The exposure of the enemy’s work is not a private matter. Psalm 64:9

Then everyone will fear and will tell about God’s work, for they will understand what he has done.
-Psalm 64:9

We Are Living in a War

There are times when God moves against the enemy, against his works in the earth, and people who are his agents.

We are living in the midst of a war, between God and Satan, on earth. Satan is infinitely weaker than God, but through the fall of mankind and the not yet restoration of humanity, the enemy and his forces wreak havoc in the earth world.

In Psalm 64, David is crying out to God against his enemies. Hiddenness is a theme.

He asks to be hidden from them and then he goes into detail about their sins they do in hiddenness.

Then he proclaims that God will suddenly unveil their hidden machinations.

Things like conspiracy, treason, insurrection, plots and plans; lies and deceptions are brought to light.

Sudden exposure, like the light coming on.

When a person, who is an enemy of God, is exposed; our reaction is important. We do not celebrate when our enemy falls (Prov. 24:17). Jesus made the counter-intuitive statement that we should love our enemies.

We are not permitted or commissioned to mete judgement on others through celebrating their demise (Prov. 24:18), like the fallen world does (Rev. 11:10).

Getting revenge on the enemy through living in grace, spreading the good news, and setting others free; is a whole different thing than celebrating other people’s demise, exposure, or misfortune.

We should live and do justice, love mercy and kindness, and walk with God, in humility (Micah 6:8).

This is the Romans 12:1 life of worship.

The proper response to the exposure of the enemy’s work in people is authentic worship: yielding to the sweeping fear of God, proclaiming what God has done, and then living in awe of God.

The exposure of the enemy’s work is not a private matter.

“Then everyone will fear and will tell about God’s work, for they will understand what he has done.”
-Psalm 64:9

“All people will tell about God’s deeds.”

This is called “word of mouth advertising”. It is the most effective advertising.

When we are advertised to, the advertiser always has to get past our skepticism or cynicism.

Word of mouth advertisers are credible witnesses.

A fire is not hard to advertise.

And this is how revival (great awakening) works and spreads.

Then everyone will fear the True God.
They will proclaim His deeds.
And will reflect upon what He has done.
-Psalm 64:9

October 17, 2019 0

Then all will stand awestruck over what God has done, seeing how he vindicated the victims of these crimes. Psalm 64:9

Then everyone will fear and will tell about God’s work,
for they will understand what he has done.
-Psalm 64:9

Some of the titles for Psalm 64:

Protection from Evildoers -CSB
Celebrate because of the Lord -CEV
The Destroyer Destroyed -TPT
Hide Me from the Wicked -ESV

Protect Me from Conspiracies -TLV
Oppressed by the Wicked but Rejoicing in the Lord NKJV
Prayer for Protection from Enemies NRSV
Prayer for Protection from Secret Enemies AMP
A Prayer Against Enemies ICB
A Prayer for Protection GNT
Protect Me from Conspiracies TLV

Then everyone will fear and will tell about God’s work,
for they will understand what he has done.
-Psalm 64:9

David, who’s name means “God’s beloved”, is one of the top people in the Bible. He wrote at least 75 of the Psalms. His public life was constant conflict. He very often mentions his enemies. (29 times, this word comes up in the Psalms)
Our enemy

David’s inspired words, poems and lyrics, speak of his enemies, the enemies of God, and God’s people. How many contemporary praise and worship songs, or old hymns speak about enemies? The modern, western church is not as familiar with the paradigm of enemies, as Bible people.

We are all engaged in an ongoing spiritual battle.
Whether we are aware or not, the battle supernatural is real.
And we are born into a war.
And our earth is a battlefield.

The Psalms about battle with enemies teach us many things.
Worship and spiritual warfare go hand in hand. There are people who do wicked, very bad, evil things. There are people who are enemies of the people, some who are terrorists. But most of them wear nice clothes, are charming, and attractive to our eyes. Most are hidden, but some are often in full public view, on mountain tops.

Satan is the father of lies.

He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
-John 8:44

Paul said Satan blinds people’s minds.

In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
-2 Cor. 4:4

A time is coming and is now here, when evil will be judged and exposed. The lights are coming on, people who have been hiding, some in plain sight, are going to be exposed. The historical current-past ‘business as usual’ of evil is coming to an end through exposure and justice.

