Keep Watch

Many years ago, my husband and I camped in Zion National Park. The camp hosts, a grandpa and grandma aged couple, told us that we should hike Angel’s Landing. It was a moderate hike with breathtaking views. I thought, “Moderate, they’re an older couple, I can do this.” So, the next morning, we got up early (mostly because it was February and freezing) and headed to Angel’s landing.

In short, the first two miles are mostly two sets of switchbacks. The second set being especially arduous. These lead to Scout Lookout, a landing before you tackle the last half mile. Here’s a description from Utah’s website, “This is where things get just a tad hairy, and you become very grateful for the bolted-in chains.” You climb up a narrow ridge with sheer drops on either side. The total hike is a 1,488-foot elevation climb.

We started hiking, going up the switchbacks. I stopped every few minutes to gasp for air and clutch my side. At one point, a man jogged by us, breathing like he was on a Sunday stroll. I was sorely tempted to stick my foot out and trip him. This man hadn’t done anything to me, but I wanted to exact retribution. Similarly, how often when we are sinned against or see evil in the world, do we want to respond with evil? How often do we think we are justified to exact our own vengeance instead of trusting God? Today’s Psalm reveals David’s prayer when he was faced with this type of situation.

141 A Psalm of David.

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. [1]

Psalm 141 is one of four laments at the end of the Book of Psalms (Psalms 140-143). Following Psalm 143 through the end of the Book of Psalms are a psalm of blessings (Psalm 144), and psalms of praise (Psalms 145-150). The four psalms of lament remind us that sometimes the trials we experience seem never-ending, but Psalms 144-150 encourage us to persevere through the times of trial and lament in light of the blessings and reasons to praise God. Our trials are not the whole picture.

Psalm 141 is a prayer for urgent help – “O Lord, I call upon You; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to You! (vs 1, emphasis added) David requests help in three ways: 1) a prayer of help for himself (vs 1-5a), 2) a prayer for the downfall of his enemies (vs 5b-7), and 3) a prayer for his deliverance from the wicked (vs 8-10). We will primarily focus on David’s prayer of help for himself.

Verse 3 is what originally got my attention in this Psalm. “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!” I think most of us struggle with our words at one time or another. I know for me, it is a constant battle, so this seemed like a good prayer. As I began to study the Psalm, though, I realized it had an even more specific context than our words in general.

We know from Psalm 140 and verses 5b-10 in Psalm 141 that David is dealing with wicked people who are against him and laying snares for him. This is the context for David’s plea for help in verses 3-5a. He does not want to repay the evil done to him with his own evil words or actions. I am reminded of a toddler playing in the front yard. The parent watches and every time the toddler makes a move towards the street, the parent is there blocking their path. David is asking for something similar. He knows his temptation to sin especially when sinned against. He asks God to restrain him.

In the New Testament, Paul encourages us with a beautiful promise. “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure” (1 Corinthians 10:13). We are weak in ourselves, but God is not. He provides a way for us to endure the temptation without sinning. The Holy Spirit indwelling us helps us to guard and keep watch.

David continues his plea for help by asking God to help him avoid sinning in the ways his enemies sin. “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!” (vs 4) Not only does David want help not repaying evil with evil, but he wants help guarding against his own participation in any evil at all.

I didn’t have to ponder long to come up with many situations when I have responded in sin. I am grateful that Jesus, when sinned against over and over including His undeserved death, never sinned in response. Not once, and His sinless record is ours. He perfectly set a guard over His mouth and kept watch over the door of His lips in our place.

But David doesn’t stop there. Again, David is not ignorant of his own weakness – “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). His next request is one we are often reluctant to make. “Let a righteous man strike me – it is a kindness; let him rebuke me – it is oil for my head.” If David falls into sin, he desires a godly friend to lovingly correct and restore him. He views it as a kindness, and it is. Remember the toddler? Sometimes it is not enough to block their path. Sometimes they need discipline as well.

In studying these verses, I was convicted to be more deliberate and pro-active to stand against sin. David didn’t make any allowances for sinful responses not even when evil was done against him. Often, we justify a sinful response because of the sin against us, but David did no such thing. He guarded against it. He asked God Himself to keep watch over the door of his lips, and for godly friends to hold him accountable.

David proceeds to ask for the downfall of his enemies (vs 5b-7), but it is interesting to note that in this prayer, he also asks that they essentially would recognize their own sin. “they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant” (vs 6). We need to remember that when David asks for the downfall of the wicked, it is because they have ultimately sinned against God not because of their sin against him. This is not David’s personal vendetta.

David closes the Psalm with a prayer for his deliverance (vs 8-10). David’s first concern was guarding against his own sinful response, but that doesn’t negate that he was still in danger. David trusted God for justice and deliverance.

What a gracious God we have that we can call on Him to guard and keep watch over us when we are tempted to sin particularly when we have been sinned against or are experiencing trials. We can trust Him to act justly and to deliver us. We can stand firm praising God because we know His many blessings.

Reflection

1. Think of a time when you were sinned against or even experienced sin around you. Did you repay evil with evil or was there a guard over your mouth and actions? Did you trust God with the circumstance or seek to handle it yourself?

2. Often, we have one or two circumstances that repeatedly come up even if we are just replaying it over in our heads. Make verses 3 and 4 a regular prayer specific to those circumstances. Write it out. Put it in a place you will see it and pray it.

3. Who can you ask to hold you accountable? You may need to pray verse 5a frequently to remind yourself that their rebuke is a kindness.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 141:title–10.