Psalm 64

Today's scripture is Psalm 64. Go here to read it in your preferred version.

Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
² Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:
³ Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:
⁴ That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not.
⁵ They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them?
⁶ They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep.
⁷ But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded.
⁸ So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away.
⁹ And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider of his doing.
¹⁰ The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.

Sometimes in life we feel so discouraged and so persecuted, all we can do is cry to God and just beg Him to hear our voice. In this modern time we are not usually praying for the literal preservation of our lives (not yet, anyway), but fear of someone can still take hold in our lives if we don't watch out. It is much easier and tempting to try to please those around us because we can see them... we have a tangible relationship with them. David, the author of this psalm, begs for God to hide him. There are people who are going behind his back, trying to create chaos in his life. Verse 3 says they whet their tongue like a sword. I think this is such a great visual. The words that come from another's mouth can be so sharp and hurtful at times. Then the scripture says they basically will take aim and shoot their arrows. The arrows are words - you're not good enough; you're not smart enough; you can't do that; you'll never be in a relationship; you just aren't enough. If you are a Christian, people will say things because we are (should be) holding ourselves to a higher standard than nonbelievers. So it's very easy for us to get knocked down by words and think, "They're right. I'm not good enough. I screw up constantly, so how can I boast in God when I am so messed up?" This verse says that people are going to shoot at us "suddenly", sometimes very unexpectedly, and they will "fear not" when they do it. No thought of repercussions or the hurt it will cause. They get together and agree that they can do these things because no one will see them do it. They will look at every intricate detail of our lives trying to find the kink in our armor. BUT. Look at verse 7. God is our defense! He will shoot back at our enemies. When we are defeated, when we can't imagine how to fight back, God will be our defender. Their tongues will start to trip, their lies will fall apart, and people won't even want to be around them anymore. And then all of a sudden, those who had no fear (v. 4) will have fear (v. 9) and will admit that God is at work and they will begin to think more about their actions. We (the righteous in Christ) will be glad in the Lord and thankful that we can trust in Him, and we will say Glory, glory, glory! for the relationship we have with Him.

Thoughts? Comments? I loved this scripture and I think it is very applicable for many Christians today.