Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man. Psalm 140 God preserves His servant To put Luther out of harm's way for a while a prudent man took him prisoner, and kept him out of the strife in the castle of Wartburg. Luther could not be buried alive in ease; he must be getting on with his life work. He sends word to his friends that he who was coming would soon be with them, and on a sudden he appeared at Wittenburg. The prince meant to have kept him in retirement somewhat longer, and when the Elector feared that he could not protect him, Luther wrote him: "I come under far higher protection than yours; nay, I behold that I am more likely to protect your Grace than your Grace to protect me. He who has the strongest faith is the best protector." Luther had learned to be independent of all men, for he cast himself upon his God. He had all the world against him, and yet he lived right merrily; if the Pope excommunicated him he burned the bill; if the Emperor threatened him he rejoiced because he remembered the words of the Lord. "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh." When they said to him, "Where will you find shelter if the Elector does not protect you?" he said, "Under the broad shield of God." ( C. H. Spurgeon . ) I said unto the Lord, Thou art my God. Psalm 140:6, 7 David's five-stringed harp (with vers. 12, 13): — There are five things in my text to which I want especially to draw the attention of any who are in sore trouble, and particularly those who are in trouble from enemies who are seeking to ruin them. I. POSSESSION ASSERTED (ver. 6). 1. What was the possession? The Lord Himself. If God be your God, all things are yours, for all things are in God, and the God who has given Himself to us cannot deny us anything. 2. The claim. He exhibited his title-deeds. 3. Who was the attesting Witness? It is a very easy thing to say to the minister, "The Lord is my God"; but it may not be true. It is a very solemn thing to be able to say to Jehovah, "Thou art my God." True believers have dialogues with their God; they are accustomed to speak with the Most High. "I said unto Jehovah, Thou art my God." 4. The occasion. When he was in trouble. I said unto Jehovah, "Thou art my God." Men said I was a castaway; but I said, "Thou art my God." They said I was without a friend; but I said unto Jehovah, "Thou art my God." II. A PETITION PRESENTED. "Hear the voice of my supplications." 1. His prayers were frequent. When you have double trouble, take care that you have double prayer. 2. His prayers were full of meaning. "Voice." 3. His prayers were meant for God. 4. He could not rest unless he had the Lord's attention. III. PRESERVATION EXPERIENCED (ver. 7). 1. God had been David's Armour-bearer. Has it not been so with us in days past? Have we not had our heads covered when God held His shield above us? Have we not been guarded from all hurt by the providence and by the grace of the Most High? 2. God had guarded His most vital part. 3. God had been the strength of his salvation. IV. PROTECTION EXPECTED (ver. 12). 1. He is the Judge of all the earth, and shall not He do right? 2. Moreover, God is a compassionate Friend; and when He sees any of His dear saints very poor and afflicted, do you not think that, when they cannot take care of themselves, He will take care of them? V. PRAISE PREDICTED (ver. 13). 1. Praise is assured by gratitude. 2. By holy confidence. 3. By abiding in fellowship with Him. ( C. H. Spurgeon . ) Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked. Psalm 140:8 The desires of the wicked inadmissible D. A. Clark. I. SOME OF THE DESIRES OF THE WICKED. 1. That there is no God. They dare not submit their conduct to Divine inspection, and would be glad if there were no Being to inspect. But against this desire the godly oppose their prayers. And there are good reasons why they thus feel. If there were no God, everything must immediately be thrown into a state of confusion. Chaos would return. 2. If a God do and must exist, sinners wish Him to be a mere spectator of the affairs of the world. The grand objection they have to His existence is, that if He exist He must have the reins of government. But the saints not only desire God to reign, they wish Him to manage all the affairs of creation. They consider their own safety and that of others to depend on this special care of God. 3. If God must exist, and must be an active agent in governing the world, the wicked are desirous that He should work without any plan. They are afraid of Divine decrees. They fear that these decrees do not favour them. The righteous, on the other hand, found all their hopes of salvation, both as it regards themselves and others, on the purposes of God. 4. Sinners desire happiness and heaven without holiness. Between these two God has established an indissoluble connection. He has decreed that holiness shall be the only path to happiness. But this connection sinners wish to destroy. They hate holiness wherever it appears, and yet they intend to be happy. The righteous, on the contrary, love nothing so much as holiness. 