Psalms 140 commentary

The more danger appears, the more earnest we should be in prayer to God. All are safe whom the Lord protects. If he be for us, who can be against us? We should especially watch and pray, that the Lord would hold up our goings in his ways, that our footsteps slip not. God is as able to keep his people from secret fraud as from open force; and the experience we have had of his power and care, in dangers of one kind, may encourage us to depend upon him in other dangers.

Believers may pray that God would not grant the desires of the wicked, nor further their evil devices. False accusers will bring mischief upon themselves, even the burning coals of Divine vengeance. And surely the righteous shall dwell in God's presence, and give him thanks for evermore. This is true thanksgiving, even thanks-living: this use we should make of all our deliverances, we should serve God the more closely and cheerfully. Those who, though evil spoken of and ill-used by men, are righteous in the sight of God, being justified by the righteousness of Christ, which is imputed to them, and received by faith, as the effect of which, they live soberly and righteously; these give thanks to the Lord, for the righteousness whereby they are made righteous, and for every blessing of grace, and mercy of life.

PSALM 140

David complains of the implacable cruelty of his enemies, and of their treachery and rancorous calumnies. In the close, having besought God’s help, and expressing his persuasion of obtaining his layout, he comforts himself with the hope of deliverance, and just vengeance being executed upon his enemies.

To the chief Musician — A Psalm of David.

Psalm 140:1-5

1. Deliver me, O Jehovah! from the evil man, (homo,) preserve me from the man (vir) “The word ‘man’ in these two lines is expressed in the first by אדם (homo,) in the second by איש (vir.)” — Jebb’s Translation of the Psalms, etc., volume 1. of injuries. 2. Who imagine mischiefs in their heart; daily they congregate for war. 3. They have sharpened their tongue like a serpent: Mant translates —

“The serpent’s brandished tongue is theirs.”

“The verb,” says he, “here rendered ‘brandished,’ signifies either ‘to whet, sharpen,’ which is performed by reiterated motion or friction, or to ‘vibrate.’ In either case the metaphor, as applied to a wicked tongue, is beautiful and appropriate. I have preferred the latter as affording a more poetical image. See Parkhurst on שנן, 3.” In illustration of this figure Kimchi observes, that “the serpent when it comes to bite will open its mouth, and will hiss, and move its tongue here and there as if it would make it sharp as a barber’s razor.” the poison of an asp The original word עכשוב, achshub, rendered “asp,” is to be found in Scripture only in this place; and though it evidently denotes some of the serpent tribe, it is not so easy to determine the particular species intended. In our English Bible it is translated “adder,” and as the word is derived from an Arabic verb, which signifies to coil up, or bend back, it has been said that this act perfectly corresponds with the nature of the adder, which in preparing to strike contracts itself into a spiral form, and raises its horrid head from the middle of the orb; and which also assumes the same form when it goes to sleep, coiling its body into a number of circles, with its head in the center. — (Paxton’s Illustrations of Scripture, vol. i. p. 428.) But the same action is common to most serpents; and this name may, therefore have reference to no particular species. Some, however, contend that it is another name for the pethem, or asp mentioned in Job 20:14, the venom of which is so deadly as to be incurable and followed by speedy death, unless the wounded part is amputated. Such seems to have been the opinion of the LXX., as they render it by ασπις, in which they are followed by the Vulgate and by the Apostle Paul, who quotes this text in Romans 3:13. Calvin here adopts the word sanctioned by these authorities.

“As to the poison, it will be observed, that in the venomous serpents there is a gland under the eye secreting the poisonous matter which is conveyed in a small tube or canal to the end of a fang which lies concealed at the roof of the mouth. This fang is moveable at the pleasure of the serpent, and is protruded when it is about to strike at an antagonist. The situation of this poison, which is in a manner behind the upper lip, gives great propriety to the expression — ‘Adders’ poison is under their lips.’ The usage of the Hebrew language, renders it by no means improbable that the fang itself is called לשון, lashon, ‘a tongue,’ in the present text; and a serpent might be said to sharpen its tongue, when in preparing to strike it protruded its fangs. We do not see any explanation by which a more consistent meaning may be extracted from the expression here employed.” — Illustrated Commentary upon the Bible. is under their lips. Selah 4. Keep us, O Jehovah! from the hands of the wicked: preserve me from the man of injuries, who plot to overthrow my goings. 5. The proud have set a snare for me, and have spread a net with cords: by the way side they have set gins for me. The imagery in this verse is borrowed from the practices of hunters and fowlers in the eastern regions of the world, who are accustomed to take and destroy the ferocious beasts and the larger species of birds by a variety of ingenious snares and devices. It is a curious circumstance, as noticed by Thevenot, that artifices of this kind are literally employed against men as well as against birds and wild beasts by some of the Orientals. “The cunningest robbers in the world,” says he, as quoted by Mant, “are in this country. They use a certain slip, with a running noose, which they cast with so much slight about a man’s neck when they are within reach of him, that they never fail, so that they strangle him in a trice.” Selah

To the chief Musician, etc. I cannot bring myself to restrict this Psalm to Doeg, as the great body of interpreters do, for the context will clearly show that it speaks of Saul, and of the counselors who ceased not to inflame the king — himself sufficiently incensed against the life of one who was a saint of God. Being as he was a figure of Christ, we need not wonder that the agents of the devil directed so much of their rage against him. And this is the reason why he animadverts so sharply upon their rancor and treachery.

The terms wicked and violent men denote their unwarranted attempts at his destruction without provocation given. He therefore commends his cause to God, as having studied peace with them, as never having injured them, but being the innocent object of their unjust persecution. The same rule must be observed by us all, as it is against violence and wickedness that the help of God is extended. David is not Multiplying mere terms of reproach as men do in their personal disputes, but conciliating God’s favor by supplying a proof of his innocence, for he must always be upon the side of good and peaceable men.

PSALM 140

Psa 140:1-13. The style of this Psalm resembles those of David in the former part of the book, presenting the usual complaint, prayer, and confident hope of relief.

1. evil man--Which of David's enemies is meant is not important.

2-5. This character of the wicked, and the devices planned against the pious, correspond to Psa 10:7; 31:13; 58:4, &c.

6. (Compare Psa 5:1-12; 16:2).

7. day of battle--literally, "of armor," that is, when using it.

8. (Compare Psa 37:12; 66:7).

lest they exalt themselves--or, they will be exalted if permitted to prosper.

9. Contrasts his head covered by God (Psa 140:7) with theirs, or (as "head" may be used for "persons") with them, covered with the results of their wicked deeds (Psa 7:16).

10. (Compare Psa 11:6; 120:4).

cast into the fire; into deep pits--figures for utter destruction.

11. an evil speaker--or, "slanderer" will not be tolerated (Psa 101:7). The last clause may be translated: "an evil (man) He (God) shall hunt," &c.

12. (Compare Psa 9:4).

13. After all changes, the righteous shall have cause for praise. Such

shall dwell--shall sit securely, under God's protection (Psa 21:6; 41:12).

From the evil man - Saul, who was full of envy, jealousy, and cruelty against David, to whom both himself and his kingdom were under the highest obligations, endeavored by every means to destroy him.

They gathered together - He and his courtiers form plots and cabals against my life.

They have sharpened their tongues - They employ their time in forging lies and calumnies against me; and those of the most virulent nature.

Preserve me from the violent man - Saul again; who was as headstrong and violent in all his measures, as he was cruel, and inflexibly bent on the destruction of David.

Have hid a snare for me - They hunted David as they would a dangerous wild beast: one while striving to pierce him with the spear; another to entangle him in their snares, so as to take and sacrifice him before the people, on pretense of his being an enemy to the state.

Selah - This is the truth.

Thou hast covered my head - Not only when I fought with the proud blaspheming Philistine; but in the various attempts made against my life by my sworn enemies.

Further not his wicked device - He knew his enemies still desired his death, and were plotting to accomplish it; and here he prays that God may disappoint and confound them. The Chaldee understands this of Doeg.

Let burning coals - The Chaldee considers this as spoken against Ahithophel, who was head of a conspiracy against David; and translates this verse thus: "Let coals from heaven fall upon them, precipitate them into the fire of hell, and into miry pits, from which they shall not have a resurrection to eternal life." This is a proof that the Jews did believe in a resurrection of the body, and an eternal life for that body, in the case of the righteous.

Let not an evil speaker be established - איש לשון ish lashon, "a man of tongue." There is much force in the rendering of this clause in the Chaldee גבר דמשתעי לישן תליתי gebar demishtai lishan telithai, "The man of detraction, or inflammation, with the three-forked tongue." He whose tongue is set on fire from hell; the tale-bearer, slanderer, and dealer in scandal: with the three-forked tongue; wounding three at once: his neiphbour whom he slanders; the person who receives the slander; and himself who deals in it. What a just description of a character which God, angels, and good men must detest! Let not such a one be established in the land; let him be unmasked; let no person trust him; and let all join together to hoot him out of society. "He shall be hunted by the angel of death, and thrust into hell." - Chaldee.

The cause of the afflicted - Every person who is persecuted for righteousness' sake has God for his peculiar help and refuge; and the persecutor has the same God for his especial enemy.

The righteous shall give thanks - For thou wilt support and deliver him.

The upright shall dwell in thy presence - Shall be admitted to the most intimate intercourse with God.

The persecuted have ever been dear to God Almighty; and the martyrs were, in an especial manner, his delight; and in proportion as he loved those, so must he hate and detest these.

Tongues - Using words as sharp and piercing as the sting of a serpent.

Mischief - The mischief which they design against me, shall fall upon themselves.

Coals - Divine vengeance, which is compared to coals of fire.

Dwell - Shall constantly enjoy thy gracious and powerful presence.

1 DEliver, me, O LORD, from the evil man : preserve me from the violent man.

Either Saul or Doeg or some other malicious enemy, or rather enemies: the word man being taken collectively for men, as appears from the next verse, where he speaks of this man in the Plural number.

Marginal references: Heb. man of violences.

2 Which imagine mischiefs in their heart: continually are they gathered together for war .

To execute those bloody enterprises which they had devised in the first clause of this verse.

3 They have sharpned their tongues like a serpent ; adders poison is under their lips.

Their malicious hearts stirred up their tongues to utter vile slanders against me.

Either whetting their tongues as serpents are said to whet theirs when they are about to bite: or rather, using words as sharp and piercing as the sting of a serpent.

Marginal references: Psal. 58. 4▪ Rom. 3. 13.

4 Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked, preserve me from the violent man, who have purposed to overthrow my goings .

Whose design and full resolution it is, if thou dost not prevent it.

Or, my [illegible: 1+ letters]eet or footsteps, i. e. to throw me down to the ground, to defeat all my hopes and counsels, and bring me to ruine.

5 The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords, they have spread a net by the way side : they have set grins for me. Selah.

My in[illegible: 1+ letters]olent enemies who despise me for my meanness, and exalt themselves against thee.

In which I used to walk.

Marginal references: Psal. 35. 7. & 57. 6. & 141. 9. Jer. 18. 22.; Heb. hand.

7 O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation; thou hast covered my head in the day of battel.

With thy powerful protection as with an helmet or shield.

8 Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked, further not his wicked device , lest they exalt themselves . Selah.

Which is to destroy me.