Soon, everyone will fear, “stand awestruck” (TPT), and be in awe.

This is going to be like the moon landing 50 years ago; everyone will see it, know about it, and be talking about it.

“The talk of the town” (MSG)

Psalm 64:9

Psalm 64 word-cloud

Thomas Constable:

David asked God to judge the enemies of the righteous in this individual lament psalm.

We are commanded by Jesus not to judge (condemn).
(Matt. 7:1)
But we can ask God to judge.
We can do this without hate.
We ask for justice instead of injustice.

In Psalm 64 David requested divine protection and voiced confidence that God would judge his wicked foes.

There will be various reactions from people to God’s activity of judging evil assailants.

(Assailant definition is – a person who attacks someone violently.)

Then all will stand awestruck over what God has done, seeing how he vindicated the victims of these crimes.
-Psalm 64:9

October 16, 2019 0

Then everyone will fear and will tell about God’s work, for they will understand what he has done. Psalm 64:9

Then everyone will fear and will tell about God’s work,
for they will understand what he has done.
-Psalm 64:9

David, God’s beloved, one of the top people in the Bible, wrote at least 75 of the Psalms. His public life was constant conflict. He very often mentions his enemies.

Our worldview is largely consumerist, materialistic, sensual, intellectual, political, and anti-supernatural. We forget or are unaware of the spiritual battle going on in and around the world. We have embraced escapist theologies, that put us to sleep.

Many people are asleep and are living in a dream world that is not the reality of what is really happening. Can a person be born-again, know and believe in God’s plan of salvation through Jesus Christ, yet be asleep to what God is doing?

There are people who do wicked things, very bad, evil things. There are people who are enemies of the people, some who are terrorists. Most are hidden, but some are often in public view.

Perhaps the number one trait of evil forces, the devil, and demons; is to stay hidden and hide the truth. Occult means hidden. Jesus called Satan the father of lies (John 8:44) and Paul said Satan blinds people’s minds (2 Cor. 4:4).

Soon, everyone will fear, in a good way, fear God again, and be in awe. This is going to be like the moon landing 50 years ago; everyone will see it, know about it, talk about it. People who are coming under the spell of evil, will have it broken off them and will be delivered

Great sinners will become great saints, seemingly overnight, through what God is doing. There is going to be a reverberation of deliverance from evil. Even the most deceived, deluded, or brain-washed people will come to the light and be set free, because what God is doing.

The truth will be so crystal-clear, obvious, bald-faced, and unambiguous; that there will be no room for naysaying or cynicism.

Then everyone will fear and will tell about God’s work,
for they will understand what he has done.
-Psalm 64:9

October 15, 2019 0

We Are Living in a War, Psalm 64:8

They will be made to stumble;
their own tongues work against them.
All who see them will shake their heads.
-Psalm 64:8

Psalm 64 is about:
God’s Answer to Verbal Violence (Don Williams, TCC)
Protection from Evildoers (CSB)
The Destroyer Destroyed (TPT)

We Are Living in a War

Satan is infinitely weaker than God, but through the fall of mankind and the not yet restoration of humanity, the enemy and his forces wreak havoc in the earth world.

In Psalm 64, David is crying out to God against his enemies. Hiddenness is a theme. He asks to be hidden from them and then he goes into detail about their sins they do in hiddenness. Then he proclaims that God will suddenly unveil their hidden machinations.

Things like conspiracy, treason, insurrection, plots & plans, lies & deceptions are brought to light. This is like an embezzler being exposed as a fraud and a thief. God is against or at war with the works of the enemy in people’s lives who have sided against Him and His people.

This whole psalm has reference to David’s enemies, persecutors, and slanderers; many such there were, and a great deal of trouble they gave him, almost all his days, so that we need not guess at any particular occasion of penning this psalm.
-Matthew Henry

In verses 1-6, he prays to God to preserve him from their malicious designs against him. He gives a very bad character of them, as men marked for ruin by their own wickedness.

In verses 7-10, by the spirit of prophecy he foretels their destruction, which would redound to the glory of God and the encouragement of his people.

-Matthew Henry

Verse 8: 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.
-Matthew Henry

Websters, definition of desert (Entry 4 of 4):

1 : deserved reward or punishment —usually used in plural
got their just deserts
2 : the quality or fact of meriting reward or punishment

“They got their just deserts”.

