Psalms 141

Let my prayer rise like incense

Lord, I am calling to you. Please hurry! Listen when I cry to you for help!a ²Accept my prayer as incense offered to you, and my upraised hands as an evening offering.b ³Take control of what I say, O Lord, and guard my lips.c

⁴Don’t let me drift toward evil or take part in acts of wickedness. Don’t let me share in the delicacies of those who do wrong.d ⁵Let the godly strike me! It will be a kindness! If they correct me, it is soothing medicine. Don’t let me refuse it. But I pray constantly against the wicked and their deeds.e ⁶When their leaders are thrown down from a cliff, the wicked will listen to my words and find them true.

⁷Like rocks brought up by a plow, the bones of the wicked will lie scattered without burial. ⁸I look to you for help, O Sovereign Lord. You are my refuge; don’t let them kill me.f ⁹Keep me from the traps they have set for me, from the snares of those who do wrong.

¹⁰Let the wicked fall into their own nets, but let me escape.

Commentary

Psalm 141 is a prayer for protection—not from enemies in the field, but from the enemy within. David asks the Lord to guard his mouth, his heart, and his actions, recognizing that the greatest dangers often come from his own impulses. The psalm moves from a plea for acceptable worsh

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Bible Dictionary· Psalms 141(4)

Cry Incense Lips Plow

References· Psalms 141

a: v.1 — Psalms 70:5, Psalms 40:13, Psalms 71:12, Psalms 69:17-18, Psalms 143:7, Job 7:21, Psalms 22:19, Psalms 143:1
b: v.2 — Revelation 8:3-4, Revelation 5:8, 1 Timothy 2:8, Malachi 1:11, Daniel 9:21, Proverbs 15:8, Psalms 63:4, Luke 1:9-10, Exodus 30:7-9, Psalms 134:2
c: v.3 — James 1:26, Psalms 39:1, Micah 7:5, Psalms 34:13, James 3:2, Psalms 71:8, Psalms 17:3-5
d: v.4 — Matthew 6:13, Psalms 119:36, 2 Corinthians 6:17, 1 Corinthians 15:33, Isaiah 63:17, 1 Kings 8:58, 1 Corinthians 10:31, James 1:13, Deuteronomy 29:4, Revelation 18:4
e: v.5 — Ecclesiastes 7:5, Revelation 3:19, Galatians 6:1, Proverbs 27:5-6, Proverbs 25:12, Proverbs 19:25, Proverbs 9:8-9, Proverbs 15:5, Galatians 2:11-14, 2 Chronicles 25:16
f: v.8 — Psalms 123:1-2, 2 Chronicles 20:12, Isaiah 41:17, Psalms 102:17, Psalms 25:15-17, Psalms 2:12, John 14:18, Psalms 143:3-4, Psalms 11:1

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