Psalm 141:1

Give Ear to My Voice

1 O Lord, I call upon you; ¹hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to you!

Psalm 141:1 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 141:1

Lord, I cry unto thee
With great earnestness, importunity, and fervency, being in distress; and knowing vain was the help of man, and that none could deliver him but the Lord, and therefore continued crying unto him for help ^F23; make haste unto me;
which shows he was in a desperate condition; that he could not help himself, nor could any creature, only the Lord; and he was at a distance from him, as it seemed to him, and he delayed assistance; and therefore desires he would immediately draw nigh and be a present help in his time of need, and work speedy deliverance for him, his case requiring haste; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee;
a request the psalmist frequently makes, not contenting himself with prayer, without desiring and looking for an answer to it.

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FOOTNOTES:

F23 "Auxilium vocat, et duros conclamat agrestes", Virgil.

Psalm 141:1 In-Context

1 O Lord, I call upon you; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to you!

2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!

3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!

4 Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies!

5 Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it. Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.

Cross References

• 1. 141:1 Ps. 40:13; 70:5