1 > Yahweh, my God, I take refuge in you. Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me,
2 Lest they tear apart my soul like a lion, Ripping it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.
3 Yahweh, my God, if I have done this, If there is iniquity in my hands,
4 If I have rewarded evil to him who was at peace with me (Yes, I have delivered him who without cause was my adversary),
5 Let the enemy pursue my soul, and overtake it; Yes, let him tread my life down to the earth, And lay my glory in the dust. Selah.
6 Arise, Yahweh, in your anger. Lift up yourself against the rage of my adversaries. Awake for me. You have commanded judgment.
7 Let the congregation of the peoples surround you. Rule over them on high.
8 Yahweh administers judgment to the peoples. Judge me, Yahweh, according to my righteousness, And to my integrity that is in me.
9 Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, But establish the righteous; Their minds and hearts are searched by the righteous God.
10 My shield is with God, Who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge, Yes, a God who has indignation every day.
12 If a man doesn't relent, he will sharpen his sword; He has bent and strung his bow.
13 He has also prepared for himself the instruments of death. He makes ready his flaming arrows.
14 Behold, he travails with iniquity; Yes, he has conceived mischief, And brought forth falsehood.
15 He has dug a hole, And has fallen into the pit which he made.
16 The trouble he causes shall return to his own head. His violence shall come down on the crown of his own head.
17 I will give thanks to Yahweh according to his righteousness, And will sing praise to the name of Yahweh Most High.
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.