Not onely against me, but against thee also, as if by their power and policy they had frustrated thy design and promise made to me.

Marginal references: Or, let them not be exalted.; Deut. 32. 27.

9 As for the head of those that compass me about, let the mischief of their own lips cover them .

Or, beads, the Singular number put for the Plural, as is frequent. By which he understands either, 1. their politick heads, their chiefs or ring-leaders, who were most malicious, and by whom all the rest were supported and stirred▪ up: or, 2. their proper and natural heads, as this word is▪ used v. 7. and this covering of their heads here is opposed to that covering of Davids head there.

Let the mischief which by their calumnies they design against me, fall upon themselves.

Marginal references: Psal. 7. 16. & 94. 23. Prov. 12. 13. & 18. 7.

10 Let burning coals fall upon them, let them be cast into the fire: into deep pits, that they rise not up again .

Divine vengeance, which is compared to coals of fire, as Psal. 18. 12. and elsewhere.

Either to my danger, or to their own comfort.

Marginal references: Psal. 11. 6.

11 Let not an evil speaker be established in the earth: evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him.

Such as slander me and other innocent persons, to exasperate Princes against us.

Either the evil of punishment, or, which comes to the same thing, the evil of sin, their own wickedness, which shall recoil upon themselves.

Marginal references: Heb. a man of tongue.; Or, an evil speaker, a wicked man of violence be established in the [illegible: 1+ letters]arth: let him be hunted to his overthrow.

12 I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor.

Both by Gods word which hath promised it, and by my own experience of it in the course of Gods providence.

13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy Name , the upright shall dwell in thy presence .

Shall have occasion to praise thee for their deliverance.

Shall constantly enjoy thy gracious and powerful presence and assistance.

Suppliant Cry of One Who Is Utterly Undone

The ירוּם of the personal cry with which David opens Psa 13:1-6 harmonizes with כּרם of the general lament which he introduces into Psa 12:1-8; and for this reason the collector has coupled these two Psalms together. Hitzig assigns Psa 13:1-6 to the time when Saul posted watchers to hunt David from place to place, and when, having been long and unceasingly persecuted, David dared to cherish a hope of escaping death only by indefatigable vigilance and endurance. Perhaps this view is correct. The Psalm consists of three strophes, or if it be preferred, three groups of decreasing magnitude. A long deep sigh is followed, as from a relieved breast, by an already much more gentle and half calm prayer; and this again by the believing joy which anticipates the certainty of being answered. This song as it were casts up constantly lessening waves, until it becomes still as the sea when smooth as a mirror, and the only motion discernible at last is that of the joyous ripple of calm repose.

Psa 140:1-3

The assimilation of the Nun of the verb נצר is given up, as in Psa 61:8; Psa 78:7, and frequently, in order to make the form more full-toned. The relative clause shows that אישׁ חמסים is not intended to be understood exclusively of one person. בּלב strengthens the notion of that which is deeply concealed and premeditated. It is doubtful whether יגוּרוּ signifies to form into troops or to stir up. But from the fact that גּוּר in Psa 56:7; Psa 59:4, Isa 54:15, signifies not congregare but se congregare, it is to be inferred that גּוּר in the passage before us, like גּרה (or התגּרה in Deu 2:9, Deu 2:24), in Syriac and Targumic גּרג, signifies concitare, to excite (cf. שׂוּר together with שׂרה, Hos 12:4.). In Psa 140:4 the Psalm coincides with Psa 64:4; Psa 58:5. They sharpen their tongue, so that it inflicts a fatal sting like the tongue of a serpent, and under their lips, shooting out from thence, is the poison of the adder (cf. Sol 4:11). עכשׁוּב is a ἅπαξ λεγομ. not from כּשׁב (Jesurun, p. 207), but from עכשׁ, Arab. ‛ks and ‛kš, root ‛k (vid., Fleischer on Isa 59:5, עכּבישׁ), both of which have the significations of bending, turning, and coiling after the manner of a serpent; the Beth is an organic addition modifying the meaning of the root.According to the original Lexicons Arab. ‛ks signifies to bend one’s self, to wriggle, to creep sideways like the roots of the vine, in the V form to move one’s self like an adder (according to the Ḳamûs) and to walk like a drunken man (according to Neshwân); but Arab. ‛kš signifies to be intertwined, knit or closely united together, said of hairs and of the branches of trees, in the V form to fight hand to hand and to get in among the crowd. The root is apparently expanded into עכשׁוב by an added Beth which serves as a notional speciality, as in Arab. ‛rqûb the convex bend of the steep side of a rock, or in the case of the knee of the hind-legs of animals, and in Arab. charnûb (in the dialect of the country along the coast of Palestine, where the tree is plentiful, in Neshwân churnûb), the horn-like curved pod of the carob-tree (Ceratonia Siliqua), syncopated Arab. charrûb, charrûb (not charûb), from Arab. charn, cogn. qarn, a horn, cf. Arab. chrnâyt, the beak of a bird of prey, Arab. chrnûq, the stork [vid. on Psa 104:17], Arab. chrnı̂n, the rhinoceros [vid. on Psa 29:6], Arab. chrnuı̂t, the unicorn [vid. ibid.]. - Wetzstein.

Psa 140:4-5

The course of this second strophe is exactly parallel with the first. The perfects describe their conduct hitherto, as a comparison of Psa 140:3 with Psa 140:3 shows. פּעמים is poetically equivalent to רגלים, and signifies both the foot that steps (Psa 57:5; Psa 58:11) and the step that is made by the foot (Ps 85:14; Psa 119:133), and here the two senses are undistinguishable. They are called גּאים on account of the inordinate ambition that infatuates them. The metaphors taken from the life of the hunter (Psa 141:9; Psa 142:4) are here brought together as it were into a body of synonyms. The meaning of ליד־מעגּל becomes explicable from Psa 142:4; ליד, at hand, is equivalent to “immediately beside” (1Ch 18:17; Neh 11:24). Close by the path along which he has to pass, lie gins ready to spring together and ensnare him when he appears.

Psa 140:6-8

Such is the conduct of his enemies; he, however, prays to his God and gets his weapons from beside Him. The day of equipment is the day of the crisis when the battle is fought in full array. The perfect סכּותה states what will then take place on the part of God: He protects the head of His anointed against the deadly blow. Both Psa 140:8 and Psa 140:8 point to the helmet as being מעוז ראשׁ, Psa 60:9; cf. the expression “the helmet of salvation” in Isa 59:17. Beside מאויּי, from the ἅπ. λεγ. מאוה, there is also the reading מאויי, which Abulwalîd found in his Jerusalem codex (in Saragossa). The regular form would be מאוי, and the boldly irregular ma'awajjê follows the example of מחשׁכּי, מחמדּי, and the like, in a manner that is without example elsewhere. זממז for מזמּתו is also a hapaxlegomenon; according to Gesenius the principal form is זמם, but surely ore correctly זמם (like קרב), which in Aramaic signifies a bridle, and here a plan, device. The Hiph. חפיק (root פק, whence נפק, Arab. nfq) signifies educere in the sense of reportare, Pro 3:13; Pro 8:35; Pro 12:2; Pro 18:22, and of porrigere, Psa 144:13, Isa 58:10. A reaching forth of the plan is equivalent to the reaching forth of that which is projected. The choice of the words used in this Psalm coincides here, as already in מעגּל, with Proverbs and Isaiah. The future ירוּמוּ expresses the consequence (cf. Psa 61:8) against which the poet wishes to guard.

Psa 140:9-11

The strophic symmetry is now at an end. The longer the poet lingers over the contemplation of the rebels the more lofty and dignified does his language become, the more particular the choice of the expressions, and the more difficult and unmanageable the construction. The Hiph. הסב signifies, causatively, to cause to go round about (Exo 13:18), and to raise round about (2Ch 14:6); here, after Jos 6:11, where with an accusative following it signifies to go round about: to make the circuit of anything, as enemies who surround a city on all sides and seek the most favourable point for assault; מסבּי from the participle מסב. Even when derived from the substantive מסב (Hupfeld), “my surroundings” is equivalent to איבי סביבותי in Psa 27:6. Hitzig, on the other hand, renders it: the head of my slanderers, from סבב, to go round about, Arabic to tell tales of any one, defame; but the Arabic sbb , fut. u, to abuse, the IV form (Hiphil) of which moreover is not used either in the ancient or in the modern language, has nothing to do with the Hebrew סבב, but signifies originally to cut off round about, then to clip (injure) any one’s honour and good name.The lexicographer Neshwân says, i. 279 b: Arab. 'l - sbb 'l   - šatm w- qı̂l an aṣl 'l - sbb 'l - qaṭ‛ ṯm ṣâr 'l   - štm, “sebb is to abuse; still, the more original signification of cutting off is said to lie at the foundation of this signification.” That Arab. qṭ‛ is synonymous with it, e.g., Arab. lı̂štqt‛fı̂nâ, why dost thou cut into us? i.e., why dost thou insult our honour? - Wetzstein.

The fact that the enemies who surround the psalmist on every side are just such calumniators, is intimated here in the word שׂפתימו. He wishes that the trouble which the enemies’ slanderous lips occasion him may fall back upon their own head. ראשׁ is head in the first and literal sense according to Psa 7:17; and יכסּימו (with the Jod of the groundform kcy, as in Deu 32:26; 1Ki 20:35; Chethîb יכסּוּמו,Which is favoured by Exo 15:5, jechasjûmû with mû instead of mô, which is otherwise without example. after the attractional schema, 2Sa 2:4; Isa 2:11, and frequently; cf. on the masculine form, Pro 5:2; Pro 10:21) refers back to ראשׁ, which is meant of the heads of all persons individually. In Psa 140:11 ימיטוּ (with an indefinite subject of the higher punitive powers, Ges. §137, note), in the signification to cause to descend, has a support in Psa 55:4, whereas the Niph. נמוט, fut. ימּט, which is preferred by the Kerî, in the signification to be made to descend, is contrary to the usage of the language. The ἅπ. λεγ. מהמרות has been combined by Parchon and others with the Arabic hmr, which, together with other significations (to strike, stamp, cast down, and the like), also has the signification to flow (whence e.g., in the Koran, mâ' munhamir, flowing water). “Fire” and “water” are emblems of perils that cannot be escaped, Psa 66:12, and the mention of fire is therefore appropriately succeeded by places of flowing water, pits of water. The signification “pits” is attested by the Targum, Symmachus, Jerome, and the quotation in Kimchi: “first of all they buried them in מהמורות; when the flesh was consumed they collected the bones and buried them in coffins.” On בּל־יקוּמוּ cf. Isa 26:14. Like Psa 140:10-11, Psa 140:12 is also not to be taken as a general maxim, but as expressing a wish in accordance with the excited tone of this strophe. אישׁ לשׁון is not a great talker, i.e., boaster, but an idle talker, i.e., slanderer (lxx ἀνὴρ γλωσσώδης, cf. Sir. 8:4). According to the accents, אישׁ חמס רע is the parallel; but what would be the object of this designation of violence as worse or more malignant? With Sommer, Olshausen, and others, we take רע as the subject to יצוּדנּוּ: let evil, i.e., the punishment which arises out of evil, hunt him; cf. Pro 13:21, חטּאים תּרדּף רעה, and the opposite in Psa 23:6. It would have to be accented, according to this our construction of the words, אישׁ חמס רע יצודני למדחפת. The ἅπ. λεγ. למדחפת we do not render, with Hengstenberg, Olshausen, and others: push upon push, with repeated pushes, which, to say nothing more, is not suited to the figure of hunting, but, since דּחף always has the signification of precipitate hastening: by hastenings, that is to say, forced marches.

