Psalm 7:1-13
A Prayer for Vindication
71 O Jehovah my God, in thee do I take refuge: Save me from all them that pursue me, and deliver me, 2 Lest they tear my soul like a lion, Rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver. 3 O Jehovah my God, if I have done this; If there be iniquity in my hands; 4 If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me; (Yea, I have delivered him that without cause was mine adversary;) 5 Let the enemy pursue my soul, and overtake it; Yea, let him tread my life down to the earth, And lay my glory in the dust. [Selah] 6 Arise, O Jehovah, in thine anger; Lift up thyself against the rage of mine adversaries, And awake for me; thou hast commanded judgment. 7 And let the congregation of the peoples compass thee about; And over them return thou on high. 8 Jehovah ministereth judgment to the peoples: Judge me, O Jehovah, according to my righteousness, and to mine integrity that is in me. 9 O let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish thou the righteous: For the righteous God trieth the minds and hearts.
10 My shield is with God, Who saveth the upright in heart. 11 God is a righteous judge, Yea, a God that hath indignation every day. 12 If a man turn not, he will whet his sword; He hath bent his bow, and made it ready. 13 He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; He maketh his arrows fiery [shafts].
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Psalm 7:1-13
Commentary on Psalm 7:1-9
(Read Psalm 7:1-9)
David flees to God for succour. But Christ alone could call on Heaven to attest his uprightness in all things. All His works were wrought in righteousness; and the prince of this world found nothing whereof justly to accuse him. Yet for our sakes, submitting to be charged as guilty, he suffered all evils, but, being innocent, he triumphed over them all. The plea is, "For the righteous God trieth the hearts and the reins." He knows the secret wickedness of the wicked, and how to bring it to an end; he is witness to the secret sincerity of the just, and has ways of establishing it. When a man has made peace with God about all his sins, upon the terms of grace and mercy, through the sacrifice of the Mediator, he may, in comparison with his enemies, appeal to God's justice to decide.
Commentary on Psalm 7:10-17
(Read Psalm 7:10-17)
David is confident that he shall find God his powerful Saviour. The destruction of sinners may be prevented by their conversion; for it is threatened, If he turn not from his evil way, let him expect it will be his ruin. But amidst the threatenings of wrath, we have a gracious offer of mercy. God gives sinners warning of their danger, and space to repent, and prevent it. He is slow to punish, and long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish. The sinner is described, verses 14-16, as taking more pains to ruin his soul than, if directed aright, would save it. This is true, in a sense, of all sinners. Let us look to the Saviour under all our trials. Blessed Lord, give us grace to look to thee in the path of tribulation, going before thy church and people, and marking the way by thine own spotless example. Under all the persecutions which in our lesser trials mark our way, let the looking to Jesus animate our minds and comfort our hearts.