Is it a prayer?

A poem?

A good man’s inner thoughts, just put on paper?

David (the man after God’s Own Heart) has been “falsely” accused of disrespecting (yea, even more than that) King Saul of Israel.

The lies have been hurled at Psalm 7’s hero by a reprobate named (or nicknamed) “Cush the Benjamite.” By the way, the Tribe from which Saul descended was also that of Benjamin. So this fellow Cush is somehow a relative (near or distant) of the King.

So David (in innocence) writes, says …

“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.”

Then he continues …

“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.”

This is pretty stringent, really.

David, like Paul much later in Scripture, is being pretty “rough” on himself.

This is self-imprecation, judging oneself, if I’ve ever read it!

And today’s verse, Psalm 7:5, specifies the “curses.”

“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.”

The verb “persecute” translates “radaph” again. It was also used back in verse 1 of the Chapter. It means “to pursue, to chase, to be behind, to follow after,” all with harm in mind. Stalking a person in order to kill him, for example.

And David, if guilty of “hurting” the King of Israel (even though wicked Saul was currently occupying the throne) has just given God “permission” to remove any “restraints” on the enemy! “Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it.” The verb “take” is “nasag,” essentially “to capture.”

To “tread down” (the next clause), means “to trample.” In other words, “Let him stomp me into the ground!” That’s an ancient word picture for “conquering” an individual. “Your feet on his neck,” that kind of idea. “Let him tread down my life upon the earth.”

Then a third petition immediately follows. “Let him … lay mine honour in the dust.” A man’s “honor” in those days long ago meant nearly everything to him! His “good name,” his “reputation,” nowadays, his “testimony.” What his friends believe him to be! His “character,” his “goodness.” The noun “honor” is “kabod,” suggesting “importance, heaviness, gravity, seriousness.”

BUT … and this becomes even more prominent tomorrow … DAVID IS NOT GUILTY OF SUCH DANGEROUS CHARGES!

And David will “turn” this prayer around, reversing it completely! From praying against himself … to praying against this lying man named Cush! In fact, to praying against all the incorrigibly wicked! (The word is from Latin, “not able to be corrected!” That stubborn, that hardened!)

David, self deprecating, humble, willing to be “whipped” if guilty of insurrection!

This reminds me of a verse the Apostle Paul wrote in the New Testament. “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.” 1st Corinthians 11:31

Wow!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

David says some things today (in Psalm 7) that he could never repeat … after this sin with Bathsheba. Or after the “chain” of sins the Bathsheba affair entailed in his life.

Listen to this man of God (yes, David) as he is being falsely accused (by a man named Cush) of intending to harm King Saul. “If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me; yea, I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy ….” Psalm 7:4

David held  no animosity toward the reigning (though failing) King!

If he had done so … David was fully willing for God’s Hand of Judgment to fall upon him. Tomorrow’s verse proves this: “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.” That is, if I (David) have so sinned against Saul!

If I have dishonored the King, God’s very “anointed,” David calls him.

Yes, David “lists” the very things of which he is being accused, apparently. “If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me; yea, I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy ….”

Not only had David done Saul no “evil” … he had previously refused to “deliver” Saul to an assassin! Thus sparing the man’s life! Twice (previously) David had already refused to take Saul’s life!

So, David in Psalm 7 is praying, pleading his “innocence” toward Saul … as an “argument” for God to keep him safe in the wilderness! Safe from Saul’s relentless “posse.” The king’s death squad!

And every single word David spoke to God here … was truth.

But, as I sadly said earlier in the Lesson … David could not pray these words any longer after the debacle with Bathsheba and Uriah.

Because, in killing his new “lover’s” husband … David DID “reward evil to him who was at peace with him.”

And David did “deliver (to be murdered) him that was without cause his enemy.” In fact, Uriah (professionally, as a soldier) loved his King, and was loyal to David to a fault!

Oh, what a difference one blunder can make!

Even after that sin has been erased, forgiven.

By the way, keep studying with us the next few days … David (who was genuinely not guilty of Cush’s accusations) will have a  “mood” change. One approved of God, I suspect.

David will put his true enemy (Cush) into the Hands of the Lord!

Yes, imprecation is on the way!

More about that later, however.

In the mean time … let us all stay clear of sin, best as is humanly possible. Let us pray (as Jesus taught us) “Our Father which art in Heaven … lead us not into temptation, but deliver us of evil.” Matthew 6:13

Stay innocent.

Avoid “the unintended consequences of sin!”

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

Psalm 7 begins with this fact: “A Psalm David sang unto the LORD, concerning the words of Cush the Benjamite.” This man Cush (meaning “darkness, blackness”) was a close “friend” of David’s nemesis, the wicked King Saul of Israel.