Psa 140:12-13

With Psa 140:13 the mood and language now again become cheerful, the rage has spent itself; therefore the style and tone are now changed, and the Psalm trips along merrily as it were to the close. With reference to ידעת for ידעתי (as in Job 42:2), vid., Psa 16:2. That which David in Psa 9:5 confidently expects on his own behalf is here generalized into the certain prospect of the triumph of the good cause in the person of all its representatives at that time oppressed. אך, like ידעתּי, is an expression of certainty. After seeming abandonment God again makes Himself known to His own, and those whom they wanted to sweep away out of the land of the living have an ever sure dwelling-place with His joyful countenance (Psa 16:11).

Complaints and Petitions.

1 Deliver me, O Lord , from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man; 2 Which imagine mischiefs in their heart; continually are they gathered together for war. 3 They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders' poison is under their lips. Selah. 4 Keep me, O Lord , from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent man; who have purposed to overthrow my goings. 5 The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the wayside; they have set gins for me. Selah. 6 I said unto the Lord , Thou art my God: hear the voice of my supplications, O Lord . 7 O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation, thou hast covered my head in the day of battle.

In this, as in other things, David was a type of Christ, that he suffered before he reigned, was humbled before he was exalted, and that as there were many who loved and valued him, and sought to do him honour, so there were many who hated and envied him, and sought to do him mischief, as appears by these verses, where,

I. He gives a character of his enemies, and paints them out in their own colours, as dangerous men, whom he had reason to be afraid of, but wicked men, whom he had no reason to think the righteous God would countenance. There was one that seems to have been the ring-leader of them, whom he calls the evil man and the man of violences (v. 1, 4), probably he means Saul. The Chaldee paraphrast (v. 9) names both Doeg and Ahithophel; but between them there was a great distance of time. Violent men are evil men. But there were many besides this one who were confederate against David, who are here represented as the genuine offspring and seed of the serpent. For, 1. They are very subtle, crafty to do mischief; they have imagined it (v. 2), have laid the scheme with all the art and cunning imaginable. They have purposed and plotted to overthrow the goings of a good man (v. 4), to draw him into sin and trouble, to ruin him by blasting his reputation, crushing his interest, and taking away his life. For this purpose they have, like mighty hunters, hidden a snare, and spread a net, and set gins (v. 5), that their designs against him, being kept undiscovered, might be the more likely to take effect, and he might fall into their hands ere he was aware. Great persecutors have often been great politicians, which has indeed made them the more formidable; but the Lord preserves the simple without all those arts. 2. They are very spiteful, as full of malice as Satan himself: They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent, that infuses his venom with his tongue; and there is so much malignity in all they say that one would think there was nothing under their lips but adders' poison, v. 3. With their calumnies, and with their counsels, they aimed to destroy David, but secretly, as a man is stung with a serpent, or a snake in the grass. And they endeavoured likewise to infuse their malice into others, and to make them seven times more the children of hell than themselves. A malignant tongue makes men like the old serpent; and poison in the lips is a certain sign of poison in the heart. 3. They are confederate; they are many of them; but they are all gathered together against me for war, v. 2. Those who can agree in nothing else can agree to persecute a good man. Herod and Pilate will unite in this, and in this they resemble Satan, who is not divided against himself, all the devils agreeing in Beelzebub. 4. They are proud (v. 5), conceited of themselves and confident of their success; and herein also they resemble Satan, whose reigning ruining sin was pride. The pride of persecutors, though at present it be the terror, yet may be the encouragement, of the persecuted, for the more haughty they are the faster are they ripening for ruin. Pride goes before destruction.

II. He prays to God to keep him from them and from being swallowed up by them: "Lord, deliver me, preserve me, keep me (v. 1, 4); let them not prevail to take away my life, my reputation, my interest, my comfort, and to prevent my coming to the throne. Keep me from doing as they do, or as they would have me do, or as they promise themselves I shall do." Note, The more malice appears in our enemies against us the more earnest we should be in prayer to God to take us under his protection. In him believers may count upon a security, and may enjoy it and themselves with a holy serenity. Those are safe whom God preserves. If he be for us, who can be against us?

III. He triumphs in God, and thereby, in effect, he triumphs over his persecutors, v. 6, 7. When his enemies sharpened their tongues against him, did he sharpen his against them? No; adders' poison was under their lips, but grace was poured into his lips, witness what he here said unto the Lord, for to him he looked, to him he directed himself, when he saw himself in so much danger, through the malice of his enemies: and it is well for us that we have a God to go to. He comforted himself, 1. In his interest in God: "I said, Thou art my God; and, if my God, then my shield and mighty protector." In troublous dangerous times it is good to claim relation to God, and by faith to keep hold of him. 2. In his access to God. This comforted him, that he was not only taken into covenant with God, but into communion with him, that he had leave to speak to him, and might expect an answer of peace from him, and could say, with a humble confidence, Hear the voice of my supplications, O Lord! 3. In the assurance he had of help from God and happiness in him: "O God the Lord—Jehovah Adonai! as Jehovah thou art self-existent and self-sufficient, an infinitely perfect being; as Adonai thou art my stay and support, my ruler and governor, and therefore the strength of my salvation, my strong Saviour; nay, not only my Saviour, but my salvation itself, from whom, in whom, my salvation is; not only a strong Saviour, but the very strength of my salvation, on whom the stress of my hope is laid; all in all, to make me happy, and to preserve me to my happiness." 4. In the experience he had had formerly of God's care of him: Thou hast covered my head in the day of battle. As he pleaded with Saul, that, for the service of his country, he many a time jeoparded his life in the high places of the field, so he pleads with God that, in those services, he had wonderfully protected him, and provided him a better helmet for the securing of his head than Goliath's was: "Lord, thou hast kept me in the day of battle with the Philistines, suffer me not to fall by the treacherous intrigues of false-hearted Israelites." God is as able to preserve his people from secret fraud as from open force; and the experience we have had of his power and care, in dangers of one kind, may encourage us to trust in him and depend upon him in dangers of another nature; for nothing can shorten the Lord's right hand.

Shame and Confusion of Persecutors.

8 Grant not, O Lord , the desires of the wicked: further not his wicked device; lest they exalt themselves. Selah. 9 As for the head of those that compass me about, let the mischief of their own lips cover them. 10 Let burning coals fall upon them: let them be cast into the fire; into deep pits, that they rise not up again. 11 Let not an evil speaker be established in the earth: evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him. 12 I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor. 13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence.

Here is the believing foresight David had,

I. Of the shame and confusion of persecutors.

1. Their disappointment. This he prays for (v. 8), that their lusts might not be gratified, their lust of ambition, envy, and revenge: "Grant not, O Lord! the desires of the wicked, but frustrate them; let them not see the ruin of my interest, which they so earnestly wish to see; but hear the voice of my supplications." He prays that their projects might not take effect, but be blasted: "O further not his wicked device; let not Providence favour any of his designs, but cross them; suffer not his wicked device to proceed, but chain his wheels, and stop him in the career of his pursuits." Thus we are to pray against the enemies of God's people, that they may not succeed in any of their enterprises. Such was David's prayer against Ahithophel, that God would turn his counsels into foolishness. The plea is, lest they exalt themselves, value themselves upon their success as if it were an evidence that God favoured them. Proud men, when they prosper, are made prouder, grow more impudent against God and insolent against his people, and therefore, "Lord, do not prosper them."

2. Their destruction. This he prays for (as we read it); but some choose to read it rather as a prophecy, and the original will bear it. If we take it as a prayer, that proceeds from a spirit of prophecy, which comes all to one. He foretels the ruin,

(1.) Of his own enemies: "As for those that compass me about, and seek my ruin," [1.] "The mischief of their own lips shall cover their heads (v. 9); the evil they have wished to me shall come upon themselves, their curses shall be blown back into their own faces, and the very designs which they have laid against me shall turn to their own ruin," Ps. vii. 15, 16. Let those that make mischief, by slandering, tale-bearing, misrepresenting their neighbours, and spreading ill-natured characters and stories, dread the consequence of it, and think how sad their condition will be when all the mischief they have been accessory to shall be made to return upon themselves. [2.] The judgments of God shall fall upon them, compared here to burning coals, in allusion to the destruction of Sodom; nay, as in the deluge the waters from above, and those from beneath, met for the drowning of the world, both the windows of heaven were opened and the fountains of the great deep were broken up, so here, to complete the ruin of the enemies of Christ and his kingdom, they shall not only have burning coals cast upon them from above (Job xx. 23; xxvii. 22), but they themselves shall be cast into the fire beneath; both heaven and hell, the wrath of God the Judge and the rage of Satan the tormentor, shall concur to make them miserable. And the fire they shall be cast into is not a furnace of fire, out of which perhaps they might escape, but a deep pit, out of which they cannot rise. Tophet is said to be deep and large, Isa. xxx. 33.

(2.) Of all others that are like them, v. 11. [1.] Evil speakers must expect to be shaken, for they shall never be established in the earth. What is got by fraud and falsehood, by calumny and unjust accusation, will not prosper, will not last. Wealth gotten by vanity will be diminished. Let not such men as Doeg think to reign long, for his doom will be theirs, Ps. ii. 5. A lying tongue is but for a moment, but the lip of truth shall be established for ever. [2.] Evil doers must expect to be destroyed: Evil shall hunt the violent man, as the blood-hound hunts the murderer to discover him, as the lion hunts his prey to tear it to pieces. Mischievous men will be brought to light, and brought to ruin; the destruction appointed shall run them down and overthrow them. Evil pursues sinners.

II. Here is his foresight of the deliverance and comfort of the persecuted, v. 12, 13. 1. God will do those justice, in delivering them, who, being wronged, commit themselves to him: "I know that the Lord will maintain the just and injured cause of his afflicted people, and will not suffer might always to prevail against right, though it be but the right of the poor, who have but little that they can pretend a right to." God is, and will be, the patron of oppressed innocence, much more of persecuted piety; those that know him cannot but know this. 2. They will do him justice (if I may so speak), in ascribing the glory of their deliverance to him: "Surely the righteous (who make conscience of rendering to God his due, as well as to men theirs) shall give thanks unto thy name when they find their cause pleaded with jealousy and prosecuted with effect." The closing words, The upright shall dwell in thy presence, denote both God's favour to them ("Thou shalt admit them to dwell in thy presence in grace here, in glory hereafter, and it shall be their safety and happiness") and their duty to God: "They shall attend upon thee as servants that keep in the presence of their masters, both to do them honour and to receive their commands." This is true thanksgiving, even thanksliving; and this use we should make of all our deliverance, we should serve God the more closely and cheerfully.

PSAL. CXL.

To the Master of the Musicke, a Psalme of David.

RElease mee, O Iehovah, from the evill man; from the man of violent wrongs preserve thou mee. Which thinke evill things in heart; every day they gather warres. They sharpen their tongue like a serpent; the hot poison of the Aspe is under their lips Selah.

