Psalm 141:1-10 NKJV
A Psalm of David.
141 Lord, I cry out to You;
Make haste to me!
Give ear to my voice when I cry out to You.
2 Let my prayer be set before You as incense,
The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice wicked works
With men who work iniquity;
And do not let me eat of their delicacies.
5 Let the righteous strike me;
It shall be a kindness.
And let him rebuke me;
It shall be as excellent oil;
Let my head not refuse it.
For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked.
6 Their judges are overthrown by the sides of the cliff,
And they hear my words, for they are sweet.
7 Our bones are scattered at the mouth of the grave,
As when one plows and breaks up the earth.
8 But my eyes are upon You, O God the Lord;
In You I take refuge;
Do not leave my soul destitute.
9 Keep me from the snares they have laid for me,
And from the traps of the workers of iniquity.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
While I escape safely.
It’s hard to ignore Martin Luther’s words about this psalm. He says, “The psalmist prays that he may be preserved from the ungodly teachers who appear to be friendly and speak with smooth words when threats do not work… Their hypocrisy will finally break their neck…Then then will see how bitter their sweet teaching is and how precious is my sour doctrine… Their own doctrine…will bring them down…” (Reading the Psalms with Luther, p. 335).
God’s Word frequently reminds us that, although evil seems all too often to go unpunished, in the end God will have His way with evildoers and bring them to nothing; as Luther says, “their own doctrine will bring them down.”
As Christians we need always to be reminded that we are tempted to be swayed by experiences and feelings at the expense of the sure and certain Word of God. And here in this psalm, as in so many of them, we are taught to cry out to God always with the certainty that He hears and will answer according to His good and gracious will.
It is interesting to note that in this psalm, as in many others, the psalmist prays that “the wicked fall into their own nets” (v. 10). Here we are reminded that it is right to pray for the downfall of the wicked as well as for their repentance; but we leave all that to God alone and resist the temptation to exact vengeance on our enemies, for as God says, “Vengeance is Mine.”
Further, we recognize vv. 2-4 as coming from the beautiful order of Evening Prayer from Lutheran Service Book. Let God comfort you as you sing those words, calling out to God to give ear to your voice and deliver you. Let us pray: O God, You have prepared for those who love You good things that surpass all understanding. Pour into our hearts such love toward You that we, loving You above all things, may obtain Your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.