I Call Upon You, O LORD, Come Quickly
Devotional
Companion to the Psalter
A Devotional Guide to the Psalms
Object:
Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,
and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice ...
But my eyes are turned toward you, O GOD, my Lord;
in you I seek refuge; do not leave me defenseless.
-- Psalm 141:2, 8
Theme: Prayer for protection from the lure of sin
Outline
1-2 -- Hear my prayer; let it be counted as the evening sacrifice.
3-5 -- Help me resist temptations to sin.
6-7 -- The wicked will find out how wrong they were (meaning uncertain).
8-10 -- Prayer for God to keep him from being trapped by them, and to let the ways of the wicked be self-defeating.
Notes
• Lament
• From early times this psalm has been used in the vespers or evening service in the church.
• The psalmist (a Levite?) knows, even if he can't be in Jerusalem for the daily sacrifice, he can approach God as truly in prayer as if assisting in the temple.
• Verses 6-7 are hard to translate, and various meanings have been given to fit them with the context.
• "Their delicacies" = offers.
• "Oil of the wicked" = smooth talk.
• Being thrown over a cliff was a common form of execution in the ancient world (v. 7).
For Reflection
• The psalmist prays for correction in order to be kept from sin's hold. By nature we don't like correction. It's a feature of our sinful nature to dread humiliation and to seek to establish our own righteousness instead of accepting righteousness as a credited gift of God, to be enjoyed with humility (honesty) and gratitude.
• See Proverbs 9:8; 15:32; Hebrews 12:5; Revelation 3:19.
Prayer
Protect us, O God, from the lure of sin and the ways of the sinful. Enable us by your Holy Spirit to refuse the proffered delicacies and smooth talk of the wicked, and to turn our attention to you and to your blessed will for us in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice ...
But my eyes are turned toward you, O GOD, my Lord;
in you I seek refuge; do not leave me defenseless.
-- Psalm 141:2, 8
Theme: Prayer for protection from the lure of sin
Outline
1-2 -- Hear my prayer; let it be counted as the evening sacrifice.
3-5 -- Help me resist temptations to sin.
6-7 -- The wicked will find out how wrong they were (meaning uncertain).
8-10 -- Prayer for God to keep him from being trapped by them, and to let the ways of the wicked be self-defeating.
Notes
• Lament
• From early times this psalm has been used in the vespers or evening service in the church.
• The psalmist (a Levite?) knows, even if he can't be in Jerusalem for the daily sacrifice, he can approach God as truly in prayer as if assisting in the temple.
• Verses 6-7 are hard to translate, and various meanings have been given to fit them with the context.
• "Their delicacies" = offers.
• "Oil of the wicked" = smooth talk.
• Being thrown over a cliff was a common form of execution in the ancient world (v. 7).
For Reflection
• The psalmist prays for correction in order to be kept from sin's hold. By nature we don't like correction. It's a feature of our sinful nature to dread humiliation and to seek to establish our own righteousness instead of accepting righteousness as a credited gift of God, to be enjoyed with humility (honesty) and gratitude.
• See Proverbs 9:8; 15:32; Hebrews 12:5; Revelation 3:19.
Prayer
Protect us, O God, from the lure of sin and the ways of the sinful. Enable us by your Holy Spirit to refuse the proffered delicacies and smooth talk of the wicked, and to turn our attention to you and to your blessed will for us in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
