Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 64:10

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 64:10. The righteous shall be glad — They shall see that God does not abandon his followers to the malice of bad men. The rod of the wicked may come into the heritage of the just; but there it shall not rest. Calmet thinks that this is a prediction of the destruction of the Chaldeans, in consequence of which the Jewish people became highly respected by all the surrounding nations. But it may be applied more generally to the enmity of the wicked against the righteous, and how God counterworks their devices, and vindicates and supports his own followers.

ANALYSIS OF THE SIXTY-FOURTH PSALM

I. The psalmist, in danger, commends his cause to God, Psalms 64:1-2.

II. Complains of his enemies, who are described by their inward devices, and outward conduct, Psalms 64:3-6.

III. He foretells their ruin, and the consequences, Psalms 64:7-10.

I. 1. He prays in general: "Hear my voice."

2. Then in special, that his life may be safe: "Hide me from the secret counsel," c., Psalms 64:2.

He describes his enemies, generally: -

1. They were wicked men.

2. They were workers of iniquity.

3. They worked secret counsels against him.

4. They acted according to their counsels.

II. After this general character, he particularly describes their villany.

1. They were calumniators no sword sharper than their tongue, no arrow swifter than their accusations.

They were diligent and active to wound his credit; and the evil of their conduct was aggravated by two circumstances: 1. It was in secret: 2. It was against the innocent and upright: "They whet their sword; and bend their bow, to shoot their arrows," c.

2. They were obstinate and confirmed in mischief: - 1. "They encourage themselves in an evil thing." 2. "They commune," lay their heads together how to lay snares, c.

3. They are impudent and atheistical: "They say, Who shall see them?"

4. They are indefatigable - they are carried on with an earnest desire to do mischief they invent all crafty waits to circumvent the righteous.

5. All this they do subtly, craftily: "Both the inward thought and heart of them is deep" it is not easy to find out their snares.

III. Now he foretells, 1. Their punishment; and, 2. The event.

1. Their punishment was to be hasty, sharp, deadly, and very just. 1. "God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded." 2. Most just. For they shall "make their own tongues fall upon themselves." By their tongues did they mischief; by their tongues shall they fall.

2. The event shall be double: 1. In general, to all; 2. In particular, to the righteous.

1. Universally: "All that see them shall flee away," - fear, desert, forsake them.

2. All men "shall see and declare the work of the Lord, and consider it as his doing."

The effect it shall have on the righteous. They shall acknowledge God's justice; and farther, -

1. They shall be glad in the Lord - in the judgments he has shown.

2. They shall trust in him - that he will always protect and deliver them.

3. They shall glory - make their boast in God, and tell to all the wonders which in his justice and his mercy he has wrought for them.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 61-64 Longing for God

Far from home, weary, depressed and in danger, David seeks refuge and refreshment with God. He trusts that God will bring him safely back to Jerusalem and give him the strength to carry out his promise to lead God’s people in God’s ways (61:1-5). The people with him add their support to his request (6-7), and David responds that he will always remain faithful to his task (8).
God alone is the strength of David’s assurance (62:1-2). David’s enemies think they can ruin him. They think he is as unstable as a leaning wall, as easy to push over as a broken-down fence (3-4). Actually, he is as strong and secure as a fortress, for he is built on God. All God’s people should therefore take courage and realize that they can trust in God through all circumstances (5-8). The unstable ones are those who live as if God does not matter. Life is uncertain, but they put their trust in wealth, even though that wealth must soon be lost (9-10). The only ones who have true security are those who take God into account and build their lives according to his values (11-12).
At times David experiences weakness and thirst in the dry Judean wilderness, but they are nothing compared with the spiritual thirst he has to worship at Israel’s sanctuary again (63:1). He praises God as he recalls the power and glory of God that he experienced at the sanctuary in former days. He looks forward to a life of continuing praise because of God’s continuing love (2-4). As he lies on his bed he thinks back with much satisfaction at all God’s goodness to him over the years (5-8). This gives him the confidence to believe that God will punish his enemies and bring him safely back to Jerusalem (9-11).
Again David cries to God to save him from enemies who by cunning and lying seek to kill him (64:1-4). They plot their evil carefully, thinking that God cannot see them (5-6). However, they are deceiving themselves. God will act against them suddenly and certainly, bringing shameful defeat upon them. God’s decisive action will be a warning to others, and at the same time bring honour to his name (7-10).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"But God will shoot at them; With an arrow suddenly shall they be wounded. So they shall be made to stumble, their own tongue being against them; All that see them shall wag the head. And all men shall fear; And they shall declare the work of God, And shall wisely consider of his doing. The righteous shall be glad in Jehovah, and shall take refuge in him; And all the upright in heart shall glory."