Keepe me, O Iehovah, from the hands of the wicked; from the man of violent wrongs preserve thou me, which thinke to thrust away my feet. The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords; they have spred a net by the paths side, they have set grinnes for me Selah.

I said to Iehovah, Thou art my God; heare, O Iehovah, the voice of my supplications for grace. Iehovih Lord, the strength of my salvation, thou hast covered my head in the day of armes. Grant not, O Iehovah, the desires of the wicked; further not his crafty device, lest they exalt themselves Selah.

The head of those that compasse mee about, the molestation of their lips shall cover them. They shall bring upon them coales; he shall fell them into the fire, into deepe pits, that they rise not up. An ill tongued man shall not be est ablished in the earth; a man of violent wrong, evill shall hunt him to a sudden overthrow. I know that Iehovah will doe the judgement of the poore afflicted; the doome of the needie. Surely the just shall confesse to thy Name, the righteous shall sit before thy face.

Annotations. THey gather warres] or are gathered to warres, getting themselves and other together. The active is often used passively, Psal. 32. 9. and 109. 13. Vers. 4. of the Aspe] or Viper; Greeke, of Asps: so Rom. 3. 13. Compare Psal. 58. 5. Vers. 5. to thrust away my feet] or, to overthrow my footsteps. Vers. 6. by the paths side] or, fast by my path; Heb. at the hand of the path. Compare Psal. 142. 4. Ier. 18. 22. Prov. 29. 5. Vers. 8. Iehovih] or God: see Psal. 68. 21. of armes] or of armour, that is, of battell, (as the Greeke translateth it) when men harnesse themselves. This is that helmet, salvation, Eph. 6. 17. Vers. 9. further not] or, bring not to passe. lest they] or, they will exalt themselves, that is, be proud or lofty. Compare Deut. 32. 27. Vers. 10. the head] that is, As for the head (the chiefe) of those, &c. An head sometime signifieth a company of chiefe men, 1 Chron. 4. 42. though here perhaps some one man is meant, as the Chaldee nameth Achitophel. It is also used for a band of men, as Iob 1. 17. Sometime the Hebrew word signifieth gall, as Psal. 69. 22. Which sense also is not amisse here. shall cover] or prayer-wise, let it cover them, and him (as Psal. 2. 3.) that is, every of them. Vers. 11. They shall bring] or make move (as Psal. 55. 4.) upon themselves; or coales shall be moved (that is, throwne) upon them. The Hebrew hath a double reading, yeelding both these senses; their judgements to be from God, but procured by themselves. he] that is, God shall fell them, or indefinitely, they shall be felled, or cast. deepe pits] or sudden sorrowes; the Greeke saith calamities; the Chaldee, the fire of Gehenna. Vers. 12. An ill-tongued man] Heb. a man of tongue, that is, a pratler or evill speaker, that hath tongue at will to use and abuse at his lust, and to smite therewith, as Ier. 18. 18. So a man of lips, Iob 11. 2. is one talkative: a man of words, Exo. 4. 10. is one eloquent: a man of arme, Iob 22. 8. is one mighty; and sundry the like. to a sudden overthrow] or, his utter ruine and miserie. Hebrew, to (or with) thrustings downe. The Chaldee paraphraseth, The Angell of death shall hunt him, and thrust him downe into hell. Vers. 14. sit before thy face] or dwell with thy face, that is, in thy presence: see Psal. 16. 11. and 61. 8.

PSAL. CXL.

VErſ. 1 Deliver mee, O Lord, from the evill man] Made of malice, in which is ſteeped the venom of all vices.

Preſerve mee from the violent man] Man of violences, who vulture-like, (Levit. 11.10.) liveth by rapine. Such were Saul and his Sycophants.

Verſ. 2 Which imagine miſchiefs in their heart] Where the Devil worketh night and day as a mintman; as a Smith in his forge; or an Artificer in his ſhop. A godly man is ſaid to have right thoughts, Prov. 12.5. and that his deſires are only good, chap. 11.23. An evill man is called a man of wicked devices, Prov. 12.2. & 14, 17. being ingenioſe nequam, wittily wicked, as it was once ſaid of C. Curio the Roman Lawyer.

They are gathered together for war] Heb. They gather wars, as Serpents gather poiſon to vomit out at others. Coaceruant praelia. q. d. ſunt tanquam tube belli.

Verſ. 3 They have ſharpened their tongues like a Serpent] Which by reaſon of his ſharp tongue, ſtriketh more deeply.

Adders poiſon] Venenum Payados. R. Solomon readeth Spiders poiſon; others, Aſpes, Vipers. Malice turneth men into Serpents, ſaith Chryſoſtom.

Verſ. 4 Keep mee] Who am thus ſought and ſet for; but thou canſt reſcue mee.

To over-throw my goings] Pracipitare, to hurl mee down head-long.

Verſ. 5 The proud have hid a ſnare, &c.] They are reſtleſs to ruine mee, adding all kind of craft to their cruelty.

Verſ. 6 I ſaid unto the Lord] Danger drove David home to God; as bug bears do little Children, to their Parents.

Verſ. 7 In the day of battel] Heb. Of armour; for battel David never had any with Saul, but declined it.

Verſ. 8 Grant not O Lord, &c.] For if they ſhould bee [illegible: 1 word] competes, Maſters of their deſires, they would bee intolerably inſolent, ſo as to ſay, Our high hand, and not the Lord hath done all this, Deut. 32.27.

Verſ. 9 As for the head] The chieftain, the ring-leader, D[illegible: 2 letters]g or Saul himſelf. Or thus, Let miſchief cover the heads of my beſieger[illegible: 1 letter] Let it fall upon their pates, as Pſal. 7. Similitude eſt a ſacreficiis, [illegible: 1 span] execrabantur.

Verſ. 10. Let burning coals fall upon them] Conflagrant [illegible: 1 span]. Haec [illegible: 1 word] v[illegible: 1 letter]ta quam vaticinia.

Verſ. 11 Let not an evil-ſpeaker] Heb. A man of tongue, whereof Peraldus reckoneth up four and twenty ſeverall [illegible: 1 word]: A world of wickedneſs, St. James calleth it, chap. 3.

Evil ſhall [illegible: 1 word] the [illegible: 1 word] man] The Angel of death ſhall hunt him into Hell, ſaith the Chald[illegible: 2 letters]. Of the black-birds [illegible: 1 word], is made bird-lime to catch him. [illegible: 1 letter]. Mar[illegible: 2 letters]s was ſlain with the ſword hee made, when [illegible: 1 word] was a Cutler. [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 3 letters] [illegible: 2 letters] pe[illegible: 1 letter]ire [illegible: 1 word] eſt, was Juli[illegible: 2 letters]s M[illegible: 4 letters] Gods Judgements againſt ſinners are [illegible: 2 letters] thered from themſelves, as a foul [illegible: 1 word] with an arrow feathered from her own body.

Verſ. 12 I know] For I have a promiſe for it, and that's infallible.

Verſ. 13 Shall [illegible: 1 word] ] Hee ſhall have no other cauſe.

[illegible: 1 span] When the [illegible: 1 span] ſhall [illegible: 1 span] Job 23.16.

Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man. It reads like a clause of the Lord's prayer, "Deliver us from evil." David does not so much plead against an individual as against the species represented by him, namely, the being whose best description is —"the evil man." There are many such abroad; indeed we shall not find an unregenerate man who is not in some sense an evil man, and yet all are not alike evil. It is well for us that our enemies are evil: it would be a horrible thing to have the good against us. When "the evil man" bestirs himself against the godly he is as terrible a being as a wolf, or a serpent, or even a devil. Fierce, implacable, unpitying, unrelenting, unscrupulous, he cares for nothing but the indulgence of his malice. The persecuted man turns to God in prayer; he could not do a wiser thing. Who can meet the evil man and defeat him save Jehovah himself, whose infinite goodness is more than a match for all the evil in the universe? We cannot of ourselves baffle the craft of the enemy, but the Lord knoweth how to deliver his saints. He can keep us out of the enemy's reach, he can sustain us when under his power, he can rescue us when our doom seems fixed, he can give us the victory when defeat seems certain; and in any and every case, if he do not save us from the man he can keep us from the evil. Should we be at this moment oppressed in any measure by ungodly men, it will be better to leave our defence with God than to attempt it ourselves. Preserve me from the violent man. Evil in the heart simmers in malice, and at last boils in passion. Evil is a ragtag thing when it getteth liberty to manifest itself; and so "the evil man" soon develops into "the violent man" What watchfulness, strength, or valour can preserve the child of God from deceit and violence? There is but one sure Preserver, and it is our wisdom to hide under the shadow of his wings. It is a common thing for good men to be assailed by enemies: David was attacked by Saul, Doeg, Ahithophel, Shimei, and others; even Mordecai sitting humbly in the gate had his Haman; and our Lord, the Perfect One, was surrounded by those who thirsted for his blood. We may not, therefore, hope to pass through the world without enemies, but we may hope to be delivered out of their hands, and preserved from their rage, so that no real harm shall come of their malignity. This blessing is to be sought by prayer, and expected by faith.

Which imagine mischiefs in their heart. They cannot be happy unless they are plotting and planning, conspiring and contriving. They seem to have but one heart, for they are completely agreed in their malice; and with all their heart and soul they pursue their victim. One piece of mischief is not enough for them; they work in the plural, and prepare many arrows for their bow. What they cannot actually do they nevertheless like to think over, and to rehearse on the stage of their cruel fancy. It is an awful thing to have such a heart disease as this. When the imagination gloats over doing harm to others, it is a sure sign that the entire nature is far gone in wickedness. Continually are they gathered together for war. They are a committee of opposition in permanent session: they never adjourn, but perpetually consider the all absorbing question of how to do the most harm to the man of God. They are a standing army always ready for the fray: they not only go to the wars, but dwell in them. Though they are the worst of company, yet they put up with one another, and are continually in each other's society, confederate for fight. David's enemies were as violent as they were evil, as crafty as they were violent, and as persistent as they were crafty. It is hard dealing with persons who are only in their element when they are at daggers drawn with you. Such a case calls for prayer, and prayer calls on God.

They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent. The rapid motion of a viper's tongue gives you the idea of its sharpening it; even thus do the malicious move their tongues at such a rate that one might suppose them to be in the very act of wearing them to a point, or rubbing them to a keen edge. It was a common notion that serpents inserted their poison by their tongues, and the poets used the idea as a poetical expression, although it is certain that the serpent wounds by his fangs and not by his tongue. We are not to suppose that all authors who used such language were mistaken in their natural history any more than a writer can be charged with ignorance of astronomy because he speaks of the sun's travelling from east to west. How else can poets speak but according to the appearance of things to an imaginative eye. The world's great poet puts it in "King Lear":

"She struck me with her tongue,

Most serpent like, upon the very heart."

