Psalm of David 140 in Russian and Church Slavonic

Psalm 140

Psalm to David

Psalm of David.

1 Lord, I have cried to You, hear me: listen to the voice of my prayer, so that I may always cry to You.
1 Lord, I have called to You, hear me, listen to the voice of my prayer when I cry to You.

2 May my prayer be made as incense before You, the lifting of my hand as an evening sacrifice.

2 Let my prayer be directed like incense before Thy face, the lifting up of my hands like the evening sacrifice.

3 Set, O Lord, a guard over my mouth, and a guard over my mouth.

3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth, and a guard against my lips.

4 Do not turn my heart into the words of wickedness, do not bear the guilt of sins with men who practice iniquity, and I will not count with their chosen ones.

4 Do not turn my heart to wicked words, to invent excuses for sins with people who practice iniquity; and I will not join their chosen ones.

5 The righteous will punish me with mercy and reprove me, but let not the oil of sinners anoint my head, for my prayer is also in their favor.

5 The righteous will guide me kindly and reprove me, but let not the oil of the sinner anoint my head, and also my prayer is for their desires.

6 They were sacrificed at the stone of their judge: my words will be heard, because I am able.

6 Their judges were swallowed up at the rock; They will hear my words, for they have become sweet.

7 For the thickness of the earth has sank into the earth, scattering their bones in Hades.

7 As if the thickness of the earth were torn open on the earth, their bones were scattered in hell.

8 For my eyes are toward You, O Lord, Lord; I have trusted in You; take not away my soul.

8 For my eyes are toward You, O Lord, Lord; I have trusted in You; take not away my life.

9 Keep me from the snares that they have made, and from the temptation of those who practice iniquity.

9 Keep me from the snare that they have laid for me, and from the temptations of those who practice iniquity.

10 Sinners will fall into their depths: I am one, until I will pass away.

10 Sinners will fall into their snare; I'm alone until I cross it.

Lord, I have called to You, hear me: listen to the voice of my prayer, sometimes I will cry to You. May my prayer be corrected as incense before You, the lifting of my hand is an evening sacrifice. Set, O Lord, a guard over my mouth, and a guard over my mouth. Do not turn my heart into the words of wickedness, do not bear the guilt of sins with people who practice iniquity, and I will not count with their chosen ones. The righteous will punish me with mercy and reprove me, but let not the oil of the sinner anoint my head, for my prayer is also in their favor. The sacrifices were at the stone of their judge: my words will be heard, for I have done it. Like the thickness of the earth has sagged on the earth, scattering their bones in hell. For my eyes are toward You, O Lord, Lord: I have trusted in You, do not take away my soul. Keep me from the snare that I have made, and from the temptation of those who practice iniquity. Sinners will fall into their depths: I am one, until I will pass away.

Discourses on Psalm 140

Do not turn my heart into the words of wickedness and not bear the guilt of sins (V. 4).

One of the harmful consequences of the Fall of our forefathers is the crafty inclination of our hearts towards self-justification, towards apologizing for our sins. When the Lord God asked the first sinner: who can tell you that you are naked, except from the tree, and you were commanded by him not to eat this one thing, from him you came?

He did not accuse himself, as he should have, nor did he say that he had sinned unpardonably, violating the commandment that he had received from the lips of the Lord Himself, but said:
woman, what you gave to me with me, you gave to me from the tree, and I died
.
In the same way, in response to the Lord’s question: what have you done?
She responded not with repentance and a prayer for forgiveness, but by laying down her guilt on the serpent: the serpent
deceived me and poisoned me.
The consequence of this was that sin, not immediately expelled from the heart by sincere repentance and sincere confession, not purified by tears of bitter repentance, remained in the soul of the sinner and gave rise to an evil inclination in it not only to new falls, but also to self-justification in sins, and this an evil inclination became innate to all of Adam’s descendants and became their hereditary mental illness.
That is why God’s justice condemned not only the forefather himself, but in his person all of humanity to work, illness and sorrow for the rest of their lives until death. Heavy penance, but completely deserved and fair! The Only Begotten Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, having taken upon Himself our guilt, opened the way for us to rebellion and correction. Having taken upon Himself our nature, He became for us a new Adam, from whom we can accept the justification of life, just as from the first we inherited the condemnation of death. But, obviously, we can receive this justification not by imitation of Adam the first, but in a different way, which Adam the second showed us, not by apologizing, but by condemning ourselves, not by self-justification, but by sincere repentance: repent and believe in the gospel.
By this alone you can judge, brother. my, how destructive for us is the inclination towards self-justification, what a criminal deceit of not feeling guilty about our sins.

