Psalm 64:5 They adopt an evil plan; they talk about hiding traps and say, “Who is going to see them?”
Psalm 64:6 They devise crimes and say, “We have perfected a secret plan.” The inner man and the heart are mysterious.
secret plan
There is no secret hidden from our God. He knows the end from the beginning. The inner man and the heart is mysterious to us, but they are laid bare to him.
Thank you God, that you know all things. You can protect us from the secret plans of those who are out to get us.
Psalm 64:1 God, listen to my voice when I keep babbling. Protect my life from the terror of the enemy.
Psalm 64:2 Hide me from the scheming of wicked people, from the mob of evildoers,
Psalm 64:3 who sharpen their tongues like swords and aim bitter words like arrows,
Psalm 64:4 shooting from concealed places at the blameless. They shoot at him suddenly and are not afraid.
swords and arrows
David describes the words of his enemies as swords and arrows, aimed at him — even from concealed places, but always intending to do him harm. By contrast, David’s words are addressed to God, from whom he expects deliverance and justice.
Lord, protect us from the swords and arrows of your enemies.
Psalm 63:8 I follow close to you; your right hand holds on to me.
Psalm 63:9 But those who intend to destroy my throat will go into the depths of the ground.
Psalm 63:10 They will be given over to the power of the sword; they will become a meal for jackals.
Psalm 63:11 But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by him will brag, because the mouths of liars will be shut.
a meal for jackals
Religion has invented a place for the bad guys to go when they die. David does not mention that place. He says that his enemies will die and go into the depths of the ground, becoming a meal for jackals. He does not deny that there will be a judgment day for sinners who reject God. He just does not expect death to usher in that judgment day. Instead, the New Testament tells us that Christ will be the judge when he returns.
Psalm 63:3 My lips will glorify you because your covenant faithfulness is better than life.
Psalm 63:4 So I will bless you as long as I live; when you are named, I will lift up my hands.
Psalm 63:5 You satisfy me like with rich food; my mouth will praise you with joyful lips.
Psalm 63:6 When I think of you as I lie on my bed, I meditate on you during the night watches
Psalm 63:7 because you are my helper; I will rejoice in the shadow of your wings.
ritual of respect
When I was a missionary in the Philippines, I took Jeepneys to many places, because it was cheap, reliable transportation. The Jeepney drivers were a rough set, not known for their godliness. But many of them had a set of rosary beads somewhere in their vehicle, and would touch it or kiss it whenever they passed a church. It was very animistic, but it was a ritual of respect.
David apparently had a ritual of respect as well. Whenever he heard the name of God, he would lift up his hands. The Hebrew word for hand is YAD, from which they derived the verb YADAH – to praise. So, the sound of God’s name would naturally result in a gesture of praise. That is not a bad tradition.
Lord, show us how to regularly show respect for you.
Psalm 63:1 God, you are my God; I eagerly seek you. I thirst for you; my body faints for you in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.
Psalm 63:2 So I gaze on you in the sanctuary to see your strength and your glory.
thirsty for the presence of God
Three years ago, when Penny and I were hiking the Appalachian Trail, we had a night when we had no drinkable water. The next day we came off the mountain and into a city. The first place we stopped at, I drank so much! I could not get enough. I remember that day when I read David’s experience here.
He is in the Judean desert, and he describes it as “a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.” But David sings about gazing not on a stream, lake or river, but on God’s sanctuary. He is thirsty for the presence of God.
Jesus went into this desert immediately after his baptism, and stayed there for 40 days. He too became physically hungry and thirsty. But he was also focusing on his thirst for God. When the devil came to tempt him, he rejected the temptation because he was not going to be distracted from his focus on worshiping and serving God.
Psalm 62:11 God has spoken once; I have heard this twice: strength belongs to God,
Psalm 62:12 and covenant faithfulness belongs to you, Lord because you repay each according to his works.
strength and hope belong to God
Jesus has been singing this psalm and it had reminded him that if you put both the common person and the important person on a reality scale, the combined total weight would be less than a breath. So, what matters?
It isn’t your strength, because strength belongs to God. If you have it, it is because God has given it to you, and he can take it away.
God is being faithful to his own covenant of grace. You can have rest in the middle of a troubled life because of his covenant faithfulness. You can look forward to a reward at the restoration of all things because God has promised that reward.
Jesus struggled with many things in his life, but he was able to find peace by meditating of psalms like this, which reminded him that his present strength and future hope were in God’s hands.
Thank you Lord, that our strength and hope belong to you.
Psalm 62:8 Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before him. God is our refuge. Selah.
Psalm 62:9 Common people are only temporary; important people, a lie. Together on a scale, they weigh less than a breath.
Psalm 62:10 Place no trust in oppression, or false hope in robbery. If wealth increases, don’t set your heart on it.
less than a breath
Jesus keeps singing this psalm and it talks to him about how temporary human life is. It weighs both the common person and the “important” person, and when it puts them both on the scale — they weigh less than a breath.
Jesus would have the opportunity to side with the oppressors, or to join the robbers. He would remember these words and hold fast to his sky Father.
How about us? Are we putting our hope in wealth and importance? Anything we could gain apart from a relationship with God is less than a breath.
Psalm 62:5 Rest in God alone, my throat, because my hope comes from him.
Psalm 62:6 He alone is my rock and my deliverance, my stronghold; I will not be shaken.
Psalm 62:7 My deliverance and glory depend on God, my strong rock. My refuge is in God.
present rest and future hope
This is a song you can sing if you are going through a hard time, but you trust God to give you rest in the middle of your struggle, and eventually to deliver you out of all your troubles and bring you to permanent glory.
I imagine Jesus singing this psalm many times throughout his life. He was aware of all the threats to his life. He sang these words to reflect his dependence upon God alone for both present deliverance and in anticipation of future glory. His hope did not depend on his circumstances. He found his hope and his rest in God alone. So can we.
Thank you Lord, for your present rest and future hope.
Psalm 62:3 How long will you threaten a man? Will all of you attack as if he were a leaning wall or a tottering fence?
Psalm 62:4 They only plan to bring him down from his high position. They take pleasure in lying; they bless with their mouths, but they curse inwardly. Selah.
lean, totter
Do you ever feel like a leaning wall or a tottering fence, on the verge of collapse, and a host of enemies attacking, waiting for that collapse? It’s a horrible feeling. You wonder how long you can last under the strain.
We have a support structure that those enemies are unaware of. We can lean, but that does not mean we are going to fall. We can totter, but we have a means of balance that is as steady as ever: God himself.
Lord, thank you for being our invisible means of support.
Psalm 62:11 I am resting in God alone; my deliverance comes from him. Psalm 62:2 He alone is my rock and my deliverance, my stronghold; I will never be shaken.
my only stronghold
Why do I need deliverance so often, God?
“Perhaps it is all the other means of deliverance and escape that you have provided for yourself, Jeff.”
Huh?
“You have not learned to rest in me alone. When I am your only stronghold, then the things you keep asking for deliverance from will not shake you.”
Devotions 