Psalm 141:   Prayer for Preservation from Evil

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. Psalm 141:4

Psalm 141  David prays at evening for protection from sin and from sinners.  He will be safe as long as he keeps his eyes fixed on the Lord.  He needs protection against hasty choices which might lead into sin as well as against his enemies.

141:1, 2  Lord, I cry out to you:  David asks to be heard as he prays in the assembly of the righteous.  As the smoke and aroma of incense rises to the Lord as something sweet and compelling, so David desires that his prayer will not be ignored.  The lifting up of my hands:  With this impressive gesture, David is asking God to pay attention to his plea.

 1  A Psalm of David. 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.

141:3, 4 Set a guard:  This is a prayer for wisdom, for restraining evil language, and for knowing the correct words to speak.  David wanted to avoid any act of impiety, irreverence, or even idolatry; he did not want to offend God with anything he said.

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.

141:5 With the words let the righteous strike me, David expresses his willingness to accept the judgment of the righteous; what bothers him is the instruction and judgment of the wicked.  Against the deeds of the wicked:  As in Ps. 140, the wicked have brought David to his state of distress.  He envisions a day when the wicked will be destroyed – their power will collapse and justice will reign in its place.

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.

141:8  In light of the wicked’s strength, it is easy for us to fix our eyes on, or worry about, the wicked.  It is also natural to focus on ourselves:  we either become self-absorbed in our difficulties or exalt ourselves in our victories.  But David fixes his eyes only on the Lord (2 Cor. 3:28; Heb. 12:2, 3).

8  But my eyes are upon You, O God the Lord; In You I take refuge; Do not leave my soul destitute.

** This is a prayer for protection from ourselves committing sins as well as from the sinful acts of the wicked.  When we realize our helplessness in these fights, we fight with prayers so that the Lord will fight for us.  David prays “My eyes are upon You, O God the Lord.”  His eyes are not upon himself nor upon his enemies.  He just worries about his prayers to be sweet and compelling to God rather than insolent.  “Let my prayer be set before You as incense… (Ps. 141:2)


141 1  A Psalm of David. 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.