Reflections on Psalm 7

¹ I come to you for protection, O Lord my God.
    Save me from my persecutors—rescue me!
² If you don’t, they will maul me like a lion,
    tearing me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
³ O Lord my God, if I have done wrong
    or am guilty of injustice,
⁴ if I have betrayed a friend
    or plundered my enemy without cause,
⁵ then let my enemies capture me.
    Let them trample me into the ground
    and drag my honor in the dust. Interlude

⁶ Arise, O Lord, in anger!
    Stand up against the fury of my enemies!
    Rouse yourself for me in your instructed justice!
⁷ The congregation of the people surround you.
    Rule over them from on high.
⁸     The Lord judges the nations.
Declare me righteous, O Lord,
    for I am innocent, O Most High!
⁹ End the evil of those who are wicked,
    and defend the righteous.
For you look deep within the mind and heart,
    O righteous God.

¹⁰ God is my shield,
    saving those whose hearts are true and right.
¹¹ God is an honest judge.
    He is angry with the wicked every day.

¹² If a person does not repent,
    God will sharpen his sword;
    he will bend and string his bow.
¹³ He will prepare his deadly weapons
    and shoot his flaming arrows.

¹⁴ The wicked conceive evil;
    they are pregnant with trouble
    and give birth to lies.
¹⁵ They dig a deep pit to trap others,
    then fall into it themselves.
¹⁶ The trouble they make for others backfires on them.
    The violence they plan falls on their own heads.

¹⁷ I will thank the Lord because he is just;
    I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

One of the great deficiencies of the Constantinian Church is its complete failure to help heal the wounds it so often helps create.  Check the churches with buildings and budgets and inevitably you find a history of conflicts, splits, name-calling, even lawsuits among members and other churches.  The New Testament house church had many of these same problems, but the apostles stepped in and put an end to lawsuits and factionalism.  Today with churches on nearly every corner of the typical American town, conflicts are typically solved by the loser slinking away to unite with another fellowship.  He or she rarely gains closure on the conflict that drove them out of the last church and consequently the believer becomes less open and more cynical of Churchianity. 

Psalm 7 seems to be part of a liturgy for re-establishing the reputation of an individual who has been falsely accused and found innocent.  The first two verses introduce the theme that someone is tearing his life apart, threatening his reputation and no one has stepped forward to clear his name.  So, he calls upon Yahweh.  In verses 3-4 he swears to his innocence and allows that if he is at fault in any way, he will bear the penalty.  He calls for Yahweh to arise and be his judge before the assembly of his people.  In verses 8-11 he prays for his persecutors (that their wickedness would end) and affirms the power of Yahweh to deal with the mischief-maker.  The song ends with thanksgiving and praise for the righteous justice of Yahweh Most High.

I think this liturgy may have formed the basis of the prayers of the New Testament Church in Acts 5 and 12.  The Church prays for Peter and the Apostles immediately after they are unjustly thrown into prison.  They take to heart the powerful truths of Psalm 7.  Their reaction is not to complain or file a lawsuit or quit the congregation.  They pray, recognizing that God is the only solution to the problem.  There was probably intense soul-searching as they studied their Scriptures. In Psalm 7:6 the literal Hebrew says:

“Arise, Yahweh, in your anger,

Rise up! My enemy rages.

Raise yourself for me in your instructed justice.”

Where does Yahweh instruct but in His Word?  The New Testament church made the Scriptures the basis of their prayers, not their wounded pride or off-balance emotions.  Verse 7 says, “The congregation of the people surrounds you.”  There is a coming together around the Word to discern God’s will.

This is why Paul can write, “In all things, give thanks” (1 Thess. 5:18, Ephesians 5:20); in good times and bad, because God is sovereign and working all things together for good to them elect in God's grace (Romans 8:28).  

How I wish I had discovered these truths six months ago when I became the personal target of a bishop and his confused priest.  Instead of taking things into my own hands, Psalm 7 instructs us to turn to Christ who, if I am innocent, will be more out-raged at the church’s compromised witness than I could ever be, and at the same time, work healing for all parties.  Eventually the Holy Spirit pulled me back from the edge of wanting revenge by speaking clearly to me in a dream (well, he spoke to me in Greek and I had to translate it the next day).  But Christ was true to His Word.  He warned me back, confirmed He would handle this in His way, and showed me cause for intercession, praise and thanksgiving rather than bitterness, revenge, and hostility.   

If you have been falsely accused, here are the steps Psalm 7 suggests for handling your response.

1.  Recognize the situation for what it is (vs.1-2).  The first stage of grief at a broken relationship is denial (“This isn’t really happening.”)  When someone attacks your reputation falsely, it can rip your life to pieces, like a lion tears a piece of meat.

2.   Examine your part and accept what you probably had coming (vs. 2-5, 8).  Confess where you are at fault and ask God to do whatever spiritual surgery is required in your own heart.

3.  Go to the Word of God (v.6).  Read Psalm 7 again and again.  Let it guide your confessions and prayers for one whole week.  Do this before you react to the persecutor.

4.  It may sound like a cliche, but let go and let God (v.8-16).  You can’t change other people in any effective or authentic way, but God can.  Realize that God is your Judge.  This doesn't necessarily mean God finds you innocent or guilty in this situation.  Old Testament judges were warriors who delivered God’s people from enemies.  Let God do the fighting while you do the praying.

5.   Do not gloat when the liar falls into his own trap (v.15-16).   Boasting is never allowed in our faith, except to boast in Christ (1 Cor. 1:31).  Be ready to forgive, not because you want to put the relationship back together necessarily (sometimes that’s not wise), but because you want to be found in the righteousness of Christ and not in your own.

6.  Be thankful that you have learned a lesson in faith (v.17).  God is true to His Word always.  Anyone who wants to live a Christian life will be persecuted (see 2 Timothy 3:12).  Jesus promised that we will get into trouble, but in the midst of it, we will find wonderful joy and radical happiness.