Psalm 140 is a prayer for rescue from wickedness that hides in the heart, sharpens the tongue, lays snares, and tries to overthrow the steps of the righteous. It is a Davidic persecution Psalm, but the Fathers read it beyond one enemy. Theodoret connects it to Saul pursuing David. Augustine hears the Church of Christ groaning among the wicked and praying through Christ the Head. Its Pascha placement is striking: printed Psalm 140:1-2 is read with John 12:36-43 on Wednesday Eve Sixth Hour, where Christ calls people to believe in the light while unbelief and hidden opposition gather around Him.
Psalm 140 (LXX 139) - Rescue Me from the Evil Man
Psalm Metadata
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| NKJV / Masoretic numbering | Psalm 140 |
| Septuagint / Coptic numbering | Psalm 139 |
| Accepted author | David by the superscription. |
| Period in author’s life | A Davidic persecution setting. Theodoret connects it especially with Saul’s pursuit of David and the deceitful speech of those who plotted against him. |
| Christ prophecy status | Typological and ecclesial by fulfillment. Christ is the end of the Psalm, and the Church prays it as His Body amid snares, false tongues, and spiritual warfare. |
| Coptic lectionary/service use | Verified local Pascha row preserves printed Psalm 140:1,2 with John 12:36-43 at Wednesday Eve Sixth Hour. |
| Numbering issue | This note embeds Brenton LXX Psalm 139. Local Pascha data preserves printed Psalm 140 references. |
Historical and Scriptural Context
Psalm 140 fits David’s life under persecution, especially the period when Saul pursued him and deceitful speech surrounded him. The language of traps, snares, violent men, and venomous tongues belongs naturally to 1 Samuel’s stories of David being hunted, betrayed, slandered, and pressed toward compromise.
Theodoret emphasizes that the prayer is fitting for a righteous person because David does not ask first for the destruction of foes, but for personal salvation. The danger is not only that enemies may harm property or reputation. The deeper danger is that they may trip up the steps of piety and pull the righteous person away from God’s path.
Augustine expands the Psalm into the voice of the Church: “the Church of Christ, set in the midst of the wicked, complaineth and groaneth, and poureth out prayer to God.” The Church prays this Psalm because evil is not only outside her. It presses through false words, pride, desires, snares, and the devil’s attempt to separate the faithful from Christ’s Body.
Geographical Significance ⛰️
The geography is not a map but a path. The Psalm speaks of steps, paths, traps near the way, and the final hope that the upright will dwell with God’s countenance. David’s literal path through wilderness and danger becomes the Christian path through temptation, false counsel, spiritual warfare, and Pascha.
The Pascha reading places the Psalm in Jerusalem during the final days before the Cross. Christ has entered the city, spoken openly, called people to believe in the light, and yet unbelief is hardening. The path of righteousness is being surrounded by hidden plots.
The Characters 👥
David. The righteous sufferer pursued by Saul and surrounded by deceit.
Saul and the unjust men. Historical enemies in Theodoret’s reading, marked by ingratitude, envy, and schemes.
The evil man. In Augustine’s reading, not only one human enemy but the class of wickedness and finally the devil who works through it.
The talkative man. The person whose loose or false speech becomes spiritually destructive.
The poor and needy. Those deprived of human help but defended by God.
Christ the Head and His Church. The One toward whom the Psalm is sung and the Body that prays it amid snares.
🕯️ Light from the Word
Psalm 139:1-4, the evil man, hidden injustice, and the serpent tongue
139:1 For the end, a Psalm of David.
139:2 Rescue me, O Lord, from the evil man; deliver me from the unjust man.
139:3 Who have devised injustice in their hearts; all the day they prepared war.
139:4 They have sharpened their tongue as the tongue of a serpent; the poison of asps is under their lips. Pause.
The Psalm begins with rescue from the evil and unjust man, but Augustine immediately widens the enemy: “Not from one only, but from the class; not from the vessels only, but from their prince himself, that is, the devil.” This does not erase human responsibility. It reveals the deeper warfare behind unjust action.
The sin begins in the heart before it reaches the tongue. Hidden injustice becomes prepared war. The tongue then becomes serpent-like. Paul quotes this Psalm in Romans 3:13 to describe the human condition under sin: “the poison of asps is under their lips.” The Church must therefore treat speech as spiritual warfare. A tongue can poison a parish, family, ministry, workplace, or friendship long before any open violence appears.
