Prayer for Preservation From Enemies – Part 2

Psalm 140

Privileges of God’s Servant

Four times the psalmist references God as Lord. Thus, demonstrating his relationship to God as Master and he is the humble servant. David recognizes he has certain privileges because of this relationship.

• Possession

It is a very common part of an individual’s prayer by the psalmist to claim of the Lord: “You are my God.” All men belong to the Creator who is their Progenitor. God is the God of Israel and Jesus is the Savior of the church. All the saints belong to the Lord as His possession. However, David claims that God is his possession. As Thomas claimed concerning Jesus, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).

• Petition

David has heard the venomous tongues of the evil men, now he calls upon God to hear him. The best way to respond to your enemies is by turning the battle plans over to God and requisition from heavenly headquarters the supplies needed for victory.

• Power

Ancient kings and warriors like Saul and Goliath, had armorbearers. David had the strength of the Lord to bring him victory. “Then David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands’” (1Sam. 17:45-47).

• Protection

This warlike metaphor corresponds to the enemies of David who plan and carry out a war against him. It is not David’s intention to ask God to stop the war and end all battles. David knows he is at war with the enemies of God and must trust in the strength of the helmet of salvation. The helmet of salvation is part of the armor of God covering or protecting the Christian (Eph. 6:17).

• Prevention

This is the segue into the next section. The singers are told to pause and ponder what the relationship the wicked have in contrast to the righteous’ relationship with God. David has consistently seen a grave injustice of the wicked being exalted or victorious over the righteous. Only God can be the perfect Almighty Judge in order to stop this from happening. Surely David is not asking God not to help his enemies, but to stop them from succeeding in trapping him.

Consider the traps Daniel’s enemies set for him. Their plans were like a boomerang coming back at them. “And the king gave the command, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions—them, their children, and their wives; and the lions overpowered them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the den” (Dan. 6:24).

Pause-Ponder-Profit: Selah

God is Lord and Master over His servants. There are many benefits of being a slave of the most powerful Master. He is available to hear the servants’ petitions for supplies needed, can empower them, provide protection, and prevent their enemies for hindering them.

Plea for Divine Retribution

✓ “Let the evil of their lips cover them”

Like hunters surrounding their prey, David felt trapped by his enemies on every side. He had nowhere to turn and no way to escape. Whereas his head is protected by the helmet of salvation from the Lord, he asks the Lord to let the evil words of his enemies cover them with destruction. The stones they cast at David will ricochet and hit them in the head.

✓ “Let burning coals fall upon them; Let them be cast into the fire”

This sounds like what God did to Sodom and the cities of the plain. Daniel’s three friends were cast into the burning fiery furnace because they would not worship Nebuchadnezzar’s idol (Dan. 3). They were rescued by God. However, God will cast His enemies who do not worship Him into hell. The Beast and the False Prophet, two great enemies of the saints, “these two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone” (Rev. 19:19-20). Yet, for the Christian he is told to deal with his enemies in a way to accomplish the same, but in a way which can result in a win/win solution. “‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:20,21).

The “deep pits” could be a reference to traps dug by them to catch David or to sheol, meaning the grave. David calls upon God to see to their complete destruction “that they rise not up again.” Whether he had in mind eternal death in Hell or more likely a final end to hostilities toward David is hard to say with great certainty.

✓ “Let not a slanderer be established in the earth”

The Hebrew term “slanderer” literally means “a man of the tongue” (Broyles 489). The success of the slanderer would defile the land. Satan is a murderer and liar (John 8:44). He is a slanderer (Rev. 12:10) and deceiver (2 Cor. 11:3). Haman planned to malign the Jews and have them exterminated from the Medo-Persian empire. He had gallows built from Mordecai. In the end Esther by the providence of God confounded those plans and Haman was hung upon those very gallows he had built for the righteous.

✓ “Let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him.”

“They have tried to get him to fall into traps they set for him, so they too should be plunged into pits of destruction. They have hunted him with their snares, and they should be hounded in their turn” (Allen 337). Judas searched for an opportunity to betray the Lord and ended up hanging himself in the end.

This is not to be confused with karma. It is the maxim of creation which seeds reproduce after their kind in both the physical and spiritual kingdom. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life” (Gal. 6:7,8). By hunting down David with evil, evil will hunt down and destroy them. It is not David doing the hunting but the evil they have shown toward David. “Take note, you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out” (Num. 32:23).

Persuaded of God’s Goodness

★ Confiding in God’s Care

Suddenly this lament of David switches “from divine address to third-person reference” starting with this verse twelve (Allen 334). This is a common feature in lament psalms. God can be trusted to look out after those who are suffering persecution for righteousness’ sake and for those who suffer due to the attacks by their enemies. David’s confidence in the mercy of God for these is reassuring for him and all those who so suffer at the hand of evil men.

★ Commending God’s Name

With great confidence David knows praises of thanksgiving will come to God from the righteous he has lifted up out of the deadly hold of their enemies.

★ Continuing in God’s Presence

God would go on and be with David. He would fulfill the promises made to the King. His dynasty would last for many generations. The kingdom would grow. His son, Solomon, would build the Temple. Jesus Christ would be born the son of David and resurrection to set upon the throne of David at the right-hand side of God. The hope for the Christian is to be with God in Heaven. “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God’” (Rev. 21:3).

– Daniel R. Vess