Today we study a prayer.
Well, actually David has been praying the whole Psalm long.
It’s just that his prayer now “turns” away from himself (in a good way) … and focuses on those enemies of his (many in number, at least through most of his life).
This “new” type prayer is call “imprecation.”
In reality it is … “asking God to take care of one’s enemies, to judge them (when the time is right) and to make them conform to God’s Standard (righteousness).
The Latin-derived noun “imprecation” means (imprecare) “to pray” with a prefix meaning (in) “toward!” Praying toward (against) a wicked person!
And the Book of Psalms is replete (Latin again, “plere” means “to fill” and “re” means “again”) with such bold, honest prayers. Many of them.
Let’s look at today’s verse now: “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.” Psalm 7:6, talk about turning something (someone) over to God!
He (David, the petitioner) is trying to “arouse” God, “qum” being a Hebrew word for “stand up!”
The noun “anger” is “aph,” literally meaning “nostril, nose,” then “face.” He is pleading with the Lord to get “red-in-the-face,” that angry at his ungodly enemies! So angry that one’s countenance (face) changes appearance! The he “breathes hard, through his nostrils,” heavily, noisily!
Wow!
The noun “rage” means “excess, outpouring, overflow, fury!”
The man (whom we met even back before verse 1 of Psalm 7) named Cush is one of David’s main “subjects” in this dramatic prayer! David will not personally harm this individual, no way. But He certainly will ask God to keep an eye on the situation!
The plea “awake” (said to God) means “arouse Thyself,” Lord.
Lord, do the “judgment” (in Hebrew “mishpat … a judicial word meaning “to pass and execute sentence on a wrongdoer”) that You have “commanded” on the wicked!
Like: “God is angry with the wicked every day.” And “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” And “Evildoers shall be cut off.” Each verse or part of a verse just quoted is from the King James Version of Scripture, word for word.
All David is asking God to do is (maybe speedily) go ahead and place “righteous judgment” on those who have so hated him! Those who would kill him. Those who have no respect for the future King of Israel! Yes, David too is God’s Anointed!
More bout this idea, this type of prayer tomorrow, Lord willing.
To me it’s like this. Instead of taking matters into one’s own hands … “I will get even with that enemy.” David has just thought: “I will put that enemy in God’s Hands. And ask my Lord to deal with Him as His Word says is right and (ultimately) inevitable!
Nothing wrong with that!
— Dr. Mike Bagwell