Psalm 140:1-13 (NKJV)
Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men;
Preserve me from violent men,
2 Who plan evil things in their hearts;
They continually gather together for war.
3 They sharpen their tongues like a serpent;
The poison of asps is under their lips. Selah
4 Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
Preserve me from violent men,
Who have purposed to make my steps stumble.
5 The proud have hidden a snare for me, and cords;
They have spread a net by the wayside;
They have set traps for me. Selah
6 I said to the Lord: “You are my God;
Hear the voice of my supplications, O Lord.
7 O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation,
You have covered my head in the day of battle.
8 Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
Do not further his wicked scheme,
Lest they be exalted. Selah
9 “As for the head of those who surround me,
Let the evil of their lips cover them;
10 Let burning coals fall upon them;
Let them be cast into the fire,
Into deep pits, that they rise not up again.
11 Let not a slanderer be established in the earth;
Let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him.”
12 I know that the Lord will maintain
The cause of the afflicted,
And justice for the poor.
13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name;
The upright shall dwell in Your presence.
After chapter one, nearly every scene in Mark’s inspired writing of God’s Holy Gospel conveys some shaded reference to the Lord’s coming Passion and death. Already in Mark 2:7 Jesus is accused of blasphemy, which becomes the point on which He will eventually be condemned to death in 14:64. The first reference to the Lord’s betrayal by Judas occurs in Mark 3:19, followed immediately by the malicious accusation of the scribes that Jesus was in league with the devil (3:22). Scene by scene, the story moves forward to Christ’s cross. The parable of the sower and the seed speaks of those who are “outside” (Mark 4:11-12) and even of persecution (4:17). Jesus is ridiculed (5:40) and held without honor (6:3-4) and tells of those who refuse to listen (6:11). To foreshadow the Lord’s coming death, His forerunner is beheaded (6:14-29). Almost the whole of Mark’s chapter 7 is a sustained argument with Jesus’ enemies.
After another warning about His plotting enemies (8:15), there follow the Lord’s three predictions of His coming sufferings (8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34), interspersed with a discourse on taking up the cross (8:34-38), a reference to His being reviled (9:12), and a prophecy of the coming persecutions (10:30). He speaks to Zebedee’s sons of the impending cup that He must drink (10:38-39), while His adversaries seek to implement their murderous resolve against Him (11:18). Five series of controversy follow between 11:27-12:34, and the conspiracy of Jesus’ enemies with His betrayer (14:10-11) eventually leads to His fake trial and unjustified death.
Psalm 140 may be prayed by us believers as the deep supplication of Christ our Lord, who lives, ministers, and prays through these various scenes inspired to be written by Mark.
Let us pray: “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.” Amen.