Neville Goddard on Psalms 140:1-5 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Psalms 140 in context

Scripture Focus

1Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man;

2Which imagine mischiefs in their heart; continually are they gathered together for war.

3They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders' poison is under their lips. Selah.

4Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent man; who have purposed to overthrow my goings.

5The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the wayside; they have set gins for me. Selah.

Psalms 140:1-5

Biblical Context

Psalm 140:1-5 pleads for protection from a malicious, violent foe whose plans and snares threaten the path, and whose words threaten with poison.

Neville's Inner Vision

Within the Bible, the 'evil man' is not a distant adversary but a figure of consciousness you have invited into your awareness by identifying with fear and doubt. The 'violent man' who imagines mischief and gathers for war represents persistent inner thoughts gathering against your next step. The serpent-tongue and poisonous words are the habitual self-talk you have believed and spoken, which seek to overturn your goings. To Neville, deliverance is a shift of state: you must awake to the I AM that is always present as your awareness; imagine the protective intention behind it as a living flame that neutralizes plans to trap you. The Selah moments invite you to pause and revise, not to resist the world, but to re-create your reaction to it. See the snares as misperceptions dissolving in the light of your steadfast inner witness. When you align with the I AM, the imagined threats lose their bite, and the way becomes open to guidance and safety. Your true kingdom is the inner order of consciousness that sets boundaries, not the external circumstance.

Practice This Now

Imaginative Act: Assume the I AM is the boundary that cannot be crossed by any 'evil' thought; revise the scene by affirming, 'I am protected by the I AM, and all plans against me dissolve in light.' Then breathe and feel that protection in your body.