March 18 2024

Monday March 18

The LORD Will Maintain My Cause

Psalm 140:9-13

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

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.

There are several things we have learned from Psalm 140 and at least four lessons we should take to heart. David wrote this psalm and gave it to the chief musician to be sung for generations to come. Our songs, poems, and hymns often are a story of our life experiences and should be passed down to our children to give them guidance for their lives. It appears that this collection of eight psalms at the end of the book were put together by someone years later for this very purpose.

In verses 1-5, David is crying out for the LORD to deliver, preserve and keep him safe from evil and violent people. We can expect sinners, wicked and evil people to hate the righteous and attempt to destroy them. We shouldn’t be surprised! It has been this way from the very beginning of the human race. Cain murdered his brother Abel, “because his works were evil and his brother's righteous” (1 John 3:12).

In verses 6-8, like David we can pray and trust the LORD to “cover our head in the day of battle”. We can pray that the evil schemes of the wicked will fail. We definitely need to be doing this today!

In verses 9-11, we can trust the LORD to return to the wicked what he intended to do to us. Our enemies think they are hurting us, but they are really hurting themselves. The trouble they cause us will only come right back on their own heads, for it is an inexorable law of God that people reap what they sow. We should always remember Galatians 6:7-9, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

The wicked dropped burning coals on David's head, but God would return the same to them. Verse after verse in the Bible assures us of this: (Psalms 11:6; 18:8; 120:4; Proverbs 25:22; Genesis 19:24). The destructive fires they lit with their tongues would burn them, and they would fall into the pits they had dug for David (v. 10). For more references to this look up Psalms 7:15; 9:15; 35:7-8; Proverbs 26:27. The wicked hunted David and set traps for him, but evil would eventually hunt them down and destroy them (v. 11). "Be sure your sin will find you out" (Num. 32:23) is a Biblical truth that will always be fulfilled. We should also remember, “If God be for us, who can be against us” (Romans 8:31).

Finally in verses 12-13, we know the end of the story. We have read the whole history of the life of David and God’s people, so we know that God did maintain David's cause, defeat his enemies, and keep His promise to put him on the throne of Israel. David would establish a dynasty that would eventually bring the Savior into the world. He would write nearly half of the psalms, he would expand and defend the borders of the kingdom, and he would make the preparations necessary for the building of the temple.

What a great man he was because he trusted in the Lord! David was grateful to God for His intervention, and he determined to live to glorify the God of Israel. David wrote, "The Lord will accomplish what concerns me" (138:8), and God honored His faith.

My friend, you can be assured that for God's devoted people, the best is yet to come. “The upright shall dwell in Your presence” (v. 13). We still have heaven to look forward to and experience the very presence of God forever (Psalm 23:6)! Yield to Him and He will accomplish what He has planned for you, and you will be satisfied.

God bless