We're edging our way to the end of the book of Psalms. Psalm 141. This is a psalm of David. And I titled this psalm, A Cry for Holiness and Deliverance. That's what God will enable every chosen son and daughter to do. And that is to genuinely cry out unto the Lord for His holiness and deliverance.

Every child of God, I was thinking this morning, I love the Psalms, and I don't know many believers that don't love the Psalms. I've heard folks say over the years, you know, when I'm experiencing sorrow and trouble, you know, I go to the Psalms. And I think the thing that believers love about the Psalms is that they express what we feel better than we can express them ourselves. David, oftentimes, I'm like, you've heard that old expression, boy, he's read my mail.

And it's because I have the same heart he had, and he had the same heart that I had, a heart that's deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, and a heart that God has replaced and caused us to get to beat and pant after God himself. But every child of God knows that they have need and it's a need for God's holiness and justice and love and mercy. Oh, I need God's mercy every minute of every single day. I didn't see that when I was younger, but the The older I get and the more I grow in God's grace, the more I realize, oh, I need the Lord more now than ever before. I'm more conscientious of my need. I need His grace. I need His righteousness and forgiveness in Christ.

Verse 1, capital L-O-R-D, there we see that again, the self-existent and self-dependent one. He said, Lord, I cry unto thee, make haste unto me, give ear unto my voice when I cry unto thee. But you know the phrase, Lord, I cry unto thee, in some form or another is used and repeated dozens of times throughout the Psalms alone. Lord, Lord, I cry unto thee.

And this tells us, without doubt, what is found in the psalmist and in the believer's heart. And that being a God-revealed need of Christ. That's something you can't learn in a book. You can learn it in this book, but God's got to reveal it to you. Most people might say, well, yeah, I've got a few needs, but this is talking about a need for life, a need for righteousness, a need that is so desperate that you know if God doesn't provide it, you're going to die in your sin, you're going to perish. And only God can give it. Only God can give it. God revealed in need of Christ.

One who considers themselves without need has yet to see their need of the great position. That's just the way it is. If there's no need, there's no reason to go see a doctor. If you don't see you're sick, or know you're sick, you won't go to the doctor. And if you don't see that you're dead in trespasses and sin, and that your soul is desperately sick, you won't have need of Christ the Great Physician.

But every enlightened sinner will, because God has revealed it to them. He's the vine, we are the branches. If we abide in Him, much fruit will come. And then he said, for without me, you can do nothing. And that means exactly what it says. It don't mean we can do a few things. It don't mean that we can meet God halfway and that we do 50% and God does 50%. It means that we can do nothing. Absolutely nothing. And the Lord said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life. And then what did He say? No man comes to the Father but by me. Only those who have a true need in their heart will desire the only one who can fulfill that need, and that's Christ.

Neither is there salvation in any other, Acts 4.12. None other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Only one way to be saved. This isn't a multiple choice thing. You know, Mohammed can't save you, And this prophet can't save you, you're gonna be saved by one person, and that's Christ.

It's narrow, the road is narrow, the gate is narrow. There's a way that leads to destruction that's broad, and many there be that go that way, but only a few, a few. How many is a few? Well, I don't know. In Genesis, it was eight. It was eight people, Noah and his sons and their wives and his wife so it's not many compared to the whole of the world verse one we're given the holy the holy spirit gives us the words that are in the believer's heart and being poor and needy which we are full of sin and guilt as as we are What do we do?

We cry. What else can we do? There's nothing else we can do. We can't straighten up and fly right. We can't make ourselves righteous. We can't forgive ourselves. So what do we do? We cry unto the one that can. And this is why we cry. We need help. Oh Lord, I need help. Help me. Help me. And we still need help. And we'll always need help as long as we reside in these bodies of death. all our time here on earth.

We're in need of Christ. This is the desperate cry of a sinner who knows they cannot help themselves. And that's where the gospel begins, because it shows us our need of divine mercy. It shows us we can't save ourselves. And our only hope is if God hears us.

Now, do you want Him to hear you? Well, sure you do if you want to be saved, if you want to have eternal life. I think of that publican in the temple. I can just see him. I've pictured him so many times sitting there in the back with his head down. Won't you come on in and sit down? Won't you go on up front there where the Pharisee is?

