Sunday, August 22, 2021

Psalm 7 Devotional Bible Study by Steve Wilson

Psalm 7

A shiggaion[b] of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjamite.

 

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

 

Lord my God, if I have done this
    and there is guilt on my hands—
if I have repaid my ally with evil
    or without cause have robbed my foe—
then let my enemy pursue and overtake me;
    let him trample my life to the ground
    and make me sleep in the dust.[
c]

 

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

 

10 My shield[d] 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[
e] 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.

 

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.

 

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 7:1 In Hebrew texts 7:1-17 is numbered 7:2-18.
  2. Psalm 7:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
  3. Psalm 7:5 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.
  4. Psalm 7:10 Or sovereign
  5. Psalm 7:12 Or If anyone does not repent, / God

 

Who Was Cush?

 

Psalm 7:1-2

A shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjamite.

 

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

 

David wrote this psalm about Cush, a Benjamite. So, who was Cush? All we know about him is he was a Benjamite. He was a fellow Israelite, someone from the tribe of Benjamin. He should have been David’s ally. Can you think of someone who should have been on your side, someone close to you, who betrayed you?

 

David compares Cush to a lion who has the power to rip him to pieces! But interestingly, this Cush person isn’t mentioned anywhere else in the Bible. He had no lasting effect on David and wasn’t significant enough to include in the narrative of David’s life. Take a moment to ask the Holy Spirit, “Who or what in my life am I spending too much time worrying about?”

 

 

Playing the Sheep

Psalm 7:1-2

A shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjamite.

 

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

 

We know Cush didn’t have a lasting impact on David’s life because he isn’t mentioned in the Biblical books of history, but let’s look at the situation from David’s perspective. David compares this man to a lion.

 

Now, David had fought lions before. He told King Saul when he was volunteering to face Goliath that he had fought lions and bears to save his sheep, and the same way he had won the victory over the lions and bears before was the same way he was going to defeat Goliath. “’The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine’” (1 Samuel 17). 

 


Now he’s asking the Lord to rescue him from this lion of a man. He knows he can’t fight Cush on his own. He needs God to be his strong Shepherd and come to his defense as he plays the helpless sheep this time. What in your life seems overwhelming right now? Are you acting like a sheep who erroneously thinks you can fight the battle on your own, or are you taking refuge in God as your Shepherd and trusting Him to rescue you?

 

 

Look at Yourself First

Psalm 7:3-5

Lord my God, if I have done this
    and there is guilt on my hands—
if I have repaid my ally with evil
    or without cause have robbed my foe—
then let my enemy pursue and overtake me;
    let him trample my life to the ground
    and make me sleep in the dust.

 

In the Hebrew, this stanza of the poem ends with the word Selah. Our best guess is that selah means “rest.” Unlike written music today, in which the musician stops playing when they see a rest, selah means “stop singing, and let the music play for a moment.”

 

It’s like David is saying, “Before you go to the next part of this song, asking God to rise up in anger against your enemies, stop and think about what you’ve just said: Have you done something wrong yourself?”

 

Jesus said, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3)

 


If you’re feeling strife with someone, ask yourself if you’re in any way to blame for it. (Selah)

 

If so, are you willing to take responsibility? It’s a sign of maturity to, instead of praying, “Lord, I know I’ve done wrong but don’t let me suffer the repercussions!” to say “Father, I repent and am willing to accept the consequences of what I’ve done.”

 

 

What Do Allies and Foes Have in Common?

Psalm 7:3-5

Lord my God, if I have done this
    and there is guilt on my hands—
if I have repaid my ally with evil
    or without cause have robbed my foe—
then let my enemy pursue and overtake me;
    let him trample my life to the ground
    and make me sleep in the dust.

 

David doesn’t think he’s done anything wrong, but notice what he’s accused of:

  • Betraying an ally
  • Wronging his foe

David had allies, and he had foes, but he understands that if he had acted unjustly against either one, he would be the one who deserved punishment.

 

Who do you count as your enemy today? Who’s your foe?

 

Maybe you’re thinking of a foreign country or an opposing political party. Maybe it’s more personal – someone in your family, or a coworker. Can I tell you that you owe them the same righteousness you owe your ally?

 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:43-45).

 

David isn’t saying he didn’t have enemies, or that it was absolutely wrong to act against someone. David was the warrior-king! But he said, “If I have done this without cause.” If David’s enemy wasn’t currently attacking him, and he went and provoked him by stealing something or taking territory away from the neighboring king, he would be in the wrong.

 

In personal terms, we could say, If the fight dies down, and you instigate it again because you’re still angry at what your enemy did in the past, you’re in the wrong. You don’t have to like the person or accept them as your ally, but you can’t keep going at them if they’re not currently acting against you.

 

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:8).

 

 

Rise, Lord, in Your Anger!

Psalm 7:6-9

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

 

Have you ever wanted God to lash out against someone? David sure did. While Christians should pray for the good of their enemies, it’s also perfectly righteous to be angry when someone wrongs you or wrongs someone else and to want God to restore justice to the situation.

 

What I love about David’s prayer here is that even though he’s angry, he’s calling on God to act as judge. He knows that only God “probes minds and hearts” – both his own and his enemy’s. God is the only one who knows what both you and your enemy are thinking and feeling – the motives for why you each did what you did. That’s why He’s the only one fit to judge anyone: He knows us intimately, better than anyone else ever could.

 

Ask God for justice, but recognize that only God has the right to judge because only He knows all sides of the story and only He is truly just.

 

 

If He Does Not Relent…

Psalm 7:11-13

God is a righteous judge,
    a God who displays his wrath every day.
If he does not relent,
    he will sharpen his sword;
    he will bend and string his bow.
He has prepared his deadly weapons;
    he makes ready his flaming arrows.

 

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10).

“It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).

 

Can you imagine the wrath God could unleash on a person? No, you can’t imagine it. It’s God-sized. We get a glimpse of it in the Book of Revelation, but we can’t really grasp it. One thing I can say is that I don’t want to experience God’s wrath. 

 


But notice it says, “If He does not relent…” God is a righteous judge. As the Creator and only morally perfect Being, He has the right to judge. And He does punish every day. But He also relents. If He didn’t, we would be finished. If He didn’t show mercy, every living creature on the face of the earth would be destroyed, as almost happened during the Flood.

 

It’s perfectly right to ask God for justice. It’s also good to thank Him for relenting and not venting His full wrath against those in the wrong.

 

“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36).

 

 

How Does God Punish?

Psalm 7:14-16

Whoever is pregnant with evil
    conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment.
Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out
    falls into the pit they have made.
The trouble they cause recoils on them;
    their violence comes down on their own heads.

 


God is the righteous judge who punishes people every day, but how does He punish us? He lets us reap the benefits of what we’ve done.

 

In most cases, wrong actions bring negative consequences to the perpetrator. It could be being caught and punished for their crime. Or having a bad reputation as someone who causes trouble. Or the guilt they feel for what they’ve done. Maybe it’s a physical hardship or being in debt for the bad choices they made.

 

Because of how God has set up the world, people’s sins will “naturally” turn back on themselves. Take warning.

 

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows” (Galatians 6:7).

 

 

I Will Give Thanks to the Lord…

Psalm 7:17

I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness;
    I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High.

 

David ends this psalm with thanks and praise to God, so let’s review everything the Lord does, as described in this passage.

 

  • He is a refuge
  • He saves and delivers
  • He gets angry at injustice
  • He judges righteously
  • He ends wickedness and upholds the righteous
  • He probes minds and hearts
  • He punishes
  • He relents

 

 

 

 

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