Psalm 141

Yahweh, I call to you, * help me now!
        Listen to me * as I call to you.
                Receive my prayer * as an offering of incense,
                my uplifted hands * as an evening sacrifice.
        Yahweh, put a guard my mouth,* Most High, lock my lips.
Keep my heart from evil, * from the works of the wicked.

                Let me not join the wicked * in lavish feasting
                        or else let the Just One strike me, * the Kind One punish me!
                With their fine oil let my head not shine, * as I pray against their crimes.

Let their judges fall into the hands of the Rock * and hear how sweet his sentence is!
        Split and chopped as in the underworld, * lie my bones at the mouth of Sheol.
                But, to you, Yahweh, * Lord, I still look.
                In you I seek refuge, * El; * protect my life!
        Guard me from the traps they spread for me * and weapons of those evildoers.
May they fall into his nets, * the wickedone and all, * while I myself escape.


A Psalm of David

141:0 This is Psalm 141 in the whole Psalter, the 41st in the third part. According to the Gloss, this Psalm does not say anything different from the preceding Psalms, especially in prayers, although it uses different words. It is necessary to constantly repeat, says the Gloss, what the world is constantly pushing into oblivion. Therefore it is not enough to pray once, but one must persevere in prayer, as the Lord taught his disciples. —Luke 18:1 They should always pray and not lose heart. —1 Thes 5:17 Pray constantly. So he asks here what he asked for before, to be delivered from the miseries of this present world, so that he may be free to spend time in praising God.

The usual title is plain enough. The Psalm has two parts: (1) He gets the attention of the judge. (2) He explains what he asks for: "Yahweh, put a guard". In the first part, he asks the judge (1) to hear his prayer, (2) to attend to what he is asking: "Listen to me", (3) to accept the petition: "Receive my prayer". In the first, (1) he gives a reason why he should be heard, (2) he asks this to be done: "help me now".

1. I have cried to thee, O Lord, hear me: hearken to my voice, when I cry to thee. 2. Let my prayer be directed as incense in thy sight; the lifting up of my hands, as evening sacrifice.
Yahweh, I call to you, help me now! Listen to me as I call to you. Receive my prayer as an offering of incense, my uplifted hands as an evening sacrifice.

141:1 The idea is: I am not calling for the first time, but have been calling for long, and that to you and not to anyone else. The word "calling" shows his devotion; "to you" shows that it is direct. His calling is itself a good reason for being heard, because God willingly hears (1) a call that is voicing a complaint —Joel 1:19 I call to you, Yahweh, because fire has devoured the pastures of the desert. (2) the call of necessity, such as that of the Israelites —Ex 3:7 I have heard the cry of them who were severely oppressed in Egypt. (3) but much more willingly, the call of devotion, as in this case and when Moses called from the devotion of his heart, and was told —Ex 14:15 Why do you call to me? Therefore it is said —Is 58:9 Then you shall call and Yahweh will answer, you will cry and he will say "Here I am".

Then he asks God to attend to what he is asking. (1) He asks; (2) he determines the time when he should specially attend to him: "as I call". The idea is: Help me, and also listen to me. —Dan 9:19 Lord, hear. Lord, forgive. Lord, give heed and act. When? As I call to you, with the different kinds of calls mentioned, especially the call of praise. —Is 6:3 They called to one another saying, "Holy, holy, holy.

Thirdly, he asks that his prayer be received, (1) that of his mouth, (2) that of his deeds: "my uplifted hands". The idea is: Hear, attend to me, and also receive my prayer as an offering of incense, something pleasing to you, so that the smoke of devotion may rise upwards from the fire of charity. —Rev 8:4 The smoke of the incense rose before God. —Rev 5:8 They held golden bowls of incense with the chains of charity, full of the scents of devotion, which are the prayers of the saints. And so it was said of the holy soul —Cant 3:6 What is that coming up from the wilderness, not by itself but by its prayers, like a column of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense? Note the order: First must come the aroma of myrrh, which is mortification of the flesh, then frankincense, which is the aroma of devout prayer. Thus in the arrangement of the tabernacle (Ex 25), from the altar of holocausts one moved to the altar of incense.