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; …
-Matthew Henry

..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.
-Matthew Henry

Checkmate

The enemy is Haman, the perfect man shot at is Mordecai; about whom Haman communed with his friends to lay snares for him, and search diligently for occasions against him and his people, which issued in his own destruction.
-John Gill (Esther 3-7)

The ancient Midrash of the Jews applies Psalm 64 to Daniel, when cast into the den of lions; and Jarchi supposes that David, by a spirit of prophecy, foresaw it, and prayed for him who was of his seed; …
-John Gill (Daniel 6)

… Daniel is the perfect man aimed at; the enemy are the princes of Darius’s court, who consulted against him, communed of laying snares for him, and gained their point, which proved their own ruin.
-John Gill (Daniel 6)

Shakespeare’s Macbeth reminds us of Psalm 64:8

In these cases,

We still have judgment here, that we but teach

Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return

To plague the inventor: This even-handed justice

Commends the ingredients of our poison’d chalice

To our own lips.

“Their own tongue to fall upon themselves.”

That is, their own words shall be brought as a testimony against them, and condemn them. A man were better have his house fall upon him, than that, in this sense, his tongue should fall upon him.
-Joseph Caryl

They will be made to stumble;
their own tongues work against them.
All who see them will shake their heads.
-Psalm 64:8

October 14, 2019 0

When God Moves Against The Enemy It is Revival Time

For the worship leader. A song of David.

O True God, hear my voice!

Listen to my complaint!

Guard my life;

keep me safe from my enemy’s threats.

Hide me from the sinful circle that conspires against me,

from the band of rebels out to make trouble,
Who sharpen their tongues into swords,
who take aim with poisonous words like arrows.
They hide in the shadows and shoot at the innocent;
they shoot at them without warning and without any fear.
They persist in their evil purpose and plan in secret to lay their traps.
And they say, “Who will see them?”
They plot their offense with precision and say,

“Now we have the perfect crime.”

The human heart and mind are deep and complex.

But without hesitation the True God will shoot at them;

His arrow will surely wound them.
He will use their very own words to bring them to destruction;

all who see will be appalled at what happens to them.

Then everyone will fear the True God;

they will proclaim His deeds
and will reflect upon all He has done.

The righteous will delight in the Eternal

and will take shelter in Him.

All those with an honest heart will glorify Him!

-Psalm 64 (VOICE, verse 9 in bold)

We Are Living in a War

There are times when God moves against the enemy, against the enemy’s works in the earth, in people who are agents of the enemy and enemies of Christ and the followers of Christ. We are living in the midst of a war, between God and Satan, on earth. Satan is infinitely weaker than God, but through the fall of mankind and the not yet restoration of humanity, the enemy and his forces wreak havoc in the earth world.

The enemy works in hiddenness.

Things like conspiracy, treason, insurrection, plots and plans, lies and deceptions are brought to light. This is like an embezzler being exposed as a fraud and a thief. God is against or at war with the works of the enemy in people’s lives who have sided against God and God’s people.

We do not celebrate when people fall or face disciplinary action.

When a person, who has become our enemy, who is living in sin, is exposed; our reaction is important. We do not celebrate when our enemy falls, nor do we rejoice when they trip up (Prov. 24:17). We are not permitted or commissioned to mete judgement on others through celebrating their demise (Prov. 24:18), like the fallen world does (Rev. 11:10).

Getting revenge on the enemy through living in grace, spreading the good news, and setting others free; is a whole different thing than celebrating other human’s demise, exposure, or misfortune. We should live and do justice, loving mercy and kindness, walking with God, in humility (Micah 6:8). This is the Romans 12:1 life of worship, in continual thankfulness to God; where prideful gloating has no place.

We are worshipers who belong to God.

The proper response to the exposure of the enemy’s work in people is authentic worship: yielding to the sweeping fear of God, proclaiming what God has done, and living in awe of God. Psalm 64:9 reads:

Then everyone will fear the True God.
They will proclaim His deeds.
And will reflect upon what He has done.

Everyone

The exposure of the enemy’s work is not a private matter. To me, this sounds like revival. Not renewal, but revival. Revival happens outside the church. I believe ‘everyone’ means ‘all people’.

