Tag Archives: Prayers for Deliverance

Psalm 141 Keep My Words and My Heart from Evil

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Burning incense stick and its smoke by Atan0 shared under CC-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Incense_stick.JPG#/media/File:Incense_stick.JPG

Psalm 141

A Psalm of David

1 I call upon you, O LORD come quickly to me;

  give ear to my voice when I call to you.

2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you

  and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.

3 Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD;

  keep watch over the door of my lips.

4 Do not turn my heart to any evil,

  to busy myself with wicked deeds

 in company with those who work iniquity;

  do not let me eat of their delicacies.

5 Let the righteous strike me;

  let the faithful correct me.

 Never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head,

  for my prayer is continually against their wicked deeds. 

6 When they are given over to those who shall condemn them,

  then they shall learn that my words were pleasant.

7 Like a rock that one breaks apart and shatters on the land,

  so shall their bones be strewn at the mouth of Sheol.

8 But my eyes are turned toward you, O GOD, my Lord;

  in you I seek refuge; do not leave me defenseless.

9 Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me

  and from the snares of evildoers.

10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,

  while I alone escape.

The rich poetic imagery of the prayers of the worshipper ascending to God like the fragrant smoke of burning incense has always been a memorable aspect of this psalm. In my own practice this psalm is frequently used in evening prayer within the setting of Marty Haugen’s Holden Evening Prayer where verse two of the psalm becomes the refrain for the psalmody. Yet within the psalm there is a contrast between this slow imagery of prayers ascending like incense at the evening sacrifice and the urgent call of the psalmist for God to hear and come quickly. There are numerous verbal links with Psalm 140[1] but they are used to a different end. Psalm 140 cries out for God to deliver the psalmist from the poisonous words of violent men, but Psalm 141 calls on God to prevent the petitioner from their own heart and mouth being used for wickedness.

The psalm is linked poetically to the actions of worship: burning incense and offering a sacrifice. These words may originate during worship, or the author may view these words as a sacrifice and pleasant odor they can present before God. I appreciate the multisensory image which involves both scent and a visual image combined with the audible speaking of these words before God. If the prayer is offered at the evening sacrifice the petitioner may be hoping to partake in the holy portion of the evening sacrifice rather than the delicacies of those who work iniquity.

The psalmist called for God’s immediate action and that action is turned towards delivering them from the words and practices of the wicked. The language of the psalm is echoed in the warnings about appropriate companions scattered throughout Proverbs and many readers of this psalm believe the author has become associated with companions whose words and actions are evil. They ask God to guard their mouth and watch the door of their lips to prevent their tongue from becoming like the tongues sharp and snakes and lips with the venom of vipers in the previous psalm. Similarly, they ask God to keep their heart from evil and wicked deeds in the company of those who work iniquity. It is plausible that those the author speaks of are royalty and he may be echoing Proverbs 23:2, “Do not desire an official’s delicacies, for they are deceptive food.”

Any translation of verses five to seven of the psalm have had to smooth out the Hebrew text.[2] The NRSVue does a good job of creating a stanza that makes sense and I will follow their translation in continuing to discuss the psalm. The psalmist asks for the righteous to correct them, even striking them to discipline them. The language of anointing may indicate that the ones the psalmist speaks about are royalty and their anointing of the psalmist would be recognizing him as included in their group. Perhaps the psalmist is a prophet who has been speaking words that the princes and nobles did not want to hear, but they have attempted to entice him to join with them. Ultimately the psalmist agrees with the belief that God will not allow the wicked to prosper forever and eventually their bones will be scattered like a rock that shatters when it is cast against the ground.

They know that they are in danger of being ensnared by these wicked ones. Whether they have willingly been seduced into this position or these evil ones are attempting to trap them in words or actions, they understand that their deliverance will come from God. God can guard their mouth from words that can be used against them, turn their heart away from the acts which are contrary to God’s wisdom, or to be tempted by the delicacies that these workers of iniquity have set before them. Instead, the psalmist asks that these evil ones would fall into their own traps, ensnared in their own plots and actions. Just as Christians regularly pray “lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil” this psalmist knows the dangers of the temptations and the lure of the evil snares set for them.

The appeal of the psalm for God to guard our lips, our hearts, and ultimately our actions in an environment of temptation is a prayer that resonates for followers of every time. Hundreds of billions of dollars are spent annually on advertising that asks us to taste the delicacies set before us. The digital world and the real world are full of traps to ensnare us in actions that we know are foolish but find enticing. The life of faith involves sending up prayers to God for words and actions that are faithful instead of wicked. We all need to be delivered from temptation. I certainly have had times where I needed divine help to restrain my tongue or to give me the strength to live according to my convictions. I have needed the correction of faithful brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. For me the psalm is a reminder that we rely on God and God’s people as we attempt to live a faithful life amid a world of temptations.