"But God shall shoot at them" In a verse and one half here (Psalms 64:7-8 a), the tables are completely reversed. It is God who does the wounding. All of the cunningly-laid plots and baited traps and snares of the enemies utterly fail to harm the perfect man in God's protection.

It is of particular interest that Leupold translated Psalms 64:7-8 thus:

"But God shot an arrow at them; Suddenly blows came upon them.
Each one was ruined; their tongues overcame them;
All that saw them shuddered."H. C. Leupold, p. 470.

Whether or not this is accurate, such an idea is most certainly in the passage. It was not David who was destroyed by the partisans of Absalom but themselves.

"But God" How often in the history of God's work among men have we encountered a thought like this. Acts 12 has a terrible record of the murder of the apostle James, the imprisonment of Peter, and the scattering of God's people from Jerusalem, "But the word of God grew and multiplied" (Acts 12:24).

Yates entitled these last four verses, "The Certainty of Judgment,"Wycliffe Bible Commentary of the Old Testament, p. 518. leaving the way open for much wider interpretation than a restricted application of it to the enemies of a perfect man in a given situation. There is a sense in which "the certainty of judgment," like the sword of Damocles hangs over the head of all mankind. The judgment is an appointment that no man may cancel, ignore, or escape.

"All that see them shall wag the head" "These words refer either to `derision,' or to `shocked concern.'"Anthony L. Ash, p. 215.

It seems to us that the latter would be most appropriate here.

"All the upright in heart shall glory" However this might be applied to the enemies of the psalmist, these words have an eternal significance. It is true of all men that the wicked shall be punished with "everlasting destruction," but that the righteous shall be welcomed into the home of the soul, "into the eternal habitations," where they shall share the glory of the redeemed throughout eternity.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust in him - That is, As the result of his gracious intervention, or as the effect of his judgments on the wicked, the righteous will rejoice on account of their own security, and put their trust in One who has thus shown himself to be the friend of holiness, and the enemy of sin. Whatever tends to reveal the divine character, or to make a proper exhibition of that character, will also lead good people to confide in God, and to feel that they are safe.

And all the upright in heart shall glory - Shall rejoice; shall feel that they have cause for trust and triumph. The good - the pure - the righteous - the godly - will always rejoice in everything which tends to show that God is just, and true, and holy; - for all their own hope of security and salvation rests upon the fact that the God in whom they trust is a righteous God.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 64:1-10

Psalms 64:1-10 , another psalm of David.

Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from the fear of the enemy ( Psalms 64:1 ).

You know, fear is a horrible thing. And fear can actually get hold of a person's life and be a very debilitating force within a person's life. "Preserve me from fear."

Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity: Who sharpen their tongue like a sword, and they bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even their bitter words ( Psalms 64:2-3 ):

And so here David now pictures his enemies as they are going around talking about him, sharpen their tongues to cut him to pieces with their mouths, and they take their bows and they shoot the bitter words at him.

That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and they fear not. They encourage themselves in an evil matter: and they commune of laying their traps privately; they say, Who is going to see them? And they search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep. But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly they shall be wounded. And so they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see shall flee away. And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider of his doing. The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory ( Psalms 64:4-10 ).

So a prayer of David for preservation from his enemies, for protection. Those that were seeking to destroy him with their words. "O God, turn their devices against them. Be my defense. All those that trust in the Lord and all the upright in heart shall glory." "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 64

David asked God to judge the enemies of the righteous in this individual lament psalm. He requested divine protection and voiced confidence that God would judge his wicked foes.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

3. A prediction of punishment 64:7-10

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

David identified the reactions of two groups of people to God’s activity of judging his evil assailants. Those who observed the judgment would do two things. They would fear doing the same thing themselves and would declare to others what He did, having considered it themselves. Second, the righteous would also have a double response. They would rejoice in God’s will being done and would renew their trust in the Lord.

The godly should commit their case to God in prayer when they become targets of malicious gossip. They can also rest in the assurance that God will eventually turn the antagonism of the wicked back on them (cf. 1 Samuel 25). He will do so for His own glory and for the welfare of those who trust in Him. [Note: See Chun Leung Ho, "God Will Repay: An Exegetical Exposition of Psalm Sixty-four," Exegesis and Exposition 3:1 (Fall 1988):34-44.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

