Psalms 64:1-10: a reflection

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!

In this psalm, David asks God to protect him from those who plot against him in secret, sharpening their tongues and laying hidden snares, confident that no one will see; but God sees, and the psalm rests in his protection. Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, David prays; they encourage themselves in evil, they talk of laying snares secretly, saying, who will see them? They imagined their schemes hidden, unseen, safe from any eye. But God sees the secret plots that people think are hidden; and against him no secret scheme can finally succeed. The wicked said, who will see them? but God sees. This shows that God sees the secret schemes others think are hidden, and we can take refuge in him. God sees the secret plots others think are hidden. No hidden scheme escapes God's sight. Those who plot in secret are seen by God. Take refuge in God, who sees the hidden.

Notice the confidence of the plotters and the truth that undoes it. The wicked plotted in secret, sharpening their words like weapons, laying snares in hiding, and encouraging themselves with the thought: who will see them? They believed their schemes were hidden, unseen, safe from any eye, and so they went about them boldly. But their confidence was misplaced, for God sees. Nothing is hidden from him; the secret plots people think unseen are open before him. And so David, though beset by these secret schemes, could take refuge in God, trusting that God saw the hidden malice and would deal with it. This is a comfort for us when we face secret opposition, hidden schemes, malice worked against us behind our backs where we cannot see. Such hidden malice is real, and troubling precisely because it is hidden. But nothing is hidden from God. He sees the secret plots, the whispered schemes, the malice worked in the dark; none of it escapes his sight. We can take refuge in the God who sees the hidden, trusting him with what is worked against us in secret. God sees what is worked against us in secret; nothing is hidden from him. Take refuge in the God who sees the hidden schemes. No malice, however hidden, escapes God's sight. Trust God with what is plotted against you in the dark.

That is worth resting in, for God sees the secret plots others think are hidden, and we can take refuge in him with what is worked against us in secret, as David took refuge in God from the hidden schemes of the wicked. We can be troubled by secret opposition, hidden malice worked against us where we cannot see; but the wicked who plotted in secret, saying who will see them, did not reckon with God, who sees all. Nothing is hidden from God. When you are troubled by hidden schemes worked against you, remember that God sees them, and take refuge in him. Rest in the truth that God sees the secret plots others think are hidden, so that we can take refuge in him with what is worked against us in secret, as David prayed to be hidden from the secret plots of the wicked who sharpened their tongues and laid snares in hiding, encouraging themselves with the thought, who will see them; for they believed their schemes hidden and safe from any eye, but their confidence was misplaced, since God sees, and nothing is hidden from him, so that the secret plots people think unseen are open before him, and David, though beset by hidden schemes, could take refuge in the God who saw the hidden malice, which is a comfort for us when we face secret opposition and hidden schemes worked against us where we cannot see, troubling precisely because they are hidden, since nothing is hidden from God who sees the whispered plots and the malice worked in the dark, so that we can take refuge in the God who sees the hidden and trust him with what is plotted against us in secret.

Lord, in this psalm, David asks you to protect him from those who plot against him in secret, sharpening their tongues and laying hidden snares, confident that no one will see; but you see, and the psalm rests in your protection. Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, David prays; they encourage themselves in evil, they talk of laying snares secretly, saying, who will see them? They imagined their schemes hidden, unseen, safe from any eye. But you see the secret plots that people think are hidden; and against you no secret scheme can finally succeed. Show me the confidence of the plotters and the truth that undoes it. The wicked plotted in secret, laying snares in hiding, and encouraging themselves with the thought: who will see them? They believed their schemes unseen, safe from any eye, and went about them boldly. But their confidence was misplaced, for you see. Nothing is hidden from you; the secret plots people think unseen are open before you. And so David, though beset by these secret schemes, could take refuge in you, trusting that you saw the hidden malice and would deal with it. This is a comfort for me when I face secret opposition, hidden schemes, malice worked against me behind my back where I cannot see. Such hidden malice is real, and troubling precisely because it is hidden. But nothing is hidden from you. Take that to my heart, for you see the secret plots others think are hidden, and I can take refuge in you. When I am troubled by hidden schemes worked against me, help me remember that you see them, Lord, and take refuge in you who see the hidden, trusting you with what is plotted against me in the dark, since no malice, however hidden, escapes your sight.