Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 140:8
Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked: further not his wicked device; [lest] they exalt themselves. Selah.
8. further not his evil device ] Suffer it not to issue in success.
lest they exalt themselves ] The construction is harsh, whether we render thus, or, ‘for then will they exalt themselves,’ and probably the word belongs to the next verse.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked – That is, in the matter under consideration. Let them not accomplish their desire in my destruction. Let them not succeed in their designs against me. The prayer, however, may be used more generally. It is proper to pray that the desires of the wicked, as wicked people, may not be granted to them; that they may not be successful in their purposes. Success in such desires would be only an injury to themselves and to the world. It is proper to pray that the purposes of the wicked may be defeated, and that they may be led to abandon their designs and to seek better ends. For this, in fact, we always pray when we pray for their conversion.
Further not his wicked device – His purpose against me.
Lest they exalt themselves – Lest they attribute it to their own skill, wisdom, or valor, and lest they pride themselves on their success. To succeed in a righteous cause makes a man humble and grateful; in a bad cause, proud, and forgetful of God. The margin here is, Let them not be exalted. The meaning is, that success would at the same time elate them in their own estimation, and increase their bad influence in the world. It is, on every account, a benevolent prayer that wicked people may not be successful in their plans of iniquity.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 140:8
Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked.
The desires of the wicked inadmissible
I. Some of the desires of the wicked.
1. That there is no God. They dare not submit their conduct to Divine inspection, and would be glad if there were no Being to inspect. But against this desire the godly oppose their prayers. And there are good reasons why they thus feel. If there were no God, everything must immediately be thrown into a state of confusion. Chaos would return.
2. If a God do and must exist, sinners wish Him to be a mere spectator of the affairs of the world. The grand objection they have to His existence is, that if He exist He must have the reins of government. But the saints not only desire God to reign, they wish Him to manage all the affairs of creation. They consider their own safety and that of others to depend on this special care of God.
3. If God must exist, and must be an active agent in governing the world, the wicked are desirous that He should work without any plan. They are afraid of Divine decrees. They fear that these decrees do not favour them. The righteous, on the other hand, found all their hopes of salvation, both as it regards themselves and others, on the purposes of God.
4. Sinners desire happiness and heaven without holiness. Between these two God has established an indissoluble connection. He has decreed that holiness shall be the only path to happiness. But this connection sinners wish to destroy. They hate holiness wherever it appears, and yet they intend to be happy. The righteous, on the contrary, love nothing so much as holiness.
5. Sinners desire that Christians may walk disorderly, and so dishonour the religion of Jesus. Against these falls the saints pray, and are grieved when they take place. They love their fellow-saints. Every spot that appears in their garments grieves their hearts. They feel some of the same distress on such occasions as is felt when they go astray themselves.
6. The wicked desire to remain ignorant of their own characters. The righteous daily pray the favour of being acquainted with themselves.
7. Wicked men are very desirous that there may be no day of judgment. They do not wish the final inspection of Omniscience. In such desires the righteous cannot unite. It is their ardent wish that there may be a day that shall bring every deed to light, and pass an impartial judgment on all the actions of men.
8. The wicked are very desirous to be left to act without restraint. Nothing do they desire more. In this particular the children of God, and all holy beings, oppose their wishes. It would ruin the world to have them gratified. Free the wicked from restraint and there would be but little difference between earth and hell.
II. Inferences.
1. The monstrous wickedness of the heart.
2. The nature of regeneration. It is a universal change in the desires of the heart, in the affections of the soul.
3. The great difference between the righteous and the wicked.
4. Why sinners do not desire or relish the society of the righteous. They have opposing desires. (D. A. Clark.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 8. Further not his wicked device] He knew his enemies still desired his death, and were plotting to accomplish it; and here he prays that God may disappoint and confound them. The Chaldee understands this of Doeg.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
His wicked device; which is to destroy me.
Exalt themselves; not only against me, but against thee also, as if by their power and policy they had frustrated thy design and promise made to me.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8. (Compare Psa 37:12;Psa 66:7).
lest they exaltthemselvesor, they will be exalted if permitted to prosper.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked,…. Of Doeg, as the Targum, and of other wicked men, who were desirous both of taking him, and of taking away his life: but the desires of such men are under the restraints of the Lord; nor can they fulfil them unless they have leave from him, which is here deprecated. The psalmist entreats he might not be delivered up to their will, or they have their will of him; see Ps 27:12. Jarchi interprets it of Esau, as in Ps 140:1; and it is applicable enough to antichrist and his wicked followers; who, could they have their desires, would root the Gospel, and the interest of Christ and his people, out of the world;
further not his wicked device: or, “let not his wicked device come forth” l, or proceed to execution, or be brought to perfection; let him be disappointed in it, that he may not be able to perform his enterprise, or execute his designs; which cannot be done without the divine permission. The Rabbins, as Jarchi and others, render it, “let not his bridle come out” m; the bridle out of his jaws, with which he was held by the Lord, and restrained from doing his will; let him not be left to his liberty, and freed from the restraints of divine Providence; see Isa 37:29;
[lest] they exalt themselves. Grow proud, haughty, and insolent to God and man; see De 32:27. Or, “let them not be exalted” n; upon the ruin of me and my friends.