In the case of slanderers, they so literally sting with their tongues, which are so nimble in malice, and withal so piercing and cutting, that it is by no means unjust to speak of them as sharpened. "Adders' poison is under their lips." The deadliest of all venom is the slander of the unscrupulous. Some men care not what they say so long as they can vex and injure. Our text, however, must not be confined in its reference to some few individuals, for in the inspired epistle to the Romans it is quoted by the apostle as being true of us all. So depraved are we by nature that the most venomous creatures are our fit types. The old serpent has not only inoculated us with his venom, but he has caused us to be ourselves producers of the like poison: it lies under our lips, ready for use, and, alas, it is all too freely used when we grow angry, and desire to take vengeance upon any who have caused us vexation. It is sadly wonderful what hard things even good men will say when provoked; yea, even such as call themselves "perfect" in cool blood are not quite as gentle as doves when their claims to sinlessness are bluntly questioned. This poison of evil speaking would never fall from our lips, however much we might be provoked, if it were not there at other times; but by nature we have as great a store of venomous words as a cobra has of poison. O Lord, take the poison bags away, and cause our lips to drop nothing but honey. Selah. This is heavy work. Go up, go up, my heart! Sink not too low. Fall not into the lowest key. Lift up thyself to God.

Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked. To fall into their hands would be a calamity indeed. David in his most pitiable plight chose to fall into the hand of a chastising God rather than to be left in the power of men. No creature among the wild beasts of the wood is so terrible an enemy to man as man himself when guided by evil, and impelled by violence. The Lord by providence and grace can keep us out of the power of the wicked. He alone can do this, for neither our own watchfulness nor the faithfulness of friends can secure us against the serpentine assaults of the foe. We have need to be preserved from the smooth as well as the rough hands of the ungodly, for their flatteries may harm us as much as their calumnies. The hands of their example may pollute us, and so do us more harm than the hands of their oppression. Jehovah must be our keeper, or evil hands will do what evil hearts have imagined and evil lips have threatened. Preserve me from the violent man. His intense passion makes him terribly dangerous. He will strike anyhow, use any weapon, smite from any quarter: he is so furious that he is reckless of his own life if he may accomplish his detestable design. Lord, preserve us by thine omnipotence when men attack us with their violence. This prayer is a wise and suitable one. Who have purposed to overthrow my goings. They resolve to turn the good man from his resolve, they would defeat his designs, injure his integrity, and blast his character. Their own goings are wicked, and therefore they hate those of the righteous, seeing they are a standing rebuke to them. This is a forcible argument to use in prayer with God: he is the patron of holiness, and when the pure lives of his people are in danger of overthrow, he may be expected to interpose. Never let the pious forget to pray, for this is a weapon against which the most determined enemy cannot stand.

The proud have hid a snare for me. Proud as they are, they stoop to this mean action: they use a snare, and they hide it away, that their victim may be taken like a poor hare who is killed without warning —killed in its usual run, by a snare which it could not see. David's enemies wished to snare him in his path of service, the usual way of his life. Saul laid many snares for David, but the Lord preserved him. All around us there are snares of one sort or another, and he will be well kept, aye, divinely kept, who never falls into one of them. And cords. With these they pull the net together and with these they bind their captive. Thus fowlers do, and trappers of certain large animals. The cords of love are pleasant, but the cords of hate are cruel as death itself. They have spread a net by the wayside. Where it will be near their prey; where the slightest divergence from the path will bring the victim into it. Surely the common wayside ought to be safe: men who go out of the way may well be taken in a net, but the path of duty is proverbially the path of safety; yet it is safe nowhere when malicious persons are abroad. Birds are taken in nets, and men are taken by deceit. Satan instructs his children in the art of fowling, and they right speedily learn how to spread nets: perhaps they have been doing that for us already; let us make our appeal to God concerning it. They have set gins for me. One instrument of destruction is not enough; they are so afraid of missing their prey that they multiply their traps, using differing devices, so that one way or another they may take their victim. Those who avoid the snare and the net may yet be caught in a gin, and accordingly gins are placed in all likely places. If a godly man can be cajoled, or bribed, or cowed, or made angry, the wicked will make the attempt. Ready are they to twist his words, misread his intentions, and misdirect his efforts; ready to fawn, and lie, and make themselves mean to the last degree so that they may accomplish their abominable purpose. Selah. The harp needs tuning after such a strain, and the heart needs lifting up towards God.

I said unto the LORD, Thou art my God. Here was David's stay and hope. He was assured that Jehovah was his God, he expressed that assurance, and he expressed it before Jehovah himself. That had need be a good and full assurance which a man dares to lay before the face of the heart searching Lord. The Psalmist when hunted by man, addressed himself to God. Often the less we say to our foes, and the more we say to our best Friend the better it will fare with us: if we say anything, let it be said unto the Lord. David rejoiced in the fact that he had already said that Jehovah was his God: he was content to have committed himself, he had no wish to draw back. The Lord was David's own by deliberate choice, to which he again sets his seal with delight. The wicked reject God, but the righteous receive him as their own, their treasure, their pleasure, their light and delight. Hear the voice of my supplications, O LORD. Since thou art mine, I pray thee hear my cries. We cannot ask this favour of another man's god, but we may seek it from our own God. The prayers of saints have a voice in them; they are expressive pleadings even when they sound like inarticulate moanings. The Lord can discern a voice in our waitings, and he can and will hearken thereto. Because he is God he can hear us; because he is our God he will hear us. So long as the Lord doth but hear us we are content: the answer may be according to his own will, but we do entreat to be heard: a soul in distress is grateful to any one who will be kind and patient enough to hearken to its tale, but specially is it thankful for an audience with Jehovah. The more we consider his greatness and our insignificance, his wisdom and our folly, the more shall we be filled with praise when the Lord attends unto our cry.

O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, thou hast covered my head in the day of battle. When he looked back upon past dangers and deliverances, the good man felt that he should have perished had not the Lord held a shield over his head. In the day of the clash of arms, or of the putting on of armour (as some read it), the glorious Lord had been his constant Protector. Goliath had his armour bearer, and so had Saul, and these each one guarded his master; yet the giant and the king both perished, while David, without armour or shield, slew the giant and baffled the tyrant. The shield of the Eternal is a better protection than a helmet of brass, When arrows fly thick and the battle axe crashes right and left, there is no covering for the head like the power of the Almighty. See how the child of providence glorifies his Preserver! He calls him not only his salvation, but the strength of it, by whose unrivalled force he had been enabled to outlive the cunning and cruelty of his adversaries. He had obtained a deliverance in which the strength of the Omnipotent was clearly to be seen. This is a grand utterance of praise, a gracious ground of comfort, a prevalent argument in prayer. He that has covered our head aforetime will not now desert us. Wherefore let us fight a good fight, and fear no deadly wound: the Lord God is our shield, and our exceeding great reward.

Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked. Even they are dependent upon thee they can do no more than thou dost permit. Thou dost restrain them; not a dog of them can move his tongue without thy leave and license. Therefore I entreat thee not to let them have their way. Even though they dare to pray to their, do not hear their prayers against innocent men. Assuredly the Lord Jehovah will be no accomplice with the malevolent; their desires shall never be his desires; if they thirst for blood he will not gratify their cruelty. Further not his wicked devices They are so united as to be like one man in their wishes; but do rot hear their prayers. Though hand join in hand, and they desire and design as one man, yet do not thou lend them the aid of thy providence. Do not permit their malicious schemes to succeed. The Lord may allow success to attend the policy of the wicked for a time for wise reasons unknown to us, but we are permitted to pray that it be not so. The petition "Deliver us from evil" includes and allows such supplication. Lest they exalt themselves. If successful, the wicked are sure to grow proud, and insult the righteous over whom they have triumphed, and this is so great an evil, and so dishonouring to God, that the Psalmist uses it in his pleading as an argument against their being allowed to prosper. The glory of the wicked is opposed to the glory of God. If God seems to favour them they grow too high for this world, and their heads strike against the heavens. Let us hope that the Lord will not suffer this to be. Selah. Here let us exalt our thoughts and praises high over the heads of self exalting sinners. The more they rise in conceit the higher let us rise in confidence.

As for the head of those that compass me about, let the mischief of their own lips cover them. To the Lord who had covered his head amid the din of arms the Psalmist appeals against his foes, that their heads may be covered in quite another sense —covered with the reward of their own malice. David's foes were so many that they hemmed him in, encircling him as hunters do their prey. It is little wonder that he turns to the Lord in his dire need. The poet represents his adversaries as so united as to have but one head; for there is often a unanimity among evil spirits which makes them the more strong and terrible for their vile purposes. The lex talionis, or law of retaliation, often brings down upon violent men the evil which they planned and spoke of for others: their arrows fall upon themselves. When a man's lips vent curses they will probably, like chickens, come home to roost. A stone hurled upward into the air is apt to fall upon the thrower's head. David's words may be read in the future as a prophecy; but in this verse, at any rate, there is no need to do so in order to soften their tone. It is so just that the mischief which men plot and the slander which they speak should recoil upon themselves that every righteous man must desire it: he who does not desire it may wish to be considered humane and Christlike, but the chances are that he has a sneaking agreement with the wicked, or is deficient in a manly sense of right and wrong. When evil men fall into pits which they have digged for the innocent we believe that even the angels are glad; certainly the most gentle and tender of philanthropists, however much they pity the sufferers, must also approve the justice which makes them suffer. We suspect that some of our excessively soft spoken critics only need to be put into David's place, and they would become a vast deal more bitter than he ever was.

Let burning coals fall upon them. Then will they know that the scattering of the firebrands is not the sport they thought it to be. When hailstones and coals of fire descend upon them, how will they escape? Even the skies above the wicked are able to deal out vengeance upon them. Let them be cast into the fire. They have kindled the flames of strife, and it is fair that they should be cast therein. They have heated the furnace of slander seven times hotter than it was wont to be heated, and they shall be devoured therein. Who would have pitied Nebuchadnezzar if he had been thrown into his own burning fiery furnace? Into deep pits, that they rise not up again. They made those ditches or fosses for the godly, and it is meet that they should themselves fall into them and never escape. When a righteous man falls he rises again; but when the wicked man goes down "he falls like Lucifer, never to hope again." The Psalmist in this passage graphically depicts the Sodom of the wicked persecutor: fire falls upon him from heaven; the city blazes, and he is cast into the conflagration; the vale of Siddim is full of slime pits, and into these he is hurried. Extraordinary judgment overtakes the extraordinary offender: above, around, beneath, all is destruction. He would have consumed the righteous, and now he is consumed himself. So shall it be: so let it be.

Let not an evil speaker be established in the earth. For that would be an established plague, a perpetual curse. Men of false and cruel tongues are of most use when they go to fatten the soil in which they rot as carcases: while they are alive they are the terror of the good, and the torment of the poor. God will not allow the specious orators of falsehood to retain the power they temporarily obtain by their deceitful speaking. They may become prominent, but they cannot become permanent. They shall be disendowed and disestablished in spite of all that they can say to the contrary. All evil bears the element of decay within itself; for what is it but corruption? Hence the utmost powers of oratory are insufficient to settle upon a sure foundation the cause which bears a lie within it. Evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him. He hunted the good, and now his own evil shall hunt him. He tried to overthrow the goings of the righteous, and now his own unrighteousness shall prove his overthrow. As he was violent, so shall he be violently assaulted and hunted down. Sin is its own punishment; a violent man will need no direr doom than to reap what he has sown. It is horrible for a huntsman to be devoured by Iris own hounds; yet this is the sure fate of the persecutor.

