Psalm 140:10

Psalm 140:10

Burning coals!

It would be easy to simply skip over this verse, but there is more to it than perhaps meets the eye. Firstly, burning coals were very much part of Israel’s religious life, coals were burned on the altar of sacrifice at the Tabernacle and the Temple, and burning coals were taken by the priests into the Holy Place and laid on the altar of incense at least twice a day. There is an element of God’s justice involved in these practices; indeed, the prophet Isaiah pours scorn and condemnation on necromancers, sorcerers, astrologers and the like, saying that they will never be able to save themselves from the fire of judgement, people who think their spiritual coals provide warmth and cosy comfort have got it completely wrong! Isaiah 47:12-15. Their fiery coals will come back to haunt them, an irony if ever there was one! 

In Psalm 18:8 God’s power and majesty come down to the earth with consuming fire and burning coals erupting from His mouth. There is no question therefore, that David is asking God here to judge his enemies and to pour the burning coals of His wrath upon them. He also condemns these evildoers to miry pits, never to rise! If we compare this imagery to other Scriptures, we find that the miry pits have connotations of the realm of the dead, the underworld or Sheol. In other words, this verse of Psalm 140 is speaking of God’s ultimate judgement of the wicked and David is unsparing in his condemnation of them and his desire that they be punished forever! When God throws a person down, they will never rise again. In contrast, those who believe in Him and obey Him will rise up and never be cast down!

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