The righteous shall be glad in the Lord,.... They rejoice at the vengeance executed on the wicked; but then their joy centres in the Lord: it is not at the ruin of the wicked, simply considered, but because of the glory of God's justice displayed therein, and of his grace and mercy to them. They rejoice in the Lord, because of what he is unto them, and because of what he has done for them; because of his righteousness they are clothed with, from whence they are denominated righteous ones; and because of the salvation he has wrought out for them; and they are the more affected with it when they see the calamities, woes, and destruction of wicked men; :-;

and shall trust in him; who is known by his judgments he executes on the wicked; and the more he is known, be it in what way it will, the more is he trusted in, Psalms 9:10. The Targum paraphrases it,

"and shall trust in his Word;''

either in his word of promise, or rather in his essential Word, Christ;

and all the upright in heart shall glory; not in men, nor in themselves, nor in any creature, or creature enjoyments; nor in their wisdom, strength, riches, nor righteousness; but in Christ, in his wisdom, righteousness, and strength; in whom all the seed of Israel are justified and glory; and in what he is to them, and has done for them; of the upright in heart, Psalms 9:10- :.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      7 But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded.   8 So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away.   9 And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider of his doing.   10 The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.

      We may observe here,

      I. The judgments of God which should certainly come upon these malicious persecutors of David. Though they encouraged themselves in their wickedness, here is that which, if they would believe and consider it, was enough to discourage them. And it is observable how the punishment answers the sin. 1. They shot at David secretly and suddenly, to wound him; but God shall shoot at them, for the ordains his arrows against the persecutors (Psalms 7:13), against the face of them,Psalms 21:12. And God's arrows will hit surer, and fly swifter, and pierce deeper, than theirs do or can. They have many arrows, but they are only bitter words, and words are but wind: the curse causeless shall not come. But God has one arrow that will be their death, his curse which is never causeless, and therefore shall come; with it they shall be suddenly wounded, that is, their wound by it will be a surprise upon them, because they were secure and not apprehensive of any danger. 2. Their tongues fell upon him, but God shall make their tongues to fall upon themselves. They do it by the desert of their sin; God does it by the justice of his wrath, Psalms 64:8; Psalms 64:8. When God deals with men according to the desert of their tongue-sins, and brings those mischiefs upon them which they have passionately and maliciously imprecated upon others, then he makes their own tongues to fall upon them; and it is weight enough to sink a man to the lowest hell, like a talent of lead. Many have cut their own throats, and many more have damned their own souls, with their tongues, and it will be an aggravation of their condemnation. O Israel! thou hast destroyed thyself, art snared in the words of thy mouth. If thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it. Those that love cursing, it shall come unto them. Sometimes men's secret wickedness is brought to light by their own confession, and then their own tongue falls upon them.

      II. The influence which these judgments should have upon others; for it is done in the open sight of all,Job 34:26.

      1. Their neighbours shall shun them and shift for their own safety. They shall flee away, as the men of Israel did from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, Numbers 16:27. Some think this was fulfilled in the death of Saul, when not only his army was dispersed, but the inhabitants of the neighbouring country were so terrified with the fall, not only of their king but of his three sons, that they quitted their cities and fled, 1 Samuel 31:7.

      2. Spectators shall reverence the providence of God therein, Psalms 64:9; Psalms 64:9. (1.) They shall understand and observe God's hand in all (and, unless we do so, we are not likely to profit by the dispensations of Providence, Hosea 14:9): They shall wisely consider his doing. There is need of consideration and serious thought rightly to apprehend the matter of fact, and need of wisdom to put a true interpretation upon it. God's doing is well worth our considering (Ecclesiastes 7:13), but it must be considered wisely, that we put not a corrupt gloss upon a pure text. (2.) They shall be affected with a holy awe of God upon the consideration of it. All men (all that have any thing of the reason of a man in them) shall fear and tremble because of God's judgments, Psalms 119:120. They shall fear to do the like, fear being found persecutors of God's people. Smite the scorner and the simple shall beware. (3.) They shall declare the work of God. They shall speak to one another and to all about them of the justice of God in punishing persecutors. What we wisely consider ourselves we should wisely declare to others, for their edification and the glory of God. This is the finger of God.

      3. Good people shall in a special manner take notice of it, and it shall affect them with a holy pleasure, Psalms 64:10; Psalms 64:10. (1.) It shall increase their joy: The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, not glad of the misery and ruin of their fellow-creatures, but glad that God is glorified, and his word fulfilled, and the cause of injured innocency pleaded effectually. (2.) It shall encourage their faith. They shall commit themselves to him in the way of duty and be willing to venture for him with an entire confidence in him. (3.) Their joy and faith shall both express themselves in a holy boasting: All the upright in heart, that keep a good conscience and approve themselves to God, shall glory, not in themselves, but in the favour of God, in his righteousness and goodness, their relation to him and interest in him. Let him that glories glory in the Lord.