Psalm 141 (140):6Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The prophet made a single request of God while offering a different perspective of his own, illustrating that humanity should not depend solely on prayer, allowing themselves to drift into negligence and slumber. Instead, they are called to contribute their part. What does he offer of himself? Not livestock, not riches, but a humble demeanor and a deep disdain for the corruption of the unrighteous. He asserts that he will not only shun harmful favoritism and accept the correction of the just, but he will also stand against the desires of the wicked; he is so far removed from seeking their approval that he even prays against their appetites.

The psalm we have just sung contains many enigmatic passages. As we delve deeper with the Lord's guidance, you may discover that these words resonate with what you have always understood. They are articulated in various manners to alleviate any monotony in conveying the truth.

Lord, I have cried unto Thee, hear me. Psalm 140:1. This declaration is one we can all affirm; it is not merely my sentiment but the collective voice of Christ. It expresses the plea of the Body of Christ; even He, in His earthly existence, who took on our humanity, engaged in prayer. His supplications were marked by profound suffering; as the Scriptures recount, Jesus prayed earnestly, and His sweat was like drops of blood. Luke 22:44. What does this sweat signify but the anguish of the martyrs throughout the Church? Attend to the plea of my prayer as I raise my voice to You. You may have thought the purpose of lamentation was fulfilled when you declared, "I have cried unto Thee." You may have shed tears, yet do not presume your safety. If the trials cease, so do the sorrows; and if tribulation continues for the Church, the Body of Christ, until the end of time, it not only proclaims, "I have cried unto Thee," but also asks, "Hear the voice of my prayer."

Let my prayer be in Your sight as incense, and the lifting of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Psalm 140:2. Every Christian understands this as relating to Christ Himself. For when evening approached, the Lord on the Cross surrendered His life to reclaim it again, John 10:17 without losing it against His will. Yet, we too are involved; for what He bore on the tree was taken from us. How can the Father forsake His one and only Son, especially since He and the Son are one God? Nevertheless, in His weakness on the Cross, the Apostle reveals that our old self was crucified with Him, Romans 6:6, and He lamented with the voice of that old self, "Why hast Thou forsaken Me?" This evening sacrifice embodies the Lord’s suffering, His Cross, the offering that brings salvation, the pleasing burnt offering. This evening sacrifice manifested in His Resurrection gave rise to the morning offering. Prayer, originating from a faithful heart, ascends like incense from the altar of the sacred. Nothing is more delightful than the fragrance of the Lord, a fragrance every believer can possess.

Set, O Lord, a guard before my mouth, and a door of restraint around my lips. Psalm 140:3. He did not say a barrier of restraint, but a door. A door can be both opened and closed; therefore, let it be both open for the confession of sins and closed to excuse them. Thus, it serves as a door of restraint, not of destruction. What purpose does this door serve? What does Christ pray for on behalf of His Body? May You not turn my heart to evil words. Psalm 140:4. What is my heart? The heart of my Church, the heart of my Body.

When your heart remains steadfast, member of Christ, when it does not turn to evil words or justifications for sins, and does not associate with those who commit iniquity, then you will not be united with their elect. It follows: "And I will not be united with their elect." Who are their elect? Those who justify themselves. Who are their chosen? Those who believe themselves righteous and look down upon others, as the Pharisee declared in the temple, "Lord, I thank You that I am not like other men." Luke 18:11. Who are their elect? This man, if he were indeed a prophet, would know who the woman is that touched His feet. Luke 7:39. There you recognize the words of the Pharisee who invited our Lord into his home; when the sinner of the city approached and bent near His feet. For even this woman, had her heart turned to evil words, would not have found the means to defend her sins. Are there not women equal to her in that shameful state but lacking her spirit of confession? Harlots and adulteresses, entrenched in their disgrace, often find ways to justify their actions. If they go unseen, they deny; if caught or exposed, they defend their misdeeds. Their defenses are both bold and impudent; they are common yet blasphemous. "If God had not willed this, I would not have done it; it was fate, it was destiny." This forms the defense of the worldly elect. But let the members of Christ, the Body of Christ, respond, let Christ speak through His Body, “Turn not away, O my Heart, from evil words,” and I will not unite with their elect.