He had bowed and he cries, Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner. This psalm is about a helpless sinner crying, a merciful God who hears and a mediator Savior who makes it possible. Without Christ, there's no reconciliation between the sinner and God, never will be.

Verse two, let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Now the incense here is referring to the intercession of Christ. That's what the incense in the temple pictured. Christ representing His people. It was a sweet-smelling savor rising unto God.

Our prayers are acceptable one way. Same way we are, only through a mediator, a sacrifice. Incense pictured the saved sinners praying prayers rising to God. And we can't approach God on our own. only in and by and through Christ. And even our prayers being accepted stands on the basis of Christ's atonement. We can't approach God without a mediator, without a surety, and without a sacrifice for sin, our prayers could never, ever be accepted before a holy God. Because Christ offered himself for sin, believers can now approach God. Paul said we come boldly into the throne of grace. Not arrogantly, but boldly. There's a difference in the two words. Boldly means with competence and assurance. And that competence and assurance is in Christ.

Only our Lord's sacrifice could do what the animal sacrifices of old could not do. Man, they offered, Can you imagine the shedding of the blood of those animals? It never ceased. It was just constant. But Christ offered one sacrifice for sin forever. Why? Because it was the blood of God. And it sufficed. It got the job done. We've got a God that can get the job done. His sacrifice opened the way to God because His righteousness and His atoning blood, the believer's prayers of help are heeded and accepted. God hears us in Christ. He makes intercession for us. Lord, that's one you gave me from the foundation of the world. You sent me to save them. I did for them what they couldn't do for themselves. And God said, good enough for me. I accept it. Where are we accepted? In the Beloved.

And in Christ our prayers are sweet, smelling, fragrant. Isn't that such a blessing? Lord, help us not to be so callous to these wondrous things. Christ is pleasing and fragrant like the incense in the temple. You know, in the Old Testament, the incense Evening sacrifice was a part of worship. A saved sinner worships.

We don't put on a show and raise our hands and all the silly things. It's not a chore to worship. Worship under the law feels like duty. If we approach God only through obligation, it can seem like a burden. But the Gospel turns duty into delight. And when a sinner understands what Christ has done, that He bore their sin, that He satisfied God's justice, that He's given them His perfect righteousness, our worship changes. It's not burdensome. Is it burdensome to you? Is it burdensome to you to come hear His Word and sing songs and praise Him? Oh, I sure hope not.

Love makes worship joyful. A man that loves his wife doesn't say, I've got to spend time with her. He says, I get to spend time with her. And that's the way it is for the child of God and the worship of their God, same true God. When our hearts are revealed that the mercy of God in Christ, prayer, praise, and gathering together ceases to be a chore and ceases to be a burden. And it becomes a privilege. It's a privilege.

I get to go worship tonight. I told you about Phil asked me to do something one time on a Wednesday, knowing that I attend the church. And he said, oh, I forgot you got to go to church. I said, no, I get to go. It's a privilege. It's an honor. May we always see it that way. You consider it a privilege to be here this morning? Well, I know we don't like we should, but we do. I do. David here is asking God to hear his cry. That's something he longs for. And worship is not drudgery. It's not the drudgery of a slave trying to please a master.

It's the joy of a redeemed sinner coming to a gracious Father who through the one and only Beloved Son, His only one and Beloved Son, gave Himself for them. If someone, I've said this often, if someone died for you, if someone stepped in your place, wouldn't you, you would, ah. If someone gave their son to die for you, wouldn't you worship that one that gave his son? Well, sure. Lord, help us. In the Old Testament, there was a morning and evening sacrifice, and I thought about that.

We begin with the sacrifice of Christ and we end with the sacrifice of Christ. He's the beginning. He's the end. He's the first. He's the last. He's the Alpha and the Omega. He's all and in all. He's the salvation of the Lord. And there's no other way to be redeemed. It's Christ, Christ, Christ, Christ. What do you preach? Christ. What are you preaching next week? Christ. That's all we have to preach. He is our message. Salvation's of the Lord, salvation's in a person.

