“Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the
just; for the righteous God tests the hearts and minds. My defense is of God, who saves the upright
in heart. God is a just judge, and God
is angry with the wicked every day.”
In Psalm 7 we see David’s frustration over false
accusations. In other Psalms, we see
David confess of his sins and beg for mercy.
But this Psalm is different, he is claiming that he has been falsely
accused of a wrong-doing. Most scholars
connect this Psalm with a false accusation that David was seeking King Saul’s
life. “And David said to Saul: “Why do you listen to the words of men who
say, ‘Indeed David seeks your harm’?”” (1 Samuel 24:9)
To the contrary, David’s life was sought by Saul while David
was careful not to injure Saul or allow his supporters to bring harm to
Saul. For example, when Saul went into a
cave to relieve himself, a cave where David and his men happened to be hiding,
David did Saul no harm other than to cut off the corner of Saul’s robe. “Now it
happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s
robe. And he said to his men, “The LORD
forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, to
stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.” So David restrained his servants with these
words, and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his
way.” (1 Samuel 24:5-7)
How frustrating for David to be accused of the very thing he
deliberately avoided. More than once he
had an opportunity to bring harm to Saul.
This situation did not drive David to attack his accuser, rather he
turned to God. “The injuries men do us
should drive us to God, for to him we may commit our cause. Nay, he sings to
the Lord; his spirit was not ruffled by it, nor cast down, but so composed and
cheerful that he was still in tune for sacred songs and it did not occasion one
jarring string in his harp. Thus let the injuries we receive from men, instead
of provoking our passions, kindle and excite our devotions.” (Matthew Henry)
David calls out to his God in this psalm:
“O LORD my God, in You I put my trust…”
“O LORD my God, if I have done this…”
“Arise, O LORD, in Your anger…”
David wants this solved by God, in God’s anger, not in
David’s anger. We have much to learn
from this psalm, or at least I do.
Rarely, if ever, do we solve any problem in our own anger. What we find is that by our own hand the
problem becomes inflamed, worsened.
When we act in anger, we are usually being driven by
pride. We know what pride comes before
(a fall.) ‘But I have been wronged’ we
might cry out. David was wronged, and
of the worst kind. He was falsely
accused of something he specifically avoided.
He had integrity and his accuser did not, but the lies that were spread
told the opposite story. “Behold the wicked brings forth iniquity;
yes, he conceives trouble and brings forth falsehood.” (vs 14)
The wicked ‘conceive’ trouble.
They make it up, they create trouble where it did not exist before. It truly is wicked.
But we are children of the Most High God. We are not to return evil with evil. We are to turn to God, increase our devotions
and time with Him and let Him deal with the wicked. As difficult as it may be to not take things
into our own hands, consider this: God
is all knowing, He can deliver the wisest judgment for every situation. If we try to deal with it ourselves, we may
find ourselves at the wrong end of God’s judgment. Besides, you are a child of God. You know it bothers Him to see His children wronged. If it appears He is slow to respond, He has
his reason and purpose. Would it not be
better if the wicked was to come to repentance?
We serve a good God that gives sinners many opportunities to
repent. God’s ways are above our ways.
David was given ample opportunity to harm Saul, yet he only
cut his robe and, on another occasion, took his spear. “Saul himself owned both these to be
undeniable proofs of David’s integrity and good affection to him. If we render
good for evil, and deny ourselves the gratifications of our passion, our so
doing may turn to us for a testimony, more than we think of, another day.” (Matthew Henry) That testimony can give glory to God.
In the midst of troubles from a false accusation, we should take
it to God in prayer and strive to leave it with God when we do like David as he
finished this psalm: “I will praise the LORD according to His
righteousness, and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.” (vs 17)
May you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ.
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