Psalm 64

Ponder What He Has Done

We come across yet another one of David's psalms where he asks God for deliverance from the threats of his enemies.  Per usual, his adversaries have damaged him, and he pleads to God for help, having faith that God will recognize His righteous people and save them from harm.  What interests me is how his are attacking him this time.  Instead of swords and arrows, his enemies use their sharp tongues and "cruel words" against David.  Despite the notions that words never hurt, we learn instead that men's words can be just as dangerous as weapons, and when it comes to using your words for wicked purposes, God notices.

I think that we tend to believe that what we do really counts when it comes to God, and what we say isn't as important.  I mean, if we say something inappropriate, we can always double back with "I didn't really mean it", or "Just because I said it doesn't mean I'll really do it".  I can picture the men plotting against David, after being confronted by the king, saying "C'mon your highness, we're just joking around!  We would never really stab you in your sleep!".  After reading this psalm, I realize much more than before that God takes what we say seriously.  In the 10 Commandments, three of them (and arguably more) directly involve what we say; We're to not take the Lord's name in vain, we're not to bear false witness, and we must honor our parents.  What we say has consequences.  It has consequences between people, and it has consequences with our relationship to God.

Like most psalms where enemies accost David, the wicked are eventually defeated when their evil ways alienate God and he turns against them.  The way it goes down in this psalm is particularly interesting to me, because God's punishment seems deliciously ironic.  What does God do with men who speak wickedly against others?  "He will turn their own tongues against them, and bring them to ruin."  Another way I look at this is that men are ruined by their own sin.  God isn't punishing them for their own lies and deceit, they are destroying themselves because eventually, their lies and deceit eat away at their lives and lead them to ruin.  And that is the way sin works; It eats away at our lives, and drags us away from God.  The lesson here, to me at least, is that we shouldn't avoid sin because God will punish us, we should avoid sin because sin itself is the punishment.

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!