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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Psalms CXLI].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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<h3><a href="http://www.biblesnet.com" target="_blank">Back to Biblesnet.com Home Page</a>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>P S A L M S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>PSALM CXLI.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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David was in distress when he penned this psalm, pursued, it is most
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likely, by Saul, that violent man. Is any distressed? Let him pray;
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David did so, and had the comfort of it.
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I. He prays for God's favourable acceptance,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+141:1,2">ver. 1, 2</A>.
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II. For his powerful assistance,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+141:3,4">ver. 3, 4</A>.
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III. That others might be instrumental of good to his soul, as he hoped
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to be to the souls of others,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+141:5,6">ver. 5, 6</A>.
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IV. That he and his friends being now brought to the last extremity God
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would graciously appear for their relief and rescue,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+141:7-10">ver. 7-10</A>.
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The mercy and grace of God are as necessary to us as they were to him,
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and therefore we should be humbly earnest for them in singing this
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psalm.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ps141_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps141_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps141_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps141_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Fervent Supplications.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<CENTER>
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<P>A psalm of David.</P>
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</CENTER>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, I cry unto thee: make haste unto
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me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee.
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2 Let my prayer be set forth before thee <I>as</I> incense; <I>and</I>
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the lifting up of my hands <I>as</I> the evening sacrifice.
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3 Set a watch, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, before my mouth; keep the door of my
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lips.
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4 Incline not my heart to <I>any</I> evil thing, to practise wicked
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works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their
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dainties.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Mercy to accept what we do well, and grace to keep us from doing ill,
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are the two things which we are here taught by David's example to pray
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to God for.</P>
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<P>
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I. David loved prayer, and he begs of God that his prayers might be
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heard and answered,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+141:1,2"><I>v.</I> 1, 2</A>.
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<I>David cried unto God.</I> His crying denotes fervency in prayer; he
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prayed as one in earnest. His crying to God denotes faith and fixedness
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in prayer. And what did he desire as the success of his prayer?
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1. That God would take cognizance of it: "<I>Give ear to my voice;</I>
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let me have a gracious audience." Those that cry in prayer may hope to
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be heard in prayer, not for their loudness, but their liveliness.
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2. That he would visit him upon it: <I>Make haste unto me.</I> Those
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that know how to value God's gracious presence will be importunate for
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it and humbly impatient of delays. He that believes does not make
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haste, but he that prays may be earnest with God to make haste.
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3. That he would be well pleased with him in it, well pleased with his
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<I>praying</I> and the <I>lifting up of his hands in prayer,</I> which
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denotes both the elevation and enlargement of his desire and the
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out-goings of his hope and expectation, the lifting up of the hand
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signifying the lifting up of the heart, and being used instead of
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lifting up the sacrifices which were heaved and waved before the Lord.
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Prayer is a spiritual sacrifice; it is the offering up of the soul, and
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its best affections, to God. Now he prays that this may be set forth
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and directed before God <I>as the incense</I> which was daily burnt
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upon the golden altar, and <I>as the evening sacrifice,</I> which he
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mentions rather than the morning sacrifice, perhaps because this was an
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evening prayer, or with an eye to Christ, who, in the evening of the
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world and in the evening of the day, was to offer up himself a
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sacrifice of atonement, and establish the spiritual sacrifices of
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acknowledgement, having abolished all the carnal ordinances of the law.
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Those that pray in faith may expect it will please God better than an
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ox or bullock. David was now banished from God's court, and could not
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attend the sacrifice and incense, and therefore begs that his prayer
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might be instead of them. Note, Prayer is of a sweet-smelling savour
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to God, as incense, which yet has no savour without fire; nor has
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prayer without the fire of holy love and fervour.</P>
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<P>
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II. David was in fear of sin, and he begs of God that he might be kept
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from sin, knowing that his prayers would not be accepted unless he took
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care to watch against sin. We must be as earnest for God's grace in us
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as for his favour towards us.
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1. He prays that he might not be surprised into any sinful words
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+141:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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"<I>Set a watch, O Lord! before my mouth,</I> and, nature having made
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my lips to be a door to my words, let grace keep that door, that no
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word may be suffered to go out which may in any way tend to the
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dishonour of God or the hurt of others." Good men know the evil of
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tongue-sins, and how prone they are to them (when enemies are provoking
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we are in danger of carrying our resentment too far, and of speaking
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unadvisedly, as Moses did, though the meekest of men), and therefore
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they are earnest with God to prevent their speaking amiss, as knowing
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that no watchfulness or resolution of their own is sufficient for the
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governing of their tongues, much less of their hearts, without the
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special grace of God. We must <I>keep our mouths as with a bridle;</I>
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but that will not serve: we must pray to God to keep them. Nehemiah
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prayed to the Lord when he set a watch, and so must we, for without him
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the watchman walketh but in vain.
