WEBVTT 00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:04.219 Psalm 140, to the choir master, a psalm of David. 00:00:05.360 --> 00:00:09.599 Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men, preserve me from violent men, 00:00:09.800 --> 00:00:14.099 who plant evil things in their heart and stir up wars continually. 00:00:14.800 --> 00:00:19.800 They make their tongue sharp as a serpent's, and under their lips is the venom of asps. 00:00:20.120 --> 00:00:20.519 Selah. 00:00:21.879 --> 00:00:25.960 Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked, preserve me from violent men, 00:00:26.519 --> 00:00:28.080 who have planned to trip up my feet. 00:00:28.079 --> 00:00:33.359 The arrogant have hidden a trap for me, and with cords they have spread a net. 00:00:34.159 --> 00:00:37.099 Beside the way they have set snares for me, Selah. 00:00:37.859 --> 00:00:40.060 I say to the Lord, You are my God. 00:00:40.539 --> 00:00:43.439 Give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O Lord. 00:00:43.979 --> 00:00:47.099 O Lord, my Lord, the strength of my salvation. 00:00:47.719 --> 00:00:49.840 You have covered my head in the day of battle. 00:00:50.739 --> 00:00:53.060 Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked. 00:00:53.560 --> 00:00:57.320 Do not further their evil plot, or they will be exalted, Selah. 00:00:58.079 --> 00:01:03.560 As for the head of those who surround me, let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them. 00:01:04.099 --> 00:01:06.239 Let burning coals fall upon them. 00:01:06.620 --> 00:01:10.560 Let them be cast into fire, into miry pits, no more to rise. 00:01:11.359 --> 00:01:13.620 Let not the slanderer be established in the land. 00:01:13.980 --> 00:01:16.200 Let evil hunt down the violent man's field. 00:01:16.200 --> 00:01:23.280 I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and will execute justice for the needy. 00:01:23.799 --> 00:01:26.159 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name. 00:01:26.460 --> 00:01:29.020 The upright shall dwell in your presence. 00:01:29.719 --> 00:01:31.859 This is God's holy and authoritative word. 00:01:31.859 --> 00:01:40.959 As Christians, we can feel embattled at times, living in a world that's running away from God, and we're trying to follow him. 00:01:42.159 --> 00:01:50.519 And when we're surrounded by evil, the worst we oppose God, we can feel threatened. 00:01:51.079 --> 00:01:52.319 We can be persecuted. 00:01:52.460 --> 00:01:53.039 We can suffer. 00:01:53.040 --> 00:02:00.380 And it's for such times as that, that God gave us a passage like Psalm 140 to comfort us. 00:02:01.180 --> 00:02:09.200 And the first half of the psalm, verses 1 through 6, is about the plight of the righteous, the suffering that they're going through. 00:02:09.599 --> 00:02:15.980 And the second half of the psalm, verses 8 to 13, is about the deliverance of the righteous. 00:02:16.439 --> 00:02:18.060 And so the whole thing is really a prayer. 00:02:18.060 --> 00:02:29.719 And at the center of the psalm, verse 7, is the high point of the entire psalm, which is a profession of faith that the Lord is our salvation, the strength of our salvation, and the helmet of salvation. 00:02:30.740 --> 00:02:39.219 And the main point of this psalm is that we should trust in the Lord and hold on to our righteousness, knowing that he will deliver us from the hands of the wicked. 00:02:40.060 --> 00:02:43.080 So let's just look at the first half to begin together. 00:02:44.219 --> 00:02:46.960 This psalm is attributed to David in the heading. 00:02:46.960 --> 00:02:50.500 And David begins with the cry for deliverance. 00:02:51.400 --> 00:02:55.140 And each section of the first half begins with an address to the Lord. 00:02:55.659 --> 00:02:57.200 So it says in verses 1 to 3, 00:02:57.360 --> 00:02:59.439 Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men. 00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:05.200 Preserve me from violent men, who plan evil things in their heart and stir up wars continually. 