Oppressed by the Wicked but Rejoicing in the Lord
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
“Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation; Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the rebellion of the workers of iniquity, who sharpen their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows—bitter words, that they may shoot in secret at the blameless; suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.
They encourage themselves in an evil matter; they talk of laying snares secretly; they say, “Who will see them?” They devise iniquities: “We have perfected a shrewd scheme.”
Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep. But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly they shall be wounded. So He will make them stumble over their own tongue; all who see them shall flee away.
All men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider His doing. The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and trust in Him. And all the upright in heart shall glory.”
“Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation; Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the rebellion of the workers of iniquity, who sharpen their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows—bitter words, that they may shoot in secret at the blameless; suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.” Fear! Fears can paralyze us, rendering us unable to do anything. Fears can haunt us for years. Fear can even affect our bodies, giving us stomach ulcers, hypertension, heart attacks, strokes, and possibly even cancer. But here David is begging God to preserve his life from FEAR of the enemy. Here is a prayer for all of us.
“Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked.” Ever notice how some people are natural conspirators; they are never happier than when they are plotting someone else’s downfall. If those same people would put half as much energy into doing their work well, they would become flaming successes and have no need for plotting against others.
“They encourage themselves in an evil matter; they talk of laying snares secretly; they say, “Who will see them?” They devise iniquities: “We have perfected a shrewd scheme.” The more evil people become, the prouder they become as well. Truly evil people are convinced that they are far superior spiritually and that they are above the law, even the Law of God.
“Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep. But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly they shall be wounded. So He will make them stumble over their own tongue; all who see them shall flee away.” Truly evil people are convinced that God is blind and that they can get away with anything without fear of retribution. But all this time, God is watching and waiting, giving them time to repent if they will. But at some point, God WILL deal with the wicked. We wish God would deal with them right now, but God even loves the wicked and longs for them to repent. For anyone who fails to repent will wind up separated from the Love of God forever.
“All men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider His doing. The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and trust in Him. And all the upright in heart shall glory.” But if the wicked refuse to repent, why does this verse say, “All men shall fear and shall declare the work of God”? God will receive praise one way or the other. Either we will praise Him here and now or we will acknowledge His greatness on the way to hell. The choice is ours; God doesn’t send people to hell; people choose to go there by turning away from God. As soon as we turn our hearts toward God, He helps us grow in His righteousness so that we can be glad and trust in Him and glory in Him.
APPLICATION: Through the years, we have weathered a great deal of criticism, not to mention outright lies. When we blocked unscrupulous men from stealing hospital equipment and otherwise profiting from our first project, they carried lies about us back to our first mission group. Sadly, the mission group believed the lies, refusing to even give us a hearing. Some of those leading that group even spread more lies, claiming that we “lacked a can-do attitude.” Hmm. Our next assignment from God in Ghana was to turn a small health center with eleven workers into a small bush hospital in the middle of a tribal war with no electricity or running water. Obviously, God’s view of us differed greatly from those lies.
When we first came to our current station, the national leadership failed to introduce us to the Regional Health Directorate properly, leaving us vulnerable to further lies and criticism. All those lies died away as the hospital grew and succeeded under extremely trying circumstances. But repeatedly through the years, those bent on unrighteous gain have persisted in their lies.
How can one survive under such circumstances? When Nehemiah was rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, the enemies of the Jews were attempting to scare him by reporting threats. One Jew who was a secret informer even tried to get Nehemiah to hide in the temple. Nehemiah answered, ““Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!” Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me. My God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat, according to these their works, and the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who would have made me afraid.” (Nehemiah 6:11-14) Ironically, God has remembered these traitors, and we can still read all their names in Nehemiah’s accounts.
Are you trying to fulfill God’s calling on your life but meeting opposition? Hold on! God is still on the throne! Don’t give way to fear-don’t even begin to fear. As soon as you feel fear rising, remind yourself that God is the One who has called you and therefore He is responsible for results. Soak your mind and your heart with scriptures of hope and encouragement. Refuse to obsess about your problems!
Read the 4th Chapter of Philippians. Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 says,“ And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Find Scriptures that encourage you and write them on cards or post-it notes and place them where you can see them readily. Psalm 64 says, “All the upright in heart shall glory.” It does NOT say “all the upright in heart who have no problems.”
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, many of us are worried and fearful and with good reason. We are facing big problems and we feel overwhelmed. Please speak to the hearts of all who read these words so that they will take their courage from You, the only true Source of Light and Life. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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