Today's Featured Psalm
Psalm 140

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To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1 Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men;
   preserve me from violent men,
2 who plan evil things in their heart
   and stir up wars continually.
3 They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s,
   and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah

4 Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;
   preserve me from violent men,
   who have planned to trip up my feet.
5 The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
   and with cords they have spread a net;
   beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah

6 I say to the LORD, You are my God;
   give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O LORD!
7 O LORD, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,
   you have covered my head in the day of battle.
8 Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;
   do not further their evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah

9 As for the head of those who surround me,
   let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
10 Let burning coals fall upon them!
   Let them be cast into fire,
   into miry pits, no more to rise!
11 Let not the slanderer be established in the land;
   let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!

12 I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted,
   and will execute justice for the needy.
13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
   the upright shall dwell in your presence.

Scripture taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Psalm Devotional
Sheep in the Midst of Wolves

This psalm is beautifully arranged with the problem described (vv. 1–5), the ground of appeal confessed (vv. 6–7), the petition answering the problem at every point (vv. 8–11), and a climax of hope (vv. 12–13). We should likewise pray for particular needs particularly and with confident expectation.

The singer is surrounded (v. 9) by enemies who seek to discredit him by slander so that they can destroy him by violence (vv. 1–4; see v. 11). This is the classic method of the devil (John 8:44) that was employed by the Romans against Christians and the Nazis against Jews. These things are instructive to us in our current cultural and political struggles. We must be very careful to avoid using this method ourselves.

The assaults are laid out in logical order. First, the attack is conceived in the heart continually (v. 2). Then it is deployed with the mouth (v. 3; see Matt. 15:18, 19). The movement of a snake’s tongue (v. 3) pictures the back-and-forth motion of a sword on a stone to make it deadly sharp. The poison (v. 3) delivery system of a snake is in its fangs, which are tucked under the lip and always ready to strike. The enemy thus has both a means of open injury and of hidden devastation.

Listen to this Psalm

Refuge album art Save Me, O Lord (Psalm 140A)
The Book of Psalms for Worship | Refuge
Justice album art Save Me, O LORD (Psalm 140B)
The Book of Psalms for Worship | Justice