Psalm 140 [MT 141] · Scripture · Fisherman's Friend

[A Psalm of David.] O Lord, I have cried to thee; hear me: attend to the voice of my supplication, when I cry to thee.

Ψαλμὸς τῷ Δαυΐδ. - ΚΥΡΙΕ, ἐκέκραξα πρὸς σέ, εἰσάκουσόν μου· πρόσχες τῇ φωνῇ τῆς δεήσεώς μου ἐν τῷ κεκραγέναι με πρὸς σέ.

Гдⷭ҇и, воззва́хъ къ тебѣ̀, ᲂу҆слы́ши мѧ̀: вонмѝ гла́сꙋ моле́нїѧ моегѡ̀, внегда̀ воззва́ти мѝ къ тебѣ̀.

Augustine of Hippo †430

"Deliver me, O Lord, from the wicked man" [Psalm 140:1]. Not from one only, but from the class; not from the vessels only, but from their prince himself, that is, the devil. Why "from man," if he means from the devil? Because he too is called a man in a figure. [Matthew 13:24-28] ...Now then being made light, not in ourselves, but in the Lord, [Ephesians 5:8] let us pray not only against darkness, that is, against sinners, whom still the devil possesses, but also against their prince, the devil himself, who works in the children of disobedience. "Deliver me from the unrighteous man." The same as "from the wicked man." For he called him wicked because unrighteous, lest perchance you should think that any unrighteous man could be a good man. For many unrighteous men seem to be harmless; they are not fierce, are not savage, do not persecute nor oppress; yet are they unrighteous, because, following some other habit, they are luxurious, drunkards, given to pleasure....Wicked then is every unrighteous man, who must needs be harmful, whether he be gentle or fierce. Whoever falls in his way, whoever is taken by his snares, will find how harmful is that which he thought harmless. For, brethren, even thorns prick not with their roots. Pull up thorns from the ground, handle their roots, and see whether you feel pain. Yet that in the upgrowth which causes you pain, proceeded from that root. Let not then men please you who seem gentle and kind, yet are lovers of carnal pleasure, followers of polluted lusts, let them not please you. Though as yet they seem gentle, they are roots of thorns....And so, my brethren, body of Christ, members of Christ groaning among such wicked men, whomsoever ye find hurrying headlong into evil lusts and deadly pleasures, at once chide, at once punish, at once burn. Let the root be burnt, and there remains not whence the thorn may grow up. If you cannot, be sure that you will have them as enemies. They may be silent, they may hide their enmity, but they cannot love you. But since they cannot love you, and since they who hate you must needs seek your harm, let not your tongue and heart be slow to say to God, "Deliver me, O Lord, from the unrighteous man."
Exposition on Psalm 140

Where, after all, does evil come to a human being from, but from a human being? Count how many evils people suffer from outwardly. Those that are not evidently caused by other people are extremely few. Of evils coming to a human being from a human being there are plenty. Thefts come from a human being, adultery with his wife he suffers from a man, his slave is induced to do something unlawful by a human being, he is hoodwinked by a human being, he is outlawed by a human being, he is overthrown by a human being, he is taken prisoner by a human being. "Deliver me, Lord, from the evil person."
Sermon 297:9

2

Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; the lifting up of my hands [as] an evening sacrifice.

κατευθυνθήτω ἡ προσευχή μου ὡς θυμίαμα ἐνώπιόν σου, ἔπαρσις τῶν χειρῶν μου θυσία ἑσπερινή.

Да и҆спра́витсѧ моли́тва моѧ̀ ꙗ҆́кѡ кади́ло пред̾ тобо́ю: воздѣѧ́нїе рꙋкꙋ̀ моє́ю, же́ртва вече́рнѧѧ.

3

Set a watch, O Lord, on my mouth, and a strong door about my lips.

θοῦ, Κύριε, φυλακὴν τῷ στόματί μου καὶ θύραν περιοχῆς περὶ τὰ χείλη μου.

Положѝ, гдⷭ҇и, хране́нїе ᲂу҆стѡ́мъ мои̑мъ и҆ две́рь ѡ҆гражде́нїѧ ѡ҆ ᲂу҆стна́хъ мои́хъ.

