Scripture Reading: Psa. 140; Psa. 141; Psa. 142; Psa. 143; Psa. 144; Psa. 145
Before we begin to consider Psalms 140 through 145, I would like to say a word about hymn #960 in our hymnal. As we sing this hymn, our heart is touched and we feel that the Lord is close to us and that we are close to Him. We have the sense not mainly of the Lord's coming or of His being the King but of His nearness and dearness. We also have the feeling that the writer of this hymn was very intimate with the Lord. For instance, the third stanza says, "My heart is always with Himself,/My eyes are heavenward,/My lips would utter nothing else/Than meeting with my Lord./The coming of the Lord draws nigh,/His coming is for me;/His promise ever standeth firm/And soon fulfilled I'll see." The writer addresses the Lord as "my King," an expression that indicates dearness and nearness. The more we sing or read this hymn, the greater is our sense of how dear and near the Lord is to us and we to Him.
This word about Hymns, #960 may help us to appreciate Psalms 140 through 145. These six psalms are not great or important, and they do not have any particular taste. Although these psalms are common, they nevertheless show us one striking thing — that David, the writer, was very close to God. Thus, the sense of nearness to the Lord in these psalms is very similar to the sense in Hymns, #960.
Concerning the arrangement of the one hundred fifty psalms, we have seen that Psalms 1 through 119 are on the law and that Psalms 120 through 134 are Songs of Ascents. The last sixteen psalms, Psalms 135 through 150, are in three clusters: Psalms 135 through 139, Psalms 140 through 145, and Psalms 146 through 150. Each of these sixteen psalms is plain, altogether lacking in a particular taste or flavor.
We have also seen that the Psalms are the expression of the complex sentiments of the psalmists. Because the psalmists were close to the Lord, often while they were writing their sentiments, a revelation regarding Christ would break forth. We see such a revelation in Psalm 2:7: "You are My Son;/Today I have begotten You." We may compare the breaking forth of the revelations of Christ in the Psalms to Christ's sudden, unexpected transfiguration on the mountain (Matt. 17:1-2) and to His surprising ascension (Acts 1:9-11). Although revelations concerning Christ burst out in many different psalms, no such bursting out takes place in the last sixteen psalms.
Psalms 140 through 145, written by David, are all prayers. Therefore, I have entitled this message "Final Prayers of David to Jehovah." Let us now look into the content of these prayers. These psalms do not contain great or important things, but, as we will see, they are full of intimacy.
In his final prayers David asked Jehovah for His deliverance and preservation (140:1-5; 141:9; 143:6, 9, 11; 144:7, 11). Quite often David suffered hardship and distress and needed God's saving and protection. Hence, he prayed that Jehovah would deliver him and preserve him. To be preserved by God is to be covered by Him.
These prayers of David contain a number of precious points, which we will now briefly consider.
In 140:6 and 7 David said to Jehovah, "You are my God; /... O Jehovah Lord, strength of my salvation." This word is simple, but the taste is sweet.
In 141:2 David prayed, "Let my prayer be set before You as incense,/The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering." This word has a sense not only of sweetness but also of nearness.
"Set a watch, O Jehovah, before my mouth;/Keep the door of my lips" (141:3). This prayer indicates that David could not of himself limit his talking and needed God to help him by guarding his lips. This prayer is another indication that David was close to the Lord. I believe that God answered David's prayer.
Ever since my youth I have appreciated the word in 141:3. Often when we come to the Lord we are too quick in our speaking. Can you stay with the Lord for five minutes without speaking? You may find it difficult to be quiet when you are with the Lord. We make mistakes in our prayer because we are too fast in our talking. Therefore, like David, we need God to set a watch before our mouth and to keep the door of our lips.
In 141:5b David said, "Still my prayer is against their evil deeds." This indicates that David's enemies were doing evil things but that David's prayer was against these evil things. Here David seemed to be saying, "In spite of the evil things that come to me, I am still praying. I do not do anything except pray against these evil deeds." Our situation, however, is often quite different. When bad things happen to us, we may forget to pray. For instance, when a brother and his wife are exchanging words, he may forget to pray. How much better it would be if the brother, instead of arguing with his wife, would pray against that thing. We need to learn of David to pray against evil deeds.
In 142:3a David had a very particular utterance. He said, "When my spirit fainted within me,/You knew my path." When David was troubled and his spirit fainted, he did not know what to do or what path to take. At such a time he realized that Jehovah knew his path.
In his prayer in 142:5 David said that Jehovah was his refuge, his portion in the land of the living. Here David spoke a very good word.
"No one alive is righteous in Your sight" (143:2b). When David prayed in this way, he was including himself among those who were not righteous in the sight of God.
"I spread out my hands to You;/My soul thirsts for You like a parched land" (143:6). Instead of arguing with others, we should spread out our hands to God and have a soul that thirsts for Him.
In 143:8 David went on to pray that Jehovah would cause him to hear His lovingkindness in the morning, for he trusted in Him. Then David prayed that Jehovah would make known to him the way on which he should walk, for to Him he lifted up his soul, his whole being, not only his hand.
