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Psalms 64

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Prayer for Deliverance from Secret Enemies 1–6

1
Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint: Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. ​
2
Hide me from the secret counsel of evil-doers, From the tumult of the workers of iniquity; ​
3
Who have whet their tongue like a sword, And have aimed their arrows, even bitter words, ​
4
That they may shoot in secret places at the perfect: Suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not. ​
5
They encourage themselves in an evil purpose; They commune of laying snares privily; They say, Who will see them?
6
They search out iniquities; We have accomplished, say they, a diligent search: And the inward thought and the heart of every one is deep. ​

God's Sudden Judgment and Vindication 7–10

7
But God will shoot at them; With an arrow suddenly shall they be wounded. ​
8
So they shall be made to stumble, their own tongue being against them: All that see them shall wag the head. ​
9
And all men shall fear; And they shall declare the work of God, And shall wisely consider of his doing. ​
10
The righteous shall be glad in Jehovah, and shall take refuge in him; And all the upright in heart shall glory. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Psalms 64

Verse 1

preserve my life from fear of the enemy — 'Prayer' is siach, a musing or complaint, the word of 'I poured out my complaint before him' (Ps 142:2). 'Fear' is pachad, dread, and 'preserve' is natsar, to guard, as in 'mercy and truth, which may preserve him' (Ps 61:7). He asks to be kept safe from the fear itself.

Verse 2

the secret counsel of the wicked — Sod is a company in close counsel and regesh a crowd. The two words come together in Ps 55:14, 'We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company', so the fellowship of friends there is turned here into a conspiracy. 'Workers of iniquity' is also the phrase of Ps 59:2.

Verse 3

Who whet their tongue like a sword — The tongue as sword and the words as arrows appear together in Ps 57:4, 'their tongue a sharp sword', and Ps 58:7. 'Bitter' is mar. The speech of the enemies is what pierces. James says the same of the tongue, 'full of deadly poison' (Jas 3:8).

Verse 4

shoot in secret at the perfect — 'Perfect' is tam, whole and blameless, the word used of Job (Job 1:1). 'Shoot' is yarah and 'suddenly' pith'om, and v.7 uses both again of God. 'Fear not' is the verb yare, the one used in v.9 of 'all men shall fear'.

Verse 6

the heart, is deep — 'Search out' is chaphas and 'accomplish' tamam, to complete, the root of tam, 'the perfect' (v.4): the plotters are thorough, and the blameless one is the target. 'Deep' is amoq, and the hidden thought of man is such that 'the heart is deceitful above all things' (Jer 17:9).

Verse 7

God shall shoot at them with an arrow — The verbs of v.4 are turned round: 'shoot' (yarah) and 'suddenly' (pith'om) now belong to God, and 'wounded' (makkah) is the result. The arrows of the LORD are described in Ps 7:13 and Ps 18:14, 'he sent out his arrows, and scattered them'.

Verse 8

make their own tongue to fall upon themselves — 'Fall' is kashal, to stumble. The pit of their own digging is the pattern of Ps 9:15, 'in the net which they hid is their own foot taken'. Prov 18:7 puts it, 'A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.'

Verse 9

all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God — They 'fear' (yare) where the plotters of v.4 'fear not', and 'declare' (nagad) the LORD's work, as Jer 51:10 calls for, 'let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God'. 'Wisely consider' is sakal, to understand.

Verse 10

shall glory — 'Trust' is chasah, to take refuge, the verb of 'I will trust in the covert of thy wings' (Ps 61:4). 'Upright in heart' is the phrase of Ps 32:11. 'Glory' is halal, the verb of Ps 63:11, and its New Testament rule is 'He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord' (1 Cor 1:31).