Psalms · psalm 141 of 150
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Psalm 141 is an evening prayer of David that asks that his prayer rise before the Lord like incense and like the evening sacrifice. He asks the Lord to guard his mouth and his heart from evil, and accepts that the righteous may rebuke him as an act of kindness. He confesses that his eyes are fixed on the Lord, and begs him to keep him from the snares of evildoers.
Psalm 141 is a prayer of David at a moment of danger. It is linked to Psalms 140, 142 and 143 by the image of traps, and it is special because it asks for help not only against external enemies but against the evil that may arise in his own heart and mouth. In Christian tradition it has been used as an evening prayer, because of its picture of incense.
The psalm begins with an urgent call: O Lord, I call upon you; hasten to me; give ear to my voice when I call to you. He asks that his prayer be counted as incense before God, and the lifting of his hands as the evening sacrifice. He asks God to set a guard over his mouth and keep watch over the door of his lips.
Verses 4 and 5 ask that his heart not be inclined to any evil, to take part in deeds of wickedness with men who work iniquity, and that he not eat of their delicacies. Then he says that if a righteous man strikes him, it will be a kindness, and if he rebukes him, it will be oil for his head, which his head will not refuse, for his prayer is still against their evil deeds.
Verses 6 and 7 are difficult. They seem to say that when their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock, they will hear David's words, that they are pleasant, and that their bones will be scattered at the mouth of Sheol, as when one plows and breaks up the earth. Verses 8 to 10 return to a clearer prayer: his eyes are toward God the Lord, in him he takes refuge, and he asks that he not leave his soul defenseless. He begs to be kept from the trap laid for him and from the snares of evildoers, and that the wicked fall into their own nets while he passes by safely.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
David asks that his prayer rise before the Lord like incense and that the lifting of his hands be like the evening sacrifice. Sincere prayer is a pleasing offering to God.
He asks the Lord to set a guard over his mouth and watch the door of his lips. He recognizes that he needs help to control what he says.
David accepts that the righteous may strike and rebuke him as an act of kindness, like oil on the head. Whoever loves the truth receives correction willingly.
His eyes are toward God the Lord, and in him he takes refuge. Looking to God is the opposite of looking anxiously at the traps and enemies.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Incense, and the lifting of his hands to the evening sacrifice. — Psalm 141:2
Answer: Set a guard over it and keep watch over the door of his lips. — Psalm 141:3
Answer: To any evil thing or deeds of wickedness. — Psalm 141:4
Answer: As a kindness and as oil on his head. — Psalm 141:5
Answer: On God the Lord, in whom he takes refuge. — Psalm 141:8
Answer: That they fall into their own nets while he passes by safely. — Psalm 141:10
Psalm 141 teaches us to pray against the evil we carry within: the mouth that says what it should not, the heart that leans toward what harms. In a small group you can pray this psalm in silence, asking God for a guard over our words. You can also reflect on how we receive correction.
The psalm encourages us to have righteous friends who speak the truth to us, and to receive them with humility. A rebuke given in love is a kindness, not an attack. For Christians, the picture of incense is fulfilled in the prayer that rises through Christ to God, and the psalm invites us to turn the evening into a time of personal and family prayer.
Psalm 141 ends with the hope that the wicked fall into their own nets while David passes by safely. Psalm 142 continues with a prayer from an even more distressing place: David cries to the Lord from a cave.
In temple worship, incense was burned before the Lord and its smoke rose with a pleasing aroma. It was a sign that worship was rising to God. David asks that his words have that same character, though he cannot offer sacrifices at that moment.
They are among the most difficult in the Psalms to translate and interpret. They seem to speak of the fall of wicked rulers and of their bones being scattered. Scholars debate the exact sense, so it is wise to read the passage with caution and lean on the general idea: God judges the wicked.
That the rebuke of a righteous person is an expression of love and should not be rejected. Proverbs says something similar about the wounds of a friend. Correction that comes from the truth helps us not to incline the heart to evil.