John Gill Commentary Psalms 141

Lord, I cry to you
With great earnestness, importunity, and fervency, being in distress; and knowing vain was the help of man, and that none could deliver him but the Lord, and therefore continued crying to him for help ^F23 ;

make haste to me ;
which shows he was in a desperate condition; that he could not help himself, nor could any creature, only the Lord; and he was at a distance from him, as it seemed to him, and he delayed assistance; and therefore desires he would immediately come near and be a present help in his time of need, and work speedy deliverance for him, his case requiring haste;

give ear to my voice, when I cry to you ;
a request the psalmist frequently makes, not contenting himself with prayer, without desiring and looking for an answer to it.

FOOTNOTES:

• F23: "Auxilium vocat, et duros conclamat agrestes", Virgil.

Let my prayer be set forth before thee [as] incense
Which was offered every morning on the altar of incense, at which time the people were praying, (Exodus 30:1Exodus 30:7Exodus 30:8) (Luke 1:10) ; and was an emblem of it, even of pure, holy, and fervent prayer; which being offered on the altar Christ, which sanctifies every gift, and by him the High Priest; through whom every sacrifice is acceptable unto God; and through whose blood and righteousness, and the sweet incense of his mediation and intercession, it becomes fragrant and a sweet odour to the Lord;

and being directed to him, it goes upwards, is regarded by him, and continues before him as sweet incense; which is what the psalmist prays for; see (Malachi 1:11) (Revelation 8:3Revelation 8:4) ;

[and] the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice ;
the burnt sacrifice of the evening, according to Ben Melech, the lamb slain every evening; or else the minchah, as the word is; the meat, or rather the bread offering made of fine flour, with oil and frankincense on it, which went along with the former, (Exodus 29:38–41) ; and so the Targum, ``as the sweet gift offered in the evening.'' This only is mentioned, as being put for both the morning and the evening sacrifice; or because the incense was offered in the morning, from which it is distinguished: or it may be, as Kimchi thinks, this psalm was composed in the evening; and so the inscription in the Syriac version is, ``a psalm of David, when he meditated the evening service.''

Or because this was the last sacrifice of the day; there was no other after it, as Aben Ezra observes; and the most acceptable; to which may be added, that this was the hour for prayer, (Acts 3:1) (10:3) . Wherefore "lifting up of [the] hands" was a prayer gesture, and a very ancient one both among Jews and Gentiles ^F24 ; Aristotle ^F25 says, all men, when we pray, lift up our hands to heaven; and it is put for that itself, (1 Timothy 2:8) ; and is desired to be, like that, acceptable unto God; as it is when the heart is lifted up with the hands, and prayer is made in the name and faith of Christ.

FOOTNOTES:

• F24: Vid. Barthii Animadv. in Claudian. ad Rufin. l. 2. v. 205.
  
• F25: De Mundo, c. 6. Vid. Plutarch. in Vita Camilli. "Sustulit ad sidera palmas", Virgil. Aeneid. 2. so Ovid. Fasti, l. 3.

Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth While praying, as Jarchi and Kimchi; that he might not utter any rash, unguarded, and unbecoming word; but take and use the words which God gives, even the taught words of the Holy Ghost; or lest, being under affliction and oppression, he should speak unadvisedly with his lips, and utter any impatient murmuring and repining word against God; or express any fretfulness at the prosperity of the wicked, or speak evil of them; especially of Saul, the Lord's anointed, for the ill usage of him;

keep the door of my lips ; which are as a door that opens and shuts: this he desires might be kept as with a bridle, especially while the wicked were before him; lest he should say anything they would use against him, and to the reproach of religion; and that no corrupt communication, or any foolish and filthy talk, or idle and unprofitable words, might proceed from them.

The phrase signifies the same as the other; he was sensible of his own inability to keep a proper watch and guard over his words, as was necessary, and therefore prays the Lord to do it; see (Psalms 39:1) .

