Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
The verse is a plea driven by fear of what defeat would mean in the eyes of foes. If the psalmist is brought low and shaken from his standing, his enemy will boast of having prevailed against him. Those who trouble him will rejoice over his being moved and celebrate his downfall as their triumph. For that reason the verse also becomes a prayer for mercy when personal wrongdoing has weighed heavily upon God's people. Such failure is understood to give their enemies occasion to rejoice, so deliverance is sought that the wrong may be lifted and the cause for exultation removed.
The verse is a plea driven by fear of what defeat would mean in the eyes of foes. If the psalmist is brought low and shaken from his standing, his enemy will boast of having prevailed against him. Those who trouble him will rejoice over his being moved and celebrate his downfall as their triumph. For that reason the verse also becomes a prayer for mercy when personal wrongdoing has weighed heavily upon God's people. Such failure is understood to give their enemies occasion to rejoice, so deliverance is sought that the wrong may be lifted and the cause for exultation removed.