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Heavenly Father, thank you that you have spoken to us in the Scriptures. Help us now to hear your voice, to believe it, and to learn to obey it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A few weeks ago Ramzi was leading our morning service and he made a rather striking comment as he asked everyone to pray for our church. He had mentioned a couple of examples of serious sickness in our staff team. And he said that he felt, tentatively, as if the church was under spiritual attack at the moment, and would we all please pray. That remark and request came back to my mind as I prepared for this evening, reading this next Psalm as we work through the Bible’s hymn book (the Psalms) in this summer evening series that runs on from year to year. As you know, we’ve got to Psalm 64, which we read earlier, and as we look at this together, my title is ‘How fear can turn to joy’. It would be great if you would have Psalm 64 open in front of you, and you can find it on page 480 in the Bibles, or on whatever device you use!

The Psalms, of course, are in the Old Testament and were written by the Old Covenant people of God, but, by grace and through faith in the Lord Jesus, we too have been grafted into the people of God. So these are our songs of faith too, but it’s right that we read them not at Old Testament believers but as New Testament believers. So it’s from that New Testament viewpoint that I want us to learn from Psalm 64. Take a look, then, at verse 1, which immediately makes clear the context that’s given rise to this Psalm of David. (Psalm 64.1):

Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; preserve my life from dread of the enemy.

So here is David crying to God because he has an enemy, and this enemy is sufficiently powerful that the great and powerful king David is in a state of dread. David faced many fearful enemies through his life, so which of them he has in mind here who knows, but it doesn’t matter because we’re reading this and making it our own, from our perspective of faith in Christ. Disciples of Christ can find themselves with all kinds of enemies and we can easily find ourselves fearful of those enemies. Are you aware of enemies in your life at the moment – people or forces that are threatening you in some way? Are you fearful of those enemies? Then this Psalm is for you. But the New Testament makes it clear that we have one supreme enemy, and that enemy is the devil (Satan). So I want us to read this Psalm with that truth in mind, and in the light of that, I have three points to make:

1. Our enemy is Satan

Psalm 64.1 again:

Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; preserve my life from dread of the enemy.

What’s the nature of David’s dread of his enemy? He fears for his life. Preserve my life he cries out. His dread is that his enemy is trying to destroy him, to kill him. Sometimes Christians do have such human enemies. There are many of our brothers and sisters around the world who wake from the beds knowing that there are people nearby who want them dead. So here’s the entry in the Barnabas Fund prayer diary for 1 July:

Anita Dauda had only just regained the use of her legs after an Islamist attack six years ago on her village – Kagoro in Kaduna State, Nigeria – when her life was snatched away. Anita was among 32 Christians slaughtered by Fulani extremists in a violent assault on Kagoro on Sunday 20 March. Her mother and brother were also among the dead. Anita’s story demonstrates the relentless nature of anti-Christian violence in Nigeria. Pray that the Lord will move mightily in that land, protecting His people, restraining evil, and bringing even the terrorists to repentance and faith.

Christians do have enemies – just as David did. And in his dread David knew that the best thing he could do was to cry out to his Lord. It’s striking that he uses this language of complaint (Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint) as if to say “Lord, why haven’t you prevented my enemy from threatening me? Why have you allowed him to get so far?” But it isn’t God’s way to give us enemy-free lives. Do we complain to God about the enemies we face? Even get angry with God that he’s seemingly let them have their way for so long? Well, David set the precedent, and God understands. Christians do find themselves with enemies. But it’s not people, in the end, who are our real enemies. It’s Satan. So the apostle Paul says in Ephesians 6.11-12:

Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

It isn’t flesh and blood, it isn’t people in the end who we need to be wary of. We need to look behind the scenes to see with the eyes of faith Satan and all the spiritual forces arrayed around him. That’s where the real danger lies. And the apostle Peter uses graphic language to bring home to us the reality of that danger (1 Peter 5.8):

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Satan, says Peter, is there, He’s real, and he’s our adversary, our enemy. And he wants to destroy us, to eat us alive, to put an end to our faith. Our enemy is Satan. That’s the first thing.

2. Satan tries everything against us

In Ephesians 6, the apostle Paul talks about all the flaming darts of the evil one. And in Psalm 64, here in Psalm 64.2-6, David gives us a kind a anatomy of evil. Derek Kidner in his brilliant Tyndale Old Testament Commentary on the Psalms, which I recommend to you, describes the enemies of David here as:

those whose cause is shameful and their tactics indefensible.

And what David lays bare here in Psalm 64.3-6 are the tactics of this deadly enemy of his. “Hide me from them!” That’s the burden of his prayer here. “Why have you exposed me to an enemy who wants to devour me? Why can’t you get me safely out of his sight, so that I can rest secure?” But despite his anguish and fear, he’s very clear-sighted about the way this enemy operates. So let me read those verses. From Psalm 64.2-6:

Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the throng of evildoers, who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows, shooting from ambush at the blameless, shooting at him suddenly and without fear. They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, “Who can see them?” They search out injustice, saying, “We have accomplished a diligent search.” For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep!