It does not say “my family will”, or “my tribe will”, or even “my people will”, but “everyone will”. David could have even just made it plural, meaning more that one, and written, “people will”, but he wrote, “everyone”.

Everyone will fear God. I looked up the Hebrew word here for everyone, and it means all, the whole of, or every. When this thing happens, where God ambushes the enemy, it will be seen by all, and everyone will get it that God did it and fear or honor God.

You don’t have to advertise a fire.

The next point is that all the people will proclaim God’s deeds. This is called “word of mouth advertising”. It is the most effective advertising and it is free.

When we are advertised to, the advertiser always has to get past our skepticism or cynicism. Half truths and lies are unfortunately more common that truth, in the world. We have juries in court, who hear cases and try to find what is true; and as we try to figure out if something is true or not, we say, “the jury is still out on that one”.

But in this case, when God moves, to drive out and drive back the enemy; it is clearly, inexplicably true to all. And all the people will broadcast this truth of the act of God, against the enemy. Everyone will go and tell people they know, to whom they are credible witnesses, what God has done.

The Authentic Fear of God Because God is Real

Those who had none or not much fear of God, will suddenly realize God is real and fear him reverentially, and will announce what they saw and experienced to those they come into contact with.

Perhaps the “all” or “everyone”, is reached by the announcing. All will know because the all who first experienced God’s works will tell all, who all will believe. A fire is not hard to advertise.

This deliverance or push-back that God does on the enemy will be something that is understood or reflected upon to be God’s work. It will not be explained in any other way except that the True God worked against the evil ones. It won’t be explained scientifically or by psychology, sociology, anthropology, or any human based explanation.

The message will be, “God is real and God did this good work”. This is not something that is taught, but caught. It will happen and some will be witnesses of it’s happening.

These people will announce to all others what God has done. The truth and genuineness of God’s action will come with a bonus package of the revelation that it is genuine and really God and God’s doing.

Revival

And this is how revival works and spreads, will work and will spread.

July 26, 2016 0

Complaining Prayer

God, hear my voice when I complain.
-Psalm 64:1a

We tell each other, either openly or in our minds to, “stop complaining!” I hear it and say it all the time and I even feel guilty for complaining. We might say to each other, “complain, complain, complain; all you do is complain!”

Complaining takes a bad rap. But in this verse, complain or complaining is a good thing.

Other examples of good complaining in the book of Psalms are:

“Pay attention to me and answer me. I am restless in my complaint.” (55:2)
“I complain and groan morning, noon, and night, and He hears my voice.” (55:17)
“I remembered God and was troubled; I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed.” Selah (77:3, NKJV)
“I pour out my complaint before Him; I reveal my trouble to Him.” (142:2)

Psalm 106:24-25 recounts an instance of negative complaining, from the Exodus/Numbers period:

“They despised the pleasant land; they did not believe His word, but complained in their tents, and did not heed the word of the Lord.” (NKJV)

Exodus and Numbers record a number examples when the children of Israel complained, either about water, food, or leadership. Has anything changed today?

Jude, in the New Testament, has a word about negative complainers:

“These people are grumblers and complainers, living only to satisfy their desires. They brag loudly about themselves, and they flatter others to get what they want.” (Jude 16, NLT)

That verse is about people who are discontent (HCSB) or malcontents (ESV).

There is bad complaining, yes. But there is also good complaining. Good complaining is when we take our complaints to God.

We are supposed to say what is wrong. We are supposed to be honest, to God. Grinning and bearing it is not the way of Christ.

Is complaining good then? Yes, but. It’s very good to complain AND take the complaint to God. When someone complains in our hearing, we are their priest who hears the complaint and then helps them take that complaint to God.

A great example of this is Hannah, in First Samuel, chapter 1. She has a complaint, a very emotional prayer on her heart. Her complaint is a prayer. Eli misreads her at first, but then hears her and prays for her.

In the priesthood of all believers, we function as priests to one another. A priest is simply a person who helps another person connect with God.

Sometimes, we get overcome with hopelessness and our hearts are sick. This is part of being human. Pray anyway. Wail, moan, complain, cry, and be in agony: but just do it towards God.

It is a huge mistake to take our disappointment and then judge God as “not good” and make that bitter judgement and walk on in it. Big mistake. You will need to repent and get delivered from the negative entanglement of that, if that is you.