Romans 3:9-26 †56

What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes. [Psalms 140:3] Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

John Chrysostom †407

Do you see how holy Scripture knows how to call human only the person practicing virtue and does not think the others are human, calling them instead flesh at one time and earth at another? Hence at this place, too, in promising to list the genealogy of the good person it says, “Noah was a human being.” You see, he alone was a human being, whereas the others were not human beings; instead, while having the appearance of human beings they had forfeited the nobility of their kind by the evil of their intention, and instead of being human they reverted to the irrationality of wild animals. Sacred Scripture assigns the names of wild beasts to human beings, rational creatures that they should be, in the event of their lapsing into evil and falling prey to irrational passions. Listen, for example, to its words, “They turned into rutting horses.” See how it gives them the animal’s name on account of their unbridled lust. Elsewhere, on the other hand, it says, “Poison of serpents on their lips”; here it highlights their resemblance to the animal’s trickery and duplicity. Again, it calls them “dumb dogs.” And again, “Like a deaf adder that blocks its ears,” referring to their stopping their ears against instruction in virtue. You would find many other names imposed by sacred Scripture on people seduced by their indifference into bestial passions.
Homilies on Genesis 23:11

Augustine of Hippo †430

"They have sharpened their tongues like serpents" [Psalm 140:3]. If still you seek to make out the man, behold a comparison. In the serpent above all beasts is there cunning and craft to hurt; for therefore does it creep. It has not even feet, so that its footsteps when it comes may be heard. In its progress it draws itself, as it were, gently along, yet not straightly. Thus then do they creep and crawl to hurt, having poison hidden even under a gentle touch. And so it follows, "the poison of asps is under their lips." Behold, it is "under" their lips, that we may perceive one thing under their lips, another in their lips....
Exposition on Psalm 140

4

Incline not my heart to evil things, to employ pretexts for sins, with men who work iniquity: and let me not unite with their choice ones.

μὴ ἐκκλίνῃς τὴν καρδίαν μου εἰς λόγους πονηρίας τοῦ προφασίζεσθαι προφάσεις ἐν ἁμαρτίαις σὺν ἀνθρώποις ἐργαζομένοις τὴν ἀνομίαν, καὶ οὐ μὴ συνδυάσω μετὰ τῶν ἐκλεκτῶν αὐτῶν.

Не ᲂу҆клонѝ се́рдце моѐ въ словеса̀ лꙋка́вствїѧ, непщева́ти вины̀ ѡ҆ грѣсѣ́хъ съ челѡвѣ́ки дѣ́лающими беззако́нїе: и҆ не сочтꙋ́сѧ со и҆збра́нными и҆́хъ.

Augustine of Hippo †430

"Preserve me, O Lord, from the hand of the sinner, from unrighteous men deliver me" [Psalm 140:4]. Here they wear their real colours, they are known; here we have no need to understand, but to act: we have need to pray, not to ask who they are. But how you should pray against such men, he explains in what follows. For many pray unskilfully against wicked men. "Who have imagined," says he, "to trip up my steps." Thus far it may be understood carnally. Every one has enemies, who seek to cheat him in trade, to rob him of money, where they are engaged together in business; every one has some neighbour his enemy, who devises how to bring mischief upon his family, to injure in some way his property and surely he devises this by deceit, by fraud, by devilish devices he endeavours to accomplish this: no one can doubt it. Yet not for these reasons are they to be guarded against, but lest they lay in wait for you and draw you to themselves, that is, separate you from the Body of Christ, and make you of their body. For as Christ is the Head of the good, so is the devil their head. What is, "to trip up my steps"? Not as though you should be deceived in the business you have with him, or he cheat you in a case which you have with him in the law courts. He has "tripped up your steps," if he have hindered you in the way of God; so that what you directed aright may stumble, or fall from the way, or fall in the way, or draw back from the way, or stop on the way, or go back to the place from whence it had come. Whatsoever has done this to you, has tripped you up, has deceived you. Against such snares as these pray thou, lest you lose your heavenly inheritance, lest you lose Christ your Joint-heir, for you are destined to live for ever with Him, who has made you an heir. For you are made an heir, not by one whom you are to succeed after his death, but One together with whom you are to live for ever.
Exposition on Psalm 140

