PSALM 7 COMME�TARY

Edited by Glenn Pease

PREFACEI quote many authors both old and new in this commentary, and if any I quote does not wanttheir wisdom shared in this way, they can let me know and I will remove it. My e-mail is

glenn_p86@yahoo.com

A shiggaion[b] of David, which he sang to the LORDconcerning Cush, a Benjamite.

I�TRODUCTIO�

1. Henry, “Shiggaion is a song or psalm (the word is used so only here and Hab_3:1) - awandering song (so some), the matter and composition of the several parts being different, butartificially put together - a charming song (so others), very delightful. David not only penned it,but sang it himself in a devout religious manner unto the Lord, concerning the words or affairs ofCush the Benjamite, that is, of Saul himself, whose barbarous usage of David bespoke him rathera Cushite, or Ethiopian, than a true-born Israelite. Or, more likely, it was some kinsman of Saulnamed Cush, who was an inveterate enemy to David, misrepresented him to Saul as a traitor, and(which was very needless) exasperated Saul against him, one of those children of men, children ofBelial indeed, whom David complains of (1Sa_26:19), that made mischief between him and Saul.David, thus basely abused, has recourse to the Lord. The injuries men do us should drive us toGod, for to him we may commit our cause. �ay, he sings to the Lord; his spirit was not ruffled byit, nor cast down, but so composed and cheerful that he was still in tune for sacred songs and itdid not occasion one jarring string in his harp. Thus let the injuries we receive from men, insteadof provoking our passions, kindle and excite our devotions.

2. Jamison, “Psa_7:1-17. Shiggaion - a plaintive song or elegy. Though obscure in details, this titleseems to intimate that the occasion of this Psalm was some event in David’s persecution by Saul.He prays for relief because he is innocent, and God will be glorified in his vindication. He thuspasses to the celebration of God’s righteous government, in defending the upright and punishingthe wicked, whose malignant devices will result in their own ruin; and, confident of God’s aid, hecloses with rejoicing. Though many enemies set upon him, one is singled out as prominent, andcompared to a wild beast tearing his prey to pieces (compare 1Sa_20:1; 1Sa_23:23; 1Sa_26:19).

3. John Schultz, “As to Cush the Benjamite, he is a person unknown in the Jewish history; thename is probably a name of disguise; and by it he may covertly mean Saul himself, the son ofKish, who was of the tribe of Benjamin. The subject of the Psalm will better answer to Saul’sunjust persecution and David’s innocence, than to any other subject in the history of David.”

F. B. Meyer, in his book David, does not share this opinion. He does see a connection between thispsalm and David’s flight for Saul, but takes Cush to be the name of one of Saul’s courtiers, whowould have antagonized Saul against David. All of this is, of course, only speculation. We are nottold who Cush the Benjamite really was and what he had said. The name Cush is only found inthe Bible for the son of Ham, and as a name for Ethiopia. Yet the connection between this psalmand David’s flight from Saul seems to be a logical one. Even if it could be proven that this ishistorically incorrect, we can take David’s condition to be one similar as when he fled from Saul.This psalm can be taken as the counterpart of psalm three, where David is guilty as he flees fromhis son Absalom. Here he flees as an innocent victim. This complaint of Shiggaion, with itsirregular rhythm, reminds us of a stream that runs over a bed of rocks; it is syncopated, whichmeans that the beat is on the wrong note in every measure. This translates very well the kind ofemotions David wants to express in this poem. Beethoven used this method with great effect in hismusic to give expression to his anger. David’s purpose, however, is not merely to express hisemotions in order to experience a psychological sense of relief but also he sings his song beforethe Lord.

4. Calvin, “David, loaded with unjust calumny, calls upon God to be his advocate and defender,and commits his innocence to the Divine protection. In the first place, he protests that hisconscience did not accuse him of the wickedness laid to his charge. Secondly, he shows howgreatly it concerns the glory of God that he should execute judgment against the ungodly.Thirdly, to inspire his mind with confidence, he seriously reflects upon the goodness andrighteousness of God, and sets before him the divine promises. Lastly, as if he had obtained thedesire of his heart, he derides the folly and the vain attempts of his enemies; or rather, dependingupon the aid of God, he assures himself that all their endeavors against him shall turn to theirown destruction.

Shiggaion of David, which he sung unto Jehovah,

upon the words of Cush the Benjamite.