Remember that when the “ouch” of life happens, we need to take the hurt to God directly or to another person, who will help us with it. Voicing it is a big part of it.

Our stories are that bad or disappointing things happened to us, and sometimes we did it to our selves, or missed the boat on something. But God has got us, in his hand, as his children, and we totally trust God and love God, no matter what happened to us. We have complaints. Some are curiosities and some are filled with howling pain.

But the thing is, we tell God about them and walk them and talk them out with the Lord in connection, and our hearts are not bitter and we are completely optimistic and expect God to do good things, in us, around us, and through us. We are continually encouraged because the Spirit of God is always encouraging us and we continually say, “I’ll take that encouragement… thanks!”

A good response to a complaining or kvetching person is prayer, as in, “have you prayed about it?”, or, “are you praying about it?”, or, “let me pray with you about it”. We need to move from the place of complaint to prayer. Complaints are prayer requests, in disguise, and we need to see God as the solution, the answer, and the provider for all our needs.

Yes, Prayers can be complaints. In Psalm 64, the specific complaint is the threats, terror, dread, or fear of the enemy. That is not about discontent.

We have real problems, like our real spiritual enemy, and we can complain about it. A complaint does not have to me about discontent.

Contentment is a huge issue. We need to be content. But we also may complain to God about the troubles in our life.

Like the old hymn says, “take it to the Lord in prayer”. Grumbling, murmuring, and bitterly judging God and others is not good and will prove destructive. But prayers that are complaints laid out to God, or laid out to others and prayed, are good.

Basically, complaining that contains judging, condemning, bitterness, and discontent is bad and destructive. Bad complaining is when we lack faith and faithfulness, and contains curses towards others, self, and God. The person taking part in bad complaining is disconnected from God, from others, and from their self. Bad complaining makes things worse and fragments and binds you.

Good complaining is simply telling God the trouble, telling God what is wrong, telling God what is happening to you. Complaining is related to lament, which is another topic, I will touch next.

May 27, 2016 0

Hide Me From Horrible People’s Plans of Verbal Abuse

Hide me from the scheming of wicked people, from the mob of evildoers.

-Psalm 64:2

There are very bad people who have it in their minds to verbally abuse others with lies, gossip, slander, maligning, or cursing. They want to shoot their abusive words at people in an ambush or surprise attack, for maximum damage.

We can pray for God to hide us from them.

You can be visible, popular, or famous; and still ask God to hide you from wicked people and their schemes.

The enemy, Satan, uses people; and people, inspired by the domain of darkness (Col. 1:13) plot evil against other people. We need to maintain a relationship with God, where we have the humility, no matter how successful we are, to ask God to hide us from the plots, schemes, and plans of wicked people.

Being hidden from horrible, wicked people is a good thing. Peter was hidden from Herod, in Acts 12. Obadiah hid prophets in caves (1 Kings 18).

Our Christian lives are now hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3). It is a blessing or blessed state, to be hidden in God (Ruth 2:12). Hiding in God is equivalent to resting in God (Ps. 91:1).

Hiding in God is the place of rescue from enemies (Ps. 143:9). Have you learned to rest in God, when you are under attack? Have you learned the principal of not having to clear your name, but let God be your vindicator, judge and arbitrator?

God’s shelter is a place of hiding from all that is said about you: slander, false accusations, malicious gossip, and every verbal abuse (Ps. 31:20). We are in Jesus hands (Jn. 10:28). We are God’s treasure, his jewels, that are hidden in him (Mal. 3:17).

Being hidden is also to not be glorious to the world, in the world’s eyes, but to be obscure (Jn. 5:41) and getting glory by being hidden with Christ in God (Jn. 5:44, Col. 3;3).

The whole of the matter or the rest of the story, as told by Psalm 64, the text, “Hide me from the schemes of wicked people“, in context is this:

For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.

God, hear my voice when I complain:

“Protect my life from the terror of the enemy.”
“Hide me from the scheming of wicked people.”

“From the mob of evildoers.”

“Who sharpen their tongues like swords.”
“And aim bitter words like arrows.”

“Shooting from concealed places at the innocent.”
“They shoot at him suddenly and are not afraid.”

They encourage each other in an evil plan.
They talk about hiding traps and say,

“Who will see them?”

They devise crimes and say,

“We have perfected a secret plan.”

