Psalm 64

David wrote this song for the music leader.

God will keep us safe

64:1David wants God to keep him safe from bad people who wanted to hurt him. At the end of the psalm he says what God will do. People who trust him do not need to be afraid.

1 God, please listen to me

as I tell you about my troubles.

Keep me safe from my enemies

when they attack me.

2 When evil men think of ways to hurt me,

hide me in a safe place.

Those people work together as a group

to do wicked things.

3 Their tongues are like

sharp swords that hurt people.

Their cruel words are like

arrows that they shoot at people.

4 They hide in secret places,

and they quickly shoot lies at good people.

They are not afraid that anyone will punish them.

5 They help each other to do evil things.

They decide where they will hide their traps,

and they say, ‘Nobody will see them!’

6 They think of wicked ideas to hurt people.

They say, ‘That is a great idea!’

64:6David gives us a picture of the bad men. They hide so nobody can see them. They are like people who shoot arrows at other people to hurt them. They think that nobody will ever find out what they have done.

Nobody really understands what people think

deep inside themselves.

7 But God will punish them!

He will suddenly shoot an arrow at them

and it will hurt them a lot.

64:7Arrows are a picture of how God will punish them. The things that bad people do to hurt other people are like arrows. So God's punishment will also be like arrows.

8 Their own evil words will turn against them

and make them fall.

Everyone who sees them will shake their heads.

9 People will be afraid.

They will say, ‘Look at what God has done!’

They will think carefully about it all.

10 But people who serve the Lord should be happy

because of what he has done.

They should trust him to keep them safe.

Good, honest people should praise God,

because he is great!