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Context No. 3438 of 4322 · Psalms

Context · Reflection

Psalms 64:1-10: in context

1Hear my voice, God, in my complaint. Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. 2Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from the noisy crowd of the ones doing evil; 3who sharpen their tongue like a sword, and aim their arrows, deadly words, 4to shoot innocent men from ambushes. They shoot at him suddenly and fearlessly. 5They encourage themselves in evil plans. They talk about laying snares secretly. They say, “Who will see them?” 6They plot injustice, saying, “We have made a perfect plan!” Surely man’s mind and heart are cunning. 7But God will shoot at them. They will be suddenly struck down with an arrow. 8Their own tongues shall ruin them. All who see them will shake their heads. 9All mankind shall be afraid. They shall declare the work of God, and shall wisely ponder what he has done. 10The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall take refuge in him. All the upright in heart shall praise him!

The psalmist prays for protection from a hidden, verbal assault: enemies who sharpen their tongues like swords, aim bitter words like arrows, and shoot from ambush at the innocent, plotting in secret and telling themselves, who will see us? It is the danger of malicious words and secret schemes, harder to guard against than an open attack.

But the psalm turns confident. God will shoot his own arrow, and suddenly they will be struck down; their own tongues will bring them to ruin. The very weapons they forged, their words, will recoil upon them. The plotter who asked, who will see us?, had forgotten that God sees every hidden scheme. And in the end the righteous take refuge in the LORD and rejoice. When we are the target of slander and secret plots, we can bring it all to God, who sees what is done in the dark and can turn the schemer's own words back on himself, while we simply take refuge in him rather than fighting on the same terms.

When I am targeted by hidden words and schemes, do I bring it to God, who sees every secret plot, and take refuge in him rather than fighting back on the same terms?

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