The starting point when explaining a psalm is to know what the Lord Jesus himself says in Luke 24:44 that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. This means that the psalms at the deepest level are about Jesus Christ or find their fulfillment in him. We can find a good example of this in the explanation of Psalm 16:8–11, as Peter gives in Acts 2:24–32. Something similar happens more often. In the New Testament a psalm is often quoted, and frequently it is added how this quote ties in with Jesus Christ. This is also how we read this Psalm: beside the exegesis and searching for the original meaning, we also look for the connection it has with Christ; in other words, we search for how this psalm ties in with Jesus Christ.

Beside this, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that this psalm (Psalm 140:3) is being quoted in the New Testament, namely in Romans 3:13. The fulfillment in Jesus Christ, as well as quotations of psalm verses in the New Testament show us the unity of Scripture. In the polyphony of the multiple authors we hear the one voice of the heavenly Author.

The heading consists of two parts: To the choirmaster, and A Psalm of David. Choirmaster is the name or title of someone who oversees or leads the singing. Here, it probably refers to someone who leads the singing by means of playing a musical instrument. Thus, you could also say: For the music master.

The Hebrew word for psalm comes from the word praising/singing. The word psalm is derived from the Greek translation of the Hebrew word and denotes the playing of a stringed instrument.

There have been various situations in David’s life which can be placed with the content of this psalm. One can think of the enmity with Saul, or the threats from Absalom, but possibly also other people who made David’s life difficult.

Structure

·         Heading (Psalm 140:1a)

·         Prayer to be liberated from the attacks of evil men (Psalm 140:1–8)

·         Prayer for retaliation (Psalm 140:9–11)

·         Confession of trust that God will act justly (Psalm 140:12–13)