Verse three, David says, set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth and keep the door of my lips. Boy, when I read that verse, that was so convicting to me. Here we see, this is David's first request other than for the Lord to hear him. We would do well to make this our request daily. Set a watch in my mouth. Keep the door on my lips. That's something I pray often. What comes out of our mouths is the results of what's in our hearts. That's scriptural, you know. The Lord Jesus said, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. This reveals what's in here.

It don't play well for me. And say with me, it don't play well for me because often times this exposes what's in here. And that's why I love the fact even more that Christ died for the ungodly because even Knowing and believing that Christ is the only means of salvation, I still fall so short and I'd have no hope, no hope at all if it wasn't for Him. I often wish I could pull back the words that come out of my mouth.

But here's the thing, after they come out, you can't pull them back. They've already been said. I wish that I could keep the door of my lips. Do you? You don't have to answer. But it's a question we ought to ask ourselves. James wrote, if any man among you seem to be religious, seem to be righteous, but bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. My, my. Again, the words of our mouth reveal a great deal about us, and it's very alarming to me when it comes to me. Have you ever been in anger and found yourself wanting to say something unkind? You're just like, ooh. And then try not to say it. How'd you fare? It's near impossible to do. I've got scars on my bottom lip and on my tongues where I've had to bite it many times. But how many times did I just let them flow?

Lord, help us. Lord, give me a heart that'll speak appropriately. Kind words. Let me speak kind words. Let me speak encouraging words. Patient words. Lord, set a watch upon my mouth. That's what He's saying. Keep the door of my lips, because I certainly don't seem to do a good job at it. And that's what we see here. I need the Lord to do this for me. I'm quick to reveal the iniquity of my own heart. How about you? Do you do just like I do? David does not say, I will control my lip. David does not say, I'm gonna set a watch, in my mouth, he asked the Lord to. Set a watch, oh Lord.

That's dependence. Like every other sin, we need God's divine intervention. We're not gonna quit doing anything in the way of sin and iniquity unless God enables us. And I don't know why, and I'm talking about me, and this has just been more of a revelation to me lately. is how few a times when I really need help and see my need, that I really ask God to help me. Lord, help me. Lord, you do this. Lord, you make this apparent. You take care of this.

We have not because we ask not. Verse 4, incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practice Wicked works with men that work iniquity and let me not eat at their dainties. God's going to cause a true believer to ask Him to do these things for them. So let's do it. Let's ask Him. Lord, help me. Lord, help me. Help me to worship. Help me be thankful. Help me to be faithful. Help me to want to worship You. God will have to incline our hearts, bend, turn, change our hearts in order to us to do these things. The King's heart and ours is in the hand of the Lord.

And as the rivers of water, he turneth it whithersoever he will. Have you ever seen like the Ohio River from an aerial map or a lot of times you can see it on your phone now, like GPS, that river just Sometimes it comes around and passes itself and then goes...

That's the Lord's doing. And the Lord can do that with our hearts. And He does. We're up, we're down, we're over here, we're there. The Lord's doing that. He turns our hearts with us wherever we will. And I'm convinced for the believer, He does it to wean us from this world, to show us our desperate need of Christ.

And that's the only way we will ever see it. We can't rest or depend on our own strength. We'd never be able to resist temptation. Only God's grace protects us from the paths that lead to death. We are on a dead set march to death and hell, unless God divinely intervened. We need to be asking God to direct our step. And he will. Only God can protect us from these things. We must have total reliance on God and the Lord Jesus Christ to prevent our hearts from being in doubt. You ever said this? Oh, she's got such a good heart. He's got such a kind heart.

Not by nature. If God gives you one and enables you to be gracious and loving, then you will, but not on your own. May we always remember that salvation, listen, this will help you, salvation is not just forgiveness of past sins. It's that, but that's not all. It's an ongoing transformation by the Spirit of God. It's growing in grace. It's walking in faith. How does faith come? By hearing, hearing by the Word of God.

