Psalm 64 exposes hidden violence: fear, conspiracy, sharp tongues, secret arrows, and traps arranged by people who think no one sees. It is a Psalm for anyone wounded by words, schemes, reputation attacks, or spiritual intimidation. But it is not only about victimhood. It ends with God revealing His works and the righteous rejoicing in Him.
Augustine of Hippo, a witness from the wider Christian tradition, reads the Psalm chiefly through the Lord’s Passion and the martyrs, who were strengthened by beholding Him and hoping in His Resurrection.1 The deepest deliverance is not always escape from the enemy’s hand. Sometimes it is deliverance from the fear of the enemy.
Psalm Metadata
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| NKJV / Masoretic numbering | Psalm 64 |
| Septuagint / Coptic numbering | Psalm 63 |
| Accepted author | Davidic, according to the superscription. Brenton reads, “For the end, a Psalm of David.” |
| Period in David’s life | No precise life event is named. The Psalm fits Davidic experiences of slander, conspiracy, hidden danger, and unjust accusation. |
| Christ prophecy status | Passion-shaped and liturgically Christological, rather than a narrow standalone prediction. Augustine reads its hidden counsel, sharpened tongues, and fear through Christ’s Passion and the witness of the martyrs. |
| Coptic lectionary/service use | Retained examples include Palm Sunday Liturgy and annual Vespers. See the source-specific details below. |
| Numbering issue | The embedded Scripture is Brenton LXX Psalm 63; this guide uses Psalm 64 as its primary number. |
Historical and Scriptural Context
Psalm 64 is a prayer under hidden attack. Unlike battle Psalms with visible enemies, this one focuses on secret counsel and weaponized speech. The danger is not only the sword in the hand, but the tongue that prepares the sword’s work.
The Psalm moves from petition to exposure to reversal. First, the Psalmist asks God to deliver him from fear. Then he describes conspiracy, hidden arrows, and traps. Finally, God acts in a way that makes people see, fear, and understand His works.
Geographical Significance ⛰️
No specific place is named. The important setting is hiddenness. The enemies act in secret and assume invisibility: “Who shall see them?” The Psalm answers that God sees what hidden counsel and whispered accusations try to bury.
The Characters 👥
David. The inspired king and Psalmist, giving language to the righteous under conspiracy and slander.
The conspirators. Those who sharpen tongues, bend bows, hide snares, and imagine that no one sees them.
The blameless one. In the literal sense, the innocent sufferer in the Psalm. In the Christian reading, Christ the truly blameless One.
The martyrs and faithful witnesses. Those who face intimidation, accusation, and death without surrendering to fear.
Christ. The innocent sufferer whose enemies used words, accusation, and public pressure to bring Him to the Cross, and whose Resurrection reveals God’s works.
🕯️ Light from the Word
Psalm 63:1-6, Deliver me from fear of the enemy
63:1 For the end, a Psalm of David. 63:2 Hear my prayer, O God, when I make my petition to thee; deliver my soul from fear of the enemy. 63:3 Thou hast sheltered me from the conspiracy of them that do wickedly; from the multitude of them that work iniquity; 63:4 who have sharpened their tongues as a sword; they have bent their bow maliciously; 63:5 to shoot in secret at the blameless; they will shoot him suddenly, and will not fear. 63:6 They have set up for themselves an evil matter, they have given counsel to hide snares; they have said, Who shall see them?
The first request is precise: “deliver my soul from fear of the enemy.” The Psalm does not ask only that the enemy disappear. It asks that fear stop ruling the soul. This is why Augustine can apply the Psalm to the martyrs. Many were not delivered from death in the outward sense, but they were delivered from the fear that would make them deny Christ. Augustine asks believers to pray for the grace to do what Christ commands: “Be prayer offered, therefore, that He may grant what He hath commanded.”2
St Athanasius of Alexandria includes this Psalm among prayers for those pursued by fear and plots. In his Letter to Marcellinus, he describes the Psalter as giving us words suited to the changing condition of the soul.3 We need not pretend that a threat is unreal before bringing it to God. Fear can also linger after danger; prayer may be offered alongside protection, wise counsel, and care.
The enemies sharpen tongues as a sword. This is one of Scripture’s most direct descriptions of verbal violence. Speech can prepare injustice, justify it, hide it, and make it socially acceptable. The tongue becomes a sword before the visible wound appears.
Augustine applies this especially to the Passion, where words, accusations, and public cries drive the movement toward crucifixion.1 His sermon also uses polemical language about Jews. A Christian reading must not turn the Passion into contempt or collective blame for a people. The sin being exposed is the old human sin of false witness, cowardice, crowd pressure, and using speech to destroy the innocent.
The enemies say, “Who shall see them?” This is the practical atheism of conspiracy. They may not deny God in doctrine, but they act as though hidden sin is unseen.
Lesson Guide
- Key phrases: “the tongue becomes a sword before the visible wound appears”; “the Psalm asks that fear stop ruling the soul.”
- Emphasize: deliverance from fear, not only deliverance from circumstances.
