Psalm 140

Psalm 140

A Psalm of David

David cries out to God

to be delivered

from the hands of evil, merciless men.

This is a

simple

commentary on

Psalm 140.

Verses 1-5

David is praying to God for

protection and deliverance from evil men. 

Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men;
Preserve me from violent men,

² Who plan evil things in their hearts;
They continually gather together for war.

³ They sharpen their tongues like a serpent;
The poison of asps is under their lips. Selah

⁴ Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
Preserve me from violent men,
Who have purposed to make my steps stumble.

I am reminded of what

David says

in

Psalm 28:9 TLB

Defend your people, Lord;

defend and bless

your chosen ones.

Lead them like a shepherd and

carry them forever in your arms.

Verse 5

⁵ The proud have hidden a snare for me, and cords;
They have spread a net by the wayside;
They have set traps for me. Selah

Evil people enjoy doing evil.

Bad people need to realize

that bad things are in their future.

God is watching.

God is taking notes.

If they do not repent....

they will pay for the full wages of their sins.

Romans 6:23 NKJV

says,

For the wages of sin is death,

but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Verses 6-8

⁶ I said to the Lord: “You are my God;
Hear the voice of my supplications, O Lord.

⁷ O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation,
You have covered my head in the day of battle.

8 Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
Do not further his wicked scheme,
Lest they be exalted.
Selah

Verse 6

David prays for God to "hear" him.

He knew God always hears him.

So he is actually crying out

for not just hearing

but

ACTION!

Verse 7

David praises God.

Verse 8

David prays that God will not allow them to do their dirty deeds.

David cries out to God to Say No to their wicked plans. 

~ ~ ~

Many people endure problems

without even asking God to intervene.

It is interesting that

James tells us

that 

Sometimes you don't get [from God]  because you don't ask.

James 4:2 b

Note:

God enjoys responding to

prayer and faith.

Verses 9-11

⁹ “As for the head of those who surround me,
Let the evil of their lips cover them;

¹⁰ Let burning coals fall upon them;
Let them be cast into the fire,
Into deep pits, that they rise not up again.

¹¹ Let not a slanderer be established in the earth;
Let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him.”

David is praying,

"Give them a taste of their own medicine."

That is a normal human reaction.

In our suffering,

we often have thoughts of God punishing our enemies.

David is modeling for us

to be open and transparent when talking to God.

God wants us to talk to him

about our honest thoughts and feelings.

Yet,

it is wise to remember 

that God calls us to live supernaturally.

Our thoughts

may be ungodly

but we can still choose to live godly. 

And when we choose wrong,

we need to repent as 1 John 1:9 teaches.

Jesus tells us to pray for our enemies.

Jesus says in Matthew 5:43-44,

“You have heard that it was said,
‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’

⁴⁴ But I say to you,
love your enemies,
bless those who curse you,
do good to those who hate you,
and pray
for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,."

This site has Prayer for Enemies.

Your first instinct

might be to think

bad thoughts about your enemies.

But...

anyone can live naturally.

Christians are called to live supernaturally.

If

our first instinct

is not godly,

then

let's intentionally follow our

second instinct

and obey God.

James 4:7

is the Bible verse of Champions.

It says,

Submit to God,

Resist the devil,

and he will flee from you.

Verse 12

¹² I know that the Lord will maintain
The cause of the afflicted,
And justice for the poor.

David is stating:

I know that God works on the behalf of the afflicted and the poor.

I know Justice is the heart of God.

We see these concepts in the following verses...

For the Lord loves justice, and does not forsake His saints;
They are preserved forever,
but the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.

Psalm 37:28 NKJV

Righteousness and justice are the foundation
of Your throne;
Mercy and truth go before Your face.

Psalm 89:14 NKJV

Verse 13

¹³ Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name;

The upright shall dwell in Your presence.

David knows that

the righteous

have many blessings from God.

1 Peter 3:12 a 

says,

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous; 

and his ears are open to their prayers.

Psalm 34:17 

says,

The righteous cry out and the Lord hears

and delivers them out of all their troubles. 

Take Note:

God's promises are POWERFUL.

Speaking out God's promises is a POWERFUL thing to do.

Praying to God for his fulfillment of his promises

is a POWERFUL thing to do.

Yet,

we must realize that God's promises

are not

fully fulfilled on earth.

Many Christians do not understand that God's promises

will be full and perfect

only in heaven.

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