LET GOD VINDICATE YOU!
Psalm 7:1-2
O LORD my God, in you do I take refuge;
save me from all my pursuers and deliver me,
lest like a lion they tear my soul apart,
rending it in pieces, with none to deliver.
In the Book of Psalms, the titles are part of the inspired text. In this case, the title is: ‘A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning Cush, a Benjamite. We really don’t know what a Shiggaion is, but scholars believe that it must be a musical term. We also don’t know what event David is referencing. It seems that Cush must have accused David of something he had not done. It is clear that this accusation was tearing David apart, and he was distraught that others were uniting against him because of it.
Psalm 7:3-5
O LORD my God, if I have done this, if there is injustice in my hands,
If I have rewarded evil to my friend, or have plundered him who without cause
was my adversary,
Let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it;
Let him trample my life down to the ground and lay my glory in dust. Selah.
David knows that if he were guilty, he would have to take care of seeking forgiveness and making restitution. So, He remits himself to the judgment of God.
Psalm 7:6-7
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.
David knows the character of God and knows where he stands:
Psalm 7:8-11
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!
My shield is with God,
who saves the upright in heart.
God is a righteous judge,
and a God who feels indignation every day.
God is righteous, and He will save those who are upright. It is striking that although men might think that God is unaware of, or does not care about, the evil done in the world, He is not only judging all, but He is also filled with indignation over the sin of men. God’s judgment of men comes because He has tested their minds and hearts, and found them to be evil.
It seems that it would be impossible for a man to profess his own righteousness. David did not believe that he was righteous on his own. But it does seem clear that, in this case, he did not think he was at fault, even though the next verses show his understanding that repentance from sin is what causes the Lord to withhold His judgment.
Psalm 7:12-16
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.
Behold, the wicked man conceives evil
and is pregnant with mischief
and gives birth to lies.
He makes a pit, digging it out,
and falls into the hole that he has made.
His mischief returns upon his own head,
and on his own skull his violence descends.
David knows that God is willing to forgive those who are willing to repent, but for men who persist in their evil ways, there will be no mercy.
Psalm 7:17
I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness,
and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High.
It brings great peace to know that God is in total control, that He is aware of every motive and thought behind every action. We do not have to defend ourselves; we have a God Who will defend His own. Those same truths must also produce sober fear of the Lord, for those same reasons: His omniscience regarding every motive, attitude, and action we do. Our repentance should not, cannot, be superficial, when we realize that God is deeply aware of all.
My responsibility is to check my own life continually and repent of whatever sin I’ve found. I need to ask God for forgiveness and believe that, in His mercy and grace, He will forgive me. I should rest in God’s perfect righteousness when others are attacking me and accusing me. It is interesting that in verse four, it is implied that it could even be a friend who is accusing us!
In all cases, God is the One Who vindicates His own.
May our lives rejoice in the mercy and grace of our righteous God.
No comments:
Post a Comment