Tuesday 7th January
Read Psalm 7
“Lord my God, I take refuge in you;
save and deliver me from all who pursue me,
2 or they will tear me apart like a lion
and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
3 Lord my God, if I have done this
and there is guilt on my hands –
4 if I have repaid my ally with evil
or without cause have robbed my foe –
5 then let my enemy pursue and overtake me;
let him trample my life to the ground
and make me sleep in the dust.
6 Arise, Lord, in your anger;
rise up against the rage of my enemies.
Awake, my God; decree justice.
7 Let the assembled peoples gather round you,
while you sit enthroned over them on high.
8 Let the Lord judge the peoples.
Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness,
according to my integrity, O Most High.
9 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 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.” (NIVUK)
It seems David is feeling unjustly set upon by an individual (Cush) and sings this song to the Lord. It’s a song that recognises God’s might and authority to judge and also David’s capacity to be wrong. David firstly comes to his Refuge and Strength with the mindset that recognises his capacity to be wrong (vs3-5) and the consequences of such but pleads his innocence. He asks for justice to be done if he is not in the wrong and that justice is to be seen by all the people; if it was a court proceedings David would be found innocent. The result of justice being done is expressed in vs9, the security of the righteous with a God who knows hearts and minds. Then David considers the character of the judge, the shield, the saviour, the righteous one, the one who will punish sin. That judge will ensure that justice is complete, and David recognises that sin ‘digs its own hole’ and recoils on itself resulting in judgment (just outcomes). He gives thanks and praise to the Lord the righteous judge. There is an honesty in this song, David comes before God willing to recognise his sin but also seeking justice and righteousness in his world. Confession of sin and a desire to allow God to be the judge and determine a punishment if others sin against us or those around us is always a struggle. We often have an inflated view of our own righteousness and therefore right/capacity to judge. We must learn to recognise that the only righteous judge is the Lord and stand humbly before him as we plead ‘not guilty because of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Geoff Hinch
