those that live in pomp and pleasure, but when they come to be overthrown themselves they will have more compassionate thoughts of the afflicted.III. David complains of the great extremity to which he and his friends were reduced (v. 7): Our bones are scattered at the grave’s mouth, out of which they are thrown up, so long have we been dead, or into which they are ready to be thrown, so near are we to the pit; and they are as little regarded as chips among the hewers of wood, which are thrown in neglected heaps: As one that cuts and cleaves the earth (so some read it), alluding to the ploughman who tears the earth in pieces with his plough-share, Ps. 129:3 . Can these dry bones live? IV. David casts himself upon God, and depends upon him for deliverance: "But my eyes are unto thee (v. 8); for, when the case is ever so deplorable, thou canst redress all the grievances. From thee I expect relief, bad as things are, and in thee is my trust.’’ Those that have their eye towards God may have their hopes in him.V. He prays that God would succour and relieve him as his necessity required. 1. That he would comfort him: "Leave not my soul desolate and destitute; still let me see where my help is.’’ 2. That he would prevent the designs of his enemies against him (v. 9): "Keep me from being taken in the snare they have laid for me; give me to discover it and to evade it.’’ Be the gin placed with ever so much subtlety, God can and will secure his people from being taken in it. 3. That God would, in justice, turn the designs of his enemies upon themselves, and, in mercy, deliver him from being ruined by them (v. 10): let the wicked fall into their own net, the net which, intentionally, they procured for me, but which, meritoriously, they prepared for themselves. Nec lex est justioir ulla quam necis artifices arte perire sua—No law can be more just than that the architects of destruction should perish by their own contrivances. All that are bound over to God’s justice are held in the cords of their own iniquity. But let me at the same time obtain a discharge. The entangling and ensnaring of the wicked sometimes prove the escape and enlargement of the righteous. Matthew Henry.

1 Samuel 24

1 Samuel 26

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Do Not Grow Weary

3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

nor be weary when reproved by him.

6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,

and chastises every son whom he receives.”

7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

12 Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. 14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 16 that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears. Hebrews 12: 1-17 ESV