Praying for deliverance and judgement
Text Psalm 7 Time 09/09/07 Place Childs Hill BaptistWe come this week to Psalm 7. Once again it is by David. It is called a shiggaion but as we don't know what that means so it serves only to remind us that these psalms were meant to be sung in the Temple. We are also told that it is a shiggaion of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning Cush, a Benjamite. Such pointers are not common in the psalms. This one is only a little help as we don't know who Cush (or Kish) was. Being a Benjamite he was no doubt a supporter of Israel's first king, Saul, who so opposed David.
It has been called 'the song of the slandered saint' because in it David protests his innocence and complains of those who pursue him and want like a lion to tear him and rip him to pieces. Often in the psalms we will find the psalmist complaining about his enemies. When as Christians we read such things we ought to remember that we too have enemies. The Devil is against us and so is this fallen world. Further, even within us, though we are converted, remaining sin continues to war against our souls.
Most of the psalm, as ever, is a prayer and it is an example again to of us of how to pray under pressure, particularly where there is opposition. I want to say three things from the psalm.
1. Pray for protection and practice puritySo the psalm begins with prayer – a prayer for protection from one's enemies. So we say
1. Pray for protection
O LORD my God, he begins, I take refuge in you. He wants to hide in God. He wants to find safety from every trouble in him. He prays specifically save and deliver me from all who pursue me, or they will tear me like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me. He feels like a little lamb being pursued by wild animals. David had seen wild animals tearing into sheep and that was exactly how he felt at this point - very vulnerable. And so he calls out to God to grant him safety and deliverance.
It has been called 'the song of the slandered saint' because in it David protests his innocence and complains of those who pursue him and want like a lion to tear him and rip him to pieces. Often in the psalms we will find the psalmist complaining about his enemies. When as Christians we read such things we ought to remember that we too have enemies. The Devil is against us and so is this fallen world. Further, even within us, though we are converted, remaining sin continues to war against our souls.
Most of the psalm, as ever, is a prayer and it is an example again to of us of how to pray under pressure, particularly where there is opposition. I want to say three things from the psalm.
1. Pray for protection and practice puritySo the psalm begins with prayer – a prayer for protection from one's enemies. So we say
1. Pray for protection
O LORD my God, he begins, I take refuge in you. He wants to hide in God. He wants to find safety from every trouble in him. He prays specifically save and deliver me from all who pursue me, or they will tear me like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me. He feels like a little lamb being pursued by wild animals. David had seen wild animals tearing into sheep and that was exactly how he felt at this point - very vulnerable. And so he calls out to God to grant him safety and deliverance.
In a similar way we should pray for protection too. Remember Peter's words (1 Pet 5:8) Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. In light of that we need to cast ourselves on God looking to him, as David does here. Make him your refuge. Hide in him. The only place of safety for any of us is in Jesus Christ.
2. Practice purity
It is not nice to be accused of doing something when we are innocent. 'You broke it'; 'it was your fault'; 'you're the one to blame'. When we are accused unjustly it is even worse. But that is David's position. He goes on in 3-5 with an oath O LORD my God, he says again, if I have done this and there is guilt on my hands - if I have done evil to him who is at peace with me or without cause have robbed my foe - then let my enemy pursue and overtake me; let him trample my life to the ground and make me sleep in the dust. Selah. In other words 'if I am guilty of the sort of thing that people may accuse me of, the sort of thing that Cush and others certainly were guilty of – then may I be punished. I deserve it.'
2. Practice purity
It is not nice to be accused of doing something when we are innocent. 'You broke it'; 'it was your fault'; 'you're the one to blame'. When we are accused unjustly it is even worse. But that is David's position. He goes on in 3-5 with an oath O LORD my God, he says again, if I have done this and there is guilt on my hands - if I have done evil to him who is at peace with me or without cause have robbed my foe - then let my enemy pursue and overtake me; let him trample my life to the ground and make me sleep in the dust. Selah. In other words 'if I am guilty of the sort of thing that people may accuse me of, the sort of thing that Cush and others certainly were guilty of – then may I be punished. I deserve it.'
The point, of course, is that he is in fact innocent. He has not done such things. Therefore, there is no reason that God should give him up to his enemies. David, as we know from what we read of his dealings with Saul, always scrupulously kept his conscience clear and was without guilt in such matters. We must do the same. Here, nevertheless, David was being slandered by this man Cush. We too must seek to be pure. However, it will not necessarily exempt us from accusations and other troubles.
Can we pray like this?
Sadly, there are times when we cannot - when we are guilty of things that we are ashamed of and that we know are wrong. At such times we simply have to accept our lot. We cannot argue. We can plead, however, the perfection and purity of Christ and so for his sake we can expect a measure of mercy.
At other times we are innocent and yet still we are unjustly slandered and accused and opposed in other ways. We must not fret at such times thinking there is no hope for us but cast ourselves on the Lord. He knows the truth. He will see that we get justice and more.
