Psalm 64 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
1 Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation; preserve my life from fear of the enemy. 2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the rebellion of the workers of iniquity, 3 who sharpen their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows—bitter words, 4 that they may shoot in secret at the blameless; suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear. 5 They encourage themselves in an evil matter; they talk of laying snares secretly; they say, “Who will see them?” 6 They devise iniquities:We have perfected a shrewd scheme.” Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep. 7 But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly they shall be wounded. 8 So He will make them stumble over their own tongue; all who see them shall flee away. 9 All men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider His doing. 10 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.’ The fear seems to be something contrived to destroy, by way of terrifying. See Isaiah 24 where it is mentioned with the pit and the snare, as an engine of destruction.” (Thomas Coke) Perhaps they seek to destroy by separating David from the sanctuary in Jerusalem, but we find him seeking God in the night watch upon his bed, as here. “‘Hide me “from the mystery of evil doers, from the Church malignant, that mystery of iniquity.” (John Trapp)— “‘from the secret plots of the wicked,’ that is, from their secret malice.— ‘from the rebellion of the workers of iniquity,’ that is, their outward violence.— who whet their tongue like a sword, [and] bend their arrows, [even] bitter words: that is false reports and slanders.” (Geneva Study Bible) “The allusion is to the mode of bending a bow by treading on it; ... transferred to arrows.” (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown)
They encourage themselves in evil. "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.’ God shall awfully convince them of their folly.1. By His judgments. God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded: one of His arrows shall do more terrible execution than all theirs; it shall pierce their hearts, and lay them dead at His feet, in the midst of their false and fatal security... 2. The effects of these judgments would be great; fear of their plagues shall make beholders flee to save themselves from perishing among them. All that see it, struck with conviction, shall consider, and own God's righteous vengeance, and declare it as an admonition to the rising generation. The righteous shall be glad at beholding God glorified, and shall rejoice in his salvation, thus manifested for them; and, by present experience of his gracious interposition, be encouraged to trust him in all future dangers...” (Thomas Coke)
“’All men shall fear,” —for after the Judgment, only those who fear God will remain.— “‘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.’ Though we may allow a view to be taken of David's own history in those words, for Saul, and the other foes of David, which did perish by the sword, (1 Samuel 31:4) yet we must look farther to behold their full meaning, in the everlasting destruction of the enemies of Jehovah, and of his Christ. The Son of God hath already read the very words which shall be pronounced in the day when he returneth to take possession of his kingdom.: But those mine enemies which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither and slay them before me, Luke 19:27. ‘But the king shall rejoice in God; everyone that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.’ (Psalm 63:11) … Jehovah's King, Jehovah's Anointed, must reign: all enemies must be subdued. Jehovah Himself is engaged to this, and the Messiah's everlasting kingdom must prevail. And as this will be to the eternal glory of Jehovah, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; so will it be to the joy of the Adonai, the Mediator, the glorious Head of his Church, and to all His people. But the triumphs of the redeemed in Jesus will be accompanied with the final and complete overthrow of all the enemies of God and of his Christ; for they shall fall to rise no more; every mouth of them that speak lies will be stopped while every tongue of the redeemed will confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Amen.” (Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary)