Psalm 7, Violence and Recoil

Psalm 7 is an example of an "imprecatory" psalm, a psalm that includes anger and a request for destruction of one's enemies.

A shiggaion of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning Cush, a Benjamite.

The Hebrew word "shiggaion" may be some type of musical term.  But in this psalm, it comes across (to me) as a "angry rant" or maybe "frenetic chanting"!

The historical episode with Cush is unknown.  Kidner suggests that since a number of Absalom's supporters were Benjamites, there was very likely a significant number of Benjamites who viewed David as their enemy.

Psalm 7: 1-5, Refuge in You

O LORD my God, I take refuge in you; 

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.

O LORD my God, 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.

From verse 1, David's request is simple: "Save me, protect me!" The metaphor of a lion shredding a kill describes the depth of his fear.  In contrast to that, David has already taken refuge in God and staked his safety on God's character and action.

In verses 3-5, David describes the sins he could have committed, but did not.  The rapid, repetitive "if I have done..." comes across as a vow, a strong statement of his innocence.  David insists that his own actions have been above reproach, despite the claims of his enemies.  By implication, David's enemies have done these things that David has not.

Psalm 7: 6-9, Decree justice!

Arise, O LORD, in your anger; 

rise up against the rage of my enemies. 

Awake, my God; 

decree justice. 

Let the assembled peoples gather around you.  

Rule over them from on high; 

let the LORD judge the peoples.

Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, 

according to my integrity, O Most High. 

O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts, 

bring to an end the violence of the wicked 

and make the righteous secure.

C. S. Lewis points out, in his short "Reflections on the Psalms", that the Old Testament view of justice is a little strange to New Testament readers.  The New Testament emphasis is on mercy, on Christ's sacrificial atonement that gives freedom from divine judgment.  But the Jewish writers saw judgment as a good thing, something often denied the poor and the oppressed.  Jesus echoes this viewpoint in Luke 18:1-5, in a parable about an unjust judge and a persistent widow.  To the psalmist, a judge was one who put things right and the poor were often unable to get their case heard before a judge.  Only the rich had access to judges!  So, from that viewpoint, hearing that God would judge one's case was a delight.

Psalm 7: 10-13, My God sharpens his sword

My shield is God Most High, 

who saves the upright in heart. 

God is a righteous judge, 

a God who expresses his wrath every day.

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.

If "vengeance is God's" then maybe it is appropriate to give that up to God by asking that God take vengeance! It is God who is sharpening his sword and bending his bow!

The phrase "If he does not relent" offers an option for the wicked and suggests that God is delays justice in order to give this option.  Note, however, that in being righteous, God expresses "his wrath" every day.  In context, this is something David seeks, so God's "wrath" involves setting things right and defeating those who lie, manipulate, and act in violence. God's "wrath" is something David longs to see!

Psalm 7: 14-16, Pregnant with evil

He who is pregnant with evil and conceives trouble 

gives birth to disillusionment.

He who digs a hole and scoops it out 

falls into the pit he has made.

The trouble he causes recoils on himself; 

his violence comes down on his own head.

Here there is poignancy in the traps that the wicked are setting for David and David's delight that they "recoil" back onto the schemers.  Though "pregnant with evil" they give "birth to disillusionment", though digging a deep pit, they fall into it, all evil "recoils" onto the evil doer!  If only that were so!
(James, in his New Testament letter, fleshes out the pregnancy metaphor a little more; see James 1:15.)

In the ancient Old Testament story of Esther, the bureaucrat Haman seeks to destroy the Jews and to impale Mordecai on a tall pole where all can see him.  Yet, at the end of Esther 7, it is Haman who is killed in that way, hung on the gallows he created!

Some find this justice disturbing.  But it resonates with me.  Don't we all wish to see the abuser abused?  And if "vengeance is God's" then maybe it is appropriate to give that up to God by asking that God indeed take vengeance!  I am more willing to hand over justice and retribution to God if I get to add some angry commentary as I do so!

At the heart of this psalm is a conviction that God is just and righteous, that ultimately the just can rely on God to rule on unjust actions.

Psalm 7: 17, Thanks and praise

I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness 

and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.

In the first verses of the psalm, David's concern has focused on his personal enemies.  By the end of the psalm (verses 14-17) his viewpoint has changed.  At the end, David is energized, encouraged, thankful and (of course) singing.