This is very much a royal psalm, in the sense that it reflects the experience of someone in a high position of power. At the same time, people of lower social standing would recognize parts of this prayer of complaint to God. If all our enemies were bold and forthright, there would be far more peace in our lives. Instead, we are wired to connect with each other and it never fails that some will prey on us using craft and deception, pretending to be our friends.
So David’s initial call to his Sovereign is relief from fear. This is not what it sounds like to Western ears. He chooses the Hebrew word for “alarm” as someone easily unsettled. A man who walks in full consciousness of God’s calling, whose mind serves a heart conscious of the moral sphere, is a man who has already committed himself to God’s moral character. That character is woven into all Creation, the very essence of reality itself. David seeks God’s face to recognize His features in everything he faces as the Lord’s servant so that his life is never unsettled by all the events that are surely in His hand.
In particular, David asks God to wrap His cloak around him as protection against conspiracies. One does not hold the reins of human power without attracting intrigue, so David is not complaining that conspiracies exist, asking only that God make them fail. There are always rebellions brewing, but God can make it impotent. David describes their weapons as sword-tongues and arrow-words. Only a coward preying on the innocent would use such weapons. They have no reverence for the Creator.
Such men congregate and congratulate each other on their cleverness. They exhibit the arrogance that comes when men silence their hearts to hear only their cerebral logic in response to lustful desires. Notice the Hebrew paralleling that equates the “inward part” and “heart” in a context suggesting the men themselves really don’t even know their own souls. It’s a mocking choice of words that these men imagine themselves so deep and intelligent, but the most capable faculty — the heart — is buried out of reach of the conscious mind. Relying on mere intellect will guarantee failure against men of heart consciousness, because the heart-mind belongs to God.
So these plotters will be caught off guard completely when God pours His just wrath upon them. David describes poetic justice, the tables turned on these evil men. Their own arrow-words will be shot back at them, and their sword-tongues will fall on them instead of the intended victim. Suddenly their friends will desert them. Such people are incapable of genuine loyalty. And bystanders will see and know that there is a God of the Covenant who watches over His Word to make sure His truth stands. People will stop and consider the spectacle and gain true wisdom such as these sly predators claimed they had.
In the end, those whose hearts were sincere in seeking God’s ways would rejoice to see His hand of justice. The Lord Himself always stands ready to justify our trust in Him. This is how we share in His glory.