2. Pray for judgement and commit yourself to the Righteous Judge
David prays not only for mercy but is realistic and recognises that if God is going to act there are going to be consequences for those who oppose him. We can be critical perhaps of the way the psalms seem to denounce others at times but sometimes we fail to do joined-up thinking. If we are going to be delivered or rescued then we will need to see our enemies overthrown. We need to pray for judgement on Satan and on all who oppose the truth, as David does here.
1. Pray for judgement
Pray that your enemies will be judged
See how he prays in 6 Arise, O LORD, in your anger; rise up against the rage of my enemies. Awake, my God; decree justice. Arise, he says. It is as if God has been sleeping. He's fallen into a deep slumber. David wants him to wake up and to come and to grant justice to him against his enemies.
It is similar in 9 O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts, bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure. He reminds himself firstly that God is a righteous God – he is concerned about such things. Further, he is concerned not only with outward righteousness but inward too – he is a God who searches minds and hearts. There is nothing superficial about his judgements. He knows men's thoughts he knows men's hearts. We can fool one another but not him. And so David prays with confidence - O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts, bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure. He wants the righteous to be made secure and so he wants an end to the violence of the wicked. It is like the problem we have with violence in our communities. We all want it safe on the streets so that people can feel secure. To do that the violent things that bad people do – mugging and vandalism, etc – need to be brought to an end. And so such people have to be dealt with somehow. In a similar way, for the righteous to be secure then their enemies (Satan, the world and the flesh) must be overthrown. Pray for that to happen.
Pray that everyone will be judgedIn 7 he says Let the assembled peoples gather around you. It is the Day of Judgement in David's mind's eye and people are crowding around the Judge as they would do if it were an ordinary judgement day on earth – the day of the assizes or when a circuit judge arrives in town. David goes on Rule over them from on high; let the LORD judge the peoples. He is longing for that great day of judgement when Christ will come down from heaven as the Judge and all will be gathered before him to be judged.
At other times we are innocent and yet still we are unjustly slandered and accused and opposed in other ways. We must not fret at such times thinking there is no hope for us but cast ourselves on the Lord. He knows the truth. He will see that we get justice and more.
2. Pray for judgement and commit yourself to the Righteous Judge
David prays not only for mercy but is realistic and recognises that if God is going to act there are going to be consequences for those who oppose him. We can be critical perhaps of the way the psalms seem to denounce others at times but sometimes we fail to do joined-up thinking. If we are going to be delivered or rescued then we will need to see our enemies overthrown. We need to pray for judgement on Satan and on all who oppose the truth, as David does here.
1. Pray for judgement
Pray that your enemies will be judged
See how he prays in 6 Arise, O LORD, in your anger; rise up against the rage of my enemies. Awake, my God; decree justice. Arise, he says. It is as if God has been sleeping. He's fallen into a deep slumber. David wants him to wake up and to come and to grant justice to him against his enemies.
It is similar in 9 O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts, bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure. He reminds himself firstly that God is a righteous God – he is concerned about such things. Further, he is concerned not only with outward righteousness but inward too – he is a God who searches minds and hearts. There is nothing superficial about his judgements. He knows men's thoughts he knows men's hearts. We can fool one another but not him. And so David prays with confidence - O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts, bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure. He wants the righteous to be made secure and so he wants an end to the violence of the wicked. It is like the problem we have with violence in our communities. We all want it safe on the streets so that people can feel secure. To do that the violent things that bad people do – mugging and vandalism, etc – need to be brought to an end. And so such people have to be dealt with somehow. In a similar way, for the righteous to be secure then their enemies (Satan, the world and the flesh) must be overthrown. Pray for that to happen.
Pray that everyone will be judgedIn 7 he says Let the assembled peoples gather around you. It is the Day of Judgement in David's mind's eye and people are crowding around the Judge as they would do if it were an ordinary judgement day on earth – the day of the assizes or when a circuit judge arrives in town. David goes on Rule over them from on high; let the LORD judge the peoples. He is longing for that great day of judgement when Christ will come down from heaven as the Judge and all will be gathered before him to be judged.
All of us, if we are Christians, we should be looking forward to that day for it will be a day of vindication for us.
Pray that you will be judgedSee how boldly he speaks Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High. He knows that he also has to be judged but, as we said before, he is confident that, as far as this matter is concerned, he is innocent. He does not lack integrity. When we read a verse like this we can legitimately take it in two ways.
Firstly, it reminds us that where we really have been wronged and are innocent then we can go to God for justice and he will hear. He will be absolutely fair.
Secondly, because David is the Lord's anointed he also points us to Jesus Christ, the Son of David, who can say absolutely, without qualification, Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High. He is truly without flaw. If we are in him then we can face God the Father and be judged with the same confidence. We are innocent, without spot or blemish. So in 9 he prays O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts, not only bring to an end the violence of the wicked but also make the righteous secure.
2. Commit yourself to the Righteous JudgeBecause he is confident that God will make the righteous secure he confidently commits himself to God, God Most High. He is a God (10b) who saves the upright in heart. He (11) is a righteous judge and a God who expresses his wrath every day. Therefore David says (10a) My shield is God Most High. This shield imagery we have had in previous psalms. God protects his servant. He is safe against attack when his Shield is there.
