Psalm 140, In the Face of Violence

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

The Hebrew word chamas, "violence", appears six times in Habakkuk and fourteen times in the psalms, three of those times here, in verses 1, 4 and 11. The Arabic version of the word, hamas, was chosen as a name by the Palestinian group controlling the Gaza strip, the violent group which committed the atrocities of October 7, 2023 in Israel. Violence is an intrinsic part of human nature. Here David seeks salvation from it.

Psalm 140:1-3, Poisonous tongues

 Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men; 

protect me from men of violence,

 who devise evil plans in their hearts 

and stir up war every day.

 They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent's;

 the poison of vipers is on their lips.

Selah.

Evil men are described as desiring violence and war. They are men with sharp and poisonous tongues.

Psalm 140:4-5, Hidden snares

 Keep me, O LORD, 

from the hands of the wicked; 

protect me from men of violence 

who plan to trip my feet.

 Proud men have hidden a snare for me; 

they have spread out the cords of their net 

and have set traps for me along my path.

Selah.

David asks for protection from those who plant snares and traps.  The words "trip", "snare", "cords", "traps" all point to devious predators seeking to bring David down.

Psalm 140:6-8, Strong deliverer

 O LORD, I say to you, "You are my God." 

Hear, O LORD, my cry for mercy.

 O Sovereign LORD, my strong deliverer, 

who shields my head in the day of battle--

 do not grant the wicked their desires, O LORD; 

do not let their plans succeed, 

or they will become proud.

Selah.

After laying out the attacks against him, David pleads for help from YHWH, seeking from Him security and protection. David is committed to YHWH mercy and righteousness and so seeks His help.

Psalm 140:9-11, Falling coals

 Let the heads of those who surround me 

be covered with the trouble their lips have caused.

 Let burning coals fall upon them; 

may they be thrown into the fire, 

into miry pits,

 never to rise.

 Let slanderers not be established in the land; 

may disaster hunt down men of violence.

After pleading for help, David asks that his enemies be pulled down, destroyed, thrown into the fire, with burning coals poured upon them. This natural imprecatory passage is a response to the many attempts the violent have made on his life.

Psalm 140:12-13, Justice and righteousness

 I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor 

and upholds the cause of the needy.

 Surely the righteous will praise your name

 and the upright will live before you.

At the end of the psalm, David leans on the righteousness of God and allies himself with justice and the poor. The righteous will, of course, live with YHWH and praise Him.

First published November 25, 2025; updated November 25, 2025