Lord, my God, I take refuge in you. Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me,
KJV
O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me:
Commentary
Commentary
It appears by the title that this psalm was penned with a particular
reference to the malicious imputations that David was unjustly laid
under by some of his enemies. Being thus wronged,
I. He applies to God for favour, ver. 1, 2 .
II. He appeals to God concerning his innocency as to those things
whereof he was accused, ver. 3-5 .
III. He prays to God to plead his cause and judge for him against his
persecutors, ver. 6-9 .
IV. He expresses his confidence in God that he would do so, and would
return the mischief upon the head of those that designed it against him, ver. 10-16 .
V. He promises to give God the glory of his deliverance, ver. 17 .
In this David was a type of Christ, who was himself, and still is in
his members, thus injured, but will certainly be righted at last.
Shiggaion of David, which he sang unto the Lord, concerning the words
of Cush the Benjamite.
1 O L ORD my God, in thee do I
put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and
deliver me:
2 Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces,
while there is none to deliver.
3 O L ORD 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 is mine enemy:)
5 Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it; yea, let him
tread down my life upon the earth, and lay mine honour in the
dust. Selah.
6 Arise, O L ORD , in thine anger, lift up thyself because of the
rage of mine enemies: and awake for me to the judgment that thou hast commanded.
7 So shall the congregation of the people compass thee about:
for their sakes therefore return thou on high.
8 The L ORD shall judge the people: judge me, O L ORD , according
to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in
me.
9 Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but
establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and
reins.
Shiggaion is a song or psalm (the word is used so
only here and Hab. iii. 1 )
--a wandering song (so some), the matter and composition of the
several parts being different, but artificially put together--a charming song (so others), very delightful. David not only
penned it, but sang it himself in a devout religious manner unto the
Lord, concerning the words or affairs of Cush the
Benjamite, that is, of Saul himself, whose barbarous usage of David
bespoke him rather a Cushite, or Ethiopian, than a true-born Israelite.
Or, more likely, it was some kinsman of Saul named Cush, who was
an inveterate enemy to David, misrepresented him to Saul as a traitor,
and (which was very needless) exasperated Saul against him, one of
those children of men, children of Belial indeed, whom David complains
of
( 1 Sam. xxvi. 19 ),
that made mischief between him and Saul. David, thus basely abused, has
recourse to the Lord. The injuries men do us should drive us to God,
for to him we may commit our cause. Nay, he sings to the Lord; his
spirit was not ruffled by it, nor cast down, but so composed and
cheerful that he was still in tune for sacred songs and it did not
occasion one jarring string in his harp. Thus let the injuries we
receive from men, instead of provoking our passions, kindle and excite
our devotions. In these verses ,
I. He puts himself under God's protection and flies to him for succour
and shelter
( v. 1 ):
" Lord, save me, and deliver me from the power and malice of all those that persecute me, that they may not have their will
against me." He pleads,
1. His relation to God. "Thou art my God, and therefore whither
else should I go but to thee? Thou art my God, and therefore my shield
( Gen. xv. 1 ),
my God, and therefore I am one of thy servants, who may expect to be
protected."
2. His confidence in God: "Lord, save me, for I depend upon thee: In thee do I put my trust, and not in any arm of flesh." Men of
honour will not fail those that repose a trust in them, especially if
they themselves have encouraged them to do so, which is our case.
3. The rage and malice of his enemies, and the imminent danger he was
in of being swallowed up by them: "Lord, save me, or I am gone; he will tear my soul like a lion tearing his prey," with so much pride,
and pleasure, and power, so easily, so cruelly. St. Paul compares Nero
to a lion
( 2 Tim. iv. 17 ),
as David here compares Saul.
4. The failure of all other helpers: "Lord, be thou pleased to deliver
me, for otherwise there is none to deliver, " v. 2 .
It is the glory of God to help the helpless.
II. He makes a solemn protestation of his innocency as to those things
whereof he was accused, and by a dreadful imprecation appeals to God,
the searcher of hearts, concerning it, v. 3-5 .
Observe, in general,
1. When we are falsely accused by men it is a great comfort if our own
consciences acquit us--
and not only they cannot prove their calumnies
( Acts xxiv. 13 ),
but our hearts can disprove them, to our own satisfaction.
2. God is the patron of wronged innocency. David had no court on earth
to appeal to. His prince, who should have righted him, was his sworn
enemy. But he had the court of heaven to fly to, and a righteous Judge
there, whom he could call his God. And here see,
(1.) What the indictment is which he pleads not guilty to. He was
charged with a traitorous design against Saul's crown and life, that he
compassed and imagined to depose and murder him, and, in order to that,
levied war against him. This he utterly denies. He never did this;
there was no iniquity of this kind in his hand
( v. 3 );
he abhorred the thought of it. He never rewarded evil to Saul
when he was at peace with him, nor to any other, v. 4 .
Nay, as some think it should be rendered, he never rendered evil for
evil, never did those mischief that had injured him.
(2.) What evidence he produces of his innocency. It is hard to prove a
negative, and yet this was a negative which David could produce very
good proof of: I have delivered him that without cause is my
enemy, v. 4 .
By this it appeared, beyond contradiction, that David had no
design against Saul's life--that, once and again, Providence so ordered
it that Saul lay at his mercy, and there were those about him that
would soon have dispatched him, but David generously and
conscientiously prevented it, when he cut off his skirt
( 1 Sam. xxiv. 4 )
and afterwards when he took away his spear
( 1 Sam. xxvi. 12 ),
to attest for him what he could have done. Saul himself owned both
these to be undeniable proofs of David's integrity and good affection
to him. If we render good for evil, and deny ourselves the
gratifications of our passion, our so doing may turn to us for a
testimony, more than we think of, another day.