Augustine’s insight is practical: “easy is it to avoid open enmities,” but the secret enemy who speaks good things while hiding evil is harder to avoid. Theodoret connects this to Saul’s broken oaths and friendly words masking murderous intent. The spiritual issue is deceit: the heart and lips no longer match.
Lesson Guide
- Key phrases: “evil man”; “devised injustice”; “prepared war”; “tongue of a serpent.”
- Emphasize: spiritual warfare often begins as hidden injustice and poisoned speech.
- Avoid: making the enemy only external. The Psalm also searches our own speech.
Psalm 139:5-8, snares, supplication, and the head covered in battle
139:5 Keep me, O Lord, from the hand of the sinner; rescue me from unjust men; who have purposed to overthrow my goings.
139:6 The proud have hid a snare for me, and have stretched out ropes for snares for my feet; they set a stumbling-block for me near the path. Pause.
139:7 I said to the Lord, Thou art my God; hearken, O Lord, to the voice of my supplication.
139:8 O Lord God, the strength of my salvation; thou hast screened my head in the day of battle.
The enemies want to overthrow the Psalmist’s steps. Augustine warns that the deepest danger is not merely being cheated, robbed, or publicly harmed. The danger is being drawn away from the Body of Christ and hindered in the way of God.
The proud hide snares. This is important: pride is not only a visible attitude; it becomes a trapping system. It sets ropes near the path. Theodoret reads Saul’s schemes, stratagems, and wiles as traps and nets. A temptation is often placed near a legitimate path, not in an obviously foreign country.
The answer is direct prayer: “Thou art my God.” The Psalmist does not pretend to be clever enough to detect every snare. He asks God to screen his head in the day of battle. Augustine interprets this as the cooling shade of grace, protecting the mind from the heat of desire, fear, and pressure.
St Athanasius says the Psalms give the Church words for the soul’s own prayer, and St Gregory of Nyssa teaches that psalmody trains the soul toward virtue and that the end of the life according to virtue is blessedness. Psalm 140 trains the soul to ask for protection not only from suffering, but from being moved off the path.
Lesson Guide
- Key phrases: “overthrow my goings”; “snare”; “Thou art my God”; “screened my head.”
- Emphasize: the goal of the snare is to move the soul off God’s path.
- Avoid: treating the Psalm as paranoia. The prayer is sober, not suspicious of everyone.
Psalm 139:9-13, desire, pride, talkative speech, and the poor defended by God
139:9 Deliver me not, O Lord, to the sinner, according to my desire: they have devised mischief against me; forsake me not, lest they should be exalted. Pause.
139:10 As for the head of them that compass me, the mischief of their lips shall cover them.
139:11 Coals of fire shall fall upon them on the earth; and thou shalt cast them down in afflictions: they shall not bear up under them.
139:12 A talkative man shall not prosper on the earth: evils shall hunt the unrighteous man to destruction.
139:13 I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the poor, and the right of the needy ones.
Verse 9 is one of the deepest spiritual lines in the Psalm: “Deliver me not, O Lord, to the sinner, according to my desire.” Augustine makes it sharper: “thou by thine own longing givest place to the devil.” The enemy’s bait only works if desire cooperates. A snare outside becomes captivity inside when the heart wants what the sinner offers.
Pride is the head of the circle of evil. Augustine says, “the head of their going about is pride, for pride is the beginning of every sin.” False speech, traps, and violence are not random. They grow from pride, and pride makes the person move in circles rather than walk straight toward God.
The line about the talkative man is also a warning for church life. Augustine says, “A man full of words loveth lies.” This does not condemn teaching, counsel, preaching, or honest conversation. It condemns the love of speaking without truth, humility, or necessity. James 3 belongs here: the tongue can set a forest on fire.
The Psalm ends with confidence that the Lord maintains the cause of the poor and the right of the needy. The poor are not merely economically poor here, though that meaning is included. They are those stripped of human help and depending on God. Theodoret says God will not allow those deprived of human help to be exposed finally to those waging war against them.
Lesson Guide
- Key phrases: “according to my desire”; “mischief of their lips”; “talkative man”; “cause of the poor.”