We do  not know precisely what has been said “against” David. Uttered by this liar named Cush. But we do know David denies all of the charges!

And David also brings his “innocence” to the Lord! As in verse 3 of our Psalm: “O LORD my God, if I have done this; if there be iniquity in my hands.” (I realize the verse is not an independent clause, a full sentence. It needs the next 2 verses to complete David’s line of reasoning.) But still I want you to hear his honest protest of having “done no wrong.”

Yes, David here addresses his God, our God!

Both as “Jehovah” (LORD) and as “God” (Elohiym). I just checked. God is known by these two Names over 9,000 times in the Bible!

Then there’s the “if,” twice in a single line!

But it is an “if” of negation. David had NOT done wicked things. David had NOT been disloyal to Saul. David had NOT sought any harm to the King! (In fact, David had spared Saul’s life at least twice in the past few months.)

“O LORD my God, if I have done this; if there be iniquity in my hands.”

The noun “iniquity” is spelled (ironically) “evel.” It can mean “to deviate” from the norm. To live “outside” God’s rules. Just plain “wickedness.”

David wants the Lord to know that he has acted in a noble, honorable fashion. He has not wronged King Saul in any way.

Maybe this kind of prayer is important (this claim of innocence) because this same David (or some Psalmist) later wrote “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord WILL NOT HEAR me.” Psalm 66:18

This thought will “fall into place” even more so tomorrow. When we read the whole paragraph … “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. Psalm 7:3-5

David essentially is praying something like this: “If I have done these wrongs, O Lord, let their (the enemies’ … all of them) desires be enacted upon me!

Wow!

Obviously then, there is POWER in living a godly, pure life.

Confidence (not in self) … but in the Lord!

And David is here exercising that power (in prayer).

It’s Psalm 24:3-4 come to life: “Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who shall stand in his Holy Place? He that hath CLEAN HANDS, and a PURE HEART; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.”

Yes!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

David grew up in the “wild.”

Watching sheep.

Of course, that meant not only feeding the flock, but protecting them as well. “Thy servant (a young David) kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: and I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear.” 1st Samuel 17:34-36

The lad KNEW what a lion could do, what damage, to a carcass of flesh!

Now a little later in David’s life … when he was fleeing from King Saul, who was trying to kill him … the Holy Spirit has David share his heart. “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.” Psalm 7:1-2, where we need to sense the danger being portrayed.

Why is David so concerned here?

Because his enemy (apparently a man named “Cush the Benjamite”), an ally of King Saul … had betrayed David’s location. And now Saul’s “war machine” was coming after David with vengeance. And … with much more accurate intelligence this time.

So David describes his possible fate. “Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.”

I think David here means his whole being, body included, by the term “soul.” He had not yet been taught the words of Jesus: “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28

The verb “tear” (spelled “taraph”) used in Psalm 7:2 means “to rend in pieces, to pluck, to catch!”

Like a “lion” does!

Eye-witness experience talking, no doubt!

“Rending in pieces” is one Hebrew verb, “paraq,” meaning “to break apart.”

And “none to deliver” means no rescuer is anywhere near!

The verb “deliver” is “natzsal,” meaning “to snatch away, to save.”

“Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.” Yes, there clearly is “fear” in the line David just spoke.

But it is short-lived.

David’s FAITH will conquer his fear, or at least emaciate it. Starve it … so it cannot be dominant in his life! In fact, the previous verse of our Psalm proves this. “O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me.” Amen!

Really, David (later) wrote these words. Praying as he spoke. (Talk about growing in the Lord!) “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.” Psalm 56:3

Amen!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

It is as beautiful a “statement of faith” as a person will ever read.

David’s first words in Psalm 7 … “O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me.”

Look how personal the plea seems to be: “O Lord, MY Lord!”

This short clause uses both major Old Testament Names for our Father in Heaven. “LORD” means “Jehovah,” while “God” translates “Elohiym.”

To “put trust” in Someone means “to flee for safety” to That Person … “to seek refuge” in Him, in the Lord our God. “To have hope” in the Saviour.

That David here is being “persecuted” is evident, “radalph” being the verb. It means “to pursue, to run after,” also “to chase” …  in order to harm!

So … “save me,” Lord! And here “yasha” (“save”) means “to deliver, to liberate, to defend, to rescue.”

The “save” verb is also paired with “deliver” me, Lord.

And “deliver,” in Hebrew “natzsal,” means “to rescue, to snatch away, to bring to a place of escape.”

So, in verse 1 three movements are noticed, three statements of fact.

1. Lord, I trust in Thee.
2. Lord, intervene and save me from those who chase me.
3. Lord, rescue me as well.

And did God hear the prayer?

Yes.

Even David’s prayer.

And … even yours!

Or mine!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell