Psalm 7

¹O Lord my God, in You I put my trust;
Save me from all those who persecute me;
And deliver me,
² Lest they tear me like a lion,
Rending me in pieces, while there is none to deliver.

³ O Lord my God, if I have done this:
If there is iniquity in my hands,
⁴ If I have repaid evil to him who was at peace with me,
Or have plundered my enemy without cause,
⁵ 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

⁶ 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!
⁷ So the congregation of the peoples shall surround You;
For their sakes, therefore, return on high.
⁸ The Lord shall judge the peoples;
Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness,
And according to my integrity within me.

⁹ Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end,
But establish the just;

For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds.
¹⁰ My defense is of God,
Who saves the upright in heart.

¹¹ God is a just judge,
And God is angry with the wicked every day.
¹² If he does not turn back,
He will sharpen His sword;
He bends His bow and makes it ready.
¹³ He also prepares for Himself instruments of death;
He makes His arrows into fiery shafts.

¹⁴ Behold, the wicked brings forth iniquity;
Yes, he conceives trouble and brings forth falsehood.
¹⁵ He made a pit and dug it out,
And has fallen into the ditch which he made.
¹⁶ His trouble shall return upon his own head,
And his violent dealing shall come down on his own crown.

¹⁷ I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness,
And will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

Again with the enemies? I guess my first thought is that I should be thankful that I don’t have to worry that people are going to “tear me like a lion,” literally or figuratively. I’m going to be short today, and I want to look specifically at the prominence of getting just desserts in this psalm.

If I have repaid evil to him who was at peace with me… Let the enemy pursue me and overtake me

I think this is interesting. There is such an emphasis on action/ reaction here.  In verse 8, he writes, “Judge me…according to my righteousness.” Not that any of us “deserve” any gift from God, but certainly, we see more blessings when we are righteous, when we live in God.

For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds.

Notice how it does not say, “God tests actions.” It’s hearts and minds. God sees things in us that no one else does. Perhaps we should again be reminded that our actions are not what gives us salvation but our hearts and minds turned toward Christ.

He made a pit and dug it out, and has fallen into the ditch which he made

The wicked have dug their own graves. Maybe it’s a reminder to us that even when life doesn’t seem fair, everyone eventually gets what he deserves. What you reap, you will sow, et cetera…