Psalm 64
The Power of God
The Scriptures speak of a realm beyond the physical. And in that space, there are spiritual forces, dangerous and devious, who seek to harass and undermine the church of Christ (Ephesians 6.12).
When we pledge our allegiance to Jesus as King, we are caught up in this great cosmic battle. We come under the aim of the Deceiver and his horde.
This is a Psalm for spiritual warfare.
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint;
protect my life from the threat of the enemy.2 Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked,
from the plots of evildoers.
3 They sharpen their tongues like swords
and aim cruel words like deadly arrows.
4 They shoot from ambush at the innocent;
they shoot suddenly, without fear.5 They encourage each other in evil plans,
they talk about hiding their snares;
they say, ‘Who will see it?’
6 They plot injustice and say,
‘We have devised a perfect plan!’
Surely the human mind and heart are cunning.7 But God will shoot them with his arrows;
they will suddenly be struck down.
8 He will turn their own tongues against them
and bring them to ruin;
all who see them will shake their heads in scorn.
9 All people will fear;
they will proclaim the works of God
and ponder what he has done.10 The righteous will rejoice in the LORD
and take refuge in him;
all the upright in heart will glory in him!
The foundation of our battle plan in spiritual warfare is God himself. Without him, we will be underprepared for the fight and overwhelmed by our foes.
This prayer opens with the demand of the desperate. This is not an impertinent order but the cry of one who is deeply conscious of their own weakness. David here yearns for God to hear of his predicament and deliver him from the terror and dread that the adversary inspires.
In this Psalm, David details both the diligence and arrogance of his foes (2-6).
First you see how thoughtful and thorough they are. They conspire and plot (2). They deliberate with others (5). They prepare carefully (3) and attack the unawares (4).
Second, the rigour in their scheming is surpassed only by their conceit. They think no one could work out or uncover their masterplan. They believe they have been so meticulous that they are impervious to failure. It is fool proof. Yet this is their folly for they fail to recognise that the fool is the one who refuses to acknowledge God as sovereign and supreme.
The language used of David’s adversaries is resonant of that employed to describe the Devil in Ephesians 6. There he is described as scheming against the church (Eph 6.11). And he is the one who shoots flaming arrows at the Christian (Eph 6.16). Paul reminds us that our primary battle in the Christian life is not against flesh and blood but against Satan and his minions.
If we ignore the attention and industry of the Enemy, he will lead us in the wrong direction or trip us up. We must be aware that he is conniving and constantly against us. Do you notice what his main power is? It is words (3). He will seek to tempt us or make us doubt God’s goodness.
Yet the power available to us through our King makes “us more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8.37).
With all the careful thought of their plans, notice how quickly God foils their plans. In just a verse and a half (7-8a), God overturns and overthrows their plots. In fact he reverses them. He will fire arrows at them which will bring them down. Their own tongues, fashioned as swords will be the swords they fall upon.
Every plan fashioned against God will be foiled for he alone is sovereign and supreme!
The outcome of God’s certain victory is that all the world will see alone is sovereign and supreme. And he is to be feared and his works are to be broadcast into every corner of the globe (9).
God though will not just be revered but rejoiced in. The first half of v10 is in the singular. This verse is similar to the closing verse of the previous Psalm where it is the King who rejoices in God. We can deduct then that the anointed King is the righteous one. The Son sent from heaven above is God’s righteous King. He is the one who triumphed over the Devil and death because he trusted in the Father who raised him from the grave and lifted him up to his right hand where he reigns over all the heavenly powers (Eph 1.20-22).
The second half of v10 though is plural. Because of the triumph of the King, we will be glory in God for Christ’s victory becomes our own. We are strong in his mighty power.
The first step in spiritual warfare is praying to God. The final outcome is secure for God will overcome. And so we will worship and glory in him.
Glory be to God the Father, whose plans and purposes will not hindered.
Glory be to God the Son, who rules and reigns over every spiritual power in the heavenly realms.
Glory be to God the Spirit, who empowers us to overcome the lies and temptations of the evil one.
Ever three and ever One.