A sermon preached at Covenant Presbyterian Church of Fort Smith, Arkansas on February 18, 2024.
O LORD my God, in you do I take refuge;
save me from all my pursuers and deliver me,
lest like a lion they tear my soul apart,
rending it in pieces, with none to deliver.
O LORD my God, if I have done this,
if there is wrong in my hands,
if I have repaid my friend with evil
or plundered my enemy without cause,
let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it,
and let him trample my life to the ground
and lay my glory in the dust. Selah
Arise, O LORD, in your anger;
lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;
awake for me; you have appointed a judgment.
Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you;
over it return on high.
The LORD judges the peoples;
judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness
and according to the integrity that is in me.
Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
and may you establish the righteous—
you who test the minds and hearts,
O righteous God!
My shield is with God,
who saves the upright in heart.
God is a righteous judge,
and a God who feels indignation every day.
If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword;
he has bent and readied his bow;
he has prepared for him his deadly weapons,
making his arrows fiery shafts.
Behold, the wicked man conceives evil
and is pregnant with mischief
and gives birth to lies.
He makes a pit, digging it out,
and falls into the hole that he has made.
His mischief returns upon his own head,
and on his own skull his violence descends.
I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness,
and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High (Psalm 7).[1]
The seventh psalm is one of the imprecatory psalms, psalms that invoke God’s judgment upon his and our enemies. The seventh psalm is also a personal lament of David, who is being persecuted because of the words of an unknown Benjaminite, Cush. It is a psalm that resonates with anyone that has been wrongly accused or attacked, persecuted unjustly, and longs for justice.
Of course, there is injustice all around us; we live in a fallen world. But when it affects us personally, especially if we have been misjudged or mistreated, we long for justice, for the wrong to be righted. It is also in moments like this that we can be tempted to pursue justice by our own means, to be the avenger. How easy it is to justify retaliation when our sinful flesh fosters a self-righteous indignation. How easy it is to feel vindicated when responding in kind to how we’ve been wronged.
But that is not God’s way, who declares, “Vengeance is mine” (Deut. 32:35). Repaying evil for evil is evil. “If possible, so far as it depends on you,” the apostle Paul says to the church, “live peaceably with all. … never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord’” (Rom. 12:17-19). Though our flesh would vindicate itself in sin, the Spirit points us to Christ, who when “he was reviled … did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly” (1 Pet. 2:23-24). And it is to “him who judges justly” that we make our appeal, even amidst persecution, diligently praying for deliverance, honestly examining ourselves, humbly asking for justice, and gratefully praising the Lord in all things.
Diligently Pray for Deliverance
Prayer is not a Christian’s last resort but first response. We are not called to carry our cares until we can bear them no more but to cast every care upon him who cares for us (1 Pet. 5:7). Casting our cares does not include sharpening our tongues or whetting our swords, rather we fall to our knees, crying out to the Lord,
O LORD my God, in you do I take refuge;
save me from all my pursuers and deliver me (1).
It is an appeal of a covenant child to his heavenly Father, for salvation from those who wish to tear him apart.
Though we do not know the specific situation, David clearly fears for his life. Perhaps the words of Cush mobilized a mob bent on David’s destruction. Whatever the case, David, the man skilled in warfare and feared by his enemies, has no one to defend him, no one to fight for him, no one to deliver him but One, and he is enough. David’s cry is one of utter dependence upon the Lord, which can be frightening in our flesh and beautiful in the Spirit. David’s desperate cry is not a hopeless one, because the way of God is perfect; the Word of God proves true, and “he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him” (Ps. 18:30).
Honestly Examine Yourself
Lest his prayer sound presumptive, David admits that he could be wrong. He is merely mortal, a sinner saved by grace. What if he’s blinded by his own self-righteousness? What if the words of Cush were God’s vicarious discipline for unrepentant sin? What if David’s circumstances are his own fault?
Since all of these are possible, David honestly examines himself before the Lord. The essence of his prayer is similar to what he prays in Psalm 139:
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting! (Ps. 139:23-24)
David says, “if I have done this,” sinning with my hands (3); “if I have repaid by friend with evil,” or “plundered my enemy without cause” (4), then my enemy’s pursuit is just, let him overtake me, trample me, ashes to ashes, “glory in the dust” (5). It’s a bold, courageous prayer, and it’s honest, submitting to him who tests our “minds and hearts” (9).
It’s also the prayer of one who knows and does not fear that “God is a righteous judge” (11). False humility fools only the gullible, and the Lord our God is not. He will not be manipulated by our spin on justifying sin nor influenced by a heart that harbors iniquity. But, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:9-10). We must check our motives on our knees, that we are not motived by our own self-righteousness but by God’s righteousness.
This is all the more motivation for us to live righteously. To be wrongly criticized, to be unjustly harassed, to be persecuted by our enemy is a miserable thing, but as the apostle Peter encourages us,
But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil (1 Pet. 3:13b-17).
We cannot control what other people say about us or do to us, but we can control ourselves, how we respond, what we think, say, and do, all of which should glorify God. “When we are falsely accused by men,” Matthew Henry says, “it is a great comfort if our own consciences acquit us.”[2] And what a testimony it is to be asked “for a reason for the hope that is in you.”
Humbly Ask for Justice
Having examined himself before God and trusting in God’s purpose, David pleads for God’s righteous anger and swift justice:
Arise, O LORD, in your anger;
lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;
awake for me; you have appointed a judgment (6).