Incline not my heart to [any] evil thing
Or "evil word" {z}, as the Targum; since out of the abundance of that the mouth speaks, (Matthew 12:34Matthew 12:35) ; or to any sinful thing, to the commission of any evil action: not that God ever inclines men's hearts to sin by any physical influence, it being what is repugnant to his nature and will, and what he hates and abhors; for though he hardens the hearts of wicked men, and gives them up to the lusts of them; yet he does not move, incline, or tempt any man to sin, (James 1:13James 1:14) ; but he may be said to do this when he suffers them to follow their own sinful inclinations, and leaves them to be inclined by the power and prevalency of their own corruptions, and by the temptations of Satan, which is here deprecated; see (Psalms 119:36) (Matthew 6:13) . So as

to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity ;
to join with those that make a trade of sinning; the course of whose life is evil, in their unfruitful works of darkness; and do as they do, even commit crimes the most flagitious and enormous: he seems to have respect to great persons, whose examples are very forcible and ensnaring; and therefore it requires an exertion of the powerful and efficacious grace of God, to preserve such from the influence of them, whose business is much with them;

and let me not eat of their dainties ;
since their table was a snare to themselves, it might be so to him; and be a means of betraying him unawares into the commission of some sins, which would be dishonourable and grieving to him: the psalmist desires not to partake with them at their table; but chose rather a meatier table and coarser fare, where he might be more free from temptation; see (Proverbs 23:1–6) .

Or this may be understood of the dainties and sweet morsels of sin; which are like stolen waters, and bread eaten in secret, to a carnal heart: though the pleasures of it are but imaginary, and last but for a season, and therefore are avoided by a gracious man; by whom even afflictions with the people of God are preferred unto them, (Hebrews 11:25) . The Targum interprets it of the song of the house of their feasts; which is ensnaring.

FOOTNOTES:

• F26: (er rbdl) "ad verbum malum", Montanus.

Let the righteous smite me, [it shall be] a kindness
Or, "smite me in kindness" ^F1. In love; in a loving and friendly manner, which makes reproofs the more agreeable and effectual. Not the righteous God, as Arama; though he does sometimes smite his people for their sins (Isaiah 57:17); that is, reproves, corrects, and chastises them, and that in love and for their good; and therefore such smitings and corrections should be taken in good part by them, and received as fatherly chastisements, and as instances of his paternal care of them, and love to them; but rather righteous and good men; who, when there is occasion for it, should reprove and rebuke one another; but then it should be in a kind and tender manner, and with the spirit of meekness; and such reproofs should be as kindly received: "for faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful" (Proverbs 27:6).

Or, "let the righteous beat me with kindness" or "goodness"; with precepts of goodness, by inculcating good things into him; which he should take, as if he overwhelmed and loaded him with benefits; even though it was like striking with a hammer, as the word signifies; and let him, reprove me; which explains what is meant by smiting;

[it shall be] an excellent oil, [which] shall not break my head; give no pain nor uneasiness to his head or his heart, but rather supple and heal the wounds sin reproved for has made. The Targum is, ``the oil of the anointing of the sanctuary shall not cease from my head;'' with which he was anointed king; and signifies that he should enjoy the dignity, and continue in it. The Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, render it, "the oil of the ungodly", or "sinners": meaning their flattering words, which, though smooth as oil, were deceitful; and therefore he deprecates them, "let not the oil of the wicked" as being hurtful and pernicious;

for yet my prayer also [shall be] in their calamities; that is, when the righteous, that smote and reproved him for his good, should be in any distress; such a grateful sense should he retain of their favour in reproving him, that he would pray for them, that they might be delivered out of it; which would show that he took it kindly at their hand. Or, "in their evils", or "against them" ^F3; which some understand of the evil practices of wicked men; which the psalmist prayed against, and that he might be kept and delivered from.

FOOTNOTES:

• F1: (en eleei), Sept. "in misericordia", V. L. "benigne ac clementer", Michaelis.
• F3: (Mhytwerb) "in malis eorum", Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius; "adversus mala eorum", Musculus, Michaelis; so some in Vatablus.