Psalms 140:4

“Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked, etc.] From falling into their hands, and the weight of them}; and from their laying hands on him, being men of power and authority; preserve me from the violent man: or men, everyone of them; (see Gill on “<19E001>Psalm 140:1”); who have purposed to overthrow my goings: to supplant him; to cause him to stumble and fall, to his disgrace and reproach; and that they might take an advantage of him, and an occasion against him. Arama interprets it, to drive me out of the land of Israel; (see <092601>1 Samuel 26:1,9). So Christ’s enemies thought to have supplanted him, and have found something against him, to accuse him of to Caesar, (<402215>Matthew…”

“Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked ... - See the notes at Psalms 71:4. This is a repetition of the prayer in Psalms 140:1. Who have purposed to overthrow my goings - To thrust me down as I go; to defeat my plans; to destroy me. They endeavor to prevent my accomplishing what I had designed to do. return to 'Top of Page'”

“140:4-5 The psalmist asks for divine protection (see Ps 121), praying that the Lord will keep him safe from the many schemes of the wicked.”

“Keep me: Psa 17:8, Psa 17:9, Psa 36:11, Psa 37:32, Psa 37:33-40, Psa 55:1-3, Psa 71:4 preserve: Psa 140:1 overthrow: Psa 17:5; Pro 18:5 Psalms 140:5”

“The course of this second strophe is exactly parallel with the first. The perfects describe their conduct hitherto, as a comparison of Psa 140:3 with Psa 140:3 shows. פּעמים is poetically equivalent to רגלים, and signifies both the foot that steps ( Psa 57:5; Psa 58:11) and the step that is made by the foot (Ps 85:14; Psa 119:133), and here the two senses are undistinguishable. They are called גּאים on account of the inordinate ambition that infatuates them. The metaphors taken from the life of the hunter ( Psa 141:9; Psa 142:4) are here brought together as it were into a body of synonyms. The meaning of ליד־מעגּל becomes explicable from Psa 142:4; ליד, at hand, is equivalent to "immediately…”