As for the head of those that compass me about, let the mischief of their own lips cover them.
Psalm 140:9 is David’s prayer that wicked speech would return upon the wicked speakers. He has already described evil and violent men who imagine mischiefs in their heart and continually gather together for war (vv.1-2). Their tongues are sharpened like a serpent, and adders’ poison is under their lips (v.3). They have purposed to overthrow David’s goings and have laid snares, cords, nets, and gins for him (vv.4-5). David therefore cries to the LORD as his God, his strength, and the strength of his salvation (vv.6-7). Verse 9 asks that the mischief produced by their lips would come upon their own head.
“As for the head.” David begins with the seat of rule, identity, honour, and responsibility. The head stands for the person under judgment, and possibly for the chief among those gathered against him. The wicked may have many tongues and many lips working together, but God knows the head of the conspiracy. No whisper, plot, slander, accusation, or proud plan is lost in the crowd. The Judge sees both the company and the head.
“Of those that compass me about.” David is surrounded. These are not distant enemies only. They compass him about, enclosing him, pressing him, and seeking advantage on every side. Earlier they “continually are gathered together for war” (v.2), and they have “laid a snare” and “spread a net” by the wayside (v.5). Wicked words often work this way. Slander surrounds a man before he can answer it. Lies move from ear to ear. Whispering creates a circle of suspicion. The righteous may feel enclosed by words as much as by weapons.
This phrase also shows why David needs God. When enemies compass a man about, human escape may be difficult. He cannot be present in every conversation, answer every accusation, correct every false report, or expose every hidden motive. Therefore, he goes to the LORD. The safest refuge from surrounding lips is the God who hears all lips, sees all hearts, and judges all men.
“Let the mischief.” Mischief is evil design, harm, injury, malice, and destructive intent. In this psalm it begins in the heart: “Which imagine mischiefs in their heart” (v.2). It then comes out through the mouth: sharpened tongues and poisoned lips (v.3). By verse 9 it is called “the mischief of their own lips.” The heart devises it; the lips release it. Wicked speech is not empty sound. It is mischief spoken.
This is the fruit of wicked words. Good lips bring forth praise, truth, prayer, confession, warning, comfort, and thanksgiving. Wicked lips bring forth mischief. Jesus taught that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12:34), and again that evil things proceed out of the heart and defile the man (Matthew 15:18-20). Psalm 140 shows that order clearly. Mischief is imagined within, sharpened by the tongue, hidden under the lips, and then brought forth against the righteous.
“Of their own lips.” David marks the justice of the judgment. He does not ask that innocent harm fall upon them. He asks that their own lips furnish the cause of their judgement. This is righteous recompense. The mouth they used against others becomes witness against themselves. Jesus said, “by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned” (Matthew 12:37). The wicked may think words vanish after they are spoken, but God can bring them back upon the speaker.
The phrase “their own lips” is important because men often want to distance themselves from their words after the damage is done. They say they were misunderstood, provoked, joking, concerned, or only repeating what they heard. But David says “their own lips.” God holds men to their words. A man owns what he speaks. The lips that curse, lie, flatter, slander, threaten, and accuse will not escape the Judge by later excuses.
This is the opposite of the righteous use of lips. David elsewhere says, “Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee” (Psalm 63:3). The psalmist says, “With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth” (Psalm 119:13). Again, “My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes” (Psalm 119:171). Righteous lips bear good fruit upward to God and outward to men. Wicked lips bear mischief, and that mischief returns downward upon the speaker.
“Cover them.” David asks that the mischief of their own lips overwhelm them. There is a covering of mercy, favour, and protection for the righteous; but here is a covering of judgment. The righteous may be compassed with favour as with a shield (Psalm 5:12), but the wicked are to be covered by the evil their own lips have produced. What they meant to put upon David should come upon themselves.
This is a common rule of divine judgment. The wicked fall into the pit they dig (Psalm 7:15-16). Haman was hanged on the gallows he prepared for Mordecai (Esther 7:9-10). Daniel’s accusers were cast into the den they intended for him (Daniel 6:24). Those who use the tongue to lay snares should not marvel when God makes their own speech the net that takes them. David is asking for judgment according to this holy pattern.
The verse therefore teaches that words have harvests. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). A man may sow mischief with his lips and later wonder why trouble covers his head. But God is not mocked. The tongue that spreads poison does not produce peace. The lips that invent injury do not reap blessing. Wicked words bear wicked fruit, and God can make the fruit fall upon the head that produced it.