It makes it completely impossible for us to be justified in Christ Jesus. Until we overcome this evil inclination in ourselves, the very sacrament of repentance cannot cleanse and justify us, and our very confession remains fruitless. For where is the beginning and root of self-justification? In self-love and pride, which is our first enemy, is the source and root of all evil. What does self-justification produce? The same thing that it produced in fallen souls was unrepentance and complete insensibility in sins, mutual hostility and enmity towards others, bitterness before God and the inevitable subsequent rejection from God.

There is no doubt that we ourselves and we alone are to blame for all our sins. The Lord God has given us a mind that can always distinguish good from evil, if it is not darkened by pride. So that our mind could not err and make mistakes, He gave us His law and His holy word, in the light of which the mind can unmistakably know what the will of God is, good, acceptable and perfect.

.
So that every thought, every word and deed is actually ours, the Lord has given us free will, which is not subordinate to anyone or anything in the world except the highest will of God, but the Lord Himself does not possess our freedom without us; on the contrary, He leaves us completely in the hand of our will.
Who can convince us that black is white, bad is good, lawless is lawful, if we ourselves do not darken our minds with pride and passions, if we do not arbitrarily deviate from the light of the word of God?
Who can force us to do something that we don’t want to do ourselves! People can tie our hands, but they cannot tie our will; They can take away everything from us, even bodily life itself, but they cannot take away our freedom. The devil himself can only seduce and persuade us, but cannot force us to do anything. That is why our conscience warns us so sensitively as soon as any unkind thought appears in our soul; It worries us so alarmingly how quickly this thought turns into a desire to do something lawless; It hurts so painfully when we commit a criminal deed. Isn’t it obvious that the evil thought could be rejected by us, that the evil desire could not come true if we listened to our conscience, that the lawless deed is our business and no one else’s? But it is unpleasant for our pride to see ourselves in the dark and gloomy form of a criminal; it is painful to recognize ourselves as the culprit. And so, instead of turning to the heavenly Doctor and opening before Him the ulcer of conscience, which He alone can heal and heal completely, we try to drown it out with our homemade plasters, our false apologies and consolations. Instead of appearing to the Judge of our souls, Who alone can justify us and make us righteous from among the unrighteous and bring sincere repentance to Him, begging Him for mercy and forgiveness, we want to justify ourselves with our own fictitious apologies. What happens from here? The fact that an ulcer of conscience becomes inveterate and incurable, just like a bodily disease treated with self-invented medicines, without an experienced and knowledgeable doctor, becomes inveterate and fatal. The fact that sin turns into a habit and passion that takes possession of our soul, suppresses the very consciousness of it and the desire to free ourselves from it, finally drowns out and kills conscience. The fact that every transgression of God’s commandment remains on our soul and after death inevitably subjects us to eternal condemnation. Woe to those who sew the soft head,
says the prophet of God;
woe to those who lull their conscience with false apologies for their sins; a difficult and terrible awakening awaits them at the hour of death. Woe to those who put off repentance day after day; suddenly the wrath of the Lord will come out, and they will perish at the time of death! Woe to those who bind sins to long sins: because of their cruelty and unrepentant heart, they store up wrath for themselves on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will reward everyone according to his deeds.
On the other hand, if every word and deed of ours is ours, and not someone else’s, then all our words and deeds in relation to our neighbors completely and completely depend on our will, and not on any external reasons that could would serve as an apology for us.
Who can force us to listen, much less accept with eagerness and pleasure bad news, rumors, gossip, slander and condemnation, in general everything that is told to us about others, over whom no one has made us either judges or bailiffs, unless we ourselves willingly bow down? your hearing to the conversations of idle and slanderous people? Who can force us to say anything reprehensible, or offensive, or annoying to our brother, if we always put weight and measure on our words, bridle our tongue and subject it to the law of God? Who and what can force us to offend our neighbor, steal someone else’s property, take revenge for an insult, tempt us and lead us to sin, if we don’t want it ourselves? Who can order us to hold anger against our neighbor, not to forgive the insult done to us, to remember malice and take revenge for ourselves? It's all due to our evil will. Therefore, the word of God teaches us, if we have sinned against our brother in any way, to sincerely admit ourselves guilty, sincerely and from the heart to repent before him and ask for his forgiveness; and also to forgive those who sin against us from the bottom of our hearts. But our pride tells us something else. It will present us with a thousand pretexts on which the most serious insult to one’s neighbor is almost recognized as a favor and merit; it will find many excuses for the most serious offense and untruth; it will find it humiliating and unworthy of self-respect to ask for forgiveness or forgive others for mutual insults and insults. And so, instead of spewing out the poison of malice, we allow it to take root in our hearts, penetrate our entire soul and transform it into a spirit of malice. Instead of growing in ourselves love, in which there is peace and joy, we nourish within ourselves envy, zeal and hatred, and with them - a whole hell. What happens from this? The fact is that in a Christian society, in which there should be one soul and one thought for all, in which everyone should be, as members of one living body, like-minded, sympathetic, and benevolent to each other, strife, discord and quarrels appear. The fact that because of intransigence, love and friendship, trust and respect for each other disappear, mutual bitterness and anger multiply, litigation and resentment increase, mutual ill will, bitterness and vindictiveness intensify - and the members of the holy body of Christ, brothers in flesh and spirit, gnaw at , according to the word of the apostle, and devour each other. The fact that among us, instead of the spirit of God - the spirit of love and meekness, the spirit of goodness and mercy, the spirit of malice settles - the spirit of hostility and deceit, the spirit of pride and exaltation, the spirit of contempt and hatred. Woe to such a society: every kingdom divided among itself will be desolate, and every house divided among itself will cease to exist
. Thus, our self-love, self-delusion and self-justification introduce the kingdom of the evil one into the very kingdom of God planted by Christ!

