The Man Who Will Not Compromise Psalm 141 Introduction: 1) One of the most difficult, if not the

most difficult, Christian disciplines is prayer. 2) Jesus gives us a model for prayer in the greatest sermon ever preached, His Sermon on the Mount. We find it in Matthew 6:9-13 and its parallel account in Luke 11:2-4. A quartet is found from the pen of King David in Psalms 140-143. 3) In Psalm 141, we find a prayer for sanctification and protection crafted as a wisdom psalm, where David asks the Lord for guidance and deliverance as he seeks to live a life without compromise to the glory of God. I. He will ask the Lord for help. 141:1-2 A life without compromise will run to the Lord. In the psalm, David actually asked the Lord to run to Him! Perhaps he was trapped (v. 9)! 1) Call on the Lord. 141:1 Twice David cries or calls to Yahweh (Jehovah). There is desperation in his voice as he asks the Lord to 1) make haste (NIV, come quickly) and 2) give ear to my voice. 2) Worship the Lord. 141:2 Urgency is complemented by worship. The Lord he runs to is the Lord he worships. Let my prayer be as incense means let my prayer be a sweet aroma and a pleasing offering. Lifting up of the hands (cf. Ps. 134:2) was a demonstration of worship and adoration. Reference to the evening sacrifice (note the word as) may indicate this was a prayer prayed at night as he prepared to go to bed, a prayer he voiced after a long and difficult day. II. He will ask the Lord for wisdom. 141:3-4 James 1:5 says, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. Wisdom is the ability to see life as God sees it and then respond as He would. 1) Give me wisdom with my words. 141:3 James 3:1-12 provides an expanded commentary on the trouble with the tongue. 2) Give me wisdom in my heart. 141:4 (cf. Proverbs 4:23; Jeremiah 17:9) David knew, as must we, the deceptive power of the heart. He knew we all need a spiritual heart transplant. Jesus taught us to pray, Lead us not into temptation (Matthew 6:13). 3) Give me wisdom in my actions. 141:4 David notes the close connection between what I think and what I do. If my heart is leaning toward evil it will eventually do evil. Jesus powerfully reinforces this in Mark 7:21-23. 4) Give me wisdom with my companions. 141:4 Often Satan tempts us thru our companions. David warns us concerning those who are evildoers, but whose evil is camouflaged with delicacies. These are men of influence and status, popular and powerful, whose wealth and position allow them to enjoy the finer things of life as the world measures things. III. He will ask the Lord for good friends. 141:5 Good friends are 1) few in number, 2) valuable beyond words and 3) essential to a consistent walk with God over a lifetime. 2

Your friends will influence you. No debate. No question about it. 1) Let them rebuke me when I need it. It is actually an act of hesed (NASV, kindness; HCSB, faithful love) In The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name, such love, whose origin is always God, is said to be, never stopping, never giving up, un-breaking, always and forever love. 2) Let me receive it when they do it. How do you handle rebuke and correction? It is not easy to receive for any of us. Lord, let me see it as hesed. Lord, let me receive it as excellent oil and an act of honor and respect. Remember Proverbs 27:6, Faithful are the wounds of a friend. IV. He will ask the Lord for vindication. 141:5-7 Once again we encounter what is called an imprecatory psalm where the psalmist prays in very strong language for God to judge his enemies. Ultimately because of their evil, they are the enemies of God. And yet do not miss the redemptive note in this stanza, tucked away at the end of v. 6. 1) Ask Him to judge the works of the wicked. 141:5-7 David will continually pray against evil and those determined to do evil (v. 5). He asks God to throw them off the side of the cliff (v. 6). He asks God to scatter their bones so that they do not even receive a decent burial (v. 7). This would point to there being under Gods curse and judgment. (cf. Revelation 6-19). 2) Ask Him to approve the words of the righteous. 141:6 V. He will ask the Lord for protection. 141:8-10 1) Look to Him. 141:8 David will keep his eyes on his king, Yahweh his Lord (NIV, O Sovereign Lord). He will strive to maintain a Godward, heavenly perspective (cf. Col. 3:1-4). 2) Flee to Him. 141:8-10 We must run to our Lord taking refuge in Him (v. 8). We must ask the Lord to not make my soul bare, give us over to death (NIV) (v. 8). We must ask the Lord to keep us from the snares and traps laid for us by these workers of evil. (v. 9). Indeed, we may pray that they are actually ensnared by their own evil devices (boomerang judgment) which God allows us in grace to safely escape. Conclusion: The man who will not compromise is an incredible individual. I am not sure I have ever met such a man who completely and fully fulfills the portrait we see in Psalm 141. But then I turn to Jesus and I do meet such a man. Here I discover a man who in times of trouble: 1) Asked the Lord for help (Hebrews 5:7). 2) Asked the Lord for wisdom (Mark 1:35). 3) Asked the Lord for good friends (Luke 4:12-13). 4) Asked the Lord for vindication (John 17:1). 5) Asked the Lord for protection (Luke 23:46). Here is the man who would not compromise! Here is the man we have as an example. Here is the one who enables us to live as we ought. Here is the God we honor and worship and run to that we may live a life without compromise.

