Psalm 141:1-5 - Responding to God's Correction

5 Let the righteous strike me; It shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; It shall be as excellent oil; Let my head not refuse it. For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked. First let me say a thank you for your prayers these past couple days as we traveled back and forth to Roanoke to speak at Shelby Leonard’s home going celebration. It was a beautiful service honoring her godly life and her wonderful witness for the LORD. I’m sure she received a “grand entrance” into heaven this past Saturday night as she went from this earthly life to her eternal abode. Peter spoke about this in 2 Peter 1:10-11, “So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Thanks again for your prayers! Psalm 141 is written by David as he is responding to being attacked by ruthless and evil people. In this chapter we find at least five things that David did. In verses 1-2, the first thing David does in his desperation is to seek the LORD. He prays and cries out to the LORD in his desperation.   Yesterday we noticed in verses 3-4, that the second thing David did was he was determined and made the choice to keep himself from sin. He was tempted to say and do things that he knew God would not be pleased with and he asked the LORD to “set a guard over his mouth”. Now in verse 5, the third thing David did was to accept God’s rebuke and counsel. So often when we are attacked by someone, or we are facing a desperate situation, we respond in all the wrong ways. We might run to a friend or relative that we believe can bail us out of our trouble, or at least will take our side and feel sorry for us. Some of us might turn to drugs or alcohol to drown out our pain. David is determined to focus on the LORD and what He might be doing in his life. Actually, "the righteous" can also be translated "the Righteous One," referring to the Lord. David recognized that the LORD was involved in allowing this conflict or pain to come into his life. When we yield to God's will, the difficulties of life are tools that God uses to bring maturity to our lives. Often the Lord sends people to speak to us with a message of rebuke. Solomon would later instruct us with these words in Proverbs 1:23, “Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.” Paul told Timothy that the Word of God was given for this purpose in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The major difference between King Saul and David was that Saul would not listen to rebuke and went from bad to worse. He made excuses, blamed others, or even if he acknowledged that he was wrong, he kept right on doing the same things. David was willing to turn at God’s rebuke and knew it was good for him. David knew that God’s rebukes, however they came to him, were like fragrant oil that cleansed him and brought healing to his soul and made him a better man!   As we face the problems and perils of the Christian life, it is important that we listen to wise counsel and obey it. God’s reproofs, however they might come to us, are a sign that we are God’s children and that He loves us! (Hebrews 12:5-11) God bless!