(3.) What doom he would submit to if he were guilty
( v. 5 ): Let the enemy persecute my soul to the death, and my good name
when I am gone: let him lay my honour in the dust. This
intimates,
[1.] That, if he had been indeed injurious to others, he had reason to
expect that they would repay him in the same coin. He that has his hand
against every man must reckon upon it that every man's hand will be
against him.
[2.] That, in that case, he could not with any confidence go to God and
beg of him to deliver him or plead his cause. It is a presumptuous
dangerous thing for any that are guilty, and suffer justly, to appeal
to God, as if they were innocent and suffered wrongfully; such must
humble themselves and accept the punishment of their iniquity, and not
expect that the righteous God will patronise their unrighteousness.
[3.] That he was abundantly satisfied in himself concerning his
innocency. It is natural to us to wish well to ourselves; and therefore
a curse to ourselves, if we swear falsely, has been thought as awful a
form of swearing as any. With such an oath, or imprecation, David here
ratifies the protestation of his innocency, which yet will not justify
us in doing the like for every light and trivial cause; for the
occasion here was important.
III. Having this testimony of his conscience concerning his innocency,
he humbly prays to God to appear for him against his persecutors, and
backs every petition with a proper plea, as one that knew how to order
his cause before God.
1. He prays that God would manifest his wrath against his enemies, and
pleads their wrath against him: "Lord, they are unjustly angry at me,
be thou justly angry with them and let them know that thou art so, v. 6 . In thy anger lift up thyself to the seat of judgment, and make
thy power and justice conspicuous, because of the rage, the
furies, the outrages (the word is plural) of my enemies. " Those
need not fear men's wrath against them who have God's wrath for them. Who knows the power of his anger?
(1.) He prays, Awake for me to judgment (that is, let my cause
have a hearing), to the judgment which thou hast commanded; this
speaks,
[1.] The divine power; as he blesses effectually, and is therefore said
to command the blessing, so he judges effectually, and is
therefore said to command the judgment, which is such as none
can countermand; for it certainly carries execution along with it.
[2.] The divine purpose and promise: "It is the judgment which thou
hast determined to pass upon all the enemies of thy people. Thou hast
commanded the princes and judges of the earth to give redress to the
injured and vindicate the oppressed; Lord, awaken thyself to that
judgment." He that loves righteousness, and requires it in others, will
no doubt execute it himself. Though he seem to connive at wrong, as one
asleep, he will awake in due time
( Ps. lxxviii. 65 )
and will make it to appear that the delays were no neglects.
(2.) He prays
( v. 7 ),
" Return thou on high, maintain thy own authority, resume thy
royal throne of which they have despised the sovereignty, and the
judgment-seat of which they have despised the sentence. Return on high,
that is, visibly and in the sight of all, that it may be universally
acknowledged that heaven itself owns and pleads David's cause." Some
make this to point at the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ,
who, when he returned to heaven (returned on high in his exalted
state), had all judgment committed to him. Or it may refer to his
second coming, when he shall return on high to this world, to execute
judgment upon all. This return his injured people wait for, and pray
for, and to it they appeal from the unjust censures of men.
(3.) He prays again
( v. 8 ),
" Judge me, judge for me, give sentence on my side." To enforce
this suit,
[1.] He pleads that his cause was now brought into the proper court: The Lord shall judge the people, v. 8 .
He is the Judge of all the earth, and therefore no doubt he will do
right and all will be obliged to acquiesce in his judgment.
[2.] He insists upon his integrity as to all the matters in variance
between him and Saul, and desires only to be judged, in this matter,
according to his righteousness, and the sincerity of his heart in all
the steps he had taken towards his preferment.
[3.] He foretels that it would be much for the glory of God and the
edification and comfort of his people if God would appear for him:
" So shall the congregation of the people compass thee about; therefore do it for their sakes, that they may attend thee with their
raises and services in the courts of thy house." First, They
will do it of their own accord. God's appearing on David's behalf, and
fulfilling his promise to him, would be such an instance of his
righteousness, goodness, and faithfulness, as would greatly enlarge the
hearts of all his faithful worshippers and fill their mouths with
praise. David was the darling of his country, especially of all the
good people in it; and therefore, when they saw him in a fair way to
the throne, they would greatly rejoice and give thanks to God; crowds
of them would attend his footstool with their praises for such a
blessing to their land. Secondly, If David come into power, as
God has promised him, he will take care to bring people to church by
his influence upon them, and the ark shall not be neglected, as it was in the days of Saul, 1 Chron. xiii. 3 .
3. He prays, in general, for the conversion of sinners and the
establishment of saints
( v. 9 ):
" O let the wickedness, not only of my wicked enemies, but of
all the wicked, come to an end! but establish the just. " Here are
two things which everyone of us must desire and may hope for:--
(1.) The destruction of sin, that it may be brought to an end in
ourselves and others. When corruption is mortified, when every wicked
way and thought are forsaken, and the stream which ran violently
towards the world and the flesh is driven back and runs towards God and
heaven, then the wickedness of the wicked comes to an end. When there
is a general reformation of manners, when atheists and profane are
convinced and converted, when a stop is put to the spreading of the
infection of sin, so that evil men proceed no further, their folly
being made manifest, when the wicked designs of the church's enemies
are baffled, and their power is broken, and the man of sin is
destroyed, then the wickedness of the wicked comes to an end. And this is that which all that love God, and for his sake hate evil,
desire and pray for.
