A plaintive song of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, the Benjaminite.
I
Lord my God, in you I trusted;
save me; rescue me from all who pursue me.
Lest someone maul me like a lion,
tear my soul apart with no one to deliver.
II
Lord my God, if I have done this,
if there is guilt on my hands,
If I have maltreated someone treating me equitably –
or even despoiled my oppressor without cause –
Then let my enemy pursue and overtake my soul,
trample my life ot the ground,
and lay my honor in the dust.
III
Rise up, Lord, in your anger;
be aroused against the outrages of my oppressors.
Stir up the justice, my God, you have commanded.
Have the assembly of the peoples gather about you;
and return on high above them,
the Lord will pass judgment on the peoples.
Judge me, Lord, according to my righteousness,
and my integrity.
Let the malice of the wicked end.
Uphold the just one,
O just God,
who tries hearts and minds.
IV
God is a shield above me
saving the upright of heart.
God is a just judge, powerful and patient,
not exercising anger every day.
If one does not repent,
God sharpens his sword,
strings and readies the bow,
Prepares his deadly shafts,
makes arrows blazing thunderbolts.
V
Consider how one conceives iniquity;
is pregnant with mischief,
and gives birth to deception.
He digs a hole and bores it deep,
but he falls into the pit he has made.
His malice turns back upon his head;
his violence falls on his own skull.
VI
I will thank the Lord in accordance with his justice;
I will sing the name of the Lord Most High.
Psalms 7:1-18
Here we find another psalm that begs God to strike down the psalmist’s enemies, to protect him from evildoers. It paints that picture of God using a strong arm to punish those who treat us badly.
The psalmist asks for God to “Stir up the justice,” and sees it coming from God’s anger against oppressors. In fact, the words “just” or “justice” occur 5 times in this psalm. Then again, based on section II, he clearly feels pretty confident in his own innocence. I suppose it is a good idea to ask for justice when you are sure you haven’t done anything that deserves punishment.
Does that worry anyone else besides me? I always think it is a bad idea to pat ourselves on the back too much. After all, we are all human. Then again, maybe I am looking at this Biblical text with a modern eye. In our times, whenever someone sings his own praises too much, I get suspicious. Maybe that is too cynical of me.
Either way, this psalm reminds me to turn to God whenever I feel fearful. I should feel more confident that God will take care of me. That is the aspect of my prayer life that I would really like to strengthen. How about you? Are you confident enough in your faith to overcome situations that would otherwise cause you to fear? Let’s pray for that today.
“I will thank the Lord in accordance with his justice; I will sing the name of the Lord Most High.”