Symeon the New Theologian †1022

Does He distinguish and separate anyone out, calling one to Himself as foreknown while sending the other away as not predestined? Never! Therefore, “you should not make excuses for your sins” (Psalm 140:4, LXX), nor should you want to make the Apostle’s words an occasion for your own destruction, but should run, all of you, to the Master Who calls you. For even if someone is a publican, or a fornicator, an adulterer, a murderer, or whatever else, the Master does not turn him away, but takes away the burden of his sins immediately and makes him free. And how does He take away the other’s burden? Just as He once took away that of the paralytic when He said to the latter: “My son, your sins are forgiven” [Matthew 9:2], and the man was immediately relieved of his burden and, in addition, received the cure of his body. - "Second Ethical Discourse"

5

The righteous shall chasten me with mercy, and reprove me: but let not the oil of the sinner anoint my head: for yet shall my prayer also be in their pleasures.

παιδεύσει με δίκαιος ἐν ἐλέει καὶ ἐλέγξει με, ἔλαιον δὲ ἁμαρτωλοῦ μὴ λιπανάτω τὴν κεφαλήν μου· ὅτι ἔτι καὶ ἡ προσευχή μου ἐν ταῖς εὐδοκίαις αὐτῶν·

Нака́жетъ мѧ̀ првⷣникъ ми́лостїю и҆ ѡ҆бличи́тъ мѧ̀, є҆ле́й же грѣ́шнагѡ да не нама́ститъ главы̀ моеѧ̀: ꙗ҆́кѡ є҆щѐ и҆ моли́тва моѧ̀ во благоволе́нїихъ и҆́хъ.

Athanasius of Alexandria †373

Now these demons, if they see all Christians—and especially monks—joyfully laboring and making progress, first attack by attempting to place stumbling blocks in their way. Their “stumbling blocks” are filthy thoughts. But there is no need for us to fear the things they throw at us; through prayer and fasting and faith in the Lord the demons immediately fall. Having fallen, however, they do not stop but advance once more with deceit and cunning. Since they have been unable to deceive the heart openly through filthy pleasure, they renew their attacks on it by other means. From this point on, fabricating apparitions, they pretend to frighten us by changing their shapes and taking on the appearance of women, wild beasts, reptiles and huge bodies and legions of soldiers.Nevertheless, we need have no fear at all of their apparitions, for they are nothing, and they disappear in a hurry, especially if each person protects himself with faith and the sign of the cross. But they are brazen and completely shameless, for even if they are defeated by these means they attack again by some other method. They act like soothsayers, saying they can predict the future, and they make themselves as tall as the roof and as wide as a house so that by illusions of this sort they can carry away those whom they have been unable to deceive by thoughts. But if they find that the soul has been secured with faith and hopeful resolve, then they bring in their leader. LIFE OF ST.
Life of St. Anthony 23:1-6

Augustine of Hippo †430

"The proud have hidden a trap for me" [Psalm 140:5]. He has briefly described the whole body of the devil, when he says, "the proud." Hence is it that for the most part they call themselves righteous when they are unrighteous. Hence is it that nothing is so grievous to them as to confess their sins. They are men who, being falsely righteous, must needs envy the truly righteous. For none envies another in that which he wishes not either to be or to seem....Hence come all allurings and trippings up of others. This the devil first wished, when falling himself he envied man who stood....
Exposition on Psalm 140

So let us walk serenely along this highway without a care in the world, but let us have a healthy fear of the traps set beside the road. The enemy does not dare lay his traps on the highway, because Christ is the way; but next to the road, on the wayside, he certainly never stops doing so. That is why it says in the psalm, “They set trip wires for me next to the path.” Another text of Scripture also says, “Remember that you are treading in the midst of snares.” These snares we are treading among are not on the highway, but they are by the wayside. Why be in dread, why feel frightened, if you are walking along the way? If you abandon the way, that is the time to be afraid. I mean, the reason the enemy is even permitted to set his snares beside the way is to make sure that in a mood of happy-go-lucky carelessness you do not abandon the way and fall into his traps.
Sermon 142:1

6

Their mighty ones have been swallowed up near the rock: they shall hear my words, for they are sweet.

κατεπόθησαν ἐχόμενα πέτρας οἱ κριταὶ αὐτῶν· ἀκούσονται τὰ ῥήματά μου ὅτι ἡδύνθησαν.