This should sober every saint. Have my lips ever produced mischief? Have I spoken words that surrounded another man with suspicion? Have I sharpened a sentence to wound? Have I hidden poison under controlled lips until opportunity served? Have I repeated a matter without righteous cause? Psalm 140:9 is not only a prayer against enemies; it is a warning to examine our own mouths before God.
There is comfort here for those injured by slander. The righteous do not need to answer every poisoned word with poisoned words of their own. David does not become serpent-tongued because his enemies are serpent-tongued. He prays. He asks God to let the mischief of their own lips cover them. This is faith. It refuses revenge, but it does not deny justice. It leaves wicked mouths with the God who judges mouths.
Ministers, families, and churches especially need this verse. One tongue can spread mischief through a house, a congregation, or a friendship. A slanderous report can compass a man about before he ever knows the matter exists. Whispering can poison trust. Proud words can strengthen factions. False accusations can grieve the righteous and embolden the wicked. Therefore, God’s people must fear the lips. Speech must be governed by truth, charity, necessity, and the fear of God.
Jesus Christ endured the mischief of wicked lips more than any man. False witnesses rose against Him (Matthew 26:59-61). Accusers brought charges before Pilate (Luke 23:1-2). Passersby reviled Him, rulers mocked Him, and soldiers derided Him (Matthew 27:39-44; Luke 23:35-37). Yet their words did not finally prevail. God raised Him from the dead, set Him at His own right hand, and made Him Judge of the living and the dead (Acts 2:23-36; 17:31). The mischief of their lips did not destroy the Holy One; it revealed their guilt.
Christ is also the perfect pattern for the righteous under wicked speech. When He was reviled, He reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not, but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously (1 Peter 2:23). This is the spirit David shows in Psalm 140. He cries to God, asks for preservation, and commits the recompence of wicked lips to the righteous Judge.
Psalm 140:9 therefore shows the bitter fruit of wicked words. The enemies’ lips produced mischief, and David prays that this mischief would cover them. Let every saint learn both warning and comfort. Warning: lips that sow poison may reap judgment upon the head. Comfort: God hears lying, slanderous, sharpened, poisonous speech and can turn it back upon the speaker. Let the righteous use their lips for praise, truth, and prayer, and let them trust the LORD to judge the mischief of wicked lips.
As for the head of those that compass me about, let the mischief of their own lips cover them.
Psalm 140:9 is David’s prayer that wicked speech would return upon the wicked speakers. He has already described evil and violent men who imagine mischiefs in their heart and continually gather together for war (vv.1-2). Their tongues are sharpened like a serpent, and adders’ poison is under their lips (v.3). They have purposed to overthrow David’s goings and have laid snares, cords, nets, and gins for him (vv.4-5). David therefore cries to the LORD as his God, his strength, and the strength of his salvation (vv.6-7). Verse 9 asks that the mischief produced by their lips would come upon their own head.
“As for the head.” David begins with the seat of rule, identity, honour, and responsibility. The head stands for the person under judgment, and possibly for the chief among those gathered against him. The wicked may have many tongues and many lips working together, but God knows the head of the conspiracy. No whisper, plot, slander, accusation, or proud plan is lost in the crowd. The Judge sees both the company and the head.
“Of those that compass me about.” David is surrounded. These are not distant enemies only. They compass him about, enclosing him, pressing him, and seeking advantage on every side. Earlier they “continually are gathered together for war” (v.2), and they have “laid a snare” and “spread a net” by the wayside (v.5). Wicked words often work this way. Slander surrounds a man before he can answer it. Lies move from ear to ear. Whispering creates a circle of suspicion. The righteous may feel enclosed by words as much as by weapons.
This phrase also shows why David needs God. When enemies compass a man about, human escape may be difficult. He cannot be present in every conversation, answer every accusation, correct every false report, or expose every hidden motive. Therefore, he goes to the LORD. The safest refuge from surrounding lips is the God who hears all lips, sees all hearts, and judges all men.
“Let the mischief.” Mischief is evil design, harm, injury, malice, and destructive intent. In this psalm it begins in the heart: “Which imagine mischiefs in their heart” (v.2). It then comes out through the mouth: sharpened tongues and poisoned lips (v.3). By verse 9 it is called “the mischief of their own lips.” The heart devises it; the lips release it. Wicked speech is not empty sound. It is mischief spoken.
