this is a lesson to learn that we are salt of the earth

2. 1 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.“ 2 I was mute with
silence, I held my peace even from good; And my sorrow was stirred up. 3
My heart was hot within me; While I was musing, the fire burned. Then I
spoke with my tongue: 4 "LORD, make me to know my end, And what is the
measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am. 5 Indeed, You have
made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as nothing before You;
Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah 6 Surely every man
walks about like a shadow; Surely they busy themselves in vain; He heaps
up riches, And does not know who will gather them. Psalms 39:1-13.

3. 7 "And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You. 8 Deliver me from all
my transgressions; Do not make me the reproach of the foolish. 9 I was
mute, I did not open my mouth, Because it was You who did it. 10 Remove
Your plague from me; I am consumed by the blow of Your hand. 11 When with
rebukes You correct man for iniquity, You make his beauty melt away like a
moth; Surely every man is vapor. Selah 12 "Hear my prayer, O LORD, And
give ear to my cry; Do not be silent at my tears; For I am a stranger with You,
A sojourner, as all my fathers were. 13 Remove Your gaze from me, that I may
regain strength, Before I go away and am no more." Psalms 39:7-13.

4.  David is inviting us tonight to consider our ways and the
way we live every day.
 This resolution of the psalmist to "take heed to his ways" is
a note of reminder to us.
 Can we make the same resolution everyday?
 Let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. (1 Cor 10:12).
 Mark those things which, like David, we should give special
attention to.
 I will take heed to:

5. My Ways (v. 1).
 I will scrutinize my motives, my habits and manners.
 I will not think them right because they are my ways.
 I will search out whether they are in harmony with
God's word and ways. 1 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.“
12 There is a way that
seems right to a man,
But its end is the way
of death. Proverbs
14:12
11 Teach me Your way,
O LORD, And lead me
in a smooth path,
because of my
enemies. Ps 27:11
105 Your word is a lamp
to my feet And a light
to my path. Psalms
119:105
5 Examine yourselves as to whether
you are in the faith. Test yourselves.
Do you not know yourselves, that
Jesus Christ is in you?—unless
indeed you are disqualified. 2 Cor

6. My Mouth.
"I will keep my mouth with a bridle (muzzle) while the wicked
is before me" (v. 1).
God is often judged by the ways and mouths of His people,
therefore there is need at times for the muzzle.
The man that offends not in word is a perfect man (James 3:2).
Walk in wisdom toward them that are without (Psalm 141:3).
1 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.“
24 For "the name of
God is blasphemed
among the Gentiles
because of you," as it
is written. Romans
2 For we all stumble in
many things. If anyone
does not stumble in word,
he is a perfect man, able
also to bridle the whole
body. James 3:2
4 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.

7. My Heart.
 "My heart was hot within me" (v. 3).
 Blessed are the hot in heart where the holy fire burns.
 While they ponder on the things of God, their tongues shall
speak of His praise. (Jer 20:9; Acts 17:16).
 Take heed lest there be in any of you an evil heart of
unbelief, or a lukewarm heart of indifference. (Heb 3:12).
3 My heart was hot within
me; While I was musing, the
fire burned. Then I spoke
with my tongue:
“…But His word was in my
heart like a burning fire Shut
up in my bones; I was weary
of holding it back, And I
could not. Jeremiah 20:9
16 Now while Paul waited for
them at Athens, his spirit
was provoked within him
when he saw that the city
was given over to idols. Acts
12 Beware, brethren, lest
there be in any of you an
evil heart of unbelief in
departing from the living
God; Hebrews 3:12

8. My Transgressions.
 "Deliver me from all my transgressions" (v. 8).
 To transgress is to backslide; to fail to take heed to it is to
fall from grace, and allow sin to have dominion over us
(Romans 6:14; 6:12).
 Although we may fall, we may rise again for the Lord is the
Deliverer of His people. (Mat 26:72; 1 Peter 1:4)
8 Deliver me from all my
transgressions; Do not make
me the reproach of the
foolish.
14 For sin shall not have
dominion over you, for
you are not under law
but under grace.
12 Therefore do not let
sin reign in your mortal
body, that you should
obey it in its lusts.
72 But again he denied
with an oath, "I do not
know the Man!"
Matthew 26:72
4 to an inheritance
incorruptible and undefiled
and that does not fade away,
reserved in heaven for you, 1
Peter 1:4

9. My Prayer.
 "Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; hold not Your
peace at my tears" (v. 12).
 Take heed to your prayers, see that they are the sincere
expression of your inmost heart, and that they are offered in
no cold and formal manner. (Heb 5:7; Luke 22:44)
 They are all the better of being soaked with tears. (1 Thes 3:10)
12 "Hear my prayer, O LORD, And
give ear to my cry; Do not be silent
at my tears; For I am a stranger with
You, A sojourner, as all my fathers
were.
7 who, in the days of His flesh,
when He had offered up prayers
and supplications, with vehement
cries and tears to Him who was
able to save Him from death, and
was heard because of His godly
44 And being in agony, He
prayed more earnestly. Then
His sweat became like great
drops of blood falling down
to the ground. Luke 22:44
10 night and day praying
exceedingly that we may
see your face and perfect
what is lacking in your
faith? 1 Thessalonians 3:10

10. 1) My Ways (v. 1).
2) My Mouth.
3) My Heart.
4) My Transgressions.
5) My Prayer.
God is going to be
OUR hope until we
are willing to do the
same as David!