[1] Nancy deClaissé-Walford lists nine verbal connections: ““Wicked” (rasa) occurs in Pss. 140:8 and 141:4, 10; “righteousness” (sadiq) in 140:3 and 141:5; “guard, keep” (samar) in 140:4 and 141: 3, 9; “lip” (sapa) in 140:3,9 and 141:3; “malicious” (ra’) in 140: 1,2, 11 and 141:4; “LORD my Lord (YHWH’adonay) in 140:7 and 141:8; “trap” (pah) in 140:5 and 141:9; “snare” (moqes) in 140:5 and 141:9; and “lend an ear” (‘azan) in 140:6 and 141:1.” (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 972)

[2] Nancy deClaissé-Walford attempts to give a closer translation to the Hebrew:

5 Let the righteous strike me with hesed and reprove me;

                let my head not refuse such oil

                Indeed continually my prayer is against their maliciousness.

6 Let their judges be hurled down into the hands of the rock,

                And then they will hear my sayings, for they are pleasant.

7 Like the furrowing and breaking up of the earth,

                our bones are scattered to the mouth of Sheol. (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 973)

Psalm 140 Deliver Me From the Poisonous Words of Violent Ones

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King David, the King of Israel by Gerard van Honthorst

Psalm 140

To the leader. A Psalm of David. 

1 Deliver me, O LORD, from evildoers[1];
  protect me from those who are violent,
 2 who plan evil things in their minds
  and stir up wars continually.
 3 They make their tongue sharp as a snake’s,
  and under their lips is the venom of vipers.  Selah

 4 Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;
  protect me from the violent
  who have planned my downfall.
 5 The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
  and with cords they have spread a net,
  along the road they have set snares for me.  Selah

 6 I say to the LORD, “You are my God;
  give ear, O LORD, to the voice of my supplications.”
 7 O LORD, my Lord, my strong deliverer,
  you have covered my head in the day of battle.
 8 Do not grant, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;
  do not further their evil plot.  Selah

 9 Those who surround me lift up their heads;
  let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
 10 Let burning coals fall on them!
  Let them be flung into pits, no more to rise!
 11 Do not let the slanderer be established in the land;
  let evil speedily hunt down the violent!

 12 I know that the LORD maintains the cause of the needy
  and executes justice for the poor.
 13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
  the upright shall live in your presence.

Psalm 140 is the poetic prayer of an individual asking God to deliver them from violent adversaries. The Hebrew of the poem divides into four roughly equal parts (divided by the word selah) with a closing statement of trust.[2] The first two sections use the metaphors of venomous snakes, warfare, and hunting to describe the actions of the violent ones to the God who can deliver the psalmist. The central section turns away from the violent ones to the God who delivers the psalmist in the midst of battle. The fourth section asks for God’s judgment on these evil and violent opponents before the final two verses again return to the God who maintains the cause of the needy.

The enemies are identified only as evildoers, violent, and wicked. Although the psalmist utilizes the metaphor of warfare it is likely that the enemies’ actions may be primarily verbal with the focus on the tongue and lips in the serpent imagery and the hiding of traps for a hunter. That does not mean that the threat is not ominous. The enemies may be attempting to ensnare the psalmist through their word games in court or poison their reputation. These violent ones are stirring up conflict and evil, planning the downfall and entrapment of the faithful psalmist.

God is named at the beginning of each of the first two sections, but in the central section the name of God is called out four times.[3] The LORD is the psalmists God, and then the psalmist asks their God to hear their supplications. The word translated supplications comes from the verbal root hanan which is translated “showing favor” in Psalms 111, 112, and 123 and is part of the self-description of God in Exodus 34:6. The psalmist declares their allegiance to their God and God’s description of Godself before returning to the military metaphors where God clothes them for battle and delivers them. The psalmist closes this section by appealing to God to not grant the desires of the wicked, but instead to hear the appeals of the righteous one.

In the fourth section returns to the enemies that have risen against the psalmist. This section again returns to the verbal themes with the mischief of the lips being turned against those who speak violently against the psalmist. Now the psalmist asks God to judge them with burning coals, falling into the pit. Ultimately the psalmist asks that evil would hunt down these violent, wicked ones. As with all cries to God to judge the enemy, the enemy resides in God’s hands and not the psalmist.

The psalmist closes with a note of trust which calls again on God as the one who protects the needy and poor. The psalmist trusts that their current situation where the wicked and violent successfully oppress the righteous will not last. God hears the cry of the vulnerable and defends them. God will not allow the wicked to prosper indefinitely. The psalmist looks forward to the day when they can give thanks to the LORD for the way God has delivered them from this moment of trouble.

[1] “The Hebrew word is ‘ra, most often translated as “evil.” The word “evil” in English carries an ethical, moral tone that, while appropriate for Ps. 140, is probably not as appropriate as malicious, which means, “having, shown, or cause by malice; spiteful; intentionally mischievous or harmful.”” (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 968)

[2] Clifford Allen noted that verses 1-3 contain twenty-three Hebrew words, ending with selah; verses 4-5 contain twenty-three words, ending with selah; verses 6-8 contain twenty-four words, ending with selah; verses 9-11 contain twenty-three words with verses 12-13 as a closing statement of trust. (Nancy deClaisse-Walford, 2014, p. 967)

[3] In English translations the capitalized LORD indicates that the four letters of the divine name are behind the translation (YHWH) with vowel markings indicating it is to be spoken as Adonai (Lord). In verse seven the second Lord is the Hebrew Adonai.