Psalm 64:1-6 “For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. Hear my voice, God, in my complaint. Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from the noisy crowd of the ones doing evil; who sharpen their tongue like a sword, and aim their arrows, deadly words, to shoot innocent men from ambushes. They shoot at him suddenly and fearlessly. They encourage themselves in evil plans. They talk about laying snares secretly. They say, ‘Who will see them?’ They plot injustice, saying, “We have made a perfect plan!” Surely man’s mind and heart are cunning.”

We struggle against evil in this life. Evil people. Evil spirits. Even our own evil thoughts. It’s appropriate and necessary to pray to God and ask Him to hear our prayers for mercy and to preserve us from, not just the enemy (which we see Jesus model in the Lord’s prayer), but our own fear of that enemy!

Matthew 6:9-13 “Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.’ “

For additional worship:  Psalm 64 Song – Oppressed but Rejoicing

Psalm 63:5-11 “My soul shall be satisfied as with the richest food. My mouth shall praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you on my bed, and think about you in the night watches. For you have been my help. I will rejoice in the shadow of your wings. My soul stays close to you. Your right hand holds me up. But those who seek my soul to destroy it shall go into the lower parts of the earth. They shall be given over to the power of the sword. They shall be jackal food. But the king shall rejoice in God. Everyone who swears by him will praise him, for the mouth of those who speak lies shall be silenced.”

God will ultimately judge the wicked and rescue the righteous. Until then He will help and strengthen His people. When we lie in our beds and think about Him, we should rejoice and praise His name. Nothing should satisfy us more than to dwell on God’s nature and works!

For additional worship: Psalm 63 – Better Than Life (Shane and Shane)

Psalm 63:1-4 “A Psalm by David, when he was in the desert of Judah. God, you are my God. I will earnestly seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you, in a dry and weary land, where there is no water. So I have seen you in the sanctuary, watching your power and your glory. Because your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you. So I will bless you while I live. I will lift up my hands in your name.”

Do you seek God? Do you long for Him? Do you understand that, in a dry world devoid of hope, God is the only one who can quench your thirst? Do you love to go to corporate worship to encounter God through music, praise, prayer, and study? Truly, His lovingkindness is better than life, and we should glorify His name!

For additional worship: Sometimes by Step (Rich Mullins)

Psalm 62:7-12 “My salvation and my honor is with God. The rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times, you people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. Selah. Surely men of low degree are just a breath, and men of high degree are a lie. In the balances they will go up. They are together lighter than a breath. Don’t trust in oppression. Don’t become vain in robbery. If riches increase, don’t set your heart on them. God has spoken once; twice I have heard this, that power belongs to God. Also to you, Lord, belongs loving kindness, for you reward every man according to his work.”

It doesn’t matter whether someone is from humble means or is highly respected; in God’s sight they are light, empty, or like vapor. They have no substance, so why should we fear them? We also shouldn’t become like those who oppress and rob us. If we have power or wealth, it’s a gift from God, given because of His kindness. We don’t trust in them! We instead trust in God, pray to God, and serve God.

For additional worship: I’ll Not Be Shaken – Psalm 62 (Wendell Kimbrough)

Psalm 62:1-6 “For the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm by David. My soul rests in God alone. My salvation is from him. He alone is my rock, my salvation, and my fortress. I will never be greatly shaken. How long will you assault a man? Would all of you throw him down, like a leaning wall, like a tottering fence? They fully intend to throw him down from his lofty place. They delight in lies. They bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah. My soul, wait in silence for God alone, for my expectation is from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress. I will not be shaken.”

If you are facing those who are duplicitous, who lie about you, and who seek your harm, you don’t need to fear. God is your rock, salvation and fortress. You don’t need to be shaken!

For additional worship: Psalm 62 (Aaron Keyes)

Psalm 61:1-8 “For the Chief Musician. For a stringed instrument. By David. Hear my cry, God. Listen to my prayer. From the end of the earth, I will call to you when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been a refuge for me, a strong tower from the enemy. I will dwell in your tent forever. I will take refuge in the shelter of your wings. Selah. For you, God, have heard my vows. You have given me the heritage of those who fear your name. You will prolong the king’s life. His years will be for generations. He shall be enthroned in God’s presence forever. Appoint your loving kindness and truth, that they may preserve him. So I will sing praise to your name forever, that I may fulfil my vows daily.”

Here David recognizes God’s ongoing protection, remembers the way God has protected Him in the past, reminds himself of God’s promises to the king of Israel, and pledges to continually praise and worship Him!

