41, Lord, I cry out to you, make haste to me. Give air to my voice when I cry out to you. Let my prayer be set before you as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Set a guard, oh Lord, over my mouth. Keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men who work iniquity, and do not let me eat of their delicacies. Let the righteous strike me, it shall be a kindness, and let him rebuke me, it shall be as excellent as oil. Let my head not refuse it. For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked, Their judges are overthrown by the sides of the cliff. They hear my words for they are sweet. Our bones are scattered at the mouth of the grave and when one plows and breaks up the earth. But my eyes are upon you, O Lord. If you and you I take refuge, do not leave my soul destitute. Keep me from the snares they have laid for me and from the traps of the workers of iniquity. Let the wicked fall into their nets while I escape safely. So we have this Psalm that is really, we say that there's 10 Psalms that started in Psalm 37 and that are Psalms of David. And then the last four Psalms, 47 through 50, are what we call the Hallelujah Psalms. They end in a crescendo of praise, the book does. But this again is Prayers of David. And as we've seen so many times, I call it one of those help Psalms. just like Psalm 40 was, and we see they're very related. You see, he talks about hearts and hands and snares and righteous and a lot of other things. And so it was probably written either in similar or the same circumstances that he was in in Psalm 140. And some people believe that it, or we think that it could be either during the time he was fleeing from Saul or during his flight from Absalom, that great rebellion and civil war that they had. But this Psalm is concerned about the inner struggles, whereas the former Psalm 140 was more of the outward, the vicious, the violent men. Well, this one, he's very concerned about his resilience. He wants to make sure that he doesn't compromise or that he lets things slide and all of a sudden he finds himself outside the will of God because he has been careless with his attitudes or maybe even with his friendships, and he starts being friends with the enemies of God, where of course he wants to win them to the Lord, but at the same time he cannot tolerate their actions, especially politically. And so we see now that he is crying out to the Lord, help, and we see the first verse, one and two, first verses, We see that he's saying, help again. How many times have we seen him through the Psalms of David all the way through the first 140? How many times, Lord, give ear, help, make haste, make no tearing. Over and over again, we see that David was a man of war. And that's one reason the Lord didn't allow him to build a temple. He was always in a scrape somewhere, all the way from the time that he conquered Goliath, and then all the palace intrigue of all the people, and the king, who were jealous of him, and then the flight from, Saul, and then after he became king, all the different people that wanted to depose him, and how that he had to unite the country, and then the foreign wars, and all the spies, and everything that David went through, all the way to his deathbed. It sounds like he was just always having to fight something. And so we see that there's a fear. I cry out. And then of course, there's the urgency, make haste to help me. Now you say, wait a minute, pastor, you just had in the Lord's Prayer, you went through the whole idea of exalting the Lord, the hallowed be thy name, your kingdom come. Your will be done. So here you talk about adoration, and then you talk about, you know, hallowed be thy name, and then you talk about his kingdom, and then you talk about his will. And so don't, shouldn't we lay all this out before we ever even get to just saying help? Well, there's a time where we meditate as we would in our quiet time. or whatever, come before the Lord and pray to Him individually and remind ourselves as we pray to Him and extol His name that who He is. Of course, they that come to God must remember and know that He is, that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. So we have to remind ourselves of who He is, I am that I am. And so that's the reason on Sunday morning we talked about all the names of God and how they reveals himself to man through his names and through his word and through the Holy Spirit. And so there is that time, but then there's also those prayers that we see in the Bible where I like Nehemiah where he shoots a prayer to God or whatever. You just don't, sometimes you don't have time to just go through the, I mean, especially out when you're driving or whatever, you don't get on your knees and lift up your hands to the Lord or whatever else. And so there are times when we just converse with the Lord because that's been our attitude. We do want to honor his name. We do want his kingdom to be advanced. We want the testimony of the Lord to go forth and we want his will to be done. And so if we're in that prayerful attitude, then we can pray, make