Showing posts with label Psalm 141. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Psalm 141. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
Psalm Meditation 1278
¶Third Sunday of Advent
¶December 15, 2024
¶Psalm 141
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+141&version=NRSVUE
(NRSVUE)
¶There are times in which we are tempted to believe that we are the only faithful folk left in the world. We may be of the opinion that no one is nearly as good as we are in the practice of faithfulness. We set ourselves apart as an example of what it means to be God’s favorite. We look at all the people around us knowing that they could not possibly live up to the high standards that guide our own life. It might be in our family, at work or school, and even in worship. We are the faithful remnant, biding our time until God comes.
¶The psalmist is willing to be disciplined and corrected by those whose lives are exemplary in every way. At the same time, there is plenty of judgment heaped on those who are not up to snuff in the psalmist’s eyes. We will gladly stand, looking down our noses at all who do things of which we disapprove, when it is their time to pay the price for all the evil they have done. If the psalmist is of the mind that the righteous will also face judgment, there is no indication of such here.
¶Whether the psalmist is as guilty of the intense pride of hubris as is possible, the important thing is to turn our eyes, hearts, and lives to God. In God we find refuge, a defender, and protector. God is not standing over us with a clipboard full of judgmental checkmarks against us. First and foremost, God loves us and wants what is best for us, especially for us to have a close and intimate relationship with God. Out of that relationship we can gather and grow other helpful and encouraging relationships with others.
¶December 11, 2024
¶LCM
Monday, November 14, 2016
Psalm Meditation 857
Reign of Christ Sunday
November 20, 2016
Psalm 141
I call upon you, O LORD; come quickly 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 an evening sacrifice.
3 Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not turn my heart to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with those who work iniquity; do not let me eat of their delicacies.
5 Let the righteous strike me; let the faithful correct me. Never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head, for my prayer is continually against their wicked deeds.
6 When they are given over to those who shall condemn them, then they shall learn that my words were pleasant.
7 Like a rock that one breaks apart and shatters on the land, so shall their bones be strewn at the mouth of Sheol.
8 But my eyes are turned toward you, O GOD, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; do not leave me 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 alone escape.
(NRSV)
There are times in which it is easy to say things that are hurtful to others. Sometimes those words are true, yet spoken in a way or at a time that is not helpful. When my team beats your team in sports, politics or religion and I let you know that I won and you lost, it is not helpful. When I do all that with the aim of belittling you, that is hurtful. When you are already down and hurting and I jump in your face to remind you that you are ‘a loser’ that is probably evil.
There are times in which it is best to set a guard over my mouth and say nothing rather than make it a point to say that hurtful thing to someone who is already suffering. Perhaps when the roles were reversed I heard those hurtful things and now I am getting back at all those who hurt me before. I do well to join the psalmist in praying, “Do not turn my heart to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with those who work iniquity.”
Tables do have a way of turning. If I can keep myself from saying anything that sounds like bragging or insulting on the winning side, it is possible that I won’t hear it when I am next on the losing side. And if I do hear it, I can join the psalmist in turning toward God for a moment of refuge and respite.
November 14, 2016
LCM
Reign of Christ Sunday
November 20, 2016
Psalm 141
I call upon you, O LORD; come quickly 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 an evening sacrifice.
3 Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not turn my heart to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with those who work iniquity; do not let me eat of their delicacies.
5 Let the righteous strike me; let the faithful correct me. Never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head, for my prayer is continually against their wicked deeds.
6 When they are given over to those who shall condemn them, then they shall learn that my words were pleasant.
7 Like a rock that one breaks apart and shatters on the land, so shall their bones be strewn at the mouth of Sheol.
8 But my eyes are turned toward you, O GOD, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; do not leave me 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 alone escape.
(NRSV)
There are times in which it is easy to say things that are hurtful to others. Sometimes those words are true, yet spoken in a way or at a time that is not helpful. When my team beats your team in sports, politics or religion and I let you know that I won and you lost, it is not helpful. When I do all that with the aim of belittling you, that is hurtful. When you are already down and hurting and I jump in your face to remind you that you are ‘a loser’ that is probably evil.
