Psalm 7 - When the Accusations Fly!!!
You don’t have to live very long to feel the sting of false accusation…a brother or sister, a school or neighbourhood friend, a local bully…spreads lies about you in order to increase their own personal gain from the situation. The pain of that rejection, and the loneliness of being sure of your truth, and your innocence remains burnt in your heart and mind for years to come.
That pain only increases as time goes by when it is a beloved family member, a cherished husband/wife, a trusted friend or colleague…you realise, in time that such evil is now part of the human experience.
Whilst that is an important acknowledgement and understanding - what we do with that knowledge, and how we handle each and every instance of betrayal and accusation is what actually defines us and our character.
Photo by GR Stocks on Unsplash
King David had his fair share of detractors, starting with his own family members. Then as time went on, and he was anointed as the next king of Israel, it was Saul and members of his wider family. Finally, after a decade of struggle he became king of Israel, and the betrayals and accusations did not end there, as his some of his own sons rose up against him.
It is to one of these instances that we turn to…Psalm 7 is a brutally honest, emotional and lonely piece of poetry. Yet, it also holds some significant truths about the character and nature of God (Yahweh), and how we should engage with him, in our times of trouble.
Psalm 7 says…
Preamble: “A psalm of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush of the tribe of Benjamin.”
It is not clear to whom King David is referring to in the preamble of this psalm. The word ‘Cush’ in Hebrew means “black” and could refer to people of the Ethiopians of the lower Nile region.
However, the fact that David links ‘the person who is Cush’ to the people group ‘tribe of Benjamin’ makes this unlikely.
So, commentators have made solid claims that it could refer to some unnamed individual/s from within King Saul’s wider family group (who were from the tribe of Benjamin) that was arrayed against David and his claim to the throne of Israel. These groups also aligned themselves with David’s son Absalom during his rebellion against his father.
Other commentators have linked the possibility that it may refer to ‘Shimei - son of Gera’ who was vocal in his contempt for King David once he took power.
Whoever it refers to, the fact remains that King David was up against an accuser and betrayer from within his own nation, a person/s who was ‘dark’ at heart and full of evil. It is this concept that we can relate to, for we have all faced people like this in our lives - no matter how young or old we are.
Verse 1- 2: “I come to you for protection, O Lord my God. Save me from my persecutors—rescue me! If you don’t, they will maul me like a lion, tearing me to pieces with no one to rescue me.”
King David starts off with a plea to God, and he is straight to the point. His plea is full of emotion and distress. He pleads for God’s salvation in the midst of seemingly overwhelming persecution.
He pleads for salvation because he fears that he is going to be completely destroyed, and the loneliness he feels is overwhelming, as he sees no-one around him that is willing to rescue him - except God!!!
We often feel this way when facing accusers and their betrayal against us. We feel alone, vulnerable and sure of our destruction in the face of their evil.
We see the crumbling and tearing down of our financial situation, our health, our relationships, our employment and our emotional state - all the while our faith falters in the face of the darkness that consumes us. We know exactly how King David is feeling in this moment.
But, here’s the thing that may differentiate us from King David - is God the first one we turn to when we face such destructive adversity? Or do we turn to alcohol, relationships based on pleasure, the search for wealth, the search for health, and the continual search for leisure and comfort? It is a burning question, and one that we must answer honestly - for our own sake, as we shall see shortly.
Verse 3-5: “O Lord my God, if I have done wrong or am guilty of injustice, if I have betrayed a friend or plundered my enemy without cause, then let my enemies capture me. Let them trample me into the ground and drag my honour in the dust. Interlude”
These few verses are incredibly strongly worded. In a sense David is trying to call God’s bluff - which is a tactic I wouldn’t recommend at the best of times. But this tactic comes from a place of honesty and recognition of his innocence.
In part, these couple of verses act as a form of repentance and contrition, balanced by King David’s assurance that he is in fact innocent of the charges and accusations brought against him. These verses lead David into further pleas towards God.