Our Lord perfectly resisted all evil inclinations. And we'll say to ourselves, yeah, but He was God. Yeah, but He was also a man. He was tempted in all points even as we are, yet without sin. The gospel assures that Christ's righteousness is credited to us. And that's why when we fail and when we fall, God doesn't just send us to hell, that's what He should do. But because of our standing in Christ, well, how can I sum it up better? Hebrews 4, 15, for we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points, you know what that means? In every way, tempted like as we are, yet without sin. That's the difference. That's the difference between us and him. But in him, if we're in him, It goes for us, we're without sin. In Christ, we have no sin.

Again, verse four reveals the sinner's helplessness. That's what this is. It's a cry for help in our need for Christ's ongoing mercy and grace in our lives. True transformation doesn't come from just avoiding evil outwardly only, but seeking Him to continually turn our hearts toward holiness. And if He doesn't, our hearts are going to always go the wrong way. We have not because we ask not. I'm learning by God's grace to ask the Lord for the things that I need. Why don't we do that more?

Incline my heart, Lord. You're the only one that can. Look at verse five. 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 calamities. You ever been reproved by someone, a believer? I have. It's not pleasant. Nobody likes, to be corrected by nature.

I'm reminded of that little story I've told you often about the little boy jumping up and down on the couch. And mama said, sit down. He'd sit down, and he'd just smile. She said, what are you smiling about? He said, I'm still jumping up and down on the inside. That's us, isn't it? That's us. Yeah, boy.

Oh my, Lord, help us and climb my heart, oh Lord. When we're corrected and reproved by someone, it shows our need for humility and openness to the correction that God calls His people to. Correction from God, if God uses someone, it gives us good scriptural advice. It's from God. If it's from this the Word of God, then it's from God. Correction, reproof, though it's uncomfortable, and though we don't like it, it's all part of God's refining work.

And again, we see our need of a mediator led to ourselves. We resist correction, and we're blind to sin, just as oil was used for anointing kings and priests and for healing. Here, David is likening reproof, correction to a soothing, strengthening anointment. Anointing. That's what he's talking about.

Correction often seems harsh at first, but it actually brings spiritual benefit like that oil that heals and softens and refreshes. I got a lot of aches and pains anymore. I'm sure you do too. And boy, there's that stuff you can rub on that cools and soothes. It's got many different names. I got a roll on recently. I'm like, just roll that stuff all over me. That's what he's talking about.

True correction given in righteousness is not going to destroy us. It's going to build us rather than destroy us. It's going to protect rather than harm us. And it's guided by God's hand. For yet my prayers also shall be in their calamities. Our hearts must remain merciful. Correction shouldn't harden us towards the one that gave it. If we truly understand that this correction that we received was scriptural, we ought to be thankful, shouldn't we?

But I'm the world's worst, you know. It'll be the first time I hear you tell me anything. It's God that uses folks to correct us. The Lord helped us. Correction shouldn't harden us toward others. It reflects a spirit shaped by God's grace. Despite receiving correction, David continues to pray for those whom God used to correct him.

Now I think about when, was it Nathan that came to him and told him the story about the little ewe lamb and the man that, the rich man that had all kinds of lambs and took the one poor man's little ewe lamb that was like a dollar to him. And we shake our heads, listen, you dog lovers, you just as bad, just as bad. You ought to hear me with my dog. Come on, baby, let's go outside. Can you imagine? That man took that little year lamb and killed it and had it for dinner. And David said, being a shepherd, he said, let me know who that rascal is, and I'll kill him. And I said, thou art the man. It's you. It's you.

The prophet. corrected him for his sin with Bathsheba. David fell on his face asking for mercy and help from God Almighty. Always remember that chastening from the Lord is proof that we're God's children. God chastens those that He loves. It's hard to live righteously in the midst of a corrupt and hostile environment, isn't it?

But this verse points us to Christ, as every verse does, really. And by His grace, I see that more and more. It's like, this book, that's who this book's about. It's a hymn book, H-I-M. It points to Christ as the ultimate righteous, intercessory, even amid a world dominated by injustice and rebellion. Boy, you turn on the news, and within minutes, seconds, you see what a mess this world is in. But our Lord's words are life-giving and sweet in God's sight. And for us, it teaches us that living in faithfulness, speaking truth, and trusting God's justice will endure and bear forth fruit. even when the world seems harsh or corrupt.

