Psalms 141

Even a casual reading of 140 and 141 reveals that the two are related and use a similar vocabulary—heart, tongue, hands, snares, the righteous, and so forth. The enemy was after David again and he needed immediate help. It has been suggested that David wrote this psalm after his cave experience with Saul (1 Sam. 24), but then he was not really in danger; or perhaps he wrote it when he was away from the sanctuary during Absalom’s rebellion. Life is built on character, and character is built on decisions. This psalm reveals David making a number of wise decisions as he faced the attacks of the enemy.

Whenever the enemy caused trouble, David’s first response was to pray. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (27: nkjv). He was a man with spiritual insight who understood that he could pray and worship God even if he was away from the sanctuary and had no priest to assist him (40:6–8; 50:8–9; 51:16–17; Isa. 1:11–17; Jer. 7:22–23; Hos. 6:6; Mic. 6:6–8; Mark 12:32–33). Each evening, the Jewish priest would offer a burnt offering on the brazen altar and also burn incense on the golden altar, but God accepted David’s prayer and uplifted hands. Frankincense was usually included with the burnt offering. (See Ex. 30:1–10, 34–38; Lev. 2:2.) Incense is a picture of prayer going up to the Lord (Rev. 5:8; 8:4). David’s hands were empty, but his heart was full of love for the Lord and faith in His promises. Both Ezra (Ezra 9) and Daniel (Dan. 9) prayed at the time of the evening offering. After the second temple was built, this psalm was read when the evening sacrifices were offered and the lamps were lit in the holy place.

David faced a great temptation to compromise with the enemy, and he knew this was wrong. But, they were slandering him, so why should he not slander them? But the problem was with his heart, not his mouth, and he prayed for a heart that would not be inclined to approve of their sins and imitate them (Prov. 4:23). David pictured his temptation as “eating their delicacies” (see Prov. 4:14–17). Times of testing become times of temptation when we stop believing and start scheming, when we ask “How can I get out of this?” instead of “What can I get out of this?”

“The righteous” can also be translated “the Righteous One,” referring to the Lord; but either way, the message is the same. When we yield to God’s will, the difficulties of life are tools that God uses to bring maturity to our lives. Often the Lord sends people to speak to us, and their words hurt us, but they do not harm us (Prov. 9:8; 17:10; 19:25; 27:10). King Saul did not listen to rebuke and went from bad to worse. In the ancient world, honored guests at a meal were anointed with fragrant oil (Luke 7:44–46), but David knew that the enemy’s delicacies and oil were but bait in the traps they had set for him (vv. 9–10). David would rather be admonished than anointed. As we face the problems and perils of the Christian life, it is important that we listen to wise counsel and obey it.

These two verses have puzzled translators and expositors, but the general message seems clear. David continued to pray for his enemies, and he saw a day coming when God would judge them and vindicate his own cause (138:8; 140:12). Perhaps it is best to translate the verbs “Let the judges be thrown down … let them learn that my words were true … let them say, ‘As one plows….’” To throw people from a cliff was a terrible form of execution (2 Chron. 25:12; Luke 4:29), but David is no doubt speaking in metaphorical language as in verses 1–5. When God has judged the leaders, their followers will agree that David’s words were correct, especially when they see the unburied bones of those leaders bleaching in the sun. The scavenger birds and beasts will have stripped their corpses of flesh. If “they” in verse 7 refers to David’s men, the idea may be that they are willing to die for David’s cause and be “plowed under,” for this will eventually bring a harvest of righteousness to the land. The image is similar to that in 129:1–4. However, the first explanation is better.

Fixing one’s eyes on the invisible Lord means living by faith in His Word (Isa. 45:22; Heb. 12:1–2). God had anointed David to be king of Israel, and nothing but David’s own disobedience could frustrate that plan. Unlike Peter when he walked on the water in the storm, David did not take his eyes of faith off the Lord (Matt. 14:22–33). God was David’s refuge, and he was immortal until his work was done. If David had worried about the traps and hidden snares the enemy had set, he would have been paralyzed with fear; but he committed himself to the Lord and walked safely through the battlefield. Four simple words declare his faith: “I pass by safely” (v. 10 nasb). This reminds us of our Lord’s experience in the synagogue at Nazareth, when the people became angry at His message and tried to throw Him from a cliff, but “he ... went his way” (Luke 4:28–30). Life goes on and there is work to do, so we must not allow tough situations to paralyze us but to energize us in trusting the Lord. Life’s trials are not excuses for doing nothing; they are opportunities for claiming God’s promises and experiencing His miraculous power.