Psalm 64: The righteous shall be glad in the Lord

This is another psalm about whose origins we know nothing. Clearly David is indifficulty and needs protection from the wicked. He has been the victim of a conspiracy but has ultimate confidence that he will be able to boast in God.

(1) <To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.> Hear my voice, O God, inmy prayer; preserve my life from fear of the enemy. (2) Hide me from thesecret counsel of the wicked, from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity; (3) Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows toshoot their arrows, even bitter words; (4) That they may shoot in secret atthe perfect; suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not.

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David prayed out loud, not just silently. This was his pattern, at least in times of trouble. Certainly there was a time when he said, "My meditation of him shall besweet." (Psalm 104:34) But when he was in trouble he said, "I cried unto theLORD with my voice, and He heard me out of his holy hill." (Psalm 3:4)

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David knew and experienced fear at many times. Simply because he was a man of great faith, we should not imagine him to be a superhuman character who had nofear. In reality, he should be more attractive to us for having overcome his fears,or for pressing on despite them, through confidence in God. As we have recently seen, David said, "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee." (Psalm 56:3)

Psalms Bible Study Psalms 64-65

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In verse 3 are common images of men preparing for warfare in the ancient world.To whet means to sharpen, and this was done against special stones(whetstones). Bending the bow, of course, means one is preparing to shoot.

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The weapons which are being shot are "bitter words." Spurgeon, in his Treasury of David, says this about verse 3:

“Who whet their tongue like a sword.” Slander has ever been the master weaponof the good man's enemies, and great is the care of the malicious to use iteffectively. As warriors grind their swords, to give them an edge which will cutdeep and wound desperately, so do the unscrupulous invent falsehoods whichshall be calculated to inflict pain, to stab the reputation, to kill the honor of therighteous. What is there which an evil tongue will not say? What misery will it notlabor to inflict? “And bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words.”Far off they dart their calumnies, as archers shoot their poisoned arrows. They studiously and with force prepare their speech as bended bows, and then withcool, deliberate aim, they let fly the shaft which they have dipped in bitterness. Tosting, to inflict anguish, to destroy, is their one design. Insult, sarcasm, tauntingdefiance, nicknaming, all these were practiced among Orientals as a kind of art;and if in these Western regions, with more refined manners, we are less addictedto the use of rough abuse, it is yet to be feared that the less apparent venom of thetongue inflicts none the less poignant pain. However, in all cases, let us fly to theLord for help. David had but the one resource of prayer against the twofold weapons of the wicked, for defense against sword or arrow he used the onedefense of faith in God.

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Verse 4 shows the cowardliness of evil. In most cases, history shows that evil menprefer the darkness, as Jesus taught, "And this is the condemnation, that light is

Psalms Bible Study Psalms 64-65

come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because theirdeeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh tothe light, lest his deeds should be reproved." (John 3:19-20)

(5) They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they speak of layingsnares secretly; they say, "Who shall see them?" (6) They search outiniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep.

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In verse 5 we see how people encourage one another to do evil. Our mothers wereright when they warned us about "bad company." Scripture says, "He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall bedestroyed." (Proverbs 13:20) Christians need to be wary of those who encouragethem, however sweetly, to do what is wrong.

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The figure of "laying snares" comes from the trapping of animals. In theirarrogance, those who plot evil never suspect that their schemes will beuncovered. Let us have faith that God will expose what the enemy has plannedagainst us.

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search out iniquity

. The word means to explore or seek out something like atreasure. Imagine being so intent on doing evil that you search for it like atreasure! Using the word iniquity, David means what is morally perverse and thisindicates evil that has been developed to such a degree as to warp a person’scharacter – in other words, these are not “light” sins.

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This is the opposite of those who seek first the Kingdom of God, like a pearl of great price. And it is a deep plan of evil, with much thought behind it. As human beings we are all on a hunt or a quest for something.