◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary) / Psalm 141 (God is my refuge); Ezekiel 11:14-25 (Judgment and promised restoration); Ephesians 4:25—5:2 (Be imitators of God) (New Catholic Bible)

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November 18, 1968

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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Daily Bible readings that follow the church liturgical year, with thematically matched Old and New Testament readings.

Duration: 1245 days

Psalm 141

Psalm 141^[a]

Prayer for Protection against Evildoers

¹^[b]A psalm of David.

O Lord, I call to you; come quickly to my aid;
    listen to my plea when I call out to you.
²May my prayer be like incense^[c] before you,
    the lifting up of my hands like the evening sacrifice.
³^[d]Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord;
    keep watch over the door of my lips.
⁴Do not permit my heart to be drawn to evil,
    or to the pursuit of wicked deeds
in the company of those who do evil;
    let me not share in their corruption.
⁵^[e]If a righteous man strikes me, I regard it as kindness;
    if he rebukes me, it is oil on my head.^[f]
But never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head,
    for my prayer is always opposed to their evil deeds.
⁶^[g]When their leaders are flung down in stony places,
    they will learn that my prayers were heard.
⁷As the soil is shattered when the ground is plowed,
    so our bones are scattered at the mouth of the netherworld.
⁸^[h]But my eyes are turned to you, O Lord God;
    in you I seek refuge;
    do not take my life away.
⁹Keep me safe from the traps they have laid for me,
    from the snares of evildoers.
¹⁰Let the wicked tumble into their own nets all together
    while I pass by unharmed.^[i]

Footnotes

Psalm 141:1 Surrounded by the wicked who persecute him in order to drag him with them into impiety, the psalmist offers up an evening prayer, matching the morning prayer referred to in Ps 5:4. The poet begs God to protect him against every defection, to help him refuse all connivance with the wicked, and to enable him ultimately to escape their plots against him.
This psalm is a reminder to us that, impelled by the devil, our greatest enemy, the world hates us because we are not of the world (see Jn 15:19; 17:14). By every available means, it strives to snatch us away from Christ to serve the devil. Aware of our weakness, we should “pray that [we] may not enter into temptation” (Mk 14:38), reciting this psalm when necessary.
Psalm 141:1 The psalmist is in a precarious position, so he hopes his prayer for help will be like a pleasing offering before the Lord.
Psalm 141:2 Incense: literally, “smoke,” i.e., the fragrant fumes that wafted from the altar at the daily burning of sacrificial animals or aromatic spices. The lifting up of my hands: a symbol of dependence on and praise of the Lord (see Pss 28:2; 63:5; 1 Tim 2:8).
Psalm 141:3 The psalmist, like the sages, carefully watches over his heart so as not to give in to sins of speech or action, for he knows that the wicked use their tongues for destruction (see Ps 140:4) while the righteous express love and fidelity (see Ps 15:2f). He begs the Lord to keep his heart from sin and temptation so that he may do God’s will (see Ps 119:10, 36, 133). Let me not share in their corruption: literally, “let me not eat of their delicacies.”
Psalm 141:5 The psalmist delineates the fate of evil rulers at God’s hands, and hopes that the shock may bring their followers to their senses.
Psalm 141:5 Oil was poured on the head in a gesture of welcome and hospitality (see Lk 7:46).
Psalm 141:6 The text of these verses is obscure and their meaning uncertain. As it stands here, the meaning of verse 7 may be: “As a farmer breaks up the soil and brings up the rocks, so the bones of the wicked will be scattered without a decent burial” (see Ps 79:2-3).
Psalm 141:8 The psalmist prays for deliverance and for vindication, for he remains with eyes of faith fixed on the Lord (see Ps 25:15).
Psalm 141:10 God’s vindication comes in the form of retribution; the schemes of the wicked will recoil upon them (see notes on Pss 5:11; 35).

Ezekiel 11:14-25

¹⁴Restoration of the People in Exile. Then the word of the Lord was addressed to me: ¹⁵Son of man, it is about your brothers and your kinsmen and the entire house of Israel that the inhabitants of Israel have said, “They have strayed far from the Lord. This land has been given to us as our possession.”

¹⁶Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God: Although I removed them far away among the nations and scattered them over the earth, I have nevertheless been a sanctuary to them for a time in the countries where they settled.

¹⁷Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the nations and bring you together from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.

¹⁸When they return there, they will purge it of all its vile and abominable practices. ¹⁹I will give them a new heart and put a new spirit within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their bodies and give them a heart of flesh.

²⁰Thus, they will live according to my statutes and observe and obey my ordinances. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God. ²¹However, those whose hearts are determined to continue their vile and abominable practices I will force to answer for all they have done. Thus says the Lord God.

²²Then the cherubim lifted their wings, with the wheels beside them and the glory of the God of Israel above them, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. ²³The glory of the Lord rose from the center of the city and halted on the mountain to the east of it. ²⁴The Spirit lifted me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God to the exiles in Chaldea. After the vision I had seen faded, ²⁵I told the exiles everything that the Lord had revealed to me.

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

²⁵A Life Based on Love. Therefore, cease your lying and speak the truth to each other, for we are all members of one another. ²⁶If you are angry, do not sin. Do not let the sun set on your anger, ²⁷and do not give the devil an opening. ²⁸Anyone who has been stealing must no longer do so; rather, let him labor, performing some honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with those in need.

²⁹Let no foul word ever pass your lips. Say only what is useful for edification, so that your words may benefit your listeners. ³⁰And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God who has marked you with his seal for the day of redemption. ³¹Remove all forms of bitterness and wrath and anger and shouting and slander, as well as all malice from your lives. ³²Rather, be kind to one another and compassionate, and forgive one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.

Chapter 5

¹Hence, be imitators of God, as beloved children, ²and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a sacrificial offering whose fragrance is pleasing to God.

New Catholic Bible (NCB)