But human self-love is so shameless that it dares to appear with self-justification before the very face of God, prompting us to lie and be hypocritical at the very sacrament of repentance, which we approach to cleanse our sins, for justification and reconciliation with God. True confession is full and sincere confession; and pride and false shame prompt us either to hide our sins, or to confess them, so to speak, in half, to present them in the form in which they turn out to be most excusable, to hide the impulses to sin, which are sometimes more criminal than the sinful act itself. What is the use of such a confession? We confess sin, but do not reveal the sinner, do not show the degree of illness, the devastation that sin has wrought in our soul, and therefore we depart unhealed and unjustified. No, revealing your sin before God, also reveal how long your guardian angel kept you from creeping into sin, how your conscience fought against the lust that overcame you, how innate modesty kept you from committing a crime; but you neglected all this, arbitrarily allowed lust to take control of you and made yourself completely irresponsible before God. When confessing your sin, do not hide the fact that it has repeated itself more than once, that you have gotten used to it and loved it, that it has taken possession of your soul and heart, that to heal you you need strong medicine, a strict test, and intense feats of repentance. By showing the ulcers of conscience, reveal to your spiritual physician the extent to which they bother you. Whether your wounds are so burning that they give no rest to your soul, that there is no peace in your very bones from the face of your sins, or, on the contrary, they little disturb your deadened conscience, you can calmly rest on your bed, without fear of being kidnapped by death and presented to God's judgment? True repentance is contrite and humble repentance. But our pride and self-justification extinguishes in us this spirit of tenderness and contrition of heart. It whispers to us that we are not yet so sinful as to fear inevitable destruction; that there are many more sinners than we are, that there are many reasons that excuse us, that we were involved in sin by others. And so we calmly talk about our sins, as if they were not our sins or as if they were not sins at all. No, when you come to repentance, stand alone before the face of God, as you will stand before him after death, in view of Gehenna and eternal fire. Remember about the law of God, which you trampled, about the greatness of God, which you insulted and humiliated, about the love of God, which you grieved, about the blood of Christ shed for you, which you scoffed at, about the justice of God, which can destroy you immediately from the face of the earth, about Gehenna fiery, which is ready to consume you. Standing before the throne of God, be afraid to take upon yourself the rank of the devil in order to accuse others - either those who enticed you into sin, or those who shared sinful pleasures with you, who, perhaps, have long since repented and been pardoned by God. No one could force you to sin except your evil will; no one is guilty of your sins except you. To truly repent means to give up sin, to make an immutable intention to resist sin with all your might. But the desire to be justified in sin does not clearly indicate that we love it, do not want to leave it, we confess only in order to steal forgiveness and again indulge in sin with great boldness and carelessness. What kind of repentance will there be if not a new grave sin—a desecration of the most holy sacrament, a grave insult to the Holy Spirit?

That's how it is, brother. mine, the terrible fruits of self-justification and false apologies for sin. It turns them into an incurable ulcer of our soul; it makes us rotten and evil members in the body of the Church of Christ; it takes away all the saving power from our very repentance and makes us unrepentant, like unclean spirits. Lord my God, do not turn my heart into the words of wickedness and do not blame for sins.

Amen.

Psalter | Psalm 140

David was in trouble when he wrote this psalm, persecuted, in all likelihood, by Saul, a cruel man. If any of you suffers, let him pray. David did just that and found comfort. I. David prays for God's favor toward him (v. 1, 2).

II. About powerful support from the Almighty (vv. 3,4).

III. He prays that other people will contribute to the good of his soul, just as the psalmist himself hoped to bring good to the souls of his neighbors (vv. 5,6).

IV. That the Lord would mercifully come to the rescue and free David and his ascetics, who are now on the brink of death (vv. 7-10). We need God's mercy and grace no less than David, and therefore we must ask for them with humble earnestness as we sing this psalm.

Verses 1-4 . For mercy that accepts our good deeds, and for grace that keeps us from evil deeds - this is what we should pray to the Lord for, following the example of the psalmist.

