Psalm 141 explained: A Prayer to Stay Good

Prayer as an offering (vv. 1-2)

At the temple, incense was burned and an offering was made every evening, and raised hands were a common way to pray. The writer asks that his simple prayer count with God as much as those formal offerings, perhaps because he could not be at the temple himself.

Guard my words and heart (vv. 3-4)

He pictures his lips as a door and asks God to post a guard there, so he does not lash out or speak wrongly. Refusing to eat the fine food of evildoers likely means refusing to share their feasts and company, since that closeness could pull him into what they do.

Welcoming hard correction (v. 5)

He says that being corrected by a good person, even sharply, is a kindness, like the soothing oil poured on a guest's head. The end of the verse is hard to read in Hebrew, but it seems to mean he will keep praying against what wrongdoers do.

A puzzling picture of judgment (vv. 6-7)

These are among the hardest verses in the Psalms to translate, and scholars are unsure what they describe. They seem to picture corrupt leaders thrown down from cliffs and bones scattered at the mouth of the grave like soil broken by a plow, an image of violent defeat and death.

Keep me from their traps (vv. 8-10)

He turns his eyes back to God for shelter and asks to be kept safe from the snares his enemies have set. He hopes they will be caught in their own nets while he walks past unharmed.

Key verse: Psalm 141:3

Something to think about

When someone points out a fault in you, what makes it feel like a kindness rather than an attack?