Oppressed but Rejoicing in the LORD

Psalms 64:1-10 

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

1 Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation;
Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.

2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity,
3 Who sharpen their tongue like a sword,
And bend their bows to shoot their arrows—bitter words,
4 That they may shoot in secret at the blameless;
Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.

5 They encourage themselves in an evil matter;
They talk of laying snares secretly;
They say, "Who will see them?"

6 They devise iniquities:
"We have perfected a shrewd scheme.
"Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep.

7 But God shall shoot at them with an arrow;
Suddenly they shall be wounded.
8 So He will make them stumble over their own tongue;
All who see them shall flee away.

9 All men shall fear,
And shall declare the work of God;
For they shall wisely consider His doing.

10 The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and trust in Him.
And all the upright in heart shall glory.

This song encourages us to trust the Lord God when oppressed by those opposed to Him and to us.  It begins with a cry to be heard by God for help to not fear the enemy set against him.  He prayed specifically that God would hide him from the hidden schemes of sinful wicked men.  They had slandered and threatened him with sharp words like swords of battle, and arrows of bitter words shot at him in secret so others could not see.  These evil ones attack the blameless, the ones resting in following God with a heart after Him.  They attack without fear of God, just as they continue to attack God’s people in Christ even today.  They hang up with other likeminded perpetrators to use subterfuge with hidden agendas and actions, pridefully boasting that nobody will see what they are up to.  Even now haters of God attack His people who follow the word of God, seeking to slander and attack the righteous.  Their deep plotting of shrewd schemes are as their father the devil (Ephesians 6:11, John 8:44), whose wily ways we can identify by scripture to find defense in the Lord.  We know as David did that these workers of iniquity will face His justice and judgment in the end if not sooner.  They will even trip over their own tongues with their deceitful speeches, and then the victims can observe and escape by this grace of God.  This then leads to others seeing these things and fearing God in His working against evil, and some will then talk of His works when they really stop to consider the end of the immoral and evil ones.  But the moral who find righteousness in God, in Christ, these will find gladness and joy in the Lord when oppressed because of their ongoing deliverance.  Their faith is built up and they are encouraged to trust Him ever more, glorying in Him and His work for righteousness and against those opposed to Him.  We trust and rejoice in our Lord when oppressed, knowing the eternal outcome, and pray for our oppressors to find deliverance in Christ Jesus our Lord, to be turned from the darkness of enslavement to sin towards the light of the righteousness found in Christ alone (Acts 26:18).