Isn’t it interesting that David, with all of his experiences, and all of God’s promises, still could feel overwhelmed? Let’s be like him and remember to take our concerns to the rock that is higher than us. It is under His “wings” that we’ll find comfort and help.

For additional worship: Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul (feat. Sandra McCracken)

Psalm 60:6-12 “God has spoken from his sanctuary: ‘I will triumph. I will divide Shechem, and measure out the valley of Succoth. Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine. Ephraim also is the defense of my head. Judah is my scepter. Moab is my wash basin. I will throw my sandal on Edom. I shout in triumph over Philistia.’ Who will bring me into the strong city? Who has led me to Edom? Haven’t you, God, rejected us? You don’t go out with our armies, God. Give us help against the adversary, for the help of man is vain. Through God we will do valiantly, for it is he who will tread down our adversaries.”

God has spoken. He will not turn away from His people forever, and His victory will be their victory!

Does “God has spoken” bring to mind any other Scripture?

Hebrews 1:1-3 “God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds. His Son is the radiance of his glory, the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, who, when he had by himself purified us of our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

Our victory comes through Jesus Christ!

For additional worship: Victory In Jesus (Reawaken) – Acoustic Hymn

Psalm 60:1-5 “For the Chief Musician. To the tune of ‘The Lily of the Covenant.’ A teaching poem by David, when he fought with Aram Naharaim and with Aram Zobah, and Joab returned, and killed twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt. God, you have rejected us. You have broken us down. You have been angry. Restore us, again. You have made the land tremble. You have torn it. Mend its fractures, for it quakes. You have shown your people hard things. You have made us drink the wine that makes us stagger. You have given a banner to those who fear you, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah. So that your beloved may be delivered, save with your right hand, and answer us.”

This has the longest title in the Psalter and most likely refers to events in 2 Samuel 8 and 1 Chronicles 18. Even though the ultimate end of the battle was a victory, apparently there were some significant setbacks along the way! Perhaps the lesson is that we need to persevere in our prayers. David understands that any setbacks are because God has decreed or allowed them, and only He can turn things around. That’s why we need to continue to cry out to Him!

Luke 11:5-8 “He said to them, ‘Which of you, if you go to a friend at midnight and tell him, “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him,” and he from within will answer and say, “Don’t bother me. The door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give it to you?” I tell you, although he will not rise and give it to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence, he will get up and give him as many as he needs.’ “

For additional worship: Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior (Reawaken Hymns)

Psalm 59:14-17 “At evening let them return. Let them howl like a dog, and go around the city. They shall wander up and down for food, and wait all night if they aren’t satisfied. But I will sing of your strength. Yes, I will sing aloud of your loving kindness in the morning. For you have been my high tower, a refuge in the day of my distress. To you, my strength, I will sing praises. For God is my high tower, the God of my mercy.”

The wild dogs of life are outside the door, trying to get in. But our God is a refuge and tower, and we should sing for Him!

For additional worship: I Sing the Mighty Power of God

Psalm 59:8-13 “But you, LORD, laugh at them. You scoff at all the nations. Oh, my Strength, I watch for you, for God is my high tower. My God will go before me with his loving kindness. God will let me look at my enemies in triumph. Don’t kill them, or my people may forget. Scatter them by your power, and bring them down, Lord our shield. For the sin of their mouth, and the words of their lips, let them be caught in their pride, for the curses and lies which they utter. Consume them in wrath. Consume them, and they will be no more. Let them know that God rules in Jacob, to the ends of the earth. Selah.”

What a name for God – my Strength! It is because of His loving kindness that He watches over His people. Here David doesn’t seem quite so bloodthirsty, but I guess that depends on your perspective. He doesn’t want his enemies killed, just scattered. He wants them to be a living reminder of the power of God and the fact that evil doesn’t pay. Of course, that will end up prolonging their suffering too! David wants them so subdued that they can’t bother him or the nation anymore. God is the only one who can do this. He is both David’s and our Strength and Shield!

There are Messianic overtones to this passage. God’s ultimate triumph over the nations will come though His anointed one, the coming Messiah.

Psalm 2:4-8 “He who sits in the heavens will laugh. The Lord will have them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his anger, and terrify them in his wrath: ‘Yet I have set my King on my holy hill of Zion.’ I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, ‘You are my son. Today I have become your father. Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession.’ “

For additional worship: Thou Oh Lord (Ruppe Sisters)