After the prayer of the mouth comes that of deeds: my uplifted hands as an evening sacrifice. That is, may my good deeds please you like that sacrifice. —Lam 3:41 Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven. —1 Tim 2:8 I desire men in every place to pray, lifting holy hands to God. God wants that elevation to be pleasing, just like the evening sacrifice. For there was a morning and an evening sacrifice, according to Exodus 19, but the evening sacrifice was more pleasing as a figure of that sacrifice offered at the end of that age, that of the Son of God, which pleased God more than all others. Both the sacrifice and service offered to God in the New Testament is more pleasing than that offered in the Old. In the New Testament, service is offered for eternal things, in the Old Testament for temporal things. That is why in the chanting of the lessons of the Old Testament in the Church the ending drops, while the chants of the New Testament end on a high note.

3. Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth: and a door round about my lips.
Yahweh, put a guard my mouth, Most High, lock my lips.

141:2.1.1.1 In this second part of the Psalm he specifies what he so urgently asks for, [asking (1) for his mouth to be guarded, (2) that he may not be trapped by the devil, like the wicked: ""But to you, Yahweh". In the first,] he states (1) the petition, (2) the advantage to be gained from having his prayer answered: "Let me not join". In the first, (1) he asks for a guard on his mouth, (2) he shows why he wants that guard: "Keep my heart". In the first, he asks (1) for the guard, (2) for the guard to be watchful: "Most High, lock". The idea is: So, Lord, hear my prayer, attend to what you hear, and find it pleasing and acceptable. What do I ask? Yahweh, put a guard on my mouth, as well as on my heart within and my action without. —Sir 22:27 Who will set a guard over my mouth, and upon my lips an effective seal. He very much needs a guard, because Paul warns —Eph 4:29 Let no evil talk come out of your mouths. —James 3:6 The tongue is an unrighteous world among our members.

A secure guard is the point of the words, Most High, lock my lips. —Prov 10:19 He who restrains his lips, which are like a door that is open and sometimes shut, is prudent. —Qoheleth 3:7 There is a time to keep silence and a time to talk. So he is not asking to become dumb and never talk, but to be like a door that is sometimes open and sometimes shut, because it should not be always open. —Prov 25:28 A man without self—control is like a city broken into and left without walls. —Sir 28:24 Set barred doors over your mouth.

4. Incline not my heart to evil words; to make excuses in sins. With men that work iniquity:
Keep my heart from evil, from the works of the wicked.

141:2.1.1.2 Here he shows why he wants that guard, and there are three [two] reasons: (1) to keep from speaking words of malice in any form, (2) to keep especially from speaking words of excuse for sins: "from the works". The idea is: I asked you to guard my mouth, and for this to guard my heart, from whose abundance the mouth speaks (Mt 12:34). Therefore, keep my heart from evil. —Jer 44:4 Do not do this work/word of abomination which I detest. Malicious words are to call bad good and good bad. —Is 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, and that (1) to make and fabricate excuses for sin, as those who say that their sins and deeds happen by chance. —Hab 1:14 You make men like the fish of the sea, like crawling things that have no ruler. (2) Others speak that way because of riches or poverty. —Prov 30:8 Give me neither poverty nor riches, lest I be wounded by them and be tempted to deny you and say "Who is the Lord?" Or I might be compelled by want to steal and to perjure the name of my God. (3) Or they speak that way because of bad company, as did Adam —Gen 3:12 The woman you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate. (4) Or they do so by imitation of others —1 Kings 19:14 I am no better than my fathers. (5) Or they do so because of their own condition, against whom speaks Sir 15:12 Do not say, "It was he who led me astray"; for he had no need of a sinful man. —Jerome: Forget about excuses. No one sins unwillingly.

