Psalms
Chapter 64
Hear, O God, My Voice That Complains
Hear, O God, my voice, as I plead; protect my life from the enemy’s threat.
Hide me from the scheming of the wicked; from the designs of the evil-plotters,
who sharpen their tongues like swords, and aim bitter words like arrows,
shooting at the innocent from cover, shooting suddenly without fear.
They invite each other to evil-doing; they conspire to lay snares, saying, “No one will see us,
who will uncover our scheme?” Who peers into man, will uncover them.
And now, God fires his arrows at them; and suddenly, they are struck down.
Their own tongue brought them to ruin; and all who see them shake their heads.
Everyone will stand in awe; they proclaim the works of God and ponder on his deeds.
The upright will rejoice and take refuge in the Lord; the upright of heart will glory in him.
Commentaries
64
It sometimes disheartens us that the psalmist should move from expressing love for God to sharply condemning his enemies. We wonder how we can truly make the entire psalm our own. There is a real challenge here, which cannot be fully solved unless we understand how God had to deal with a people who saw the world in black and white and did not easily distinguish between sin and the sinner. For today’s people, with slightly more insight into the influences affecting the human mind, unqualified condemnation isn’t possible. Do not judge others, or they will judge you. Therefore, the condemnation must be reinterpreted, even turned against us, or rather, against everything within us that diminishes our thirst for God, which the psalmist feels so deeply. When life is at risk or harsh words hurt us, it is the right time to pray with this psalm.