Selah; on this word, [See comments on Ps 3:2].
l “ne facias prodire”, Vatablus; “ne sinas exire”, Cocceius, Michaelis. m “Vel frenum ejus ne sinas exire”, Cocceius. n “ne exaltentur”, Vatablus, Gejerus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| Shame and Confusion of Persecutors. | |
8 Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked: further not his wicked device; lest they exalt themselves. Selah. 9 As for the head of those that compass me about, let the mischief of their own 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 an evil speaker be established in the earth: evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him. 12 I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor. 13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence.
Here is the believing foresight David had,
I. Of the shame and confusion of persecutors.
1. Their disappointment. This he prays for (v. 8), that their lusts might not be gratified, their lust of ambition, envy, and revenge: “Grant not, O Lord! the desires of the wicked, but frustrate them; let them not see the ruin of my interest, which they so earnestly wish to see; but hear the voice of my supplications.” He prays that their projects might not take effect, but be blasted: “O further not his wicked device; let not Providence favour any of his designs, but cross them; suffer not his wicked device to proceed, but chain his wheels, and stop him in the career of his pursuits.” Thus we are to pray against the enemies of God’s people, that they may not succeed in any of their enterprises. Such was David’s prayer against Ahithophel, that God would turn his counsels into foolishness. The plea is, lest they exalt themselves, value themselves upon their success as if it were an evidence that God favoured them. Proud men, when they prosper, are made prouder, grow more impudent against God and insolent against his people, and therefore, “Lord, do not prosper them.”
2. Their destruction. This he prays for (as we read it); but some choose to read it rather as a prophecy, and the original will bear it. If we take it as a prayer, that proceeds from a spirit of prophecy, which comes all to one. He foretels the ruin,
(1.) Of his own enemies: “As for those that compass me about, and seek my ruin,” [1.] “The mischief of their own lips shall cover their heads (v. 9); the evil they have wished to me shall come upon themselves, their curses shall be blown back into their own faces, and the very designs which they have laid against me shall turn to their own ruin,” Psa 7:15; Psa 7:16. Let those that make mischief, by slandering, tale-bearing, misrepresenting their neighbours, and spreading ill-natured characters and stories, dread the consequence of it, and think how sad their condition will be when all the mischief they have been accessory to shall be made to return upon themselves. [2.] The judgments of God shall fall upon them, compared here to burning coals, in allusion to the destruction of Sodom; nay, as in the deluge the waters from above, and those from beneath, met for the drowning of the world, both the windows of heaven were opened and the fountains of the great deep were broken up, so here, to complete the ruin of the enemies of Christ and his kingdom, they shall not only have burning coals cast upon them from above (Job 20:23; Job 27:22), but they themselves shall be cast into the fire beneath; both heaven and hell, the wrath of God the Judge and the rage of Satan the tormentor, shall concur to make them miserable. And the fire they shall be cast into is not a furnace of fire, out of which perhaps they might escape, but a deep pit, out of which they cannot rise. Tophet is said to be deep and large, Isa. xxx. 33.
(2.) Of all others that are like them, v. 11. [1.] Evil speakers must expect to be shaken, for they shall never be established in the earth. What is got by fraud and falsehood, by calumny and unjust accusation, will not prosper, will not last. Wealth gotten by vanity will be diminished. Let not such men as Doeg think to reign long, for his doom will be theirs, Ps. ii. 5. A lying tongue is but for a moment, but the lip of truth shall be established for ever. [2.] Evil doers must expect to be destroyed: Evil shall hunt the violent man, as the blood-hound hunts the murderer to discover him, as the lion hunts his prey to tear it to pieces. Mischievous men will be brought to light, and brought to ruin; the destruction appointed shall run them down and overthrow them. Evil pursues sinners.
