Psalm 7
I was struck today by the word “righteous(ness)”. The psalmist uses this word five times in today’s reading (vv. 8, 9, 11, 17). In his first use of this word he ascribes righteousness to himself; in the second he applies it to all those who turn away from wickedness, and in the last three uses he applies righteousness to God. I recall last year when we discussed righteousness in the epistles, especially Paul in Romans 1:17 citing Habakkuk 2:4, “The righteous shall live by faith…” and in Romans 3:10 citing Psalm 14:3, “There is none righteous, not even one.” I think we would all agree that there is only One who is fully righteous, God Himself, so any use of “righteous” with application to any earthly being must necessarily reflect a work in progress, not something accomplished. I’m thankful that I live among and worship with people who are “in progress”!
Verse 6 is interesting: Arise, O LORD, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake for me… God never sleeps. However, even with this knowledge our psalmist is asking God to (1) Arise, (2) lift yourself up, and (3) awake! Should this repetition plea reflect the intensity of our own prayers? We would surely not be ordering God around, but would He be more responsive to a persistent request “in His will”? I wonder…
Well, maybe it is just my mood this morning, but it seems to me that the psalmist here seems perhaps a bit overly sure of his own righteousness before God. He confidently calls to God to judge his own righteousness and integrity with an apparent expectation that he will be judged superior (If this is David, I would think he would be mindful of his own transgressions and would be a bit more humble about his position before God). He is asking God to destroy his personal enemies instead of asking that their hearts be turned back to God. After all, the psalmist’s enemies may be unrighteous, but they are also children of God just like him. I know that this is the Old Testament, and it is a rough and tumble world, but this approach is quite different from Jesus many centuries later when He asked God “to forgive them, for they know not what they do”.
It has always seemed to me that God is more likely to grant our prayers as we state them when we are in alignment with God’s will. (I also think that God answers our prayers often in ways that may be contrary to our “ask” but are far greater blessings for us and for others than what we may have asked for).
I agree with Lou on this. I would never presume to pray to the Lord to “let the enemy pursue me and overtake me, and let him trample my life to the ground, and lay my soul in the dust” (v. 5) as if I had no guilt—I am definitely not sure enough of my own righteousness, quite the opposite!
However, my study notes mention that the psalm directs David’s plea for help regarding an enemy named Cush, a Benjamite, who was probably a supporter of Saul. Since David’s forbearance in avoiding a counterattack against Saul was truly exceptional, he had not “requited my friend with evil or plundered my enemy without cause”; perhaps he really could address the Lord with such confidence. This was a long time before his transgressions with Bathsheba.
“His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own pate his violence descends.” Psalms 7:16
I would contend with verse 16 in this psalm. Does it seem to anyone that evildoers reap the just “returns” for the damage they do in others’ lives? Ultimately, God says so. But I certainly don’t see it here on earth.
My two cents’ worth…
Good point, Carol, about pre-Bathsheba. I can see how David may have had a bit more confidence in his standing with the Lord then. I agree with you that it does not often seem that evildoers reap their just returns here on earth. It seems kind of random to me. But God’s ways are not our ways, and His will be done!
Sorry for being a day late on this one…
I agree that it is challenging to relate to the psalmist’s personal sense of righteousness. Viewing my own (past?) behavior, it is hard to have that confidence in general. But the psalms are fantastic in that they express what we truly want to express. We want to be so righteous. And we want to see justice. And, oh by the way, wouldn’t it be great if we really could speak so confidently of our own righteousness? That is to say, we ought to live in such a way that we could have such confidence.
In addition, although I can’t claim any great level of righteousness writ large, I daresay that in more narrowly defined circumstances, I have had “unwarranted” enemies who could show no good cause for their animosity. That is, people have opposed me personally without any improper provocation on my part. And in such narrowly defined circumstances I can very much relate to this psalm, and I rejoice that the Bible is human enough and honest enough to express these thoughts so well for me.
Regardless of our own pathetic “general” righteousness (see Isaiah 64:6), there is One who can indeed speak of His own righteousness with absolute integrity. And by God’s abundant mercy and grace, He imputes Christ’s righteousness to us so that we — in some fashion at least — can stand with Him in His righteousness and still properly pray this psalm.
We must also remember that the God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament. He did not change. The only reason that David can confidently pray “in righteousness” is because of his confidence in God’s steadfast love and mercy. David knows that God is indeed merciful and shows that mercy to David. But it is not a namby-pamby mercy that merely trivializes evil and just lets it go, so he can likewise pray that God will bring justice — knowing full well that he himself (i.e., David) should not necessarily be the instrument of that justice. That is, he looks to God to set things right, as in “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay…” (Dt. 32:35; Rom. 12:19)
As for the wicked “getting theirs”, I agree that it often does not appear to work out that way in this world, but this world is not the whole story. Again, the psalms are marvelous in their honesty. Here in Psalm 7 we have the request for justice and the expectation that it will come. So it expresses what we know at heart — that God is just and will surely bring down the wicked and pour out His wrath. (And lest you think that we do not want a wrathful God, think again. Who would be truly satisfied just to say “that’s OK” about the Holocaust? No. Our hearts cry out for true justice.) Other psalms (e.g., Ps. 10:5, 73:3), on the other hand, express frustration that the wicked seem to prosper, and we are left to cry, “How long?” But in the end, Jesus still wins, and He will indeed bring justice.
That is very thoughtful, John. What a wonderful analysis. The Psalms are superficial in one dimension, but have many other dimensions reflecting what mankind’s relationship with God should or could be in a perfect world. That is a lot to think about. Thank you.