Psalms 141

Psalms 107:150

Gordon Churchyard

An Evening *Prayer

Psalms 141

Jesus said, "What will a man have if he buys the whole world but loses his own soul?" (Mark 8:36) (The soul is the part of us that lives when our body dies.)

Psalms 141

(This is) a psalm of David.

v1 *LORD, I am praying to you. Come to me soon.
I am talking to you. Please hear what I am saying.

v2 When I pray to you it will be like *incense.
When I raise my hands (to you)
it will be like an evening *prayer.

v3 *LORD, do not let my mouth (speak *evil words).
Listen to what my lips (are saying).

v4 Stop me wanting to do what is wrong.
Do not let me go with *evil people to do what is wrong.
Do not let me eat in their *feasts.

v5 If a good man hits me, he is being kind (to me).
If he is angry with me, it is like *oil on my head.
I will not say "no" to it.
I am always praying against what bad people do.

v6 They will throw their rulers down
from the rocks on the sides of the hills.
Then they will know that my words were true.

v7 (They will say) "as people break the earth (to plant seeds),
so they will throw our bones down to *Sheol’.

v8 But *LORD, my eyes are looking to you, (my) *Lord.
I am hoping that you will give me help.
Do not let (people) kill me.

v9 Keep me (away) from the *snares they have put (to catch) me.
(Keep me away) from the *traps that *evil (people) have hidden for me.

v10 I pray that their own *nets will catch these *evil (people).
And I pray that I will be safe as I pass (the *nets).

The Story of Psalms 141

Some Bible students think David wrote this psalm when Absalom tried to kill him. Absalom was David’s son. Absalom wanted to be king. He did not want David to continue as king. As David left Jerusalem, we have some of his *prayers. We say *prayers when we talk to God. Psalms 3 is a morning *prayer. Psalms 4 is an evening *prayer.

Perhaps Psalms 141 is another evening *prayer. In verse 2, we read about "incense" and "raising hands". David was not near the *temple in Jerusalem. The *temple was the house of God. It was a *tent made of animal skins when David was king. So David could not burn incense to God as they did in the *temple. Incense made a nice smell when they burnt it. David prays that his *prayers will be "like incense". Also, he could not sacrifice (kill for God) animals. They did this as the "evening sacrifice" at 3 o’clock each afternoon. Instead, David raised up his hands to God.

David wrote Psalms 141 in Hebrew. Hebrew was the language that David spoke. The Hebrew words of verses 5-7 are very difficult to translate. This translation is nearly the same as that in the New International Version of the Bible. There are many other translations of these verses. Some Bibles leave them out!

What Psalms 141 means

Verse 3: Here David prays that God will not let him say bad things. He wants God to "listen to what my lips are saying". And he wants God to stop him "speaking *evil words". The Hebrew Bible talks about the mouth as being like a door. Through it, words come out into the world. "*Evil" means "very, very bad".

Verse 4: "*Feasts" are special meals (or parties) that people have. In this verse, they are the *feasts that *evil people have as part of their religion. David’s religion was *Jewish. He did not want to have the religion of these *evil people. Our religion is how we love and obey our god (the god that we believe in).

Verse 5: This is a hard verse to understand. Maybe what David is saying is this: If a good man is angry with me, I will listen to what he says. The oil is not motor oil, but from a plant called the *olive.

Verse 6: This is another hard verse to understand. Perhaps what it means is this: Soon people will throw bad leaders down mountains so they die. Then people will know that David was right and not Absalom.

Verse 7: This is yet another hard verse! *Jews believed that people went to *Sheol when they died. It was under the earth. Maybe the verse means this: People will die Then people will throw their bones on the ground as like of wood or earth when people break them.

Verse 8: Here are two words, *LORD and *Lord. They are not the same in Hebrew. *LORD is the *covenant name for God. A *covenant is when two people (or groups of people) agree. Here, God agrees to love and give help to his people. His people agree to love and obey God. The other word, *Lord, means "master". As God’s name, it tells us that he has authority. He is the great ruler of everything! David says "My eyes are looking to you". It means that David is hoping that God will send him help. David is looking for help from God.

Verses 9 and 10: Here are three words that mean the same: snares, traps and *nets. People used these to catch animals or birds. His enemies put traps to catch David. They put them in places where David would not see them. He would not see them until the snare caught him! But David prayed that he would pass the *nets and be safe. He prayed that the snares, traps and *nets would catch his enemies.

Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke; they wrote the Psalms in Hebrew.
prayer ~ you say a prayer when you speak to God.
Lord ~ a name for God; it means he has authority, or "master"; It is the word "Adonai" in Hebrew. Look also at LORD below.
LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. It is the covenant name of God. In Hebrew it is Yahweh or Jehovah. Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the names of God.
lord ~ someone with authority.
LORD ~ the covenant name for God (in a covenant you agree with someone).
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke; they wrote the Psalms in Hebrew.
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look in Psalm 120 about the covenant.
Yahweh ~ the covenant name for God. Most Bibles translate it LORD with 4 capital letters. It means something like "I am" or "always alive".
Jehovah ~ how some languages say Yahweh, one of the names of God in Hebrew.
prayer ~ you say a prayer when you speak to God.
evil ~ very, very bad.
feast ~ a meal with much to eat and drink; a party.
oil ~ not motor oil, but from a fruit called the olive.
Sheol ~ Jews believed that you went to Sheol when you died.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children; a person who has the faith of the Jews, called Judaism.
faith ~ belief in someone or something; in the Psalms, belief in God.
Lord ~ a name for God; it means he has authority, or "master"; It is the word "Adonai" in Hebrew. Look also at LORD below.
LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. It is the covenant name of God. In Hebrew it is Yahweh or Jehovah. Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the names of God.
lord ~ someone with authority.
LORD ~ the covenant name for God (in a covenant you agree with someone).
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke; they wrote the Psalms in Hebrew.
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look in Psalm 120 about the covenant.
Yahweh ~ the covenant name for God. Most Bibles translate it LORD with 4 capital letters. It means something like "I am" or "always alive".
Jehovah ~ how some languages say Yahweh, one of the names of God in Hebrew.
trap ~ thing that you catch animals or birds in.
net ~ thin rope that you tie together; you use it to catch fish.
rope ~ strong material that we use to tie things together.
temple ~ a place where people meet to worship God.
tent ~ a home or building made from animal skins.
evil ~ very, very bad.
feast ~ a meal with much to eat and drink; a party.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything to do with a Jew.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children; a person who has the faith of the Jews, called Judaism.
faith ~ belief in someone or something; in the Psalms, belief in God.
olive ~ a fruit.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children; a person who has the faith of the Jews, called Judaism.
faith ~ belief in someone or something; in the Psalms, belief in God.
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look in Psalm 120 about the covenant.