(2.) The perpetuity of righteousness: But establish the just. As
we pray that the bad maybe made good, so we pray that the good may be
made better, that they may not be seduced by the wiles of the wicked
nor shocked by their malice, that they may be confirmed in their choice
of the ways of God and in their resolution to persevere therein, may be
firm to the interests of God and religion and zealous in their
endeavours to bring the wickedness of the wicked to an end. His
plea to enforce this petition is, For the righteous God trieth the
hearts and the reins; and therefore he knows the secret wickedness
of the wicked and knows how to bring it to an end, and the secret
sincerity of the just he is witness to and has secret ways of
establishing.
As far as we have the testimony of an unbiased conscience for us that
in any instance we are wronged and injuriously reflected on, we may, in
singing these verses ,
lodge our appeal with the righteous God, and be assured that he will
own our righteous cause, and will one day, in the last day at furthest,
bring forth our integrity as the light.
10 My defence is of God, which saveth the upright in heart.
11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the
wicked every day.
12 If he 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
ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors.
14 Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived
mischief, and brought forth falsehood.
15 He 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 violent
dealing shall come down upon his own pate.
17 I will praise the L ORD according to his righteousness: and
will sing praise to the name of the L ORD most high.
David having lodged his appeal with God by prayer and a solemn
profession of his integrity, in the former part of the psalm, in this
latter part does, as it were, take out judgment upon the appeal, by
faith in the word of God, and the assurance it gives of the happiness
and safety of the righteous and the certain destruction of wicked
people that continue impenitent.
I. David is confident that he shall find God his powerful protector and
Saviour, and the patron of his oppressed innocency
( v. 10 ):
" My defence is of God. Not only, God is my defender, and I shall
find him so; but I look for defence and safety in no other; my hope for
shelter in a time of danger is placed in God alone; if I have defence,
it must be of God." My shield is upon God (so some read it);
there is that in God which gives an assurance of protection to all that
are his. His name is a strong tower, Prov. xviii. 10 .
Two things David builds this confidence upon:--
1. The particular favour God has for all that are sincere: He saves
the upright in heart, saves them with an everlasting salvation, and
therefore will preserve them to his heavenly kingdom; he saves
them out of their present troubles, as far as is good for them; their
integrity and uprightness will preserve them. The upright in heart are
safe, and ought to think themselves so, under the divine protection.
2. The general respect he has for justice and equity: God judgeth
the righteous; he owns every righteous cause, and will maintain it
in every righteous man, and will protect him. God is a righteous
Judge (so some read it), who not only doeth righteousness himself,
but will take care that righteousness be done by the children of men
and will avenge and punish all unrighteousness.
II. He is no less confident of the destruction of all his persecutors,
even as many of them as would not repent, to give glory to God. He reads their doom here, for their good, if possible, that they might
cease from their enmity, or, however, for his own comfort, that he
might not be afraid of them nor aggrieved at their prosperity and
success for a time. He goes into the sanctuary of God, and there
understands,
1. That they are children of wrath. They are not to be envied, for God
is angry with them, is angry with the wicked every day. They are
every day doing that which is provoking to him, and he resents it, and
treasures it up against the day of wrath. As his mercies are new
every morning towards his people, so his anger is new every morning
against the wicked, upon the fresh occasions given for it by their
renewed transgressions. God is angry with the wicked even in the
merriest and most prosperous of their days, even in the days of their
devotion; for, if they be suffered to prosper, it is in wrath; if they
pray, their very prayers are an abomination. The wrath of God abides
upon them
( John iii. 36 )
and continual additions are made to it.
2. That they are children of death, as all the children of wrath are,
sons of perdition, marked out for ruin. See their destruction.
(1.) God will destroy them. The destruction they are reserved for is destruction from the Almighty, which ought to be a terror to
every one of us, for it comes from the wrath of God, v. 13, 14 .
It is here intimated,
[1.] That the destruction of sinners may be prevented by their
conversion, for it is threatened with that proviso: If he turn
not from his evil way, if he do not let fall his enmity against the
people of God, then let him expect it will be his ruin; but, if he
turn, it is implied that his sin shall be pardoned and all shall be
well. Thus even the threatenings of wrath are introduced with a
gracious implication of mercy, enough to justify God for ever in the
destruction of those that perish; they might have turned and lived, but
they chose rather to go on and die and their blood is therefore upon
their own heads.
[2.] That, if it be not thus prevented by the conversion of the sinner,
it will be prepared for him by the justice of God. In general
( v. 13 ), He has prepared for him the instruments of death, of all that
death which is the wages of sin. If God will slay, he will not want
instruments of death for any creature; even the least and weakest may
be made so when he pleases. First, Here is variety of
instruments, all which breathe threatenings and slaughter. Here is a
sword, which wounds and kills at hand, a bow and arrows, which wound
and kill at a distance those who think to get out of the reach of God's
vindictive justice. If the sinner flees from the iron weapon, yet the bow of steel shall strike him through, Job xx. 24 . Secondly, These instruments of death are all said to be made
ready. God has them not to seek, but always at hand. Judgments are
prepared for scorners. Tophet is prepared of old. Thirdly, While
God is preparing his instruments of death, he gives the sinners timely
warning of their danger, and space to repent and prevent it. He is slow
to punish, and long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any
should perish. Fourthly, The longer the destruction is delayed, to
give time for repentance, the sorer will it be and the heavier will it
fall and lie for ever if that time be not so improved; while God is
waiting the sword is in the whetting and the bow in the drawing. Fifthly, The destruction of impenitent sinners, though it come
slowly, yet comes surely; for it is ordained, they are of old
ordained to it. Sixthly, Of all sinners persecutors are set up
as the fairest marks of divine wrath; against them, more than any
other, God has ordained his arrows. They set God at defiance, but
cannot set themselves out of the reach of his judgments.
