Psalms 141: A guarded mouth in a field of traps

Psalm 141 asks for rescue from traps while refusing to treat the speaker's own mouth and heart as harmless territory. Prayer is compared to incense and lifted hands to the evening sacrifice, then the first guard requested is placed over the lips. The heart, conduct, and even participation at the wrong table are brought under restraint before enemy snares dominate the prayer. Righteous correction is welcomed as kindness, creating a distinction between painful reproof and hostile violence. The middle lines involving judges, rocky places, and scattered bones remain difficult enough that the psalm should not be forced into a precise scene it does not identify. The ending regains clarity as the speaker fixes his eyes on God and asks that those who laid nets fall into them while he escapes.