haste to help me. And so this is what David is doing here. And we'll see that he prayed daily. I mean, the evening sacrifice. And that was something we'll see in a moment. But there's an urgency and there's a petition. Give ear to my voice, Lord. Listen to me. And then at the end, we see that he says, I know that you're listening. But again, it's that human need of crying out to the Lord. And then just saying, being honest with the Lord, Lord, you know, I'm calling on you as a man. I know you're always with me, but give here, you know, it's kind of like a relationship with your spouse. Again, you know, they're there, but sometimes you have to say, to them humanly, you know, are you listening? My wife does that all the time. But at the same time with God, you know, we were his children. And we just we we can even as we pray, we can see it since God turning and listening to us. Let your face shine upon me. You know, the idea of just getting in the mood of praying to the Lord. And so we see that he's approaching the throne of grace. He's boldly approaching the throne of grace. And then notice that visualization that we just talked about. In verse two, I pour out my, excuse me, he says, let my prayer be set before you as incense. Now incense, if you remember the study of the tabernacle, they had a hole through the tent where the smoke of the incense from the golden altar could go forth up, and that would represent the prayers going up to heaven. And you'll see that back in Exodus chapter 30, verses one through 10. But then in Revelation, two different times, It says that the, it talks about a vision that John had, and he had two different visions, and both times he saw the smoke of incense going up, and it was identified, which are the prayers of the saints. I wonder how thick our smoke is. You know, there again, is it literal smoke, or is this now spiritual smoke, or what, you understand what I'm saying? It represented God had a, for instance, God has jars in heaven containing our prayers. Well, I don't know if he has, you know, the Lord is high tech. He doesn't need jars, but I think it's an idea of where he gives us visualization of what he means by that. And so God isn't high-tech, he's ultra-tech. Wasn't that amazing this past week about what the Israelis did with those pagers? I mean, that was high-tech to get 3,000 of them to go off at one time and explode. I mean, that is pretty high tech. But the Lord is much higher tech than that. And so we know that we can cry to him and give ear to my voice and the smoke of incense. So Lord, I could imagine, you know, our Father, which art in heaven. You just think of your prayers going up as you're praying to the Lord. that he's listening. And so what a great visualization that is. And so then he talks about the evening sacrifice. And we see that Daniel and Ezra both prayed whenever they were away from the tabernacle or whenever the temple had not been rebuilt in Ezra's case. then we see that they prayed at the evening sacrifice. Was that when Daniel got into problems because he would turn toward Jerusalem every day? He wasn't there. And there again, we saw back in the Songs of Ascent, where the presence of the Lord, yes, we think about going to the tabernacle, but even as they were going to the presence of the tabernacle, the presence of the Lord, they realized that God was with them there too. but that God just had directed him to go to the tabernacle. Well, David, if he's running from Saul, is not around the tabernacle. And if he's running from Absalom, then he's not around the temple, or excuse me, the tabernacle, he never built the temple. And so we see that he just had a habit of praying. and that he prayed different times of the day and that he would lift up his voice to the Lord. And of course, the lamb was sacrificed at the tabernacle. And you can just imagine him visualizing what it must've been like. Okay, I'm not there, but I've seen many a time where that lamb was sacrificed and where the smoke went up. And so he remembered that and it was something very special to him. So first of all, then we see him approaching the throne of grace. And there are times when we pray to God much more urgently than other times, deadlines, whatever. And so, but God knows. And what did God say? He already knew what we needed before we ever pray in the first place. back in Matthew chapter six. And so we see, first of all, the approach. Then we notice the appraisal of the present needs. Now he's contemplating and he's thinking about his own life. Of course, he's talking about being around enemies. So that must've been the political intrigue, or he's around, of course, in the palace intrigue with Saul, or he doesn't know who to trust if he's running from Absalom, because he's got all kinds of spies and everybody else all around him, and he's got a lot of wicked men. He had to deal with people like Joab. Joab was a very loyal man, but he was, I would not want to be an officer in Joab's army, just to be a, I mean, the guy, or I definitely wouldn't want to be against him. because he was a fierce warrior