(2.) They will destroy themselves, v. 14-16 .
The sinner is here described as taking a great deal of pains to ruin
himself, more pains to damn his soul than, if directed aright, would
save it. His conduct is described,
[1.] By the pains of a labouring woman that brings forth a false
conception, v. 14 .
The sinner's head with its politics conceives mischief, contrives it with a great deal of art, lays the plot deep, and keeps it
close; the sinner's heart with its passions travails with
iniquity, and is in pain to be delivered of the malicious projects
it is hatching against the people of God. But what does it come to when
it comes to the birth? It is falsehood; it is a cheat upon himself; it
is a lie in his right hand. He cannot compass what he intended, nor, if
he gain his point, will he gain the satisfaction he promised himself.
He brings forth wind ( Isa. xxvi. 18 ), stubble ( Isa. xxxiii. 11 ), death ( James i. 15 ),
that is, falsehood. [2.] By the pains of a labouring man that works hard to dig a pit, and
then falls into it and perishes in it. First, This is true, in
a sense of all sinners. They prepare destruction for themselves by
preparing themselves for destruction, loading themselves with guilt and
submitting themselves to their corruptions. Secondly, It is
often remarkably true of those who contrive mischief against the people
of God or against their neighbours; by the righteous hand of God it is
made to return upon their own heads. What they designed for the
shame and destruction of others proves to be their own confusion.
In singing this psalm we must do as David here does
( v. 17 ), praise the Lord according to his righteousness, that is, give
him the glory of that gracious protection under which he takes his
afflicted people and of that just vengeance with which he will pursue
those that afflict them. Thus we must sing to the praise of the Lord
most high, who, when his enemies deal proudly, shows that he is above
them.
INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 7
Shiggaion of David, which he sang unto the Lord, concerning the words of the Benjamite. The name of this psalm, "Shiggaion", either respects the music or the matter of the psalm. Some take it to be the name of the musical instrument to which the psalm was set {n}: so Habakkuk's prayer is said to be "upon shigionoth"; which is the same word with this, only of the plural number, Hab 3:1. Others say it was the first word of a song, to the tune of which this was sung {o} And others understand it of a certain kind of a song {p}: and the Targum renders it, "the interpretation of the ode of David"; which Ainsworth renders, "David's interpretation of the law"; leading
atyrwa instead of atydwa, as does also the king of Spain's Bible. And certain it is that it is the name of a song; since it follows, "which he sang unto the Lord"; in his presence, before him, and to the glory of his name. But the question is, of what sort it is? and why it should be so called? since its root hgv signifies "to err" or "wander": it is more generally rendered, "an erratic" or "wandering ode"; a song or psalm, which consisted of various kind of metre: it was sung with various notes, and all kind of music, which made it very pleasant. Hence some render it, "David's delight", as R. Obadiah Gaon; and the verb from whence it is derived is translated "ravished" in Pr 5:19; and Ben Melech says, the word signifies
twhrew hxmv, "joy and pleasure"; and Aben Ezra observes that some interpret it gwnet, "delight". But others are of opinion that this word regards the subject matter of the psalm, and may be rendered, "David's ignorance" or "error"; his sin of ignorance; and respects his mistaken conduct with regard to his enemies, particularly Saul, in making imprecations upon them, Ps 6:10; in cursing them, and especially King Saul; when a king is not to be cursed, Ec 10:20; and in cutting off the skirt of his garment, for which his heart smote him, 1Sa 24:4. Some render it, "the care of David", as Cocceius; which he wrote in deep meditation, when he had forgot himself, and was as it were in an ecstasy; setting forth "the sum of his cares", as Ainsworth expresses it, when he was harassed and greatly afflicted by his enemies. The occasion of it is, "the words of Cush the Benjamite"; which some understand of Shimei the Benjamite, who came out and cursed David as he went along, when he fled from Absalom, 1Sa 16:5. Theodoret thinks Hushai is meant, who persuaded Absalom not to follow the counsel of Ahithophel; on which account David penned this psalm. Others interpret it of one of Saul's courtiers, who was of the tribe of Benjamin, and whose name was Cush {q}; and which is very likely, since it is evident that some of Saul's courtiers accused David to him, and charged him with seeking his harm, not only to take away his crown and kingdom, but his life, 1Sa 24:9. Though the generality of the Jewish writers {r} interpret it of Saul himself, who is called Cush, in allusion to his father's name Kish, who was a man of Benjamin, 1Sa 9:1; or else because Cush signifies "an Ethiopian", to which he may be compared, as the children of Israel in Am 9:7. For as the Ethiopian is various in his skin, so was Saul in his actions, as Jarchi observes; or rather because, as Kimchi and Ben Melech express it, as the Ethiopian does not change his skin, Jer 13:23; so Saul did not change his hatred to David. Though the same writers observe, that he may be called so by the rule of contraries, because he was a very goodly and beautiful man; the words referred to are supposed to be those in 1Sa 22:7.
