St. Herman of Alaska Orthodox Church
Mystical Psalter: Psalm 7
Psalm 7
1 O Yahweh my God, in You do I put my trust: save me from all them that pursue me, and deliver me,
2 lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.
3 O Yahweh my God, if I have done this, if there be iniquity in my hands,
4 if I have rewarded evil to him that was at peace with me (yes, I have delivered him that without cause is my enemy!)
5 let the enemy pursue my soul, and overtake it. Yes, let him tread down my life upon the earth, and lay my honour in the dust.
6 Arise, O Yahweh, in Your anger, lift up Yourself because of the rage of my enemies, and awake for me to the judgment that You have commanded.
7 So shall the assembly of the peoples compass You about, and over it return on high.
8 Yahweh shall judge the peoples; judge me, O Yahweh, according to my righteousness, and according to my integrity that is in me.
9 Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous, for the righteous God tries the hearts and minds.
10 My defense is from God, who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day.
12 If he turn not, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and made it ready.
13 He has also prepared for him the instruments of death; He ordains His arrows against the persecutors.
14 Behold, he travails with iniquity, and has conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood.
15 He made a pit and dug it out—and is fallen into the ditch which he made.
16 His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate.
17 I will praise Yahweh according to His righteousness, and will sing praise to the Name of Yahweh most high.
The Hebrew heading of this psalm says that it is "concerning Cush, a Benjamite". This Cush was probably one of Saul’s warriors (Saul of the tribe of Benjamin), who had plotted to assassinate David on Saul’s orders. The psalm was occasioned by this threat.
David compares his foes to wild beasts who pursue him. He can feel them closing in for the kill, ready to tear his soul, his life, like a lion, rending it in pieces, far away from any who might deliver and save him. David’s foes felt themselves justified in their attempts to kill him. Saul considered David to be a threat to his throne and his life, and felt that his dynasty would never be secure while David lived (see 1 Sam. 20:31). As far as David’s enemies were concerned, David was guilty and deserved to die.
When David asks Yahweh to save him from all them that pursue him, he insists that he is utterly innocent of their charges. Indeed, if he has done this evil, as his foes alleged, if there be iniquity and guilt in his hands, if he had truly rewarded evil to him that that was at peace with him, then let God not save him from his enemy! Rather, let his enemy overtake him and tread down his life upon the earth and lay his honour in the very dust, striking him down ignominiously. David is not afraid of this, for he knows he is innocent. He protests indignantly that, rather than rewarding evil to Saul, he had actually delivered him that without cause was now his enemy! He had not hurt Saul when he had the chance, but let him go (see 1 Sam. 24).
Against the murderous rage of his enemies, David asks Yahweh to arise in anger of His own at this injustice. It was as if God had been sleeping, and taking no thought for David. Let God now awake for David and put into effect the judgment that He had commanded for the innocent. God was judge of all the world—let Him call an assembly of all the peoples of the earth to help judge David’s cause, and over it return on high as universal judge. Yahweh, as the only God, shall judge all the peoples of the earth—let Him now judge David and hear his case, deciding according to David’s righteousness and innocence.
David enlarges his concern, thinking not just of the injustice done to him, but the injustice done to all the innocent and helpless ones of the earth. He cries out, "Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous!" God Himself is righteous, and He tries the hearts and the minds, the inner motivations. He is the defender of the helpless, the One who saves the upright in heart. The oppressed poor will not be forgotten forever.
Even now the judgment of God speeds along, to strike down the unjust oppressor. God is angry with the wicked every day, so that at length He will strike him down. If the wicked oppressor turn not and repent, God will sharpen His sword to cut him down. Even now He has bent His bow and made it ready, and is taking aim at the persecutors of the powerless. The persecutor may think he holds all the winning cards, and that his schemes are going well. The wicked man travails with iniquity, and has conceived mischief, having an evil plot within him, just as a pregnant woman has a child within her. Just as the woman eventually brings forth her child, so the wicked man has brought forth falsehood, giving birth to lies, slanders and evil schemes. He thinks he will successfully carry them out. He made a pit and dug it out—waiting for his prey to fall into it. But the would-be oppressor has fallen into the ditch which he made himself, so that his mischief and evil shall return upon his own head.
Thus God works to judge the wicked, to vindicate the innocent! In exuberance, David cries out that he will praise Yahweh according to His righteousness, glorifying Him for justly judging his foes.
In this psalm, David looks forward to the time the assembly of the peoples will surround God, and He acts as judge over all. This will be fulfilled in Christ, for the Father gives all judgment to the Son (Jn. 5:22). On the Last Day, Christ (who was Himself unjustly judged and pursued to the death) will sit to judge all the nations. That is why the prophetic psalmist bids the divine Judge, "return on high" (v. 7). For how can God "return" to heaven on high, unless He first descended from heaven to earth? (Compare Eph. 4:8-10.)
In this poetry, we discern a prophetic foreshadowing of Christ’s incarnation and ascension, for He both descended to the earth in His incarnation, and returned to heaven at His ascension. Thus St. Augustine the Great writes of this "return" that Christ "is understood to have done this by His resurrection and ascension to heaven" (Commentary on the Psalms, 7,6).
As God vindicated David, so Christ will vindicate us also on the Last Day, who put our trust in Him to save us (v. 1).