and he really accomplished a lot for Israel under David's reign. But David told Solomon, don't trust him. And so we see that even Solomon executed him. But there again, he didn't know from time to time who his generals were and who, even his own son had rejected him or had rebelled against him. So he's saying, Lord, don't let me get around these people and to try to be the good guy that I start talking like they do and I try to identify with them. they already know that I'm not one of theirs. But how many times do we as Christians try to get in and just blend in with the crowd and just let things float away? Pretty soon, people don't even know that we're different. We have gone, I think about that illustration of Lord Nelson. Horatio Nelson at the Battle of the Nile. And here he was, the French had bottled up, or they had put their fleet across the mouth of the Nile, and they had turned all their guns, so they had double broadside. I mean, they put all their guns on one side. And so Horatio Nelson kind of looks there, and he keeps watching, and he notices something. And he just realizes that the anchors are kind of coming out. I mean, well, the boats are coming out a little bit farther. And so he waited a few days, and unbeknownst to the captain of the fleet there, the French, they didn't realize, but they were several yards from where they had originally anchored. And so what Nelson did, he came across like he was gonna come right across, and then he, at the very last moment, went behind him. And he had enough room, and he just blew him apart. It was one of the most lopsided victories in all of naval warfare. I mean, the French got totally annihilated. It stranded Napoleon in Egypt. And Napoleon could get his army back to France. And so it was a horrible time, but it was just that drift. Just let it, and sometimes we don't, we have an anchor. And we give place to the devil. And it's not long before we don't realize it, but he's behind our back. He's all around us. And so David is saying, don't let me blend in with the crowd. I've got to remember that I'm different. I'm not one of them. And I can't talk like them. I can't act like them. Now, I'm not going to be an oddball. I'm going to love them as much as I can. But every day, they're going to know that I'm different. And at times, that is a strain. I know, I've been in the Navy, and I've worked in the workforce, and many of you have too. And you know how difficult that is day to day, especially when you live, eat, and sleep with guys and all that, you know, as far as in the same barracks and all that kind of stuff. There's a constant... temptation, just to say, you know, it really doesn't matter about this, or about my own personal habits. I don't have to really, you know, have my devotions at night and see guys seeing me on my bed with my Bible. You know, I don't have to, you know, put up with a lot of other things. So you can imagine some things that you have to go through. And so he's saying, Lord, my prayer goes up to you as incense, but you know, set a guard on my mouth. Make sure that my speech is different. Don't let me get into the little Christian curse words. Don't let me get into the language of the people and say everything but the curse word or come up with a little bit different curse words that are Christian. You know, let me be my yay-be-yay and my nay-nay. So instead of a guard on my mouth, and I like what Psalm 39 one says, and David is praying there. He says, I said, I will guard my ways lest I sin with my tongue. I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle while the wicked are before me. So when I'm around unsaved people, it's different. And I've got to have a little bit more tension and guard in my life than I do around you. Isn't it good to come to church and just be able to be yourself and to be around people who love you? And even if you do stumble and say something crazy, they do it too. You know, it's one of those things where you don't try to put on fronts. You just, you are who you are. And so we see that David is saying, Lord, put a guard up, let me know, you know, just that I am different than these other people. And I've got to remain loving, but I am a child of God. And sometimes that puts a target on my back. But then of course she says, and do not let me eat of their delicacies. And that's an interesting way of saying, don't let me start taking their freebies. The things that they try to give to me or to kind of bribe me to be like them. you know, or whatever. And again, that happens. Where, oh, come on, Lashley, let's go. And then when you go with them, then all of a sudden you're, you know, they're going to a bar and all of a sudden you're, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, you know. So you start realizing some of the people you can trust and some of the people that respect you and your convictions and others who don't. like I told you about being in a foreign port and I had to decide whether to stay outside of being six foot four in a country where I never saw anybody taller than me or even as tall as the head and