- Emphasize: desire is the inward door of temptation, and God defends the needy who cry to Him.
- Avoid: applying this only to other people’s speech. The Psalm judges the teacher’s tongue too.
The Church’s Voice in Worship 📖
Verified local Pascha data preserves printed Psalm 140:1,2 with John 12:36-43 at Wednesday Eve Sixth Hour. This is a precise placement. The Gospel says, “While ye have light, believe in the light,” and then describes unbelief despite Christ’s signs and the fear of confessing Him openly. The Psalm prays, “Rescue me, O Lord, from the evil man; deliver me from the unjust man.” In Pascha, the evil man is not only Judas or the leaders plotting against Christ. It is the whole pattern of unbelief, hidden fear, poisoned speech, and refusal of the Light.
Wednesday Eve stands in the shadow of betrayal. The Church hears the Psalm before the Passion not as abstract moral advice, but as the voice of Christ and His Body surrounded by snares. The tongue of the serpent, the injustice devised in the heart, and the war prepared all day belong to the Passion narrative.
No Agpeya, annual fixed-date, or other special-service row was verified for printed Psalm 140 in the current query. This note therefore limits its lectionary claim to the verified Pascha row.
Iconography Connection 🖼️
Psalm 140 can be taught with icons of David pursued by Saul, Christ before His Passion, Judas’ betrayal, and Christ the Light of the world. The visual contrast should be between hidden snares and divine light. Avoid imagery that makes the Psalm about fear of people; center it on Christ’s faithful path amid deceit.
Spiritual Fruit 🍇
- Watch the heart before the tongue. Injustice is devised inwardly before it is spoken outwardly.
- Do not underestimate poisoned speech. The tongue can become serpent-like when separated from truth and charity.
- Ask protection for your steps. The goal of temptation is to move you off the path of God.
- Name desire as the doorway. The enemy’s snare needs the soul’s consent.
- Choose silence over wordiness. Speech should serve truth, not ego.
- Trust God’s defense of the needy. When human help is stripped away, the Lord still maintains the cause of the poor.
Teacher's Notes
- Timing: 15 minutes on David, Saul, and deceitful speech, 15 minutes on Augustine’s Church-and-devil reading, 15 minutes on desire and snares, 15 minutes on the Pascha placement with John 12.
- Where to linger: Augustine’s line, “thou by thine own longing givest place to the devil.”
- Key phrase to say slowly: “Deliver me not, O Lord, to the sinner, according to my desire.”
- Pastoral warning: this Psalm can become a weapon against other people. Teach it first as a prayer for rescue from evil and from one’s own cooperating desire.
Glossary
- Evil man / unjust man: A human enemy in the historical setting, and spiritually the class of wickedness under the devil’s influence.
- Tongue of a serpent: Deceitful, poisonous speech; quoted in Romans 3:13.
- Snare: A hidden trap near the path of righteousness.
- Day of battle: The time of temptation, persecution, and spiritual pressure.
- Talkative man: One who loves speaking more than truth.
- Poor and needy: Those deprived of human help and defended by God.
Translation and Source Notes
Embedded Scripture is Brenton’s English Septuagint, Psalm 139. The study title uses NKJV Psalm 140 with LXX 139 in parentheses. The verified local lectionary row preserves printed Psalm 140:1,2 with John 12:36-43 at Wednesday Eve Sixth Hour in Pascha. The note uses Augustine for the Church’s spiritual reading and Theodoret for the David and Saul historical reading.
Sources
Primary sources: Brenton Septuagint, Psalm 139; 1 Samuel 18-26; Romans 3:13; James 3; Ephesians 6:10-18; John 12:36-43; Matthew 26:1-16; Psalm 7; Psalm 16:8; Colossians 3:3-4.
Patristic sources: St Augustine, Exposition on Psalm CXL in NPNF1 volume 8 via CCEL; Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on Psalm 140; St Athanasius, Letter to Marcellinus; St Gregory of Nyssa, On the Inscriptions of the Psalms.
Coptic Orthodox / liturgical sources: Coptic Orthodox lectionary Pascha day-hour index and lectionary references for printed Psalm 140:1,2 with John 12:36-43 at Wednesday Eve Sixth Hour.