Psalm 064

Introduction

Psalm 64 is yet another lamentation in which the psalmist cries out to the Lord for help because of the trouble he’s in. Many of the psalms thus far have been lamentations. In fact, this is how one of the commentators begins his commentary on Psalm 64:

By this point in the Psalter we have read lament after lament, and one more lament seems wearying to the soul. But life is just like that at times. One difficulty follows on the heels of another. Another trouble arises as soon as one abates. Just when order is emerging, chaos caves in on you. The Psalter brings the realities of life to expression.

That’s the way one of the commentators puts it. And we know from experience that what he said is true and there are many reasons for us to lament before the Lord and to cry to him for help. After all, since March last year, we’ve all been coping with the coronavirus crisis and at times there seems to be light and hope and relief; but then there’s a renewed outbreak and further restrictions are put in place. There’s hope and joy because a vaccine has been discovered and is being rolled out; but then there’s a new strain of the virus to contend with. And then, apart from the coronavirus crisis, each one of us faces our own day-to-day troubles and anxieties and challenges, because we live in a fallen and broken world and life in this world is full of trouble and sorrow. And apart from these normal afflictions which are common to all people, believers face all the wicked schemes of the Devil as he stirs up trouble and opposition for us and as he makes the most of every opportunity to lead us astray with temptations and to crush our faith with disappointments and hardships. And because of his schemes, we have to fight with all our might and we have to resist him. And it’s not easy. And so, we lament before the Lord, crying out to him for help because of the trouble we’re in.

One reason why we read lament after lament in the Psalter is because life often seems to be one trouble after another. And the Lord has given us these laments to teach us to expect trouble in this life and not to think it strange when it happens to us. And the Lord has given us these laments to teach us that we can turn to him when we’re in trouble just as the psalmist turned to the Lord for help. He wants us to know that our help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

In today’s psalm, David calls on the Lord to hear and answer him and to protect him from his enemies. He then describes his enemies and what they’re like. But then, from verse 7, he goes on to anticipate how the Lord will deliver him from his enemies by bringing down on his enemies the trouble they intended for David. For instance, in verse 4 he said that his enemies shoot at him; but then, in verse 7, he says that God will shoot them. So, the harm they intended to do to David will ricochet back on them; and the Lord will repay them for the trouble they caused to David.

We’re not able to say when David wrote this psalm or to what event in his life he’s referring. However, we’re familiar with this kind of thing from other places in the Bible. Think of Numbers 16 and Korah’s rebellion against Moses when the Israelites were in the wilderness. Korah resented Moses’s authority and wanted to bring him down from his position as leader of God’s people. But in the end, the Lord brought Korah down, when the earth opened up and swallowed him and his household. Or think of Daniel’s enemies who resented him because Darius wanted to set him over the whole kingdom. And so, they plotted together how to get rid of Daniel and they manipulated the king in such a way that the king had no option but to throw Daniel into the den of lions. But in the end, Daniel was brought up alive, and his enemies were thrown down into the den and torn apart by the lions. Or think of the book of Esther and how Haman hated Mordecai, who was Esther’s cousin and a faithful Jew. And Haman built a gallows outside his own house on which to hang Mordecai. But in the end, Haman was the one who was hanged and Mordecai was honoured by the king. And then, of course, there’s the Lord Jesus who suffered at the hands of wicked men, who despised him and who plotted against him, and who persuaded Pilate to crucify him. But afterwards, the Lord Jesus was vindicated when his Father raised him from the dead. And while the end has not yet taken place, we know that in the end, the Lord’s enemies will be condemned and Christ will be honoured by all when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that he is Lord.

So, while we may not be able to say when David wrote this psalm and to what event in his life he’s referring, we’re familiar with this kind of thing, because elsewhere in the Bible we see how the Lord rescued his people from the hands of their enemies and repaid their enemies for what they had done. And so, this psalm encourages you when you’re in trouble to trust in the Lord and to wait for him to deliver you.

Verses 1 and 2

Let’s turn to verses 1 and 2 where David prays to the Lord for relief: ‘Hear me, O God, as I voice my complaint.’ When he asks the Lord to hear him, he doesn’t want the Lord to hear only, but to hear and answer him. He’s asking the Lord to act. He’s asking the Lord to intervene on his behalf. And this is what we’re all to do whenever we’re in trouble. Now very often, because of unbelief, we rely on ourselves and on other people instead of trusting in the Lord. Instead of admitting our weakness and turning to God in prayer, we like to think we can work it out on our own. We can see this clearly in the current coronavirus crisis, because all around the world people are looking to governments to solve our problems or to the scientists to end our woes or they’re just hoping for the best and trusting to luck. And instead of humbling ourselves before the Lord, and seeking his mercy and help, we rely on ourselves only. But from the psalms, we learn that we’re to turn to the Lord our God; and we’re to appeal to him for the help we need. By ourselves, we’re weak and frail and unable to save ourselves. And so, we must humble ourselves, and admit our weakness, and turn to God, because he alone is able to save us.

