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A shiggaion of David, which he sang to the
LORD
concerning Cush, a Benjamite.
1O LORD my God, I take refuge in you;
save and deliver me from all who pursue me,
2or they will tear me like a lion
and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
3O LORD my God, if I have done this
and there is guilt on my hands--
4if I have done evil to him who is at peace with me
or without cause have robbed my foe--
5then let my enemy pursue and overtake me;
let him trample my life to the ground
and make me sleep in the dust. Selah
6Arise, O LORD, in your anger;
rise up against the rage of my enemies.
Awake, my God; decree justice.
7Let the assembled peoples gather around you.
Rule over them from on high;
8let the LORD judge the peoples.
Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness,
according to my integrity, O Most High.
9O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts,
bring to an end the violence of the wicked
and make the righteous secure.
10My shield is God Most High,
who saves the upright in heart.
11God is a righteous judge,
a God who expresses his wrath every day.
12If he does not relent,
he will sharpen his sword;
he will bend and string his bow.
13He has prepared his deadly weapons;
he makes ready his flaming arrows.
14He who is pregnant with evil
and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment.
15He who digs a hole and scoops it out
falls into the pit he has made.
16The trouble he causes recoils on himself;
his violence comes down on his own head.
17I will give thanks to the LORD
because of his righteousness
and will sing praise to the
name of the LORD Most High.
In Psalm 7, David asks God to deliver him from an enemy of his. David proclaims his innocence in the situation and seeks justice. This contrasts the previous psalm in which David considered his afflictions to be a result of his own sin. Here, he sees himself as unjustly persecuted by his enemy.
His enemy is identified in the inscription as "Cush, a Benjamite". We are not certain who he was, though many commentators think that "Cush, a Benjamite" is an enigmatic way of referring to Saul. Saul was certainly a Benjamite (cf. I Sam. 9:1,2). "Cush" literally means "Ethiopia" and Ethiopians are depicted literally and symbolically in other places in Scripture as being "dark" in heart (cf. Jer. 13:23; Amos 9:7). Indeed, the conflict described in this psalm would fit the relationship between Saul and David: Saul unjustly pursuing David; David innocent of any provocation. Also, the themes and language used in this psalm are very similar to that which David used in his speech to Saul after David spared Saul's life (see I Sam. 24:9-15).
The psalm can be divided into six sections: David prays for deliverance (vv. 1-2); David declares his innocence in the matter (vv. 3-5); David pleas for God execute His righteous judgment (vv. 6-9); David rests in the fact that God judges righteously (vv. 10-13); David notes that the wicked's own schemes backfire upon themselves (vv. 14-16); David praises the Lord in advance for deliverance (v. 17).
1O LORD my God, I take refuge in you;
save and deliver me from all who pursue me,
2or they will tear me like a lion
and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
In this section, David prays for God to deliver him from his enemy. A benefit of affliction is that it draws us near to God. David here seeks the Lord earnestly. He begins by addressing his prayer: "O LORD my God". David's address to God expresses all at once both reverence and confidence.
"LORD" is the actual name of God. The Jews who transcribed the Old Testament revered His Name so much that they never wrote it out (because His Name was considered too holy to even pronounce in one's mind), but only wrote out the consonants that make up His Name: "YHWH". As a result, we are not certain how to pronounce the Name of God: some pronounce it "Jehovah" or "Yehovah", some pronounce it "Yahweh". This Name denotes His eternal existence, from everlasting to everlasting, the "I Am".
The word translated here as "God" is "Elohim". It is the first word used to identify God, for it is the designation used in Genesis 1:1: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." "Elohim" suggests God's power and glory. Interestingly, "Elohim" is a plural word (denoted by the "-im" suffix in Hebrew), so it also refers to the Trinity and all the fullness of His personality.
It is good in prayer to address God by His various designations found in the Bible. Sometimes we need to pray to our powerful "God" ("Elohim"), sometimes to the everlasting "LORD" ("YHWH"), sometimes to "the LORD our Provider" ("YHWH-Jireh"), sometimes to "The LORD our Peace" ("YHWH-Shalom"), sometimes to "The Almighty" ("El Shaddai"), sometimes to "Our Lord and Ruler" ("Adonai"), etc.[Footnote #13]
Note also that David addresses the Lord as "my" God. If you can call the Lord "my" God, you are a long way towards deliverance. One of the significant characteristics of those who are part of the New Covenant with God through Jesus Christ is that, as God says in the book of Jeremiah: "I will be their God and they will be my people" (Jer. 31:33). To be able to comfortably address God as "my God" denotes a special relationship with Him that we all should seek.
