One of the most powerful word combinations in human history has only three letters in each word in the English language—But God. Psalm 64 encapsulates the profound impact these two simple words have on human existence.
David’s psalm begins with his earnest request for divine deliverance. “Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation; preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the rebellion of the workers of iniquity” (vv. 1-2).
To demonstrate the seriousness of the peril he was in, David describes these vicious foes as those “who sharpen their tongue like a sword and bend their bows to shoot their arrows—bitter words that they may shoot in secret at the blameless; suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear. They encourage themselves in an evil matter; they talk of laying snares secretly; they say, ‘Who will see them?’ They devise iniquities: ‘We have perfected a shrewd scheme.’ Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep” (vv. 3-6). How bleak and desperate things appear.
But God turns the entire situation on its head.
“But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly they shall be wounded. So, He will make them stumble over their own tongue; all who see them shall flee away. All men shall fear and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider His doing” (vv. 7-9).
The lesson to be learned and implanted into our lives is clear: “The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and trust in Him. And, all the upright in heart shall glory” (v. 10).
The Great “I AM” is the Great Exception.
