Psalm 7

O LORD my God, I take refuge in you: save and deliver me from all who pursue me, or they will tear me like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me. O LORD my God, if I have done this and there is guilt on my hands—if I have done evil to him who is at peace with me or without cause have robbed my foe—then let my enemy pursue and overtake me; let him trample my life to the ground and make me sleep in the dust.

Arise, O LORD, in your anger; rise up against the rage of my enemies. Awake, my God; decree justice. Let the assembled peoples gather around you. Rule over them from on high; let the LORD judge the peoples. Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High. O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts, bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure.

My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart. God is a righteous judge, a God who expresses his wrath every day. If he does not relent, he will sharpen his sword; he will bend and string his bow. He has prepared his deadly weapons; he makes ready his flaming arrows. He who is pregnant with evil and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment. He who digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit he has made. The trouble he causes recoils on himself; his violence comes down on his own head.

I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.

This psalm was probably written about someone in Saul’s camp who was after David’s life. I can’t imagine being afraid for my life, especially when there was nothing done to deserve it. But that was exactly the situation David was in. But it does remind me that life is not fair, even for the most righteous people, like David.
Arise, O LORD, in your anger; rise up against the rage of my enemies.

Awake, my God; decree justice. Let the assembled peoples gather around you. Rule over them from on high; let the LORD judge the peoples. Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High. O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts, bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure.

I think the hardest part about being wronged is wanting to retaliate. But David is doing the right thing: praying that God take care of it. We want people to know what they have done hurt us and make them pay for it immediately, but God doesn’t always work like that. I need to trust that He is faithful in His promises to bring about justice to those who do not turn to God. The trouble he causes recoils on himself; his violence comes down on his own head. It’s easy for us to expect immediate revenge on those who hurt us, but what about when we’re the ones doing the hurting? Thank God that He doesn’t always bring about immediate judgment, or we would all be doomed!

My shield is God Most High

What a great picture of protection. But it also means that God is not going to take away all of my battles (why would I need a shield if I wasn’t going to face a battle?), but He will protect me during them.

Many psalms end with a prayer of thanksgiving for what God will do, and this one does just that:

I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.

David is thanking God in advance for answering his prayers. I wish I had that kind of faith every day—to pray and then thank God for the prayers that I know He will answer. How many prayers does He answer every day that go unnoticed? May I be more aware of God’s work, and may I get out of the way so that He can accomplish just that.