I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and, the right of the poor. All through the Psalm the writer is bravely confident, and speaks of things about which he had no doubt: in fact, no Psalm can be more grandly positive than this protest against slander. The slandered saint knew Jehovah's care for the afflicted, for he had received actual proofs of it himself. "I will maintain it" is the motto of the great Defender of the rights of the needy. What confidence this should create within the bosoms of the persecuted and poverty stricken! The prosperous and wealthy can maintain their own cause, but those who are otherwise shall find that God helps those who cannot help themselves. Many talk as if the poor had no rights worth noticing, but they will sooner or later find out their mistake when the Judge of all the earth begins to plead with them.

Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name. The former Psalm had its "surely", but this is a more pleasing one. As surely as God will slay the wicked he will save the oppressed, and fill their hearts and mouths with praises. Whoever else may be silent, the righteous will give thanks; and whatever they may suffer, the matter will end ill their living through the trial, and magnifying the Lord for his delivering grace. On earth ere long, and in heaven for ever, the pure in heart shall sing unto the Lord. How loud and sweet will be the songs of the redeemed in the millennial age, when the meek shall inherit the earth, and delight themselves in the abundance of peace! The upright shall dwell in thy presence. Thus shall they give thanks in the truest and fullest manner. This abiding before the Lord shall render to him "songs without words", and therefore all the more spiritual and true. Their living and walking with their God shall be their practical form of gratitude. Sitting down in holy peace, like children at their father's table, their joyful looks and language shall speak their high esteem and fervent love to him who has become their dwelling place. How high have we climbed in this Psalm —from being hunted by the evil man to dwelling in the divine presence; so doth faith upraise the saint from the lowest depths to heights of peaceful repose. Well might the song be studded with Selahs, or uplifters.

Whole Psalm. Another Psalm "of David", to be sung by all saints, even as it was used by their Head, David's Son. In it we have (Ps 140:1-3) the picture of the wicked, with a "Selah", that bids us pause over its dark colours. Then we have (Ps 140:4-5) a view of the snares spread by the wicked, with another "Selah" —pause. Thereafter, we see a soul in the attitude of faith (Ps 140:6-8). They are laying the snares, but calm as Elisha beholding the Syrian host assembling (2Ki 6:15), the stayed soul sings

"I have said to the Lord, My God art thou"; and then he prays, putting a "Selah" at the close, that we may again pause and survey the scene. —Andrew A. Bonar.

Whole Psalm. There is no doubt that this Psalm expresses the feelings of David on the first intelligence of Saul's setting out anew in pursuit of him (comp. Ps 140:2). And then, in Psalm 141, we have his supplication at the time when this danger was ever approaching nearer. Various things are said in this Psalm (according to the Hebrew) primarily of a single person (Saul:) thus e.g. Ps 140:1,4; and the numerous tongues of which David complains (Ps 140:3) are just the tongues of traitors who again informed Saul of this new place of David's residence in the wilderness of Engedi, where he might have imagined himself so secure. The laying of snares (Ps 140:5) agrees perfectly in part with this treachery, and in part with the search after David by Saul and his numerous army, mentioned in 1Sa 24:2. In the same way might the burning coals, spoken of in Ps 140:10, and likewise the deep pits (German, floods) mentioned there, have suggested themselves most naturally to David upon the rocks of Engedi, where he had the Dead Sea just before him. Ps 140:10 seems also to allude to the events which happened on the night before the destruction of Sodom. —T. C. Barth, in "The Bible Manual."

Whole Psalm. As in Psalm 138. David set before his seed God's promise as the anchor of hope (2Sa 7:1-17); and in Psalm 139, God's omniscience as our consolation in danger and motive for shunning evil; so in this Psalm he sets forth the danger from calumnious enemies, and our only safety in Jehovah, our strength. —Andrew Robert Fausset.

Verses  1, 4, 6, 8. Good men live by prayer. He who gets to the throne of grace is covered by the cloud of glory, through which no sun can smite by day, nor moon by night. —William Swan Plumer.

Verses 1, 7-11. On the first reading of this Psalm one is inclined to think that there is somewhat of fierceness and bitterness in it, which is hardly consistent with the character of a child of God, and therefore unbecoming in David...And yet I really think that a little more examination of the language of this Psalm will lead us to believe that we are doing David wrong in affixing anything like a meaning or desire of vindictiveness to his words. Assuredly we can find no fault with one who takes his wrongs in prayer to God; who, like Hezekiah, takes the roll of his cares, and sorrows, and trials, and spreads it before the Lord. And this is what David does in the very first verse: "Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man; preserve me from the violent man." I do not think a person who does this, who, when smarting under a sense of injury and wrong, goes at once to God and lays open his heart to him, is likely to go very far wrong; for even though he may have begun in somewhat of an unkindly spirit, yet prayer opens before us such a sight and sense of our own guiltiness and wrongs towards God, and thereby exercises such an abasing, as well as healing and soothing, influence over our feelings towards others, that we might almost be assured that he whose prayer might begin even with a vehement enumeration of his own wrongs, would end with something very like a determination to bless them that cursed, and to do good to them that hated him. You will observe, too, how, from first to last, David leaves his cause in God's hands; it is not "my sword and my bow that shall help me"; he counted them vain things to help a man; and therefore, as he had so often said in other Psalms; "The Lord was his shield and his defence", and as God had already shielded his head in the day of battle, so he prays for the same protection against his enemies now. —Barton Bouchier.

Three special forms of Satanic energy are individualized. The evil or wicked man, the violent man, and the man of tongue are severally appealed from by the suppliant speaker of the prayer of faith. —Arthur Pridham.

Whole Psalm. Another Psalm "of David", to be sung by all saints, even as it was used by their Head, David's Son. In it we have (Ps 140:1-3) the picture of the wicked, with a "Selah", that bids us pause over its dark colours. Then we have (Ps 140:4-5) a view of the snares spread by the wicked, with another "Selah" —pause. Thereafter, we see a soul in the attitude of faith (Ps 140:6-8). They are laying the snares, but calm as Elisha beholding the Syrian host assembling (2Ki 6:15), the stayed soul sings

"I have said to the Lord, My God art thou"; and then he prays, putting a "Selah" at the close, that we may again pause and survey the scene. —Andrew A. Bonar.

Whole Psalm. There is no doubt that this Psalm expresses the feelings of David on the first intelligence of Saul's setting out anew in pursuit of him (comp. Ps 140:2). And then, in Psalm 141, we have his supplication at the time when this danger was ever approaching nearer. Various things are said in this Psalm (according to the Hebrew) primarily of a single person (Saul:) thus e.g. Ps 140:1,4; and the numerous tongues of which David complains (Ps 140:3) are just the tongues of traitors who again informed Saul of this new place of David's residence in the wilderness of Engedi, where he might have imagined himself so secure. The laying of snares (Ps 140:5) agrees perfectly in part with this treachery, and in part with the search after David by Saul and his numerous army, mentioned in 1Sa 24:2. In the same way might the burning coals, spoken of in Ps 140:10, and likewise the deep pits (German, floods) mentioned there, have suggested themselves most naturally to David upon the rocks of Engedi, where he had the Dead Sea just before him. Ps 140:10 seems also to allude to the events which happened on the night before the destruction of Sodom. —T. C. Barth, in "The Bible Manual."

Whole Psalm. As in Psalm 138. David set before his seed God's promise as the anchor of hope (2Sa 7:1-17); and in Psalm 139, God's omniscience as our consolation in danger and motive for shunning evil; so in this Psalm he sets forth the danger from calumnious enemies, and our only safety in Jehovah, our strength. —Andrew Robert Fausset.

Verses  1, 4, 6, 8. Good men live by prayer. He who gets to the throne of grace is covered by the cloud of glory, through which no sun can smite by day, nor moon by night. —William Swan Plumer.

Verses 1, 7-11. On the first reading of this Psalm one is inclined to think that there is somewhat of fierceness and bitterness in it, which is hardly consistent with the character of a child of God, and therefore unbecoming in David...And yet I really think that a little more examination of the language of this Psalm will lead us to believe that we are doing David wrong in affixing anything like a meaning or desire of vindictiveness to his words. Assuredly we can find no fault with one who takes his wrongs in prayer to God; who, like Hezekiah, takes the roll of his cares, and sorrows, and trials, and spreads it before the Lord. And this is what David does in the very first verse: "Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man; preserve me from the violent man." I do not think a person who does this, who, when smarting under a sense of injury and wrong, goes at once to God and lays open his heart to him, is likely to go very far wrong; for even though he may have begun in somewhat of an unkindly spirit, yet prayer opens before us such a sight and sense of our own guiltiness and wrongs towards God, and thereby exercises such an abasing, as well as healing and soothing, influence over our feelings towards others, that we might almost be assured that he whose prayer might begin even with a vehement enumeration of his own wrongs, would end with something very like a determination to bless them that cursed, and to do good to them that hated him. You will observe, too, how, from first to last, David leaves his cause in God's hands; it is not "my sword and my bow that shall help me"; he counted them vain things to help a man; and therefore, as he had so often said in other Psalms; "The Lord was his shield and his defence", and as God had already shielded his head in the day of battle, so he prays for the same protection against his enemies now. —Barton Bouchier.

Three special forms of Satanic energy are individualized. The evil or wicked man, the violent man, and the man of tongue are severally appealed from by the suppliant speaker of the prayer of faith. —Arthur Pridham.

Continually are they gathered together for war. Literally, this clause reads, who gather wars, and so some understand it. But it is well known that the prepositions are often omitted in the Hebrew, and no doubt he means that they stirred up general enmity by their false information which acted as a trumpet sounding to battle. —John Calvin.

Verses 2-3. The wicked assault the righteous with three weapons: —with the heart, by conspiracy; with the tongue, by lying; and with the hand, by violence. —John Lorinus, 1569-1634.

They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent. To sharpen or whet the tongue imports the keenest and most extreme kind of talkativeness, much more to sharpen the tongue "like a serpent." Naturalists tell us that no living creature stirs his tongue so swiftly as a serpent, and serpents are therefore said to have a treble tongue, because, moving their tongue so fast, they seem to have three tongues. The Psalmist means —the wicked speak thick and threefold, they sting and poison me with their tongues. —Joseph Caryl.

They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent. This is an exact description of the way in which a serpent darts out his tongue before he inflicts the wound. See him: his head is erect, and his piercing eye is wildly and fiercely fixed on the object; the tongue rapidly appears and disappears, as if by that process it would be sharpened for the contest. Thus were the enemies of David making sharp their tongues for his destruction. —Joseph Roberts, in "Oriental Illustrations of the Sacred Scriptures," 1835.

They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent, etc. Is it not a fact, that there are many men, the very existence of whom is a baneful poison, as it were? They dart their livid tongue like the tongue of a serpent; and the venom of their disposition corrodes every object upon which it concentrates itself; ever vilifying and maligning, like the ill omened bird of night. —Pliny.

They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent. As the adder skilfully prepares herself for her work of death, so do the unhappy children of slander and falsehood prepare themselves, by every possible effort, for injuring their unoffending victims. —John Morison.