In the preceding he prayed: Do not let my heart turn to words of malice, to make excuses for committing sin with men that work iniquity. That is what they do and many have done who excuse their own wrongdoings, for example Adam (Gen 3) and Saul —1 Sam 13:11 I saw that the people were scattering from me, and you did not come on the appointed days. This is a rather general sin. —Luke 14:18 And they all began to make excuses.

and I will not communicate with the choicest of them. 5. The just man shall correct me in mercy, and shall reprove me: but let not the oil of the sinner fatten my head.
Let me not join the wicked in lavish feasting or else let the Just One strike me, the Kind One punish me! With their fine oil let my head not shine,

141:2.1.2.1 After asking to be spared sinning by mouth, he shows the advantage that would result from having his prayer answered, (1) in himself, (2) in others, though with other causes intervening: "as I pray". In the first, there is a threefold advantage: (1) his separation from the wicked, (2) his receiving of correction: "or else let the Just One", (3) the avoidance of adulation: "With their fine oil". The idea is: Perfect me, so that my mouth may not speak to excuse sin, and then I will not join the wicked in their sin. —Sir 13:16 What do a holy man and a dog have in common? And what do a kettle and a clay pot have in common? —2 Cor 6:14 What fellowship can light have with darkness? So I will follow the advice of Paul —1 Tim 5:22 Do not participate in another man's sins. —Prov 1:15 My son, do not go on the road with them. He uses the word "choicest" to show that sometimes the worst are judged the best. —Micah 7:4 The best of them is like a brier, and the most upright of them a thorn hedge.

The second advantage is correction: Yes, I will not communicate with them, and with my agreement the just one will correct me in mercy, with blows and deeds if necessary. The addition of "mercy" was good —Ps 90:10 Kindness came and we will be corrected (Vul). —Gal 6:1 If a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Then wickedness is broken by meeting the face of the oil of mercy. —Is 16:5 Then a throne will be established in mercy. And he will reprove me with words. —Prov 9:8 Reprove a wise man, and he will love you. —2 Tim 4:2 Convince, rebuke, exhort, but always in mercy. —Sir 8:6 Do not despise a man turning away from sin, nor rebuke him. Remember that we all need correction (Vul).

The third advantage is the avoidance of adulation: Let the just one correct and rebuke me; I will accept it. But the oil of the sinner, their false mercy and words of flattery, should not anoint my head, that is, my mind. Let me not be anointed as the one in Hosea 7:3 By their wickedness they make the king glad, and the princes by their treachery. Worldly and proud men love to be anointed with this oil, and they spend a lot of money for it. —Hosea 12:1 They make a bargain with Assyria, and oil is carried to Egypt, to people darkened and clouded with sin. But Prov 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy. —Qoheleth 7:5 It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools.

For my prayer shall still be against the things with which they are well pleased:
as I pray against their crimes.

141:2.1.2.2.1.1 Then is shown the advantage to others, with the addition of other causes working strongly for the same effect. He shows (1) the progress of others, (2) the cause and reason for this progress: "and hear how sweet". In the first, there is (1) the conversion of the infidels and wicked, (2) a disdain and contempt for philosophical teaching in comparison with Gospel teaching: "Let their judges fall". The idea is: I will not have communion with sinners, I will love correction and flee flattery, and now my prayer is for eternal things, and that is what I look for. Or the prayer can be of Christ the Head interceding for me with the Father. —1 John 2:1 We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. Or it could be the Lord's prayer which he taught me to say (Mt 6:9—13). It will be against the things with which they are well pleased, since they love iniquity. —Zeph 3:9 I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call on the name of Yahweh. Or, better, it could be applied to the prayer of preaching. The idea is that my prayer (oratio), or the reasoning of my mouth (oris ratio) will be in what they like, so that they may willingly hear it. —Joshua 22:33 The report pleased the people of Israel. —Sir 21:15 When an intelligent man hears words of wisdom, he approves them and adds to them.

6. Their judges falling upon the rock have been swallowed up.
Let their judges fall into the hands of the Rock

141:2.1.2.2.1.2 This point follows well upon the preceding. The idea is: The preaching will be so pleasing that their judges, the great philosophers, will be enthralled and consider their teaching as nothing compared with the Rock, which is Christ, and his teaching. —Is 42:14—15 I will gasp and pant; I will lay waste mountains and hills. —Job 28:19 The topaz of Ethiopia, that is, all philosophical brilliance, cannot be compared with it, the true wisdom. —Wis 7:9 All gold is a little sand before it. —Is 29:14 The wisdom of their wise men will perish. —Ex 7:12 Aaron's rod swallowed their rods. —Is 51:9 You, Christ, pierced the dragon, the philosopher.

They shall hear my words, for they have prevailed: 7. As when the thickness of the earth is broken up upon the ground: Our bones are scattered by the side of hell.
and hear how sweet his sentence is! Split and chopped as in the underworld, lie my bones at the mouth of Sheol.

141:2.1.2.2.2 Here are the causes that promote these benefits: (1) the power of God's word and speech, (2) the power of the martyrdom and death of the saints: "split and chopped". The idea is: They will willingly listen to the preaching and consider their philosophical wisdom as nothing, because they will hear my words of preaching, which prevail, for those words were commanding. They will hear with interior obedience —Is 55:2 Listen carefully to me. —John 8:47 He who is of God hears the words of God. For the words of the Church in its preachers are commanding and efficacious. —Qoheleth 8:4 The word of the king is supreme. But in the mouth of Christ (1) they were truly powerful, like water in the fount. —Mt 7:29 He taught them as one having power, not like the Scribes and Pharisees. (2) They healed —Wis 16:12 Neither herb nor poultice cured them, but it was your word, Yahweh, which heals all men. (3) They gave life —John 6:68 Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. (4) They inflamed —Luke 24:32 Did our hearts not burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened the Scriptures for us?

The second cause is the death and scattering of the saints, as regards their bodies. They will hear commanding words that produce the preceding goods, but, besides, our bones lie at the mouth of Sheol, in this world near to hell. And that is as when the fatness of the earth is broken and bursts upon the land, making it fertile. In other words, our death and the dissipation of our bones by martyrdom is a fertilization of the Church, so that it may grow and bear fruit. —Judges 16:30 Those that Sampson killed while dying were more than those he killed during his life. For the deaths of the saints are very fruitful. —John 12:24 If it dies, it bears much fruit. —Job 11:17 When you think you are finished, you will rise like the morning star (Vul). —Is 18:7 To Yahweh of Armies an offering will be made by a people who are torn, wounded and fearsome (Vul), that is, the holy martyrs, because when their bones were scattered they sprouted. —Is 66:14 Your bones shall flourish like grass. It is pointedly said that they are scattered "next to hell", because they are scattered in this world, which is like a hell. —Prov 1:12 Like Sheol, let us swallow them alive and whole. They swallow the saints as wolves swallow sheep —Mt 10:16 I send you out like sheep among wolves.

8. But to thee, O Lord, Lord, are my eyes: in thee have I put my trust, take not away my soul.
But, to you, Yahweh, Lord, I still look. In you I seek refuge, El; protect my life!

141:2.2.1.1 This is the second part of the second part, in which he asks for his soul to be guarded against being trapped by the devil, like the wicked. (1) He asks for this guard.; (2) he shows the need for it: "May they fall". In the first, (1) he simply asks to be guarded by God, (2) he specifies what he wants particularly to be guarded against: "Guard me from the traps". In the first there is: (1) a reason, (2) the petition: "protect my life". The reason is twofold: (1) his right intention, which he directs to God, (2) his hope in him: "In you I seek refuge". The idea is: Lord, I asked you to guard my mouth. Now, Lord, by creation, since you made me out of nothing, and Lord by recreation because you redeemed me — or the double "Lord" refers to Christ's double nature — I look to you and to no other, with my interior eyes, which are the intentions of my mind. —2 Chron 20:12 We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you. —Is 38:14 My eyes are weary from looking upwards.

