Psalm 141

Psa 141:1

SUPERSCRIPTION: "A PSALM OF DAVID".

CONTEXT: Poss Absalom's rebellion.

Psa 141:2

Incense = prayer: Mal 1:11; Rev 5:8; 8:4. For David fleeing from Jerusalem and for Jesus in Gethsemane, these literal offerings were not possible. But the lifting up of their hands in praise and supplication was (and still is, for others) equally acceptable. Hence also Lam 3:41; Psa 63:4; 86:4; and 1Ti 2:8. // Psa 50:13,14; 51:15-17; 69:30,31; 40:6-10.

(NT) Jesus kneels in the evening shadows of Gethsemane; there he was "touched" by Gabriel at the time of the evening oblation (Dan 9:21; Luk 22:43). See the prayer of Joh 17.

Psa 141:3

SET A GUARD OVER MY MOUTH: (NT) A Christ under the strain of great temptation: cp Joh 18:19-23; 19:10.

Psa 141:4

LET ME NOT EAT OF THEIR DELICACIES: It was at a special religious feast at Hebron that Absalom solicited and received support, and proclaimed himself king -- rebelling against his father David (2Sa 15:7-12).

(NT) This suggests Jesus' wariness at the social invitations offered him by the Pharisees, whose intent was to watch him closely and if possible catch him off guard (eg Luk 14:1).

To share the close friendly "table" fellowship of certain sorts of men is to become, first by small degrees and then more and more by wholesale lots, like unto them. In certain social settings, the general standards of courtesy forbid men to express exception to what they see and hear, which at other times they would resolutely shun. And so, almost subconsciously, "bad company ruins good morals" (1Co 15:33) -- and the best of men, unless they are constantly on their guard, tend to turn into the sort of people which mere formality "compels" them to put up with. How dangerous such "polite" associations with worldly men can be!

Psa 141:5

LET A RIGHTEOUS MAN STRIKE ME: "Faithful are the wounds of a friend" (Pro 27:6). "Rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee" (Pro 9:8; cp Pro 3:11,12; Heb 12:5-11; Ecc 4:13; Rev 3:19). David's rebuke by Nathan: 2Sa 12:7.

MY HEAD WILL NOT REFUSE IT: "Which shall not break my head" (AV). Subtle allusion to Gen 3:15.

Psa 141:6

THROWN DOWN FROM THE CLIFFS: "Overthrown in stony places" (AV): Rebellion leaders Absalom and Ahithophel (2Sa 15:4; 16:23), Absalom esp buried in a "great pit with a great heap of stones upon him" (2Sa 18:17; cp Psa 140:10).

Even more graphically, since the NIV has: "Their rulers will be thrown down from the cliffs" (sw 2Ki 9:33: "Throw her [Jezebel] down!" -- cp Psa 137:9; Hos 10:14; 2Ch 25:12; Luke 4:29): did such a thing really happen to some of Absalom's henchmen in the aftermath of the defeat of the revolution?

Psa 141:7

SO OUR BONES HAVE BEEN SCATTERED AT THE MOUTH OF THE GRAVE: (1) Hyperbole: David and his loyal bodyguard thought they were as good as dead.

(NT) Terrible persecutions of Christ's followers.

(2) Or, poss, as RSV and NEB, "THEIR bones.." -- ref to the wicked rulers in Psa 141:6.

(NT) Death of Judas: Act 1:18.

AS ONE PLOWS AND BREAKS UP THE EARTH: Plowing as a figure of affliction in Psa 129:3. Or, "as when one cleaveth wood" (AV). Vivid figures of wholesale slaughter.

Psa 141:10

(NT) What the rulers sought to avoid (Joh 11:48-50) came upon them.