Psalms 7
Big idea: A man accused of something specific asks to be tried rather than defended. If I have done this, if there is iniquity in my hands — then let the enemy catch me. That is not self-righteousness in general; it is a plea of not guilty to one charge, offered under oath. The second half answers with a picture of how consequence works: a man digs a pit, and falls into the pit he made. Not lightning from heaven. Gravity.
Psalm 7 ends with a man's violence coming down on his own head. Psalm 8 lifts its eyes off human trouble entirely, to the night sky.
7:1–9 — Judge me according to my righteousness
A man accused of something specific asks to be tried rather than defended, and the form he uses is a legal one: name the crime, then invite the penalty on yourself if you did it. That is why verse 5 sounds so extreme — a self-curse is what made an ancient oath binding. It also settles a misreading. He is not claiming to be a righteous man; he is pleading not guilty to one charge, which is why Psalm 143 can say the opposite in general without contradicting this.
1 A meditation by David, which he sang to Yahweh, concerning the words of Cush, the Benjamite. Yahweh, my God, I take refuge in you. Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me, 2 lest they tear apart my soul like a lion, ripping it in pieces, while there is no one to deliver. 3 Yahweh, my God, if I have done this, if there is iniquity in my hands, 4 if I have rewarded evil to him who was at peace with me (yes, I have plundered him who without cause was my adversary), 5 let the enemy pursue my soul, and overtake it; yes, let him tread my life down to the earth, and lay my glory in the dust. Selah. 6 Arise, Yahweh, in your anger. Lift up yourself against the rage of my adversaries. Awake for me. You have commanded judgment. 7 Let the congregation of the peoples surround you. Rule over them on high. 8 Yahweh administers judgment to the peoples. Judge me, Yahweh, according to my righteousness, and to my integrity that is in me. 9 Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous; their minds and hearts are searched by the righteous God.
7:10–17 — He has fallen into the pit which he made
The second half answers with two pictures of how judgment actually arrives, and neither involves lightning. The first is a warrior deliberately preparing, which makes wrath considered rather than sudden. The second is stranger and better: a man in labour, conceiving mischief and carrying it to term, so that what he delivers is his own downfall. Then the pit. The psalm's picture of consequence is gravity — the shortest route from a thing to its own result.
10 My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart. 11 God is a righteous judge, yes, a God who has indignation every day. 12 If a man doesn’t repent, he will sharpen his sword; he has bent and strung his bow. 13 He has also prepared for himself the instruments of death. He makes ready his flaming arrows. 14 Behold, he travails with iniquity. Yes, he has conceived mischief, and brought out falsehood. 15 He has dug a hole, and has fallen into the pit which he made. 16 The trouble he causes shall return to his own head. His violence shall come down on the crown of his own head. 17 I will give thanks to Yahweh according to his righteousness, and will sing praise to the name of Yahweh Most High.
Scripture text: World English Bible (public domain).