Psalm 140
Deliver me, LORD, from evil men.
DELIVER ME, LORD, FROM EVIL MEN
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.
VERSE 1. Deliver me, LORD, from the evil man. Preserve me from the violent man:
the evil man. In our day, we imagine an “evil” person to be somebody like Adolf Hitler.
But this Psalm gives us some big hints about what evil person does, from the perspective of the Bible.
Have you ever met a such a person?
VERSE 2. those who devise mischief in their hearts. They continually gather themselves together for war.
devise mischief. Some people are always plotting fresh new evil.
gather themselves together. They conspire with other people to do evil.
for war. Some people stir up trouble all day long. There is no shortage of such people, even within the Christian community.
VERSE 3. They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent. Viper’s poison is under their lips. Selah.
sharpened their tongues. They are experts at accusing other people.
Viper’s poison is under their lips. Even if their words seem innocent, they are said with evil intent.
VERSE 4. LORD, keep me from the hands of the wicked. Preserve me from the violent men who have determined to trip my feet.
determined to trip my feet. They scheme to upset other people, to overthrow their activities, to destroy their reputation.
VERSE 5. The proud have hidden a snare for me, they have spread the cords of a net by the path. They have set traps for me. Selah.
hidden a snare for me. Some people are always setting traps for other people.
VERSE 6. I said to the LORD, “You are my God.” Listen to the cry of my petitions, LORD.
VERSE 7. LORD, the Lord, the strength of my salvation, you have covered my head in the day of battle.
VERSE 8. LORD, don’t grant the desires of the wicked. Don’t let their evil plans succeed, or they will become proud. Selah.
LORD. The NAB translation says:
My revered LORD
What a great nickname for the LORD God! We cannot recall ever seeing that title anywhere else in Scripture.
Do you have a favorite name for the LORD God?
VERSE 9. As for the head of those who surround me, let the mischief of their own lips cover them.
VERSE 10. Let burning coals fall on them. Let them be thrown into the fire, into miry pits, from where they never rise.
VERSE 11. An evil speaker won’t be established in the earth. Evil will hunt the violent man to overthrow him.
VERSE 12. I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and justice for the needy.
the cause of the afflicted. We maintain the hope the LORD God will stand up for the victims of an evil person.
But sometimes that takes a long time.
VERSE 13. Surely the righteous will give thanks to your name. The upright will dwell in your presence.
PSALMS
CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150
Deuterocanonical chapter: 151
RESOURCES: Summary, Outline, Memorize, David’s Fasting
Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.