shoulders taller than anybody and And here I am, and so obviously I was from the Navy, the boat, the ship was out there, and either I step inside the bar with the guys, or I stay out there and get knifed, or whatever, you know? So I learned how not to go, and there were certain times I knew where they were going, and I would not, there were a couple of, I didn't go to San Juan because I knew where those guys were going. But we're good, nope, you know, come on, let's go, and we'll have a good time, yeah. but there's certain limits that I can do. I know you want to be my friends, but there's just certain things, guys, I can't do. When I say that, they already know, but you understand what I'm saying. Just those little things in life that people want you to compromise on, and then they got you because they get you over a barrel, and all of a sudden, you got to go their way. He said, Lord, don't let me be a part of their, and when I did go in the bar, they all knew I wasn't gonna drink, and so they go in, they're drinking, and they say, Lashley wants milk, you know, so it's one of those things, they almost kicked me out of the bar because I wouldn't buy anything, but you know, it's just one of those things where you get laughed at, but you learn your limits with people. And that's one that I'll put way back there so I don't, because there's several things recently that have happened that I don't want to get into, but for identification purposes, but you understand what I'm saying. And so again, we see, and of course as a pastor, that's even more so because people do expect certain things and they do want to see how far you'll go. and how far you'll kind of accept what they do. And so he says, don't let me partake of their delicacies. And I like what Proverbs says, for they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. So you don't want to eat with them. when you know where they're going or what they're doing. And so we, first of all, then we see that he is setting a guard. He says, don't let me compromise with evil. And then there's the humility. And I like this in verse five. He says, let the righteous strike me. I don't think he's, now the righteous are not going to be striking people, but he's talking about hurt me as far as, you know, whenever somebody rebukes you, it hurts, doesn't it? And so let the righteous strike me, it shall be a kindness. And let them rebuke me, it shall be as excellent oil. Let my head not refuse it. I think about that's humility. Lord, let me know and help me to understand when it's godly counsel. And sometimes even for an ungodly person. What I mean by that is some people, they like you in spite of the fact they don't like your religion. And so let me learn how to tolerate that. I think of, again, people that I've worked for that really gave me great advice, but they didn't ever go to church with me. but they took an interest in me and I would listen and they really helped me in business and work habits and all the rest. And so, Lord, help me to understand what godly counsel is and then help me to make sure that I reject what isn't godly. But if they do rebuke me, then I look at it and say, okay, is this because of my disposition? Is this something that I can change? or is it because of my position that I can't change? I'm a child of God and I can't do this. And so whenever even the unrighteous I mentioned one of the things that cut me down more than anything as a young pastor was I was getting a little bigger, I think I was starting to gain some weight, and my ties started being a little bit shorter. I had this lady in the church, she just knew how to cut me down. Man, she let me know how odd I looked with short ties. I still remember that to this day. It cut me, but you don't see me wearing short ties around there 50 years later or 40 years later. But you know, sometimes it's, you know, Lord let, you know, is it right? And I went home, I looked at my, and I looked at some of the old picturing, oh no. So it's one of those things where you, so sometimes even the, it's hurtful for people that don't like you. But Lord, let me know, help me to understand. And if it is a godly advice from an ungodly person, or at least rebuke. But then Lord also helped me to realize, you know, I like what he says in Proverbs 9, 8. He says, do not correct the scoffer, lest they hate you. You rebuke a wise man and he will love you. So a scoffer, someone who is just set in their ways and they're gonna be, then you're not gonna do anything with a person who just scoffs at everything you say. And there again, the Bible says, you know, that argue not with a fool, lest I be like him. If a person is going to be that way, you gotta wait till God gets hold of their heart. And of course, you're not gonna argue them into heaven. You're not gonna argue them into righteousness. In fact, you'll turn them farther and farther away. And so he says, Lord, help me to understand. And then it is like an oil. And there again, the honored guests in the Middle East, especially all the way up through the Bible times, they would anoint a person with