Besides directing my attention to you, I have trusted in you, and not in man. —Dan 3:40 There is no shame for those who trust in you. —Rom 5:5 Hope does not disappoint. —Sir 2:10 Has anyone hoped in Yahweh and been disappointed?

Therefore, protect/ do not take away my life, that is, permit it to be taken away. —1 Kings 19:10 They seek my life to take it away. —Ps 54:3 Ruffians seek my life.

9. Keep me from the snare, which they have laid for me, and from the stumbling blocks of them that work iniquity.
Guard me from the traps they spread for me and weapons of those evildoers.

141:2.2.1.2 Here he shows two things he wants to be guarded against: (1) the hidden plots of evil men or demons, (2) from their open aggression: "and weapons". The idea is: I asked you not to take away my life, but to protect it, and to guard me from the hidden traps they, demons and evil men, spread for me. —Sir 9:13 Know that you are stepping among snares and walking over a net. The snares which the demons and evil men set are delightful creatures themselves. —Wis 14:11 Though part of what God created, they became an abomination, and became traps for the souls of men and a snare to the feet of the foolish. —Prov 11:15 He who avoids snares is secure (Vul).

And weapons/ stumbling blocks, the open aggression, of evildoers: —Mt 18:7 Woe to the world for scandals/ temptations. A sinner is first tempted by a creature's beauty. —Sir 9:5 Do not look at a virgin, lest you be tempted by her beauty (Vul). Then others, especially the young, are tempted by his action, when it becomes manifest —Mt 18:6 Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

10. The wicked shall fall in his net: I am alone until I pass.
May they fall into his nets, the wickedone and all, while I myself escape.

141:2.2.2 After presenting his petition, here he shows a twofold necessity for it: (1) the multitude of those who are lost and trapped in the enemy's snares, (2) the truth of those who can help: "I alone". The idea is: I ask, and not without reason, because the wicked in huge numbers fall into his nets, those of the devil the flatterer. —Hab 1:15 He drags them out with his net, he gathers them in his seine; so he rejoices and exults. As for his flattery —Prov 29:5 A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet. Sinners are trapped in these nets because they do not see. —Prov 4:19 The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble. But the saints do not fall, because their eyes are everywhere. —Rev 4:6 There were four living creatures, all studded with eyes in front and behind. And they had wings, so as to rise up. —Prov 1:17 In vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird.

I alone: There is such a big number of those trapped, and I myself am alone, without help, until I pass away from this world. —Sir 51:7 I turned every way, but there was no one to help me. —Ps 142:4 Look around and see: no one knows me. Another interpretation is: I am alone, seeing that mixing with people is harmful —Ps 55:7 I would fly far away and settle in the wilderness. —Lam 3:28 Let him sit alone in silence. And that, until I pass, like a flower of the field —James 1:10 Like the flower in the grass, he will pass away.

This also applies to Christ, whose Apostles fell into the snare of the sinner, that is, of the devil, when they left him and all fled (Mt 26). So he hung alone on the cross, without the human companionship. —Is 63:3 I have trodden the wine press alone, and from the peoples no one was with me, even though there were a few women. —Job 19:20 My bones cleave to my skin and my flesh. But that was until his transition referred to in John 13:1 Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father. After his transition he was not alone, because he was joined by Jews and Gentiles, so that he could say —Gen 32:10 With only my staff I crossed this Jordan by death on the cross, and now I have become two companies, taking both Jews and Gentiles to eternal life with the Father. May he make us among their number, who is blessed for all ages. Amen.