5. Sinners desire that Christians may walk disorderly, and so dishonour the religion of Jesus. Against these falls the saints pray, and are grieved when they take place. They love their fellow-saints. Every spot that appears in their garments grieves their hearts. They feel some of the same distress on such occasions as is felt when they go astray themselves. 6. The wicked desire to remain ignorant of their own characters. The righteous daily pray the favour of being acquainted with themselves. 7. Wicked men are very desirous that there may be no day of judgment. They do not wish the final inspection of Omniscience. In such desires the righteous cannot unite. It is their ardent wish that there may be a day that shall bring every deed to light, and pass an impartial judgment on all the actions of men. 8. The wicked are very desirous to be left to act without restraint. Nothing do they desire more. In this particular the children of God, and all holy beings, oppose their wishes. It would ruin the world to have them gratified. Free the wicked from restraint and there would be but little difference between earth and hell. II. INFERENCES. 1. The monstrous wickedness of the heart. 2. The nature of regeneration. It is a universal change in the desires of the heart, in the affections of the soul. 3. The great difference between the righteous and the wicked. 4. Why sinners do not desire or relish the society of the righteous. They have opposing desires. ( D. A. Clark. ) I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor. Psalm 140:12 God and the poor We read in the text that God "maintains the cause of the afflicted and the right of the poor," and we may think that there is not much evidence of this. If society is under God's control how is it that it is such a chaos? There seems to be no order. Yet in the midst of the apparent confusion God is ruling. He holds the winds in His fists, and the water in the hollow of His hand. What gave the psalmist this assurance? I. HIS KNOWLEDGE OF GOD'S CHARACTER. We read of the pity of God, of the compassion and mercy of God in the Old Testament. Hence the numerous passages relating to God and the poor. "He delivereth the poor in their affliction." "Thou hast prepared of Thy goodness for the poor." "Whoso mocketh the poor reproveth his Maker." "Thou hast been a strength to the poor." "Break off sins by showing mercy to the poor." Hence also the provision made for the poor. The gleanings of the fields and of the vineyards and oliveyards were always to be left for them. The spontaneous productions of the sabbatical year were also to form a part of their provision. Kindness to them was enjoined as a sacred duty and as a precious privilege. II. HIS SENSE OF JUSTICE. The psalmist speaks of "the right of the poor." Some would assert that the poor have no rights, except the right to starve, or get out of the way. The wealthy classes have rights. Oh yes. The sacredness of property is more inviolate than the sacredness of the Sabbath. "The rich man's wealth is his strong city," and around this strong city there are walls built by legislators. Let wealth have its rights; and let poverty have its rights too. If it is right to strengthen the weak, to lift up the feeble, to comfort the sorrowful, to heal the afflicted, to provide for the poor, then God will maintain that right. He that implanted in man this sense of justice, shall He not be just? Justice may appear tardy, but "ever the right comes uppermost, and justice shall be done." "I know that the Lord will," etc. If they have no other friend, the afflicted and poor have a Friend in heaven, whose righteousness is like the great mountains, whose mercy endureth for ever. III. HIS KNOWLEDGE THAT GOD RAISED HELPERS FOR THE FEEBLE AND OPPRESSED. Charity was exercised then. It was a part of the Jewish religion. The rites of hospitality were then observed, and are in a large measure observed now in the East, with great care and faithfulness. Not an enemy was betrayed who had come into a tent for hospitality. There is a fountain of sympathy in the human heart. God has made the heart, and kindled in it the emotions of love and pity. Love God, and you will be constrained to love man. Keep the first table of the law, and you will be impelled to observe the second. God is not poor, and needing our alms. But around us are men, made in the similitude of God, capable of holding fellowship with God, of thinking upon His name, and loving Him, and love to God can express itself in service to men. This is the essence of religion — love. The apostle says that all is vain without this. ( J. Owen . ).