And so he warns his enemies about God, using then contemporary battle imagery (12, 13) If he does not relent, he will sharpen his sword; he will bend and string his bow. He has prepared his deadly weapons; he makes ready his flaming arrows.Here is God, what is he doing? He is making preparations for the battle – sharpening his sword on a whetstone, bending his unstrung bow and putting the string on it again. He is preparing his deadly weapons of various sorts. Some of his arrows he is dipping in oil and lighting them ready to be shot at his enemies.
Pray that you will be judgedSee how boldly he speaks Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High. He knows that he also has to be judged but, as we said before, he is confident that, as far as this matter is concerned, he is innocent. He does not lack integrity. When we read a verse like this we can legitimately take it in two ways.
Firstly, it reminds us that where we really have been wronged and are innocent then we can go to God for justice and he will hear. He will be absolutely fair.
Secondly, because David is the Lord's anointed he also points us to Jesus Christ, the Son of David, who can say absolutely, without qualification, Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High. He is truly without flaw. If we are in him then we can face God the Father and be judged with the same confidence. We are innocent, without spot or blemish. So in 9 he prays O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts, not only bring to an end the violence of the wicked but also make the righteous secure.
2. Commit yourself to the Righteous JudgeBecause he is confident that God will make the righteous secure he confidently commits himself to God, God Most High. He is a God (10b) who saves the upright in heart. He (11) is a righteous judge and a God who expresses his wrath every day. Therefore David says (10a) My shield is God Most High. This shield imagery we have had in previous psalms. God protects his servant. He is safe against attack when his Shield is there.
And so he warns his enemies about God, using then contemporary battle imagery (12, 13) If he does not relent, he will sharpen his sword; he will bend and string his bow. He has prepared his deadly weapons; he makes ready his flaming arrows.Here is God, what is he doing? He is making preparations for the battle – sharpening his sword on a whetstone, bending his unstrung bow and putting the string on it again. He is preparing his deadly weapons of various sorts. Some of his arrows he is dipping in oil and lighting them ready to be shot at his enemies.
If you want it in more modern terms – he is fixing his bayonet; he is loading his gun; he is making sure he has enough bullets for the job, enough grenades. He is priming the bombs ready for discharging over enemy territory.
Commit yourself to God because the judgement day is fast approaching and if we are going to survive that then we need to commit ourselves to God the Righteous Judge who alone can save us.
3. Expect God to turn things around then give thanks and praise to himWell, this is how to pray. But will it make any difference? Will anything happen if we pray like that? It is clear that David thought so. The psalm ends on a very positive note.
1. Expect the tables to be turned at lastIt is important that we always remember that the way it looks now is not the way it is going to look in the end. No, there is going to be a great reversal in the world to come. Here we see the biter bit and the consequences of spitting at the wind. Remember how Jesus put it – the first will be last and the last will be first. It is hard to imagine sometimes but that is how it is going to be and it is part of faith to see this. David puts it in three ways here.
1. A disappointing pregnancy
Commit yourself to God because the judgement day is fast approaching and if we are going to survive that then we need to commit ourselves to God the Righteous Judge who alone can save us.
3. Expect God to turn things around then give thanks and praise to himWell, this is how to pray. But will it make any difference? Will anything happen if we pray like that? It is clear that David thought so. The psalm ends on a very positive note.
1. Expect the tables to be turned at lastIt is important that we always remember that the way it looks now is not the way it is going to look in the end. No, there is going to be a great reversal in the world to come. Here we see the biter bit and the consequences of spitting at the wind. Remember how Jesus put it – the first will be last and the last will be first. It is hard to imagine sometimes but that is how it is going to be and it is part of faith to see this. David puts it in three ways here.
1. A disappointing pregnancy
14 He who is pregnant with evil and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment. All the rounded plumpness of evil, all its boasting and its pride, where is it leading? Well, when they give birth, they give birth to disillusionment, to nothing at all. It's just a puff of wind. It all comes to nothing at all.
2. A dangerous digging operation
2. A dangerous digging operation
15 He who digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit he has made. With what enthusiasm the wicked throw themselves into digging their holes to trap others. But what is going to happen? They are going to fall into the pit that they themselves have made. They are setting a trap only for themselves.
3. A backfiring weapon
3. A backfiring weapon
16 The trouble he causes recoils on himself; his violence comes down on his own head. Do you know that expression 'hoist with his own petard'? It appears in Shakespeare's Hamlet. The petard was a notoriously unreliable war machine that used gunpowder. The evil man lights the fuse intending to kill others and ‘Kaboom!’ - he blows himself up! That is how it will work out for those who oppose the people of God. They cannot win. So take warning if you oppose them.
2. Give thanks and praise to God it is soThe psalm ends triumphantly on a very positive note of thanks and praise (17) I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High. We also ought to be thankful and give praise to God, for we know that victory is certain in him. If we keep looking to the lord all will be well in Christ.
2. Give thanks and praise to God it is soThe psalm ends triumphantly on a very positive note of thanks and praise (17) I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High. We also ought to be thankful and give praise to God, for we know that victory is certain in him. If we keep looking to the lord all will be well in Christ.
