1 <Shiggaion of David; a song which he made to the Lord, about the words of Cush the Benjamite.> O Lord my God, I put my faith in you; take me out of the hands of him who is cruel to me, and make me free;
The chances of my life are in your hand; take me out of the hands of my haters, and of those who go after me.
For this reason let those who by the purpose of God undergo punishment, keep on in well-doing and put their souls into the safe hands of their Maker.
Who through him have faith in God who took him up again from the dead into glory; so that your faith and hope might be in God.
O Lord, give ear; O Lord, have forgiveness; O Lord, take note and do; let there be no more waiting; for the honour of your name, O my God, because your town and your people are named by your name. And while I was still saying these words in prayer, and putting my sins and the sins of my people Israel before the Lord, and requesting grace from the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God;
And I made prayer to the Lord my God, putting our sins before him, and said, O Lord, the great God, greatly to be feared. keeping your agreement and mercy with those who have love for you and do your orders;
But the Lord is with me as a great one, greatly to be feared: so my attackers will have a fall, and they will not overcome me: they will be greatly shamed, because they have not done wisely, even with an unending shame, kept in memory for ever.
O Lord, you have knowledge: keep me in mind and come to my help, and give their right reward to those who are attacking me; take me not away, for you are slow to be angry: see how I have undergone shame because of you from all those who make little of your word;
Put not your faith in rulers, or in the son of man, in whom there is no salvation. Man's breath goes out, he is turned back again to dust; in that day all his purposes come to an end. Happy is the man who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God: Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all things in them; who keeps faith for ever:
He will say to me, You are my father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.
The sinner will be full of trouble; but mercy will be round the man who has faith in the Lord.
O Lord my God, I sent up my cry to you, and you have made me well.
You, O Lord, will be my light; by you, my God, the dark will be made bright for me.
The Lord is my Rock, my walled town, and my saviour; my God, my Rock, in him will I put my faith; my breastplate, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
Make clear the wonder of your mercy, O saviour of those who put their faith in your right hand, from those who come out against them. Keep me as the light of your eyes, covering me with the shade of your wings, From the evil-doers who are violent to me, and from those who are round me, desiring my death.
But I have had faith in your mercy; my heart will be glad in your salvation.
Let my voice come before you, and give me an answer, O Lord my God; let your light be shining on me, so that the sleep of death may not overtake me;
Come to me, Lord; keep me safe, O my God; for you have given all my haters blows on their face-bones; the teeth of the evil-doers have been broken by you.
And when David had gone a little way past the top of the slope, Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, came to him, with two asses on which were two hundred cakes of bread and a hundred stems of dry grapes and a hundred summer fruits and a skin of wine. And David said to Ziba, What is your reason for this? And Ziba said, The asses are for the use of the king's people, and the bread and the fruit are food for the young men; and the wine is for drink for those who are overcome by weariness in the waste land. And the king said, And where is your master's son? And Ziba said, He is still at Jerusalem: for he said, Today Israel will give back to me the kingdom of my father. Then the king said to Ziba, Truly everything which was Mephibosheth's is yours. And Ziba said, I give honour to my lord, may I have grace in your eyes, my lord, O king! And when King David came to Bahurim, a man of Saul's family named Shimei, the son of Gera, came out from there, calling curses after him. And he sent stones at David and at all the king's servants and at all the people and at all the men of war by his side, on the right hand and on the left. And Shimei said, with curses, Be gone, be gone, you man of blood, you good-for-nothing: The Lord has sent punishment on you for all the blood of the family of Saul, whose kingdom you have taken; and the Lord has given the kingdom to Absalom, your son: now you yourself are taken in your evil, because you are a man of blood. Then Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, said to the king, Is this dead dog to go on cursing my lord the king? let me go over and take off his head. And the king said, What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? Let him go on cursing, for the Lord has said, Put a curse on David, and who then may say, Why have you done so? And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, You see how my son, the offspring of my body, has made designs against my life: how much more then may this Benjamite do so? Let him be, and let him go on cursing; for the Lord has given him orders. It may be that the Lord will take note of my wrongs, and give me back good in answer to his cursing of me today. So David and his men went on their way: and Shimei went by the hillside parallel with them, cursing and sending stones and dust at him. And the king and his people came tired to Jordan, and took their rest there. And Absalom and the men of Israel came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel was with him. Then Hushai the Archite, David's friend, came to Absalom and said, Long life to the king, long life to the king! And Absalom said, Is this your love for your friend? why did you not go with your friend? And Hushai said to Absalom, Not so; I am for that man whom the Lord and this people and all the men of Israel have taken as king, and I will take my place with him. And more than this! where is my place as a servant? is it not before his son? as I have been your father's servant, so will I be yours. Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, Give your opinion now, what are we to do? And Ahithophel said to Absalom, Go in to your father's women who are here looking after his house; then all Israel will have the news that you are hated by your father, and the hands of your supporters will be strong. So they put up the tent for Absalom on the top of the house, and Absalom went in to his father's women before the eyes of all Israel. In those days the opinions of Ahithophel were valued as highly as if through him a man might get direction from God; so were they valued by David as much as by Absalom.
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.