Psalms 7
Psalms 7:1 ¶<<Shiggaion of David, which he sang unto the LORD, concerning the words of Cush the Benjamite.>> O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me:
2 Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.
3 O LORD my God, if I have done this; if there be iniquity in my hands;
4 If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me; (yea, I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy
5 Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it; yea, let him tread down my life upon the earth, and lay mine honour in the dust. Selah.
6 Arise, O LORD, in thine anger, lift up thyself because of the rage of mine enemies: and awake for me to the judgment that thou hast commanded.
7:7 So shall the congregation of the people compass thee about: for their sakes therefore return thou on high.
8 The LORD shall judge the people: judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me.
9 Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.
10 ¶My defence is of God, which saveth the upright in heart.
11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.
12 If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready.
13 He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors.
14 Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood.
7:15 He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made.
16 His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate.
17 I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high.
Strong's says that
Shiggaion means a 'rambling' poem so it is sung by David before or unto God. While I would not dogmatically hold any to this, meaning you are welcome to take the word of the translators over mine if you want; but I maintain that the words do not need to be added to clarify anything in that Psalm.
Here is the way I read the Psalm after many hours of finding comfort in its words not too many years ago in my own life:
Vss. 1-9 is the prayer of repentance because of the possibility of secret sins, note:
7:1 ¶<<Shiggaion of David,
which he sang unto the LORD, concerning the words of Cush the Benjamite.(Hitcock calls
Shiggaion
'a song of trouble or comfort ')>> O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me: (Gill and Clarke agree that all who would live Godly lives in Christ will experience persecution from those who are of the world).
2 Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver. (David recognizes there is none but God to deliver; what is said by David of his 'enemy' (Cush the Benjamite, though I am not familiar with the incident, David uses this name; Spurgeon says of it: 'It appears probable that Cush the Benjamite had accused David to Saul of treasonable conspiracy against his royal authority.') [Treasury of David Psalm 7, p.35]. Scripture tells us: 1 Peter 5:8 ¶Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
The operations of the devil are to tear our soul, rending it in pieces, and we know there are none to deliver, thus we too when are assailed upon by the adversary cry unto our Father. We then seek for a hearing at the Throne of Grace that the grievances that are against us may be displayed openly to us, that would enter into a Godly repentance, such that,
3 O LORD my God, if I have done this; if there be iniquity in my hands;
4 If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me; (yea, I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy
{being taken together such that if that which is spoken in slander is true of me and I have performed the evil of such that one who is not my enemy I have imagined him to be so in my mind and have worked against him and have slandered his name and have operated in all ways contrary to his peacefulness displayed to me, if this be true of me then Lord,}
5 Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it; yea, let him tread down my life upon the earth, and lay mine honour in the dust. Selah. (Strong's tells us this is a pause, as a musical pause, while Gill reports this to men 'true' accordingly; so then if the heart of David is found to have wronged his friend, he who held in peace their acquaintance, then he is resolved to the affliction which should befall him)
6 Arise, O LORD, in thine anger, lift up thyself because of the rage of mine enemies: and awake for me
to the judgment
that thou hast commanded. (you may happily, or not happily, note that the words 'to' and 'that' are also entered here in italics, thus they are not found in the Greek manuscript, but again are added by the translators. Note also what the passage says..."Arise, O Lord, in thine anger, lift up thyself because of the rage of my enemies:..." what is it that David is saying here? I think there are two possibilities, 1) he has already laid out the reason for seeking comfort at the foot of God; 2) he has admitted the fact that though a child of God he remains in the flesh and is not unable to sin. Thus he is saying that if the rage of his enemies be deserved so be it, so then he is seeking for God to awake 'for me' the judgment thou hast commanded; if this be rage from the hatred of their own hearts and not provoked then he is crying out to God to awake the judgment upon themselves. This seems to go along with vs. 8, who does David seek judgment upon?
7:7 So shall the congregation of the people compass thee about: for their sakes therefore return thou on high. (Does not the Bible say that judgment shall begin at the house of God).
8 The LORD shall judge the people: judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that
is in me. (What righteousness does David possess? that alone that is the righteousness of God found in Christ; )
9 Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins. (The plea here is for the end of the works of the wicked, for the establishment of the just; [even so Lord, come]; David then having said these things declares in vs. 10 where his defence is found, where his refuge is...God.)
11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry
with the wicked every day. (Knowing that 'for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.' I believe this Psalm is speaking not to the wicked in the beginning of it, nor in any part thereafter. Instead, I believe it to be a beautiful picture of the work of Grace in the believer's heart, showing with all longsuffering 'the goodness of God leadeth you to repentance.'
This is enough for now. Sorry to have kept you waiting in my response, but I was busy and had to finish my work. Forgive me. As I said above, it is not needful that you accept my belief concerning this passage, but this is surely what the Lord has used to comfort my heart in a similar circumstance experienced in my own life.
Praying His precious Grace be with you.
God Bless.
Bro. Dallas Eaton