Benson Commentary Psalm 140:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man; Psalm 140:1-3 . Deliver me from the evil man — Either Saul, or Doeg, or some other malicious enemy, or rather enemies; the word man being taken collectively for men, as appears from the next verse. Continually, are they gathered, &c. — To execute those bloody enterprises which they have devised. They have sharpened their tongues, &c. — Their malicious hearts have excited their tongues to utter vile slanders against me, using words as sharp and piercing as the sting of a serpent. Adder’s poison is under their lips — There is so much malignity in all they say, that one would think there was nothing under their lips but adder’s poison. “Slander and calumny,” says Dr. H., “must always precede and accompany persecution, because malice itself cannot excite people against a good man, as such; to do this, he must first be represented as a bad man. What can be said of those who are busied in this manner, but that they are a generation of vipers, the brood of the old serpent, that grand accuser and calumniator of the brethren, having under their tongues a bag of poison, conveying instant death to the reputation on which they fasten? Thus David was hunted as a rebel, Christ was crucified as a blasphemer, and the primitive Christians were tortured as guilty of incest and murder.” Psalm 140:2 Which imagine mischiefs in their heart; continually are they gathered together for war. Psalm 140:3 They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders' poison is under their lips. Selah. Psalm 140:4 Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent man; who have purposed to overthrow my goings. Psalm 140:4-5 . Keep me from the hands of the wicked — Hebrew, ???? , the wicked man. Let him not prevail to take away my life, my reputation, my interest, or my comfort, or to prevent my coming to the throne. Preserve me from the violent man — Hebrew, ????? ????? , (as also in Psalm 140:1 ,) from the man of violences, injuries, or rapines; who hath purposed — Whose design and full resolution it is, if thou do not prevent it; to overthrow my goings — My feet, or footsteps; that is, to throw me down to the ground, to defeat all my hopes and counsels, and bring me to ruin. The proud — My insolent enemies, who despise me for my meanness, and exalt themselves against thee; have hid — Have secretly laid; a snare for me — That their designs, being undiscovered, might be the more likely to take effect, and I might fall into their hands ere I was aware. They have spread a net by the way — In which I used to walk. No hunter or fowler can be more industrious and cunning in spreading nets, or setting gins and traps for the beasts or birds which he wishes to insnare and catch, than they are to trace me in all my motions, ( 1 Samuel 23:23 ,) and to invent all manner of wiles and subtle arts to surprise me. Psalm 140:5 The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the wayside; they have set gins for me. Selah. Psalm 140:6 I said unto the LORD, Thou art my God: hear the voice of my supplications, O LORD. Psalm 140:6-8 . Hear the voice of my supplication — The more malice appears in our enemies against us, and the greater efforts they use to injure us, the more earnest ought we to be in prayer to God, after the example of David here, to take us under his protection. On him believers may depend for security, and may enjoy it and themselves with holy serenity. Those are safe whom God preserves. Thou hast covered my head in the day of battle — With thy powerful protection, as with a helmet or shield. Grant not the desires of the wicked — Suffer not him, who now seeks my destruction, to obtain his desire; further not his wicked device — Let him not succeed in any of his mischievous designs against me. Lest they exalt themselves — Lest he, and those associated with him, grow insolent, so as to dare to attempt all manner of violence against other innocent persons: or, lest they exalt themselves against thee, as if by their power and policy they had frustrated thy design and promise made to me. Psalm 140:7 O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, thou hast covered my head in the day of battle. Psalm 140:8 Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked: further not his wicked device; lest they exalt themselves. Selah. Psalm 140:9 As for the head of those that compass me about, let the mischief of their own lips cover them. Psalm 140:9-11 . As for the head of those, &c. — Bishop Hare connects this clause with the preceding, and translates the passage thus; Let not those that beset me lift up the head. Let the mischief of their own lips cover them — Let the evil, which by their calumnies they design to bring upon me fall upon themselves. Let burning coals fall, &c. — Rather, burning coals shall fall, the verb ?????? , and the other verbs in this verse