Psalms
Chapter 140
Deliver Me, Lord, From the Wicked
O Lord, deliver me from the evil one; protect me from violent people,
forever plotting evil and stirring up strife.
They have tongues sharp as a serpent’s and venomous lips.
Save me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the hands of the violent, who have planned to trip my feet.
The arrogant have set a snare for me; they have spread out their nets to entrap me along my path.
I say to the Lord, “You are my God.” Hear, O Lord, my voice in supplication.
O God, my Lord, my strength and salvation, in the day of battle you shield my head.
Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked; do not let their evil schemes succeed.
Let my attackers be overwhelmed by the mischief they prepared, and not lift up their heads.
Let burning coals rain upon them; let them be cast into the depths, never to rise again.
Do not let the slanderer thrive on earth; let disaster hunt down the violent.
I know that the Lord upholds the cause of the afflicted; and justice will be done to the poor.
The just shall praise your name, the upright shall dwell in your presence.
Commentaries
140
The lives of people on earth are a constant battle; there can be no truce between our Lord and the prince of darkness, and everyone must choose a side. Here, we stand with our side, knowing that the fight is brutal, but victory is assured.
There are victims because there are still executors. While praying with this psalm, we hear the voices of persecuted believers who still have the strength to say: ‘You are my God.’
The psalmist rightly states in the last verse, ‘The just will praise your name, the upright shall dwell in your presence.’ Jesus told us in John 14:3, ‘After I have gone and prepared a place for you, I shall come again and take you to me, so that where I am, you may also be.’ Truly, if we live righteously and follow Jesus’ simple commandments on love, we will forever reside in God’s presence.