Psalms 64 Study Notes: Protection From Secret Plots
David asks God to protect him from wicked people who wound with words and plot in secret, sure that no one sees. God turns their own weapons against them, so that all people fear Him and the righteous rejoice and find shelter in Him.
General
True or False: According to 64:9-10, God's judgment on the wicked leads people to fear God and the righteous to rejoice in Him.
Answer: True
This is true. When God acts, all people will fear, declare what God has done, and think carefully about His work (64:9). The righteous will rejoice because of the LORD and find refuge in Him, and all whose hearts are upright will celebrate (64:10). God's justice is not hidden; it teaches the world and gives His people joy. Psalm 58:11 says God's judgment makes people confess that the earth has a divine Judge, Psalm 40:3 says many who see God's work will revere and trust Him, and Psalm 32:11 calls the righteous to rejoice.
- Psalm 64:9-10 (BSB)“Then all mankind will fear and proclaim the work of God; so they will ponder what He has done. Let the righteous rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in Him; let all the upright in heart exult.”All people fear and proclaim God's work, and the righteous rejoice and take refuge in Him.
- Psalm 58:11 (BSB)“Then men will say, “There is surely a reward for the righteous! There is surely a God who judges the earth!””God's judgment leads people to acknowledge that He judges the earth.
- Psalm 40:3 (BSB)“He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.”Seeing God's saving work leads many to fear and trust Him.
- Psalm 32:11 (BSB)“Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous ones; shout for joy, all you upright in heart.”The righteous and upright are called to rejoice in the LORD.
Theological
True or False: 64:9-10 presents God's judgment as producing reverent fear among mankind and joy among the righteous.
Answer: True
This is true. God's public judgment produces universal fear, proclamation, and reflection on His works (64:9), and it gives the righteous joy and refuge in the LORD (64:10). Divine justice is both instructive and consoling. Psalm 58:11 draws the same conclusion that God's judgments prove there is a Judge over the earth, Psalm 40:3 ties seeing God's acts to fear and trust, and Psalm 32:11 summons the upright to rejoice.
- Psalm 64:9-10 (BSB)“Then all mankind will fear and proclaim the work of God; so they will ponder what He has done. Let the righteous rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in Him; let all the upright in heart exult.”All people fear and proclaim God's work, and the righteous rejoice and take refuge in Him.
- Psalm 58:11 (BSB)“Then men will say, “There is surely a reward for the righteous! There is surely a God who judges the earth!””God's judgment leads people to acknowledge that He judges the earth.
- Psalm 40:3 (BSB)“He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.”Seeing God's saving work leads many to fear and trust Him.
- Psalm 32:11 (BSB)“Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous ones; shout for joy, all you upright in heart.”The righteous and upright are called to rejoice in the LORD.
General
How does God's response in 64:7-8 answer the attack of the wicked?
Answer: He shoots them suddenly, and their own words bring them down
The reversal is striking. The wicked shot suddenly from hiding (64:4), but God will fire His own arrows at them, and they will be struck without warning (64:7). Their own tongues will be turned against them so that they stumble, and those who see their downfall shake their heads (64:8). God's judgment fits the crime: the weapons they aimed at others come back on them. Scripture often describes this pattern of justice: whoever digs a pit falls into it (Psalm 7:15-16; Proverbs 26:27), and the wicked are trapped by what they themselves have made (Psalm 9:16).
- Psalm 64:7-8 (BSB)“But God will shoot them with arrows; suddenly they will be wounded. They will be made to stumble, their own tongues turned against them. All who see will shake their heads.”God shoots the wicked suddenly, and their own tongues cause their fall.
- Psalm 7:15-16 (BSB)“He has dug a hole and hollowed it out; he has fallen into a pit of his own making. His trouble recoils on himself, and his violence falls on his own head.”The wicked fall into the pit they dug, and their violence returns on them.
- Proverbs 26:27 (BSB)“He who digs a pit will fall into it, and he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him.”The one who digs a pit falls into it.
- Psalm 9:16 (BSB)“The LORD is known by the justice He brings; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion Selah”The wicked are ensnared by the work of their own hands.
Theological
In 64:7-8, how does God's judgment correspond to the offense of the wicked?
Answer: He shoots them suddenly, and their own words bring them down
Verses 7-8 invert verses 3-4: those who shot suddenly are themselves suddenly shot by God's arrows, and the tongues they weaponized become the instrument of their own downfall, to the head-shaking of onlookers. The judgment is fitting retribution. This pattern of the wicked caught in their own devices recurs in Psalm 7:15-16, Proverbs 26:27, and Psalm 9:16.
- Psalm 64:7-8 (BSB)“But God will shoot them with arrows; suddenly they will be wounded. They will be made to stumble, their own tongues turned against them. All who see will shake their heads.”God shoots the wicked suddenly, and their own tongues cause their fall.
- Psalm 7:15-16 (BSB)“He has dug a hole and hollowed it out; he has fallen into a pit of his own making. His trouble recoils on himself, and his violence falls on his own head.”The wicked fall into the pit they dug, and their violence returns on them.
- Proverbs 26:27 (BSB)“He who digs a pit will fall into it, and he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him.”The one who digs a pit falls into it.
- Psalm 9:16 (BSB)“The LORD is known by the justice He brings; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion Selah”The wicked are ensnared by the work of their own hands.
General
In 64:3-4, what do the swords and arrows of the wicked stand for?
