Beware of Dainties
Submitted by Hunter Grills
July 1, 2025
Ps 141:3-4 Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. 4 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.
One of the biggest enemies we face is that of our own tongue. The words we utter, after they are spoken, can not be recaptured. So often much harm is done with just a single phrase spoken. David writing in Psalm 141 understands the importance of God’s protection and guidance over our lips.
He is making a progressive application beginning with the mouth then to the heart. He says, “Incline not my heart to any evil thing.” The Bible says in Matthew 12:34, O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
Whatever is in our heart will eventually come out of our lips. For this reason, we must be so careful to guard our heart and continually wash it with the Word of God through reading, memorizing, and meditation.
Not only does the Bible begin with the mouth and mention the heart, but also it goes on to say “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”
The desire David had to avoid was the association with the wicked by practicing wicked works with them. He says at the end, “let me not eat of their dainties.” Proverbs 23:1-3 “When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee: [2] And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite. [3] Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat.”
The fancy, deceitful attraction of their dainties is to be approached with extreme caution.
May we hide God’s Word in our hearts and ask the Lord to set a watch over us so that we may please Him with our mouth, our heart, and our actions.
Consider – Character is an old man planting a tree knowing he won’t be there to sit in the shade of it.
