Psalm Seven.
A shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjamite [Endnote 1].
1 O Lord my God, I take refuge in you;
save and deliver me from all who pursue me,
2 or they will tear me like a lion
and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done this
and there is guilt on my hands—
4 if I have done evil to him who is at peace with me
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. Selah
6 Arise, O 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.
Rule over them from on high;
8 let the Lord judge the peoples.
Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness,
according to my integrity, O Most High.
9 O righteous God,
who searches minds and hearts,
bring to an end the violence of the wicked
and make the righteous secure.
10 My shield is God Most High,
who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
a God who expresses 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 He who is pregnant with evil
and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment.
15 He who digs a hole and scoops it out
falls into the pit he has made.
16 The trouble he causes recoils on himself;
his violence comes down on his own head.
17 I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness
and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.
[Endnote 2]
The Background and Theme.
“One of the so-called ‘psalms of innocence’. Falsely accused and mistreated, David pleads his case before the Heavenly Judge to repay the wrongs done to him [Endnote 3]”. This Psalm is written in a chiastic structure following the A,B,C,D, d, c, b, a pattern and each section covers a theme connected to the theme of the whole psalm [Endnote 4].
The Literary Structure.
A — Testimony and prayer
1 O Lord my God, I take refuge in you;
save and deliver me from all who pursue me,
2 or they will tear me like a lion
and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
B — Self vindication
3 O Lord my God, if I have done this
and there is guilt on my hands—
4 if I have done evil to him who is at peace with me
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.Selah
6 Arise, O 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.
Rule over them from on high;
C — Yahweh is my judge
8 let the Lord judge the peoples.
Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness,
according to my integrity, O Most High.
D — Wicked die
9 O righteous God,
who searches minds and hearts,
bring to an end the violence of the wicked
and make the righteous secure.
C — Yahweh is my judge
10 My shield is God Most High,
who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
a God who expresses his wrath every day.
B — Wicked self-condemnation
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 He who is pregnant with evil
and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment.
15 He who digs a hole and scoops it out
falls into the pit he has made.
16 The trouble he causes recoils on himself;
his violence comes down on his own head.
A — Testimony and praise
17 I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness
and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.
The Impact.
David starts Psalm Seven by telling us that God is his refuge. As a result David asks God to save and deliver him with the use of the imperative. David commands that God rescue him because God is the source of his refuge. David coveys that if this rescue doesn’t occur there will be no hope for him and he will be destroyed.
“David uses a standard oath of innocence: ‘If I have done [x], then let [x] happen to me’, prompting commentators to call this one of the “psalms of innocence [Endnote 5]”. Then in verse six David makes use of the imperative once again and this time he is commanding that God rise up. David is calling on the relationship he has with God. David tells God, “You are my refuge and I need you to protect me”.
I love David’s use of the Hebrew word ‘aph in verse six and it can be translated as anger or a strong emotion or feeling that is oriented toward some real or supposed grievance. David asks God to use His anger against this grievance [Endnote 6]. To take action against the rage they are inflicting on David. However, David doesn’t dwell on making commands of God and telling Him what to do.
David progresses into an attitude where he stops telling God how to be God. Instead, David makes an effort to praise God as the Judge and the Most High God that He is. In praising God there is a shift in his speech. David puts himself on trial and asks God to look at him to see if he is worthy of divine help. David asks God to examine his righteousness and his integrity.
This is different than what comes natural to me.
I want to tell God what I need.
I want God to act on my desires.
I want God to eradicate the world of my enemies.
I need God to eradicate the emotions in my heart that will lead me to destruction.
I need God to change my desires
I need God to be God.
David makes a decision to allow God to work. In doing so there is a realization on David’s part that God is the only one that can save him. David uses the word yasha` which simply translates as to save or to deliver. However, David uses this word in a unique verb tense that best translates as a person who causes a delivery of pain, suffering, hardship and/or death to occur [Endnote 7]. This means that even though we don’t see God’s hand at work our God is on the move.
Our God is working in ways that will cause our salivation and deliverance to occur.
We need to wait.
We need to trust.
We need to let go.
We need to let God.
David ends this Psalm with beautiful words of praise. No commands. No demands. Only trust because God is at work. In our hardships may we trust and may we sing praises to God: I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High [Endnote 8]!
Grace and Peace,
Geraldo
Post Scriptum: Check out this sobering illustration of what hatred can bread. “He who is pregnant with evil and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment” (Psalm 7:14, NIV).
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Endnotes:
1. David is most likely referencing 2 Samuel 16:5-14.
2. The Holy Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984. Print.
3. Dybdahl, Jon L., ed. Andrews Study Bible Notes. Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 2010. Print.
4. Witthoff, David, Kristopher A. Lyle, and Matt Nerdahl. Psalms Form and Structure. Ed. Eli Evans. Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2014. Print.
5. Dybdahl, Jon L., ed. Andrews Study Bible Notes. Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 2010. Print.
6. Faithlife Corporation. “Anger (emotion).” Logos Bible Software Bible Sense Lexicon 7 Dec. 2017. Logos Bible Software.
7. Faithlife Corporation. “Deliverer.” Logos Bible Software Bible Sense Lexicon 7 Dec. 2017. Logos Bible Software.
8. The Holy Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984. Print.
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