Psalm 141

141:1-2 Cry for help

141:1 O Lord, I call upon You; hasten to me- “The cryptic phraseology indicates urgency” Miller, 433. Call (Ps. 4:1, 3; 17:6; 88:9; 130:1) and hasten or come quickly is used in Pss. 22:19; 38:22; 40:13; 70:1, 5; 71:12.

Give ear to my voice when I call to You!- Give ear is used in Ps. 55:1; 86:6; 143:1.

141:2 May my prayer be counted as incense before You- “Incense and evening sacrifice come from the realm of formal worship” Longman, 458. “Incense symbolized the prayers of the saints (Rev. 5:8) and the priestly intercession accompanying their prayers on behalf of the people (Rev. 8:3-4; Exod. 30:10)” Miller, 433. “Incense is intended to present a sweet fragrance before the Lord, and so the psalmist wants his prayer similarly to please God” Longman, 458. 

The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering- Lifting up of hands was a common posture in prayer- Ex. 9:29; Ps. 28:2; 63:4; 134:2; I Tim. 2:8. The morning and evening offering are described in Ex. 29:38-42; 30:7-8; Num. 28:4-8. Because he mentions the evening sacrifice, BK, 893, calls this “an evening prayer for sanctification and protection.” A similar idea appears in Longman, 458.This shows that he knew that sacrifices were acceptable and longs for prayer to be just as acceptable. Portions of Scripture like Isaiah 1:10-15 are not anti-sacrifice. 

141:3-7 Petition

141:3 Set a guard, O LORD over my mouth- “The prayer for the worshiper himself builds on bodily images” Broyles, 492.  There were guards who waited at the temple- I Chron. 15:18, 24; II Kings 11:4-8; II Chron. 23:1-7. “He needs this strong Ally to help him guard his tongue” Laymen, 697. “Pure prayer Godward must be controlled speech manward (James 3:10-12)” Laymen, 579. “Religious ritual and moral lifestyle were to be integrally connected in ancient Israel” Broyles, 492. His first request is not judgment on his enemies but a plea that God will keep him from sin- Longman, 458. “Speech is an indicator of one’s relationship to the Lord (cf. 34:13; 39:1; Prov. 13:3; 21:23; James 3:1-12)” VanGemeren, 847.

 The malicious intention of the speaker’s enemies seems to manifest itself in vicious speech. The special emphasis here is on the speaker’s prayer that he not answer them in kind, that he keep his own speech from slander and invective” Alter, 487. 

Faithful and Christian at Vanity Fair prayed “Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity” Kidner, 470. 

Keep watch over the door of my lips- “The psalmist desires not to sin in word (34:13; 39:1; Prov. 13:3; 18:21; 21:23)” Miller, 433. Speech can do much harm- Prov. 10:6; 12:6; 22:10.

141:4 Do not incline my heart to any evil thing- Matt. 6:13 More fundamental than his speech is his heart and he prays his heart will be right with God. “He knows too the dominant pull of his heart toward involvement in evil” Laymen, 697. “Whereas the psalmist prayed in Psalm 140 for deliverance from ‘evil’ (see vs. 1-2), here the prayer is that he be prevented from joining the wicked in their ‘evil’ (v. 4)” McCann, 1244. “This is a remarkable expression of divine control over the mind; I Sam. 16:14; I Kings 22:21-23; Ps. 119:36” Allen, 270.

With men who do iniquity – “He resolves to leave their circle with its lavish hospitality (cf. 23:5)” Laymen, 697. 

And do not let me eat of their delicacies- “To eat of their dainties could mean to eat of their delicacies attained through wickedness, or it could suggest the strong temptation to follow the ways of those who used a false hospitality to influence him for evil (cf. Prov. 23:6-8, 20-21; Hos. 7:1-7)” Miller, 433. Prov. 4:17.