oil. Now, we're thinking that today, you know, it's kind of weird, but they would put a little perfume. We remember the lady with the box of ointment that put oil on the Lord's feet, and that was really expensive stuff. She was telling people how much she valued him. But notice how God honors us, because he says he prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. So that means he's setting a meal just like this idea, the custom, whenever someone thought of you as an honored guest, they would have their servant or someone that would give you a little dab of oil or whatever on your head, sweeten you up a little bit, wash your feet, whatever. And what is it? He sets the table before me in the presence of my enemy. And what's the very next verse? He anoints my head with oil. So it isn't a good that God honors those who pray to him, those who come to him. But then of course, you remember over in Luke chapter seven again, again, when the Lord was there and he was anointed with oil. And so again, there are several times that we see that in the gospels, those who honored him. But so we have a humility there of Lord, it's so good. I mean, it's like whenever, when I know somebody loves me, And don't let me take it wrong. Let it warm my heart that they care enough to be honest with me. You know, if I got chocolate on my chin and Evelyn is about ready to turn on the light so that it's broadcast all over the world on the internet, I would really appreciate if you'd say, Pastor, you got a little smudge on your cheek. And I'd be saying, you know, there again is, that's a gentle rebuke, but I would not want you to say, you know, pastor, I thought about it, but I didn't want to offend you. Well, you know, offend me, you know, I need it. But there again is whenever you can help people and you know that you love, but there again, when people know you love them, they'll put up with your advice, even if they don't agree with it. And so there again, Lord, I want to be humble enough to accept people's criticism, especially the godly. And then of course he says, I gotta have a confidence and I will let you deal with my enemies. And this is one of the, especially this in verses five through seven. Verse seven is a real dilly. It's really hard to deal with. But we looked in and we see that there was a confidence. I'll let God judge my enemies. Notice when he begins in the last part of chapter five, for still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked. So yes, I wanna praise the Lord for those who will rebuke me and they're godly people or give me godly counsel. But then Lord, my prayer is still against those who are against you. And so their judges are overthrown by the sides of the cliff. So Lord, it's almost like you're gonna judge them. I might not like the way that, or the timing that of your judging, but God says that he will hold the judges much more to account than the, I mean, that's one of the highest accountability positions in the world is to be a judge. And when we say that, the more power you have, the more accountable you are to God. Remember the unjust judge that God says, God will take care of him too. But of course, to have your feet or to have your body thrown off a cliff is pretty rough. We see back in 2 Chronicles chapter 25, there were a lot of soldiers that were almost like mercenaries that were going to help out the Northern Kingdom. Then he sent them back home where they were mad and they just threw a lot of people off the cliff as they were going back home. I could think of maybe worse ways to die, but that's a pretty bad one. That's up there. and the top 10. What do you think about when you come? No, you understand what I'm saying. But then again, you think about what did they try to do with the Lord? They tried to throw him off a cliff when he went back home to Nazareth. And that's, of course, the idea of Satan saying, lest you dash your foot against the stone. Well, if you throw yourself off a temple or off a cliff, you're going to dash more than your foot. or your ankle, it's gonna be your head. And so he says, God's got to deal with those people. So I got confidence that God will take care of them. And that then also, and then the rest of that verse is what, I mean, it just, I've looked at so many people. I guess Wiersbe is the best, probably the best who tells us, because it's hard to understand what he's saying here. He says, And they who hear my words, for they are sweet. Now wait a minute, he just talked about, you know, throwing them off the cliff, but then he says, and they, who are they? Is it, so is it God's, is it the rest of the people that listen to him after the judges have been judged? And so that's a difficult one, but that's the way we think of it as a look at a whole, because he says, then he says, our bones are scattered at the mouth of the grave. So he's talking, is that inclusive? The hour is, that means fellow Israelites, are they judged? And then if they are like what Wiersbe said, when God has judged the leaders, the followers will agree that David's words were correct, especially when