Bible Reading: Joshua 9; Psalm 140 & 141; Jeremiah 3; Matthew 17
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 their calamities. (Psalms 141:5)
David is praying to God in this Psalm and asking him to hear his prayer and keep him from evil. He knows that if his heart is captured by something evil, it could draw him into sin and away from God. No follower of Jesus wants for something like that to happen to us. In order to stay where God wants him to be, David asked God to give David accountability in two areas.
First, David asks for God himself to set a watch on David's mouth.
Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties. (Psalms 141:3-4)
David knows that the heart and the mouth are tied together so that the mouth speaks what the heart thinks. What comes out of your mouth? It is a good indicator of where your heart is.
Next, David asks God to use a righteous brother in the LORD to smite him. This sounds crazy at first. Why would he ask for someone to smite him? He defines what he means in the next phrase, "Let him reprove me." In other words, David is praying and asking God to put a brother in his life who will smite him with the words of reproof when he strays away from God. Reproof is hard to take. It strikes at the prideful heart in us. However, it is necessary to grow in grace. The Bible says:
Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. (Proverbs 27:6)
The faithful friend who will speak up when we stray is like excellent oil that is a healing balm to our soul. It is a smite, but it will not break a bone. Like a surgeon's scalpel that cuts it also heals. Do you pray and ask God for a righteous friend who will smite you with reproof when necessary? You should.
David points out the mutual friendship of him and this person as he says that his prayer would be in their calamities as well. When that brother was in trouble, David would be praying for him. All followers of Jesus need friendships like this. We need brothers we can trust to tell us the hard truth even if it hurts and who we can pray with in our times of need. I hope you have a friend like that. I encourage you to BE a friend like that to others.
In Christ,
Rody