{n} Menachem in Jarchi in loc. So David de Pomis, Lexic. fol. 204. 1. {o} Aben Ezra in loc. {p} Kimchi in loc. {q} Aben Ezra & Obadiah Gaon in loc. {r} Targum, Jarchi, Kimchi, Arama, & Ben Melech in loc.
Ver. 1. O Lord my God, in thee do I put my trust,.... The psalmist expresses his interest in God as his covenant God, and his trust and confidence in him; and with these he sets out as the stay of his soul, and his bulwark against the fears of his enemies; and he does not say that he had trusted in God, or would for the future trust in him; but that he did trust in him, and continued to do so. And God is to be trusted in at all times; in times of affliction, temptation, and desertion; and these the psalmist premises to his petition, which follows, as an encouragement to him to hope for success, since God was his God, and none that ever trusted in him were confounded;
save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me; persecution is no new thing to the people of God; David had his persecutors, and many of them; the Church, in Jeremiah's time, had hers; the saints, in the times of the apostles, and in all ages since, have had theirs. Every one that will live godly in Christ Jesus must expect persecution in one shape or another; and there is none can save and deliver from it but God, and he can and will in his own time, 2Co 1:10. David was sensible of this, and therefore applies to him, and him only; and not to an arm of flesh, to his friends, or to neighbouring princes and powers.
Psalms 7:2
Ver. 2. Lest he tear my soul like a lion,.... That is, one of his persecutors, the chief of them; it may be Saul, whom the psalmist compares to a lion for his majesty and greatness, the lion being the king among beasts; and for his authority, power, and might, and for his wrath and cruelty, which he feared; and which, should it be exerted on him, would tear his soul, or himself, in pieces; would rend his soul from his body, and dispatch his life; see Pr 19:12. So the Apostle Paul calls the Roman governor, before whom he was, and from whose hands he was delivered, a lion, for his power and fierceness, 2Ti 4:17. And so our adversary the devil, the chief of all persecutors, and who instigates others against the saints, is by Peter said to go about like a roaring lion, 1Pe 5:8;
rending [it] in pieces, as the lion does his prey when hungry. So Homer {s} compares Polyphemus to a mountain lion, which devours and leaves nothing, neither the intestines, nor flesh, nor bones; and represents {t} it first taking hold of the creature with its strong teeth, and breaking its neck, and drawing out its blood and all its inwards; see
Isa 38:13;
while [there is] none to deliver; no saviour, no deliverer: for if God does not save and deliver his people out of the hands of their persecutors, none can; especially out of the hands of such an one as is here described tearing and rending in pieces. As there is no God besides the Lord, there is no saviour besides him: there is no temporal nor spiritual saviour but he: salvation is not to be expected from any other; and were it not for him, saints must fall a prey to their enemies.
{s} Odyss. 9. v. 292, 293. {t} Iliad. 11. v. 175, 176. & Iliad. 17. v. 63.
Psalms 7:3
Ver. 3. O Lord my God, if I have done this. The crime which Saul and his courtiers charged him with, and which was made so public that every body knew it; and therefore it was needless particularly to mention it; namely, that he lay in wait for Saul, and sought his life to take it away, 1Sa 24:9. The Targum interprets it of this psalm, paraphrasing it, "if I have made this song with an evil intention"; to give an ill character of any, and lead them with false charges;
if there be iniquity in my hands; not that he was without sin, he had it in his heart; nor that he lived without the actual commission of sin: but his sense is, that there was no iniquity, as not in his heart, purpose, and design, so not in his hand, nor attempted by him, of the kind he was accused of, 1Sa 24:11. Otherwise, we often hear him complaining of the depravity of his nature, and acknowledging his sins and transgressions, Ps 32:5.
Psalms 7:4
Ver. 4. If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me,.... That is, when Saul was at peace with him; when he lived at his court, and ate at his table his meaning is, that he did not conspire against him, nor form schemes to deprive him of his crown nor of his life: or, as it may be rendered, "if I have rewarded to him that rewarded me evil" {u}; that is, as Jarchi explains it, if I rewarded him as he rewarded me, evil for evil. This David did not; and it is eminently true of Christ his antitype, 1Pe 2:23; and in it he ought to be imitated by every believer, Ro 12:17;
yea, I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy; meaning Saul, who persecuted David without any just reason, and whom David delivered without any obligation to do it; not for any benefit and kindness he had received from him; for the phrase "without cause" may be read in connection either with the word "delivered" {w}; for the deliverance was wrought without any cause or merit on Saul's part, or profit to David; or with the word "enemy", for Saul was David's enemy without any just cause on David's part: and the deliverance referred to was when he cut off Saul's skirt, in the cave at Engedi, and spared his life; and when he took away his spear from him, as he was sleeping in the trench, and did not destroy him, nor suffer those that would to do it, 1Sa 24:4. The words may be rendered, "only I stripped him" {x}. The sense is, that he cut off the skirt of his coat, and took away his spear, and so in part stripped him both of his clothes and armour, at two different times; not to do him any hurt, but to let him know, as Jarchi observes, that he was delivered into his hands, and he could have slain him, but did not. The same Jewish writer interprets the word used "of stripping of garments"; and Aben Ezra observes, from R. Moses, that the "vau", rendered "yea", signifies "only", as in Ge 42:10.