Psalm 141, A prayer for protection. Author: David. A devotional petition Background: Seems to relate to Absaloms rebellion. I. II. III. IV. V. VI. His prayer, 141:1-2. His request for divine help in doing right, 141:3-4. His response to the correction of the righteous, 141:5. His faith in the outcome, 141:6. He describes the nations condition, 141:7. His plea for heavenly protection, 141:8-10.

Absalom's Rebellion (II Sam. 15-16) I. The rebellion of the prince 15:1-2 Read chapters 13 and 14 to get the complete story. Absaloms beautiful sister Tamar was ruined by his halfbrother, Amon, who was Davids oldest son. (3:2) Absalom had a dual purpose in mind when he found out what Amon had done: he wanted to revenge Tamar by killing Amon, but at the same time he would be removing the obvious heir to the throne. Absalom took matters into his own hands and killed Amon; then he fled to Gentile territory to hide away with the relatives of his mother. (13:37 & 3:3) In chapter 14 Joab interceded for Absalom and tricked David into bringing his wayward son back home. Absalom wasted little time in building a loyal group of followers. He openly criticized his fathers administration and secretly stole the hearts of the people. After a time Absalom determined his movement was strong enough to risk open revolt. It is not surprising that Ahithophel, Davids counselor, sided with the rebels for it was his granddaughter, Bathsheba, that David had taken.(11:3 with 23:34) It looked as though Absalom would be successful and steal the crown from his father. II. The reactions of the people 15:13-16:23 While David was reigning in power, his real enemies would not dare to oppose him, but Absaloms revolt gave them what appeared to be a wonderful opportunity to resist the king and get away with it. It was a time of sifting the true from the false.

Davids friends (15:13-37)

[1]. The Gentiles in his army led by Ittai the Gittite were loyal to their king. Undoubtedly, these men had stood with David during his trying days of exile. The two priests, Zadok and Abiathar, also started to follow their king, but David sent them back to the city. This in itself was a step of faith, for David was trusting God to give him victory and return him to his throne. Hushai, Davids friend, was also sent back to the city to pose as an ally of Absalom; his counsel could change that of Ahithophel. * The picture is prophetic: David flees the city and crosses the brook Kidron. Jesus was rejected in Jerusalem, left the city, and crossed Kidron to pray. (John 18:1) The Judas in Davids situation was his former friend, Ahithophel; perhaps Psalm 55:12-15 was written at this time. See also Psalm 3.

Davids enemies (ch. 16) Times of rebellion are times of revelation; you see what an individual believes and where they stand. [1]. Ziba lied to David about Mephibosheth (16:3; 19:24-30), and David was too quick to pass judgment. [2]. Shimei was related to Sauls family and openly showed his hatred for David. Abishai wanted to kill the man but David stopped him, showing tremendous grace during this trial. (16:5-13) [3]. Ahithophel counseled Absalom to take Davids concubines for himself and thus openly break with his father. This fulfills 12:11,12. The picture is so prophetic! Today Jesus Christ is despised and rejected of men just as David during the rebellion. What the rebels did not count on was the return of the king. It takes courage to remain loyal to the King, but you can be sure that the King will reward when He returns!