Rescue Me from Evil Men

David asks to be rescued from evil and violent men who plan harm in their hearts, stir up war, and sharpen their tongues like snakes. Their malice is not only spoken but engineered, as the proud hide snares, cords, nets, and traps all along his way.

F¹or the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. ²who devise evil in their hearts ³They sharpen their tongues like snakes; ⁴Guard me, O LORD, ⁵The proud hide a snare for me;

Against those hidden plots David speaks plainly to the LORD: You are my God. He asks the Lord, the strength of his salvation, who covers his head in battle, not to grant the wicked their desires or let their schemes advance.

⁶I say to the LORD, “You are my God.” ⁷O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, ⁸Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;

David asks that the very mischief spoken by those who surround him would cover their own heads, that burning coals and deep pits would overtake them, and that slanderers and violent men would not become established in the land. The psalm does not deny their power, but it asks God to end their momentum and bring their evil back upon them.

⁹May the heads of those who surround me ¹⁰May burning coals fall on them; ¹¹May no slanderer be established in the land;

The prayer ends in settled confidence: the LORD upholds justice for the poor and the cause of the needy. Because that is true, the righteous will give thanks to his name and the upright will dwell before his face.

¹²I know that the LORD upholds justice for the poor ¹³Surely the righteous will praise Your name;