I. David loved to pray, and here he asks the Most High that prayers would be heard and answered (vv. 1, 2). David calls on the Lord. His appeal implies special zeal and a serious attitude towards prayer. David's call to the Lord testifies to the psalmist's faith and constancy in prayer. So what does he want to achieve?

1. So that the Lord takes note of the prayer: “... listen to the voice of my prayer, that I may be favorably heard.” He who calls upon the Lord in prayer has the right to hope to be heard, but not because the prayer is loud, but because it is alive.

2. So that the Lord would visit him after praying: “... hasten to me.” He who knows how to appreciate God's gracious presence will persistently ask for it and wait with humble impatience if it is delayed. The believer will not fuss, but the one who prays has the right to earnestly ask the Lord to hurry.

3. So that the Lord would be pleased with him, so that the Almighty would be pleased with the psalmist’s prayer and the raising of his hands, testifying to the intensification of his sublime desire and the hope bursting out, for the lifting of the hands speaks of the lifting of the heart, which is sacrificed to the Lord instead of shaking and lifting up the flesh before Him sacrificial animals. Prayer is a spiritual sacrifice, an offering to the Lord of the soul and its best feelings. And here David prays for the dedication and direction of such to the Lord, like the incense that was burnt daily on the golden altar, and like the evening sacrifice, it is this, and not the morning sacrifice, that the psalmist mentions, perhaps because Christ had to offer Himself as a sacrifice atonement at the end of the day or at the end of the world, and to institute a spiritual sacrifice, abolishing all the carnal provisions of the law. He who prays with faith has the right to hope that his sacrifice is more pleasing to the Lord than a bull or an ox. At that time, David was expelled from the courts of God and could not attend the ritual of sacrifice or burning incense, so he begs the Lord to accept his prayer instead of the traditional sacrifice. Note that prayer for the Lord is a pleasant fragrance, incense, which, however, has no smell if there is no fire; so prayer will not become fragrant without the fire of holy love and passion.

II. David was afraid of sin and therefore asks the Lord to keep him from it, knowing that prayers will not be accepted unless he is vigilant against sin. We should ask for God's grace for ourselves with the same diligence as we ask the Almighty for favor.

1. David prays that he would not accidentally utter any sinful word (v. 3): “Put a guard, O Lord, on my lips, and having made my lips by nature to be doors for words, guard these doors by Thy grace, so that allow not a single word discrediting You or insulting others to come out of them.” Godly people are aware of the evil that comes from the sin of the tongue, and they know how prone they are to it (when we are upset by our enemies, we are in great danger of going so far in our offense that we may sin with our lips, as happened to Moses, although he was the meekest of all people on earth), therefore the pious earnestly ask the Almighty not to let them utter a bad word, knowing that without God’s special grace, neither one’s own determination nor one’s own vigilance is enough to control the tongue, much less the heart. We must bridle our lips, but this will not help unless we ask the Lord to guard them. Nehemiah prayed to the Lord when he set the watch, and we should do the same, for if the Lord does not watch, the watchman watches in vain.

2. The psalmist prays that he may not be led astray to evil deeds (v. 4): “Do not let my heart be drawn aside to evil words; I ask you not only to curb any inclination towards sin in me, but also to put it to death by Your grace, O Lord.” The example of others and the provocations of our enemies can reveal and stir up corruptible inclinations in us. We are ready to do as others do, and think that if we were insulted, then we should respond in kind. Therefore, we need to pray and ask the Lord not to allow us to commit any atrocity, either against people who commit lawlessness, or together with them. While we live in such a wicked world and carry wicked hearts within us, we need to pray that we will not give in to any temptation or provocation to commit evil deeds.

3. David prays not to fall into the trap of sinful pleasures: “... and let me not partake of their pleasures. Do not allow me to take part in their feasts and entertainments, lest they thus lure me into their sins.” Better is a dish of greens far from the path of temptation than a fattened ox on it. Sinners pretend to find pleasure in sin. Stolen waters are sweet, and forbidden fruit is pleasing to the eye. But the one who understands that very soon the sweetness of sin will turn into bitter wormwood and gall and that subsequently sin will definitely bite like a snake and sting like an asp, will be afraid to eat these sweets and will begin to pray to the Lord that He, by His providence, will remove them from out of sight and with His grace turned the saints away from them. Moreover, the pious will pray against the sweetness of sin.

Verses 5-10 . In these verses:

I. David desires to be told of his sins. His enemies bombarded him with reproaches that lacked truth, which the psalmist could only complain about. But at the same time, David wants his friends to reprove him of errors, in particular those that could really serve as a reason for reproach (v. 5): Let the righteous punish me: this is mercy; righteous God (there is such a reading of the verse);

“I will accept the reproofs of His providence and will not argue with them; moreover, I will accept them as a sign of love, I will use them as a means of grace and I will pray for those who have caused me suffering.” But usually these words refer to reproofs from righteous people; and most of all they are suitable for the one who, being himself righteous, has the right to expose the unrighteousness of others and from whom they will most willingly accept reproof. However, if the rebuke is just and the accuser is not, we should also benefit from the rebuke and learn obedience. Here we are taught how to receive reproof from the righteous and wise.

