141:1-2 Cry for help

141:1 O Lord, I call upon You; hasten to me- “The cryptic phraseology indicates urgency” Miller, 433. Call (Ps. 4:1, 3; 17:6; 88:9; 130:1) and hasten or come quickly is used in Pss. 22:19; 38:22; 40:13; 70:1, 5; 71:12.

Give ear to my voice when I call to You!- Give ear is used in Ps. 55:1; 86:6; 143:1.

141:2 May my prayer be counted as incense before You- “Incense and evening sacrifice come from the realm of formal worship” Longman, 458. “Incense symbolized the prayers of the saints (Rev. 5:8) and the priestly intercession accompanying their prayers on behalf of the people (Rev. 8:3-4; Exod. 30:10)” Miller, 433. “Incense is intended to present a sweet fragrance before the Lord, and so the psalmist wants his prayer similarly to please God” Longman, 458.

The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering- Lifting up of hands was a common posture in prayer- Ex. 9:29; Ps. 28:2; 63:4; 134:2; I Tim. 2:8. The morning and evening offering are described in Ex. 29:38-42; 30:7-8; Num. 28:4-8. Because he mentions the evening sacrifice, BK, 893, calls this “an evening prayer for sanctification and protection.” A similar idea appears in Longman, 458.This shows that he knew that sacrifices were acceptable and longs for prayer to be just as acceptable. Portions of Scripture like Isaiah 1:10-15 are not anti-sacrifice.

141:3-7 Petition

141:3 Set a guard, O LORD over my mouth- “The prayer for the worshiper himself builds on bodily images” Broyles, 492. There were guards who waited at the temple- I Chron. 15:18, 24; II Kings 11:4-8; II Chron. 23:1-7. “He needs this strong Ally to help him guard his tongue” Laymen, 697. “Pure prayer Godward must be controlled speech manward (James 3:10-12)” Laymen, 579. “Religious ritual and moral lifestyle were to be integrally connected in ancient Israel” Broyles, 492. His first request is not judgment on his enemies but a plea that God will keep him from sin- Longman, 458. “Speech is an indicator of one’s relationship to the Lord (cf. 34:13; 39:1; Prov. 13:3; 21:23; James 3:1-12)” VanGemeren, 847.

The malicious intention of the speaker’s enemies seems to manifest itself in vicious speech. The special emphasis here is on the speaker’s prayer that he not answer them in kind, that he keep his own speech from slander and invective” Alter, 487.

Faithful and Christian at Vanity Fair prayed “Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity” Kidner, 470.

Keep watch over the door of my lips- “The psalmist desires not to sin in word (34:13; 39:1; Prov. 13:3; 18:21; 21:23)” Miller, 433. Speech can do much harm- Prov. 10:6; 12:6; 22:10.

141:4 Do not incline my heart to any evil thing- Matt. 6:13 More fundamental than his speech is his heart and he prays his heart will be right with God. “He knows too the dominant pull of his heart toward involvement in evil” Laymen, 697. “Whereas the psalmist prayed in Psalm 140 for deliverance from ‘evil’ (see vs. 1-2), here the prayer is that he be prevented from joining the wicked in their ‘evil’ (v. 4)” McCann, 1244. “This is a remarkable expression of divine control over the mind; I Sam. 16:14; I Kings 22:21-23; Ps. 119:36” Allen, 270.

With men who do iniquity – “He resolves to leave their circle with its lavish hospitality (cf. 23:5)” Laymen, 697.

And do not let me eat of their delicacies- “To eat of their dainties could mean to eat of their delicacies attained through wickedness, or it could suggest the strong temptation to follow the ways of those who used a false hospitality to influence him for evil (cf. Prov. 23:6-8, 20-21; Hos. 7:1-7)” Miller, 433. Prov. 4:17.

Psalm 140

For the choir director, A Psalm of David

“Psalm 140 is clearly an individual lament, with its appeals to God to listen and rescue (vv. 1, 4, 8), its complaints concerning the wicked who intend to harm the psalmist (vv. 2-3, 5), its imprecation (vv. 9-11) and its note of confidence (vv. 6-7, 12-13)” Longman, 455.

“In the present literary setting, the petitions in Psalm 140 can be understood as an elaboration of Ps. 139:19-22…Psalm 140 also anticipates Psalms 141-143” McCann, 1240. Psalms 141-143 are also individual laments.