{u} "Si malum malo rependi", Castalio. {w} Mqyr "absque emolumento ullo ad me inde redeunte", Gussetius. {x} Verbum Ulx "proprie extrahere, &c. significat, et de vestibus quae alieui exuuntur et eripiuntur proprie dicitur", De Dieu.
Psalms 7:5
Ver. 5. Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take [it],.... That is, if the above things he was charged with could be proved against him; then he was content that Saul his enemy should pursue after him, and apprehend him, and bring him to justice, by taking away his life from him;
yea, let him tread down my life upon the earth; with the utmost indignation and contempt, without showing any mercy; as the lion treads down his prey, and tears it to pieces, Mic 5:8; or as the potter treads his clay under foot, Isa 41:25;
and lay mine honour in the dust; meaning either his life and soul, as before; denominating himself from his better part, and which he elsewhere calls his glory, Ps 16:9; see Ge 49:6; or else his body, as R. Judah Ben Balaam, who is blamed for it by Jarchi; or rather his fame, credit, and reputation, that he had gained, both by his courage and valour in the field, and by his wise and prudent behaviour at court, 1Sa 18:7. Should he appear to be guilty of the crimes he was accused of, he is willing to have his glorious name buried in the dust of oblivion, and his memory perish for ever. The words are to be considered as a strong assertion of his innocence, in an appeal to God, the searcher of hearts, and the trier of the reins of men; and as imprecating on himself the worst of evils, should it not appear; see Job 31:21.
Selah; Aben Ezra renders "selah", "in truth", "let it be so"; and the Targum renders it, as usual, "for ever"; See Gill on "Ps 3:2".
Psalms 7:6
Ver. 6. Arise, O Lord, in thine anger,.... This and the following phrase do not suppose local motion in God, to whom it cannot belong, being infinite and immense, but are spoken of him after the manner of men, who seems sometimes as though he had laid himself down, and was unconcerned about and took no notice of human affairs, of the insults of the wicked and the oppressions of the righteous; wherefore the psalmist beseeches him to "arise", which he may be said to do when he comes forth in his power in the defence of his people, and against their enemies; see Ps 12:5; and he also prays him to arise in anger, to show himself displeased, and give some tokens of his resentment, by letting his enemies feel the lighting down of his arm with the indignation of his anger;
lift up thyself, because of the rage of mine enemies; ascend the throne of judgment, and there sit judging right; show thyself to be the Judge of the earth, high and lifted up; let it appear that thou art above all mine enemies, higher and more powerful than they; stop their rage, break the force of their fury, lift up a standard against them, who, likes mighty flood, threaten to bear all before them: or "lift up thyself in rage", or "fierce wrath, because of", or "against mine enemies" {y}: and so the sense is the same as before; and this way go many of the Jewish interpreters {z};
and awake for me [to] the judgment [that] thou hast commanded; not that sleep falls upon God, for the keeper of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps; nor does it fall on any but corporeal beings, not upon angels, nor the souls of men, much less on God; but he sometimes in his providence seems to lie dormant and inactive, as if he disregarded what is done in this world; and therefore his people address him as if he was asleep, and call upon him to arise to their help and assistance; see Ps 44:23; and so David here, "awake for me", that is, hasten to come to me and help me; suggesting that he was in great distress and danger, by reason of his enemies, should he delay coming to him. By "judgment" is either meant the vengeance which God had ordered him to execute upon his enemies, as Jarchi interprets it, and therefore he entreats him to arise and put him in a capacity of doing it; or else his innocence, and the vindication of it, which God had promised him, and then the petition is much the same with Ps 7:8. But the generality of Jewish {a} writers understand it of the kingdom which God had appointed for him, and for which he was anointed by Samuel; and who had told Saul that God had found a man after his own heart, whom he had "commanded" to be captain over his people, 1Sa 13:14; wherefore the psalmist prays that God would hasten the fulfilment of his purpose and promise, and set him on the throne, that so he might administer justice and judgment to the people.
{y} yrdwu twrbeb "in furore contra hostes meos", Mariana; "gravissimo furore percitus in eos qui me opprimunt", Junius & Tremellius. {z} Targum, Jarchi, & Kimchi, in loc. {a} R. Moses in Aben Ezra in loc. R. Obadiah Gaon, Kimchi, & Ben Melech in loc.
Psalms 7:7
Ver. 7. So shall the congregation of the people compass thee about,.... By "the congregation of the people" are meant the nation of the Jews, the twelve tribes of Israel, called an assembly of people, and a company of nations, Ge 28:3; and this is to be understood not of their gathering together in an hostile manner about David to take him, which might be interpreted compassing God himself about, David being as dear to him as the apple of his eye, which is the sense of several Jewish commentators {b}; but rather of their encompassing and surrounding the altar of God with songs of deliverance, upon David's being rid of his enemies and advanced to the throne of the kingdom; see
Ps 26:6; unless it should have regard to the pure worship of God by David, which was greatly neglected in Saul's time; and then the sense is, that the psalmist prays that he might be established in his kingdom, as God had appointed and commanded, when he would fetch up the ark of God, and encourage the worship of God, and rectify all disorders in it; that so the several tribes might come up to Jerusalem and encompass the ark, the symbol of the divine Presence, and worship in his holy mountain;
for their sakes therefore return thou on high; take, the throne of justice, high and lifted up, vindicate the cause of the oppressed, deliver me from all my troubles, put me into the peaceable possession of my kingdom; if not for my, sake, yet for the sake of thy church and people, and for the sake of thy worship and thy glory; the Targum paraphrases it, "return thou to the house of thy Shechinah".