In St. James's day, as now, it would appear that there were idle men and idle women, who went about from house to house, dropping slander as they went, and yet you could not take up that slander and detect the falsehood there. You could not evaporate the truth in the slow process of the crucible, and then show the residuum of falsehood glittering and visible. You could not fasten upon any word or sentence, and say that it was calumny; for in order to constitute slander, it is not necessary that the word spoken should be false —half truths are often more calumnious than whole falsehoods. It is not even necessary that a word should be distinctly uttered; a dropped lip, an arched eyebrow, a shrugged shoulder, a significant look, an incredulous expression of countenance, nay, even an emphatic silence, may do the work; and when the light and trifling thing which has done the mischief has fluttered off, the venom is left behind, to work and rankle, to inflame hearts, to fever human existence, and to poison human society at the fountain springs of life. Very emphatically was it said by one whose whole being had smarted under such affliction, Adders' poison is under their lips. —Frederick William Robertson.

Slander and calumny must always precede and accompany persecution, because malice itself cannot excite people against a good man, as such; to do this, he must first be represented as a bad man. What can be said of those who are busied in this manner, but that they are a "generation of vipers", the brood of the old "Serpent", that grand accuser and calumniator of the brethren, having under their tongues a bag of "poison", conveying instant death to the reputation on which they fasten. Thus David was hunted as a rebel, Christ was crucified as a blasphemer, and the primitive Christians were tortured as guilty of incest and murder. —George Horne.

Man consists of soul and body; the body is but the shadow, or at best but the bearer of the soul: it's the soul that bears God's image; it's the soul especially for which Christ died. Now, by how much the soul is more precious than the body, by so much are the helps more excellent, and the enemies more dangerous than the body's. The body is fed with meat; but it is perishing meat (1Co 6:13); but the food of the soul is the heavenly manna (Joh 6:27). Answerably, the enemies are more hurtful, for that that hurts or kills the body toucheth not the soul; but what hurts or kills the soul kills the body with it, and destroys the whole man. The conclusion is, that therefore the bane or poison of the soul is much more hideous, horrible and hateful than that of the body; and of that poison speaks the present Scripture: adders' poison is under their lips.

A strange text, some may say, and 'tis true; but it is the fitter for these strange times, wherein the poison both of soul and body so far prevails. The words do describe in part the malignant and malicious nature of the unregenerate and sinful man; and to that purpose are they cited by the apostle to the Romans (Ro 3:13). The asp is but a little creature; but not a little poisonous. So little a creature hath been the bane and death of many a great person; let one suffice for all. That royal and renowned Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, chose rather to die by the biting of two asps than to be carried in triumph at Rome by Augustus. The manner of their poisoning is this, —he that is bitten by the asp falls forthwith into a gentle sweat and a sweet sleep, and his strength and vital spirits decay and weaken by little till he die; thus the present pain is little, but the stroke is deadly. And even such stings are the tongues, and such swords the words of wicked men. And no marvel; for what can come but poisonous words and actions from them whose very inward nature is all poison within!

The poison of the soul is only sin, and this is like to poison in many respects. Poison, wherever it enters, stays not there, but diffuses itself all over the body, and never ceaseth till it has infected all. Such is the nature of sin; enter where it will it creeps from one member of the body to another, and from the body to the soul, till it has infected tim whole man; and then from man to man, till a whole family; and stays not there, but runs like a wildfire, from family to family, till it has poisoned a whole town, and so a whole country, and a whole kingdom. Woeful experience proves this true, both for Popish opinions, idle fashions, vain customs, and ill —examples of all sorts, which once set on foot, spread themselves over the politic body of church and commonwealth, like a gangrene or a leprosy over the natural body, or like a poison through all the blood. Poison, having entered anywhere, as it seeks to creep presently over all, so desires it especially to seize upon the heart; such a malice and pride lies in the malignant nature of it, that it aspires to the heart; and such a craft and cunning lurks in it, that having once entered, it creeps closely and unfelt till it gets to the heart; but having possessed itself of that sovereign part of man, then like a tyrant it reigns and rages, and infecting first the vital blood and noble parts, it diffuses itself over all and every part. And such is the nature of sin, the spiritual poison of the soul; enter where it will, it is tim heart it aims at, and it will never stay till it comes there. The truth of this is so clear that proofs are needless; for who knows not that the senses are but the doors or windows, but the heart is the throne, and the soul itself the seat of sin: and hence it is that Solomon advises, —"My son, keep thy heart with all diligence": Pr 4:23. —William Crashaw, in "The Parable of Poyson," 1618.

Adders' poison is under their lips. The word rendered "adder", bwvke, achsub, occurs here only; and it is perhaps impossible to determine what species is intended. As the word, in its proper signification, seems to express coiling, or bending back —an act common to most serpents —the name has perhaps no determinate reference; or it may be another name for the pethen, mentioned under Job 20.; which seems also to have been the opinion of the Seventy, as they render both words by, aspiv, and are followed by the Vulgate (aspis). As to the poison, it will be observed, that in the venomous serpents there is a gland under the eye secreting the poisonous matter, which is conveyed, in a small tube or canal, to the end of a fang which lies concealed at the roof of the mouth. This fang is moveable at the pleasure of the serpent, and is protruded when it is about to strike at an antagonist. The situation of this poison, which is, in a manner, behind the upper lip, gives great propriety to the expression, "adders' poison is under their lips." The usage of the Hebrew language renders it by no means improbable that the fang itself is called Nwvl lashon, a tongue, in the present text; and a serpent might then be said to sharpen its tongue, when, in preparing to strike, it protruded its fangs. We do not see any explanation by which a more consistent meaning may be extracted from the expression here employed. —John Kitto, in the "Pictorial Bible."

Often the tongue of the serpent is spoken of as the seat of its venom. This is popular, not scientific language. —William Swan Plumer.

Adder. The word acshub (pronounced, ak-shoob), only occurs in this one passage. The precise species represented by this word is unknown. Buxtorf, however, explains the word as the Spitter, "illud genus quod venelmm proeul exspuit." Now, if we accept this derivation, we must take the word acshub as a synonym for pethen. We have already identified the Pethen with the Naja haje, a snake which has the power of expelling the poison to some distance, when it is out of reach of its enemy. Whether the snake really intends to eject the poison, or whether it is merely flung from the hollow fangs by the force of the suddenly checked stroke, is uncertain. That the Haje cobra can expel its poison is an acknowledged fact, and the Dutch colonists of the Cape have been so familiarly acquainted with this habit, that they have called this reptile by the name of Spuugh Slange, or Spitting Snake, a name which, if we accept Buxtorf's etymology, is precisely equivalent to the word acshub. —J.G. Wood, in "Bible Animals."

Verses 3, 5, 8. Selah. We meet with Selah here for the first time since Psalm 89. From Psalm 90 to Psalm 140 no Selah occurs. Why omitted in these fifty we cannot tell any more than why so often recurring in others. However, there are only about forty Psalms in all in which it is used. —Andrew A. Bonar.

Keep me, etc. From doing as they do, or as they would have me do, or as they promise themselves I will do. —Matthew Henry.

Preserve me from the violent man. The second clause of the first versicle of this verse is the same as the second versicle of Ps 140:1, which seems the burden of the song. —"Speaker's Commentary."

To overthrow my goings. To take my feet from under me, to destroy the basis of belief, the power of advance in good works, that we may turn back from the way of salvation, or fall upon it, or, at any rate, may go very slowly along it. —Neale and Littledale.

The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords. The following story illustrates how cords have been used by thieves so lately as the year 1822: —"Two skilful leaders of Dacoits, having collected some forty followers, and distributed among them ten matchlocks, ten swords, and twenty-five spears, waylaid a treasure going from the native Collector's treasury at Budrauna to Goruckpore. The prize consisted of 1,200 pounds of sterling, and was guarded by a Naik, or corporal, with four sepoys and five troopers. It had to pass through a dense jungle, and it was settled —said one of them in after years —that the attack should take place there; that we should have strong ropes tied across the road in front and festooned to trees on both sides, and, at a certain distance behind, similar ropes festooned to trees on one side, and ready to be fastened on the other, as soon as the escort of horse and foot should get well in between them. Having completed these preparations the gang laid down on either side of the road patiently awaiting their prey. `About five in the morning, 'continued the narrator, `we heard a voice as if calling upon the name of God (Allah), and one of the gang started up at the sound, and said, "Here comes the treasure!" We put five men in front with their match locks loaded —not with ball but shot, that we might, if possible, avoid killing anybody. When we got the troopers, infantry, and treasure all within the space, the hind ropes were run across the road, and made fast to the trees on the opposite side, and we opened a fire in upon the party from all sides. The foot soldiers got into the jungle at the sides of the road, and the troopers tried to get over the ropes at both ends, but in vain.' The corporal and a horse were killed; two troopers wounded, and the treasure carried off in spite of a hot pursuit." —From James Hutton's "Popular Account of the Thugs and Dacoits of India", 1857.

The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords. There was "a trap hidden for him with cords"; a trap being sunk into some frequented hath, and always covered over with grass or brushwood, and having long cords attached to each side, by which the hunter, lurking at a little distance, might close it whenever he saw the game stepping on the spot. But the net spread for him by his enemies extended to the very "side of the encampment", which indicates, that even among the soldiers lying around him, there were some who had been bribed and persuaded to watch and betray him. —Benjamin Weiss, in "A New Translation of the Psalms, with Notes," 1858.

Snare. Net. Gins. The several uses to which the contrivances denoted by the Hebrew words thus rendered were respectively applied, do not appear to be well ascertained. In general the Psalmist alludes to the artifices employed for capturing birds or beasts. It is, however, a curious circumstance, as noticed by Thevenot, that artifices of this kind are literally employed against men as well as other animals by some of the Orientals. "The most cunning robbers in the world", says he, "are in this country. They use a certain slip with a running noose, which they cast with so much sleight about a man's neck when they are within reach of him, that they never fail, so that they strangle him in a trice." —Richard Mast.

The voice of my supplications. The one safety for simple and unlearned people when assailed by the crafty arguments of heretics and infidels is not controversy, but prayer, a weapon their adversaries seldom use and cannot understand. —Bruno of Aste, 1123.

Thou hast covered my head in the day of battle. Hebrew, of armour. For David had never indeed any battle with Saul, but declined it; but Saul often armed against him; but then God's providence covered him as a shield: but the head is only spoken of to set forth his whole body, because that is chiefly aimed at by the enemy, as where the life principally lieth. —John Mayer.

Thou hast covered my head, etc. That is, I had no other helmet or armour but thy Almighty power in the day when I fought with Goliath. 1Sa 17:39-40,50. —Thomas Fenton.

Thou hast covered my head in the day of battle. A captain or prince had always beside him in battle an armour bearer, whose duty it was "to cover his master's head", that is, to ward off with the shield the blows aimed at his head, and which, in the heat of the fight, had escaped his own notice. —Benjamin Weiss.

His wicked device; which is to destroy me. "Exalt themselves"; not only against me, but against thee also, as if by their power and policy they had frustrated thy design and promise made to me. —M. Pool.

As for the head of those that compass me about, etc. God, he saith, had covered his head in the day of battle: now contrariwise ho showeth what should cover the head of his enemies, viz., it should come to them as with their lips they had maliciously spoken against him; for it may be thus rendered —"The head of my besieger, let the trouble of his lips cover it": for cursing, "let him be covered with cursing as with a cloak." —John Mayer.

Those that compass me about. For an explanation of this expression we would refer the reader to "The Treasury of David", vol. 1.p. 387, where he will find two very pertinent extracts from J. Stevenson and Dr. Shaw.