00:03:05.840 --> 00:03:10.000 They make their tongue sharp as a serpent, and under their lips is the venom of asps. 00:03:10.219 --> 00:03:10.600 Selah. 00:03:10.599 --> 00:03:17.039 So we learn kind of the nature of David's struggle here, the trouble that he's in. 00:03:17.840 --> 00:03:25.719 Evil men who are violent are plotting evil things against him and are stirring up wars. 00:03:25.719 --> 00:03:28.639 So this is probably a literal war. 00:03:29.900 --> 00:03:33.580 And they're not merely violent. 00:03:33.879 --> 00:03:35.560 They're also slanderous, as we see. 00:03:36.259 --> 00:03:40.939 Because he says that their tongue is as sharp as a serpent's, and under their lips is the venom of asps. 00:03:40.939 --> 00:03:50.500 So most of us, you know, I mean actually all of us, right, don't have anybody waging a literal war against us. 00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:55.579 But you may very well have people waging war against you in a figurative sense, right? 00:03:55.580 --> 00:04:09.600 Whether it's people who are falsely accusing you at work, people who are abusing you at home, or people who are just fighting for your downfall, your failure. 00:04:11.939 --> 00:04:17.020 And even if you don't have people who are doing this to you, we all have spiritual enemies, right? 00:04:17.180 --> 00:04:22.639 1 Peter 2.11 tells us that the passions of the flesh wage war against our souls. 00:04:22.639 --> 00:04:32.699 And likewise, Revelation 12 speaks of the great dragon, the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world, and the accuser of our brothers. 00:04:33.419 --> 00:04:40.699 So he is the evil architect behind all the sharp serpent-like tongues of men. 00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:42.659 And we do have him as our enemy. 00:04:44.519 --> 00:04:50.819 And when we feel embattled by our enemies, we have only one source of deliverance, and that's the Lord. 00:04:50.819 --> 00:04:53.800 And he's the one that David's crying out to. 00:04:54.500 --> 00:04:58.219 Let's look at verses 45 when he cries out some more. 00:04:58.980 --> 00:04:59.259 He says, 00:04:59.599 --> 00:05:01.779 Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked. 00:05:02.300 --> 00:05:05.540 Preserve me from violent men who have planned to trip up my feet. 00:05:06.300 --> 00:05:09.839 The arrogant have hidden a trap for me, and with cords they have spread a net. 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:12.800 Beside the way they have set snares for me, Selah. 00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:16.980 So here he uses the haunting imagery repeatedly. 00:05:17.300 --> 00:05:25.060 So he talks about the wicked, violent men who seek to trip up his feet and hidden a trap for him, a net and a snare. 00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:26.460 Snares for him. 00:05:26.819 --> 00:05:30.819 So they're out to get him, and he feels like he's literally walking out into a minefield. 00:05:31.540 --> 00:05:34.620 Everywhere he turns, he feels like there's traps set for him. 00:05:34.620 --> 00:05:41.500 But though the hands of the wicked are against him, he prays to the Lord, knowing that the Lord guards him. 00:05:42.340 --> 00:05:49.519 And then we get to the high point of the psalm, verses 68, where David's cry for deliverance turns to his assurance of God's deliverance. 00:05:50.340 --> 00:05:51.199 He says in verse 6, 00:05:51.259 --> 00:05:53.300 I say to the Lord, You are my God. 00:05:53.759 --> 00:05:57.340 Give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O Lord. 00:05:57.339 --> 00:06:01.560 And that's mirrored by verse 8, which says, 00:06:01.819 --> 00:06:03.719 Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked. 00:06:04.119 --> 00:06:06.479 Do not further their evil plot, or they will be exalted. 00:06:06.939 --> 00:06:07.339 Selah. 00:06:07.479 --> 00:06:11.120 So in verse 6, David cries out to the Lord to listen to him. 00:06:11.359 --> 00:06:14.259 And in verse 8, he cries out to the Lord to not listen to the wicked. 