What is the meaning of Psalm 140:2? Who devise Psalm 140:2 opens with people “who devise.” David pictures deliberate scheming, not accidental wrongdoing. • Proverbs 6:18 says the LORD hates “a heart that devises wicked schemes,” underscoring that plotting sin is itself vile. • Isaiah 32:7 shows a “scoundrel” who “devises wicked devices to destroy the afflicted with slander.” Planning evil reveals a will set against God, contrasting with believers who are to “commit your way to the LORD” (Psalm 37:5). Evil in their hearts The plotting happens “in their hearts,” the moral control center of life. • Genesis 6:5 records that “every intent of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.” Humanity’s fallenness is not skin-deep but heart-deep. • Jesus echoes this in Matthew 15:19: “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery…” Wicked actions flow from inner corruption. Because Scripture reveals the heart as the source, salvation must transform the heart (Ezekiel 36:26), not just behavior. And stir up war Those same hearts then “stir up war,” actively provoking conflict and division. • James 4:1 asks, “What causes conflicts and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the passions at war within you?” The internal war births external warfare. • Psalm 120:7 laments, “I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war,” mirroring David’s experience with hostile plotters. Evil rarely stays private; it seeks company, turns relationships, communities, even nations into battlegrounds. All day long Their aggression is constant—“all day long.” • Psalm 52:1 describes a tyrant whose “tongue devises destruction like a sharpened razor, working deceit all day long.” • Romans 3:14-17 portrays humanity without God: “Destruction and misery lie in their wake, and the way of peace they have not known.” Continuous hostility is the natural rhythm of hearts untouched by grace. The phrase exposes relentless pressure on the righteous, yet also implies God’s awareness—He sees every moment and will judge. summary Psalm 140:2 paints a sobering portrait: intentional plotters cultivate evil deep within, ignite conflict wherever they go, and persist without rest. The verse warns believers to recognize the reality of human sinfulness, lean on God for protection, and guard their own hearts from similar seeds of malice. |
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