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2. That he might not be inclined to any sinful practices
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+141:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
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"<I>Incline not my heart to any evil thing;</I> whatever inclination
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there is in me to sin, let it be not only restrained, but mortified, by
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divine grace." The example of those about us, and the provocations of
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those against us, are apt to stir up and draw out corrupt inclinations.
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We are ready to do as others do, and to think that if we have received
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injuries we may return them; and therefore we have need to pray that we
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may never be left to ourselves to practise any wicked work, either in
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confederacy with or in opposition to the <I>men that work iniquity.</I>
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While we live in such an evil world, and carry about with us such evil
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hearts, we have need to pray that we may neither be drawn in by any
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allurement nor driven on by any provocation to do any sinful thing.
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3. That he might not be ensnared by any sinful pleasures: "<I>Let me
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not eat of their dainties.</I> Let me not join with them in their
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feasts and sports, lest thereby I be inveigled into their sins."
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<I>Better is a dinner of herbs,</I> out of the way of temptation, than
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a <I>stalled ox</I> in it. Sinners pretend to find dainties in sin.
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<I>Stolen waters are sweet;</I> forbidden fruit is pleasant to the eye.
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But those that consider how soon the dainties of sin will turn into
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wormwood and gall, how certainly it will, at last, <I>bite like a
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serpent</I> and <I>sting like an adder,</I> will dread those dainties,
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and pray to God by his providence to take them out of their sight, and
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by his grace to turn them against them. Good men will pray even against
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the sweets of sin.</P>
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<A NAME="Ps141_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps141_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps141_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps141_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps141_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps141_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Reproofs of the Righteous; Complaints and Petitions.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>5 Let the righteous smite me; <I>it shall be</I> a kindness: and let
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him reprove me; <I>it shall be</I> an excellent oil, <I>which</I> shall not
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break my head: for yet my prayer also <I>shall be</I> in their
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calamities.
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6 When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall
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hear my words; for they are sweet.
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7 Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth, as when one
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cutteth and cleaveth <I>wood</I> upon the earth.
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8 But mine eyes <I>are</I> unto thee, O G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT> the Lord: in thee is my
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trust; leave not my soul destitute.
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9 Keep me from the snares <I>which</I> they have laid for me, and
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the gins of the workers of iniquity.
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10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, whilst that I
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withal escape.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here,
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I. David desires to be told of his faults. His enemies reproached him
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with that which was false, which he could not but complain of; yet, at
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the same time, he desired his friends would reprove him for that which
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was really amiss in him, particularly if there was any thing that gave
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the least colour to those reproaches
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+141:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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<I>let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness.</I> The
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<I>righteous God</I> (so some); "I will welcome the rebukes of his
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providence, and be so far from quarrelling with them that I will
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receive them as tokens of love and improve them as means of grace, and
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will pray for those that are the instruments of my trouble." But it is
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commonly taken for the reproofs given by righteous men; and it best
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becomes those that are themselves righteous to reprove the
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unrighteousness of others, and from them reproof will be best taken.
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But if the reproof be just, though the reprover be not so, we must make
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a good use of it and learn obedience by it. We are here taught how to
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receive the reproofs of the righteous and wise.
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1. We must desire to be reproved for whatever is amiss in us, or is
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done amiss by us: "Lord, put it into the heart of the righteous to
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smite me and reprove me. If my own heart does not <I>smite me,</I> as
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it ought, let my friend do it; let me never fall under that dreadful
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judgment of being let alone in sin."
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2. We must account it a piece of friendship. We must not only bear it
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patiently, but take it as a kindness; for <I>reproofs of instruction
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are the way of life</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+6:23">Prov. vi. 23</A>),
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are means of good to us, to bring us to repentance for the sins we have
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committed, and to prevent relapses into sin. Though reproofs cut, it is
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in order to a cure, and therefore they are much more desirable than the
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kisses of an enemy
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+27:6">Prov. xxvii. 6</A>)
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or the song of fools,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:5">Eccl. vii. 5</A>.