The mischief of their own lips. The pride and hauteur of the Jews in our Lord's day brought the Roman arms upon them, and caused them to fall into irremediable ruin. They invoked their own fate by exposing themselves to an invasion from Rome at all; but they did it still more in that terrific cry —"His blood be upon us and on our children." —William Hill Tucker, in "The Psalms, with Notes, Shewing their Prophetic and Christian Character," 1840.

Verses 9-10. Such passages admit of translation in the future, and are rather predictions than imprecations. —Ingram Cobbin, 1839.

Verses 9-11. The prophet, in these three verses, predicted those just judgments which heaven will inflict on the slanderers and persecutors of the righteous. Their lips, which uttered mischief against others, shall be the means of covering themselves with confusion, when out of their own mouths they shall be judged. Those tongues which have contributed to set the world on fire, shall be tormented with the hot burning coals of eternal vengeance: and they, who, with so much eagerness and diligence have prepared pits for the destruction of their brethren, shall be cast into a deep and bottomless pit, out of which they will not rise up again any more for ever. Evil speakers and false accusers shall gain no lasting establishment, but punishment shall hunt sin through all its doubles, and seize it at last as its legal prey. Let these great truths be firmly rooted in our hearts, and they will keep us steady in the worst of times. —George Horne.

Let burning coals fall upon them, etc. The Psalmist seems here to allude to the destruction of the Sodomites. In these imprecations he considered his enemies as the enemies of God, rather than as his own; and lie thus cursed them, as knowing, in the quality of a prophet, that God himself had cursed them: and therefore these sorts of imprecations do not authorize other persons to curse their enemies. —Thomas Fenton.

Let burning coals full upon them, etc. An imprecation which (with the similar previous one, Ps 9:6, etc.) is a prophecy; and one which, while it has had no fulfilment in the case of David's enemies, or any persecutors of the church in times past, brings again vividly before the mind the fiery judgment of the Lord's coming, and the awful sentence already pronounced against "the beast and false prophet", the leaders of the confederation of the kings of the earth and their armies, then "gathered together to make war against him" —"these were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone": Re 19:19-20. So before, Ps 55:15 63:9. —William De Burgh.

Let not an evil speaker a man full of tongue be established, etc. The man given to talk, the liar, the flatterer, the detractor, the scold, the brawler, "shall not be established in the earth", for such people are abhorred by the wicked as well as by the good. —Robert Bellarmine.

Let not an evil speaker be established, etc. The positions laid down in this verse will find abundant illustration in every age of the church. "An evil speaker", who takes delight in wounding the reputation of others, is seldom established or prospered in the earth. Providence fights against such an unhappy wretch. "The violent man", the ishmaelite whose hand is against every man, is in general overthrown by the very same weapons which he wields against others. —John Morison.

An evil speaker. By "a man of the tongue", as the original has it, the Hebrews express a detractor or sycophant; one who gives his tongue the liberty to vent what mischief lie pleases. The Chaldee here expresses it by a delator or vile informer with a threefold or three forked tongue;because such a man wounds three at once; the receiver, the sufferer, and himself. —Thomas Fenton.

Evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him. 'Tis an allusion to hounds that are of a quick scent, and pursue the game with pleasure; they do not see the deer or the hare, yet they follow upon the scent; and though they have sometimes a very cold and dead scent, yet they will follow and work it out. Thus "evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him"; and though sometimes he hath, as it were, got out of the view or sight of evil, and thinks himself under covert, yet these evils, like a company of greedy hounds, will pursue till they have overtaken and overthrown him. —Joseph Caryl.

I know. For I have a promise of it, and that's infallible. —John Trapp.

Verses 12-13. I know that the Lord will maintain the cause, etc. Why, how comes the Psalmist so confident? "Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name": as if he had said, Thou hast a name for a gracious and faithful God in thy promise, and this thou wilt never suffer to be blotted by failing in thy work. Christian, thou mayest venture all thou art worth on the public faith of Heaven: "His words are pure, as silver tried seven times in a furnace." He that will not suffer a liar or covenant breaker to set foot on his holy hill, will much less suffer any one thought of falseness or unfaithfulness to enter into his own most holy heart. —William Gurnall.

Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name, etc. Teacheth us two things, first, that it becometh the godly to show themselves continually thankful, because God is continually merciful to them; secondly, what is the excellent estate and condition of God's children, which, though it do not yet appear, yet shall it in the end break forth with fulness of glory." —Thomas Witcocks.

The upright shall dwell in thy presence. "Sit in thy presence", as thy friends or guests or favoured servants. Perhaps it may mean sit (enthroned) before thee. Compare Mt 19:28. Some understand the sense to be shall dwell (in the land) before thee, i.e., under thy protection and inspection. —Joseph Addison Alexander.

Verses 1-5.

1. The particular source of David's affliction: it was from men. In this he was a type of Christ. a) Their wickedness: "the evil man." b) Their violence: "the violent man." c) Their malicious designs: "which imagine mischiefs in their heart." d) Their confederacy: "continually are they gathered together for war." e) Their false accusations: "They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent", etc. (Ps 140:3). f) Their avowed design: "they have purposed to overthrow my goings" (Ps 140:4). g) Their intrigues (Ps 140:5).

2. His universal remedy: "Deliver me, O Lord"; "preserve" and help me. His defence is, a) In God. b) In prayer to God. —G. R.

Verses 1-5. In our position, age, and country, we are not in danger of violence from men, as was David; still, no man is absolutely safe front the danger.

1. Mention some eases not yet impossible. a) A Christian workman, because he cannot comply with unrighteous customs, excites the animosity of his fellow workers. They will do him mischief, spoil his work, steal his tools, speak evil of him, until his employer discharges him to restore peace in the factory. b) A Christian clerk or shop assistant, because his presence is a check upon his sinful companions, may have snares laid for him, etc.

2. Suggest advice, useful, should such a case arise. a) Resort to God with a "Deliver me", and a "Preserve me." b) Maintain integrity and uprightness. c) Should the mischievous ones succeed, still trust in God, who can make their mischief lead to your profit, and make his goodness outwit their devices. —J. F.

The depraved state of the natural man as to his speech.

(first clause). A wise prayer. The wicked will slander, and oppress, or mislead, flatter and defile. No one can keep us but the Lord.

The Dangers of Society.

1. The secrecy of the attacks of the ungodly: "hid a snare."

2. The variety of their weapons: "and cords."

3. The cunning choice of position: "by the wayside."

4. The object of their designs: "for me": they desire to destroy the man himself.

The Net by the Wayside, or, covert temptations; temptations brought near, and made applicable to daily life.

1. The language of assurance.

2. The plea for acceptance in prayer.

Verses 6-7. David comforted himself,

1. In his interest in God: "I said...thou art my God."

2. In his access to God: he had leave to speak to him, and might expect an answer of peace: "Hear", etc.

3. In the assurance he had of help from God, and happiness in him (Ps 140:7).

4. In the experience he had formerly of God's care of him: "Thou hast covered my head in the day of battle." —Matthew Henry.

Verses 6-8. Three arguments to be pleaded in a prayer for protection.

1. The believer's covenanted property in God. "I said... thou art my God."

2. The past mercies of God. "Thou hast covered", etc.

3. The impropriety of the wicked being encouraged in their wickedness, Ps 140:8. —J. F.

Verses 6-12. The Consolations of the Believer in Time of Trouble.

1. What he can say.

2. What he can remember.

3. What he is assured of.

Verses 6-7, 12-13. Times of Assault, Slander, and Temptation should be special times of Prayer and Faith. David here makes prominent five things.

1. Possession asserted. a) The Possession: "My God." Opposed to idols. Beloved by self. b) The Claim published. c) The Witness selected. Secret. Sacred. Searching. d) The Occasion chosen.

2. Petition presented. a) His prayers were frequent. b) His prayers were full of meaning. c) His prayers were meant for God. d) His prayers needed divine attention.

3. Preservation experienced. a) God had been his Armour bearer. b) God had guarded his most vital part. c) God had saved him. d) God's strength had been displayed.

4. Protection expected. a) God is a righteous Judge. b) God is a compassionate Friend. c) God is a well known Guardian.

5. Praise predicted. a) Praise assured by gratitude. b) Praise expressed by words. c) Praise implied by confidence. d) Praise practised by communion.

How the sin of evil speakers comes home to them. —W. B. H.

(first clause.)

1. Notice a few varieties of evil speakers. a) Liars; the common liar, the trade liar, the stock exchange liar, the political liar, etc. b) Scandal mongers. c) Blasphemers and swearers. d) Libertines and seducers. e) Sceptics and new theology inventors.

2. The propriety of the prayer. a) Because evil speaking is intrinsically an evil thing. b) It is an extensively injurious thing. c) He who would have God's truth established must needs desire that evil speaking must fail.

3. The limitation of the prayer: "In the earth." a) It is certain an evil speaker cannot be established in heaven, nor in hell. b) The earth is the only sphere of his influence; but, alas! men on the earth are too prone to be influenced by him. c) Then, become righteous and true, by faith in the Righteous One and the "Truth." —J. F.

(second clause.) The Cruel Hunter pursued by his own Dogs.

(second clause.) Theme —Sins committed, and not repented of, pursue men to their ruin.

1. Illustrate. a) They may raise a force of opposition from men. Tarquin, Napoleon, etc. b) They may precipitate ruin, as Haman was hunted by his own sin to the gallows. c) They may arouse destructive remorse, as in Judas. d) Certainly they will pursue to the judgment seat, and hunt the soul into hell.

2. Apply. a) How fearful a thing must sin be. b) The mole terrible because self created. c) Flee from the avenging pursuers to Christ, the only and safe refuge. —J. F.

(second clause.) The hunt and pursuit of the violent sinner.

1. The progress of the chase. a) At first the victim is ignorant of it. b) But ere long he finds Scripture, conscience, God, Death, at his heels. c) His own sins cry loudest after him.

2. The issue of the hunt. Hemmed in, overthrown, lost for ever, unless he repent.

3. Another Huntsman. "The Son of man is come to seek and save that which was lost." —W. B. H.

1. The known fact.

2. The reasons for being so assured of it.

3. The conduct arising out of the knowledge.

Something worth knowing.

1. By the afflicted and the poor who trust in the Lord.

2. By the oppressors who afflict and do the wrong.

3. By all men, that they may trust in the Lord, and praise him for his compassion towards the needy, and for his even handed justice. —J. F.

Verses 12-13.

1. Trust under all circumstances (Ps 140:12).

2. Gratitude for all things: "The righteous shall give thanks unto thy name."

3. Safety at all times: "The upright shall dwell in thy presence." —G. R.

One of the noblest forms of praise, —dwelling in the presence of God. Or, reverent regard to God's presence, holy communion with the Lord, confiding rest in God's dealings, obedient doing of the heavenly will —the best way of giving thanks to God.

Two assertions beyond contradiction.

1. The righteous are sure to give thanks to God, let others be as thankless as they will. For, a) They recognise all their good as coming from God. b) They realise themselves as unworthy of the good they receive. c) They are anxious to do right, because they are righteous; and that involves thanksgiving. d) Thankfulness is a part of the joy derived from what they enjoy.

2. The upright are sure to dwell in God's presence. a) In the sense of setting the Lord before them. b) In the sense of an abiding present fellowship with God. c) In the sense of enjoying God's approval. d) In the sense of dwelling in heaven for ever. —J. F.