Devotional Tuesday: Psalm 7

God will judge the living and the dead.

1 O Lord my God, in you do I take refuge; 
save me from all my pursuers and deliver me, 

2 lest like a lion they tear my soul apart, 
rending it in pieces, with none to deliver. 

3 O Lord my God, if I have done this, 
if there is wrong in my hands, 

4 if I have repaid my friend with evil 
or plundered my enemy without cause, 

5 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 

6 Arise, O Lord, in your anger; 
lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; 
awake for me; you have appointed a judgment. 

7 Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you; 
over it return on high. 

8 The Lord judges the peoples; 
judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness 
and according to the integrity that is in me. 

9 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! 

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

11 God is a righteous judge, 
and a God who feels indignation every day. 

12 If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; 
he has bent and readied his bow; 

13 he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, 
making his arrows fiery shafts. 

14 Behold, the wicked man conceives evil 
and is pregnant with mischief 
and gives birth to lies. 

15 He makes a pit, digging it out, 
and falls into the hole that he has made. 

16 His mischief returns upon his own head, 
and on his own skull his violence descends. 

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. 

Psalm 7

As a child maybe you played pirates or had a treasure hunt… I did. One year for my birthday, my mother planned a pirate-themed birthday party with a massive scavenger hunt. A dozen of my friends ran throughout the park hunting clues and seeking the end prize. Every good treasure hunt has the X that marks the spot.

The letter X is a helpful tool in understanding a writing tool employed often in the Bible called a chiasm. Chiasms are like sandwiches, you build layers all the way to the middle then build the same layers on the bottom. Bread, cheese, meat, cheese, and bread again. Some other examples are below:

Here is the whole psalm in chiastic form:

Verses 9-10 are the key verses at the center of the Psalm. They are the center of the X that marks the spot. Everything in the Psalm comes to the center and then goes back out, repeating or reimagining the same material as before.

8 The Lord judges the peoples; 
judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness 
and according to the integrity that is in me. 

9 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! 

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

11 God is a righteous judge, 
and a God who feels indignation every day. 

12 If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; 
he has bent and readied his bow; 

Here bolded is the central ideas for the Psalm… “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! 10 My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart.”

It is so easy to forget that God will judge the peoples, including us.

In a culture that has largely minimized God’s judgment and righteousness in pursuit of positivity, love, and inclusion, we forget that God will indeed judge the wicked.

Our works and our righteousness are what God will expose and examine. David is confident in his relationship with God as a result of his continued dedication and submission to God. Yet, those who have not experienced this submission, are at great risk. They have opted—chosen—to rely on their own works and flawed righteousness.

For David—and I hope those of you reading this morning—is hidden behind the shield of God. God alone is able to save those who live according to the way of God and peace.

Psalm 7 brings us to the sorrowing fact God will judge the world. This lament is both personal and an expression of creation. For those who practice evil bring down violence on their own heads. This truth ought to turn us to God, the saving kindness for those who kneel before the King of Kings.

Those who kneel will be counted among the upright as sons and daughters of God, heirs with Christ Jesus.

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

Amen!

Psalm 7 Details

Genre: Lament
Attribution: David
Structure: Chiasm
Tags: Superscription Selah To Yahweh
Themes: Character Evil Faith Wrath of God Honest Judgment Music Persecution Petitionary Prayer Repentance Righteousness Salvation Thanksgiving Violence Worship