Psalm 141:1-4 - "The Inclinations of an Upright Heart"

Psalm 141:1-4

"LORD, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee. Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties."

“LORD, I cry unto thee, make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee. Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice” (v.1–2). As we read this psalm, we are not reading the boastings of men comparing themselves one with another, but the Voice of our LORD Jesus Christ, Whose heart alone is upright before the Father. If we were to truly see ourselves as sinners in His Holy Presence, our mouth would be stopped. The trial is over. The moment Adam fell, the trial ended, and death passed upon all (Romans 5:12). So if we speak of uprightness, we must see Christ, for apart from Him, nothing but sin comes from our lips and our thoughts.

Here, the Spirit—Who authored this psalm—reveals Christ in His humiliation, crying unto the Father on behalf of the people He came to save. He is the Intercessor, the One Whose voice the Father always hears. “Father, the hour is come” (John 17:1; Galatians 4:4). Not the hour of man’s choosing, but the hour appointed from eternity, when the Son would glorify the Father by accomplishing the salvation of as many as the Father had given Him.

“Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips” (v.3). These are the words of the High Priest entering the Holy place. And if we wonder how this applies to Christ, we remember, "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered" (Hebrews 5:8). Surrounded by those who agitated, accused, tempted, and tested Him continually, not one word ever passed His lips that was not according to the Father’s will. What watch must have been before His mouth, that nothing be spoken but the words the Father gave Him. He was tempted in all points, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

This disqualifies us immediately. You don’t have to say anything to sin. The first words of a child are “no.” The inclination of the heart is already evil. Thus the cry, “Set a watch… keep the door” (v.3). And we see why, when we read, “We know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26). Prayer is what the Spirit gives. It is the Spirit Who lifts the heart of His children to God, for we are infirm—entirely unable.

Therefore, when the psalm continues, “Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men that work iniquity” (v.4), we hear the voice of Christ, walking among wicked men yet never catering to their traditions, their customs, or their religious inventions. He never identified Himself with what men had made of their religion. His heart was never inclined to evil; His will was wholly the Father’s. “Nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42).

And this reveals the incalculable mercy of God: that the uprightness required to be heard of God is found only in Christ. He is the One Whose prayers rise as incense (v.2). He is the One Who lifts His hands as the evening Sacrifice. He is the High Priest. He is the Substitute. So if God hears us, He hears us only in His Son, not having our own righteousness, but that which is of God in Him (Philippians 3:9).

Thus, the inclinations of an upright heart are not mine. They are His. And being found in Him, we are kept from the snares laid for us, for our eyes are unto God the LORD, in Whom is our Trust. Hence, this psalm finds its fullest voice in Christ, our Representative, who in His earthly humiliation lifted His perfect prayer as incense before the Father. He alone could ask that His words be guarded, His steps kept, and His heart preserved without sin. Surrounded by the wicked, He submitted to righteous chastisements by the Father, resisted temptation, and entrusted Himself to God (1 Peter 2:23). His cry, His watchfulness, and His steadfast obedience were all offered on behalf of His people. Therefore, the psalm culminates in His faithful intercession, obtaining our deliverance and making our prayers accepted in Him, our Perfect Advocate before the Father.