{b} Kimchi & Aben Ezra in loc.
Psalms 7:8
Ver. 8. The Lord shall judge the people,.... The inhabitants of the world in general; for God is the Judge of all the earth, and he judges the world in righteousness daily, and ministers judgment in uprightness, though it is not always manifest; or his own people in particular, whose cause he pleads, whose injuries and wrongs he avenges, whose persons he protects and defends; this the psalmist expresses with confidence, and therefore, suitable to his character as a Judge, he entreats him as follows:
judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness; he speaks not of his justification before God, in whose sight he well knew no flesh living could be justified by their own righteousness, Ps 143:2; nor of the righteousness of his person, either imputed or inherent; but of the righteousness of his cause, Ps 35:27; not of his righteousness God-ward, for he knew that he was a sinner with respect to him; but of his righteousness towards Saul, against whom he had not sinned, but had acted towards him in the most righteous and faithful manner,
1Sa 24:11; and therefore desired to be judged, and was content to stand or fall according to his conduct and behaviour towards him;
and according to mine integrity [that is] in me; who had always acted the sincere and upright part towards Saul, though he had pursued him with so much fury and violence; the psalmist's prayer was heard and answered, Ps 18:20.
Psalms 7:9
Ver. 9. Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end,.... Which will not be till the measure of it is fully up, and that will not be till the wicked are no more; for, as long as they are in the world they will be committing wickedness, and like the troubled sea continually cast up the mire and dirt of sin; and they will remain to the end of the world, till the new Jerusalem church state shall take place, when all the Lord's people will be righteous, and there will not be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts, nor a pricking brier or grieving thorn in all the land; for, in the new earth will no sinner be, but righteous persons only; and for this state the psalmist may be thought to pray; however by this petition and the following he expresses his hatred of sin and love of righteousness: some choose to render the words {c}, "let wickedness now consume the wicked"; as in the issue it will, unless the grace of God takes place; some sins consume the bodies, others the estates of wicked men, and some both; and all are the means of destroying both body and soul in hell, if grace prevent not; this may be considered as a declaration of what will be, being a prophetic petition {d};
but establish the just; or righteous one; meaning himself, and every other who is made righteous, not by his own righteousness, but by the righteousness of Christ imputed to him; and who needs not to have his righteousness established, which is in itself stable, firm, and sure, and cannot be more so; it is an everlasting one, and cannot be abolished, but abides for ever, and will answer for him in a time to come; but his faith to be established more and more in its exercise on this righteousness: nor do the persons of the just need establishing, or can they be more stable than they are, as considered in Christ, as they are the objects of God's everlasting love, secured in the covenant of grace, and built on Christ the foundation; but the graces of faith, hope, and love, need daily establishing on their proper object, they being weak, fickle, and inconstant in their acts; and the saints need more and more establishing in the doctrines of the Gospel, and in their adherence to the cause of God and Christ and true religion; and it is God's work to establish them, to whom the psalmist applies; see 1Pe 5:10;
for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins; he is righteous himself in his nature, and in all his works, and he knows who are righteous and who are wicked; he knows the hearts, thoughts, affections, and inward principles of all men, and the springs of all their actions; he looks not at outward appearances, but at the heart; and as he can distinguish between the one and the other, he is capable of punishing the wicked and of confirming the righteous, consistent with the truth of his perfections.
{c} Myevr er an rwmgy "consumat nunc vel quaeso malum impios", Muscuius, Vatablus, so Jarchi, Kimchi, & Ben Melech. {d} "Consumat nunc malum impios", Pagninus, Montanus, Hammond; so Obadiah Gaon.
Psalms 7:10
Ver. 10. My defence [is] of God,.... Or "my shield [is] in" or "of God" {e}; God was his shield, his protector and defender; see Ps 3:3; or "my shield [is] with God"; that is, Christ, who was the shield his faith made use of against every spiritual enemy, was with God; he was with him as the Word and Son of God from all eternity, and as the living Redeemer of his people before his incarnation; and he is now with him as their intercessor and advocate, who pleads in defence of them, and opposes himself, his blood and righteousness, to all the charges and accusations of Satan;
which saveth the upright in heart: who have the truth of grace in them, wisdom in the hidden part; who are sincere in their affections, purposes, and designs, in their faith, hope, and love; and act from real principles of truth and love, in the integrity of their souls; for these light and gladness are sown, to them grace and glory are given, and no good thing is withheld from them; they are saved by God from sin, Satan, the world, death, and hell, and every enemy, with a spiritual and everlasting salvation.
{e} Myhla le "in Deo", Musculus, Tigurine version, Junius & Tremellius, Muis, Ainsworth; "apud Deum", Lutherus, Piscator, Gejerus, Cocceius, Michaelis.
Psalms 7:11
Ver. 11. God judgeth the righteous,.... Not all that are thought to be righteous, or think themselves to be so, are such; nor is any man naturally righteous, or of himself, nor by virtue of his obedience to the law of works; but such only are righteous who are made so by the obedience of Christ; these God governs and protects, avenges their injuries and defends their persons; some render the words, "God is a righteous Judge" {f}; he is so now in the administrations of his government of the universe, and he will be so hereafter in the general judgment of the world;
and God is angry [with the wicked] every day; wicked men are daily sinning, and God is always the same in his nature, and has the same aversion to sin continually; and though he is not always making men examples of his wrath, yet his wrath is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness of men; and there are frequent stances of it; and when he is silent he is still angry, and in his own time will stir up all his wrath, and rebuke in his hot displeasure.
