The Righteous Shall Rejoice in the Lord and Take Refuge in Him

Psalm 64 is a prayer for rescue from hidden enemies. King David asks God for shelter from people who plot against him in secret, whose "tongue is sharp like a sword" and whose words are like arrows. Yet the chapter does not stay in fear: it turns over — God shoots them suddenly, and they fall by their own tongue. In the end, the whole world sees and acknowledges the work of God, and the righteous one rejoices and takes refuge in the Lord.

The chapter is built as a reversal: first the plea and the schemes of the wicked (verses 2-7), then God's sudden intervention (verses 8-9), and finally the universal awe and the joy of the righteous (verses 10-11). The one who plotted in secret is exposed before all.

The central verse of the chapter, chosen as the title of the song, is:

"The righteous shall rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in Him."

After all the tension and danger, the righteous one rejoices not in the fall of his enemies but in the Lord Himself. Joy and refuge go together: whoever rejoices in the Lord also takes refuge in Him, and whoever takes refuge in Him is given joy.