“Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; preserve my life from dread of the enemy. Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the throng of evildoers, who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows, shooting from ambush at the blameless, shooting at him suddenly and without fear. But God shoots his arrow at them; they are wounded suddenly. They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them; all who see them will wag their heads. Then all mankind fears; they tell what God has brought about and ponder what he has done. Let the righteous one rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him! Let all the upright in heart exult!” (v1-4,7-10)
David is speaking of hidden enemies plotting against him behind the scenes – these people attack from the shadows, like snipers attacking the defenseless, they take shots at him without confronting him face to face. They are dangerous, and David asks God to deliver him from his fear of them (v1-4).
That being said, David trusts that God is his defense against this hidden enemy. He knows that God can use their tactics against them, wounding them when they least expect it, using their own words and lies against them. God has a way of using people’s sin against them, to convict them and trap them by their own words/actions and David is counting on this (v7-8a).
The ruin of these people will cause them, and those around the to recognize who God is and what He has done. Their humiliation will not simply be a result of their sin, it will also bring glory to God (v8b-9). Those who are blameless (made righteous through God’s mercy) exalt God and take refuge in Him for deliverance from their worldly foes (v10).
Additional passages echo David’s thoughts on how God will humble those who require it: “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Lk 14:11) “He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed.” (Pro 3:34)
In closing, Paul discusses why it’s important for God to humble us in our sin, and point out our wrongdoing. It’s not because God is being overly critical, it’s because He loves us and longs to help us: “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor 12:9-10)
Father God, we come before you today recognizing that there are forces in this world who seek to destroy us – to cause us harm and difficulty in life. Father we praise you in advance for protecting us from those enemies. We also acknowledge that we may be that enemy toward someone, causing them grief, even if we don’t do it intentionally. We ask that you would please convict us and others of any sin in such a way that we are able to confess it before You, turn from it, and give You the glory for being a merciful and loving God. Please expose all wrongdoing, and humble us so that we are reminded of our weakness, but then please remind us that we are strong because we are delighting in Christ as our strength.
~ Conqueror in Training