Psalm 140 is yet another cry of David to God for protection from enemies. Here he specifically refers to them as evil men, violent men, and the wicked. It’s never stated whether these are foreign enemies or internal insurgents to his leadership. However, David describes their characteristics in verses 2 and 3:
They devise evil in their hearts – i.e., their external violent and evil actions derive from a vile character.
They continually stir up wars – they love strife, conflict, and killing rather than peace.
They sharpen their tongues as a serpent – they use their words as instruments of deception and to dispense poison upon others.
David’s three-fold prayer is given in the next three stanzas of the song: 1) that God would keep him from these men and their evil (vv. 4-5); 2) that God would keep him when he has to do battle with them (vv. 6-8); and, 3) that these wicked men would be judged for and by their own evil (vv. 9-11).
David concludes his song-prayer with the declaration that God is just, and the confidence that it will end well for the righteous because they will dwell in God’s presence (vv. 12-13). In His model prayer in Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus commands us to pray: deliver us from evil. David’s prayer here in Psalm 140 provides us with more specifics for this prayer – using the very words of Scripture – words that enable us to pray with confidence in the day of increasing evil!