Psalms 140:1-13: a reflection

1Deliver me, LORD, from evil men. Preserve me from violent men: 2those who devise mischief in their hearts. They continually gather themselves together for war. 3They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent. Viper’s poison is under their lips. Selah. 4LORD, keep me from the hands of the wicked. Preserve me from the violent men who have determined to trip my feet. 5The proud have hidden a snare for me, they have spread the cords of a net by the path. They have set traps for me. Selah. 6I said to the LORD, “You are my God.” Listen to the cry of my petitions, LORD. 7LORD, the Lord, the strength of my salvation, you have covered my head in the day of battle. 8LORD, don’t grant the desires of the wicked. Don’t let their evil plans succeed, or they will become proud. Selah. 9As for the head of those who surround me, let the mischief of their own lips cover them. 10Let burning coals fall on them. Let them be thrown into the fire, into miry pits, from where they never rise. 11An evil speaker won’t be established on the earth. Evil will hunt the violent man to overthrow him. 12I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and justice for the needy. 13Surely the righteous will give thanks to your name. The upright will dwell in your presence.

In this psalm, David, surrounded by malicious and violent men who plot against him, brings his need for protection to God, and rests in the assurance that God upholds the cause of the afflicted. Deliver me, LORD, from evil men, he prays; preserve me from violent men. I said to the LORD, you are my God. And he ends in confidence: I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and justice for the needy. Beset by those who devised harm against him, David did not take vengeance into his own hands, but brought his need to God, entrusting himself and his cause to the God who upholds the afflicted and secures justice for the needy. This shows bringing our need for protection to God, trusting he upholds the afflicted. Bring your need for protection to God, who upholds the afflicted. God maintains the cause of the afflicted and justice for the needy. Entrust your cause to God rather than taking vengeance. God upholds the afflicted; bring your need to him.

Notice what David does when surrounded by those who plot harm against him. He is beset by malicious men who devise mischief, sharpen their tongues, spread nets and traps for him. And rather than repay them himself, rather than plot his own revenge, he turns to God: deliver me, preserve me, you are my God. He brings his need for protection to God, entrusting himself to the God who is the strength of his salvation. And he rests in confidence that God will maintain the cause of the afflicted and secure justice for the needy; he trusts God to be the one who upholds the wronged and sets things right. This gives us a pattern for when we face malice, hostility, or those who plot against us. We can be tempted to take matters into our own hands, to plot our own revenge, or to be consumed by fear; but David brought his need to God, trusting him for protection and for justice. We can do the same: bring our need for protection to God, entrust our cause to him, and rest in the assurance that he upholds the afflicted and will secure justice. We need not take vengeance ourselves; God upholds the afflicted. Bring your need for protection to God rather than plotting your own revenge. God maintains the cause of the afflicted; entrust yours to him. Trust God to secure justice, rather than taking it yourself. When beset by malice, bring your need to God who upholds the afflicted.

That is worth resting in, for we can bring our need for protection to God, entrusting our cause to him, and rest in the assurance that he upholds the afflicted and secures justice for the needy. We can be tempted, when beset by malice and those who plot against us, to take matters into our own hands or be consumed by fear; but David brought his need to God, saying, you are my God, and rested in the confidence that God maintains the cause of the afflicted. God upholds the wronged. When you face malice or hostility, bring your need for protection to God, entrust your cause to him, and trust him to secure justice. Bring your need for protection to God and entrust your cause to him, resting in the assurance that he upholds the afflicted and secures justice for the needy, as David, surrounded by malicious and violent men who devised mischief and spread traps for him, did not take vengeance into his own hands but turned to God, praying, deliver me, preserve me, you are my God, and rested in the confidence that the LORD would maintain the cause of the afflicted and justice for the needy; for when we face malice, hostility, or those who plot against us, we can be tempted to take matters into our own hands, to plot our own revenge, or to be consumed by fear, but David brought his need to God, trusting him both for protection and for justice, and we can do the same, bringing our need to God, entrusting our cause to the one who is the strength of our salvation, and resting in the assurance that he upholds the afflicted and will secure justice, so that we need not take vengeance ourselves but can trust God who upholds the wronged.

Lord, in this psalm, David, surrounded by malicious and violent men who plot against him, brings his need for protection to you, and rests in the assurance that you uphold the cause of the afflicted. Deliver me, LORD, from evil men, he prays; preserve me from violent men. I said to the LORD, you are my God. And he ends in confidence: I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and justice for the needy. Beset by those who devised harm against him, David did not take vengeance into his own hands, but brought his need to you, entrusting himself and his cause to you, who uphold the afflicted and secure justice for the needy. Show me what David does when surrounded by those who plot harm against him. He is beset by malicious men who spread nets and traps for him. And rather than repay them himself, rather than plot his own revenge, he turns to you: deliver me, preserve me, you are my God. He brings his need for protection to you, entrusting himself to you, the strength of his salvation. And he rests in confidence that you will maintain the cause of the afflicted. This gives me a pattern for when I face malice, hostility, or those who plot against me. I can be tempted to take matters into my own hands, to plot my own revenge, or to be consumed by fear; but David brought his need to you, trusting you for protection and for justice. I can do the same. Let me rest in that, for I can bring my need for protection to you and entrust my cause to you, who uphold the afflicted. When I face malice or hostility, keep me from taking matters into my own hands or being consumed by fear; help me bring my need for protection to you, Lord, entrust my cause to you, and trust you to secure justice, resting in the assurance that you maintain the cause of the afflicted and justice for the needy.