# Psalm 140 📖: Rescue from Evil Men
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[[-Psalm Overview]] | [[Psalm 139]] | [[Psalm 141]]
> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]]
> [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]]
> [[#💬 Discussion Questions]]
> [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#📂 Internal Notes]]
## 📜 Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
#### For the music director, a psalm of David.
[[#Verse 01.]] O Lord, rescue me from wicked men.
Protect me from violent men,
[[#Verse 02.]] who plan ways to harm me.
All day long they stir up conflict.
[[#Verse 03.]] Their tongues wound like a serpent;
a viper’s venom is behind their lips. (Selah)
[[#Verse 04.]] O Lord, shelter me from the power of the wicked.
Protect me from violent men,
who plan to knock me over.
[[#Verse 05.]] Proud men hide a snare for me;
evil men spread a net by the path.
They set traps for me. (Selah)
[[#Verse 06.]] I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”
O Lord, pay attention to my plea for mercy.
[[#Verse 07.]] O Sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer,
you shield my head in the day of battle.
[[#Verse 08.]] O Lord, do not let the wicked have their way.
Do not allow their plan to succeed when they attack. (Selah)
[[#Verse 09.]] As for the heads of those who surround me—
may the harm done by their lips overwhelm them.
[[#Verse 10.]] May he rain down fiery coals upon them.
May he throw them into the fire.
From bottomless pits they will not escape.
[[#Verse 11.]] A slanderer will not endure on the earth;
calamity will hunt down a violent man and strike him down.
[[#Verse 12.]] I know that the Lord defends the cause of the oppressed
and vindicates the poor.
[[#Verse 13.]] Certainly the godly will give thanks to your name;
the morally upright will live in your presence.
## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. The heading attributes Psalm 140 to David and addresses it to the music director.
2. Paul quotes 140:3 in Romans 3:13 as part of his description of human sinfulness.
3. Selah appears three times in the psalm (140:3, 5, 8).
4. "Violent men" are mentioned three times (140:1, 4, 11).
5. The enemies' tongues are compared to a snake's, and their speech to viper venom (140:3; compare Psalm 58:4).
6. Hidden traps, ropes, nets, and snares (140:5) were tools of ancient hunters.
7. "You shield my head in the day of battle" (140:7) pictures God as a helmet.
8. Burning coals falling on the wicked (140:10) recalls the judgment on Sodom (Genesis 19:24).
9. Psalm 140 is one of the imprecatory psalms, prayers that ask God to judge the wicked.
10. The psalm ends with the upright living in God's presence (140:13).
## 🧠 Chapter Summary
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the faithful Lord who rescues His people from evil. The Lord is faithful; He will strengthen us and protect us from the evil one (2 Thessalonians 3:3), and He upholds the cause of the afflicted (140:12).
## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## 💬 Discussion Questions
1. David prays for rescue from people who plan evil and stir up conflict (140:1-2). How do you pray when you face people who intend you harm?
2. Their words are compared to snake venom (140:3). Paul uses this verse to describe the sinfulness of all people (Romans 3:13). How does that humble us?
3. David is confident that the Lord defends the poor and needy (140:12). How does that truth shape how we treat the afflicted?
## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember
- 📖 verse 1: Rescue me, Lord, from wicked men; protect me from violent men.
- 📖 verse 7: The sovereign Lord is my strong deliverer who shields my head in battle.
- 📖 verse 12: The Lord defends the cause of the oppressed and vindicates the poor.
## 🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference
- 🔗 [[Romans 03#Verse 10.|Romans 3:10-18]] - No one is righteous.
- 🔗 [[2 Thessalonians 03#Verse 03.|2 Thessalonians 3:3]] - The Lord will protect you from the evil one.
- 🔗 [[Ephesians 06#Verse 10.|Ephesians 6:10-17]] - The helmet of salvation.
- 🔗 [[James 03#Verse 06.|James 3:6-8]] - The tongue is full of deadly poison.
- 🔗 [[Psalm 58#Verse 03.|Psalm 58:3-5]] - The wicked have venom like a snake.
## 🙏 Devotional Reflection
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## 📂 Internal Notes