With men who commit evil. What kind of wickedness? Let me address one of their openly sinful practices. They proclaim that it is better to lend money than to till the land. When prompted, they offer reasons. He becomes a burden to the members of Christ who plows the earth; a nuisance to those who gather grass; a hindrance to those who harvest fruit. To avoid imaginary harm on the farm, he inflicts real harm through usury. He refuses to share bread with the needy. Is there any greater injustice than this supposed righteousness? He withholds bread from the hungry. You may ask why? To prevent the beggar from consuming that which they regard as a member of God, the essence of the divine, entrapped in physical form. Yet what is your own consumption? Do you not have flesh? Yes, they assert, but we, being enlightened by our faith, our prayers, and our psalms, purify the bread and offer it to the heavenly treasury. Such are the elect; it is not God who saves them, but their own so-called saviors. They claim that this is Christ, crucified throughout the universe. "I have accepted Christ the Savior in the Gospel," and you, through your literature, the saviors of Christ. It is clear that you are blasphemers of Christ and thus cannot be redeemed through Him. So that not even a crumb be given to the starving, and in the crumb, a member of Christ should not suffer, shall the hungry perish? This false compassion for the crumbs leads to the true murder of man. But who are their chosen ones? "Turn not away, O my heart, from evil words," and I will not be united with their elect.

The righteous shall correct me with mercy, and reprove me. Psalm 140:5. Here stands a confessing sinner. He seeks correction to be delivered in mercy, not a false praise. He shall reproach me but in mercy; He shall reprove me, yet devoid of hatred; indeed, He reproves precisely because He lacks hatred. And why does He render thanks? For "Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you." Proverbs 9:8. The righteous one shall guide me because he is filled with love, not constraints. For what is His purpose in correcting? It is mercy. Thus He will judge me, and His judgment is in mercy. The oil of the ungodly shall not enrich my head. I shall not grow from flattery. The damaging praise of the flatterer is false praise, the oil of the wicked. Therefore, when others mock with insincere compliments, they claim, “I have anointed his head.” Embrace being judged by the Righteous One with mercy; do not crave the mocking of the wicked. Have virtue within you, and you shall not seek after the oil of the wicked.

You say to me, “What am I engaged in?” I am beset by flatterers who do not cease their insidious praise. They commend in me what I do not value; they deride those things of which I deeply approve; flatterers, shrewd deceivers. For example, Gaiusius is a notable man, great, learned, wise; but why is he called a Christian? Because of his greatness in knowledge and wisdom. If he possesses wisdom, let it be known that he is a Christian; if his education is vast, he has selected the path of a scholar. Generally, know that what you criticize meets approval from whom you praise. However, this praise brings no joy; it is the oil of sinners. Let such not nourish your desires; do not revel in such things; do not consent to such things; do not rejoice in them; then, if they pour the oil of flattery upon you, your head shall remain unchanged, not swollen with pride.

For My word shall still be favorable to them. Wait; now they shall revile Me, says Christ. In the early days of Christianity, accusations were hurled at Christians from every corner. Await still; My word will continue to be pleasing to them. A time will arrive when many will overcome, beating their chests and declaring, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." Even now, how many retain the humility to blush when they beat their breasts? Let them accuse us then; let us endure. Let them slander, hate, accuse, deride; my word shall remain favorable to them; indeed, the day will come when my word shall delight them. Oh, the empty justification of iniquity! Entire nations currently proclaim this, and the uproar among nations beating their breasts is unceasing. Righteously, the clouds rumble in the presence of God. Where now is the self-righteous boast: “I am innocent; I have done no wrong?” Truly, when you reflect upon the law of righteousness in Scripture, regardless of how far you go, you will find yourself a sinner.

What type of man am I referring to, brothers? I speak of the one who worships one God, who acknowledges Christ, who recognizes the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as one God; who does not engage in fornication; who does not worship devils; who does not seek help from the devil; who upholds the Catholic Church; one whom no one accuses of treachery; who does not oppress his weaker neighbor; who does not violate another’s wife; who is content with her own, or lives without, adhering to lawful and apostolic discipline, with mutual consent. 1 Cor 7:5. Even such a man daily grapples with sin as I have described. In light of all transgressions, we retain hope if we humbly utter the Lord’s prayer, confessing without justification: “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” Matthew 6:12. With an intercessor before the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, that He may be the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 2:1-2. Observe what follows: “Their judges were swallowed up at the rock.” Psalm 140:6. What is consumed by the Rock? That Rock is Christ. 1 Corinthians 10:4. They were engulfed by the Rock, denoting, in comparison, their eminence as judges, wise and influential, judging human conduct and passing opinions. Aristotle said this; place him near the Rock, and he is consumed. Who is Aristotle? Let him listen, the words of Christ reminding him to tremble. Pythagoras spoke, as did Plato. Present them in the shadow of the Rock, and compare their authority with the Gospel's. Measure the proud against the Crucified. Tell them, “You inscribe your words upon the proud’s heart; He has established His Cross in the hearts of kings; in the end, He died and rose again, while you are dead, and I will not inquire how you will rise again.” Thus, their judges are consumed at this Rock. Their assertions may seem profound until compared to the Rock. Hence, if anyone among them appears to utter what Christ also proclaimed, we acknowledge them but do not follow. He may have preceded Christ. If someone speaks the truth, can he be before the Truth? Look to Christ, dear one, not when He appeared to you, but when He formed you. A person in need might remark, “But I lay sick in bed before the doctor came to me.” Yet, he arrived later precisely because you were sick first.

I also intercede on their behalf in prayer. They faced destruction at the cornerstone of their final assessment. Approaching this cornerstone, they will find themselves overwhelmed. However, it is evident that Christ will be the one to cast them into the depths. They will understand my messages, for they have found fulfillment. The outcome of what has been prophesied is that my words will be acknowledged as genuine and righteous.

As written in the Scriptures, “Blessed is he that taketh and breaketh thy babes against a stone” (Ps. 136:9). “But the rock was Christ” (1 Cor. 10:4). The babes symbolize thoughts that are small and insignificant before they grow. Even the heretics, who may seem to reject the Church's simplicity due to influences from Plato and Aristotle, ultimately find themselves consumed by the stone, that is Christ, when they approach the Scriptures and turn toward Him. Instead of speaking of “victory,” the term “absorption” is used, echoing the words of the apostle: “Swallowed up by death with victory. Where, death, is your victory? Where, hell, is your sting?” (see 1 Cor. 15:54-55). Here, victory refers to the act of being swallowed up once it has been achieved.

They were engulfed at the stone of their condemnation. Soon, the Prophet declares, they will become trivial, and having been misled by the scope of their power, like rocks submerged in the ocean, they will be lost in the depths, ultimately fading into nothingness. My words will be recognized, bringing them joy. Yet when they come to understand the reality of my words, they will truly experience their sweetness and grace.

Their judges vanished like a rock thrown into water. He refers to the judges, those wicked rulers who dominate, who have disappeared similarly to a stone cast into the ocean that becomes engulfed and lost to sight, leaving no trace behind. David similarly remarked about the wicked in another instance: “And I went by, and behold there was none of him, and I sought him, and his place was not found” (Psalm 36:36). With these words, he indicates that the wicked are uprooted to the point that not even their name endures. The term “swallowed up” implies not merely a future event but foretells the imminent downfall of the wicked, suggesting a prophetic acknowledgment of their destruction. An alternate translation posits that they will be overcome by the strength of the stone.

Through these statements, he indicates the swift downfall of the unrighteous, as mentioned earlier (with the past referenced in lieu of the future). Those who held the utmost positions of honor will be plunged into the depths of ruin, similar to a stone thrown into the ocean, the waves overwhelming them so that their very remembrance fades away eternally. When this occurs, they will recall my words of warning, which they had the opportunity to heed but chose to ignore. At that time, they will discern the truth of my words and their worth to them. The term "judges" refers to the principal leaders among the wicked, akin to Saul and his officials. The imagery of being cast down from the heights to the rocks conveys a sense of destitution, illustrating the high ranks they once occupied, as previously stated.

Consumed - This refers to being completely engulfed. The prophet alludes to two significant occurrences: the inundation of the Egyptians by the sea despite having neared the shore, and the earth swallowing Dathan and Abiron. Rather than judges, the term more accurately applies to the mighty. By highlighting these events, St. David aims to illustrate the grim destiny that befalls the unrighteous. He expresses that he does not desire compassion from wrongdoers, even if they would respond positively to his plea. He articulates his reasoning: he anticipates that when dire consequences await them, his supplication will be favorably heard and received by the Lord Himself: my words shall be heard, if possible; in You will I place my hope!