1. We must willingly accept criticism about any of our shortcomings or mistakes: “Lord, put it on the heart of the righteous to correct me and convict me. If my own heart does not punish me, although it should, let my friend do it; do not allow severe punishment to befall me and remain in sin.”

2. We should accept reproof as one of the manifestations of friendship. We must not only treat him patiently, but also honor him for his courtesy, for edifying teachings are the way to life (Prov. 6:23) and are for our benefit, leading to repentance for our sins and preventing repeated sins. And although reproof is painful, this pain is necessary for healing, and therefore it is more desirable than the kisses of the enemy (Prov. 27:6) or the songs of fools (Eccl. 7:5). David blessed the Lord for the timely admonition from Abigail (1 Samuel 25:32).

3. We must know that reproof brings us benefit and healing: it is the best oil for a wound, it lubricates and heals it; he will not hurt my head, as some think, who liken reproaches for misdeeds to blows on the head, but David says: “I don’t think so; the blow that breaks my head and my bones is sin (Ps. 50:10). Reproof is the miraculous oil that heals the wounds inflicted on me by sin. It will not harm my head, except that it will contribute to the contrition of my heart.”

4. We must reward the people who treated us so honestly for their kindness and friendliness, at least by praying for them in the days of their troubles,52 thereby showing that we gratefully accepted their reproofs. Dr. Hammond reads this verse quite differently: “Reproach and reproof will come upon me, the righteous; but this poisonous oil will not crush my head (it will not destroy me, it will not bring me, contrary to their plans, much harm), for while they are plotting against me, I will pray that the Lord will protect me from the villains, and my prayer will not be in vain.” .

II. David hopes that his oppressors will one day also have to hear denunciations of their misdeeds, just as he himself wished to hear about his own (v. 6): “Their leaders... (the judges could only be Saul and his soldiers, who administered judgment over David and those who condemned him) scattered among the rocks among the rocks in the desert, and they hear my words that they are meek.” There is an opinion that we are talking about softening Saul’s heart when the king said with tears in his eyes: “...is this your voice, my son David?” (1 Samuel 24:17; 26:21). Or we can understand it in a more general sense: even judges, no matter how great, can be overthrown. The path of one who becomes powerful in this world is not always smooth. And he who formerly despised the word of God will love it and find joy in it when tribulation comes upon him, for it prepares the ear for instruction. When the world is bitter, the word is sweet. The oppressed innocently cannot reach those living in luxury, however, when the latter themselves find themselves overthrown, they become more sensitive towards the mourners.

III. David laments the emergency in which he and his friends find themselves (v. 7): “... our bones are poured into the jaws of hell, from which they are thrown up - so long they have been dead - or into which they are ready to fall, for they are near to the edge of the abyss; they are like wood chips in the forest, carelessly thrown into a heap by woodcutters: as if they were cutting through the earth and crushing us. A comparison is made here with plowing the earth - the farmer tears the earth into pieces with a plow (Ps 119:3). Can dry bones come to life?

IV. David rushes to the Lord for help; he hopes to receive deliverance from the Almighty: “But to You, Lord, Lord, my eyes are (v. 8);

for when the situation is so deplorable, only You can take away all sorrows. Only from You do I expect relief from this terrible state of affairs and I trust in You.” Anyone whose gaze is directed to the Lord has the right to hope in Him.

V. David prays to the Lord to come to his aid and ease his grief.

1. He asks the Lord to console him: “... do not throw away my soul! Let me see where help will come from.”

2. Asks the Lord to thwart the machinations of the enemies (v. 9): “Keep me from falling into the snares set for me. Help me detect them and avoid them." No matter how cunning the trap may be, the Lord is able to protect his people and prevent them from falling there.

3. He asks the Lord, in His justice, to turn the designs of his enemies against themselves, and in His mercy to prevent them from destroying him (v. 10): The wicked will fall in their snares, which they deliberately laid for me, but deservedly prepared for themselves. Nec lex est justioir ulla qaum necis artifices arte perire sua - no law can be more just than the one that says: those who plot destruction must perish by their own invention. Everyone subject to God's judgment is bound by the ropes of his own iniquity. But may I at the same time find deliverance. When the wicked are caught in snares and snares, it often marks deliverance and liberation for the righteous.

