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64 Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;
preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
from the throng of evildoers,
who whet their tongues like swords,
who aim bitter words like arrows,
shooting from ambush at the blameless,
shooting at him suddenly and without fear.
They hold fast to their evil purpose;
they talk of laying snares secretly,
thinking, “Who can see them?”
They search out injustice,
saying, “We have accomplished a diligent search.”
For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.
But God shoots his arrow at them;
they are wounded suddenly.
They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them;
all who see them will wag their heads.
Then all mankind fears;
they tell what God has brought about
and ponder what he has done.
Let the righteous one rejoice in the LORD
and take refuge in him!
Let all the upright in heart exult!
(ESV)
“One of the most pressing theological questions today is “why do the evil ones prosper?” If one looks around, it certainly seems as if the bad ones are winning, be that on the streets or in the hedge fund industry. Yet the picture of God arriving with arrows is not exactly comforting either. This psalm attempts to put the question in the long view of time. God acts and gives back exactly what the evil ones have done to others.
In that, it is not a psalm of vengeance but one of balance, where those who hurt others get their acts brought back to them. God comes to set the world right, and for Christians this is the good news of the second coming. God comes not to destroy ruthlessly, but to set the world back in balance. This is the hope to which we cling when we see the suffering of the righteous at the hands of evil ones.”
Beth Tanner
Consider…Over time, God punished Pharoah for all that he had inflicted on the Israelites. Over time, He brought truth and justice to the forefront of Daniel’s life when his enemies plotted against him. Over time, He defeated death and sin through the resurrection after Jesus died and everyone had lost hope.
I love this quote by Beth Tanner. This psalm attempts to put the question (why do the evil ones prosper) in a long view of time. A great example of this is Ahab. King Ahab was full of evil and deceit. In fact, Scripture singles him out as downright selling himself out to evil.
Surely there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, because Jezebel his wife incited him.
1 Kings 21:25 NASB
In the immediate context of Ahab’s reign, it was certainly a grim picture. Where is God? Why has he allowed this? In the quote above by Beth Tanner, she makes note of how God’s justice brings balance. It isn’t a haphazard vengeance that seeks to ruthlessly destroy. In fact, even Ahab was given time to repent. He was directly confronted by the prophet Micaiah but refused to change his ways. And so, in due time, balance was restored by God.
Now a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel in a joint of the armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and take me out of the fight; for I am severely wounded.”
1 Kings 22:34 NASB
King Ahab was killed by a “random” stray arrow. It parallels this Psalm perfectly.
But God will shoot at them with an arrow; Suddenly they will be wounded. 8 So they will make him stumble; Their own tongue is against them; All who see them will shake the head.
Psalms 64:7-8 NASB
Where do you need to be reminded that God’s Kingdom functions under a long view of time? Where do you need to be comforted that He will restore all things to be back in balance? It takes great faith to believe that God is working despite what we see each day with our eyes. But history proves it. He is working.