David penned and sang this song unto the Lord. “Cush a Benjamite” may be a reference to King Saul, who behaved as a Cushite or Ethiopian barbarian and not as a Israelite. Or perhaps, David referred to a kinsman of Saul named Cush, who misrepresented him to Saul as a traitor. In 1 Samuel 26:19, David wondered if someone had turned Saul against him. Ultimately, David turned to the Lord. He sang to the Lord rather than let thoughts of evildoers fill his mind.
David compares his persecutors to a ferocious lion. Lions are skillful hunters. They don’t hunt for fun. They hunt to kill. Bloodthirsty people are compared to lions throughout the Scriptures.
In 2 Timothy 4:17, Paul compares Nero to a lion. In 1 Peter 5:8, Peter compares the devil to a prowling and roaring lion who wants to devour Christians.
Psalm 22:11-21 is a Messianic prophecy about Christ. This prophecy compares those around Jesus during His crucifixion to roaring lions tearing their prey.
“O Lord my God, if I have done this: if there is iniquity in my hands, if I have repaid evil to him who was at peace with me, or have plundered my enemy without cause, let the enemy pursue me and overtake me; yes, let him trample my life to the earth, and lay my honor in the dust. Selah!” Psalm 7:3-5
If I brought this attack on by the way I treated people… if I am guilty… let my enemy pursue, catch, trample and destroy me.
The truth of the matter is that we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We justly deserve God’s temporal and eternal punishment. Thus, we needed someone to remove our guilt and sin from us. Thus, David prays in the next verse for God to arise.
“Arise, O Lord, in Your anger. Lift Yourself up because of the rage of my enemies. Rise up for me to the judgment You have commanded! So the congregation of the peoples shall surround You; for their sakes, therefore, return on high.” Psalm 7:6-7
Arise, rise and awake! David uses three words that relate to resurrection. One for each day that Christ was in the tomb! When Christ resurrected from the dead, He dealt a death blow to death which is our greatest enemy. We deserved death, but Jesus took our guilt and sin away on the cross and arose from the dead three days later. Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life, even though one dies if he believes in Jesus, he will resurrect.
This passage has a duel application. We want Jesus to bring us into one accord by bringing us into alignment with His Word. We also want the Lord to gather people and assemble them around Him on high when this current world ends.
“The Lord shall judge the peoples. Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, and according to my integrity within me. O, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the just; for the righteous God tests the hearts and minds.” Psalm 7:8-9
“The Lord shall judge the peoples.” This has a duel meaning. Judge the people now. God’s judgments are good and to be desired because they bring about a better outcome for those who appeal to Him. This passage also alludes to what Hebrews 9:27 says, “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” There will be a final judgment day when God will pronounce what is right. His judgment will not be corrupted by bribes or by professional deceivers or emotional manipulators. He will judge in perfect harmony with His Word.
God will bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure. Revelation 20:10 says that the devil will be cast into the lake of fire.
“My defense is of God, who saves the upright in heart. God is a just judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day. If he does not turn back, He will sharpen His sword. He bends His bow and makes it ready. He also prepares for Himself instruments of death. He makes His arrows into fiery shafts.” Psalm 7:10-13
God is the righteous judge. He expresses His wrath with the wicked every day in some shape or form. He doesn’t hold it in and pretend it is not there.
God sharpens His sword for battle. In 1 Peter 5:5, Peter wrote, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” The Greek word for resists means that God sets up a military against the proud. He bends His bow. He prepares His flaming arrows. But God gives grace to the humble.
“Behold, the wicked brings forth iniquity. Yes, he conceives trouble and brings forth falsehood. He made a pit and dug it out and has fallen into the ditch which he made. His trouble shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down on his own crown.” Psalm 7:14-16
The wicked is pregnant with evil, conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment. I have heard salvation testimonies from people who gave themselves over to debauchery and dissipation. They became disillusioned and depressed, but then, they heard the Gospel and they were most happy to turn to Christ for salvation, and He saved them and gave them a new life.
The Lord says in this Psalm that those who dig a pit for others fall into it. Those who sabotage others experience being sabotaged. Those who deceive others experience being deceived. Those who trouble others experience trouble. Those who live by the sword die by the sword. Those who collaborate with the wicked, inherit wicked results.
“I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness and will sing praise to the Name of the Lord Most High.” Psalm 7:17
It is in the righteousness of Christ that we can praise and sing to God. He paid the penalty for our sin. He bore God’s wrath for our sin. Thus, in Christ I find both forgiveness and mercy from God for my transgressions and I find reason to forgive, love and pray for those who oppose me.
David gave thanks and sang to God because God is righteous. He applied his strength to praising the Name of the Lord.
This passage as a duel application. I sing and give thanks now because the Lord makes me glad by His Spirit and His help. I shall sing and praise God for all eternity because of what Christ did for me and my salvation. Praise the Lord!
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