I can see eight elements in this anatomy of our evil enemy here, and they paint a picture of Satan at work. Let me run through them briefly:

i). He uses deceit. Psalm 64.2 talks of the secret plots of the wicked. Their attacks are hatched in secrecy and deception. They’re hard to spot.
ii). He has a large army. Psalm 64.2 again refers to the throng of evildoers. He has the numbers. There are lots of them, and therefore they’re intimidating.
iii). This army uses words as weapons. Lies are the weapon of choice for deception. (Psalm 64.2-3):

Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the throng of evildoers, who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows…

They sharpen their tongues to stab, and shoot their mouths off aiming to harm and destroy.
iv). They target the blameless (Psalm 64.4):

…shooting from ambush at the blameless…

They don’t show themselves out in the open, honestly. And the blameless are traduced by the enemies’ lies until many are convinced the blameless are guilty when they’re not.
v). They attack out of the blue. Psalm 64.4 again:

…shooting at him suddenly…

So often you can’t see these attacks coming. Not only are they secretly planned, they come at you out of a clear blue sky, with no warning.
vi). The enemy is shameless (without fear as Psalm 64.4 says). Don’t expect any remorse, and don’t expect the enemy to feel intimidated. There is an arrogant boldness about him.
vii). The enemy is persistent. (Psalm 64.5):

They hold fast to their evil purpose…

The attacks are unrelenting. He doesn’t let up or repent of his evil plans and purposes, and that’s because of:
viii). The enemy has a deep commitment to evil. Psalm 64.6:

They search out injustice…

This enemy and his minions, far from ever repenting, digs down ever deeper into the swamp of evil on which he thrives. What’s your experience been? Have you been on the receiving end of this kind of attack from an implacable enemy – full of deceit, overwhelming in size, using twisted words, heading like a guided missile for the innocent, attacking without warning and without shame, and seemingly never letting up the assault until you feel like you can’t stand it any longer? To a greater or lesser extent, every Christian believer has – because it’s Satan who matches this photo-fit to perfection. Psalm 64 shines a strong light on the dark arts of the devil. In the words of Jesus in John 8.44:

[The devil] was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

And the apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 2.11:

…we are not ignorant of [Satan’s] designs.

And again in 2 Corinthians 11.14:

…even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants also disguise themselves…

So – our enemy is Satan; and Satan tries everything against us. But here comes the good news:

3. God will destroy Satan

In fact, you could say that, for all Satan’s apparently unstoppable, intimidating, overwhelming assaults on those who are seeking to follow Jesus, when the Lord decides the time has come, he just brushes Satan aside as if he were swatting a fly and treading on it. In the words of Derek Kidner again, God’s destruction of the enemy is “all over in a verse and a half”. That verse and a half is Psalm 64.7-8:

But God shoots his arrows at them; they are wounded suddenly. They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them…

Notice the wonderful way that God’s judgement falls on the enemy in ways that turn the devil’s own tactics back against himself. The satanic arrows of the devil’s lies are met by the divine arrows of God’s word of truth. Sudden satanic attacks are swept away with by sudden and irresistible judgement on and destruction of evil. The forces of evil had sharpened their tongues like swords, but God turns their tongues back against them. So in the end, the enemy self-destructs. It’s a swift and apt punishment. His plan to kill the innocent becomes the source of his own destruction. Supremely, Satan sought to kill Jesus. And that very death proved Satan’s own downfall. Out of the blue, at the very point of Satan’s apparent triumph, there is an utterly unexpected turning of the tables. Satan and all the powers of evil bring down ruin on themselves. And God brings about a very public victory over evil. Satan’s assaults are secret. God’s victory over evil is open and public. Psalm 64.8:

…all who see [the wicked] will wag their heads.

In the words of the New Testament (this is Hebrews 2.14):

…through death [Jesus] destroy[ed] the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver[ed] all those who through the fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

Or again in 1 John 3.8:

…The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

And in the words of the apostle Paul in Romans 16.20:

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

However oppressed we feel under the heel of Satan’s attacks, we need not dread this enemy. Christ defeated him at the cross, and will crush him once and for all the moment he decides the time has come. So what is the outcome for those of us who are trusting in Jesus? Psalm 64 puts it like this as it draws to close (this is Psalm 64.9-10):

Then all mankind fears; they tell what God has brought about and ponder what he has done. Let the righteous one rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him! Let all the upright in heart exult!

Fear turns to joy. As we turn to God instead of being preoccupied with our enemies, our dread of the enemy becomes praise in our mouths, joy in our hearts, and in the face of Satan’s failed stratagems to destroy us, safety and security in our lives. That’s how fear turns to joy. God makes it happen, through Jesus. Let’s pray:

Heavenly Father, you know that at times we do feel overwhelmed, and full of fear, under the attacks of the enemy. Thank you for this Psalm, that reminds us that in Christ we have the victory. When we feel that we’re in mortal danger, teach us to fix our eyes on Jesus. And turn our fear to joy. In Jesus name. Amen.