Psalm 7[a
A shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjamite.
1 Lord my God, I take refuge in you;
save and deliver me from all who pursue me,
2 or they will tear me apart like a lion
and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
3 Lord my God, if I have done this
and there is guilt on my hands—
4 if I have repaid my ally with evil
or without cause have robbed my foe—
5 then let my enemy pursue and overtake me;
let him trample my life to the ground
and make me sleep in the dust.[c]
6 Arise, Lord, in your anger;
rise up against the rage of my enemies.
Awake, my God; decree justice.
7 Let the assembled peoples gather around you,
while you sit enthroned over them on high.
8 Let the Lord judge the peoples.
Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness,
according to my integrity, O Most High.
9 Bring to an end the violence of the wicked
and make the righteous secure—
you, the righteous God
who probes minds and hearts.
10 My shield is God Most High,
who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
a God who displays his wrath every day.
12 If he does not relent,
he[e]will sharpen his sword;
he will bend and string his bow.
13 He has prepared his deadly weapons;
he makes ready his flaming arrows.
14 Whoever is pregnant with evil
conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment.
15 Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out
falls into the pit they have made.
16 The trouble they cause recoils on them;
their violence comes down on their own heads.
17 I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness;
I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High.
INTRODUCTION
This is a Psalm/Song of David written in response to a vicious slander campaign orchestrated by Cush the Benjamite. The bible doesn’t tell us anything about Cush the Benjamite. We know that Saul was a Benjamite so they may very well have been related. The name Cush means “Black,” but there is no reason to assume this man was black. Black is more likely a reference to the color of his heart, not his skin. Jesus said in Matthew 15:19...For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. The very meaning of the word ‘devil’ is
prone to slander, slanderous, accusing falsely. The devil slandered Job in the very presence of God. The devil is a slanderer. Jesus said to the Church at Symrna, “I know your affliction and poverty, but you are rich. I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” We are never more like the devil than when we slander.
Transition
As followers of Christ, you and I must expect the same treatment that He received. Jesus was slandered. They accused Him of being a trouble maker and of sedition against Rome. Every accusation that made against Him was false yet these vicious lies got Him crucified. What are you going to do when you become the victim of slander? We would all do well to follow the ample of David. Let’s look at what he did.
1. David went straight to God–“Save me.”
1 Lord my God, I take refuge in you;
save and deliver me from all who pursue me,
2 or they will tear me apart like a lion
and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
Note the nature of Slander: it is VICIOUS, like a lion ripping his prey into pieces. People who resort to slander are vicious and mean spirited people. Judge Moore and his family will never recover from the vicious smear campaign orchestrated by the democratic party. They knew he was not guilty but they also new, due to his volatile nature that it was a believable lie. No one wanted Roy Moore in Washington D.C., not one other than tax payers like me.
I have been slandered but not to this degree. Most of the lies circulated about me were trivial in nature. I didn’t like them and they hurt but I have always understood, “IT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE.” It is only by the grace of God, that I have been saved from the fatal effects of slander.
When it happens to me, I run straight to Jesus. I am comforted in knowing that HE KNOWS THE TRUTH. I was once accused of tampering with election ballots [church officer election]. Normally, I took the ballots to my office and locked them up but for a strange unknown reason, the chairman of the counting committee took them home with her and I never saw them or even touched them. When the lie circulated that I had tampered with the ballots: the committee chairman knew it was slander and so she called the powers at be and they set things straight. That could have cost me my job but David’s slander is much worse–His very life is at stake. When slandered, we run to Jesus.
2. David gave consideration to the Accusations. “Search me.”
3 Lord my God, if I have done this
and there is guilt on my hands—
4 if I have repaid my ally with evil
or without cause have robbed my foe—
5 then let my enemy pursue and overtake me;
let him trample my life to the ground
and make me sleep in the dust.[c]
I was born with an accusing conscience so it is natural for me to react like David. I run to Jesus first but then I begin searching my heart. “Is this true of me? Am I actually guilty?” Of course I am always guilty in one sense but is what they are saying true or false.
In verse 8 David is not claiming perfection. He is not totally innocent just innocent of what they are charging him with. This has always fascinated me. I am always guilty, just not guilty of what they are accusing me of doing. Somehow the LORD has protected me by His amazing grace.
3. David did not retaliate, turned it over to the LORD. “Shield me.”
10 My shield is God Most High,
who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
a God who displays his wrath every day.
12 If he does not relent,
he will sharpen his sword;
he will bend and string his bow.
13 He has prepared his deadly weapons;
he makes ready his flaming arrows.
14 Whoever is pregnant with evil
conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment.
15 Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out
falls into the pit they have made.
16 The trouble they cause recoils on them;
their violence comes down on their own heads.
Five Judgments
- The Court of Public Opinion–What others think…how they evaluate the situation.
- The Judgment of our Enemies–Usually cruel and vicious. Malicious and vindictive.
- Our self-evaluation–How we judge ourselves
- Judgment within sin–Sin carries its own penalty. It is a poison apple. Saul hated David passionately but whose sword killed Saul? His own. Saul committed suicide. He feel into the pit he dug for David. I see people digging away and I have a patented response, “What are you doing?” They are digging a pit for the person they want judged for the injustice committed.
- God’s Judgment–the only one that counts.
Conclusion
Jesus is our Sovereign King: we all answer to HIM. Jesus has a gold scepter in one hand and an iron rod in the other. Those who refuse to bow to the scepter will be broken by the rod.
No one gets by with anything. Fredrick von Logau said, “Though the mills of God’s judgment grind slowly, yet they grind exceedingly fine.” Nothing slips by; no one escapes unscathed.
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