He who has been unjustly persecuted and fears for his life now prays that God would direct his just wrath upon his enemies. David’s invocation is not a manipulative petition to an emotionally charged deity who may be stirred up upon petition. No, he is praying to the Lord God Almighty, who is “a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day” (11). Not one day passes when his wrath is not “revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth” (Rom. 1:18). Not one day passes when he is not incensed by disobedience to his righteous decree (Rom. 1:23). He is the God who has “appointed a judgment” (6), a day that every sin of every day is headed toward, a day to judge “the peoples” (8), and David prays that it will be today!
If it is today, David is ready, as only one who stands justified as righteous before God can be. There is nothing to add to what God has done for him, or us, in Christ. All who, like David, look by faith to the Lord’s righteousness, are as righteous today as Judgment Day. We petition our heavenly Father with privilege, confidently drawing near to the Lord “with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Heb.10:23a).
In contrast, the wicked rebel against God pursuing that which he hates. As a woman conceives, carries a child, and gives birth, so it is with the wicked who “conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies” (14). Without consideration of consequences, the wicked do not realize that sin has always ended the same: “desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (Jas. 1:15). Death is indeed an earned wage (Rom. 6:23), but the wicked man does not care about his account balance. He is blinded by the abundance of his iniquity, and so eventually ensnares himself. “The trouble he causes recoils on himself; his violence comes down on his own head” (7:16),[3] perhaps today but certainly at the last day. Therefore, let us not lose heart when it seems like the wicked flourish and injustice prevails. What we see will not be at the last day.
Knowing this, then how do we pray for the wicked? In humility, we pray for their repentance.
If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword;
he has bent and readied his bow;
he has prepared for him his deadly weapons,
making his arrows fiery shafts (12-13).
But, who knows if someone ensnared in wickedness today is not one of God’s elect to be revealed tomorrow? Neither you nor I know, only God. As the apostle Peter explains, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). That Judgment Day is not today is evidence of God’s patience and mercy, that all of God’s elect may be gathered in. Who knows if your enemy may become your brother?
And, in humility, we also pray that the evil they are doing will come to an end (9). Evil may come to an end in a variety of ways, including through the death of the wicked. But what we pray for is not merely cultural transformation, because transformed culture apart from converted souls is another name for hell. We pray that evil ceases through converted hearts. We pray that wickedness be conquered by the crushing power of the gospel. In his Institutes, Calvin writes, “The blindness … of evildoers and all the wickedness which follows are called works of the devil. Nevertheless the cause lies nowhere else than in their will, out of which grows the root of evil, and on which the devil’s dominion—that is, sin—depends.”[4] Evil proceeds from the heart, which may only be conquered by Christ.
Every Sabbath we pray the Lord’s Prayer as a congregation, to “Our Father which art in heaven.” We pray that his name be “hallowed,” that God be glorified in all things (Matt. 6:9 KJV). We also petition, “Thy kingdom come,” which according to our Shorter Catechism means “that Satan’s kingdom may be destroyed; and that the kingdom of grace may be advanced, ourselves and others brought into it, and kept in it; and the kingdom of glory may be hastened.”[5] Yes, rightly do we pray for this, and “this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15).
Gratefully Praise the Lord
David concludes his psalm with thankful praise:
I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness,
and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High (17).
His hopeful heart is grateful which rightly translates into praise. But why? At the conclusion of what sounds like a long lament, it seems counterintuitive to sing, and even more in praise.
But David’s gratitude is not circumstantial but rooted in his just and holy God. He is not a god of David’s making, but “the LORD, the Most High,” whose right justice flows from his perfect righteousness. As David declares in the eleventh psalm,
For the LORD is righteous;
he loves righteous deeds;
the upright shall behold his face (Ps. 11:7).
Such is David’s hope, the hope of the upright, who will not only behold the Lord but will sing praise to his name forever.
This is the praise not of the perfect but pardoned, not of the sinful but a saint. He who confessed that his iniquity began in his mother’s womb (51:5) looked not to his own righteousness but God’s, in a Redeemer to come. And the righteousness of God in which David trusted is the gospel we believe, as the apostle Paul explains, “For in [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:17). And so it is, by faith that we, like David, amidst persecution can diligently pray for deliverance. Only by faith can we honestly examine ourselves and humbly ask God for justice. And so, it is that by faith we too may gratefully praise the Lord.
Because, praising the Lord amidst persecution is not a phony jubilation or exercise in escapism. It is a confident trust, rooted in the righteousness of our King, who will judge every sin, punish the wicked, and acquit the righteous, for the sake of his righteousness alone. Yes, our flesh still tempts us and supplies us with venom to spew. Yes, our sin nature still lusts for vengeance. Everything in us will at times want to retaliate rather than wait for the Lord. And so, we look from ourselves and all that our flesh can do, to David’s greater son, our Lord Jesus Christ, confessing, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). Amen.
[1] Unless referenced otherwise, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton: Crossway Bibles, 2001).
[2] https://www.christianity.com/bible/commentary/matthew-henry-complete/psalm/7
[3] Willem A. Vangemeren, Psalms (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008), 133.
[4] John Calvin, trans. Robert White, Institutes of the Christian Religion (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2014), 83.
[5] “The Shorter Catechism” Q. 102, The Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms (Lawrenceville: PCA Christian Education and Publications, 2007), 403.
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