O Lord my God, in You I put my trust; save me from all those who persecute me; and deliver me, lest they tear me like a lion, rending me in pieces, while there is none to deliver. (Psalm 7:1-2)
Reading through the psalms ascribed to David, it doesn’t take long to conclude that he had many trials and troubles to endure. Taken at a glance, it would seem he was always appealing to Heaven for deliverance from his enemies. Granted, he did make enemies and, for the most part, simply because he was God’s anointed. So it is interesting that the heading for this psalm is considered as a meditation. However, the Hebrew word translated thus, shigayon, suggests it is more than a casual meditation. The Hebrew term is translated by Jewish scholars to mean a “mistaken choice.” That being so, it begs the question, whose poor choice was David referring to?
He begins the psalm with a plea for God’s deliverance from the hand of those who were persecuting him. He was obviously concerned that, if they had their way, they would tear him to pieces at the first opportunity. As the psalm continues, he also raises the issue of whether this persecution was deserved, telling the LORD, “If there is iniquity in my hands, if I have repaid evil to him who was at peace with me, or have plundered my enemy without cause, let the enemy pursue me and overtake me (and) trample my life to the earth” (verses 3-5). In a sense, he was asking the LORD to evaluate his choices and address any mistakes he may have made. At the same time, in so doing, he was asking the LORD to evaluate the choices his persecutors had made, and consider their mistakes as well.
It becomes clear that David, trusting in the LORD’s righteousness and justice, is confident that he will be vindicated. It’s not that he didn’t have lessons to learn but he knows that, when people with nefarious intentions persecute God’s chosen, their mistakes will catch up to them in the end. It would be a mistake for us to think we will never be on the receiving end of injustice or persecution; to the contrary, the Messiah taught that we should expect it. Then what are we to do when it happens?
First of all — and this is a tough one — we should consider ourselves blessed and then rejoice (Matthew 5:10-12). Secondly, we are to pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). Perhaps that is to imply we are supposed to pray for them to have a change of heart so that they will abandon their disdain for us. But it could also be that we are to pray for them, out of concern for them, lest they find themselves reaping the consequence of their mistaken choice. Maybe it’s both but one thing is for sure: those who put their trust in the LORD will not be shred to pieces by the lions in our life. We can rest in the knowledge that we have a mightier and more powerful Lion fighting for us — He is our defense against all.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
Recent Comments