Ps 140 8 But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign LORD ;

in you I take refuge-do not give me over to death.

9 Keep me from the snares they have laid for me,

from the traps set by evildoers.

10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,

while I pass by in safety.

The Psalmist is offering his troubles up to God as a meal offering of the evening sacrifice. He is reasoning with God that the dangers that he faces are life threatening. He is arguing that placing his life in Gods hands is as valuable as offering God a sacrifice or meal offering. The apostle says that we face many trials in this life. These trials are given by God to strengthen our faith. But because we live in a fallen world in which Satan works against us we are susceptible to being harmed for life. The Psalmist describes this throughout the Psalms as a trap set by the wicked. The Psalms are not really a counseling book. They are not just written to pass on encouragement. These Psalms are more than encouragements for Gods elect. They are written in pronouncements and cries in order to direct us in a way to avoid the trap or the wound that will scar us for life. The Psalms are prayers and pleas for God in order for us to go from one deliverance to another. Just like the Psalmist faced death in the heat of the battle he was comparing the wars of Israel with the daily responsibilities of public life.We are taught in Psalms 1 that if we do not meditate on the law, covenants, curses, statutes, promises and decrees that we will be drawn away by the counsel of the wicked, into the path of the wicked and eventually be comfortable sitting in the seat of scoffers. These Psalms are given in order for us to know ourselves and God.

The Psalmist is teaching here that he avoids speaking words that create the culture will ultimate trap Gods people by daily approaching God in the words of the law, covenant etc. This is why he says set a guard over my mouth." He is saying that the words that spoken in this world create the culture of danger that will trap Gods elect. You see this if in how the world treats the handicap. You see God turns the world upside down in order to focus on the weak and helpless. We naturally think the world is run by the activity and the work of men. But the Psalms teach us that the real world is a war of desires. It is a creation of God that is opposed to the desires of the wicked. Every man is who he is by the images that he creates. This why the Psalmist prays about facing the potential traps as desires of

he wicked. Every man is who he is by the images that he creates. This why the Psalmist prays about facing the potential traps as desires of the wicked." do not grant the wicked their desires, O LORD; do not let their plans succeed, or they will become proud". So the Psalms are pronouncements that create the world through righteous desires. The Psalmist is teaching that the prayers offered to God in these pronouncements are the way that he communicates. They save him from the words that spoken in the world that create traps for the helpless.