Psalms 140:1

Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man;

Psalms 140:1 -Prayer to Yahweh; wickedness of the foe from whom David prays deliverance (Psalms 140:1); the distress laid before Yahweh (Psalms 140:6); doom of the evil-speaking foe (Psalms 140:9); confidence that Yahweh will deliver and give cause for thanks-giving to the righteous (Psalms 140:12). As in Psalms 138:1 David set before his seed God's promise as the anchor of hope (2 Samuel 7:1); and in Psalms 139:1 God's omniscience as our consolation in danger and motive for shunning evil; so in this psalm he sets forth the danger from calumnious enemies, and our only safety in Yahweh, our strength. Compare Psalms 18:1; 2 Samuel 23:6.

The title attests David's authorship, which the similarity between this psalm and David's other psalms confirms.

Deliver me ... preserve me (the same Hebrew word as in David's psalm, )

From the violent man - Hebrew, 'from the man of violences:' the ideal representative of all enemies of David and his race. Compare David's similar language in another psalm, , margin; and . Such a one was Saul, David's most powerful and unrelenting enemy, the type of all enemies of David's race, and of the Divine Son of David. Compare Psalms 52:1.