{f} Vid. Aben Ezra & Abendana not. in Miclol. Yophi in loc.
qydu jpwv Myhla "Deus judex justus", V. L. Munster, Musculus, Montanus, Piscator, Gejerus, Michaelis; so Ainsworth.
Psalms 7:12
Ver. 12. If he turn not,.... Not God, but the enemy, or the wicked man, spoken of Ps 7:5; if he turn not from his wicked course of life, to the Lord to live to him, and according to his will; unless he is converted and repents of his sin, and there is a change wrought in him, in his heart and life; the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions read, "if ye turn not", or "are not converted", an apostrophe to the wicked;
he will whet his sword: God is a man of war, and he is sometimes represented as accoutred with military weapons; see Isa 59:17; and among the rest with the sword of judgment, which he may be said to whet, when he prepares sharp and sore judgments for his enemies,
Isa 27:1;
he hath bent his bow, and made it ready; drawn his bow of vengeance, and put it on the full stretch, and made it ready with the arrows of his wrath, levelled against the wicked, with whom he is angry; which is expressive of their speedy and inevitable ruin, in case of impenitence; see La 2:4; or "trod his bow", as is the usual phrase elsewhere; see Ps 11:2; which was done by the feet, and was necessary when the bow was a strong one, as Jarchi on Ps 11:2; observes; and so the Arabs, as Suidas {g} relates, using arrows the length of a man, put their feet on the string of the bow instead of their hands.
{g} In voce arabev.
Psalms 7:13
Ver. 13. He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death,.... The weapons of his indignation, Isa 13:5; which, will issue both in the first and second death, corporeal and eternal; the instruments of the former are diseases of various kinds, and judgments, as famine, pestilence, &c. and of the latter not only the law is an instrument of it, that being the letter which kills, and is the ministration of condemnation and death, but even the Gospel itself to wicked men is the savour of death unto death; and devils will be the executioners of it;
he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors: the word for persecutors signifies "hot" or "burning" {h}, and designs such persons who burn in malice and wrath, In rage and fury, against the saints, and hotly pursue after them, as Laban did after Jacob, Ge 31:36; for these more especially God has determined in his eternal purposes and decrees, and for these he has provided in his quiver, arrows of wrath and vengeance, fiery ones; and against these will he bring them forth, direct them, and shoot them at them, Ps 64:7. Some {i} understand all this not of God, but of the wicked man, and read "if he turn not", but, on the contrary, instead of that, "will whet his sword, bend his bow", &c. against the righteous; yet he shall be disappointed, he shall not accomplish his designs, as appears by the following verses; these phrases are used of wicked men, Ps 11:2, but the former sense seems best.
{h} Myqlwdl "ardentibus", V. L. "in ardentes", Montanus; "hot persecutors", Ainsworth. {i} So Brentius & Glassius in Gejerus.
Psalms 7:14
Ver. 14. Behold, he travaileth with iniquity,.... Is full of it, and big with it, as a woman with child, and eagerly desires to bring it forth, and is in pain till he commits it;
and hath conceived mischief; that which is injurious to God and the perfections of his nature, a transgression of his law, and an affront to his justice and holiness, is doing wrong to fellow creatures, and harm to themselves, either to their name and credit, or to their substance and estates, or to their bodies and souls, and it may be to them all; and yet this they conceive, they devise it in their hearts, and form schemes how to bring it to pass, and which they do with great freedom, deliberation, and pleasure;
and brought forth falsehood; or "vanity" {k}, or a vain thing, as the same word is rendered in Job 15:35; no fruit at all, but wind, or stubble, Isa 26:17; that which deceives does not answer the expectation, but the contrary to it; the sense is, that wicked men having devised mischievous things against the saints, they are big with expectations of success, and strive to bring their purposes to bear, but are miserably disappointed, for it all ends in vanity and vexation of spirit to themselves.
{k} rqv "rem inanem", so some in Vatablus; "vanitatem", Gejerum.
Psalms 7:15
Ver. 15. He made a pit and digged it,.... That is, he digged a pit, and made it very large and capacious, to answer his purposes;
and is fallen into the ditch [which] he made; so it is said of the Heathen, Ps 9:15; and is exemplified in the case of Haman, who was hanged upon the gallows he had built for Mordecai. Kimchi explains this of Saul's falling upon his own sword, and dying by it, which he drew against David; phrase is proverbial, Pr 26:27; the sense of this and the above figurative expressions is literally and properly given in Ps 7:16.
Psalms 7:16
Ver. 16. His mischief shall return upon his own head,.... That which he conceived and devised in his mind, and attempted to bring upon others, shall fall upon himself, as a just judgment from heaven upon him;
and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate; referring to the violence with which Saul pursued David, which would be requited to him, and of which he prophesied, 1Sa 26:10.
Psalms 7:17
Ver. 17. I will praise the Lord according to his righteousness,.... Or on account of it, as it was displayed in vindicating the innocent, and punishing the wicked; so Pharaoh having ordered male infants of the Hebrews to be drowned, and he himself and his host in righteous judgment being drowned in the Red sea; Moses and the children of Israel sung a song, as the psalmist here;
and will sing praise to the name of the Lord most high; whose name is Jehovah, and is the most High over all the earth; and who had now, according to the psalmist's request, Ps 7:6; arose and lifted up himself, and returned on high, and had shown himself to be above all David's enemies, and had sat on the throne judging right.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
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