Psalm 141:1-3

New Catholic Bible

Footnotes

1. Psalm 141:1 Surrounded by the wicked who persecute him in order to drag him with them into impiety, the psalmist offers up an evening prayer, matching the morning prayer referred to in Ps 5:4. The poet begs God to protect him against every defection, to help him refuse all connivance with the wicked, and to enable him ultimately to escape their plots against him.
   This psalm is a reminder to us that, impelled by the devil, our greatest enemy, the world hates us because we are not of the world (see Jn 15:19; 17:14). By every available means, it strives to snatch us away from Christ to serve the devil. Aware of our weakness, we should “pray that [we] may not enter into temptation” (Mk 14:38), reciting this psalm when necessary.
2. Psalm 141:1 The psalmist is in a precarious position, so he hopes his prayer for help will be like a pleasing offering before the Lord.
3. Psalm 141:2 Incense: literally, “smoke,” i.e., the fragrant fumes that wafted from the altar at the daily burning of sacrificial animals or aromatic spices. The lifting up of my hands: a symbol of dependence on and praise of the Lord (see Pss 28:2; 63:5; 1 Tim 2:8).
4. Psalm 141:3 The psalmist, like the sages, carefully watches over his heart so as not to give in to sins of speech or action, for he knows that the wicked use their tongues for destruction (see Ps 140:4) while the righteous express love and fidelity (see Ps 15:2f). He begs the Lord to keep his heart from sin and temptation so that he may do God’s will (see Ps 119:10, 36, 133). Let me not share in their corruption: literally, “let me not eat of their delicacies.”