David's mature relationship with God is also expressed by the fact that David "takes refuge" in Him. Note that David does not ask for refuge, but states, as a fact, that he takes refuge in God. He uses that fact as a basis for his request: "Save and deliver me from all who pursue me." Salvation and deliverance are relatively small requests for those who already take refuge in Him, those who are already His own. It is a much greater request when those who hardly know Him, out of the blue, call on God to deliver them. It is important that we have a close relationship with God before the times of trouble come, in preparation for the prayers for salvation and deliverance that we are all sure to offer up in our times of need. As the Lord exhorted through the prophet Isaiah: "Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near" (Isa. 55:6).
David's fear was quite pronounced. He feared that his enemy would "tear [him] like a lion and rip [him] to pieces." Whether this is meant literally or figuratively we do not know; however, being a shepherd, David certainly had seen lions tear sheep to pieces. In fact, David had direct scrapes with lions and bears. While preparing to fight Goliath, David related to Saul: "When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it" (I Sam.17:34-35). So, David knew the literal fear of being torn apart by an actual lion, and he likens his fear in this situation to that feeling. Now, David attributed his deliverance in his scrapes with lions and bears to God's hand of protection. These examples of God's deliverance in David's life strengthened David's faith in God's ability to deliver him in his later conflicts, as David said: "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of [Goliath]" (I Sam. 17:37).
David believed that the Lord was his only hope for deliverance, for he states that, if the Lord does not deliver him, he will have "no one to rescue" him. As David, we should seek salvation and deliverance from the Lord and the Lord alone. Do not seek it from the world or from yourself, but from the One who is able to save us from any situation. "It is never right to distrust God, and never vain to trust Him."[Footnote #14] If God cannot save us, who can?
As we have seen in the Psalms, David had many foes, and thus, many occasions to turn to God for deliverance. As David had foes, so shall we. Persecution is nothing new to the people of God. It began very early in the history of man with the persecution of Abel, and has continued ever since. "It is a sign that there is some good in thee if a wicked world abuse thee."[Footnote #15]
3O LORD my God, if I have done this
and there is guilt on my hands--
4if I have done evil to him who is at peace with me
or without cause have robbed my foe--
5then let my enemy pursue and overtake me;
let him trample my life to the ground
and make me sleep in the dust. Selah
After asking for God's deliverance, David now appeals to God based on his own innocence in the situation. As mentioned before, the previous psalm and this one form an interesting contrast. In Psalm 6, David, in his sin, realized that he deserved to be punished. He viewed his afflictions at the time as punishment for his sin and he came to God in repentance, asking for mercy. Here, he comes to God with a clear conscience. A clear conscience is a pillar of confidence when coming before God, giving us boldness and a reason to ask for deliverance. As John says, "Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him" (I John 3:21-22).
And how do we, as sinners, get a clear conscience? First, we must come to God through Jesus Christ. The writer of Hebrews points out that, if the animal sacrifices of the old covenant were able to cleanse those who were ceremonially unclean, "how much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!" (Heb. 8:14). Second, once we have accepted Christ, since we still sin, we must be in close relationship with God and confess our sins to Him, for: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:9).
In Psalm 6, David humbly went before God, confessing and repenting for his sin. Quite possibly, David here is able to be confident in his conscience because of the humility and repentance of the previous psalm. David has such a clear conscience that he challenges God, that if David has any guilt in this situation, to "let my enemy pursue and overtake me; let him trample my life to the ground and make me sleep in the dust." Now, one must be careful. Our own righteousness is a dangerous basis on which to come God. To do so, one must make sure that he has a clear conscience toward God and is clothed with the righteousness of Christ. On this basis alone can we come to God in confidence.
6Arise, O LORD, in your anger;
rise up against the rage of my enemies.
Awake, my God; decree justice.
7Let the assembled peoples gather around you.
Rule over them from on high;
8let the LORD judge the peoples.
Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness,
according to my integrity, O Most High.
9O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts,
bring to an end the violence of the wicked
and make the righteous secure.
Having established his innocence in the situation, David appeals to God's righteousness, saying: "Arise, O LORD, in your anger; rise up against the rage of my enemies." In this situation, David asks for the Lord's anger to be pitted against the rage of his foes. Of course, the rage of David's foes cannot compare to the dominance of God's wrath. As the writer of Hebrews says: "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb. 10:31).
David goes on to ask God to "decree justice". Since God is a just God, David is asking something that is compatible with God's nature. We must always be careful to pray for things that are compatible with God's nature. To ask for something that is not compatible with His nature is an insult to Him. On the other hand, "if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of Him" (I John 5:14-15).
Now, David does not only ask God to "decree justice" concerning his enemies, but also concerning David himself and his allies. He says: "Let the assembled peoples gather around you...let the LORD judge the peoples" and then he says, "Judge me, O LORD." David, confident in his righteousness, boldly says "Judge me first!" If we ask for God's judgment on others, we must be ready to accept God's judgment on ourselves first. As Peter warns: "It is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?" (I Peter 4:17).
