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Psalms 7

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A Prayer of Deliverance and Trust 1–2

1
O Jehovah my God, in thee do I take refuge: Save me from all them that pursue me, and deliver me, ​
2
Lest they tear my soul like a lion, Rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.

David's Oath of Innocence 3–5

3
O Jehovah 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 was mine adversary);
5
Let the enemy pursue my soul, and overtake it; Yea, let him tread my life down to the earth, And lay my glory in the dust. [Selah

Calling on God to Rise as Judge 6–10

6
Arise, O Jehovah, in thine anger; Lift up thyself against the rage of mine adversaries, And awake for me; thou hast commanded judgment. ​
7
And let the congregation of the peoples compass thee about; And over them return thou on high.
8
Jehovah ministereth judgment to the peoples: Judge me, O Jehovah, according to my righteousness, and to mine integrity that is in me.
9
Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish thou the righteous: For the righteous God trieth the minds and hearts. ​
10
My shield is with God, Who saveth the upright in heart.

The Certainty of Divine Judgment 11–17

11
God is a righteous judge, Yea, a God that hath indignation every day. ​
12
If a man 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 maketh his arrows fiery shafts.
14
Behold, he travaileth with iniquity; Yea, he hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood. ​
15
He hath 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 violence shall come down upon his own pate.
17
I will give thanks unto Jehovah according to his righteousness, And will sing praise to the name of Jehovah Most High.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Psalms 7

Verse 1

in thee do I put my trust — Chasah is to take refuge. Two requests follow: 'save' (yasha) and 'deliver' (natsal), both from 'all them that persecute' (radaph, to pursue). The same verb is used in v.5 for the pursuit David invites if he is guilty. 'Shiggaion' stands in the title; Habakkuk's prayer on 'Shigionoth' (Hab 3:1) is the only other use of the word.

Verse 3

if there be iniquity in my hands — Vv.3–5 are three 'if' clauses, an oath of innocence ending in the penalty David accepts if guilty (v.5). 'Iniquity' is evel, injustice or wrong, in 'my hands' (kaph). He makes the same plea to Saul, 'there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand' (1 Sam 24:11). The charge itself is not named in the psalm.

Verse 6

Arise, O LORD… awake for me — Qum, 'arise', is the call of Moses when the ark set forward, 'Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered' (Num 10:35). 'Awake' (ur) is the same verb that opens Ps 35:23, 'Stir up thyself, and awake to my judgment'. The 'judgment' (mishpat) is one the LORD himself has 'commanded' (tsavah).

Verse 9

the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins — Bachan is to test, as metal is tried; the 'reins' (kilyah) are the kidneys, the inner parts, named with the 'heart' in Jer 11:20 and 17:10. Christ says the same of himself: 'I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts' (Rev 2:23). 'Just' and 'righteous' are one word, tsaddiq, used of the people and of God.

Verse 11

God is angry with the wicked every day — El is the name of God here; shaphat, 'judgeth', is the verb of v.8, 'judge me, O LORD'. 'Is angry' is zaam, to be indignant, and 'every day' makes it continual. Nahum 1:2 says of the LORD that he 'will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies'.

Verse 14

he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief — Three stages of birth: chabal, to travail, harah, to conceive, and yalad, to bring forth, with three offspring: aven (iniquity), amal (mischief, toil) and sheqer (falsehood). Job 15:35 and Isa 59:4 use the same figure, and James follows it from lust to sin to death (Jas 1:15). The result returns on him in vv.15–16.