Ps. 141: Keep Me from Temptation

Psalm 141:9 "Keep me from the snares they have laid for me, from the traps set by evildoers."

To stay close to God, David understands the importance of avoiding temptation, which, like God, can also seem like it's everywhere. Temptation isn't just a spur-of-the-moment snare which catches oblivious passers-by. It is a matter of the heart. While a person may not be looking for temptation, that person's heart may be susceptable to it, and overtly looking for it (v. 4). David doesn't want to order off that menu.

So important is this avoiding of temptation, that David suggests that he is willing to be rebuked by a righteous man. To almost literally get slapped upside the head (v. 5).

Well aware of the fate of evildoers is David, and he mentions several in this chapter.