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David blessed God for Abigail's seasonable admonition,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+25:32">1 Sam. xxv. 32</A>.
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3. We must reckon ourselves helped and healed by it: It <I>shall be as
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an excellent oil</I> to a wound, to mollify it and close it up; <I>it
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shall not break my head,</I> as some reckon it to do, who could as well
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bear to have their heads broken as to be told of their faults; but,
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says David, "I am not of that mind; it is my sin that has broken my
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head, that has broken my bones,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+51:8">Ps. li. 8</A>.
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The reproof is an excellent oil, to cure the bruises sin has given me.
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It shall not <I>break my head,</I> if it may but help to break my
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heart."
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4. We must requite the kindness of those that deal thus faithfully,
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thus friendly with us, at least by our <I>prayers for them in their
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calamities,</I> and hereby we must show that we take it kindly. Dr.
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Hammond gives quite another reading of this verse: "<I>Reproach will
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bruise me that am righteous, and rebuke me; but that poisonous oil
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shall not break my head</I> (shall not destroy me, shall not do me the
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mischief intended), <I>for yet my prayer shall be in their
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mischiefs,</I> that God would preserve me from them, and my prayer
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shall not be in vain."</P>
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<P>
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II. David hopes his persecutors will, some time or other, bear to be
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told of their faults, as he was willing to be told of his
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+141:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
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"<I>When their judges</I>" (Saul and his officers who judged and
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condemned David, and would themselves be sole judges) "<I>are
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overthrown in stony places,</I> among the rocks in the wilderness, then
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<I>they shall hear my words, for they are sweet.</I>" Some think this
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refers to the relentings that were in Saul's breast when he said, with
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tears, <I>Is this thy voice, my son David?</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+24:16,26:21">1 Sam. xxiv. 16; xxvi. 21</A>.
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Or we may take it more generally: even judges, great as they are, may
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come to be overthrown. Those that make the greatest figure in this
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world do not always meet with level smooth ways through it. And those
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that slighted the word of God before will relish it, and be glad of it,
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when they are in affliction, for that opens the ear to instruction.
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When the world is bitter the word is sweet. Oppressed innocency cannot
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gain a hearing with those that live in pomp and pleasure, but when they
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come to be overthrown themselves they will have more compassionate
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thoughts of the afflicted.</P>
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<P>
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III. David complains of the great extremity to which he and his friends
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were reduced
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+141:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
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<I>Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth,</I> out of which they
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are thrown up, so long have we been dead, or into which they are ready
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to be thrown, so near are we to the pit; and they are as little
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regarded as chips among the hewers of wood, which are thrown in
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neglected heaps: <I>As one that cuts and cleaves the earth</I> (so some
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read it), alluding to the ploughman who tears the earth in pieces with
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his plough-share,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+129:3">Ps. cxxix. 3</A>.
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<I>Can these dry bones live?</I></P>
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<P>
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IV. David casts himself upon God, and depends upon him for deliverance:
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"<I>But my eyes are unto thee</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+141:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>);
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for, when the case is ever so deplorable, thou canst redress all the
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grievances. From thee I expect relief, bad as things are, and in
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<I>thee is my trust.</I>" Those that have their eye towards God may
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have their hopes in him.</P>
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<P>
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V. He prays that God would succour and relieve him as his necessity
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required.
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1. That he would comfort him: "<I>Leave not my soul desolate and
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destitute;</I> still let me see where my help is."
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2. That he would prevent the designs of his enemies against him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+141:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>):
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"<I>Keep me from</I> being taken in <I>the snare they have laid for
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me;</I> give me to discover it and to evade it." Be the gin placed with
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ever so much subtlety, God can and will secure his people from being
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taken in it.
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3. That God would, in justice, turn the designs of his enemies upon
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themselves, and, in mercy, deliver him from being ruined by them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+141:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>):
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<I>let the wicked fall into their own net,</I> the net which,
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intentionally, they procured for me, but which, meritoriously, they
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prepared for themselves. <I>Nec lex est justioir ulla quam necis
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artifices arte perire sua--No law can be more just than that the
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architects of destruction should perish by their own contrivances.</I>
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All that are bound over to God's justice are held in the cords of their
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own iniquity. But let me at the same time obtain a discharge. The
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entangling and ensnaring of the wicked sometimes prove the escape and
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enlargement of the righteous.</P>
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<!-- (End Body) -->
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<HR>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%">
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<TR>
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<TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP">
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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