they see the unburied bones of those leaders bleaching in the sun. So it's kind of a reminder, you know, God took care of this judge and look what's happened. It's a good deterrent when you see God taking care and holding accountable the leaders. Now, there again, I spent more time on that verse than the rest of the chapter, the rest of the Psalm, because that is a difficult one, but that's about as close as I can see, because there's page after page of what in the world does he mean by all this, and especially with the pronouns. You know, what's the day and the hour. And there's all kinds of weird things that people come up with, even the second coming of the Lord. And I'm going, wow, I don't see that in this passage. But the idea though, as you take it as a whole, is that God is judging the leaders. And that if people will, I mean, in the end, I'm going to be proven right. And of course you want to have that confidence. Not that I'm going to be proven right, but that God is going to be proven right. I'm going to trust in his word. And so God, in the end, is going to have the victory. And so we look at that, and can we really trust God to take care of the wicked judges? Can we trust God to take care of the wicked bureaucrats who judge us? Or the unjust people who we come in contact? What about that guy, that policeman that gives you what you feel like is a wrongful ticket? There again, and of course we all think that ticket tickets are wrongful. There again, can we leave the judgment to God? Especially when you start thinking about what you would do if you had a chance. That is what we do not want. Because God says, vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. Oh, if I could just, if I just could remember to say this to this person. Well, no, they were judging you, but it was probably best that God did put a guard on your mouth and you didn't even know it. And so, you know, I think of that. that football player that was in the Miami Dolphins. And he was driving his big, nice $150,000 car, and he was speeding. And all he had to do is pull over and listen to the policeman. But he caused a national crime scene, just the way he sassed the policeman. He got locked up going on the way to an NFL football game. If he'd have just shut up and taken the ticket, Because you're not gonna, and I tell my boys, I tell all four of my kids, my daughter too, you don't argue with a man who has a gun and a badge. Because even if you beat the gun, you still got the whole state behind him and you're not going to win. Especially with that camera that he's got in the back, they're gonna identify you. So you don't fight with all that. And of course, why do we see so much of this? Because young boys have not been taught that, you know, Humility. Now again, humility sometimes is that you take the wrong and keep your mouth shut and let God take care of the rest. Now that doesn't mean you lay down and there are there are avenues. I think I got one time I was I got an unjust ticket in Roseville, Michigan. And it was, the guy was sitting there because he knew that that was a complicated, they call them Michigan left turns, and there's a way to do it. But I didn't realize that I was in a strange city. And so I turned without going down and making a U-turn and coming, they call it Michigan left. Well, I just went ahead and turned. But that was a very complicated. And when I went, and I said, of course, I wasn't gonna argue with the guy. But I go to court and all of a sudden, I mean, I was gonna let the judge know, but I went there and there must have been 50 people in front of me. And they had a whole situation where they were just running people through there. And you realize this judge or this city is making a lot of money off of speed traps and this left turn. But what can you do? I can stand up there and be contempt of court and be thrown in jail and argue with the judge. But there's just certain things you have to take. It was unjust. But what do you do? Well, it's interesting how that God provided to find. I mean, I didn't have, I was, you know, I was back with Michigan in 2008 or something like that, whenever there was nothing around, no money, everybody was broke, people moving, a third of the town had moved out, churches were closing, and I had four kids to feed. And here I was trying to work two different jobs plus being in the ministry. But I was frustrated. But can God take care of things like that? Now my wife says, well, you need to practice. She doesn't say this, but I'm sure she's sitting there saying, I saw you go through that and it wasn't that easy either. So it wasn't, man. You're loaded for bear. But in the end, can you just sit down and say, Lord, I was treated wrongfully, and a lot of other people were too. But I can't sit there and say, oh, I wish I had said this to the judge, or I wish I had enough money to fight all that and sit outside with a lawyer and say, listen, we'll go in with you. You have all these ideas what you can do to beat the system. But in the end, sometimes you just have to leave it to the Lord. There was a place called