“Psalm 140 is another prayer psalm about personal enemies. They are described in the familiar categories of ‘the righteous; (vs.13) and ‘the wicked’ (vv. 4, 8). These ‘men of violence’ (vv. 1, and so they ‘devise evil’) and ‘proud’ (v. 5) and by a variety of images. They are warlike (vv. 2, 7) and are compared to hunter (v. 5) and ‘their tongues; to ‘a serpent’s’ (v. 3)…The righteous are further described by the moral term ‘the upright’ and be economic terms, ‘the poor’ and ‘needy’” Broyles, 489.

“The psalm consists of two prayers (1-5, 8-11) each followed by an affirmation (6-7, 12-13)” Motyer, 579. “The first affirmation acknowledges the God of salvation in personal, protective care, the second affirms the God of righteousness in public oversight of society” Motyer, 579.

“The occurrences of Selah after vv. 3, 5, and 8 suggest a fourfold division of the psalm”

McCann, 1239.

The divine name appears in the first colon of vs. 1, 4, 6, 12.

140:1-3 Rescue me from violent men

140:4-5 Keep me from the wicked

140:6-8 A plea for God to provide protection

140:9-11 A prayer for judgment upon the wicked

140:12-13 God will maintain the cause of his people

Jesus and Psalm 140

140:3 is quoted to describe the sinfulness of man in Rom. 3:13. Sin from which only Jesus can provide salvation. “The New Testament treats the Psalter as a major witness to human depravity (most of Rom. 3:10-18 is from the Psalms), largely because it exposes this element in us of sheer malice, a poison which can be secreted and employed not only without provocation (69:4) but even in face of generosity and love (cf. especially 35:12-16; 55:12-14)” Kidner, 468.

“Paul is not referring to or condemning the malicious and violent enemies of the faith, but all humanity, both Jews and Greeks (Rom. 3:9). We are all capable of plotting maliciousness and engaging in violent ways” NICOT, 971. “From this perspective, Psalm 140 becomes a prayer requesting that we be delivered from ourselves!” McCann, 1241.

“Jesus Himself was the subject of false accusations that led to his crucifixion (see John 18:19-19:37). One can imagine Jesus praying this prayer. However, rather than uttering imprecation against his attackers, He prayed, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing’ (Luke 23:34). Like the psalmist, Jesus expressed His utter confidence in God, even in the face of death” Longman, 457.

140:13 Jesus gives a whole deeper meaning to the upright dwelling in Your presence. “His last word matched the climax to which the whole of Scriptures moves: ‘His servants shall serve him: and they shall see His face’ (Rev. 22:3f., AV)” Kidner, 469.

For further notes, private message me on the facebook page

Psalm 139 For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

“The Greek title has prefixed the strange phrase ‘for the end,’ and the Alexandrinus text has appended the phrase ‘of Zechariah in the dispersion.’” Miller, 426; see Kinder, 463-464 for similar ideas.

“The psalm is poetically balanced with four paragraphs (or strophes) of six verses each. In the first paragraph (vss. 1-6), the psalmist praised God for his minute knowledge of him, the contemplation of which fills the psalmist with awe (vs. 6). In the second paragraph (vss. 7-12), the psalmist states that God is everywhere the psalmists might go, and God is there to lead and hold him (vs. 10). In the third paragraph (vs. 13-18) and the psalmists combines the idea of God omniscience (vs. 1-6) and omnipresence (vss. 7-12) and applies these divine qualities to God’s knowledge of the psalmist’s embryonic development (vss. 13-15) and God’s planning of the psalmist’s life (vss. 16-18)…In the fourth paragraph (vss. 19-24), the psalmist thinks of God as the judge of all the earth and in complete confidence asks God to judge Him with a view to His correcting His life so as to please God (vss. 23-24)” Miller, 426. “Psalm 139 is perhaps the most intimate of psalms. It displays a striking awareness of God’s interest in individuals” Broyles, 483.

“Any small thoughts that we may have of God are magnificently transcended by this psalm; yet for all its height and depth it remains intensely personal from first to last” Kidner, 463.

I think Longman is overly negative in his assessment of the Psalm. He says vs. 1-18 “express ambivalence about God’s pervasive knowledge, presence, and power. In light of its final stanza, the psalm is best considered a lament” 452.

139:1-6 God’s intimate knowledge of the Psalmist

For more notes, send me a private message on Facebook.