A prayer for God's protection from a band of confident conspirators.
Scripture References:
st. 1 = vv. 1-2
st. 2 = vv. 3-4
st. 3 = vv. 5-6
st. 4 = vv. 6-7
st. 5 = vv. 8-9
st. 6 = vv. 9-10
As in many prayers of the psalms, the psalmist's enemies' chief weapon is an evil and vicious tongue. Curses, lies, threats, and plots in those days could dethrone kings more effectively than brandished spears and drawn swords. And only God could protect against the tongue's deadly arrows.
So the psalmist turns to God for safety (st. 1), identifying the enemies' tongues as their weapons–like arrows shot from ambush (st. 2)–and marking their plots and intrigue as their mode of operation (st. 3). Confident that God will shoot the conspirators with his own arrows (st. 4) and turn their tongues against them (st. 5), the psalmist proclaims that the saints (of all times) will praise and rejoice in the LORD "for his protecting care" (st. 6).
Largely unrhymed, this versification was altered from The Book of Psalms for Singing (1973).
Liturgical Use:
Expressions of confidence in God's saving power in the face of persecution or slander; expressions of solidarity with those who are persecuted.
--Psalter Hymnal Handbook, 1988
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