Psalm 140 – A Prayer for Preservation

To the leader. A Psalm of David.

140 Rescue me, Lord, from evil people;

from the violent guard me

2 from those who plot evil in their heart,

and stir up war continually:

3 who make their tongue as sharp as a serpent’s,

and under whose lips is the poison of adders. Selah

4 Preserve me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked,

from the violent guard me

from those who are plotting to trip up my feet.

5 The proud have hidden a trap for me,

cords they have spread as a net for my feet:

snares they have set at the side of my track. Selah

6 I have said to the Lord, ‘My God are you;

attend, Lord, to my loud plea.

7 O Lord my Lord, my saviour mighty,

you did cover my head in the day of battle.

8 Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;

and what they have purposed, promote you not.’ Selah

9 Let them not lift up their heads against me.

May the mischief they prate bring themselves to destruction,

10 may he rain upon them coals of fire,

may he strike them down swiftly, to rise no more,

11 no place in the land may there be for the slanderer:

may the violent be hunted from sorrow to sorrow.

12 I know that the Lord will do right by the weak,

and will execute justice for those who are needy.

13 Surely the righteous shall praise your name,

and they who are upright shall live in your presence.