Verses 6-9: “Arise, O Lord, in anger! Stand up against the fury of my enemies! Wake up, my God, and bring justice! Gather the nations before you. Rule over them from on high. The Lord judges the nations. Declare me righteous, O Lord, for I am innocent, O Most High! End the evil of those who are wicked,
and defend the righteous. For you look deep within the mind and heart, O righteous God.”
In these verses David’s plea to the Lord begins to move away from himself and towards the nations.
Perhaps David in his wisdom knows that if he is facing accusation, injustice and betrayal by those from within his own nation, and from his enemies outside of it - the people’s of nearby conquered tribes are facing such evil too.
King David cries out against the unrighteous acts of the evil ones. And in doing so acknowledges the fact that Yahweh can see within a person’s heart, mind and soul - thereby knowing their true ways - be they dark or, of the light. He also declares that God is righteous, and just - and because of this Yahweh will protect and uphold the righteous from those who seek to do them harm.
Perhaps when we are in these situations we should remember the words Moses said to Joshua in Deuteronomy 31:6 “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
Or perhaps the words in Hebrews 13:6 which informs us that “So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?"
Verse 10-13: “God is my shield, saving those whose hearts are true and right. God is an honest judge. He is angry with the wicked every day. If a person does not repent, God will sharpen his sword he will bend and string his bow.
He will prepare his deadly weapons and shoot his flaming arrows.”
King David knows that the key to mitigating against God’s wrath and judgement is personal repentance - many times he had to endure the sting of God’s rebuke and showed humility in repentance.
He also states that God is an honest judge (intimating that human judges are not), and as part of that role God will extract his righteous wrath upon those who do evil and are unrepentant.
These verses serve as a clear warning not only to those who are currently doing evil and not turning away from their thoughts and deeds, but also to us - so that we may repent of our sins, and draw closer to Yahweh and his protection.
God’s ultimate judgement will be in the final days when he sends his son Jesus to rule the world, and to judge those that willingly turned their backs on Jesus and the salvation he offered to them.
The Apostle Paul, writing in 2 Corinthians 5:10 says “For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.” - so we should clearly take King David’s call to repentance to heart and be on bended knee to ask God to forgive us of the sin we have in our lives.
Verses 14-16: “The wicked conceive evil; they are pregnant with trouble and give birth to lies. They dig a deep pit to trap others, then fall into it themselves. The trouble they make for others backfires on them. The violence they plan falls on their own heads.”
King David once again turns his attention towards those who are arrayed against him - the evil ones - and he outlines their character, and their behaviour.
He observes that those who think and dwell on evil things will act on it. It does not stay in their minds for long, just as a baby is only within its mother’s womb for a time - both will eventually be born into this world.
Those that think and do evil will always be affected by it. It always returns to its creator, and ruins their lives - this is what Satan has wanted all along - for us to destroy our own lives and the lives of others by acting upon the pride-filled evil he introduced to humanity.
It is interesting to note that the words of King David in these verses echo those spoken in Genesis 6:5 when it was noted that in the time of Noah, “The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.”- Humanity hasn’t changed at all, as Jesus warns the disciples that “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” Matthew 24:37.
Verse 17: “I will thank the Lord because he is just; I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.”
David concludes this psalm by thanking Yahweh for his holy character, namely being a ‘just’ and by implication a ‘righteous’ God.
Because of the nature and character of God, David will praise him, and he also calls him the “Lord Most High” which in Hebrew is ‘ El Elyon’ - which really means, God above all other gods, he who is above all things.
Thus David is showing and acknowledging the divine authority and character of Yahweh - closing out the psalm as he started it - turning towards God in his time of need.
I pray that you are strengthened and encouraged by Psalm 7, and the words of King David. I pray that if you are finding yourself in a situation where false accusations are levelled against you, and people are trying to tear down your life because you are standing for truth, holiness and righteousness that is only found in the word and life of Jesus Christ - that you draw close to Him, call out his name and he will be your defender and protector in these hard times.