Psalm 141 is the Church’s great evening psalm: “Let my prayer be directed as incense in thy sight; the lifting up of my hands, as evening sacrifice.” It also asks God to guard our speech: “Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth: and a door round about my lips.” In the Douay-Rheims it is numbered Psalm 140. Below is the full Catholic text, what the psalm means, how the Church uses it, and a prayer.
Psalm 141 in the Douay-Rheims Bible
I have cried to thee, O Lord, hear me: hearken to my voice, when I cry to thee.
Let my prayer be directed as incense in thy sight; the lifting up of my hands, as evening sacrifice.
Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth: and a door round about my lips.
Incline not my heart to evil words; to make excuses in sins. With men that work iniquity: and I will not communicate with the choicest of them.
The just shall correct me in mercy, and shall reprove me: but let not the oil of the sinner fatten my head. For my prayer also shall still be against the things with which they are well pleased:
Their judges falling upon the rock have been swallowed up. They shall hear my words, for they have prevailed:
As when the thickness of the earth is broken up upon the ground: Our bones are scattered by the side of hell.
But o to thee, O Lord, Lord, are my eyes: in thee have I put my trust, take not away my soul.
Keep me from the snare, which they have laid for me, and from the stumblingblocks of them that work iniquity.
The wicked shall fall in his net: I am alone until I pass.
Psalm 141 or Psalm 140?
The Douay-Rheims Bible follows the numbering of the Latin Vulgate and the Greek Septuagint, while most modern Bibles follow the Hebrew. So the Douay’s Psalm 140 is Psalm 141 in the New American Bible and other modern translations. In Latin the psalm begins Domine, clamavi ad te, exaudi me. See how many psalms are there?
What the psalm means
- Prayer as incense: our prayer rises to God like the smoke of incense, as in the Book of the Apocalypse (8:3–4).
- The evening sacrifice: in the Temple, incense and an offering were made every evening; Christians recall Christ’s sacrifice offered in the evening of Good Friday.
- Guarding the tongue: “Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth.”
- Resisting evil: “Incline not my heart to evil words.”
- Eyes on God: “to thee, O Lord, Lord, are my eyes.”
How the Church uses Psalm 141
- At Evening Prayer (Vespers) on Saturday evening, beginning Sunday. See Vespers.
- In the traditional Latin Mass, the priest prayed “Let my prayer, O Lord, be directed as incense in thy sight” while incensing the altar at the offertory.
- In the Eastern Churches, “Lord, I have cried to thee” opens every Vespers, with incense.
A prayer with Psalm 141
Written for this page:
Lord, I call to you; hasten to help me.
Let my prayer rise before you like incense, the lifting of my hands like the evening sacrifice.
Set a guard over my mouth and keep watch at the door of my lips.
Keep my heart from evil, for my eyes are turned to you. Amen.
Frequently asked questions
Where is “Let my prayer rise like incense before you”?
Psalm 141:2 (140:2 in the Douay-Rheims: “Let my prayer be directed as incense in thy sight”).
Why is Psalm 141 an evening psalm?
Because it speaks of “the evening sacrifice,” and the Church has sung it at Vespers since ancient times.
More psalms and prayers
Texts and sources
- Scripture: Psalm 140 (141), Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
- The prayer was written for this page.