Scripted: Discipline in Captivity

(This reading is based on Psalm 141 and is read in accordance with the Revived by His Word initiative of the General Conference of SDAs.)

As I read through Psalm 141, two things led me to immediately think of Daniel and his three companions in Babylon. This Psalm seemed to have been the script that dictated their actions. Here are some links:

Routined Prayer Life

Psalm 141: 2, " Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice."

Daniel 6: 10, "Now ... Daniel... went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime."

The influence of the Sanctuary was very clear in Daniel's prayer life; he did exactly what Solomon hinted should happen whenever the Children of Israel would find themselves in captivity, "Yet if they shall... repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives... and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name: Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause," 1 Kings 8: 47-49.

                  

Restricted Diet

Psalm 141: 3, 4, "Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth... and do not let me eat of their delicacies."

Daniel 1: 8, " But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself."

The consideration of a restricted diet should not be confined merely to food, but should also be considered in reference to the consumption of all forms of evil practices of "men who work iniquity."

Consecration

Father, we humbly confess that we have not all together been as we ought to have, but thank You for forgiveness, and for second chances. We commit ourselves to You and pray that You would preserve us in all our ways. Amen.

To read and/or listen to Psalm 141 and to read other related blogs, please click here.