Psalm 140

Good morning. Thank you for joining me today for Coffee and Devotions. This is where every day we get together, we get into God's Word, and we grow in our love for the Lord together. And this year, 2021, we'll make it through all the wisdom literature. This morning we're at Psalm 140. Why don't we go ahead and have some coffee, we'll pray, and we'll get into God's Word. Let's pray.
Father, we thank you so much for this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your love, your protection, your care for us. And we pray now, as we read your word, that you would bless us, that you would care for us, that you would apply these words to our hearts. In Jesus' name, amen. All right, here we go, Psalm 140. Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men.
Preserve me from violent men who plan evil things in their hearts. They continually gather together for war. They sharpen their tongues like a serpent. The poison of asps is under their lips. Selah. Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked. Preserve me from violent men who have purposed to make my steps stumble. The proud have hidden a snare for me, and cords. They have spread a net by the wayside. They have set traps for me. I said to the Lord, You are my God. Hear the voice of my supplications, O Lord. O God, the Lord, the strength of my salvation. You have covered my head in the day of battle.
Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked. Do not further his wicked scheme, lest they be exalted. As for the head of those who surround me, let the evil of their lips cover them. Let burning coals fall upon them. Let them be cast into the fire, into the deep pits, that they rise up, not again. Let not a slanderer be established in the earth. Let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him. I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted and justice for the poor. Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name. the upright shall dwell in your presence."
Well, why don't we go ahead and ask ourselves, A, what is this about? B, what's the best verse to summarize this? And C, what are we called to do in response to these words? So, A, what is this about? Well, This is a psalm of David. I forgot to read to you the superscription in Hebrew. That would be verse 1. To the chief musician, a psalm of David. David is under attack once again. David finds himself being slandered by others. He talks about the poison underneath their lips. He talks about how they're slandering him, trying to cast him down.
And he says, God, don't let them prevail. This is a psalm, he's crying out to God and he's asking God to preserve him, to keep him. And it's amazing what he says, one of my favorite parts in this psalm, verse six and seven. I said to the Lord, you are my God. Hear the voice of my supplications, O Lord. O God, Yahweh, the strength of my salvation, you have covered my head in the day of battle."
Isn't that absolutely amazing that even in the midst of David's suffering, as he's wrestling with what's going on, as people are trying to overthrow him and trying to cast him down, It's the God of his salvation he looks to. He doesn't turn his back on God because of the difficulties of life. Indeed, he turns toward God. He says that God is the one who has covered his head for salvation. This is what the book of Ephesians chapter six talks about, right? With putting on the helmet of salvation. It is the psalmist, it's David's heart that turns to the Lord in times of adversity and affliction.
And this teaches us again, I mean, imagine when Jesus was being cast down and afflicted. Imagine Jesus as he's, all the Psalms point to Jesus as he's there. And he's looking upon the people who are literally casting slurs at him, blaspheming him. Even as he's there dying on the cross, people are blaspheming him with sharp words out of their mouth, trying to destroy him.
And yet, does he turn away from the Lord? No. He turns to the Lord. He turns to his Father. And likewise, we. We can turn to our Father. We can turn to the Lord. So, I'm going to underline in my Bible verses 6 and 7. Maybe you would underline something else as the best verse for this. What are you called to do? Do you call out to the Lord for help? Do you know that the God of the universe who created everything seen and unseen hears your prayers?
He's not some faraway father who doesn't care about you. But Yahweh himself is our salvation and he hears us. Let's cry out to him. Father we thank you. Lord I don't know maybe there's somebody listening this morning who is facing slander who has been under the pressure of the evil one. Father, we pray, we turn ourselves to you, Lord, for you are the God of our salvation. You are our strength and our shield. Father, we pray that we would trust in you. We pray that we would love you with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and that you would guard us and protect us. Lord, please have your kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven. and deliver us from the evil one. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, may God bless you today. May you be filled with joy and peace as you look to God for strength and salvation. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye.