When was the last time that you were on the receiving end of someone who sharpened their tongue like a sword and aimed their bitter words, right at you, like arrows?
Or when was the last time that you attacked suddenly and fearlessly and encouraged others to do the same evil?
We need to constantly remember that apart from Christ, our human hearts and minds can be very cunning. The enemy is prepared to use our words and actions all of the time, and when we open the door of our hearts and allow him a simple foothold in, he then has a secure position from which he intends to make further progress towards wreaking havoc within our lives and within the lives of those who have contact with us.
In today’s Psalm, we see that people were saying bad things about King David. These things hurt him on the inside just like arrows and swords would have hurt the exterior of his body. Remember, arrows and swords were used at that time to physically kill one’s enemies; and the tongue, when manipulated by the enemy, seeks to kill, and destroy the Spirit of Christ within us. Proverbs 18:21 reminds us that death and life lie in the power of the tongue. Life is associated with Christ and our eternal existence, and death is associated with the devil and our temporal existence. Let’s face it, as Christ followers, we know what is right and what is wrong, just as David knew. We also know that only God is righteous, that only He can truly make right what is wrong, and that it is always within His time.
Friends, let’s trust that the Lord, Himself, will right what is wrong, and in our waiting let’s find shelter in Him and praise Him for the amazing things He does within our lives. No matter what we are facing, no matter how hard our circumstances are in the moment, we must rejoice in the Lord.
Psalm 64 NLT
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 O God, listen to my complaint.
Protect my life from my enemies’ threats.
2 Hide me from the plots of this evil mob,
from this gang of wrongdoers.
3 They sharpen their tongues like swords
and aim their bitter words like arrows.
4 They shoot from ambush at the innocent,
attacking suddenly and fearlessly.
5 They encourage each other to do evil
and plan how to set their traps in secret.
“Who will ever notice?” they ask.
6 As they plot their crimes, they say,
“We have devised the perfect plan!”
Yes, the human heart and mind are cunning.
7 But God himself will shoot them with his arrows,
suddenly striking them down.
8 Their own tongues will ruin them,
and all who see them will shake their heads in scorn.
9 Then everyone will be afraid;
they will proclaim the mighty acts of God
and realize all the amazing things he does.
10 The godly will rejoice in the Lord
and find shelter in him.
And those who do what is right
will praise him.
Prayer: Jesus, thank You for being our shelter. We desperately need You. So many circumstances are hard right now, Lord, and only You can make things right. We are choosing to trust You and we are praising Your Holy Name today. For in You, all is right and whole, and nothing is wrong or broken. So, we lay down our brokenness, we lay down our sin, we lay down anything within and around us that is not of You, Lord Jesus. We ask all of this in Your Name, Jesus. Amen.