being in the future tense: that is, the divine vengeance, often compared to coals of fire, shall fall upon them. The psalmist seems to allude to the destruction of the Sodomites. Let them be cast — They shall be cast, into the fire — Which themselves have kindled, and shall perish in the flames thereof: into deep pits — Into those dangers and mischiefs which, like deep pits, they prepared for my destruction; that they rise not, &c. — Hebrews they shall not rise again. Let not an evil speaker — Such as slander me and other innocent persons; Hebrew ???? ????? , a man of tongue, which, according to the Hebrew phraseology, signifies a detractor, a sycophant, one who gives his tongue the liberty to vent what mischief he pleases; be established — Hebrew ?? ???? , he shall not be established; he shall not prosper, or establish his power or greatness by such base and wicked practices. Evil shall hunt the violent man — Either the evil of punishment, or which comes to the same thing, the evil of sin, shall pursue and overtake him. The wickedness of such persons shall recoil upon themselves to their utter destruction. “The prophet, in these three verses,” says Dr. Horne, “predicts those just judgments which Heaven would inflict on the slanderers and persecutors of the righteous. Their lips, which uttered mischief against others, shall be the means of covering themselves with confusion, when out of their own mouths they shall be judged. Those tongues which have contributed to set the world on fire shall be tormented with the hot burning coals of eternal vengeance; and they who with so much eagerness and diligence have prepared pits for the destruction of their brethren shall be cast into a deep and bottomless pit, out of which they will not rise up again any more for ever. Evil speakers and false accusers shall gain no lasting establishment, but punishment shall hunt sin through all its doubles, and seize it, at last, as its legal prey. Let those great truths be firmly rooted in our hearts, and they will keep us steady in the worst of times.” Psalm 140:10 Let burning coals fall upon them: let them be cast into the fire; into deep pits, that they rise not up again. Psalm 140:11 Let not an evil speaker be established in the earth: evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him . Psalm 140:12 I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor. Psalm 140:12-13 . I know, &c. — Both by God’s word, who hath promised it, and by my own experience of it in the course of God’s providence; that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, &c. — That he will not suffer might always to prevail against right, though it be but the right of the poor. God is, and will be, the patron of oppressed innocence, much more of persecuted piety; they that know him at all cannot but know this. Surely the righteous shall give thanks — Shall have occasion to praise thee for their deliverance; the upright shall dwell in thy presence — Shall constantly enjoy thy gracious and powerful presence, protection, and assistance. Psalm 140:13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary Psalm 140:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man; Psalm 140:1-13 IN tone and contents this psalm has many parallels in the earlier books, especially among the psalms ascribed to David. Its originality lies principally in its use of peculiar words, and in the extreme obscurity of a part of it. The familiar situation of a man ringed about by slanderous enemies, the familiar metaphors of snares and traps, the familiar venture of faith flinging itself into God’s arms for refuge, the familiar prayers for retribution, are all here. One cannot argue about impressions, but the present writer receives the impression strongly from the psalm that it is cast in the Davidic manner by a later singer, and is rather an echo than an original voice, while, no doubt, the feelings expressed, both of distress and of confidence, are none the less felt by the singer, though he falls back on familiar forms for their expression. The arrangement is in four strophes of approximately equal length, the first and third of which consist of three verses of two clauses each, while the fourth is abnormally elongated by having three clauses in Psalm 140:10 , and the second ( Psalm 140:4-5 ) has two verses of three clauses each. Selah again appears as dividing the strophes, but is omitted at the end of the fourth, to which a closing strophe of two verses is appended. The first two strophes ( Psalm 140:1-3 and Psalm 140:4-5 ) cover the same ground. Both set forth the psalmist’s need, and plead for deliverance. The first verse of the second strophe ( Psalm 140:4 ) is almost identical with Psalm 140:1 . Both paint the psalmist’s enemies as evil and violent, plotting against him privily. The only difference in the two strophes is in the metaphors describing