Shīpiān 140

1 ( Dàwèi de shī , jiāo yǔ líng zhǎng ) Yēhéhuá a , qiú nǐ zhĕngjiù wǒ tuōlí xiōngè de rén , bǎohù wǒ tuōlí qiángbào de rén .

2 Tāmen xīn zhōng tú móu jiān è , chángcháng jùjí yào zhēng zhàn .

3 Tāmen shǐ shétou jiān lì rú shé , zuǐlǐ yǒu huī shé de dúqì . ( xì lā )

4 Yēhéhuá a , qiú nǐ zhĕngjiù wǒ tuōlí è rén de shǒu , bǎohù wǒ tuōlí qiángbào de rén . tāmen tú móu tuī wǒ diēdǎo .

5 Jiāoào rén wèi wǒ àn shè wǎngluó hé shéng suǒ . tāmen zaì lùpáng pū xià wǎng , shè xià quān tào . ( xì lā )

6 Wǒ céng duì Yēhéhuá shuō , nǐ shì wǒde shén . Yēhéhuá a , qiú nǐ liú xīn tīng wǒ kĕnqiú de shēngyīn .

7 Zhǔ Yēhéhuá , wǒ jiùēn de lìliang a , zaì zhēng zhàn de rìzi , nǐ zhē bì le wǒde tóu .

8 Yēhéhuá a , qiú nǐ búyào suí è rén de xīnyuàn . búyào chéngjiù tāmende jì móu , kǒngpà tāmen zì gāo . ( xì lā )

9 Zhìyú nàxiē áng shǒu wéi kùn wǒde rén , yuàn tāmen zuǐchún de jiān è xiànhaì ( yuánwén shì zhē bì ) zìjǐ .

10 Yuàn huǒ tàn luō zaì tāmen shēnshang . yuàn tāmen beì diū zaì huǒ zhōng , pāo zaì shēn kēng lǐ , bùnéng zaì qǐlai .

11 Shuō è yán de rén , zaì dì shang bìjiān lì bù zhù . huòhuàn bì liè qǔ qiángbào de rén , jiāng tā dǎdǎo .

12 Wǒ zhīdào Yēhéhuá bì wèi kùnkǔ rén shēnyuān , bì wèi qióngfá rén biàn qū .

13 Yì rén bìyào chēngzàn nǐde míng . zhèngzhí rén bì zhù zaì nǐ miànqián .

Shīpiān 140 Commentary

Chapter 140

David encourages himself in God. (1-7) He prays for, and prophesies the destruction of, his persecutors. (8-13)

Verses 1-7 The more danger appears, the more earnest we should be in prayer to God. All are safe whom the Lord protects. If he be for us, who can be against us? We should especially watch and pray, that the Lord would hold up our goings in his ways, that our footsteps slip not. God is as able to keep his people from secret fraud as from open force; and the experience we have had of his power and care, in dangers of one kind, may encourage us to depend upon him in other dangers.

Verses 8-13 Believers may pray that God would not grant the desires of the wicked, nor further their evil devices. False accusers will bring mischief upon themselves, even the burning coals of Divine vengeance. And surely the righteous shall dwell in God's presence, and give him thanks for evermore. This is true thanksgiving, even thanks-living: this use we should make of all our deliverances, we should serve God the more closely and cheerfully. Those who, though evil spoken of and ill-used by men, are righteous in the sight of God, being justified by the righteousness of Christ, which is imputed to them, and received by faith, as the effect of which, they live soberly and righteously; these give thanks to the Lord, for the righteousness whereby they are made righteous, and for every blessing of grace, and mercy of life.

Chapter Summary

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. This psalm, A ben Ezra says, was composed by David before he was king; and Kimchi says, it is concerning Doeg and the Ziphites, who calumniated him to Saul; and, according to our English contents, it is a prayer of David to be delivered from Saul and Doeg. The Syriac inscription is, "said by David, when Saul threw a javelin at him to kill him, but it struck the wall; but, spiritually, the words of him that cleaves to God, and contends with his enemies." R. Obadiah says, it was made at the persecution of David by Saul, which was before the kingdom of David; as the persecution (of Gog) is before the coming of the Messiah. It is indeed before his spiritual coming, but not before his coming in the flesh; and David may be very well considered in the psalm as a type of Christ, for he was particularly so in his sufferings, as well as in other things.