Thoughts On the Psalms: Psalm 7

We have two Psalms left in this series, but that's not the end of our journey through the Psalms. We have another one hundred and forty two psalms to go once we finish with these first eight, and I fully intend to make it through them all by the time I finish. As I said in my first post on the Psalms, the Psalms are some of my favorite writings in the Bible. They are full of prophecy, poetry, pain, courage, worship, and love, with many of them being written by a man who God said was a man after His own heart. A man who loved God with everything he had and followed Him clear to the end because of that utter devotion. We are blessed that God preserved his writings for us today because there is much that we need to learn from them. I'm under no illusion that I am bringing you everything contained in these Psalms, but perhaps there will be one thing that you did not see before that is brought to light by my thoughts. 

The seventh Psalm nicely corresponds to the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot, if you prefer. It's important to remember that this is my theory on these first eight Psalms, but it is not a “thus saith the Lord,” so take with a grain of salt, or perhaps an entire salt shaker. Do your own study and see if what I'm saying lines up with what is written about those days. 

The Feast of Tabernacles is another of God's commanded series of days, and they point to many things to come in the future and reveal many aspects of God's plan for mankind. They are very valuable for understanding salvation, but sadly they are ignored by many who do not realize the value they contain. The Feast of Tabernacles pictures many things, but one of the things presented is our sojourn here on Earth. We dwell in temporary dwellings for seven days while we look forward to the better things to come with God's kingdom, much as we do every day of our life. We are living in temporary bodies looking to the far superior bodies we will be given upon our resurrection. 

Looking ahead to a better future is a major point of the Feast of Tabernacles, but there are some things that have to come before we get to that point. We have to get through this life, for one thing, and that is not an easy proposition. We are in danger every minute of every day, even more so if we obey and follow God. We are hated by all people because we serve the God they hate, and as His servants, that hate naturally falls on us. Such was the case in David's life, and the seventh Psalm is about a time he was fleeing for his life from his own son and passed a man who cursed at him and threw rocks at him. Regardless of the danger we live in, most of us have never experienced having someone curse us and throw rocks at us because of our faith in God, but we can get some idea of what it might be like from this Psalm. 

2 Samuel 16:5 (AFV) Then King David came to Bahurim. And, behold, a man of the house of Saul came out from there, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera. He came out, and he came cursing.

2 Samuel 16:6 (AFV) And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David. And all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left.

2 Samuel 16:7 (AFV) And Shimei said this in his cursing, "Go out, O man of blood, O man of Belial.

2 Samuel 16:8 (AFV) The LORD has returned upon you all the blood of the house of Saul in whose place you have reigned. And the LORD has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son. And behold, you are taken in your mischief because you are a man of blood!"

Psalm seven is a song of prayer to God at one of the lowest points in David's life, and there are many lessons we can take from what he has to say at this point. David doesn't know what is coming at this point and he has no idea what tomorrow will bring or even if this will be the night that his son catches up to him and kills him. We get a great sense of this in the opening verses of this Psalm as David despairs his own righteousness and survival. 

Psalms 7:1 (AFV) A song of David, which he sang to the LORD, concerning the words of Cush, the Benjamite. O LORD my God, in You have I taken refuge; save me from all who pursue me and deliver me,

Psalms 7:2 (AFV) Lest he tear my soul like a lion, ripping it in pieces, and there is no one to deliver.

You get a sense that, not only is David talking about Cush, he is also talking about his son Absolom and his fear that he would catch up to him and destroy him. In the next few verses, David will go on to say that if any of these accusations are true, then to allow him to fall into his enemies hands. The implication being that all these accusations are false and that God should deliver him because he has not done what he is being accused of.

Psalms 7:3 (AFV) O LORD my God, if I have done this— if there is iniquity in my hands,

Psalms 7:4 (AFV) If I have rewarded evil to the one who was at peace with me, or if I have plundered my enemy without cause—

Psalms 7:5 (AFV) Then let the enemy pursue my soul and take it; yea, let him trample down my life upon the earth and lay my honor in the dust. Selah.

David uses some synonymous poetry in verse 5 to really drive home what he is saying and the intensity of what he is feeling. Something interesting to note is that David did sin a lot, in fact, he outright had done what verse 4 is talking about when he had one of his most faithful soldiers killed so he could take his wife. Knowing that history, how can David say what he is saying here with such confidence?

David had been forgiven, and that means as far as God was concerned, those blotches never existed. The consequences of what David did are still there, but the note of debt has been erased. One of the consequences is Absolom pursuing him to try to kill him, but David is blameless when it comes to a note of debt that needs to be paid. 

Psalms 7:6 (AFV) Arise, O LORD, in Your anger; lift up Yourself against the rage of my enemies, and awake for me at the judgment which You have commanded.

Psalms 7:7 (AFV) And let the congregation of the people surround You; and rule over them from on high.

Psalms 7:8 (AFV) The LORD shall judge the people; judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to my integrity within me.

It's interesting to note that David did not see himself as superior to those he ruled, and he knew it was really God who ruled. He also recognized that he would have to stand in judgment before God, just like the lowliest of his subjects. God will one day rule the Earth directly from on high, and that will be during the last period of man. Also known as the millenium, this time will finish the realm of physical mankind and end with the release of Satan.

Psalms 7:9 (AFV) O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous, for the righteous God tries the hearts and reins.

The evil will all fall eventually, and the righteous will be established. One day, there will never be a wicked man anywhere on Earth, but that day is still a long time in the future. Note the word at the end of verse 9 where it says God tries the hearts and reins. What reins actually means is kidneys, and it is poetic of the seat of emotion and decisions. The steering wheel  of the body, if you like. 

Psalms 7:10 (AFV) My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart.

Psalms 7:11 (AFV) God is a righteous judge, and a God Who has indignation every day.

Again, just reaffirming the righteousness of God and His judgment, but notice it says that God has indignation every day. People like to think of the Father as this grandfather in the sky, but that's not the picture we get from scripture. 

Psalms 7:12 (AFV) If he does not turn, He will whet His sword; He has bent His bow and made it ready.

Psalms 7:13 (AFV) Yea, He has also prepared for Himself weapons of death; He has made His arrows fiery shafts.

If man does not turn from his wicked ways, God is prepared to utterly destroy him. He has prepared His weapons for battle, and one day, He will return for the final battle that signals the end of the age of physical mankind. 

Psalms 7:14 (AFV) Behold, he labors with iniquity, and he has conceived mischief, and has brought forth falsehood.

Psalms 7:15 (AFV) He dug a pit and hollowed it out, and has fallen into the ditch which he made.

Psalms 7:16 (AFV) His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violence shall come down upon his own crown.

There will still be people who, even after a thousand years of living God's way, will still seek to rebel with Satan when he is released upon the Earth for a time. Their own evil will destroy them, it says, and that is the end for all those who seek to harm the people of God. 

Psalms 7:17 (AFV) I will give thanks to the LORD according to His righteousness, and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.

If you know the end of things and the way the story of the world will wind up, you can sing praises to God no matter the circumstances, and that's what David does here. He is full of joy in spite of his terrible circumstances and the cursing that he received from the benjamite man along the path as he was fleeing. If David can praise God while being hunted by his own son whom he loved, I think we can probably praise God in our circumstances as well. 

The first day of the Feast of Tabernacles really ties in quite well with this Psalm as it symbolizes part of our time here on Earth and likely the last era of man during the Millenium. In Psalm 8, we will see the Earth made new, but that is for next time. For now, we can look forward to a time when God will judge the Earth and save His righteous saints from the persecution of men like the Benjamite who cursed David.