Psalm 141

A Psalm of David.

1 O LORD, I call upon you; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to you!

2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!

With echoes of Psalm 70, David asks for the LORD to hurry up and help him. The last verse of the previous psalm indicated that the LORD is watching over the upright, and now David asks for that same proximity from God that He might lean in and listen to David’s voice. It’s mind-blowing to consider the capacity of God to know the thoughts and hear the prayers of the 8 billion people on this planet (not to mention those on worlds unknown). And yet we can pray David’s prayer with confidence that God knows our situation better than we know it ourselves, and He is watching and listening intently to see what we will do and then to act on our behalf. David describes his prayer as incense. It is fragrant and kindled by a fire that will not cease, ever-rising before God. The lifting of his hands, a universal posture of prayer, is like the offering of the evening sacrifice, the last act of worship in the day. Using sacrificial language when speaking of prayer is a way of acknowledging the cost of time and effort involved in prayer as well as its intentionality. The evening sacrifice was an overt act, not a thought of feeling. It took place in time and space. So prayer is actualized with our language and our bodies, lifting up our words and our hands to God. To the LORD it is a pleasant experience, the fragrance of incense and the receiving of a gift. May my prayers be intentional, pleasant, and received as a gift from the Almighty.

3 Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!

4 Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies!

David’s fervent prayer in the first two verses leads him to self-examination (as prayer is likely to do). Beginning with his lips, he asks that the LORD guard his mouth, his lips being the door that opens and closes, releasing words that heal or hurt. He desires to be the righteous and upright man described in Psalm 140:12, and this will be demonstrated in his life by his words. Others will judge his integrity based on the content of his vocabulary. Does he keep his promises, does he speak the truth, does he use language to build others up and never to gossip or slander for self aggrandizement? Jesus said that it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks, acknowledging that the ultimate source of wickedness that we speak is internal, flowing naturally from the heart as a spring from the ground. And so David moves to pray regarding his heart, stating this request in the negative: “do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds.” Jesus taught us to pray, “lead us not into temptation”, and this is the same prayer. Furthermore, he acknowledges the temptation that comes externally, from peers and society in general. The desire to fit in and be a part of a community is strong, and sin can be even more tempting when it appears that “everyone is doing it.” Not only is everyone doing it, but “it” appears to be so enjoyable and satisfying. The word “delicacies” occurs only here in the Old Testament, and it suggests rich and expensive food, rare and pleasurable to the eye and the mouth. 

5 Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it. Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.

David continues his prayer that he may be holy, going so far as to welcome the rebuke of a righteous person to keep him on the right path. The rebuke is described hyperbolically as a slap in the face, a knock upside the head. Such a correction from a righteous person is a kindness, a hesed, an expression of faithful love. Furthermore, it is like oil for my head, an honor, a special occasion, something to be celebrated when it happens. The first use of the word “head” may also be translated as “excellent, best, top of the line, first”, as in “it is excellent oil, let my head not refuse it.” One of the best things that can happen to you is to be corrected by someone else, to be straightened out when you are going astray. This really feels counterintuitive in today’s age where being “one’s authentic self” is prized. Instead, the wisdom expressed here is essentially humility. In fact, you don’t know what is best for you, and you need a good kick in the pants from time to time. You need someone to slap you in the face with reality and say, “this is where the road you’re on leads, and I don’t like it, and you shouldn’t either.” The Proverb says it this way. “The kisses of an enemy may be profuse, but faithful are the wounds of a friend” (Proverbs 27:6). Is there someone you need to slap in faithful love today? That of course is not the perspective of this psalm, rather, it is, “for what do I need someone else to slap me?” What am I doing that deserves a rebuke? May I receive it in the spirit in which it is intended. The goal of rebuke and correction is that we might avoid the deeds of the wicked. David does this through prayer. Prayer places him in a posture where he sees things clearly. He sees evil for what it is and is emboldened to resist personally and societally. He prays against the evil deeds of the wicked, and so should we, both for the sake of our own hearts and for the good of others. 

6 When their judges are thrown over the cliff, [When their judges fall into the hands of the Rock] then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.

7 As when one plows and breaks up the earth, so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of Sheol. [The meaning of the Hebrew in verses 6 and 7 is uncertain]

The literal translation of verse 7 is, “They are thrown in/by the hands of the cliff (rock) their judges and they hear my words for they are sweet.” In other words, the judges fall off the sides of the cliff when they hear the psalmist’s words. This could be a reference to capital punishment, given that the next verse speaks of scattering the bones of the dead as a way to dishonor them. This was practiced in the ancient world when a new leader came to power. The bones of the previous king would be removed from the tomb and scattered, supposedly to cause them more trouble in the afterlife. Burial practices involved allowing the flesh to decay, leaving behind only bones which could then be transported more easily. In light of the previous verses where David expresses a desire for personal holiness and prays against the evil deeds of others, these verses are simply expressing the judgment that will come on those who persist in promoting evil, particularly the leadership class. These “judges” and leaders will experience a sudden downfall and be eternally disgraced because of their promotion of wickedness. The scattering of the dirt when fallow ground is broken by the plow is a suitable metaphor for the scattering of their bones, the disgrace of living a life without holiness and wholeness. These images of judgment give the psalmist confidence that he is on the right path, far from the edge of the cliff, from falling to death and into disgrace. This is the faithful rebuke of a righteous man: stay on the path, live within the moral boundaries God has prescribed. You will not stumble and fall. You will have nothing to be ashamed of. 

8 But my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord; [YHWH, my Lord} in you I seek refuge; leave me [my soul] not defenseless! [Hebrew refuge; do not pour out my life!]

9 Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me and from the snares of evildoers!

10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by safely.

Seeing the demise of the wicked, the psalmist repeats his promise of devotion and prayers for help. He positions himself in such a way that he continually looks to YHWH, his Lord (adonai), lifting his prayer like incense, his hands like the evening sacrifice. He seeks refuge in YHWH and prays that his soul would not be left defenseless (lit. naked). Or stated another way, “let my soul not be emptied”. He prays again for God’s keeping. In verse 3 it was for God to keep watch over his mouth, but here it is for keeping his feet from walking into a trap. This is a reference to a net-type trap for capturing birds. The net was laid on the ground and covered with leaves or grass, and the unsuspecting bird would walk on it, baited by the promise of food, only to be snatched up in it. Our enemy has set such traps for us, temptations that offer sustenance, that seem to satisfy our souls, but in the end it is only bait to get us entangled and constrained. While he prays to avoid these traps, David asks that these same traps would backfire on his enemies who are setting them. This is an expression of the law of retribution, lex talionis. May the perpetrator receive in equal measure the suffering that he inflicted on others. While this psalm is a lament of sorts about David’s enemies, it is actually a prayer of devotion. David promises a life of faithful prayer and expresses a desire to control his language and live a godly life, while scrupulously avoiding the ways of the evil doers. He’s willing to be forcefully confronted should he ever stray from these objectives.