Psalms 64:2-3
“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”
David found himself on the receiving end of a barrage of carefully planned attacks. Like an army of well trained soldiers those who had rejected God came against the righteous. Their weapon of choice was not the sword, spear, bow or staff but the tongue. Things have not changed much. The most effective weapon against the righteousness today is the tongue. If a person takes a stand against the unrighteousness trends that are being heralded as freedoms in our world today they will receive an onslaught of verbal attacks. Should you decide to boldly declare the Gospel of Jesus Christ calling sinners to turn to God you will need to be ready to hide beneath the shelter of the Almighty because attacks will come. This is not a new phenomenon, the early church experienced the same things as they declared the message of Christ those with the loudest voice sought to silence their message.
Acts 4:17
But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.”
Instead of cowering under the threats the church gathered together and sought the Lord to embolden them to share Christ regardless of the consequences.
Acts 4:29
Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word.
The times we are living in are not times to be silent. The world is in a downward spiral because the devil wants to destroy the lives of all men. People are being led into destructive lifestyles that will have life long consequences and we need to boldly declare the Gospel of Jesus Christ because it alone has the power to save.
Perhaps more than ever we need to remember the words of Jesus;
Matthew 10:28
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Pastor Jim
Questions for Psalm 64
- David in this Psalm is in trouble. At what verse does His focus shift from his enemies to the Lord?
- The enemy in this Psalm uses a different kind of weapon on David. What is that weapon and do you find yourself using this weapon on others and becoming in a sense an enemy to others?
- Notice in verses 7 and 8 what happens to David’s enemies. Eventually the tongue that is used as a weapon will bow the knee and declare the work of God (verse 9). Why not start declaring that now and save yourself the trouble of verse 7.
We cannot be certain of the occasion that stirred David to write this psalm. It may have been a time of great difficulty, opposition or trial. He may have been facing severe attacks from Saul, the Philistines or one of the neighboring kingdoms. It is also possible the struggles he faced were not external. It may have been that David was engaged in that great inner struggle between his desire to do what is right in the eyes of God, and his own human weaknesses. Whatever caused the dilemma, he concluded that the only solution was to cry out to the Lord. Crying out to God should include at least three things.
In the early eighties, a well-known Christian band wrote a song called “God Rules.” In some ways, it became the anthem of many young Christians. I remember having a “God Rules” bumper sticker on my car, and proudly writing it on my school notebook. To me, that phrase was a slang term meaning little more than the fact God was best. I believe the Psalmist is saying much more than that, he is speaking of the sovereignty of God. The word sovereign means ‘to possess supreme power.’ David is declaring that God has supreme power over His people.
No matter where we live, we are faced with the storms of life. Growing up in California, I was constantly reminded of the great earthquake that was looming on the horizon. We were told that because of the fault lines, one day California would fall into the sea. Upon moving to Florida, the new fear was the hurricane. A few years back, a particularly large hurricane had developed in the warm waters of the South Atlantic. The atmospheric conditions were such to allow this storm to grow larger and larger as it traveled north. All of the models had it making landfall just outside of my home town. Having never experienced a hurricane before, I was glued to the Weather Channel for information. A hurricane this large had never been tracked before; it was larger than the state of Texas, and had wind speeds over 140 mph. People up and down the coast of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina were heading west for safety. One news station reported that hotels, as far as Kentucky were filling up, as people searched for a safe place in the storm. I felt stuck. I did not know where to go. In a last-minute decision, we drove across the state and stayed with friends, figuring though we might not be avoiding the storm, at least we would have the comfort of going through it together. Fortunately, the storm moved north, missing Florida all together, and reducing in size drastically as it met cooler waters. I came to the realization, no matter where we live, we are faced with the storms of life, and must determine where we will run for safety.
David was facing an extremely difficult season in life. The more things began to unfold the more he desired to run away and hide. He writes of his desire to flee to the wilderness far away from the problems and the people that surrounded him. He writes of desiring to have wings that could carry him far from his problems. I don’t think the psalmist is alone in this. I know I have felt this way and have met many believers who long for a way to escape the difficulties of life. I wonder how many of us have wished for our own private get away far from the problems and issues of life? While there is no island or mountain hideaway where we can be saved from the issues of life, there is a place the child of God can run for refuge.
Biblically speaking atheism is considered folly because God has gone to great lengths to reveal himself to mankind. Paul, when writing to the Roman church divided God’s revelation of himself into two categories; he spoke of things being manifested “to us and in us.”
David makes reference to the fact that he was born into sin. He realizes that his sin is not just a mistake that he made but a consequence of his very nature. The bible teaches that sin was passed down to us from Adam and has affected all of us making all of us sinners. Reforms are good and necessary both individually and nationally but these reforms cannot change our nature. We can become better husbands, fathers, neighbors and citizens but until we are born again we still have a nature that is unredeemed and we will be forbidden access to heaven.
Have you ever heard the phrase “You can’t take it with you”? It seems like this sentiment might be as old as time itself. Thousands of years ago the sons of Korah used it as a lyric in one of their most famous songs. The basic thought is that when this life comes to an end all that we have accomplished will be left behind. In recent years I heard a similar phrase that carries the same thought, “You never see a hearse pulling a U-Haul trailer.”
Being a mom is among the greatest of all callings, but it is easy to forget our calling in the middle of the mundane day-to-day responsibilities that go hand in hand with parenting.
