1 TIMOTHY 1:1-7 - FAITHFULLY FIGHT FALSE DOCTRINE

1 TIMOTHY 1:1-7

FAITHFULLY FIGHT FALSE DOCTRINE

1 Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;

Susie: Paul always acknowledged that he did not proclaim himself to be an apostle but was made one by the will and command of Jesus. What does he mean by referring to Jesus as “our hope?”

Susan: The Greek word for hope can be defined as “a pleasant expectation.” Jesus is our ultimate pleasant expectation!

Susie: What do you mean?

Susan: Jesus, before He ascended back to the Father, said that He must go and that He would prepare a place for those who believe so that they could be with Him forever. He promised to return and receive all who believe and trust in Him in order to take us to the Father’s house (John 14).

Susie: Therefore, Jesus is the embodiment of the hope we have of eternal life with God.

1 Timothy 1:2 Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

Susan: Timothy was Paul’s son in a spiritual sense. Paul had led him to faith in Jesus.

Susie: Paul had instructed Timothy in the teachings of Jesus and felt comfortable placing him in the leadership position of pastor at Ephesus.

New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible:

Charis – graciousness of manner or act: lit. fig., or spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life

Susan: Grace and peace was a greeting used by Paul in all his letters. Grace as defined above was asking the Lord to effect change in their lives. With the word peace, Paul was indicating his desire that the Lord set their lives in order, make them whole, and give them rest. Here, Paul also prays mercy for them. God is merciful, compassionate, slow to anger, toward those who place their trust in His Son, Jesus.

1 Timothy 1:3-4 As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.

Susan: Paul told Timothy to stay behind in Ephesus for the purpose of charging, commanding, false teachers to stop teaching erroneous fables about Old Testament people and teach the doctrine of the Gospel as preached by the apostles.

Susie: Paul will address the false teachings more specifically later in the letter. In verse twenty of this chapter, we learn that Paul had in essence excommunicated two former leaders of the church for this very thing. And in chapter 3, he instructs Timothy in the qualifications of church leaders perhaps because some who were teaching false doctrine would need to be replaced. Endless genealogies could refer to trying to prove they were physical descendants of Abraham which is NOT a requirement for salvation.

1 Timothy 1:5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:

Susie: The result of the charge or command Timothy was to give to those teaching false doctrine would be charity, good conscience, and true faith.

Susan: Charity or love in this context is the kind of love demonstrated by Jesus – a choice to love regardless of how you feel toward a person.

Susie: God has given all people a conscience, an innate sense of right and wrong. One evidence of our trust in Jesus and choosing to follow His will is a “good conscience,” freedom from guilt or shame.

Susan: We looked up “unfeigned” in our favorite dictionary:

Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language:

UNFEIGNED, adjective Not feigned; not counterfeit; not hypocritical; real; sincere; as unfeigned piety to God; unfeigned love to man.

Susan: So, Paul was describing faith that is genuine and authentic. There were some who were imposters, faking faith in Jesus.

Susie: Jesus instructed us how to discern whether a teacher is true or false, real or faking it:

Matthew 7:15-16 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

1 Timothy 1:6 From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;

Susie: “Vain jangling?” Haven’t heard that term recently.

Susan: The New King James Version renders this “idle talk”. This is conversation that will not build believers up or point them in a godly direction.

Susie: So, this would be useless jargon that sounds religious but really serves no good purpose.

1 Timothy 1:7 Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.

Susie: These false teachers wanted the prestige, the “cred,” of rabbis, but did not understand the law they were trying to teach. Instead they were teaching a false doctrine of salvation by works, and not even understanding the works they purportedly thought essential. They were contradicting the Christian doctrine of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone.

QUESTIONS:

1.               Is Jesus Christ your hope?

2.               What is meant by hope in the New Testament context?

3.               Paul uses “grace, peace, and mercy” as greetings. Could we as believers do the same today?

4.               Were the false teachers Timothy needed to command to stop from within or outside the church at Ephesus?

INTRODUCTION TO THE PASTORAL EPISTLES

INTRODUCTION TO

THE PASTORAL EPISTLES

AUTHOR: The Apostle Paul is generally accepted as the author of the two letters to Timothy and one to Titus. Paul had once been a persecutor of Christians but had been gloriously confronted by Jesus Christ himself on the road to Damascus to arrest Christians. After spending time alone with the Lord, he was introduced to church leadership in Jerusalem by a man called Barnabas which means son of encouragement. Although sceptic as first, James (the brother of Jesus) and the others in leadership there accepted him as having been called to salvation and service by Jesus Himself. He dramatically changed from persecutor of Christians to the most avid preacher of the Gospel. The “Pastoral Epistles” are letters Paul wrote to his two “sons in the faith,” Timothy and Titus, who were now preachers themselves. Paul had led both of these men to faith in Jesus and had continued to disciple them both in person and via correspondence.