00:06:14.959 --> 00:06:18.059 And then in the middle is the central verse of the psalm, verse 7. 00:06:18.459 --> 00:06:23.879 O Lord, my Lord, the strength of my salvation, you have covered my head in the day of battle. 00:06:23.879 --> 00:06:28.560 So there in that central section, there's a threefold repetition of the name of God. 00:06:29.060 --> 00:06:32.240 The Lord in all caps, which is God's proper name, Yehovah. 00:06:32.899 --> 00:06:35.939 Yehovah, to emphasize that he is the deliverer. 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:39.560 David professes that he is his God. 00:06:39.659 --> 00:06:40.699 The Lord is his God. 00:06:41.159 --> 00:06:43.259 The Lord is the one whom he worships. 00:06:43.379 --> 00:06:49.319 He says the Lord is his Lord, his master, the one whom he serves, who obeys, and belongs to. 00:06:49.839 --> 00:06:52.939 And he declares that the Lord is the strength of my salvation. 00:06:52.939 --> 00:06:55.480 You have covered my head in the day of battle. 00:06:55.920 --> 00:06:58.899 So he's the one who supplies the strength that David needs for victory. 00:06:59.459 --> 00:07:02.500 And then also, he's the one that protects him. 00:07:02.759 --> 00:07:05.800 Because the head is the most vital part of our body, right? 00:07:05.939 --> 00:07:09.740 So when we bike around the city, we are required to wear a helmet, 00:07:10.180 --> 00:07:13.500 lest we get into a serious head injury. 00:07:14.920 --> 00:07:20.019 And so it's speaking of how the Lord protects the most vital part of David's body in battle. 00:07:20.019 --> 00:07:24.219 And with the Lord, David knows that he is invincible. 00:07:25.839 --> 00:07:30.599 And then in verses 9 to 13, David prays with faith that God might avenge him. 00:07:31.699 --> 00:07:34.939 So in contrast to David, whose head is covered by the Lord, 00:07:35.879 --> 00:07:39.079 it says the head of the enemies who surround him will be overwhelmed. 00:07:39.459 --> 00:07:40.839 They will be exposed and vulnerable. 00:07:40.839 --> 00:07:45.379 In verse 3, we saw these wicked men have the venom of asps under their lips. 00:07:45.379 --> 00:07:47.759 And now their poisonous words will be turned against them. 00:07:48.359 --> 00:07:51.439 And they will be overtaken by the mischief of their lips. 00:07:52.439 --> 00:07:56.219 And then in verses 4 to 5, we saw how the wicked men are hunting David, 00:07:56.639 --> 00:07:58.419 setting traps for him, snares for him. 00:07:58.839 --> 00:08:02.739 But then in verses 10 to 11, we see that the burning coals will fall on them instead. 00:08:03.319 --> 00:08:05.500 And they will trip and fall into miry pits. 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:06.919 No more to rise. 00:08:06.920 --> 00:08:12.240 And the violent men mentioned in verse 1 and 4, it says in verse 11, 00:08:12.360 --> 00:08:15.220 let evil hunt down the violent men speedily. 00:08:15.740 --> 00:08:19.960 So the violent hunters that were hunting David are now going to be hunted by the very evil 00:08:19.960 --> 00:08:22.960 that they sought to bring upon others and to bring upon David. 00:08:23.379 --> 00:08:28.600 So it shows God's vengeance, this justice that he brings to evildoers. 00:08:29.400 --> 00:08:32.680 And as David prays this, he has assurance that the Lord will answer. 00:08:33.259 --> 00:08:35.180 And that's what we see in verses 12 to 13. 00:08:35.179 --> 00:08:38.779 I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted 00:08:38.779 --> 00:08:42.000 and will execute justice for the needy. 00:08:42.500 --> 00:08:44.679 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name. 00:08:45.039 --> 00:08:47.199 The upright shall dwell in your presence. 00:08:48.239 --> 00:08:52.219 So God will, without fail, execute justice on our behalf, 00:08:52.719 --> 00:08:56.899 on behalf of the righteous and the upright who are afflicted and needy. 00:08:56.899 --> 00:09:02.439 The problem, of course, as we know from the rest of Scripture, 00:09:02.959 --> 00:09:05.959 is that we are not righteous and we are not upright. 