Interpretation of Psalm 140

• Verse 1-4. The author's cruelty is not heard in these poems. For David, the death of a person is in itself disgusting. Therefore, he begs the Almighty to save the lives of his enemies and only asks Him for protection. The author believes that justice is achieved not only through bloodshed, for Divine providence is harsh, but sacred.
• Verse 5-10. These verses compare the power of the atheists and God. The powers that be, who have turned away from the Lord, have enormous power only on earth. Other matters are beyond their control. The same cannot be said about the Almighty, who, as the chief judge, disposes of those in whose hands there will be a drop of His power. Under certain conditions, He is able to take power from the wicked and punish the madman. It is precisely this outcome of events that David hopes for, praying to the Lord for help. The actions of the author of the chant are not subject to condemnation; there is no sin on them.

Explanatory Bible Commentary on the Psalter

One can date the writing of this psalm by David to the time of persecution from Absalom. This is indicated by David’s depiction of himself as being persecuted by his enemies, and he nowhere speaks of his complete innocence before God, but only that the hostility of the enemies’ actions is not caused by actions on his part that would justify the strength of this hostility. On the contrary, his prayer to God that He would preserve him from all evil and the words “let the righteous punish me” (Ps. 140_5) make it possible to assume that David did not always follow God, and that he received reproof from the righteous. This understanding of these words of the psalm indicates the well-known crime of David with Bathsheba and his denunciation by the prophet. The consequence of David’s crime was, as we said earlier, family disorder and, in particular, the rebellion of Absalom.

In the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin Bibles, the psalm is attributed to David.

Hasten, O Lord, to me with Your help; may my prayer be directed to You like the incense of the evening sacrifice (1-2). Save me from bad words and evil thoughts; let the righteous reprove me, but I am always against evildoing (3-5). Enemies brutally pursue us, as if cutting through the earth with a plow, but I am innocent and meek before them (6–7). I trust in You and believe that You will protect, and the wicked enemies will fall (8-10).

Ps.140:2. Let my prayer be directed like incense before Thy face, and the lifting of my hands like the evening sacrifice.

The psalm represents a prayer to God for salvation from enemies. May my prayer be as pleasing to You, O Lord, as the evening sacrifice and incense offered before You according to the law of Moses are pleasing. David, obviously, was outside Jerusalem when he could not offer a legal sacrifice to God, and the place of the latter is now taken by his verbal prayer and the raising of his hands to the Lord.

Ps.140:3. Set, O Lord, a guard over my lips, and guard the doors of my mouth;

Ps.140:4. Do not let my heart turn aside to evil words to excuse sinful deeds together with people who do iniquity, and may I not partake of their delights.

Ps.140:5. Let the righteous punish me: this is mercy; let him reprove me: this is the best oil, which will not hurt my head; but my prayers are against their atrocities.

“Place, O Lord, a guard over my lips, and guard the doors of my lips” - do not let me transgress Your commandments with a word, give me the strength to make worthy use of the gift of speech, directing it to serve You. Save me, save me from deviating towards evil, seductive and criminally sinful speeches, keep my path straight, do not allow me to deviate. to evil words to excuse sinful deeds” - to invent, resort to apologies, dodge in search of artificial justifications, as wicked people do; let me not be considered among their chosen ones, nor as their accomplice. Let every action of mine be rebuked by the righteous; this reproof is beneficial and beneficial, like oil on the head. The factual confirmation is the denunciation of David by the prophet Nathan, which caused deep repentance in him and served to his moral revival and reconciliation with God. - “My prayers are against their atrocities” - I not only do not want to be an accomplice of the evil ones, but I pray to You to stop, to stop their atrocities.

Ps.140:6. Their leaders are scattered along the cliffs and hear my words that they are meek.

Ps.140:7. It’s as if the earth is being cut and crushed; our bones are falling into the jaws of hell.

“Their leaders were scattered over the rocks” - the leaders of my wicked enemies are watching me everywhere, they are scattered even over all the hills and rocks. - “They hear my words that they are meek” - my admonitions to them were meek and were heard by them. The anger of the enemies was not caused by my attitude towards them: I was meek, but they sought to destroy us as they crush the land for crops.

Ps.140:8. But to You, Lord, Lord, my eyes are; I trust in You, do not throw away my soul!

Ps.140:9. Save me from the snares set for me, from the snares of the wicked.

Ps.140:10. The wicked will fall in their snares, but I will cross over.

David here points out that those persecuting him cannot find anything evil or bad in him, for which he should be persecuted the way they are. Such vicious persecution of David on their part will find due punishment from God. The Lord will punish them with a difficult, final outcome of their life, rejection from Himself. Faith in his own rightness and awareness of the sinfulness of his enemies’ actions instills in David the confidence that they will perish in those intrigues (“silk and”, “trap”) that they set for him; he, David, will remain unharmed (“I will pass over”). This faith of David, as shown by the outcome of Absalom's persecution, was justified.

Psalm 140

The song of praise does not contain a single angry word. This is a prayer of repentance. After all, we ourselves are to blame for many troubles. And it is important to atone for your sins in time and repent of bad deeds. Psalm 140 is a special prayer for those who want to cleanse the soul.