- Avoid: using Passion language to fuel anti-Jewish blame. Keep the focus on sin, false witness, and Christ’s saving Passion.
Psalm 63:7-11, God reveals His works and the righteous rejoice
63:7 They have searched out iniquity; they have wearied themselves with searching diligently, a man shall approach and the heart is deep, 63:8 and God shall be exalted, their wounds were caused by the weapon of the foolish children, 63:9 and their tongues have set him at nought, all that saw them were troubled; 63:10 and every man was alarmed, and they related the works of God, and understood his deeds. 63:11 The righteous shall rejoice in the Lord, and hope on him, and all the upright in heart shall be praised.
Brenton’s wording in Psalm 64:6-8 (LXX 63:7-9) is difficult. After the conspirators search out iniquity, a man approaches and the heart is called deep, but the English does not plainly identify the man or whose heart is meant. It then speaks of God being exalted, wounds caused by the weapon of foolish children, and tongues setting someone at nought. The pronouns and the relation between the wounded and the weapon remain unclear; we should not force a tidy account of who wounds whom.
Augustine reads the approaching man and the deep heart through the Incarnation: the Son truly became man and entered suffering, while His divinity was hidden from His attackers. In Augustine’s Psalm wording, their blows become like children’s arrows and their tongues are weakened. He sees their effort fail before the risen Christ. His wording about tongues differs from Brenton’s, which speaks of their tongues setting him at nought.4
The Psalm’s reversal is striking. The conspirators work in secret; by its close people relate God’s works and understand His deeds. The same public world that was shaped by false speech becomes a place where God’s action is confessed.
The phrase “the heart is deep” also invites us to examine our own motives. The heart can hide cruelty under concern, envy under principle, and fear under zeal. Orthodox spiritual life takes this seriously. Watchfulness is needed because the heart is deep and easily self-deceived.
The ending is not revenge but worship. The righteous rejoice in the Lord, not in the humiliation of enemies. Their hope is in Him. This matters for anyone wounded by hidden accusation. The goal is not to become as sharp-tongued as the attacker. The goal is to remain upright in heart. An upright heart does not claim never to have fallen; it comes honestly before God for His mercy.
Lesson Guide
- Key phrases: “the heart can hide cruelty under concern”; “the righteous rejoice in the Lord, not in the humiliation of enemies.”
- Emphasize: God’s revelation of hidden things and the need for watchfulness over motives.
- Avoid: teaching suspicion as a virtue. Watchfulness is not paranoia.
Christological and Prophetic Reading
Psalm 64 is deeply Passion-shaped. Augustine frames it around the Lord’s Passion and the martyrs. The sharpened tongues, secret counsel, public accusation, and attack on the blameless one find their fullest meaning in Christ, who was condemned through false witness and political fear.
Yet the Psalm also belongs to the martyrs and to every faithful witness who is tempted by fear. Christ does not merely show the pattern. He gives strength to endure it. A martyr’s courage is not simply a matter of personality: Christ gives strength to remain faithful even under threat.
Augustine hears the final joy through the Resurrection. The risen Lord restores hope to His sorrowing disciples, and the hidden plot of the Passion gives way to the revealed work of God.5 The Cross, meant as shame, becomes the place where every generation relates the works of God.
The Church’s Voice in Worship ⛪
In the retained Palm Sunday Liturgy for 9 April 2023, printed Psalm 64:1-2 appears within a composite Gospel block immediately before John 12:12-19. The service words ask God to hear the speaker, preserve his life from fear, and hide him from secret plots. They correspond to Brenton LXX Psalm 63:2-3, not the superscription at 63:1. The same Liturgy has a separate opening Psalm and also includes Gospel selections from Matthew, Mark, and Luke.6
This pairing is spiritually strong. On Palm Sunday the crowd praises Christ publicly, while hidden counsel against Him is already moving toward the Passion.
In retained Vespers readings for Tut 21 and 23 in 2022, printed Psalm 64:10 (LXX 63:11 in Brenton) is paired with Mark 4:21-25.7 The Gospel’s image of what is hidden coming to light helps us hear the Psalm’s turn from secret malice to God’s works made known.
Iconography Connection 🖼️
Palm Sunday iconography is the key connection. Christ enters Jerusalem in humility, receiving praise, while the path to the Cross is already before Him. Psalm 64 shows the hidden underside of that public moment: counsel, fear, accusation, and the sword of the tongue.
The Passion icon, especially Christ before the high priest or before Pilate, also fits the Psalm. The icon teaches what the Psalm says: false words can condemn the innocent, but they cannot overthrow God’s saving work.
Spiritual Fruit 🍇
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Ask for freedom from fear, not only escape from enemies. Fear can rule the soul even when no outward attack succeeds.
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Take speech seriously. A sharpened tongue is not a small sin. It can wound, recruit others, and prepare injustice.
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Examine your hidden counsel. Before judging conspirators outside you, ask where your own heart hides motives under respectable language.
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Do not answer arrows with arrows. The righteous rejoice in the Lord. They do not become skilled in the same weapons used against them.