Answer: Their cruel words aimed at harming the innocent
David asks God to hide him from the plotting of evildoers (64:1-2). He describes their weapons: they hone their tongues as a warrior hones a blade and fire harsh words as if from a bow, shooting at the blameless from hiding, suddenly and without fear (64:3-4). The swords and arrows are words, slander and lies meant to wound. Scripture often pictures harmful speech this way: David describes men whose tongues cut like blades (Psalm 57:4), Proverbs says reckless words pierce like a sword (Proverbs 12:18), and James calls the tongue an untamable evil loaded with poison (James 3:8).
- Psalm 64:2-4 (BSB)“Hide me from the scheming of the wicked, from the mob of workers of iniquity, who sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their bitter words like arrows, ambushing the innocent in seclusion, shooting suddenly, without fear.”The wicked use their tongues and bitter words as swords and arrows against the innocent.
- Psalm 57:4 (BSB)“My soul is among the lions; I lie down with ravenous beasts—with men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.”David describes enemies whose tongues are like sharp swords.
- Proverbs 12:18 (BSB)“Speaking rashly is like a piercing sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”Rash words wound like a piercing sword.
- James 3:8 (BSB)“but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”James describes the tongue as a restless evil full of poison.
Theological
What does the weapon imagery of 64:3-4 represent?
Answer: Their cruel words aimed at harming the innocent
Petitioning for protection from the conspiracy of evildoers (64:1-2), David describes their weaponry as verbal: tongues sharpened as swords, bitter words aimed as arrows, loosed from ambush at the innocent without fear (64:3-4). The imagery depicts slander as violence. The same metaphor appears in Psalm 57:4 and Proverbs 12:18, and James 3:8 describes the tongue as an untamable, poisonous evil.
- Psalm 64:2-4 (BSB)“Hide me from the scheming of the wicked, from the mob of workers of iniquity, who sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their bitter words like arrows, ambushing the innocent in seclusion, shooting suddenly, without fear.”The wicked use their tongues and bitter words as swords and arrows against the innocent.
- Psalm 57:4 (BSB)“My soul is among the lions; I lie down with ravenous beasts—with men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.”David describes enemies whose tongues are like sharp swords.
- Proverbs 12:18 (BSB)“Speaking rashly is like a piercing sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”Rash words wound like a piercing sword.
- James 3:8 (BSB)“but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”James describes the tongue as a restless evil full of poison.
General
What do the wicked assume as they lay their traps in 64:5-6?
Answer: That no one will notice what they are secretly doing
The wicked cling firmly to their wicked aims and talk about concealing traps, asking who could possibly see them (64:5). They plan injustice and boast that their scheme is flawless, and David adds that the inner person and the human heart are deep and hard to fathom (64:6). They count on secrecy, yet God sees everything. The same foolish confidence appears in Psalm 10:11 and Psalm 94:7-9, where the psalmist answers that the One who made the eye surely sees. Hebrews 4:13 says nothing created can be concealed from God, and Jeremiah 17:9-10 says that however deceptive the heart may be, the LORD searches it.
- Psalm 64:5-6 (BSB)“They hold fast to their evil purpose; they speak of hiding their snares. “Who will see them?” they say. They devise injustice and say, “We have perfected a secret plan.” For the inner man and the heart are mysterious.”The wicked hide snares, assume no one will see, and boast of a perfect secret plan.
- Psalm 10:11 (BSB)“He says to himself, “God has forgotten; He hides His face and never sees.””The wicked man tells himself that God never sees.
- Psalm 94:7-9 (BSB)“They say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed.” Take notice, O senseless among the people! O fools, when will you be wise? He who affixed the ear, can He not hear? He who formed the eye, can He not see?”The God who formed the eye certainly sees what the wicked do.
- Hebrews 4:13 (BSB)“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”Nothing in creation is hidden from God's sight.
- Jeremiah 17:9-10 (BSB)“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.”The LORD searches the heart, however deceitful it is.
Theological
What presumption drives the plotting of the wicked in 64:5-6?
Answer: That no one will notice what they are secretly doing
The conspirators hold firmly to their wicked aims, speak of concealed snares, and assume no one will see (64:5). They plot wrongdoing and boast of a perfected plan, and the psalm observes that the inner person and heart are deep beyond fathoming (64:6). Their confidence is in secrecy. Psalm 10:11 and Psalm 94:7-9 expose the same folly, answering that the Maker of the eye sees; Hebrews 4:13 declares all creation exposed to God, and Jeremiah 17:9-10 affirms that the LORD searches the deceitful heart.
- Psalm 64:5-6 (BSB)“They hold fast to their evil purpose; they speak of hiding their snares. “Who will see them?” they say. They devise injustice and say, “We have perfected a secret plan.” For the inner man and the heart are mysterious.”The wicked hide snares, assume no one will see, and boast of a perfect secret plan.
- Psalm 10:11 (BSB)“He says to himself, “God has forgotten; He hides His face and never sees.””The wicked man tells himself that God never sees.
- Psalm 94:7-9 (BSB)“They say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed.” Take notice, O senseless among the people! O fools, when will you be wise? He who affixed the ear, can He not hear? He who formed the eye, can He not see?”The God who formed the eye certainly sees what the wicked do.
- Hebrews 4:13 (BSB)“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”Nothing in creation is hidden from God's sight.
- Jeremiah 17:9-10 (BSB)“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.”The LORD searches the heart, however deceitful it is.