Пожє́рты бы́ша при ка́мени сꙋдїи̑ и҆́хъ: ᲂу҆слы́шатсѧ глагѡ́ли моѝ, ꙗ҆́кѡ возмого́ша {ᲂу҆слади́шасѧ}.

7

As a lump of earth is crushed upon the ground, our bones have been scattered by the [mouth of] the grave.

ὡσεὶ πάχος γῆς ἐρράγη ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, διεσκορπίσθη τὰ ὀστᾶ αὐτῶν παρὰ τὸν ᾅδην.

Ꙗ҆́кѡ то́лща землѝ просѣ́десѧ на землѝ, расточи́шасѧ кѡ́сти и҆́хъ при а҆́дѣ.

8

For mine eyes are to thee, O Lord God: I have hoped in thee; take not away my life.

ὅτι πρὸς σέ, Κύριε, Κύριε, οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου· ἐπὶ σοὶ ἤλπισα, μὴ ἀντανέλῃς τὴν ψυχήν μου.

Ꙗ҆́кѡ къ тебѣ̀, гдⷭ҇и, гдⷭ҇и, ѻ҆́чи моѝ: на тѧ̀ ᲂу҆пова́хъ, не ѿимѝ дꙋ́шꙋ мою̀:

Augustine of Hippo †430

"Deliver me not over, O Lord, by my own longing to the sinner" [Psalm 140:8]. Behold to what end Your overshadowing shall avail for me, that I suffer not heat from myself. And what could that "sinner" do to me, rage as he would? For wicked men raged against the martyrs, dragged them away, bound them with chains, shut them up in prisons, slew them with the sword, exposed them to wild beasts, consumed them with fire: all this they did; yet did not God deliver them over to the sinners, because they were not delivered over by their own longing. This then pray with all your might, that God "delivered you not over by your own longing to the sinner." For thou by your own longing givest place to the devil. For lo, the devil has set before you gain, invited you to dishonesty; you can not have the gain, unless thou commit the dishonesty: the gain is the bait, dishonesty the snare: do thou so look on the bait, that you see the snare also; for you can not obtain the gain, unless thou commit the dishonesty; and if you commit the dishonesty, you will be caught....Hence is your head overshadowed in the day of battle. For longing causes heat, but the overshadowing of the Lord tempers longing, that we may be able to bridle that whereby we were being hurried away, that we be not so heated as to be drawn to the snare. "They have thought against me; leave me not, lest perchance they be exalted." You have in another place, "They that oppress me will exult if I be moved." Such are they, because such is the devil also himself....
Exposition on Psalm 140

Who is so foolish that, when he hears what is sung in the psalm, “Do not give me up, O Lord, from my desire to the wicked,” he says this person was praying that God should not be patient with him, as though, as you say, “God does not give a man up so that evils are done except to show his patient goodness”? Do we not ask daily, “Lead us not into temptation,” lest we be given up to our lusts? “For everyone is tempted by being drawn away and enticed by his own concupiscence.” Therefore, should we not ask for God’s mercy instead of asking him to show us his patient goodness? What sane person understands this; indeed, what maniac says this? Therefore, God gives people up to shameful lusts that they may do what is not fitting; but he gives them up fittingly, and these acts not only are sins, as well as punishments for past sins, but also they demand future punishments, just as he gave Ahab up to the lie of the false prophets and gave Rehoboam up to false advice.
Against Julian 5:4.15

9

Keep me from the snare which they have set for me, and from the stumbling blocks of them that work iniquity.

φύλαξόν με ἀπὸ παγίδος, ἧς συνεστήσαντό μοι, καὶ ἀπὸ σκανδάλων τῶν ἐργαζομένων τὴν ἀνομίαν.

сохрани́ мѧ ѿ сѣ́ти, ю҆́же соста́виша мѝ, и҆ ѿ собла̑знъ дѣ́лающихъ беззако́нїе.

10

Sinners shall fall by their own net: I am alone until I shall escape.

πεσοῦνται ἐν ἀμφιβλήστρῳ αὐτῶν οἱ ἁμαρτωλοί· κατὰ μόνας εἰμὶ ἐγὼ ἕως ἂν παρέλθω.

Падꙋ́тъ во мре́жꙋ свою̀ грѣ̑шницы: є҆ди́нъ є҆́смь а҆́зъ, до́ндеже прейдꙋ̀.