PSALM 7 - A Shiggaion*

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.

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

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!

My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart. 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.

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.

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.

King David was not always a king, he began as a shepherd. When this Psalm was written, he was not yet king, and King Saul had been looking for David to have him killed. Cush, a Benjaminite is identified here, the only time in the Bible. 

The psalm begins with David acknowledging God as his refuge. David knows looking to God for protection is how he will make it. He cannot protect himself; it is not possible. David is asking God to deliver him, and he humbly tells God that if he has wronged anyone, he should be punished. David reminds God (I do the same. Really? Like God doesn’t know, lol) of his integrity and righteousness. (vs 8-11) He reminds God that He saves the upright in heart. “See me God? I’ve lived a life of integrity. Those out to get me need to be punished.” (My paraphrase!)

David reminds God that He is a righteous judge who feels indignation. He goes on to say the unrepentant will have their mischief returned back to them. (vs 12-16) As if our God needs reminding. Yet, when I read God's promises back to myself, I’m reminded that God can be trusted. God is good. God is our refuge and strength. I need reminding. 

The order in which David recounts his grievances is self-examination first. He moves on to his friends and finishes with a look at his enemies. David did not throw friends or enemies under the bus. He maintained his integrity as he evaluated the circumstances. 

David eventually is Israel's king. He leaves the sheep and when he should have been out with the military, he stays home. This leads to his adulterous affair with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah, her husband. The shepherd king fell hard.

So how does this deep soul go from looking to God for his everything, to lusting after another man’s wife and arranging his murder? Because we all sin. We are tempted, we entertain the idea of indulging in behaviors that war against God. Every one of us has been tempted, every one of us has given in to various forms of sin that lead us away from looking to God. 

God's standard is higher. His ways are greater. He calls us out of darkness, to join him in the love and light of Christ. We are all like David. We can know, love, and follow Jesus and  turn around and fall hard. I say this not to discourage, but to admonish. Our flesh will always fight against our spirits. We are in a battle that Christ has already won, while God calls us to a higher standard. We are to live out this life in a way that reflects Jesus. We either walk with God or we walk away from God.

What about you? Do you find yourself in a constant struggle, leaning into what you crave and lust after, rather than asking God for His strength? Have you asked God to help you honestly assess your motives? 

Please share your thoughts in the comment box. 

*Shiggaion - from the verb shagah, "to reel about through drink," occurs in the title of Psalm 7 The plural form, shigionoth, is found in Habakkuk 3:1. The word denotes a lyrical poem composed under strong mental emotion; a song of impassioned imagination accompanied with suitable music; a dithyrambic ode.