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Trust that God sees what is hidden. You do not need to expose every secret thing by force. Some things must be brought to God and handled with truth, patience, and wise counsel.
Teacher's Notes
- Timing: 8 minutes on the opening petition; 12 minutes on weaponized speech; 10 minutes on Augustine’s Passion and martyr reading; 8 minutes on Palm Sunday use; 7 minutes on watchfulness over the heart.
- Where to linger: “deliver my soul from fear of the enemy” and “they have sharpened their tongues as a sword.”
- Where to compress: the difficult Brenton wording in verses 7-9. Explain the movement rather than getting stuck in textual detail.
- Key phrase to say slowly: “The deepest deliverance is not always escape from the enemy’s hand. Sometimes it is deliverance from the fear of the enemy.”
- Pastoral warning: do not turn this Psalm into permission for suspicion. It helps the wounded name real harm, but it also calls every heart to examine its own hidden motives.
Glossary
- Weaponized speech: Speech used to injure, accuse falsely, manipulate a group, or make injustice seem acceptable.
- Pascha: Coptic Holy Week services. Palm Sunday stands at the doorway of the Passion.
- Martyr: A witness to Christ, especially one who suffers or dies rather than deny Him.
- Watchfulness: Orthodox spiritual attention over thoughts, motives, fears, and passions.
- Upright in heart: A heart made straight before God, not divided by hidden malice.
Translation and Source Notes
Embedded Scripture is from Brenton’s English Septuagint (LXX). Psalm 64 in the guide’s NKJV/Masoretic numbering is Psalm 63 in Brenton. The service references above preserve their printed labels and identify the corresponding Brenton words. Brenton’s verses 7-9 are syntactically difficult; Augustine’s interpretation uses Psalm wording that differs at the clause about tongues.
Lectionary references here draw on retained dated pages and the historical lectionary-data 1.3.5 record. In that record, both the dated Tut entries and their cycle aliases carry a public/local-reference classification, but the aliases are separately marked superseded and kept for provenance, not as additional active appointments. The Palm Sunday Pascha record is a working source not checked against Coptic Reader. These related calendar views should not be counted as independent witnesses or treated as proof of present practice.
The particular Great Lent Matins reference previously listed for Psalm 64:2-4 (LXX 63:3-5) was not established in the available sources. This does not rule out other uses of the Psalm. The identities of the earlier unspecified local references and a separately mentioned numbering note also remain unestablished; the sources named below support the narrower claims made here.
Sources
Primary sources
- Brenton’s English Septuagint, Psalm 64 (LXX 63).
- John 12:12-19, the Triumphal Entry in the retained Palm Sunday Gospel block.
- Wisdom 2:18-20, the opponents’ test of the righteous sufferer, used by Augustine in his Passion reading.
- St Augustine, Exposition on Psalm LXIV (Latin/LXX LXIII), especially the sections on the Passion, martyrs, fear, and the deep heart.
- St Athanasius, Letter to Marcellinus on the Interpretation of the Psalms, on the Psalter and prayer under plots.
Coptic Orthodox / liturgical sources
CopticChurch.net, retained Palm Sunday Liturgy reading for 9 April 2023 and Vespers readings for Tut 21 and 23 in 2022.
Pierresaid Katameros API, working Palm Sunday Pascha reference and cycle entries for Vespers on Baramhat 11 and 14 and Barmuda 21.
Footnotes
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St Augustine, Exposition on Psalm LXIV (Latin/LXX LXIII), §§1, 4-7, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, vol. VIII, general editor Philip Schaff, condensed by A. Cleveland Coxe, CCEL text. The corresponding unabridged Oxford edition, vol. III (1849), translated by T. Scratton, has §§1, 4-8. ↩ ↩2
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Augustine, Exposition on Psalm LXIV (Latin/LXX LXIII), NPNF §2, corresponding to Oxford III §2, CCEL text. ↩
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St Athanasius, Letter to Marcellinus on the Interpretation of the Psalms, the paragraphs on the Psalter’s portrait of the soul and on prayers for those pursued by fear and plots. The retained English translation does not identify its translator. ↩
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Augustine, Exposition on Psalm LXIV (Latin/LXX LXIII), NPNF §§11-14, corresponding to Oxford III §§13-16, CCEL text. ↩
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Augustine, Exposition on Psalm LXIV (Latin/LXX LXIII), NPNF §§14-15, corresponding to Oxford III §§16-17, CCEL text. ↩
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CopticChurch.net, Palm Sunday, 9 April 2023, Liturgy, Gospel block. The working Pascha day-hour record also lists the composite; it does not establish the identity of the guide’s earlier local reference. ↩
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CopticChurch.net, Vespers for Tut 21, 1 October 2022 and Tut 23, 3 October 2022. These are dated pages from the same source, not independent traditions. The working Katameros cycle also lists the Psalm and Mark 4:21-25 for Baramhat 11 and 14 and Barmuda 21; its Bible record identifies the verse but is not itself a transcript of the sung service. ↩