Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man;
Psalms 140:1-13 -Prayer to Yahweh; wickedness of the foe from whom David prays deliverance (Psalms 140:1-5); the distress laid before Yahweh (Psalms 140:6-8); doom of the evil-speaking foe (Psalms 140:9-11); confidence that Yahweh will deliver and give cause for thanks-giving to the righteous (Psalms 140:12-13). As in Psalms 138:1-8 David set before his seed God's promise as the anchor of hope (2 Samuel 7:1-29); and in Psalms 139:1-24 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 18:1-50; 2 Samuel 23:6-7.
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, Psalms 12:7)
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, Psalms 18:48, margin; and 2 Samuel 22:49. 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 52:1-9.