00:09:06.779 --> 00:09:13.620 And in Romans 3.13, when Paul argues that, in fact, there is not a single person that is righteous, 00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:17.059 he quotes from this psalm in verse 3. 00:09:17.720 --> 00:09:21.579 He quotes verse 3 of this psalm in chapter 3.13 of Romans. 00:09:21.580 --> 00:09:23.720 The venom of asps under their lips. 00:09:23.780 --> 00:09:26.080 And he applies that description to all of humanity. 00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:29.120 So we are actually the enemies. 00:09:29.540 --> 00:09:33.980 We are actually opposed to him, opposed to God and to his anointed. 00:09:35.420 --> 00:09:40.460 However, praise be to God, he, instead of punishing us, 00:09:41.580 --> 00:09:46.840 he satisfies his justice not by giving us what we deserve as sinners, 00:09:46.840 --> 00:09:52.820 but by sending his only son, Jesus Christ, to save us by dying on the cross on our behalf. 00:09:54.519 --> 00:09:58.379 And so he loves us while we are still his enemies. 00:09:58.899 --> 00:10:00.800 And after bearing our punishment for sin, 00:10:00.920 --> 00:10:04.680 Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day and triumphant over death, 00:10:05.200 --> 00:10:10.080 and guaranteeing us the victory, assuring us of the salvation that this psalm talks about. 00:10:10.080 --> 00:10:13.259 And so that now the promises in the psalm are ours. 00:10:13.360 --> 00:10:17.300 It's by turning to Jesus and putting our faith in him that we now are saved 00:10:17.300 --> 00:10:19.480 and have God as the helmet of salvation. 00:10:20.300 --> 00:10:24.340 And of course, that helmet of salvation, that imagery recalls Ephesians 6 00:10:24.340 --> 00:10:26.340 and the armor of God, 00:10:26.879 --> 00:10:30.040 where we're called to take up the whole armor of God, 00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:33.800 among which is the helmet of salvation in verse 17 of Ephesians 6. 00:10:33.799 --> 00:10:38.799 And much like the way David speaks of the Lord here, 00:10:38.859 --> 00:10:40.259 as the strength of salvation, 00:10:40.899 --> 00:10:42.919 who covered his head in the day of battle. 00:10:43.719 --> 00:10:46.479 And in the way Paul speaks of this, putting the armor of Christ, 00:10:46.579 --> 00:10:49.139 in his theology, the way we put on the armor of God 00:10:49.139 --> 00:10:52.299 is by putting our faith in Jesus Christ, 00:10:52.439 --> 00:10:54.679 putting on Jesus Christ, his righteousness. 00:10:55.359 --> 00:10:57.059 So in Galatians 3.27, he says, 00:10:57.139 --> 00:11:01.319 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 00:11:01.320 --> 00:11:03.879 Christ is our armor. 00:11:04.020 --> 00:11:05.620 Christ is our helmet of salvation. 00:11:05.780 --> 00:11:06.920 And we put him on. 00:11:07.740 --> 00:11:10.879 We put on the new self created after the likeness of God 00:11:10.879 --> 00:11:12.300 in true righteousness and holiness. 00:11:13.240 --> 00:11:16.120 And it's when we fortify ourselves in this way with Christ 00:11:16.120 --> 00:11:19.020 that we become invulnerable to the attacks of violent men. 00:11:19.560 --> 00:11:22.020 Because even though we might suffer in this life, 00:11:22.260 --> 00:11:23.660 our ultimate victory is assured, 00:11:23.800 --> 00:11:25.240 our eternal salvation is assured. 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:28.800 And when we are secure in our identity in Christ, 00:11:28.799 --> 00:11:31.339 if we have put on Christ, the helmet of salvation, 00:11:31.559 --> 00:11:33.939 then we are invulnerable to the attacks of slanderers. 00:11:34.379 --> 00:11:36.899 Because though our reputation might suffer in this life, 00:11:37.039 --> 00:11:41.120 we know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted. 00:11:41.459 --> 00:11:43.740 And he will execute justice for the needy. 00:11:44.279 --> 00:11:46.379 And surely, as it says at the end of the song, 00:11:46.779 --> 00:11:48.740 the righteous shall give thanks to your name, 00:11:49.219 --> 00:11:51.439 the upright shall dwell in your presence. 00:11:51.439 --> 00:11:52.519 Amen.