LETTERS TO TIMOTHY: According to 1 Timothy 1:3, the first letter to Timothy was probably written from Paul in Macedonia to Timothy in Ephesus in the early 60’s A.D.  The second letter was most likely written during Paul’s final imprisonment in Rome just before his execution during the reign of Nero which would have been during the mid-60’s. Paul wrote to encourage Timothy, a young pastor, and to aid him in combatting a false teaching that had arisen among the churches in Ephesus. Timothy had been raised by his mother and grandmother who had both been pious Jews before their own conversions to Christianity. His father was Greek and may have died before Timothy met Paul.

LETTER TO TITUS: In the early 60’s, Titus was serving in Crete and was facing false teaching similar to that in Ephesus where Timothy served. Titus was a gentile convert to Christianity and had been specifically left on in the Island of Crete by the Apostle Paul to lead the churches there. He had spent time with Paul when they were both in Corinth, so he, like Timothy had been discipled by Paul.

PSALM 43 - PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE FROM DISCOURAGEMENT

PSALM 43

PRAYER FOR

DELIVERANCE FROM DISCOURAGEMENT

Psalm 43:1 Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.

Susie: The psalmist asks the Lord to be both his judge and his defense attorney. God is the only completely righteous judge and for those who trust in Him, the best advocate.

1 John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

Susan: He needs God to defend him against those hurling false accusations against him.

Psalm 43:2 For thou art the God of my strength: why dost thou cast me off? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

Susan: The psalmist acknowledges that God is the source from which all his strength originates.

Susie: Then he immediately turns around and asks why God seems to have withdrawn His support. He asks God and himself why he is discouraged by the attacks of the enemy.

Susan: He wonders why he has allowed himself and God has allowed him to be intensely negatively affected by the words of his enemy.

Susie: He indulges in a bit of a pity party, but then invokes God to bring him out of this state.

Susan: He pulls himself up by his sandal straps and remembers the power of the One to whom he is praying, the God with whom he has an intimate relationship. 

Psalm 43:3 O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.

Susan: Light makes me think of understanding and insight which comes from the word of God which is truth.

Psalm 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Susie: God Himself is Light and Truth as Jesus said:

John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Susie: The psalmist asks the Lord to bring him safely back to the temple, to the place of worship.

Psalm 43:4 Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.

Susan: Once the Lord brings him back to the worship center, he will make a bee-line to the altar to express his exceeding joy with instrument and song, authentic worship from his heart.

Susie: He recognizes God as the source of his joy. External things, the gifts of God, are not his joy. God Himself is his joy. This is why he was so distraught when he did not feel the presence of God, when he felt rejected and abandoned.

Psalm 43:5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

Susan: This is the same chorus used in Psalm 42, but we thought the Complete Jewish Bible captured the essence of the psalmist’s exhortation and encouragement to himself.

Psalm 43:5 (CJB) My soul, why are you so downcast? Why are you groaning inside me? Hope in God, since I will praise him again for being my Savior and God.

Susie: Note that the psalmist does not instantly recover from his spiritual depression, his desperation for feeling the power and presence of God again. He continues to work through it, being honest with God and himself, and turning back to God over and over.

Susan: We need to remember and respect that our spiritual life is a journey and a process. It is not something to be cooked in microwave. During a brother’s or sister’s time of spiritual depression, when he or she is in the valley, we are not to be there to judge their relationship to the Lord. We are to be there to bear one another’s burdens and encourage one another. We need to intercede for them until they are victorious in their battles.

Galatians 6:2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

QUESTIONS

1.               Jesus is our advocate with God the Father. What does an advocate do?

2.               Describe a time when you felt abandoned by God. What scripture(s) would be helpful to recall in such a situation? Memorize at least one of them.

3.               The psalmist needs God to be a light to lead him. How do we see God’s guiding light?

4.               The psalmist longs to be in the house of God, joyfully worshiping. Do you delight to worship God or see it as an obligation?

