Psalm 7:3-13
Unless we know the whole story, we run the risk of making misinterpretations. It is easy to focus on one part of the story, and if it is out of context, we can have a quite different idea just looking at that one scene. The same is with the Bible. Reading the Bible, we might think that King David is arrogant and violent if we look at certain verses of the Bible.
O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands, if I have repaid my friend with evil or plundered my enemy without cause, let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it, and let him trample my life to the ground and lay my glory in the dust. Selah
Psalm 7:3-5 ESV
If we look at the standard the Law of the Bible back in King David's time, he was righteous. Jesus had not come at this time, and it was enough to fulfil the law by practicing it. Your mind and intentions were not considered. Jesus looks more closely.
the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
Romans 3:22 ESV
If we understand just how truly evil, and how sinful we are, we probably could not accept the gift of grace considering what Jesus went through. Jesus went through tremendous pain and humiliation so that we might enjoy the gift of grace. In order to serve Jesus and serve in righteousness, we need to love Jesus and be thankful for our gift of salvation.
God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day. If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow; he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.
Psalm 7:11-13 ESV
The above passage makes it like God is violent and ready for war. In many ways this is true. Our God is a God of Wrath. His wrath is against sin. God hates sin. In fact, he cannot tolerate sin at all and will remove those people who are wicked and sinful. Yet, when Jesus came, He came for the wicked and sinful people. Just as the wrathful God came to remove sin to save His people, Jesus came to save people. Both came to remove the unrighteous things.
And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
Genesis 6:6 ESV
God did regret making man, but instead of creating something new, He found a way to save us through His son. We often forget that as powerful, majestic, and unfathomable our God is, He is also a very personal God, who is jealous for our love. This is our God, who fights for the righteous.
Arise, O Lord, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake for me; you have appointed a judgment. Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you; over it return on high. The Lord judges the peoples; judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me. Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end, and may you establish the righteous— you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God!
Psalm 7:6-9 ESV
At the time this psalm was written in this part of the world, judgements were done quickly, and it was expected that they were done fairly. The cultural matrix at that time was still the time of an eye for eye and a tooth for a tooth. David was fearful for his life, but he was more fearful that righteousness would not be achieved. People would see God as weak and unjust if He or his servants did not judge quickly.
Fortunately, we are in a time that we can love and forgive our enemies. Jesus' sacrifice has allowed for us to do this. We do not need to judge or punish them. In the same, we are not judged or punished because Christ’s blood has washed us of our sins. Knowing this we should try to bring more people into the kingdom of God, so they, too, can enjoy the full grace of God.
David's prayer in psalm seven reminds us three important things we need to do in our world today..
- We need to find righteousness through Jesus.
- We need to bring new people into the kingdom of God.
- We need to live lives that are righteous and abhor sin to please God.
