Psalm 140 - The God Who Upholds the Afflicted

Affliction is not a stranger to the people of God. Every believer knows the reality of pressure, pain, spiritual attack, and injustice. We sometimes wake up to a world that speaks loudly against the things of God. We face situations where the wicked seem confident and loud, while the righteous seem silenced or cornered. Psalm 140 speaks directly into that world, and into that pain. It gives us the theology, the hope, and the Christ-centered lens we need in order to walk faithfully in seasons of affliction.

The goal of this blog post is to walk you through the theology of Psalm 140, show the pastoral beauty in the text, and connect every thread of David’s lament to the finished and triumphant work of Jesus Christ. My desire is that this post will encourage your soul, strengthen your faith, and help you understand what it means to be upheld by the covenant keeping God.

Psalm 140 may not be the most familiar psalm, but it is one of the most relevant for believers living in an increasingly hostile world. Its themes include spiritual warfare, deceptive words, hidden snares, the justice of God, and God’s commitment to preserve the righteous. What we see in these thirteen verses is a pattern for godly lament, a portrait of divine faithfulness, and a prophetic pointer to the Messiah who perfectly fulfills what David could only glimpse.

Let us enter the heart of the psalm and discover what it means to trust the God who upholds the afflicted.

Affliction and the Presence of God in the Life of the Believer

Before we look at the specific verses and themes, we need to understand the foundation of the entire psalm. Psalm 140 is written by David. He was no stranger to affliction. Whether facing Saul’s attempts to kill him, dealing with betrayal by those close to him, or confronting political and spiritual enemies who despised his kingship, David often lived in the experience of pressure, danger, and hostility.

Yet David knew something essential. He knew that affliction does not mean abandonment. It does not mean that God has stepped back. It does not mean that God has turned away His face or lost control of the situation. David understood that affliction is often the context in which God displays His faithfulness most clearly.

This psalm is not a cry of despair but a cry of dependence. It is David turning his face toward the God who promised to uphold him. It is the cry of a covenantal heart, a believer who knows that God cannot forsake His people. For the believer today, that truth stands just as firm. If you belong to Christ, you belong to the God who upholds the afflicted.

Trusting God When Evil Speaks Poison (Psalm 140:1-3)

David begins with a cry to God to rescue him from evil men and to preserve him from violent men. The threat David describes is not simply physical. The first weapon mentioned is verbal. The wicked sharpen their tongues like a serpent and under their lips is the poison of a viper. David is showing us that the first blows in spiritual warfare often come from the mouth.

Words can be powerful tools of destruction. Some of the deepest wounds believers carry come from the words spoken against them. Slander, mocking, misrepresentation, false accusation, manipulation, and gossip can break the heart, damage reputation, and discourage the soul. David sees these words as venom, and he is right. Scripture consistently shows that the tongue can be set on fire by hell, and that words can wound more deeply than swords.

It is important for believers today to understand that verbal hostility is not a small battle. The wicked use words to create pressure, distort truth, and destroy righteousness. Social media conflict, workplace hostility, family tension, or cultural mockery can weigh heavily on the heart. Yet in this psalm, we are reminded that God hears every word spoken against His people. He knows the wounds caused by the tongue. He knows the injustice of slander. And He is not indifferent.

David brings these wounds to the Lord instead of retaliating. He chooses to trust the God who judges rightly rather than taking matters into his own hands. This is foundational for believers today. When you are wounded by words, God calls you to bring those wounds to Him. Instead of returning evil for evil, you entrust yourself to the God who vindicates the righteous.

We also must remember Christ at this point. Jesus faced the poison of wicked speech. He was slandered, mocked, accused, lied about, and insulted. The Pharisees sharpened their tongues against Him. The crowds hurled insults at Him. His own disciples misunderstood Him. Yet Jesus never spoke in sin and never retaliated in unrighteous anger. He entrusted Himself to the Father who judges justly. In your moments of being wounded by words, Jesus stands with you as a Savior who understands and as a King who heals.

Trusting God When Enemies Set Snares (Psalm 140:4-5)

David then turns from poisonous speech to hidden snares. He prays, Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked. The proud have hidden a trap for me. They have spread a net and set snares along his path.

David is teaching us that the wicked do not merely wound with words. They also plot in secret. The snares he describes are traps designed with patience, intentionality, and precision. They are not obvious. They are not out in the open. They are carefully set in places where the righteous are expected to walk.

For the believer today, snares are everywhere. These snares may not be physical, but they are still dangerous. The snares might be moral temptations, opportunities for compromise, pressures to abandon biblical conviction, or relational traps set by those who desire your downfall. The snares might be cultural ideas that pull your heart away from Scripture or subtle spiritual temptations that cause you to drift from the Lord.