Text of prayer Psalm 140

In churches, during services they use the text of Psalm 140 in Church Slavonic. At home, you can read Psalm 140 in Russian.

In Church Slavonic

1 Lord, I have called to You, hear me: listen to the voice of my prayer, so that I may sometimes cry to You.

2 Let my prayer be perfected, as a censer is before You, the lifting of my hand is an evening sacrifice.

3 Set, O Lord, a guard over my mouth, and a door of protection over my mouth.

4 Do not turn my heart into words of deceit, nor do I bear in mind the guilt of the sins of men who practice iniquity, and I will not reckon with their chosen ones.

5 The righteous will chastise me with mercy and reprove me, but let not the oil of the sinner anoint my head, for my prayer is also in their favor.

6 The victims were at the stone of their judge: my words will be heard, because I am able.

7 For the thickness of the earth has sank upon the earth, scattering their bones in hell.

8 My eyes are drawn to You, O Lord, Lord; in You I have trusted; take not away my soul.

9 Keep me from the snares that have surrounded me, and from the temptation of the workers of iniquity.

10 Sinners will fall into their depths: I am one, until I will pass away.

In Russian

1 Lord! I appeal to you: hasten to me, listen to the voice of my prayer when I cry to you.

2 Let my prayer be like incense before You, the lifting of my hands like the evening sacrifice.

3 Set, O Lord, a guard over my lips, and guard the doors of my mouth;

4 Do not let my heart turn aside to evil words to excuse sinful deeds along with people who practice iniquity, and let me not partake of their delights.

5 Let the righteous punish me: this is mercy; let him reprove me: this is the best oil, which will not hurt my head; but my prayers are against their atrocities.

6 Their leaders are scattered among the rocks and hear my words that they are meek.

7 It’s as if they were cutting the earth and crushing us into pieces; our bones are falling into the jaws of hell.

8 But unto Thee, O Lord, O Lord, are my eyes; I trust in You, do not throw away my soul!

9 Save me from the snares set for me, from the snares of the wicked.

10 The wicked will fall in their snares, but I will cross over.

History of writing

Psalm 140 was written by King David. Some commentators claim that the psalmist wrote during the time of persecution by King Saul. It was not easy for him then. David tried to prove his innocence and loyalty to the ruler, but it was all in vain. David could have killed Saul with his own hands, but he did not. He hoped only for the protection and help of the Lord.

Why read Psalm 140?

Most often, Psalm 140 is read in Russian during times of lamentation and danger. It is recommended to use the text of the prayer in the following cases:

• during family troubles;
• in gratitude to the Lord;
• so that justice may prevail;
• if you are experiencing harassment from your superiors.

Interpretation of Psalm 140

• Verses 1-4: The author simply asks for repentance, so that the Lord would not be angry with his enemies and give them life. He does not ask to punish the spiteful critics, he only asks for protection from them. If the Lord hears prayers, then justice will come.
• Verses 5-10: The Almighty will give strength to the believer to endure all difficulties. May every action be blessed. All prayers are against the evildoers and their deeds. The leaders of the wicked follow at the heels of the author, they have eyes everywhere. There is no hiding from them. The anger of enemies towards the singer is not fair. After all, there was never anything evil or bad in him and his actions.

Reading rules

There are no strict rules for reading Psalm 140. It is better to read the prayer in solitude and silence. Many people read the text from the collection of Psalms or memorize it by heart.

History of writing

Like most of the songs in the Psalter, this work belongs to King David. Researchers believe that it was written during the reign of King Saul, when this angry tyrant sought to kill the former shepherd David, who was anointed king by the Lord himself.

For many years the future prophet wandered through the desert, pondering his fate. He had many opportunities to put an end to the envious ruler, but he did not do it. In trust in the mercy of the Lord and his support, David lived and wrote this song.

Psalm 140

140:1 Psalm of David. God! I appeal to you: hasten to me, listen to the voice of my prayer when I cry to you. David, calling out to God in prayer, always hopes that he will be heard and the answer will not be slow to come, so close was David to the Lord.

140:2 Let my prayer be directed like incense before Thy face, and the lifting of my hands like the evening sacrifice. He understood that God does not perceive every human word, he does not like to hear everything from human lips, so he carefully selected the words and tried to put into them such a meaning that God would be pleased with his speech, just as it is pleasant to inhale the fragrance of incense burned on the golden altar .

140:3,4 Set, O Lord, a guard over my lips, and guard the doors of my mouth; 4 do not let my heart turn aside to evil words to excuse sinful deeds David realizes that apologizing after sinful deeds are done is wickedness: there is no need to do something for which you then have to apologize, because a person taught by the Lord always knows WHAT he does what is wrong and not according to the truth of God, and what is right. Therefore, he asks God to help him at least not to deceive with his lips, if his heart sometimes deviates to thoughts, and his hands to sinful deeds

together with people who practice iniquity, and may I not partake of their delights. This is what all the wicked do, that is, all of us (for there is not a single righteous person on earth): first we do evil, and then we hope for forgiveness through an apology. David does not want to be an accomplice in this, but he also understands that it is difficult for him to resist the many temptations emanating from those who practice iniquity.

