[4] The psalm is used as a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies; it has been set to music.

[4][a] The Hebrew word Selah, possibly an instruction on the reading of the text, breaks the psalm after verses 3, 5 and 8.

C. S. Rodd argues that the psalm's structure is unclear, but suggests: In the New Testament, verse 3b, The poison of asps is under their lips, is quoted in Romans 3:13.

[9] Heinrich Schütz composed a metred paraphrase of Psalm 140 in German, "Von bösen Menschen rette mich", SWV 245, for the Becker Psalter, published first in 1628.

Éric Gaudibert composed a setting in Latin, Eripe me, Domine, for mixed double chorus a cappella in 1978.