Psalms 64:4

Psa 64:4 That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not.

Ver. 4. That they may shoot in secret at the perfect] Innocence and integrity is no target against calumny; but every Zopyrus shall be sure of his Zoilus, who, right or wrong, will shoot him down if he can, Aliquid saltem adhaerebit (Machiavel).

Suddenly do they shoot at him] As the hunter when he lieth hidden in a bush; or as when hedges are lined, as they call it, with musketeers, which gall and kill.

And fear not] They are not at all touched either with reverence toward God or respect to man, but are utterly debauched, they ride on without reins, &c. There is an elegance in the original that cannot be translated into English.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5. (Psa 64:4). To shoot in secret places (at) the perfect; suddenly they will shoot him, and will not fear. With the first clause compare Psa 10:8; Psa 11:2. The perfect, the sincere and upright servant of God, who is free from all fatal and essential defect of character. See above, on Psa 15:2; Psa 18:23; Psa 25:21; Psa 26:1; Psa 26:11; Psa 37:37, in the last of which places the Hebrew adjective has the same form as in the case before us. And will not fear, i.e. without being deterred by the fear of God or man. See above, on Psa 55:19.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

To be without fear of God, and reverence of man, is a sign of reprobation.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

the perfect--one innocent of the charges made (Psa 18:23).

fear not-- (Psa 55:19), not regarding God.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 4. That they may shoot in secret] They lurk, that they may take their aim the more surely, and not miss their mark.

Suddenly] When there is no fear apprehended, because none is seen.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(4) And fear not.—These are utterly unscrupulous, fearing neither God nor man.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4. That they may shoot] Cp. Psa_11:2.

in secret] R.V., in secret places, as Psa_10:8; Psa_17:12.

the perfect] The upright, blameless man, an epithet often applied to Job (Job_1:1, &c.). Cp. Psa_37:37; Pro_29:10, and see note on the cognate word in Psa_15:2.

fear not] They neither fear God nor regard man. Cp. Psa_55:19.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That they may shoot in secret at the perfect,.... Meaning himself, who though not without sin, and far from perfection in himself, in the sight of God and with respect to his righteous law, which was exceeding broad; and therefore he saw an end of all perfection, and desired that God would not enter into judgment with him; but yet, in the case of Saul, he was quite clear and innocent, and without fault. Likewise the Messiah, of whom David was a type, may be meant; who has all the perfections of the divine and human nature in him, and is without sin, holy, harmless, pure, and undefiled: and it may be applied to the church and people of God, who, though they are not perfect in themselves, far from it, sin being in them, and their graces weak; unless it be in a comparative sense; yet they are perfect in Christ Jesus, their souls being clothed with his righteousness, and so are the spirits of just men made perfect. And this character may also respect the truth and sincerity of grace in them, and the uprightness of their hearts and conversation; and such as these wicked men level their arrows at, and direct their spite and venom against, and that in the most private and secret manner;

suddenly do they shoot at him; as unseen by him, so unawares to him;

and fear not; neither God nor judgment to come. Though some understand this of the perfect who, though shot at in this manner are intrepid and courageous, and have no fear of their enemies; but the former sense seems best, which describes persons that neither fear God, nor regard man.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

That they may shoot in secret - From an unobserved quarter; from a place where they are so concealed that it cannot be known where the arrows come from. There was a purpose to ruin him, and at the same time to conceal themselves, or not to let him know from what source the ruin came. It was not an open and manly fight, where he could see his enemy, but it was a warfare with a concealed foe.

At the perfect - At the upright; at one who is perfect so far as his treatment of them is concerned. Compare Psa 18:20, note; Psa 18:23, note.

Suddenly do they shoot at him - At an unexpected time, and from an unlooked-for quarter. They accomplish what they intended; they carry out their design.

And fear not - They feel confident that they are not known, and that they will not be detected. They have no fear of God or man. Compare Psa 55:19.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

In secret; lying in ambush, or hiding themselves in secret places, as fowlers commonly do.

The perfect; or, upright man; i.e. at me, who in spite of all their calumnies dare avow that my heart is perfect with God, and that I am blameless as to them, having given them no just provocation.

Suddenly; at the very first opportunity.

Fear not; neither men, because they conceal it from them, as appears from the foregoing and following words; nor God, whose judgments they despise.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 4. That they may shoot in secret at the perfect. They lie in ambush, with bows ready bent to aim a coward's shaft at the upright man. Sincere and upright conduct will not secure us from the assaults of slander. The devil shot at our Lord himself, and we may rest assured he has a fiery dart in reserve for us; He was absolutely perfect, we are only so in a relative sense, hence in us there is fuel for fiery darts to kindle on. Observe the meanness of malicious men; they will not accept fair combat, they shun the open field, and skulk in the bushes, lying in ambush against those who are not so acquainted with deceit as to suspect their treachery, and are to manly to imitate their despicable modes of warfare.

Suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not. To secrecy they add suddenness. They give their unsuspecting victim no chance of defending himself; they pounce on him like a wild beast leaping on its prey. They lay their plans so warily that they fear no detection. We have seen in daily life the arrow of calumny wounding its victim sorely; and yet we have not been able to discover the quarter from which the weapon was shot, nor to detect the hand which forged the arrowhead, or tinged it with the poison. Is it possible for justice to invent a punishment sufficiently severe to meet the case of the dastard who defiles my good name, and remains himself in concealment? An open liar is an angel compared with this demon. Vipers and cobras are harmless and amiable creatures compared with such a reptile. The devil himself might blush at being the father of so base an offspring.

Ver. 4. That they may shoot in secret. The wicked are said to shoot their arrows in secret at the perfect; and then "they say, Who shall see them?" Ps 64:5. Thus Satan lets fly a temptation so secretly, that he is hardly suspected in the thing. Sometimes he useth a wife's tongue to do his errand; another while he gets behind the back of a husband, friend, servant, etc., and is not seen all the while he is doing his work. Who would have thought to have found a devil in Peter, tempting his Master, or suspected that Abraham should be the instrument to betray his beloved wife into the hands of a sin? yet it was so. Nay, sometimes he is so secret, that he borrows God's bow to shoot his arrows from, and the poor Christian is abused, thinking it is God chides and is angry, when it is the devil tempts him to think so, and only counterfeits God's voice. William Gurnall.

None.

Psalms 64:5*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. Shoot in secret—A mark at once of treachery, cowardice, and cruelty. See Psa_10:8-10 and Psa_11:2.

They… fear not— “They cast their arrows at men because they are not seen by them, and they are not afraid of God, who does see them.”—Phillips, Psa_55:19

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That they may shoot in secret at the perfect; or, in their hiding places. David does not scruple to call himself "perfect," using the word in the sense in which it is used of Job, (Job_1:1 Job_2:3) meaning a sincere and upright man. Suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not. They are not afraid, though it is "the anointed of the Lord," whom to attack is not only rebellion, but sacrilege. (see 2Sa_1:14)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

who aimed...their arrow That is their slander.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.