Today, Wednesday June 07
“But God Shall Shoot at Them…”
Psalm 64:1-10
“Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation; Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity, Who sharpen their tongue like a sword, And bend their bows to shoot their arrows--bitter words, That they may shoot in secret at the blameless; Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.
They encourage themselves in an evil matter; They talk of laying snares secretly; They say, "Who will see them?" They devise iniquities: "We have perfected a shrewd scheme." Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep.
But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; Suddenly they shall be wounded. So He will make them stumble over their own tongue; All who see them shall flee away.
All men shall fear, And shall declare the work of God; For they shall wisely consider His doing. The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and trust in Him. And all the upright in heart shall glory.”
Psalm 64 is about a battle, the battle of words. David is writing this Psalm as he is facing a fierce attack on both his life physically and verbally. His enemies were lying about him and seeking to destroy him. They were falsely accusing him of things he did not do. My friend, this is one of the toughest things to deal with. But remember, this is what they did with Jesus as they tried Him with false accusers. Even as He was hanging on the cross dying for their sins and ours, they hurled false accusations at Him.
This is exactly what is happening today with us as we are dealing with the battle of words. I remember when I was a kid and we might say to someone who was mocking or making fun of us, “Sticks and bones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” In trying to defend ourselves we were telling our offender, “A physical attack may injure me, but a verbal attack cannot injure me.” But honestly over the years, I have found that the worse pain we actually endure is not physical, but mental and emotional because of the mean, demeaning, devaluing words of someone. Words can hurt us more than sticks and stones!
Just like David’s enemies had some words, David had some words! His words were to cry out to God! “Hear my voice, O God…” (v. 1). Instead of fighting back with our enemy with words, we can cry out to God, out loud with our mouths! But even, if we can’t speak verbally, we can cry out to God with our thoughts! David adds, “in my meditation”.
David then described his enemy’s attack. “Who sharpen their tongue like a sword, And bend their bows to shoot their arrows--bitter words…” (v. 3). The words they used against him were “bitter words”, tough words, mean words, malicious words! We sure are hearing all around us today, these types of words from the enemies of the Gospel and Christians. There is a never-ending assault against the truth of God’s Word and His people in the media, from politicians and the “workers of iniquities”, not only in our country but around the world. This should remind us that the end time is drawing near as we learn from 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12.
Yes! We are in a battle, but we must remember we do not wrestle with flesh and blood but with spiritual wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12-17). David realized this and so in verses 1-2, he first sought the Lord’s protection. In verses 3-6, he asked for the Lord’s wisdom. And in verses 7-8, he knew he could trust the Lord for victory!
“But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; Suddenly they shall be wounded…” (v. 7). David didn’t have to fight back with his own words to defend himself or to try to destroy his enemies, because he really believed that the Lord would take care of them. Their own words would cause them to stumble. They would fall into the pit they had dug for him. The snares they set to trap him would actually catch them!
My friend, we have a sharper sword than our enemies! We are told to take up “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesian 6:17). “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds..,” (2 Corinthians 10:4). We should aways remember that “The word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
“But God shall shoot at them”! When we trust the Lord to vindicate us with His Word, “All men shall fear” (v. 9), “And all the upright in heart shall glory!” (v. 10). I love it, “But God!” God always has the final Word!!!!!! Be encouraged and trust Him today!
God bless!