II. Here is his foresight of the deliverance and comfort of the persecuted, Psa 140:12; Psa 140:13. 1. God will do those justice, in delivering them, who, being wronged, commit themselves to him: “I know that the Lord will maintain the just and injured cause of his afflicted people, and will not suffer might always to prevail against right, though it be but the right of the poor, who have but little that they can pretend a right to.” God is, and will be, the patron of oppressed innocence, much more of persecuted piety; those that know him cannot but know this. 2. They will do him justice (if I may so speak), in ascribing the glory of their deliverance to him: “Surely the righteous (who make conscience of rendering to God his due, as well as to men theirs) shall give thanks unto thy name when they find their cause pleaded with jealousy and prosecuted with effect.” The closing words, The upright shall dwell in thy presence, denote both God’s favour to them (“Thou shalt admit them to dwell in thy presence in grace here, in glory hereafter, and it shall be their safety and happiness”) and their duty to God: “They shall attend upon thee as servants that keep in the presence of their masters, both to do them honour and to receive their commands.” This is true thanksgiving, even thanksliving; and this use we should make of all our deliverance, we should serve God the more closely and cheerfully.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
8. Grant not, O Jehovah! the desires of the wicked (228) We might render the words Establish not, though the meaning would be the same — that God would restrain the desires of the wicked, and frustrate all their aims and attempts. We see from this that it is in his power, whenever he sees proper, to frustrate the unprincipled designs of men, and their wicked expectations, and to dash their schemes. When, therefore, it is found impracticable to bring our enemies to a right state of mind, we are to pray that the devices which they have imagined may be immediately overthrown and thwarted. In the next clause there is more ambiguity. As the Hebrew verb פוק, puk, means to lead out, as well as to strike or fall, the words might mean, that God would not carry out into effect the counsels of the wicked. But the opinion of those may be correct who read — their thought is thou wilt not strike, David representing such hopes as the wicked are wont to entertain. We find him elsewhere (Psa 10:6) describing their pride in a similar way, in entirely overlooking a divine providence, and considering all events as subject to their control, and the world placed under their sole management. The word which follows with thus come in appropriately — they shall be lifted up, in illusion to the wicked being inflated by pride, through the idea that they can never be overtaken by adversity. If the other reading be preferred, the negative particle must be considered as repeated — “Suffer not their attempts to be carried into effect; let them not be exalted.” At any rate David is to be considered as censuring the security of his enemies, in making no account of God, and in surrendering themselves to unbridled license.
(228) “The desires which the wicked have for my destruction.” — Phillips.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(8) Desires.The form of the Hebrew word is anomalous, but the meaning certain. The LXX. and Vulg. give the first clause thus: Give me not over to the enemy, by reason of their own desire; which may possibly have been in St. Pauls mind in Rom. 1:24.
Further not.The text of this clause has undoubtedly suffered. The Authorised Version follows the LXX. and Vulg. in inserting a negative before the last word. These versions also take the word rendered wicked devices as a verb, not finding a noun of the form anywhere else: They have plotted against me: desert me not, lest they exalt themselves. So also Symmachus, and another Greek version quoted by Origen.
As the text at present stands, we must render: his plot do not furtherthey lift up. Looking on to the next verse, the head of those surrounding me, the suggestion at once arises that the verb lift up properly belongs to this clause:
His plot do not further.
They lift the head, these surrounding me.
This arrangement disregards the selah. and also obliges us to suspect that a clause has dropped cut after the first clause of Psa. 140:9a suspicion confirmed by the rhythm.[20]
[20] Mr. Burgess amends to Further not his plot to his exaltation.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
8. Grant not the desires of the wicked For God to grant their desires would contradict his own holiness, and lead to the abandonment of the righteous, for the desires of the wicked and the righteous cannot both be granted. The one precludes the other. See Pro 21:10; Isa 26:8-9
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 140:8. Further not his wicked device Or, as the original may be rendered, Permit not his wicked device to go forward, or be advanced: so the prayer is, not so much that God would not give him good success, as that he would interpose to his hindrance, and blast and frustrate his designs, instead of permitting them to prosper. Mudge, in agreement with Bishop Hare, renders the next clause and the following verse, Let those that beset me lift up the head: Let the labour of their own lips cover them.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Psa 140:8 Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked: further not his wicked device; [lest] they exalt themselves. Selah.
Ver. 8. Grant not, O Lord, &c. ] For if they should be votorum compotes, masters of their desires, they would be intolerably insolent, so as to say, Our high hand, and not the Lord, hath done all this, Deu 32:27 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
wicked. Hebrew. rasha’. Singular. App-44. The same word as in Psa 140:4.
wicked device = devices or plots. Occurs only here.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Grant not: Psa 27:12, Psa 94:20, Psa 94:21, 2Sa 15:31, Job 5:12, Job 5:13
lest they exalt themselves: or, let them not be exalted, Deu 32:27
Reciprocal: Psa 30:1 – hast not Psa 33:10 – he maketh Psa 35:25 – so Psa 41:2 – thou wilt not Lam 1:9 – for
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
140:8 Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked: {f} further not his wicked device; [lest] they exalt themselves. Selah.
(f) For it is in God’s hand to overthrow the counsels and enterprises of the wicked.