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.
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
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 O 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.
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. Psalm 8 For the Chief Musician; set to the Gittith. A Psalm of David.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 7
Commentary on Psalms 7 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 7
Ps 7:1-17. Shiggaion—a plaintive song or elegy. Though obscure in details, this title seems to intimate that the occasion of this Psalm was some event in David's persecution by Saul. He prays for relief because he is innocent, and God will be glorified in his vindication. He thus passes to the celebration of God's righteous government, in defending the upright and punishing the wicked, whose malignant devices will result in their own ruin; and, confident of God's aid, he closes with rejoicing.
1, 2. Though many enemies set upon him, one is singled out as prominent, and compared to a wild beast tearing his prey to pieces (compare 1Sa 20:1; 23:23; 26:19).
3. if I have done this—that is, the crime charged in the "words of Cush" (compare 1Sa 24:9).
4. If I have injured my friend.
yea, I have delivered, &c.—This makes a good sense, but interrupts the course of thought, and hence it is proposed to render, "if I have spoiled my enemy"—in either case (compare 1Sa 24:4-17; 31:8, 11).
5. This is the consequence, if such has been his conduct.
mine honour—(compare Ps 3:3; 4:2)—my personal and official dignity.
6. God is involved as if hitherto careless of him (Ps 3:7; 9:18).
rage—the most violent, like a flood rising over a river's banks.
the judgment … commanded—or, "ordained"; a just decision.
7. compass thee—as those seeking justice.
return thou on high—assume the judgment seat, to be honored as a just Ruler by them.
8. Though not claiming innocence in general, he can confidently do so in this case, and in demanding from the Judge of all the earth a judgment, he virtually asks acquittal.
9. the hearts and reins—the affections and motives of men, or the seat of them (compare Ps 16:7; 26:2); as we use heart and bosom or breast.
10. defence—literally, "shield" (Ps 5:12).
11. judgeth—as in Ps 7:8.
the wicked—Though not expressed, they are implied, for they alone are left as objects of anger.
12, 13. They are here distinctly pointed out, though by changing the person, a very common mode of speech, one is selected as a representative of wicked men generally. The military figures are of obvious meaning.
13. against the persecutors—Some render "for burning," but the former is the best sense. Arrows for burning would be appropriate in besieging a town, not in warring against one man or a company in open fight.
14. The first clause expresses the general idea that wicked men labor to do evil, the others carry out the figure fully.
15, 16. 1Sa 18:17; 31:2 illustrate the statement whether alluded to or not. These verses are expository of Ps 7:14, showing how the devices of the wicked end in disappointment, falsifying their expectations.
17. his righteousness—(Ps 5:8). Thus illustrated in the defense of His servant and punishment of the wicked.