Christianity
Psalms 7A Plea of Innocence
Summary
Psalm 7 is the appeal of someone falsely accused who asks God to judge him according to his integrity. Its heading calls it a Shiggaion of David concerning Cush the Benjamite, a person otherwise unknown. The speaker invites punishment if he is guilty, calls God a righteous judge who tests hearts and minds, and pictures the wicked falling into the pit they dug. It ends in thanksgiving to the LORD Most High.
Key verse
“My defence is of God, which saveth the upright in heart.”
Psalms 7:10
Themes
- False Accusation
- Divine Justice
- Integrity
- Evil Recoils
Text
O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me:
Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.
O LORD my God, if I have done this; if there be iniquity in my hands;
If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me; (yea, I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy:)
Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it; yea, let him tread down my life upon the earth, and lay mine honour in the dust. Selah.
Arise, O LORD, in thine anger, lift up thyself because of the rage of mine enemies: and awake for me to the judgment that thou hast commanded.
So shall the congregation of the people compass thee about: for their sakes therefore return thou on high.
The LORD shall judge the people: judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me.
Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.
My defence is of God, which saveth the upright in heart.
God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.
If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready.
He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors.
Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood.
He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made.
His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate.
I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high.
Text: King James Version (1611/1769), public domain.
Across traditions
Judaism
Tehillim 7 in the JPS 1917 TanakhMedieval Jewish commentators debated who Cush the Benjamite was; some proposed King Saul, of the tribe of Benjamin, as a veiled reference.
Christianity
Proverbs 26: Whoso Diggeth a PitProverbs 26:27 states the same principle as Psalm 7:15 to 16, that the one who digs a pit for others will fall into it.
Questions about Psalms 7
What is a Shiggaion?
The word appears in the heading of Psalm 7 and in Habakkuk 3:1. Its meaning is uncertain; it may name a kind of passionate or irregular song.
Who was Cush the Benjamite?
He is not mentioned elsewhere in the Bible. Some interpreters link him with Saul's supporters or with Saul himself, while others think he was a separate opponent of David.