There are times in which it is best to set a guard over my mouth and say nothing rather than make it a point to say that hurtful thing to someone who is already suffering. Perhaps when the roles were reversed I heard those hurtful things and now I am getting back at all those who hurt me before. I do well to join the psalmist in praying, “Do not turn my heart to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with those who work iniquity.”
Tables do have a way of turning. If I can keep myself from saying anything that sounds like bragging or insulting on the winning side, it is possible that I won’t hear it when I am next on the losing side. And if I do hear it, I can join the psalmist in turning toward God for a moment of refuge and respite.
November 14, 2016
LCM
Monday, August 25, 2014
Psalm Meditation 741
Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time
August 31, 2014
Psalm 141
1 I call upon you, O LORD; come quickly 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 an evening sacrifice.
3 Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not turn my heart to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with those who work iniquity; do not let me eat of their delicacies.
5 Let the righteous strike me; let the faithful correct me. Never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head, for my prayer is continually against their wicked deeds.
6 When they are given over to those who shall condemn them, then they shall learn that my words were pleasant.
7 Like a rock that one breaks apart and shatters on the land, so shall their bones be strewn at the mouth of Sheol.
8 But my eyes are turned toward you, O GOD, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; do not leave me 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 alone escape.
(NRSV)
It is not always easy to tell good from bad, right from wrong, righteousness from sin. The psalmist is caught between following the practices and habits that lead to God and the temptation, from within or without, to take up a new set of habits that lead down a path to destruction. Despite our protests to the contrary, words do have the power to hurt and to heal, so the psalmist asks for God’s help in keeping hurtful words out of lips and heart. Even though the promise of hurtful words is that they will be sweet, for a moment, there is also the recognition that there is a price to pay for them. As with any sweet treat, there is the initial pleasure followed by the price that must be paid for the indulgence.
Once we get drawn in to a course of action, a group of practices, it becomes very hard to break free of whatever habits we may have formed for good or ill. While it may take discipline and vigilance to form good habits, it is possible to make and keep them without a lot of thought or effort once we have established our pattern. Bad habits may be easier to form since they take less effort from the beginning, however they take a much higher toll on us through the weeks, months and years.
As we join the psalmist in asking God’s help in avoiding evil practices and habits in the first place we do not have to fight to break the habits and still have the price to pay for them. As we are able to guard our lips, our hearts, our hands from the tempting evils in the first place the more readily we can turn to God with our whole hearts in every part of life.
August 25, 2014
LCM
Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time
August 31, 2014
Psalm 141
1 I call upon you, O LORD; come quickly 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 an evening sacrifice.
3 Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not turn my heart to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with those who work iniquity; do not let me eat of their delicacies.
5 Let the righteous strike me; let the faithful correct me. Never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head, for my prayer is continually against their wicked deeds.
6 When they are given over to those who shall condemn them, then they shall learn that my words were pleasant.
7 Like a rock that one breaks apart and shatters on the land, so shall their bones be strewn at the mouth of Sheol.
8 But my eyes are turned toward you, O GOD, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; do not leave me 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 alone escape.
(NRSV)
It is not always easy to tell good from bad, right from wrong, righteousness from sin. The psalmist is caught between following the practices and habits that lead to God and the temptation, from within or without, to take up a new set of habits that lead down a path to destruction. Despite our protests to the contrary, words do have the power to hurt and to heal, so the psalmist asks for God’s help in keeping hurtful words out of lips and heart. Even though the promise of hurtful words is that they will be sweet, for a moment, there is also the recognition that there is a price to pay for them. As with any sweet treat, there is the initial pleasure followed by the price that must be paid for the indulgence.
Once we get drawn in to a course of action, a group of practices, it becomes very hard to break free of whatever habits we may have formed for good or ill. While it may take discipline and vigilance to form good habits, it is possible to make and keep them without a lot of thought or effort once we have established our pattern. Bad habits may be easier to form since they take less effort from the beginning, however they take a much higher toll on us through the weeks, months and years.
