Psalms 141:2

Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH ('be directed,' the Septuagint, Chaldaic, Vulgate, Ethiopic. In the same Hebrew means 'be established') BEFORE THEE AS INCENSE. Incense, with its sweet perfume, is the symbol of prayer accepted before God (; Revelation 8:3: cf. ). The time of offering the incense, morning and evening (), was the chosen time for prayer ()....

In the second verse the allusion is evidently to the legal ceremonies. (235) At that time the prayers of God’s people were according to his own appointment sanctified through the offering up of incense and sacrifices, and David depended upon this promise. (236) As to the conjecture some have made, that he was at this time an exile, and cut off from the privileges of the religious assembly, nothing certain can be said upon that point; their idea being that there is a tacit antithesis in the verse — that though prevented from continuing with God’s worshippers into the sanctuary, or using incense and sacrifice, he desired God would accept his prayers notwithstanding. But as there seems no reason to adopt this restricted sense, it is enough to understand the general truth, that as these symbols taught the Lord’s people to consider their prayers equally acceptable to God with the sweetest inc...

1-4 Make haste unto me. Those that know how to value God's gracious presence, will be the more fervent in their prayers. When presented through the sacrifice and intercession of the Saviour, they will be as acceptable to God as the daily sacrifices and burnings of incense were of old. Prayer is a spiritual sacrifice, it is the offering up the soul and its best affections. Good men know the evil of tongue sins. When enemies are provoking, we are in danger of speaking unadvisedly. While we live in an evil world, and have such evil hearts, we have need to pray that we may neither be drawn nor driven to do any thing sinful. Sinners pretend to find dainties in sin; but those that consider how soon sin will turn into bitterness, will dread such dainties, and pray to God to take them out of their sight, and by his grace to turn their hearts against them. Good men pray against the sweets of sin....

Verse Psalms 141:2. AS _INCENSE_] Incense was offered every morning and evening before the Lord, on the golden altar, before the veil of the sanctuary. Exodus 29:39, and Numbers 28:4. AS _THE EVENING SACRIFICE._] This was a burnt-offering, accompanied with flour and salt. But it does not appear that David refers to any _sacrifice_, for he uses not זבח _zebach_, which is almost universally used for a _slaughtered animal_; but מנחה _minchah_, which is generally taken for a _gratitude-offering_ or _unbloody_ sacrifice. The literal translation of the passage is, "Let my prayer be established for incense before thy faces; and the lifting up of my hands

LET MY PRAYER BE SET FORTH BEFORE THEE - Margin, “directed.” The Hebrew word means to fit; to establish; to make firm. The psalmist desires that his prayer should not be like that which is feeble, languishing, easily dissipated, but that it should be like that which is firm and secure. AS INCENSE - See the notes and illustrations at Luke 1:9. Let my prayer come before thee in such a manner as incense does when it is offered in worship; in a manner of which the ascending of incense is a suitable emblem. See the notes at Revelation 5:8; notes at Revelation 8:3. AND THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDS - In prayer; a natur

EXPOSITION ALMOST wholly a psalm of supplication. David is again in danger, and needs a prompt deliverance (Psalms 141:1). This time the danger seems to be that he may fall away, and be absorbed into the company of the wicked. He therefore prays: 1. That prayer may be with him a settled institution (Psalms 141:2). 2. That he may be saved from sins of the tongue (Psalms 141:3). 3. That he may be saved from sins of thought or act (Psalms 141:4). 4. That he may be given grace to welcome reproof ...

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 30:1; 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; [AND] THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDS AS THE EVENING SACRIFICE; the burnt sacrifice of the evening, according to

Psalms 141:1. _LORD, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee._ You see how a child of God prays when he is in trouble. David says, «I cry unto thee,» and then the second time, «I cry unto thee.» And he cried for God as well as to him: «Make haste unto me.» The very best thing you can do, when you cannot help yourself, is to cry unto God, for he will help you. Psalms 141:2. _Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice._ David was probably far away from the tabernacle, and he could not join in presenting the morning or the evening sacrifice there; but he prayed God to let his prayer be such a sacrifice: «Let it be sweet as the perfume of the smoking spices of the m

PSALM 140-142 These three Psalms are Psalms of David. The third one in this series, 142 is another Maschil, the last Maschil Psalm, being a prayer when David was in the cave. In these Psalms the distress of Israel, the godly remnant of Israel, is again remembered. In Psalms 140:1 we see prophetically the evil and violent man, that man of sin of the last days. And therefore have we one more imprecatory prayer for the destruction of the wicked (verse 10). The last verses look forward to the overthrow of the wicked and the exaltation of the righteous. In Psalms 141:1 the righteous are seen in separation from the wicked, and the prayer for preservation. Psalms 142:1 contains continued prayer for deliverance

CXLI. FOR LOYALTY TO GOD AND HIS SAINTS. Psalms 141:1 f. The Psalmist begs Yahweh to hear his prayer. He utters this prayer in his house, and in true prophetic spirit hopes that it will be as acceptable as the incense or the evening sacrifice offered by the priest in the Temple. For similar instances of the same spiritual view, see Psalms 40, 51, Psalms 69:31. Observe that the Decalogue prescribes no ritual observance except the rest on the Sabbath. PSALMS 141:3. A petition to be saved from rash words. He prefers to the dainties of the wicked the rebukes of the righteous. The words here condemned may refer to disloyal speech occasioned by the prosperity of the wicked, always a puzzle to pious Jews.