Psalm 07

Turn to Psalm 7. We haven’t looked at any of the psalms since August so let me give a quick refresher on the previous ones.

The first two psalms are introductory and were probably not written by David. The only ones we know were written by David are the ones with his name at the top. These two don’t have his name. The Book of Psalms is divided into five sections or books. Your Bible may list them. In the first section, David wrote almost all of them.

Psalm 3 is a prayer for deliverance when David was forced to flee Jerusalem because of the coming attack from Absalom. Though there was a serious danger, David is not in any great distress about it. Instead, he shows quiet confidence in God. Because of verse 5, this psalm is called a morning psalm. David wrote:

I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. (Psalm 3:5)

Psalm 4 is referred to as an evening psalm.

In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4:8)

In this psalm, David is stressed. He comes to a place of trust and peace, but at the end of the psalm after a struggle.

Psalm 5 is filled with expressions of intense sighing and cries for God’s help.

1 Listen to my words, Lord, consider my lament. 2 Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. (Psalm 5:1-2)

David describes his enemies not merely as political foes, but as those who “do wrong,” and “tell lies.” They are “bloodthirsty and deceitful” men.

By Psalm 6 David is in deep personal anguish.

2 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony. 3 My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long? (Psalm 6:2-3)

David says that he is worn out from his groaning and weeping that last throughout the night.

This brings us to Psalm 7, the longest psalm so far. The psalms have been building in intensity. In this psalm, David is so overcome with his enemies’ harsh injustice to him that he cries out for divine vindication.

Arise, Lord, in your anger; rise up against the rage of my enemies. Awake, my God; decree justice. (Psalm 7:6)

Looking at the title of the psalm we’re told that it’s by David. The title also says that it is a shiggaion. What is a shiggaion? I don’t know. One commentary I read said it was a wild passionate song. Somewhere else I read that it would be more like a blues tune, a song of lament. The word is only found once in the Psalms and once more in the Bible. So no one is really sure what it means. The only thing that was consistent was it is believed to refer to a song with intense emotion.

We’re also given the occasion of writing the psalm. David was having a problem with a man named Cush from the tribe of Benjamin. We don’t know anything about Cush, but we do know David had problems with this particular tribe. When David fled Jerusalem because of Absalom, he was accosted along the way by a man from Benjamin who cursed him and threw rocks. Later, another Benjamite led a revolt against David. What did the Benjamites have against David? Well, Saul, the previous king, was from the tribe of Benjamin as well and this may have been the source of the problems. Many thought one of Saul’s sons, hence another Benjamite, should have been king.

One more comment before we start reading, this problem with Cush seems to have been going on for a long time. So what does David do? He takes his problem to God. So the psalm begins with a prayer for deliverance.

1 Lord my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me, 2 or they will tear me apart like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me. (Psalm 7:1-2)

You might remember the story of John Paton. Paton was born in Scotland in the early 1800s and became a missionary to the New Hebrides Islands in the South Pacific. At that time the islands were a very hostile place. The previous missionaries to these islands had been killed and eaten by the natives. John Paton and his wife went to evangelize these tribes with the gospel. One night hostile natives surrounded the mission station intent on burning out the Patons and killing them. Paton and his wife prayed during that terror-filled night that God would deliver them. When daylight came they were amazed to see their attackers leave.

A year later, the chief of the tribe was converted to Christ. Remembering what had happened, Paton asked the chief what had kept him from burning down the house and killing them. The chief replied in surprise, “Who were all those men with you there?” Paton knew no one was with them that night, but the chief said he was afraid to attack because he had seen hundreds of big men in shining garments with drawn swords circling the mission station.

I think we’d all agree that John’s story is one of supernatural deliverance. That’s what David is asking for at the beginning of this psalm. He is asking for God to intervene in his situation and change it.

Notice the language David uses in this psalm. He uses the language of a hunt. He talks about his enemies pursuing him or tearing him apart and dragging him away. He is picturing a lion capturing its prey. You’ve probably seen videos on TV. It’s interesting but gory. Most people look away. But that’s nature. Nature can be cruel and brutal. You can be sure David was familiar with the scene.