the foes and their devices, and in the prominence given in the first to their slanderous and sharp tongues. The forms of their malice are like those in earlier psalms. A characteristic of the Psalter is the prominence given to hostility which has but bitter speech for its weapon. { Psalm 10:7 ; Psalm 58:4 } The slanderer’s tongue is sharp, like a serpent’s, with which the popular opinion supposed that the venom was injected. The particular kind of serpent meant in Psalm 140:3 a-is doubtful, as the word is only found here. The figures for hostility in the second strophe are the other equally familiar ones of setting snares and traps. The contrivers are here called "proud" since their hostility to God’s servant implies haughty antagonism to God. But they are not too proud to resort to tricks. Cunning and pride do not go well together, but they are united in these enemies, who spread a net "by the hand of the path." In the third strophe, Faith rouses itself to lay hold on God. The psalmist turns from contemplating what his foes are doing, to realise what Jehovah is to him, and is wont to do for him. Since He is the singer’s God and protects him in all conflict, he "finds it in his heart" to ask confidently that the plots of the foe may be wrecked. Consciousness of danger drove the poet in the former strophes to prayer; Jehovah’s character and loving relations to him draw him, in this one. "The day of battle" is literally "the day of armour"-when weapons clash and helmets are fitting wear. Then Jehovah will be as a headpiece to him, for He always gives the shape to His help which is required at the moment. The words in Psalm 140:8 for "desires" and "plan" are found here only. The text here is evidently in some disorder, and the word which is now awkwardly attached to the end of Psalm 140:8 is by most commentators carried over to Psalm 140:9 . The change of position clears away difficulties in both verses, but a considerable crop remains in this fourth strophe. The language becomes gnarled and obscure under the stress of the poet’s emotion, as he prays for the destruction of his persecutors. If the transference of the word from Psalm 140:8 to Psalm 140:9 is accepted, that verse describes in vivid fashion what in prose would have been cast into the form of, "When my encompassers lift up the head [ i.e., in proud assault], then, " etc . The psalmist omits the particles which would give a hypothetical form, and prefers to set the two things side by side, and leave sympathetic readers to feel their connection. Psalm 140:10 is very obscure. According to the Hebrew text, the first clause would have to be rendered, "Let coals be thrown on them"; but such a rendering is "contrary to the usage of the language." The Hebrew margin, therefore, corrects into, "Let them [ i.e., men indefinitely] cast down coals"; but this is harsh, and the office is strange as one attributed to men. The emendation which finds favour with most moderns substitutes for the inappropriate verb of the present text that which is used in precisely the same connection in Psalm 11:6 , and gives the reading, "Let Him [ i.e., Jehovah] rain coals on them." The following clause then swiftly adds another element of horror. Fire rains down from above; fire yawns below. They are beaten down by the burning storm, and they fall into a mass of flame. The noun in Psalm 140:10 c is found only here, and is by some rendered "pits," by others "floods," and by others is corrected into "nets." If "floods" is taken as the meaning, destruction by water is set by the side of that by fire, as if the antagonistic elements forgot their opposition and joined in strange amity to sweep the wicked from the earth. The terrible strophe ends with the assured declaration of the Divinely appointed transiency of the evil-doers, especially of the slanderers against whom the psalmist took refuge in Jehovah. They shall be soon cut off, and the hunters ( Psalm 140:5 ) shall become the hunted. "Evil" -i.e., the punishment of their evil deeds-shall dog their heels, and with stroke after stroke chase them as dogs would follow vermin. In Psalm 140:13-13 , the poet comes back to brighter thoughts, and his words become limpid again with his change of mood. He "knows," as the result of meditation and experience, that not only he, but all the afflicted and needy, who are righteous and upright, have God on their side. He will stand by their side in their hour of distress; He will admit them to dwell by His side, in deep, still communion, made more real and sweet by the harassments of earth, which drive them for shelter and peace to His breast. That confidence is a certitude for the psalmist. He announces it with an "I know," and seals it with a "surely." Such is the issue of trouble which was spread before Jehovah, and vented itself in prayer. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.