the Week of Proper 9 / Ordinary 14
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Daily Devotionals
Day by Day Devotional - Year 5 of 5
Psalms 141:1-10; ; Psalms 142:1-7
The Lord never gets tired of listening to our prayers. On the contrary, the prayer of a believer is like sweet perfume to Him (v. 2; cf. Revelation 5:8). Sadly our mouths are also capable of producing bitter words. Without help from above, no man can tame his tongue (James 3:8-9). "Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth," asks the man of God here. However the mouth only serves to express what is boiling up in our hearts (Psalms 39:1-3). The heart also requires a vigilant "guard" to stop it from getting involved with any evil thing (v. 4). Finally let us learn to take reproach not as damaging to our pride, but as a favour, an "excellent oil" reserved by the Lord for His own (v. 5; cf. 2 Samuel 16:5; 2 Samuel 16:10; Galatians 6:1).
Psalms 142:1-7. Being pursued by Saul, David hides in the cave of Adullam (1 Samuel 22:1-23; Psalms 57:1-11). He wanders with his companions "in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth" (Hebrews 11:38). No human refuge was available to him (v. 4). But his faith enabled him to cry out: "O LORD . . . thou art my refuge" (v. 5). "The righteous shall compass me about . . . (v. 7). Christ, the true David, will bring with Him in His glory those whom He has clothed in His own righteousness.
