Psalm 64 · a question people ask
"But God will shoot at them" (64:7). Is the psalmist asking God to hurt them?
The psalm's requests are all in its first two verses, and they are for the psalmist himself: "Hear my voice, God, in my complaint. Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked" (64:1-2) (tap conspiracy). After that the psalm doesn't speak to God again. In the WEB, 64:7-8 are worded as what will happen, not as a prayer: "But God will shoot at them" (64:7), and "Their own tongues shall ruin them" (64:8). And the psalmist doesn't say he will do anything to anyone. What the psalm sees coming is God's work, and it says what follows: "They shall declare the work of God, and shall wisely ponder what he has done" (64:9). Other psalms do ask God to act against enemies, and Christians read those prayers in more than one way. The chapter on Psalm 109 sets out the main readings, each resting on its verses, and chooses none. These notes don't choose either.
The verses
“For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. Hear my voice, God, in my complaint. Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from the noisy crowd of the ones doing evil;”
“But God will shoot at them. They will be suddenly struck down with an arrow. Their own tongues shall ruin them. All who see them will shake their heads. All mankind shall be afraid. They shall declare the work of God, and shall wisely ponder what he has done.”
“For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. God of my praise, don’t remain silent, for they have opened the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit against me. They have spoken to me with a lying tongue. They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, and fought against me without a cause. In return for my love, they are my adversaries; but I am in prayer. They have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.”