5.               He ends with the same chorus found in Psalm 42. For what does he praise God?

6.               List some ways you can help a brother or sister who is experiencing spiritual drought or depression. 

PSALM 42 - DESPERATE DROUGHT, FEARFUL FLOODS, HEARTFELT HOPE

PSALMS 42-43

INTRODUCTION: The title of Psalm 42 indicates that it is a song of or for the sons of Korah. This does not necessarily mean that they wrote the psalm. One of them might have been exiled from the temple temporarily and written it or it could indicate that is was written for them to perform. The sons of Korah were the lead worshippers and lived on the temple grounds. Numbers chapter 16 details the rebellion led by Korah and God’s judgement resulting in his death. The sons of Korah were actually the descendants of his father Kohath. The grace of God is evident in the fact that the sons of Korah later ministered as lead worshippers in the temple. They were composers of songs and minstrels for the Lord.

Psalm 42 and 43 may have originally been one psalm since 43 has no title and the psalms surrounding it do and the same chorus is used in both psalms. Both are classified as laments. The psalmist gets very real with God about his negative emotions, his spiritual depression but gives himself a stern reprimand and a pep talk in the chorus.

PSALM 42

DESPERATE DROUGHT,

FEARFUL FLOODS,

HEARTFELT HOPE

Psalm 42:1 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.

Susan: In the same way that the deer thirsts for water, the psalmist thirsts for God. He is parched for God’s presence.

Susie: The psalmist is in a spiritual dry spell, feeling that he is far from God. David expressed this same thirst in Psalm 63:

Psalm 63:1-3 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

Susie: Sometimes a person may feel that they are alone in going through the valleys in their spiritual journey. However, there are other people who were very close to God who experienced spiritual drought.

·     Moses asked the Lord to take his life rather than leave him charge of the complaining Israelites (Numbers 11:14-16)

·     King David wrote several psalms dealing with his feeling of being far from God. One example is Psalm 38.

·     The entire book of Job chronicles the struggles of a man who lost everything but his life and that seemed to be hanging on by a thread.

·     Elijah had just won the victory over the prophets of Baal but was still feeling like he was the only prophet who stood for the Lord (1 Kings 19:10-15).

Susan: If you are experiencing spiritual drought, you are not alone. Some of God’s choice servants were right there with you!

Psalm 42:2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

Susie: The psalmist longs to be in the presence of God and still describes God as “living” meaning active, available, and still powerful.

Susan: Whoever the author is, he is longing for the right things. He is thirsting for the only one who can quench his spiritual thirst. He is crying out to the living God who is the living water.

John 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

Susie: When we trust in the Lord, His Holy Spirit flows through us like a river:

John 7:37-38 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Psalm 42:3 My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?

Susan: The psalmist feels utterly despondent.

Susie: This man admits to God that he is literally weeping in despair.

Susan: He is feeling wrung out and completely overwhelmed because of the taunts of his enemies.

Susie: His enemies, thinking they have him backed into a corner, shout out, “Where is this God you brag about?”

Susan: They had no idea they were treading on thin ice. When you mess with God’s kids, you are really assaulting Him.

Susie: Even though the psalmist is in dire straits and emotionally spent, he continues to hope in God through his tears.

Psalm 42:4 When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.

Susan: He longs for days gone by when he was light of heart and singing praises.

Susie: He pours out his soul to God with hope to rejoice again. If this was written by one of the sons of Korah, he is longing to lead out in worship again, not from obligation but from a heart filled with joy. 

Susan: He is fighting for his intimacy with God in the midst of the turmoil and duress of fighting for his sense of well-being. He wants to back in rhythm, marching to God’s heartbeat.

Psalm 42:5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.

Susie: Psalms 42 and 43 have this repeated chorus.

Susan: The psalmist reprimands himself. He asks himself why he is feeling desolate and anxious.

Susie: He does not try to hide or sugar-coat his feelings. He admits that he is troubled deep within himself. But then he moves his gaze to God and gives himself a pep talk. Oh, that we in the modern church could learn to be this honest with ourselves and others rather than being like Eleanor Rigby who was “wearing a face that she keeps in a jar by the door.” (Old Beatles song).

Susan: The author does not put on a mask. He is truly transparent and absolutely authentic. His true hope is in God and God alone. He tells himself he will lift up, exalt, praise the God that he knows. He has an expectation that God will, at some point in the future, quench his season of drought.