Wilmer, Alabama. But fortunately, I learned not to go through there, even a mile over speed limit, because that was a speed trap. And everybody was getting caught. And even someone outside the city limits had put up a sign saying, beware of the speed trap. I mean, it was just that bad. But we'd already moved to Michigan. This was several years later, and all of a sudden on 60 Minutes, Wilmer, Alabama, they had a whole segment about that speed trap. It's interesting. And the whole city had to close down because that was where they were making most of their money was off the speed trap. And so there are people out there, this, hey, this is a free country and everybody should be the American way. Well, there's a lot of crooks in America, you know. But can you, can we learn sometimes just to trust the Lord? And like I said, I think a ticket cost me there in Roseville, I think it was $105. Well, that week I got, I got a certain, Well, let's say I don't want to go into it all, but it was an idea. But I had expected to have $120 come in. So the Lord said, I'll take care of it. He paid my bill. And so then he gave me enough to even put a tie in it. So there again, God can take care of it. But can I trust him? Can I not get so upset about what's going on in life? And I'm one of those second born kids that really want to take on the world sometimes, a combative kid. And you know, I'm very competitive. If I see two ants wrestling on the sidewalk, I'll get down on my hands and knees and root for one of them. You know, it's just one of those people. And yet, can I trust God? when things go wrong. And so this is what David is saying, I'm gonna let you take care of that judge. I'm gonna let you take care of Wilmer, Alabama. I'm gonna let you take care of Roosevelt, Michigan. Now I'll do whatever I can as a good citizen, but there again, in the end, it's you. And then very quickly we see that, so he's praying, Lord, there's just certain things I can do. I'm gonna accept the rebuke of people, but Lord, teach me the difference. There's a lot of things I can't do anything about from the wicked. Especially if he's running from Saul, he's got people that are over him that want to do him wrong, and he can't do a thing about it. And so there again, he's just leaving it up to the Lord. And then we see in verses eight through 10, he's appealing to heaven again. Notice how he finishes strong. My eyes are upon you, O God, the Lord, Elohim, Jehovah, the all-powerful God, the covenant God, the God who's full of mercy and truth. He loyally loves me. And so I like what he says in Psalm 27, the Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? And in verse three, Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident. Now there again, that Psalm is not saying you're not gonna fear, but notice how he's overcoming the fear. I'm gonna keep trusting in the Lord, I'm gonna hang on. to the Lord. And yes, I'm not gonna fear. Now, as I said, whenever you see that no fear on the back of somebody's, on their bumper sticker, then they're saying, I got a reason to fear. Really, it's in the mission that I got a reason to fear, no fear. Then why are you even talking about it? And so again, he says, Lord, I will not fear. But he's, it's a psychological thing, so I'm gonna be brave. And so then so we see the focus and then we see the watchfulness, you know, keep me from the snare. Keep me for the things that I don't see the snare of the fowler. See him back in Psalm 91. But here we see that. I like what Ephesians chapter 5 verse 15 says, where Paul says, see that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise. Circumspectly, what does that mean? Circumference means circle, right? You're looking around and you're wanting to be as watchful as you can. And I'll say, oh, the Lord's just going to take care of me. I'm going to walk across the street, even though cars are coming 90 miles an hour. And I won't even look because God's going to, no, no, no. You're watching. And especially for that guy who doesn't have his headlights on at night. You know, you're watching and you just pray that God will keep you from the things that you don't see. And so again, walking circumspectly, not as a fool. And then protection. Remember what he said back in Psalm 140? He said, Lord, let their wickedness turn against them. Let them fall into their own nets. Here he's praying that again. He says, let the wicked fall in their own nets. We see back in verse 11 of Psalm 140. He said, let the evil hunt the violet man, let evil hunt the violet man to overthrow him. So let him be overthrown by his own evil. Let the bear hunter be hunted. So it's the idea, Lord, can I trust you? Can I trust you with the things that I can't control, that I don't have power over, and the things that I don't see? Can you open my eyes, give me wisdom to know when I'm getting godly advice and when I'm getting foolishness? Help me to know how to walk in this cruel and present world. God's good, isn't he? Okay, that opens up a whole can of worms as far as our situations in life, doesn't it? But can I trust God? Okay.