1 O Yahweh my God, in You do I put my trust: save me from all them that pursue me, and deliver me,
2 lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.
3 O Yahweh my God, if I have done this, if there be iniquity in my hands,
4 if I have rewarded evil to him that was at peace with me (yes, I have delivered him that without cause is my enemy!)
5 let the enemy pursue my soul, and overtake it. Yes, let him tread down my life upon the earth, and lay my honour in the dust.
6 Arise, O Yahweh, in Your anger, lift up Yourself because of the rage of my enemies, and awake for me to the judgment that You have commanded.
7 So shall the assembly of the peoples compass You about, and over it return on high.
8 Yahweh shall judge the peoples; judge me, O Yahweh, according to my righteousness, and according to my integrity that is in me.
9 Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous, for the righteous God tries the hearts and minds.
10 My defense is from God, who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day.
12 If he turn not, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and made it ready.
13 He has also prepared for him the instruments of death; He ordains His arrows against the persecutors.
14 Behold, he travails with iniquity, and has conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood.
15 He made a pit and dug it out—and is fallen into the ditch which he made.
16 His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate.
17 I will praise Yahweh according to His righteousness, and will sing praise to the Name of Yahweh most high.
The Hebrew heading of this psalm says that it is "concerning Cush, a Benjamite". This Cush was probably one of Saul’s warriors (Saul of the tribe of Benjamin), who had plotted to assassinate David on Saul’s orders. The psalm was occasioned by this threat.
David compares his foes to wild beasts who pursue him. He can feel them closing in for the kill, ready to tear his soul, his life, like a lion, rending it in pieces, far away from any who might deliver and save him. David’s foes felt themselves justified in their attempts to kill him. Saul considered David to be a threat to his throne and his life, and felt that his dynasty would never be secure while David lived (see 1 Sam. 20:31). As far as David’s enemies were concerned, David was guilty and deserved to die.
When David asks Yahweh to save him from all them that pursue him, he insists that he is utterly innocent of their charges. Indeed, if he has done this evil, as his foes alleged, if there be iniquity and guilt in his hands, if he had truly rewarded evil to him that that was at peace with him, then let God not save him from his enemy! Rather, let his enemy overtake him and tread down his life upon the earth and lay his honour in the very dust, striking him down ignominiously. David is not afraid of this, for he knows he is innocent. He protests indignantly that, rather than rewarding evil to Saul, he had actually delivered him that without cause was now his enemy! He had not hurt Saul when he had the chance, but let him go (see 1 Sam. 24).
Against the murderous rage of his enemies, David asks Yahweh to arise in anger of His own at this injustice. It was as if God had been sleeping, and taking no thought for David. Let God now awake for David and put into effect the judgment that He had commanded for the innocent. God was judge of all the world—let Him call an assembly of all the peoples of the earth to help judge David’s cause, and over it return on high as universal judge. Yahweh, as the only God, shall judge all the peoples of the earth—let Him now judge David and hear his case, deciding according to David’s righteousness and innocence.
David enlarges his concern, thinking not just of the injustice done to him, but the injustice done to all the innocent and helpless ones of the earth. He cries out, "Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous!" God Himself is righteous, and He tries the hearts and the minds, the inner motivations. He is the defender of the helpless, the One who saves the upright in heart. The oppressed poor will not be forgotten forever.
Even now the judgment of God speeds along, to strike down the unjust oppressor. God is angry with the wicked every day, so that at length He will strike him down. If the wicked oppressor turn not and repent, God will sharpen His sword to cut him down. Even now He has bent His bow and made it ready, and is taking aim at the persecutors of the powerless. The persecutor may think he holds all the winning cards, and that his schemes are going well. The wicked man travails with iniquity, and has conceived mischief, having an evil plot within him, just as a pregnant woman has a child within her. Just as the woman eventually brings forth her child, so the wicked man has brought forth falsehood, giving birth to lies, slanders and evil schemes. He thinks he will successfully carry them out. He made a pit and dug it out—waiting for his prey to fall into it. But the would-be oppressor has fallen into the ditch which he made himself, so that his mischief and evil shall return upon his own head.
Thus God works to judge the wicked, to vindicate the innocent! In exuberance, David cries out that he will praise Yahweh according to His righteousness, glorifying Him for justly judging his foes.
In this psalm, David looks forward to the time the assembly of the peoples will surround God, and He acts as judge over all. This will be fulfilled in Christ, for the Father gives all judgment to the Son (Jn. 5:22). On the Last Day, Christ (who was Himself unjustly judged and pursued to the death) will sit to judge all the nations. That is why the prophetic psalmist bids the divine Judge, "return on high" (v. 7). For how can God "return" to heaven on high, unless He first descended from heaven to earth? (Compare Eph. 4:8-10.)
In this poetry, we discern a prophetic foreshadowing of Christ’s incarnation and ascension, for He both descended to the earth in His incarnation, and returned to heaven at His ascension. Thus St. Augustine the Great writes of this "return" that Christ "is understood to have done this by His resurrection and ascension to heaven" (Commentary on the Psalms, 7,6).
As God vindicated David, so Christ will vindicate us also on the Last Day, who put our trust in Him to save us (v. 1).
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