Susie: By faith, he looks forward to the day when he will praise God for His deliverance from these enemies and from his condition of spiritual drought.

Psalm 42:6-7 O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar. Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.

Susie: The psalmist names the mountains from which the rivers that flowed through Israel originated and colorfully describes their descent as a torrent. He may have been living there in exile. Poetically, he is saying that God has sent him trouble upon trouble in wave after wave. Perhaps Horatio Spafford had this psalm in mind when he penned the song “It Is Well with My Soul” even while mourning the loss of his children at sea. You may want to listen to the song here:

https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?hsimp=yhs-att_001&hspart=att&p=it+is+well+with+my+soul+by+whitley+phelps#id=6&vid=12112861343237f8fb05e6a2fef5060b&action=click

Psalm 42:8 Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the day time, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.

Susan: Despite his intense despair, the psalmist expresses confident faith that the Lord will wash over him in lovingkindness—love, mercy, and grace.

Susie: The psalmist remembers that the Lord is with him both day and night. He affirms the hope that he will sing praises again, the Lord’s song filling his heart and mouth.

Susan: The psalmist is having an ongoing conversation, prayer, with God who is his very life.

Susie: Jesus taught the truth that real life is found in Him because He is life.

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Psalm 42:9 I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

Susan: The author of this psalm is very plain-spoken with God. He was having a difficult time reconciling the waves of despondency he was experiencing with the relationship he had with the almighty God. The reality of the two things going on at the same time were a struggle in his humanity. He does not try to keep anything under wraps because he knows that God knows his thoughts anyway. Therefore, he might as well be forthcoming.

Susie: Yes. And even though he feels forsaken by God at that moment, he still refers to the Lord as his Rock. A rock was a solid place where a stronghold could be built, a place to be able to launch a powerful defense.

Susan: A rock would be a place where one could find safety and security.

Susie: Jesus is the Rock of our salvation.

Psalm 95:1 O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

1 Corinthians 10:4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

Susie: The enemies in this psalm were most likely physical, human enemies although they are unnamed. However, we all have an Enemy who whispers in our ear that God has forsaken us or even that we should question the existence of a loving God. Satan sometimes uses people to propagate his lies (think of Job’s “friends”) and other times just uses our own thoughts. We need to take this honestly before God as did the psalmist.

Psalm 42:10 As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?

Susie: Children chant, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” NOT true. The psalmist says the taunting words of his enemies defaming his God were like jabbing a sword directly into his bones.

Susan: His enemies maligned and berated him for the mere sport of it like bullies in the schoolyard. They were breaking him down insult by insult toward both him and his God, who is the Lord Almighty.

Susie: They were trying to get inside his head and make him doubt the very source of his strength, the Rock, the Lord.

Susan: They tried to make him doubt the ability of his Strong Tower to keep him safe.

Psalm 61:3 For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.

Proverbs 18:10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

Psalm 42:11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

Susie: The chorus is repeated at the end of Psalm 42. He reminds himself that although his emotions are all over the place, his God can be counted on to bring him out victorious.

QUESTIONS

1.               What was the occupation of the sons of Korah?

2.               We named some people whose stories of spiritual depression are found in the Bible. Can you think of others? List few with the Bible reference of their story. Helps may be found at www.biblegateway.com or www.biblehub.com.

3.               Who is the Living Water that quenches spiritual thirst?

4.               What do the psalmist’s enemies say to taunt him?

5.               What happy memory does the psalmist recall in verse 4?

6.               Psalm 42:5 & 11 are the chorus to this song. The psalmist confronts his emotions. How does he tell himself to combat these feelings of abandonment?

7.               The psalmist is in spiritual drought, yet he is flooded with sorrow and trials. Describe a time when you were overwhelmed by cares. How were you rescued from the distressing waves?

8.               The psalmist calls God “my rock” in verse 9. Explain how Jesus is like a rock. 

PSALM 141 - PASSIONATE PRAYER FOR PROTECTION

PSALM 141

PASSIONATE PRAYER

FOR PROTECTION

INTRODUCTION: The occasion for David’s lament is not known. Although he is distressed over snares set by his enemies, he expresses confident trust in the Lord.

Psalm 141:1 Lord, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee.

Susie: This is an urgent prayer.

Susan: David is sending up an S.O.S. to the Lord. He was in an intensely desperate situation.

Susie: Many of David’s psalms begin with praise, singing, expressions of worship. But in this one, he cuts right to the chase that he needs the Lord’s assistance immediately.    

Psalm 141:2 Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

Susan: David’s situation called for emergency prayer rather than waiting for the morning or evening times of offering incense and prayer.

Susie: Incense emits a pleasant fragrance when burned and was symbolic of the people’s prayers being pleasing to God. David asks that his prayers be pleasing to the Lord.

Psalm 141:3 Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.

Susie: David’s enemies often slandered and taunted him. They hurled insolent, defaming words as sharp as arrows, trying to make him look bad in front of his army and subjects.

Susan: David asked the Lord to be the door-keeper of his lips to restrain his vocabulary from degrading to the level of his enemies.

James 3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

Susie: David knew he was incapable of taming his speech himself, so he asked the Lord to keep him from opening his mouth in any inappropriate way.

Psalm 141:4 Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties.

Psalm 141:4 (VOICE) Don’t allow my deepest desires to steer me toward doing what is wrong or associating with wicked people or joining in their wicked works or tasting any of their pleasures.

Susan: David makes the request of the Lord the He help him to remain pure and righteous before Him.

Susie: This reminds me of how Jesus instructed His disciples to pray in what is known as “The Lord’s Prayer.”

Matthew 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

Susie: He asked the Lord to keep him from even sampling tidbits of temptation.

Psalm 141:5 Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.

Susie: Sometimes a true friend must tell us the truth in love even though it hurts. It may momentarily feel like a slap in the face, but if we are wise we will realize. . .

Susan: . . . it was said out of kindness and sincere concern.

Ephesians 4:14-15 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

Susie: The most faithful friends are honest with us in order to promote our spiritual welfare.

Proverbs 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

Susan: David prayed that he would have the wisdom to listen to godly counsel. This would not be hitting him with a personal attack, but instead would be a loving corrective measure to discipline and disciple him for the purpose of making him better. We do not use words to tear down, but to build up. We are not called to be a demolition crew but a restoration team.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.

Susie: Proverbs contains a warning for those who continually refuse to listen to a friend who corrects them:

Proverbs 29:1 (VOICE) The one who remains defiant after repeated reprimands will suddenly be shattered, and there will be no remedy for him.

Susie: David is praying for the overthrow of his enemies, for calamity to seize them.

Psalm 141:6 When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall hear my words; for they are sweet.

Susan: David prayed that His enemies meet with destruction.

Susie: He gives the example of seeing their leaders thrown off a cliff onto the rocks below.  Not that he says “when” not “if”. He is confident in God’s ability to win the battle for him.

Susan: After their defeat, the wicked would realize David’s words had been authentic, acceptable, and pleasing to the Lord. His words would reverberate in their ears reminding them they should have listened to him.

Psalm 141:7-8 Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth, as when one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth. But mine eyes are unto thee, O God the Lord: in thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute.

Susie: David says he and his men are about as able to win against this enemy as scattered bones are able to defend themselves. This also alludes to what some enemies did, denying the dead even a decent burial.

Susan: David realizes his army is deficient against this formidable foe. However, David’s true confidence is in the Lord alone and the Lord’s army.

Susie: David understood the truth that the battle belongs to the Lord.

Proverbs 21:31 (VOICE) No matter how well you arm for battle, victory is determined by Him.

Psalm 141:9-10 Keep me from the snares which they have laid for me, and the gins of the workers of iniquity. Let the wicked fall into their own nets, whilst that I withal escape.

Susan: David asks that the Lord protect him from falling into the enemy’s trap. Instead he asks that the ungodly fall into it themselves.

Susie: In reading the history of Israel in the Old Testament, we see that God over and over protected them even to the point of having the enemies turn on each other in confusion. David knew God was able and willing to protect him and the nation of Israel. See Judges 7:19-25 and 2 Kings 7 for example.

QUESTIONS

1.               David prayed for urgent relief. Tell about a time you implored God to act immediately on your behalf.

2.               What did burning incense symbolize in Jewish worship?

3.               What did David ask the Lord to set a watch over?

4.               Psalm 141:4 might be a good prayer to start the day. Write it in your own words.

5.               Journal about a time someone spoke the truth in love to you or that you had to tell a difficult truth to a friend.

6.               What fate did David want for the wicked?