140:5 Let the righteous punish me: this is mercy; let him reprove me: this is the best oil, which will not hurt my head; David desires reproof, admonition, and even punishment from the righteous: he does not view this as an atrocity, and although it is unpleasant to endure punishment, it always benefits those who strive to achieve righteousness. The righteous, at least, can help David correct his ways and become better in the eyes of God, for they too know exactly how to do this.

but my prayers are against their atrocities. Whose crimes? The righteous? No, David here continued the idea that he is categorically against punishment at the hands of the wicked; he views all their types of punishment as the atrocities of the wicked, which do not bring any benefit to those against whom they are directed.

140:6 Their leaders are scattered along the cliffs and hear my words that they are meek. The organizers of the attacks on David know that he is not plotting anything bad against them, but, nevertheless, they do not stop in the hunt to bring him to his fall before God.

140:7 It’s as if the earth is being cut and crushed; our bones are falling into the jaws of hell. It seems to David that the suffering from these persecutions is unbearable, he is not far from death, and in these moments David, more than ever, hopes for the Lord’s help in resisting him and not sinning. Because in moments of despair, you very often want to do things your own way and you can do something that will later turn out to be an irreparable disaster.

140:8,9 But to You, Lord, Lord, my eyes are; I trust in You, do not throw away my soul! 9 Save me from the snares set for me, from the snares of the wicked.

If God does not help to protect himself from the snares of the wicked, then no one will help David to resist them, so great is the pressure of the wicked. You can't underestimate her.

Psalm 140

Religious chants, namely the Psalms, present a certain difficulty in their literary presentation so that the text of the Psalm is more or less understandable to the average reader, like a literary historical work. The author took on this difficult task as a test of his literary capabilities. What came of it is up to you, the readers, to judge. I ASK YOU NOT TO SEE SIGNS OF SEMITISM, ANTI-SEMITISM AND OTHER...ISMS IN THIS WORK. Otherwise, we have enough of such “originals”... THIS IS AN INNOVATIVE LITERARY TEST.... As a historical note: The author of the psalm is King David. According to the general opinion of interpreters, David wrote it while hiding from King Saul. The psalm is a prayer of a person in danger, in which he asks, on the one hand, for deliverance from this danger, and on the other, so that the dangerous situation does not provoke him to commit a sin. The text of the psalm contains an important idea that prayer is no less valuable to God than the Old Testament evening sacrifices. Before the introduction of the opening psalm 103 into the rite of Vespers, Psalm 140 opened Vespers.

Psalm 140. (Russian original) Lord! I appeal to you: hasten to me, listen to the voice of my prayer when I cry to you. Let my prayer be directed like incense before Thy face, and the lifting of my hands like the evening sacrifice. Set, O Lord, a guard over my lips, and guard the doors of my mouth; Do not let my heart turn aside to evil words to excuse sinful deeds together with people who do iniquity, and may I not partake of their delights. Let the righteous punish me: this is mercy; let him reprove me: this is the best oil, which will not hurt my head; but my prayers are against their atrocities. Their leaders are scattered along the cliffs and hear my words that they are meek. It’s as if the earth is being cut and crushed; our bones are falling into the jaws of hell. But to You, Lord, Lord, my eyes are; I trust in You, do not throw away my soul! Save me from the snares set for me, from the snares of the wicked. The wicked will fall in their snares, but I will cross over.

Lord Almighty, I appeal to You: show mercy, hasten to me, when I conjure You with prayer, I am completely burning in divine fire.

Listen to me and let the sounds of prayer touch your cheeks with incense, with the evening sacrifice I will raise my hands, and let the Temple hide from sins.

Guard your tongue and lips from deceit, close the door from all doubts, give medicine to your heart from evil words, and bring peace to my soul.

So that I do not taste the sweets of sin, and do not approve of lawless deeds, and inspire me with my service at the crossroads of affairs along the spiritual path.

Let the righteous punish me with mercy and reproof - oil for me, yes, I am meek, but it is no use to renounce baseness, villainy, betraying the Teachers.

With a meek prayer to the Lord, to the glory, I will scatter groans and fear across the rocks, and may goodness remain by right, and may dust be poured into the jaws of the underworld.

With my blind soul I open to you, to you, oh Lord, my gaze, I trust only in You, so that my soul can carry on a conversation with You.

Protect, do not let the two-faced lawless strangers get caught in cages, let decay catch the wicked in the net, and I, Lord, with You, will pass them by.

When Psalm 140 is read. General rules

It is not entirely correct to divide everything conditionally and firmly differentiate. However, Psalm 140 is most applicable when: