NOTES for Psa 141

Before us is another psalm born in those difficult days when David was beset by enemies. Yet there is neither warlike fervor in his words nor exaltation over his enemies based on confidence in his own righteousness, although we can see that the psalmist has not lost faith in the rightness of the path he has chosen. David now opens his heart in humility: he not only acknowledges his weaknesses but is ready to accept rebuke if it is just. He wants to be entirely honest and therefore understands how easy it is to fall into self-justification, replacing genuine repentance with ostentatious piety.

It is impossible to deceive God, but it is possible to deceive oneself, and so David asks to be delivered from his own falsehood and deceit. He also asks for protection from his enemies; they remain dangerous, and this plea will remain relevant for a long time. Yet how often we ourselves become our worst enemies! If we do not wish to rid ourselves of our own falseness, it will become a foothold from which God's enemy, who constantly provokes us to sin, will launch an assault on our hearts. This enemy is not called the deceiver by chance. But the Lord is able to protect us both from the deceiver and from our own deceit.

If only we remain faithful.