The inner man and the heart are mysterious.

But God will shoot them with arrows;

Suddenly, they will be wounded.
They will be made to stumble;
Their own tongues work against them.

All who see them will shake their heads.

Then everyone will fear and will tell about God’s work.

For they will understand what He has done.

The righteous one rejoices in the Lord and takes refuge in Him.

All those who are upright in heart will offer praise.

God has a plan. God sees. God hides us and protects us. God deals with people who say and plan horrible things towards his people.

We do not need to vindicate ourselves. If we give in to the need to do so, we will end up spending all our energy on it and also end up down in the mud with our muddy accusers. We need to abide in, hide in the Lord.

Don’t be shocked, surprised, disheartened, or devastated when you are ambushed by verbal attacks. Learn humility and meekness. Learn how to love your enemy (human persons).

Hide in God. Let God protect you and fight for you. Let God vindicate you. Let God be your vindication.

When attacked, go deeper with God. Ask for hiddenness. Face God when verbal attacks come your way.

You will be betrayed, slandered, maligned, maliciously gossiped about, lied to, called names, made fun of, taunted, threatened, cursed, and cussed out. Do you still want to be Jesus’ disciple, Abba’s child? I hope so.

“Come to Jesus, get saved, and you won’t have any more problems”, is not the gospel. You will have more problems, but more solutions, grace, and unspeakable joy in life everlasting that begins now. You will have hope that you didn’t have before. You will peace that you never thought possible.

There are rainbows with the storms and there is rock that you with stand strong on in the storms. Perseverance and contentment will be your way of live in the love of God.

Every negative that comes your way, including horrible people dogging you with verbal abuse; is an opportunity to receive a blessing from God. Being hidden in God is our birthright, part of the whole package in Christ. Every negative should turn us towards God, who provides for his kids.

You have a testimony and you are a testimony to the onlooking world of God’s goodness. You are an epistle, a letter, a story about God’s redemption that is ongoing. “Let me tell you what God has done and is doing in my life.”

God does “show and tell” through our lives, as examples or what he does and who he is. There is a time in the future when everyone will bow to God (Is. 45:23, Rom. 14:11, Phil. 2:10). God is in the process, about the business, of encouraging people to come to that place, now, in this life; through his work in our lives.

May 18, 2016 0

God Sees Evil Plans

They encourage each other in an evil plan; they talk about hiding traps and say, “Who will see them?”

-Psalm 64:5

Picture: Pixabay

God sees what evil ones are planning. He sees what they are doing that they think is secret. God hears their secret discussions about their evil plans.

It is delusional to believe that God does not see and hear what you are planning or scheming. God is omniscient. If you think that your evil plans are hidden from God, you are deceived.

Works of evil or evil works are often hidden, but God sees what is planned. We can ask God to expose the hidden plan of the enemy and put it to naught. And we can pray, “Lord, show me what the enemy does not want me to see”.

Every Christian needs to have the awareness of the spiritual battle between God and the enemy. People do evil, partnering with the powers of darkness. And they plan, discuss, and often do their evil in secret, in hiding.

Be encouraged that God sees the evil plans. Be encouraged that as a believer, that you have authority in Christ. Use your authority, take authority, and walk in authority.

Pray for God to expose, overturn, and cut off the plans of the enemy. Pray for their power to be broken. Pray in Jesus name.

Come against them in your prayers. Put your armor on and be a warrior like you are destined to be. Pray for the refuge of abiding in Father.

The prayer again that summarizes the message of Psalm 64:

Dear God:

Protect me from the enemy.

Hide and keep me safe from their evil plans.

Shoot them with arrows.

Suddenly wound them.

Make them stumble.

May their own tongues work against them.

Make a spectacle of them for all to see.

So that everyone will fear you.

And talk about what you have done.

And understood that you did it.

We rejoice in you, put our trust in you, and we will continually praise you.

March 31, 2016 0

God is a Warrior and My Refuge

God, hear my voice when I complain:

Protect my life

from the terror of the enemy.

Hide me

from the scheming of wicked people,
from the mob of evildoers,

who sharpen their tongues like swords and aim bitter words like arrows, shooting from concealed places at the innocent.

They shoot at him suddenly and are not afraid.
They encourage each other in an evil plan;

they talk about hiding traps and say,

“Who will see them?”