Remember that before he was a king David was a shepherd. He would certainly have seen these things happen with his own eyes on many occasions. When talking to King Saul, David mentioned having killed a lion and bear with

He saw first-hand the damage and ruin a wild lion could cause to a flock of sheep and that was the imagery he chose to use to describe the danger and the situation he felt himself in. As a shepherd boy David scared or fought off a wolf, a lion, or a bear from his sheep but he was not able to frighten away or overcome these enemies. They are too many, too big, and too strong for him. David was absolutely overwhelmed by the situation. So he cries out to God: “Unless you save me I will be torn to pieces.”

Next, David makes a protest of his innocence. He has done nothing to deserve this.

3 Lord my God, if I have done this and there is guilt on my hands – 4 if I have repaid my ally with evil or without cause have robbed my foe – 5 then let my enemy pursue and overtake me; let him trample my life to the ground and make me sleep in the dust. (Psalm 7:3-5)

To David his reputation was important. The same is still true today in the Middle East and Asian countries where there is still great respect for the elders of a family. It’s a terrible thing to bring shame the family name. So David was willing to put his life on the line if he was found to be in the wrong. But he doesn’t think he’s done anything wrong so he protests his innocence to God and asks God to do something about the situation.

David is not claiming to be perfect and sinless in these verses. What he is saying, what he is claiming, is his innocence in this particular accusation leveled against him.

Years ago while on a mission trip to England, Billy Graham told the audience that no one is perfect. To his amazement, a man put his hand up and said: “I know someone who was perfect!” He then went on to say; “My wife’s first husband must have been perfect!”

David is not claiming to be perfect, just innocent of what Cush was charging him with. So he asks God to judge him. Only someone who is 1000% sure of his innocence before God would be willing to call for God to judge him.

We know how Saul pursued David with his army and wanted to kill him. On two occasions David had the opportunity to kill Saul yet both times he refused to take Saul’s life. This was proof, evidence that his heart was not filled with malice. Nor did he have a desire for revenge.

We should pray David’s prayer in these verses, but be sure you are right with God before doing so. It would be good to look within our own hearts when we are having a problem with someone and ask:

What wrong things have I done in this situation?

Where have I fallen short in my responsibilities to those around me?

Have I been gracious and loving to others in this situation?

Have my words been unkind or hurtful?

Have I been fair to those who dislike me or those I am prone to think about negatively?

Next, David gives a plea for vindication.

Phillips Brooks was an American preacher and author. He is best known for being the author of the carol “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” Brooks was known for his calm temperament. So you can guess the surprise of his associates when they found him pacing up and down the floor of his study like a lion in a cage. One of the friends asked, “What is the trouble, Dr. Brooks?” He abruptly responded, “The trouble is that I am in a hurry, but God isn’t.”

Have you ever had that kind of trouble? There are times when we have felt that heaven’s clock is running slow. It can appear to be off by days, sometimes months, or even years. We will all experience times when heaven seems silent and when God seems to be taking his time in answering prayer, meeting a need, changing a circumstance, or bringing his divine justice. That’s how David felt. So he calls on God to act and prove his innocence.

6 Arise, Lord, in your anger; rise up against the rage of my enemies. Awake, my God; decree justice. 7 Let the assembled peoples gather around you, while you sit enthroned over them on high. 8 Let the Lord judge the peoples. Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High. 9 Bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure – you, the righteous God who probes minds and hearts. (Psalm 7:6-9)

In verse 6, David appeals to the Lord to intervene. It’s as if he says, “Lord, when are you going to wake up and do something?” Then he goes on to ask God to prove him right and judge those who have wronged him.

This is an obvious thing to say, but also an important thing to notice. We don’t get to verses 6-9 until after we’ve gone through verses 1-5. In other words, it’s only after we have sought refuge in the Lord and only after we have fully reflected on the possibility of ourselves being in the wrong, only after we have submitted ourselves to God’s word, and only after we have asked God to shine his light into the dark places of our own hearts that we can pray verses 6-9 with genuine integrity.

David’s prayer may come across as strange to us because he doesn’t pray for mercy or grace or even for forgiveness. David prays for justice. If that sounds strange it’s because as Christians we are so often taken up with mercy against justice.