The comfort of Psalm 140 is that God sees every snare before we do. We often do not even know what God has protected us from. Some of the most profound graces in your life are the snares you never fell into because God prevented you from taking a certain step, entering a certain relationship, or embracing a certain temptation. God preserves you not only in the snares you experience but also in the snares you never saw.

This is where Christ again steps forward as the greater David. Christ faced snares designed to trap Him with theological trick questions, political traps set by the Herodians, or temptations presented by Satan himself. Yet Christ walked perfectly in obedience and avoided every snare set before Him. Because Jesus triumphed over every trap, He is able to deliver us through ours.

Trusting God Who Strengthens in Battle (Psalm 140:6-8)

At this point in the psalm, David shifts from describing danger to confessing truth. He says to the Lord, You are my God. This is covenant language. David is not simply acknowledging that God exists. He is acknowledging that God is his God. He belongs to the Lord who has promised to keep and sustain His people.

David then describes God as the strength of his salvation and the One who covers his head in the day of battle. This imagery is powerful. In the day of battle, the head is the most vulnerable part of the warrior. David is saying that every time he has survived danger, every time he has persevered through difficulty, and every time he has endured a spiritual battle, it was not because of his own ability but because God covered him.

This is one of the most comforting truths in all of Scripture. You are not preserved because you are strong. You are preserved because God is strong. You endure not because of your endurance but because God holds you fast. You remain standing in the day of battle because the Lord covers your head and upholds your life.

Believers today face real spiritual battle. The world, the flesh, and the devil are not imaginary threats. Yet the believer’s confidence is not in their own resilience. The confidence is in the God who equips them with spiritual armor, who strengthens them in inner resolve, who renews them through His Word, and who sustains them through prayer.

Once more, the psalm pushes us toward Christ. Christ entered the ultimate battlefield at the cross. He bore the full fury of sin, death, and Satan and emerged victorious. Because Christ has won the ultimate battle, the believer fights not for victory but from victory. Christ, the Champion of His people, shields and upholds us with His perfect work.

Trusting God to Bring Down the Proud (Psalm 140:9-11)

David moves into difficult territory at this point. He prays that the mischief of the wicked would return upon their own heads, that burning coals would fall upon them, and that they would fall into the pit. These imprecatory verses may seem harsh to modern readers, but they are rooted in the justice of God.

David is not taking vengeance into his own hands. Instead, he is releasing vengeance to the God who judges perfectly. Human vengeance is always distorted by sin. Divine justice is perfectly holy. David’s prayer reflects a trust that God will not allow wickedness to triumph forever.

Believers today need this truth. We live in a world where the wicked often seem to prosper, where injustice is common, and where righteousness seems marginalized. But God has not changed. He will bring justice. He will bring down the proud. He will vindicate His people. No evil escapes His sight and no injustice will remain unresolved.

At the same time, these verses lead us to the cross. Christ is the One who bore the judgment that should have fallen on the wicked. The burning coals of divine wrath fell upon Him instead of us. He entered the pit for our sake. He absorbed justice so that mercy might flow freely to all who trust in Him.

This means that every person will meet justice in one of two places. The justice of God will either fall upon Christ at the cross for those who believe, or it will fall upon the sinner at the final judgment. In both cases, God remains perfectly just.

The Final Hope: Dwelling in God’s Presence (Psalm 140:12-13)

Psalm 140 closes with a profound statement of assurance. David says that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted and that the upright will dwell in the presence of God. This is the final destination for every believer. The future of the righteous is not uncertainty or defeat. The future is dwelling in the presence of God forever.

This final promise is not sentimental. It is covenantal. God preserves His people now and brings them into His presence forever. This is the anchor of Christian hope. No matter the affliction we endure, no matter the battles we fight, and no matter the snares we face, we are headed toward the presence of God. And that presence is our joy, our peace, and our eternal home.

For the believer today, the presence of God is both our present comfort and our future glory. In Christ, we already have access to the Father. Through the Spirit, we enjoy fellowship with God. And in the new creation, we will dwell with Him forever.

Conclusion: The God Who Upholds You Today

Psalm 140 gives us a powerful portrait of the God who upholds the afflicted. He sees the poison of wicked tongues. He protects His people from hidden snares. He shields them in the day of battle. He brings down the proud. And He brings His people into His presence forever.

Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of this psalm. He endured the venom of slander, the snares of the wicked, the battle of the cross, and the justice of God, so that His people might be saved, upheld, and brought home. In Christ, you are upheld by the God who never abandons His afflicted ones.

Whatever season you are walking through right now, know this with full assurance. God is not distant. He is not unaware. He is not passive. He is your refuge, your shield, your defender, your strength, and your comfort. He upholds you in affliction. He carries you through battle. And He brings you into His presence with joy.

May the Lord strengthen your heart today as you trust in the God who upholds the afflicted.