... in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen. Through the prayers of our
holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen. Glory
to You, our God, Glory to You.
O Heavenly King,
the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things,
Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us
from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy
Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).
Glory be to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it is now, was in the
beginning, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Psalm 140:1-13[1]
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.
Deliver me, Lord, from the
evil man. Preserve me from the violent
man, who imagines mischief in [his]
heart. They are gathered together [for] war continually. They have sharpened their tongues like a
serpent. Adders’ poison [is] under their lips. Consider.[2]
Keep me, Lord, from the
hands of the wicked. Preserve me from
the violent man, who has purposed to overthrow my goings. The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords. They have spread a net by the wayside. They have set traps for me. Consider.[3]
I said to the Lord, “You [are] my God.” Hear the voice of my supplication, Lord. O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You have covered my head in
the day of battle. Grant not, Lord, the desires of the wicked.
Further not his wicked device.
They exalt themselves. Consider.
The head of those who circle about me, let
the mischief of their own lips cover them.
Let burning coals fall on them.
Let them be cast in the fire, in deep pits, so that they rise not up
again. Let not an evil speaker be
established in the earth. Evil shall
hunt the violent man to overthrow [him].
I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, the right of the
poor. Surely the righteous shall give
thanks to Your name. The upright shall
dwell in Your presence.[4]
[1]
David, like many of us, is often concerned with the problem of needing
deliverance from evil people, and evil situations. Most of us have had jobs and family
situations where we cried out for deliverance daily. This subject is so important that it is a major
topic in the Lord’s Prayer. The only
difference between evil people and evil situations is: in the first case you’ve
identified the person causing evil; in the second case that wicked person
remains hidden. Evil comes from an evil
person, either angel or human. The
characteristics of such an evil person are: violence, plotting (imagining
mischief), intent to start a fight (war), shrewd and poisonous speech. When your adversary spends half the day
whispering to the boss about your faults; when you are suddenly confronted;
when apology is demanded from you, and you don’t even understand what has
happened; this Psalm prepares you, and helps you know what has happened and
what to do about it.
Having been delivered from the clutches of such evil, David turns
to the request that he would be kept free from the grip of such
wickedness. Have you ever been relieved
after being fired? You should feel sad,
broken, discouraged; instead you are filled with joy. Did your termination free you from the
clutches of wicked people? Now you know
why you are happy: the harsh burden of oppression was removed. David adds to the characteristics of evil
people: they intend to overthrow, they use snares, ropes, nets, and traps. All of these devices are intended to capture
and kill secretly, stealthily. There is
no intent here to correct a wrong, or even settle a score. The goal is to overthrow, to bring into a
state of subjection and slavery. The
wicked often hides behind platitudes, “We need to be accountable.” But the wicked are only accountable to
themselves. Such means are how
politicians increase their power, not by open debate, but by undermining their
opponents.
David’s solution is prayer.
The evil attack is aimed directly at the head. David recommends the helmet of salvation,
which is received in prayer (Ephesians 6:17).
We must trust God to protect us from such devious attacks.
David does not seek retaliation against such enemies. He pictures such a person or persons as a
wolf or pack of wolves circling, waiting for the kill. Instead David prays that they would receive
the exact outcome of their plots. We
would say “hoist with their own petard,” exploded by their own bomb. Completely fair and just punishment.
David has complete confidence that God’s system of justice
will vindicate him in the end, and he will be freed, finally, to thank and
dwell with God. We must not leave this
Psalm without noting that it is about Jesus, not about us. David, being a prophet, foresees the
intricate details of Christ’s battle against evil, culminating at the
crucifixion. He sees the resurrection
and Pentecost as victory. David may not
have understood what he saw, but this Psalm makes no eternal sense, until we
see Jesus in it.
[2]
David is more concerned with the warfare of evil speech than with armies coming
after him with swords, and rightfully so; evil speech is far more destructive
than lethal weapons. “The pen is
mightier than the sword,” either for doing evil or for doing good. Ambushes, snares, and traps are best set with
the silent pen or whispering tongue.
[3] Our
thoughts go immediately to Matthew 13:7, 22, 24-30, 36-43. Our age is heavily snared with “the
deceitfulness of riches.” In such
a situation, being fired is a blessing. From
where did this idea that money and wealth are so important come? Our Lord
patiently explains that this is the deception of the Devil himself. While it is true that we all need to toil
productively for our bread: even “the good ground” toils to bring forth
fruit. That being said, how and where we
toil makes all the difference. Some work
situations are lethal to spiritual life.
When life becomes filled with seething anger, bitterness, clamor, and
worse: perhaps it is time to ask God for a different job; because the goodness
of God brings contentment, peace, and tranquility. Is your job filled with immoral
temptations? Yes! Is there one other Christian who stands with
you on the job to help resist such temptations?
No! Perhaps it is time to move
on. We must not pull up the tares; they must
be harvested and burned. This is said to
me the work of messengers (angels are messengers, either human, or spirit
beings) at the end of the age. It is
possible that preaching has a role to play in the deliverance of the people of
God from such evil snares, so that the people of God may be fruitful in the
kingdom. “Even so, You delivered us from the evil!”
[4] If
you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations, please repost,
share, or use any of them as you wish.
No rights are reserved. They are
designed and intended for your free participation. They were freely received, and are freely
given. No other permission is required
for their use.
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