David also told Jehovah that he hid himself in Him. Then David prayed, "Teach me to do Your will,/For You are my God;/Let Your good Spirit lead me/In a plain country" (143:9b-10).
"Blessed be Jehovah my rock, /...My Lord of lovingkindness and my fortress,/My high tower and my Deliverer,/My shield and He in whom I take refuge" (144:1-2). Here we see that God was many things to David: a rock, a fortress, a high tower, a shield, and a refuge. A rock is something on which to stand; a fortress is for protection; a high tower is for being lifted up above the enemies; and a shield is for protecting the face and the breast. In addition, to David God was a Deliverer and the One in whom he took refuge.
"O Jehovah, bow Your heavens down and descend" (144:5a). Here, in an extraordinary utterance, David asked Jehovah to bring His heavens down to him and descend to him.
"Blessed are the people whose God is Jehovah" (144:15b). Because Jehovah was David's God, David included himself among those who are blessed.
I believe that if you spend time on all these precious points in David's prayers, the taste of your prayers will be changed. Sometimes our prayers are intimate, but at other times they are cold and without intimacy. It is helpful, therefore, to consider the intimacy in David's final prayers to Jehovah.
As an Old Testament saint, in 144:12-15a David prayed for prosperity in material things.
David prayed that their sons would be like plants grown up in their youth (v. 12a).
Next, David asked that their daughters would be like corner pillars hewn out in fashion for a palace (v. 12b).
David also prayed that their barns would be full, furnishing produce of all kinds (v. 13a).
David continued by praying that their sheep would bring forth thousands and ten thousands in their fields (v. 13b).
In verse 14a David asked Jehovah that their oxen would be fully laden to bear things from the field to the home.
In verse 14b David prayed that there would be no breaking in to rob or going forth to fight or outcry in their streets.
Finally, David declared that blessed are the people who are so (v. 15a). I believe that, if not always then at least sometimes, such a prayer was answered. There were times when their sons were like plants growing up, that their daughters were like hewn corner pillars, that their barns were full, that their sheep brought forth thousands, that their oxen were fully laden, and that there was no breaking in to rob or going forth to fight or any outcry in their streets.
Four of these six psalms are full of the principle of good and evil (140:9b-13; 141:10; 143:12; 145:20). For example, in 143:12 David said, "In Your lovingkindness cut off my enemies/And destroy all those who oppress my soul,/For I am Your servant." Such a word is according to the principle of the knowledge of good and evil.
Psalms 140 through 144 issue in the extolling and praising of God (Psa. 145).
David begins by saying, "I will extol You, O my God and King;/And I will bless Your name forever and ever./Every day I will bless You,/And I will praise Your name forever and ever" (vv. 1-2). Then David extols and praises God for His unsearchable greatness in His goodness (vv. 3-7).
"Jehovah is gracious and compassionate,/Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness./Jehovah is good to all,/And His compassions are upon all His works" (vv. 8-9). Here David extols and praises God for His grace and compassion.
In verses 10 through 13 David goes on to extol and praise God for the glory of His kingdom. In verse 12 he speaks of the "glorious splendor" of God's kingdom, and in verse 13 he declares, "Your kingdom is an eternal kingdom,/And Your dominion is throughout all generations."
In verses 14 through 20 David extols and praises God for His rich supply to the needy ones, His nearness to all who call upon Him, and His preservation of all who love Him. Jehovah upholds all who are falling, raises up all who are bowed down, gives everyone who waits for Him food in due season, and satisfies the desire of every living thing (vv. 14-16). He is near to all who call upon Him. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him and will hear their cry and save them (vv. 18-19). He also preserves all who love Him (v. 20a).
Psalm 145:21 is David's concluding word. He concludes by saying, "My mouth will speak the praise of Jehovah,/And all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever."
We all need to learn from these six psalms to have nearness and dearness in our contact with the Lord. We all need to have a heart that loves the Lord and treasures Him. If we do not have such a heart toward the Lord, then all the higher and deeper things that I have been ministering since 1962 concerning Christ, life, the Spirit, the church as the Body of Christ, and God's eternal economy with the divine dispensing will not mean anything to us. In order for these things to be meaningful to us, we need to love and treasure the Lord to the uttermost.
Speaking to certain people regarding these deeper and higher things may be compared to playing a piano to a cow: there is no interest or response. Many believers today have no interest in God's economy but instead care only for their concept of living a godly life and going to heaven to be with their loved ones. When they hear the truth concerning God's economy, they have no interest in it or response to it.
What about our situation today? We may hear so many precious truths, but we may not have a heart that loves and treasures the Lord. We need to be like John Nelson Darby who, while alone one night in a hotel at the age of eighty-four, could say, "Lord Jesus, I still love You." I believe that whoever loves the Lord and treasures Him will also treasure the truths that have been released concerning Christ, life, the Spirit, the church, the divine economy, and the divine dispensing.
