Psalm Devotional
Sheep in the Midst of Wolves
Written by Kit Swartz. This devotional was first published in the March 2018 issue of The Reformed Presbyterian Witness.
This psalm is beautifully arranged with the problem described (vv. 1–5), the ground of appeal confessed (vv. 6–7), the petition answering the problem at every point (vv. 8–11), and a climax of hope (vv. 12–13). We should likewise pray for particular needs particularly and with confident expectation.
Prayer for Deliverance (vv. 1–4)
The singer is surrounded (v. 9) by enemies who seek to discredit him by slander so that they can destroy him by violence (vv. 1–4; see v. 11). This is the classic method of the devil (John 8:44) that was employed by the Romans against Christians and the Nazis against Jews. These things are instructive to us in our current cultural and political struggles. We must be very careful to avoid using this method ourselves.
Perversely Purposed Persecution (vv. 1–5)
The assaults are laid out in logical order. First, the attack is conceived in the heart continually (v. 2). Then it is deployed with the mouth (v. 3; see Matt. 15:18, 19). The movement of a snake’s tongue (v. 3) pictures the back-and-forth motion of a sword on a stone to make it deadly sharp. The poison (v. 3) delivery system of a snake is in its fangs, which are tucked under the lip and always ready to strike. The enemy thus has both a means of open injury and of hidden devastation.
Next, the hands (v. 4) indicate active schemes of assault while the feet (vv. 4, 5) picture passive schemes of entrapment. Last, the fatal blow is aimed at the head (v. 7; see Rev. 13:3). Our enemies are diligent, skillful, and thorough in their efforts to discredit us with lies and destroy us with all kinds of schemes (see 1 Pet. 5:8).
Public Profession, Petition, and Pledge (vv. 6–7)
In all these things, we are sheep in the midst of wolves (Matt. 10:16), but we are not sheep without a shepherd. We have One who will hear our cries and deliver us from our enemies (v. 6; see 95:7). Every instance of Lord proclaims this truth (vv. 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 12).
This is the crux of the psalm and of the gospel: you must belong to the Shepherd in order to seek His help. Ask Him to take you for His own. You will not be disappointed (Luke 11:13; Rom. 10:11, 13). The psalmist belongs to the Lord (v. 6), cries out to Him for help (v. 6), and praises Him for previous answers in similar situations (v. 7), which are a pledge of current and future help.
Prayer of Faith (vv. 8–11)
He now prays for deliverance from every assault of his enemies previously mentioned. He prays for deliverance from the designs of their heart and the devices of their hands (v. 8). He prays that, in justice, the Lord would deliver him by causing the schemes of his enemies to backfire. Where the Lord covered his innocent head (v. 7), he prays that the Lord would cover the guilty heads of his enemies (v. 9) with their own lies (v. 9, 11; see v. 3). He prays that the burning (v. 10) of their poison would fall on them and that their plan to push him into a pit (v. 4) would likewise rebound (v. 10). He prays that those who hunted him (vv. 4–5) would themselves be hunted (v. 11). God is just, such that the pursuit of evil is like a boomerang. Don’t do to others what you don’t want done to you.
Profession of Hope (vv. 12–13)
The psalmist concludes by declaring his expectation that the judge of all the earth will do right by destroying the wickedness of the wicked, thereby delivering their intended victims (v. 12). Those thus delivered will confess His salvation with thanksgiving and will enjoy the secure presence of God (v. 13).
Conclusion
The Lord Jesus suffered all these attacks, cried out to His Lord for deliverance, and saw the schemes of His enemy come back on his own head. He experienced the full deliverance of God into His secure presence at His right hand. He continues to proclaim the justice and goodness of God in and through His church, including by means of this psalm. He was the Lamb of God in the midst of wolves, but He had a Shepherd who heard His cries and saved Him. He sends us out as sheep in the midst of wolves, but He is our Shepherd and will save us from all the devices of our enemies in answer to our cries.