As we join the psalmist in asking God’s help in avoiding evil practices and habits in the first place we do not have to fight to break the habits and still have the price to pay for them. As we are able to guard our lips, our hearts, our hands from the tempting evils in the first place the more readily we can turn to God with our whole hearts in every part of life.
August 25, 2014
LCM
Monday, August 20, 2012
Psalm Meditation 636
Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
August 26, 2012
Psalm 141
1 I call upon you, O LORD; come quickly 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 an evening sacrifice.
3 Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not turn my heart to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with those who work iniquity; do not let me eat of their delicacies.
5 Let the righteous strike me; let the faithful correct me. Never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head, for my prayer is continually against their wicked deeds.
6 When they are given over to those who shall condemn them, then they shall learn that my words were pleasant.
7 Like a rock that one breaks apart and shatters on the land, so shall their bones be strewn at the mouth of Sheol.
8 But my eyes are turned toward you, O GOD, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; do not leave me 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 alone escape.
(NRSV)
We find what we expect to find. When we expect to find good in people it jumps out at us in a variety of ways. When we expect to discover that we are surrounded are by bad people we will experience all sorts of evil from those around us. It might even be that two different people will experience the same person in different ways. The one looking for evil will find all the faults and flaws in a person. The one looking for good will find the redeeming qualities in that same person. The psalmist asks God for help in finding people with whom to spend time.
The psalmist does not want to learn evil attitudes, or wicked deeds from the kind of people who have those attitudes and do those deeds. It can be an interesting crowd. I don’t believe that any sane person sees their own deeds as evil. They/we find ways to justify thoughts and actions until they become normal actions and reactions. By banding together with like minded folk there is a layer of insulation between this type of normal and the way society defines normal.
The psalmist asks God for help in choosing folks whose lives are tuned to the ways of God. There is a longing to be taught how to live in the presence of God even though it is a difficult process. As in any discipline, the hard work pays off when one is called upon to live out one’s training in high stress circumstances. To keep our focus on God points us in a direction that leads to a life of fulfillment beyond that of self-centered pursuits. The presence of God in our lives gives us a place of refuge. Choosing to keep company with those who keep company with God gives us defenses against the temptations with which we are surrounded on a regular basis.
August 20, 2012
Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
August 26, 2012
Psalm 141
1 I call upon you, O LORD; come quickly 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 an evening sacrifice.
3 Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not turn my heart to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with those who work iniquity; do not let me eat of their delicacies.
5 Let the righteous strike me; let the faithful correct me. Never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head, for my prayer is continually against their wicked deeds.
6 When they are given over to those who shall condemn them, then they shall learn that my words were pleasant.
7 Like a rock that one breaks apart and shatters on the land, so shall their bones be strewn at the mouth of Sheol.
8 But my eyes are turned toward you, O GOD, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; do not leave me 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 alone escape.
(NRSV)
We find what we expect to find. When we expect to find good in people it jumps out at us in a variety of ways. When we expect to discover that we are surrounded are by bad people we will experience all sorts of evil from those around us. It might even be that two different people will experience the same person in different ways. The one looking for evil will find all the faults and flaws in a person. The one looking for good will find the redeeming qualities in that same person. The psalmist asks God for help in finding people with whom to spend time.
The psalmist does not want to learn evil attitudes, or wicked deeds from the kind of people who have those attitudes and do those deeds. It can be an interesting crowd. I don’t believe that any sane person sees their own deeds as evil. They/we find ways to justify thoughts and actions until they become normal actions and reactions. By banding together with like minded folk there is a layer of insulation between this type of normal and the way society defines normal.
The psalmist asks God for help in choosing folks whose lives are tuned to the ways of God. There is a longing to be taught how to live in the presence of God even though it is a difficult process. As in any discipline, the hard work pays off when one is called upon to live out one’s training in high stress circumstances. To keep our focus on God points us in a direction that leads to a life of fulfillment beyond that of self-centered pursuits. The presence of God in our lives gives us a place of refuge. Choosing to keep company with those who keep company with God gives us defenses against the temptations with which we are surrounded on a regular basis.
August 20, 2012
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