A man went to a well-known artist to have his portrait painted. When he saw the painting he was not impressed and refused to pay the artist. When the artist asked him what was the matter, the man replied; “This picture doesn’t do me justice.” The artist replied; “You don't need justice, you need mercy.”

We need to remember that the God of mercy is also a God of justice. Perhaps the key phrase in this section is the first line of verse 8: “Let the Lord judge the peoples.” It’s important to note that David doesn’t do anything himself. He doesn’t take vengeance himself but commits this situation and his circumstances to God. And he wants God to do is sort it all out. And when God does, David is sure he will come out all right because David is confident that God always acts fairly and always does what’s right.

Before he became a Supreme Court justice, Horace Gray once made this wise statement to a man who had escaped conviction by some technicality:

I know that you are guilty and you know it, and I wish you to remember that one day you will stand before a better and wiser Judge and that there you will be dealt with according to justice and not according to law.

There was nothing he could do, but David knew that one day the man would stand before God who could do something. David too knew that judgment awaits the wicked. As a result, he uses three very powerful word pictures in these verses to declare it.

10 My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart. 11 God is a righteous judge, a God who displays his wrath every day. 12 If he does not relent, he will sharpen his sword; he will bend and string his bow. 13 He has prepared his deadly weapons; he makes ready his flaming arrows. 14 Whoever is pregnant with evil conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment. 15 Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit they have made. 16 The trouble they cause recoils on them; their violence comes down on their own heads. (Psalm 7:10-16)

These verses are a proclamation, a declaration that continues the thought of the previous section: God protects the upright in heart. David goes on to say that God will judge the wrongdoing of wicked men.

Notice the powerful word pictures in these verses. First, God is visualized as a soldier. He has a sword and he is also like an archer who is poised for war. Second, David pictures the wicked as pregnant women only they are not pregnant with children but with evil and are conceiving trouble. As a result, they are giving birth to something that doesn’t satisfy or bring joy. And third, David comes back to the hunting images. He says his enemies have prepared a trap to catch him but have been caught in it themselves. They dug a pit and fell into it themselves. David reminds us (as he did in Psalm 5) that these people bring their problems on themselves. Their evil plans are like a boomerang they throw out but only return to destroy them.

The New Testament equivalent of these verses might be found in Galatians.

7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Galatians 6:7-10)

As we’ve also read in the Book of James, whatever you plant is what you will harvest. It is a universal law.

David ends with praise for God’s righteousness.

17 I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High. (Psalm 7:17)

David gives thanks for the righteousness of God. No one can ever trust in their own righteousness. It’s like trying to get out from the sun under your own shadow. You may stoop down low to the ground, but no matter how low you bend you’ll find your shadow is beneath you.

Instead, we need to flee, to run, to shelter in the shadow of a large tree. That way we will find more than enough shadow from the rays of the noonday sun.

Notice the final emphasis of the psalm. David reminds us of whose righteousness is really at stake. It’s God’s righteousness. So the final words of praise are focused on God’s righteousness.

David may have had things to say about his own righteousness and he may be concerned about his own name and his own family's reputation, but ultimately he reminds himself and us that God’s righteousness and God’s name is what ultimately is important.

One day when John Watts Ditchfield was a child he was taken to the house of a very old Christian woman. She asked him to read a framed Bible text. The verse from Genesis 16:13 read:

Thou God seest me.

Then she said to John:

When you are older, people will tell you that God is always watching you, watching you to see when you do wrong, in order to punish you. I do not want you to think of it in that way but I want you to take the text home, and to remember all your life that God loves you so much he cannot take his eyes off you.

David was confident God’s eye was on him. As a result, he just had to wait . . . . patiently . . . for God to act.

In this psalm, we learn that God’s people will be slandered. We learn that false accusation is painful to bear. But we learn that God cares about injustice. We learn that it is best to go to God about it. We learn to take our cries to the righteous judge. We learn the importance of examining our own hearts. We learn that, whether sooner or later, whether directly or indirectly God will set things straight by judging the wicked and vindicating the righteous. And we learn that in spite of trouble, we can still go on praising and giving thanks to God for his righteousness.