They devise crimes and say,

“We have perfected a secret plan.”

The inner man and the heart are mysterious.

But God will shoot them with arrows;

suddenly, they will be wounded.
They will be made to stumble;
their own tongues work against them.
All who see them will shake their heads.

Then everyone will fear
and will tell about God’s work,
for they will understand what He has done.

The righteous one rejoices in the Lord and takes refuge in Him; all those who are upright in heart will offer praise.

-Psalm 64

Photo: Pixabay

Did you know that God will ambush your enemy? Our enemy is the group of demonic forces pitted against us.

Evil ones, the demonic and people under demonic inspiration, love to trash talk and spew venom with words. Cursing is their forte. If you ever hear cursing, you can bet that hell is inspiring it.

“evildoers, who sharpen their tongues like swords and aim bitter words like arrows,
shooting from concealed places at the innocent.
They shoot at him suddenly and are not afraid.”

The Bible has a lot of information about curses. Cursing is one of the common practices of the enemy and those who speak for the enemy. Yes, the enemy has ‘curse meetings’, ‘curse groups’, and ‘curse warriors’.

They also plan out and set traps for people. They devise wicked plans. Diabolical is a word that describes evil plans inspired by the evil ones.

Their goal is to kill and destroy. They do all sorts of evil mischief and their siege is designed to terrorize. If they can not kill us, they want us to feel impending doom.

Many people do not know about their enemy. David get’s it. Whoever David is writing about, he describes them as devising evil, secret plans.

Did you notice that this is a complaint? We go to a judge on earth with a complaint, when we have been wronged, and we go to God with a complaint against our enemy. This is righteous complaining.

Unrighteous complaining is grumbling, grousing, and judging. Babies and little children complain. Men and women are not supposed to complain. Complaining is not a tool, in the adult tool box, for building your life.

David writes prophetically, or as someone with seasoned wisdom about God: That God will, without warning, ambush the enemy. This falls into the category of, ‘the suddenlies of God’. David knows God is watching and God will suddenly, without warning, move violently against his enemies.

David, facing warfare, calls out to God; and he knows God is faithful to war against the enemy. We need to know this too. We have an enemy, who is also God’s enemy; and God fights against this enemy, on our behalf, and receives glory.

David says, that in this thought of the soon coming and on-going ambush of the enemy, the righteous one rejoices and takes refuge or puts their trust in the Lord, and all the upright in heart offer praise to God, in light of his actions.

This whole song gives us the lesson that warfare is a reality for God’s children and that we can and ought to complain to God about it. We get deceived into seeing just bad people or just bad stuff and grumbling about it. We actually have a world under attack and people corrupted by an evil enemy of God.

With the clarity of that seeing or worldview, we get it, and we are not under the deception. Now, we can pray, trust God, and expect God to ambush the enemy. We move from begging and petitioning God, to declaring what he will do.

We can pray to God. This is a powerful prayer and very bad news for the enemy. Let’s pray:

Dear God:

Protect me from the enemy.

Hide and keep me safe from their evil plans.

Shoot them with arrows.

Suddenly wound them.

Make them stumble.

May their own tongues work against them.

Make a spectacle of them for all to see.

So that everyone will fear you.

And talk about what you have done.

And understood that you did it.

We rejoice in you, put our trust in you, and we will continually praise you.

January 11, 2016 0

Hear My Voice

Correggio, Ritratto di uomo che legge, (PD)

God, hear my voice when I complain. Protect my life from the terror of the enemy.
-Psalm 64:1 (HCSB)

Pray! Do you hear the call to prayer? There is a time to pray more. Praying is talking or sounding off to God. “Hear my voice”, literally means “Listen to my sounds”. Prayers can be groans, cries, and tears.

The door to the secret place of prayer is the cross. When you have gone through the cross, you loose everything and gain all he has for you. Then you take up your cross and walk after him.

The sound of your voice is purified when you have been through his cross and carry your cross. You have very legitimate complaints to air, because you have an enemy who hates Jesus’ work in the world and wants to stop you.

So there is warfare and roadblocks in your life. There is a conspiracy being planned and executed against you. This is why you must pray and partner with Almighty God, for his destiny, plan, and inheritance for you to come forth and go forward, for the glory of Christ.

August 4, 2015 0