And in this psalm, the psalmist appeals to the Lord for help because of his enemy and because of the wicked and because of evildoers. Do you see how he mentions all three in verses 1 and 2? An enemy is someone who is against us and who is hostile towards us. The word for ‘the wicked’ denotes someone who causes us pain or injury; someone who does damage to us. And ‘evildoers’ are trouble-makers who plot and do what is sinful in the eyes of the Lord. So, that’s what David is facing.

And he refers to the threat from his enemy and to the conspiracy of the wicked and to the noisy crowd of evildoers. So, we get the impression that there’s a whole crowd of people who are against him, and not just one or two people. And they’re conspiring together against him. And he therefore appeals to the Lord to protect his life from their threat and to hide him from their conspiracy. The threat they pose is very serious: it’s life-threatening. His life is in danger because of his enemies. And so, in his fear and distress, he calls on the Lord to hear him and to save him.

Verses 3 to 6

In verses 3 to 6 David describes what his enemies are like. And he mentions their weapons, doesn’t he? He speaks of swords and deadly arrows and down in verse 5 he mentions their snares. When an enemy is nearby he will use his sword to hurt you. When an enemy is far away, he will shoot arrows at you. And at other times, your enemy might leave a snare or a trap to catch you. You’re walking along happily, without a worry, because your enemies are nowhere to be seen; but suddenly, you fall into the trap they have set for you.

So, David refers to these three kinds of weapon. But, of course, he’s referring to swords and arrows and snares metaphorically, because those are not really the weapons his enemies were using against him. The weapons they were using against him were their words. So, just as someone might sharpen a sword, so they sharpen their words. And just as someone might shoot deadly arrows, so they’re aiming their words at him. And they’re ready to ambush him with their words, shooting at him, suddenly, when he’s not expecting it. And just as someone might lay a snare to catch a rabbit, so they have come up with an evil plan in which to trap him.

So, that’s what David was faced with: enemies who were plotting and scheming against him, attacking him with their words. Were they criticising him? Were they telling lies about him? Were they grumbling and complaining about him? Were they devising some wicked scheme to overthrow him? Whatever they were doing, they posed such a threat to David that he feared for his life. One of the commentators suggests that perhaps there was a small group of people who were against David; and with their words they were stirring up an angry mob against him. So, think of the the Apostle Paul when he was in Philippi and had delivered that slave girl from an evil spirit. And the owners of the slave girl somehow managed to stir up a crowd against Paul and Silas. So, one or two people were able to stir up an angry mob with a few well-chosen and well-aimed words.

And look again at the end of verse 4 where David says his enemies are without fear. And in verse 5 they say, ‘Who will see them?’ And in verse 6 they say, ‘We have devised a perfect plan.’ By these words, David is making clear that his enemies are proud and arrogant and full of self-confidence. They’re congratulating themselves. While the Lord’s servant is anxious and afraid, living in fear because of his enemies, these wicked men are full of pride and confidence.

And at the end of verse 6, David sums up what the wicked are like: ‘Surely the mind and heart of man are cunning.’ A more literal translation is that the mind and heart of man are deep. When he refers to the mind and heart, he’s referring to what they are deep down inside. And he seems to be referring to the depths of their sinfulness. They are thoroughly and utterly and deeply sinful people.

Verses 7 to 10

So, David turns to the Lord in prayer, seeking the Lord’s help because he’s faced with enemies who are wicked evildoers, who are attacking him with their words in such a way that his life is in danger.

But in verses 7 to 10 he anticipates how the Lord will answer him. And nearly everything he says in these verses matches something he has already said about his enemies. So, he anticipates how the Lord will repay his enemies for what they have done to him. In verse 3 he said they sharpened their words like swords; and in verse 8 he says that God will turn their own tongues against them and will bring them to ruin. In verse 3 he said they aimed their words like deadly arrows; and in verse 7 he says that God will shoot them with arrows. In verse 4 he said they shoot at him suddenly; and in verse 7 he says that they will be struck down suddenly. In verse 4 he said they were without fear; and in verse 9 he says that all mankind will fear because of what God will do to them. In verse 5 they boasted that no one will see; and in verse 8 he says that all will see them and shake their heads in scorn.

And so, the psalmist anticipates how the Lord will repay his enemies for what they have done to him. God will shoot them with arrows. He doesn’t mean that God will literally fire arrows at them from heaven. Instead he presumably means that God will fire off a command to strike them down. And just as Haman’s plot against Mordecai backfired on him, so the Lord will turn their tongues and what they plotted against them so that they will be brought to ruin.

And in verse 9 he anticipates how all mankind will fear the Lord. So, they will see what God has done to David’s enemies; and, as a result, they will fear the Lord and will proclaim his works and will ponder what he has done. They will think about and talk about what God did to deliver David from his enemies and how the Lord repaid David’s enemies for what they did to him. And the righteous will rejoice in the Lord; and, like David, they will take refuge in the Lord and they will praise him. And perhaps this is where we discover one of the reasons why the Lord lets his people suffer. He lets us suffer so that, when he rescues us, others will see and believe and trust him too.

Application

I’ve already said that while we don’t know when David wrote this psalm, or to what event in his life he’s referring, nevertheless we’re familiar with this kind of thing. The Lord rescued Moses and brought down Korah. The Lord recused Daniel and Daniel’s enemies were thrown to the lions. The Lord rescued Mordecai and Haman was hung on the gallows he built for Mordecai. And then there’s the Lord Jesus. Like David, he faced many enemies who were wicked evildoers and who sharpened their words like swords and who aimed their words at him like deadly arrows and who laid snares for him. They used to come to him with their questions to try to trap him into saying something incriminating. They used to watch what he did to see how they could accuse him. They conspired together how to kill him. They gave money to Judas to betray him. They arrested him and falsely accused him and they whipped up the crowd to demand his crucifixion and they persuaded Pilate to condemn him. They plotted injustice and they devised the perfect plan, because their plan to kill the Lord Jesus worked out perfectly.

Like David, the Lord Jesus was faced with enemies who were wicked evildoers. And though the Lord Jesus died and was buried, his Father rescued him by raising him from the dead and by exalting him to the highest place, far above all his enemies.

And just as the Lord God Almighty rescued the Lord Jesus, so he rescued David. And he inspired David to write this psalm so that you would know that you too can cry out to him for help whenever you’re in trouble. Whether you’re suffering because of enemies who are wicked evildoers who are plotting against you, or whether you’re suffering because we live in a fallen and broken world which is full of trouble and sorrow, or whether you’re suffering because you’re a believer and the Devil is against you, you can always turn to the Lord and ask him to hear you as you voice your complaint and as you make known to him what is troubling you and making you weep. By this psalm, the Lord is teaching you that you can always count on him to help you.

And the reason you can count on the Lord and expect him to hear and answer you is not because you deserve his help, because you don’t. All of us are sinners who sin against the Lord continually in thought and word and deed. Every day we disobey him and there is nothing we deserve from him except for condemnation, because all of us are guilty sinners who deserve his wrath and curse.

And we can’t expect him to hear and answer us because of anything we have done, because even our best deeds are spoiled by sin and anything we do for him now or in the future cannot make up for our sins in the past.

And so, he doesn’t owe us anything and we can’t go to him and say that we deserve his help. No, the only reason we can count on the Lord and expect him to hear and answer us is because of Christ our Saviour, who has paid for our sins with his life and who offered himself on the cross as the once-for-all, perfect sacrifice for sins to reconcile us to God the Father and to make peace between us forever. It’s because of him, and him alone, that you can count on God the Father to hear you and to help you. And even if he does not save us in this life, we know that he will save us in the life to come, because even if the worst thing happens and we are killed, just as Christ our Saviour was killed, we know that one day we will be raised and we will live in body and soul with God our Father and with Jesus Christ our Saviour in the new and better world to come.

And while all who have trusted in Christ in this life will have peace and rest in the life to come, the Lord will repay all those who hated the Lord and who hated the Lord’s people and who refused to repent. He will ensure that justice is done at last and that his enemies who refuse to repent will be repaid for what they have done wrong. But all who trusted in Christ in this life, and who turned from their sin, and who were reconciled to God the Father, will have perfect peace and rest for ever and for ever. And the only reason we will have that perfect peace and rest for ever, and the only reason we can count on God’s help in this life is because of Christ our Saviour.

And so, as we gather around the Lord’s Table on Sunday, let us give thanks to God with our whole heart for Christ the Saviour who shed his blood for our forgiveness and who died to bring us to God. Let us take the bread and cup with thanksgiving. And let us remember that it’s only because of Christ that we can expect good things from the Lord in this life and in the life to come.