1 Hear my voice, God, in my complaint. Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from the noisy crowd of the ones doing evil;
3 who sharpen their tongue like a sword, and aim their arrows, deadly words,
4 to shoot innocent men from ambushes. They shoot at him suddenly and fearlessly.
Free Grace note
When words are the weapon, take the wound to God David describes enemies who sharpen their tongue like a sword and aim their words like arrows, shooting innocent people from ambush. He knows the peculiar pain of being slandered, plotted against, and talked about in secret. Notice that he does not pretend it does not hurt, and he does not fire back with sharper words of his own. He brings the whole ugly business to God in honest complaint. That is the healthy path. Bitterness grows when we rehearse the wounds to ourselves or plot our reply; peace grows when we pour them out to God. Peter says of Jesus that when he was reviled, he did not revile in return, but entrusted himself to the One who judges justly (1 Peter 2:23). The tongue is a fire (James 3:6), but you do not have to answer fire with fire.
5 They encourage themselves in evil plans. They talk about laying snares secretly. They say, “Who will see them?”
6 They plot injustice, saying, “We have made a perfect plan!” Surely man’s mind and heart are cunning.
7 But God will shoot at them. They will be suddenly struck down with an arrow.
8 Their own tongues shall ruin them. All who see them will shake their heads.
Free Grace note
Leave the scales to God and be freed from revenge The wicked boast that they have made a perfect plan and ask, who will see them, sure their scheming is hidden. David answers with quiet confidence: God will shoot at them, and their own tongues shall ruin them. That is a sober pattern in Scripture, the weapon of cruelty turning back on the one who wields it. Someone might read this as David gloating, but look closer. He is not sharpening his own sword to even the score; he is handing the whole matter to a God who sees every secret plan and misses nothing. Paul draws the same conclusion: do not avenge yourselves, but leave it to God (Romans 12:19). Trusting God with justice is what frees you from having to be your own avenger, and that freedom guards your heart from bitterness.
9 All mankind shall be afraid. They shall declare the work of God, and shall wisely ponder what he has done.
10 The righteous shall be glad in Yahweh, and shall take refuge in him. All the upright in heart shall praise him!
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