David goes on to pray for an "end to the violence of the wicked" and for God to make "the righteous secure". David gets an answer to this prayer, as we shall see in the next section.
10My shield is God Most High,
who saves the upright in heart.
11God is a righteous judge,
a God who expresses his wrath every day.
12If he does not relent,
he will sharpen his sword;
he will bend and string his bow.
13He has prepared his deadly weapons;
he makes ready his flaming arrows.
At the end of the last section, David prayed for the security of the righteous. Here, he receives an answer to that prayer, for he gets a sense of security in God's protection: "My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart." Through faith and good conscience, God becomes our shield.
David goes on to describe God's righteous judgment. He points out that God is actively judging, even today, for God "expresses his wrath every day." God is not asleep. He did not create the world and then turn His back upon it. He is intimately concerned with and involved in the goings-on of His creation. Since God "expresses his wrath every day", the ungodly must always be looking over their shoulders, waiting for God's wrath. "Sinners may have many feast days, but no safe days."[Footnote #16] And how does God show His wrath every day? One way in which His wrath is shown is by the deaths of the ungodly, who go to their graves without ever turning to God and thus, enter eternal punishment.
David goes on to describe figuratively God preparing His weapons of wrath, but David prefaces this with the condition, "If he does not relent." What would cause God to relent in His judgment? God's mercy on the repentant. Throughout the Bible, God's mercy on the repentant is taught and demonstrated: He was going to destroy Nineveh, but they repented so He had mercy on them (Jonah 3); David repented from his sins of adultery and murder and God restored His favor (see Psalm 51); the Word of God states: "He who conceals his sin does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy" (Prov. 28:13) and "Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon" (Isa. 55:7). For God, it is always mercy first, then judgment. Knowing this, we should imitate God, desiring first and praying for the repentance of our enemies before we pray for their punishment.
Those who do not repent, however, God is ready to judge at any time. As David points out: "He has prepared His deadly weapons." When He chooses, God will destroy His foes. Make no mistake, the wrath of God will be terrible. God here threatens in many ways--with sword, with bow, with flaming arrows--yet, will the ungodly listen?
14He who is pregnant with evil
and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment.
15He who digs a hole and scoops it out
falls into the pit he has made.
16The trouble he causes recoils on himself;
his violence comes down on his own head.
In this section, David points out that the judgment that the ungodly receive is directly of their own making. The one who "conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment"; the one who "digs a hole" (presumably to set an evil trap), "falls into the pit he has made"; "the trouble he causes recoils on himself". In other words, the wicked reap what they sow. It is a universal law of God that a man reaps what he sows. This law applies to spiritual matters, as well as to agriculture. As Paul says: "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life" (Gal. 6:7-8). For the ungodly to believe that they will get away with their evil is to mock God. However, in the end, they will be repaid in full. Any delay in God's judgment on them is strictly attributable to His mercy as He gives the ungodly an opportunity to repent.
17I will give thanks to the LORD
because of his righteousness
and will sing praise to the
name of the LORD Most High.
There are many examples of the Godly praising the Lord in the darkest times: David does so here and in many of his psalms; Job, though his livestock was stolen and his sons and daughters were killed, fell to the ground in worship and said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised" (Job 1:21); Paul and Silas, though severely flogged and in prison with stocks on their feet, sang hymns in the dark of night. Our happiness should not be tied to comfort in this world, but rather to the riches of our inheritance in the next. Certainly God will bless such an attitude. "To bless God for mercies is the way to increase them; to bless him for miseries is the way to remove them; no good lives so long as that which is thankfully improved; no evil dies so soon as that which is patiently endured."[Footnote #17]
And so Lord, we do praise You, whatever our current circumstances may be, because we know that, if persecuted, You will deliver us; if afflicted, You will ease our pain; if in despair, we have the hope that in the end You will bring us home to Your Kingdom and to the blessings that are waiting for us, to the mighty mansions You have prepared for us, to the eternal comfort and joy of resting in Your arms forever. We praise You for the hope that we have, through Jesus Christ Your Son, Amen.
(Our study in the Psalms will continue in the next issue with Psalm 8)
Footnotes:
13. For a full treatment of the names of God, see Herbert Lockyer's book All the Divine Names and Titles in the Bible.
14. Spurgeon, A Treasury of David, pg. 67.
15. Thomas Watson, cited in Spurgeon, A Treasury of David, pg. 72.
16. Spurgeon, A Treasury of David, pg. 70.
17. William Dyer, cited in Spurgeon, loc. cit., pg. 77.
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