Verse 7, our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth, as wind one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth. And here we have a vivid picture of human frailty and mortality. Listen, folks, we weren't born good and then went astray. We were born dead. We were born prey.

David is acknowledging the reality of death and vulnerability and human helplessness. Bones scattered at the grave symbolize the certainty of death and the powerlessness of man apart from God as one who breaketh and heweth wood upon the earth. And that's just a metaphor. for labor and destruction. What was the old saying? We're born with a slap on the bottom and die with dirt in the face.

And everything in between there is just pain and suffering, but it's through much tribulation that we enter the kingdom of God. It's just as wood is chopped and scattered and we're easily broken done the same way, it's a picture of weakness and mortality.

And it emphasizes our total dependence on God for life and preservation. Verse eight, but mine eyes are unto thee, O God, the Lord in thee is my trust, leave not my soul destitute. But mine eyes are unto thee, O Lord God. We've got to keep our eyes on Him. David's fixing his gaze on God. We've got to, too. How often does the Scriptures encourage us to look to Christ? Look to Christ. Trust in Christ. That's all you can do. It shows a deliberate focus on the Lord Jesus Christ as the only source of help, the only source of guidance, the only source of hope. Despite trials, opposition, mortality, his attention and his hope are anchored in Christ. Are yours? Are mine? Well, they better be. In thee is my trust, one in expression of faith and reliance.

Trusting God's not passive. A lot of people say, oh, I trust in God, but they don't. Trusting God is active. We put our money where our mouth is. And we go, though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. That's the word God will bring all His people is active, conscious. Leave not my soul destitute. David here pleads for God's sustaining presence. Lord, don't leave me. Don't leave me to be destitute, to be abandoned, to be helpless, without support.

And he here acknowledges that apart from God, he's powerless. We all are. Apart from God, we're helpless. But in God, we find security in life. Why? Because He's the one that gives it. And again, this points us to Christ as the only one in whom our trust is fully secure. You can't trust anyone else for the things that only God can provide. When humanity's scattered and weak and under Judgment, as in verse 7, Christ is the refuge and the hope. Through Him, our souls are not left destitute. He provides mercy. He provides guidance. He provides eternal life. Where are you going to find good news like that at? Huh?

Verse 9, keep me from the snares which they have laid for me and the gins of the workers of iniquity. We saw in the last study that the word snares there suggest traps designed to entangle or destroy. And David recognizes here the enemies, whether human or spiritual, that they can set up situations meant to lead us into harm. Jens is just another trap, often a mechanical snare. Workers of iniquity are those who live in persistent rebellion against God, and here David is asking his God to shield him from both the intent and the devices of the wicked.

Listen, it took me a long time to learn this, but you run around with something stinky, you're going to get stink on you. That's a pretty rough way of saying it, Man, I'm telling you, we need to choose our company carefully. So, God help us to do that. What is an iniquity?

And again, this verse highlights our dependence on God for deliverance from sin and spiritual attack. It foreshadows Christ as the one, the only one. who can rescue us from the snares and the traps of the enemy. We can't protect ourselves from the schemes of sin, the devil, or the world. But God can. And He's your Father. He's not just your God, He's your Father. He loves and cares for you.

Verse 10, let the wicked fall into their own nets whilst that I wither or escape." Now David asked God here to let the schemes and the traps set by the wicked backfire on him. But understand this, God's justice will ultimately prevail. It always does. And we don't avenge ourselves. And we know that vengeance is the Lord. Isn't that what he said? And this is an appeal for God to vindicate righteous and allow the plans of the ungodly to collapse under their own weight.

So may God teach us and cause our lives to be a prayer, our words to be incense, and our hearts to be guarded by God. May we learn to call on Him in every trial, whether big or small. Cause our lives to be a sweet-smelling savor unto Him. And flee every temptation and trust the Lord alone to keep our souls safe.

May the Lord enable us, He's the only one who can, to walk in His righteousness and allow our lives to declare the glory of Christ. Again, He's the only one who can. Help us to trust you to guard our hearts. He's the only one who can. Let every step that we take be toward Christ. That's why we ask him to direct our step. Bill, I hope that was an encouragement to you, as it was to me. It is to sinners.