Psa 64:9-10 | KingComments | STEP | As suddenly as they thought to strike the righteous ( ), as suddenly God strikes them ( ). God comes to David’s aid by a sudden act of judgment on the enemies. They used an arrow to shoot at the upright ( ); God also uses an arrow to shoot at the wicked. The arrow of the enemy was their bitter word; the arrow of God is His decision to send the Son ( ). The Son is the Word; His weapon is the word from His mouth ( ). That arrow will wound them with wounds that will silence them forever. Then every mouth will be stopped ( ). Their tongue, which is the weapon by which they attack the God-fearing ( ), will be the instrument by which they will stumble ( ). The word they use against the remnant will return to them like a boomerang, as the Lord Jesus says in a parable: “By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave” ( ). That is, God will expose them as liars and will judge them according to the lies they have proclaimed about His anointed. They will be judged according to the words they have spoken ( ). God’s judgment comes on “all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him. These are grumblers, finding fault” ( ). These are the embittered people who blame God for their affliction. When God stands up for His own, all men, friend and foe, will fear ( ). His judgment on evil awakens in all people awe of Him Who has all power and is righteous in His judgment. It has always seemed that God paid no attention to the needs of His own and that evil could continue undisturbed. But then it turns out that God only waited for the right time to judge the evil in His holy righteousness and to deliver His own from the evil one. He maintains His righteousness and will make that clear to everyone in His own time. It is the great victory for faith and to the glorification of God when God is trusted to be in control of everything, while He seems to be absent. Then when God actually acts, it will cause all those who fear to proclaim God’s work. God’s work is the judgment that He has exercised. [There is a play on words here: God’s work ( ) will nullify the workers (those who do) of iniquity ( ).] They will declare and consider “what He has done” (cf. ).

‏ Psalms 64:9-10

Judgment on the Enemy

As suddenly as they thought to strike the righteous (Psa 64:4), as suddenly God strikes them (Psa 64:7). God comes to David’s aid by a sudden act of judgment on the enemies. They used an arrow to shoot at the upright (Psa 64:3); God also uses an arrow to shoot at the wicked.

The arrow of the enemy was their bitter word; the arrow of God is His decision to send the Son (Psa 2:7). The Son is the Word; His weapon is the word from His mouth (Rev 19:15). That arrow will wound them with wounds that will silence them forever. Then every mouth will be stopped (Rom 3:19).

Their tongue, which is the weapon by which they attack the God-fearing (Psa 64:3), will be the instrument by which they will stumble (Psa 64:8). The word they use against the remnant will return to them like a boomerang, as the Lord Jesus says in a parable: “By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave” (Lk 19:22).

That is, God will expose them as liars and will judge them according to the lies they have proclaimed about His anointed. They will be judged according to the words they have spoken (Mt 12:37b). God’s judgment comes on “all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him. These are grumblers, finding fault” (Jude 1:15b-16). These are the embittered people who blame God for their affliction.

When God stands up for His own, all men, friend and foe, will fear (Psa 64:9). His judgment on evil awakens in all people awe of Him Who has all power and is righteous in His judgment. It has always seemed that God paid no attention to the needs of His own and that evil could continue undisturbed. But then it turns out that God only waited for the right time to judge the evil in His holy righteousness and to deliver His own from the evil one. He maintains His righteousness and will make that clear to everyone in His own time.

It is the great victory for faith and to the glorification of God when God is trusted to be in control of everything, while He seems to be absent. Then when God actually acts, it will cause all those who fear to proclaim God’s work. God’s work is the judgment that He has exercised. [There is a play on words here: God’s work (Psa 64:9) will nullify the workers (those who do) of iniquity (Psa 64:2).] They will declare and consider “what He has done” (cf. 1Pet 2:12).

Joy

When judgment has come upon the enemies, “the righteous man will be glad in the LORD”, for He has taken care of him (cf. Rev 19:1-4). The verb form is such that you can say: The righteous man will be glad in the LORD because judgment has come upon the enemies. Then it is also an encouragement to believers who are still in the midst of the tribulation. After all, when judgment has come on the enemies, you no longer need to take refuge, because the danger is no longer there. Therefore, it is not only a joy after the fact, but a joy that is independent of the trial and that precedes salvation.

It is also possible to translate this way: “Let the righteous man be glad in the LORD.” Then it is a call, despite the fact that the enemies are still there. In this regard, Paul and Silas in prison are a wonderful example of this. They are glad in the Lord before salvation came (Acts 16:19-26).

When God judges evil, this causes gladness in the righteous, who have suffered greatly at the sight of all the injustice that apparently could be done undisturbed. Then it will be said that there is a God Who does justice on earth (Psa 58:11). It is a new exhortation to resort to Him, for He stands up for His own and judges those who would do harm to His own.

“All the upright in heart will glory” that they have such a God as God. The God Who is righteous is completely reliable in all His features. In Him we can put our hope, with Him we are safe, through Him we will reach the goal of our life’s journey: we will be with Him. Of all this we can be sure because He is righteous. Therefore we glory in God (1Cor 1:30-31).

‘To glory’ is equivalent to ‘to be glad’. This indicates that their lamentation song (Psa 64:1b) will turn into a song of praise. The next two psalms display a song of praise.