Psalm 119:85 | “The insolent have dug pitfalls for me; they do not live according to your law.”

The psalmist faced real danger. His enemies were not content to slander him or oppose him from a distance. They went after him with deliberate malice. They dug pitfalls for him, just as hunters dig traps for animals. This was calculated and cruel. They studied him. They planned. They worked hard to bring him down. Spurgeon writes, “They went laboriously and cunningly to work to ruin him, they digged pits; not one, but many. If one would not take him, perhaps another would, and so they digged again and again. One would think that such haughty people would not have soiled their fingers with digging; but they swallowed their pride in hopes of swallowing their victim. Whereas they ought to have been ashamed of such meanness, they were conscious of no shame, but, on the contrary, were proud of their cleverness; proud of setting a trap for a godly man.” These enemies ignored God’s word. They lived however they pleased. They despised the righteous. If one trap failed, they set another. Yet the psalmist did not give in to fear or retaliation. He depended on God for relief. He trusted that the Lord saw every pit, every scheme, every hidden snare. God is never misled by the plans of the wicked, and he never abandons those who take refuge in him.