Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
The opening line is a direct plea for God to hear the speaker's voice in prayer and to preserve his life from fear of the enemy. The enemies in view are those who conspire in secret plots and attack with harmful, wounding words. They also lay hidden snares and set traps for the righteous. God intervenes suddenly, turning judgment back upon those enemies themselves.
At that intervention the righteous respond with gladness and put their trust in Him. The psalm will be literally fulfilled when everything that can be shaken is shaken, so that only what cannot be shaken remains. That fulfillment points to a final test in which God will have a pure and holy people who stand firm. In view of that test, each believer must examine the heart.
The opening line is a direct plea for God to hear the speaker's voice in prayer and to preserve his life from fear of the enemy. The enemies in view are those who conspire in secret plots and attack with harmful, wounding words. They also lay hidden snares and set traps for the righteous. God intervenes suddenly, turning judgment back upon those enemies themselves.
At that intervention the righteous respond with gladness and put their trust in Him. The psalm will be literally fulfilled when everything that can be shaken is shaken, so that only what cannot be shaken remains. That fulfillment points to a final test in which God will have a pure and holy people who stand firm. In view of that test, each believer must examine the heart.