1 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.

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

The title of Psalm 140 informs us that David is the writer
of this psalm which was given to the choir leader to be sung by God’s people. For
sure, songs are a reflection of our personal stories that let people know what we
experienced in life and how we responded to it. Songs also reflect our culture
and our history. David lived around 1,000 years before Christ, which means he
wrote this psalm over 3,000 years ago and it still exist today to give a glimpse
of how he trusted the LORD in the midst of his troubles.

It is obvious in these first five verses that David is
dealing with difficult circumstances at this time in his life. He cries out to
the LORD to deliver him, to preserve him, to keep him and again in verse 4, to preserve
him from violent men. It seems likely that the circumstances behind this psalm
occurred during David's years as a member of King Saul's official staff, when
Saul's envy and paranoia were developing. In their attempt to please the king,
some of Saul's officers spread lies about young David and even tried to set
traps to make him look bad.

They can just as easily relate to circumstances surrounding
David in the tragic days of the Absalom rebellion. In this psalm it is evident
that David was being slandered and that violence was lurking in the background,
waiting to strike once slander had done its poisonous work.

Some believe that it is possible that King Hezekiah had an
old copy of David’s psalms and possibly put this collection of eight psalms together.
He might have picked this particular one up and used it to pray when
Rabshakeh's glib tongue was seeking to subvert the Jerusalem garrison (2 Kings
18). Or perhaps it was picked up and used by the restored captives when they
returned and were surrounded by enemy forces as they attempted to rebuild the temple
and walls of Jerusalem.

God's people face similar situations today, for Satan is a
murderer (John 8:44), a slanderer and accuser (Rev. 12:10), and a deceiver (2
Cor. 11:3). He is determined to discourage us, make us despondent and drive us
into depression where we lose any hope that God cares about us and can help us.
There are several lessons that we can learn from this psalm that encourage us
to trust God and be faithful when Satan's servants oppose us.

In verse 1-5, we must see that David's presence among
Saul's leaders was like light in darkness (Eph. 5:8) and health in a hospital.
When confronted by a godly man like David, Saul and his leaders either had to
change their ways or get rid of him, and they chose the latter course. They
were evil men (v. 1) who planned evil (v. 2), spoke evil (v. 3), and practiced
evil (vv. 4-5).

Note that verse 3b is quoted in Romans 3:13 as part of the
evidence Paul assembled that proves the depravity of the human heart. The
phrase "the evil man" (v. 1) is collective, for the pronouns in the
psalm are plural (vv. 2-4, 6, 8). What David needed from the Lord was wisdom to
avoid their traps and protection from their violent plans. You meet the
"hunting metaphor" in Psalms 9:16, 31:4, 119:110, 141:9, and 142:3,
and the "sharp tongue" image is found in Psalms 52:2, 55:21, 57:4,
59:7, and 64:3.

As God's people in an evil world, we must expect the
opposition of the enemy and trust the Lord to enable us to overcome (John
16:33). That is also why we should pray the model prayer every day in Matthew 6:9-13
asking God to “deliver us from the evil one”.

God bless!