This is the fruit of wicked words. Good lips bring forth praise, truth, prayer, confession, warning, comfort, and thanksgiving. Wicked lips bring forth mischief. Jesus taught that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12:34), and again that evil things proceed out of the heart and defile the man (Matthew 15:18-20). Psalm 140 shows that order clearly. Mischief is imagined within, sharpened by the tongue, hidden under the lips, and then brought forth against the righteous.
“Of their own lips.” David marks the justice of the judgment. He does not ask that innocent harm fall upon them. He asks that their own lips furnish the cause of their judgement. This is righteous recompense. The mouth they used against others becomes witness against themselves. Jesus said, “by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned” (Matthew 12:37). The wicked may think words vanish after they are spoken, but God can bring them back upon the speaker.
The phrase “their own lips” is important because men often want to distance themselves from their words after the damage is done. They say they were misunderstood, provoked, joking, concerned, or only repeating what they heard. But David says “their own lips.” God holds men to their words. A man owns what he speaks. The lips that curse, lie, flatter, slander, threaten, and accuse will not escape the Judge by later excuses.
This is the opposite of the righteous use of lips. David elsewhere says, “Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee” (Psalm 63:3). The psalmist says, “With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth” (Psalm 119:13). Again, “My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes” (Psalm 119:171). Righteous lips bear good fruit upward to God and outward to men. Wicked lips bear mischief, and that mischief returns downward upon the speaker.
“Cover them.” David asks that the mischief of their own lips overwhelm them. There is a covering of mercy, favour, and protection for the righteous; but here is a covering of judgment. The righteous may be compassed with favour as with a shield (Psalm 5:12), but the wicked are to be covered by the evil their own lips have produced. What they meant to put upon David should come upon themselves.
This is a common rule of divine judgment. The wicked fall into the pit they dig (Psalm 7:15-16). Haman was hanged on the gallows he prepared for Mordecai (Esther 7:9-10). Daniel’s accusers were cast into the den they intended for him (Daniel 6:24). Those who use the tongue to lay snares should not marvel when God makes their own speech the net that takes them. David is asking for judgment according to this holy pattern.
The verse therefore teaches that words have harvests. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). A man may sow mischief with his lips and later wonder why trouble covers his head. But God is not mocked. The tongue that spreads poison does not produce peace. The lips that invent injury do not reap blessing. Wicked words bear wicked fruit, and God can make the fruit fall upon the head that produced it.
This should sober every saint. Have my lips ever produced mischief? Have I spoken words that surrounded another man with suspicion? Have I sharpened a sentence to wound? Have I hidden poison under controlled lips until opportunity served? Have I repeated a matter without righteous cause? Psalm 140:9 is not only a prayer against enemies; it is a warning to examine our own mouths before God.
There is comfort here for those injured by slander. The righteous do not need to answer every poisoned word with poisoned words of their own. David does not become serpent-tongued because his enemies are serpent-tongued. He prays. He asks God to let the mischief of their own lips cover them. This is faith. It refuses revenge, but it does not deny justice. It leaves wicked mouths with the God who judges mouths.
Ministers, families, and churches especially need this verse. One tongue can spread mischief through a house, a congregation, or a friendship. A slanderous report can compass a man about before he ever knows the matter exists. Whispering can poison trust. Proud words can strengthen factions. False accusations can grieve the righteous and embolden the wicked. Therefore, God’s people must fear the lips. Speech must be governed by truth, charity, necessity, and the fear of God.
Jesus Christ endured the mischief of wicked lips more than any man. False witnesses rose against Him (Matthew 26:59-61). Accusers brought charges before Pilate (Luke 23:1-2). Passersby reviled Him, rulers mocked Him, and soldiers derided Him (Matthew 27:39-44; Luke 23:35-37). Yet their words did not finally prevail. God raised Him from the dead, set Him at His own right hand, and made Him Judge of the living and the dead (Acts 2:23-36; 17:31). The mischief of their lips did not destroy the Holy One; it revealed their guilt.
Christ is also the perfect pattern for the righteous under wicked speech. When He was reviled, He reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not, but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously (1 Peter 2:23). This is the spirit David shows in Psalm 140. He cries to God, asks for preservation, and commits the recompence of wicked lips to the righteous Judge.
Psalm 140:9 therefore shows the bitter fruit of wicked words. The enemies’ lips produced mischief, and David prays that this mischief would cover them. Let every saint learn both warning and comfort. Warning: lips that sow poison may reap judgment upon the head. Comfort: God hears lying, slanderous, sharpened, poisonous speech and can turn it back upon the speaker. Let the righteous use their lips for praise, truth, and prayer, and let them trust the LORD to judge the mischief of wicked lips.