With respect to the word Shiggaion, the Jewish interpreters are not agreed. Some understand itto mean a musical instrument. To others it seems to be a tune to which a song is set. Otherssuppose it to have been the beginning of a common song, to the tune of which David wished thispsalm to be sung. Others translate the Hebrew word, delight, or rejoicing. The second opinionappears to me the most probable, namely, that it was some kind of melody or song, as if oneshould term it Sapphic or Phaleucian verse. “�amely, that it was a kind of tune or song, as weknow, that, according to the diversity of nations and languages, there are different measures ofverse.” But I do not contend about a matter of so small importance. Again, the psalm is said tohave been composed upon the words of Cush. I cannot subscribe to the interpretation, (althoughit is the commonly received one,) that words here mean affairs, or business. To put word for amatter, or an affair, is, I allow, a common form of speech among the Jews; but as David a little

after declares that he was falsely accused of some crime, I doubt not but he here speaks of theaccusation or calumny itself, of which, as I judge, Cush, some one of Saul’s kindred, was theauthor, or, at least, the instrument who preferred and circulated it. The opinion of some who saythat Saul is here spoken of under a fictitious name, is not supported by any argument of sufficientweight. According to them, David avoided calling him by his own name, in order to spare theroyal dignity. David, I admit, had great reverence for the holy anointing; but as he expresslynames Saul in other places where he reprehends him not less severely, and paints him in coloursno less black than he does in this psalm, why should he suppress his name here, and not in thesepassages? In my opinion, therefore, he here expresses by his proper name, and without figure, awicked accuser, who had excited hatred against him by falsely charging him with some crime,and who had either been bribed by the king to do this, or, currying the royal favour, hadcalumniated David of his own accord; for David, we know, was very much slandered, as if he hadbeen ungrateful and treacherous towards the king, his father-in-law. Saul, indeed, belonged to thetribe of Benjamin. We do not, however, think that he is the person here mentioned, but that it wasone of Saul’s relations, one who belonged to the same tribe with him, who falsely accused David.

5. Coffman, “Addis believed that this Psalm was once two Psalms and that they have been weldedtogether. The first five verses and the last six have the story of an innocent man, slandered,persecuted, and pursued with hatred; "and in Ps. 7:6-11 personified Israel asks for justice atGod's hands, and begs him to summon all nations to the great assize (The Final Judgment), thatthey may attest the Divine Sentence that declares Israel innocent."

The first of these is one of eight passages traditionally associated with David's flight from thewrath of King Saul. "The other seven are: Ps. 34; Ps. 52; Ps. 54; Ps. 56; Ps. 57; Ps. 59; and Ps.142."

King Saul was of the tribe of Benjamin, and the mention of Cush as a member of that tribesupports the supposition that David was falsely accused of treason against the King and ofplotting against him, by members of Saul's tribe. This appears to us far more reasonable than thenotion that the "innocent man" in the passage, who was David, of course, was accused of

dishonest dealing with some individual as suggested by Arnold Rhodes.F3

We do know, of course, that David was viciously slandered by Doeg, and that Saul vigorouslypursued David with the purpose of killing him.

6. Warren Wiersbe, “This psalm was born out of a sad experience David had with Cush, aBenjamite (see I Sam. 24-26). Cush was one of Saul's spies. And because of what David did, Cushcaused the deaths of innocent men.

Whenever David had a problem with persecution or with people, he would run to God. "O Lordmy God, in You I put my trust; save me from all those who persecute me; and deliver me" (v. 1).David's enemies were pursuing him. But the first thing he did was examine his own heart. "OLord my God, if I have done this: if there is iniquity in my hands" (v. 3). He was saying, "If Ihave sinned, then let the enemy persecute me."

When we are persecuted or experiencing problems, the first thing we should do is examine ourown hearts--not examine the enemy or even examine God by saying, "God, why did You allowsuch a thing to happen?" When you find yourself in a tight spot, look in the mirror and say,"Father, is there something in my life You are talking to me about? Is there some area in my lifewhere I am not as yielded as I ought to be?"

You may ask, "What about my enemies? Who's going to take care of them?" That was David'squestion. The answer is that God will take care of the enemy. The wickedness of others will cometo an end. Our righteous God will accomplish His purposes, but notice the end of verse 9: "Forthe righteous God tests the hearts and minds." Times of trial are not only times of testimony andtrusting; they are also times of testing. When God tests you, He is showing you your own heart.You may say, "I know my own heart." But you don't. "The heart is deceitful above all things, anddesperately wicked; who can know it?" (Jer. 17:9).

God has a purpose for trials and testings. Do you find yourself in a tight spot today? Don't viewthis as something to endure. Rather, consider it an opportunity for growth. Use this time toexamine your heart. Perhaps God wants to teach you something and develop an area of your life.Yield yourself to Him and trust Him to do a good work in you.

7. Spurgeon, “"Shiggaion of David, which he sang unto the Lord, concerning the word of Cushthe Benjamite." -- "Shiggaion of David." As far as we can gather from the observations oflearned men, and from a comparison of this Psalm with the only other Shiggaion in the Word ofGod, (Habakkuk 3:1), this title seems to mean "variable songs," with which also the idea ofsolace and pleasure is associated. Truly our life psalm is composed of variable verses; one stanzarolls along with the sublime metre of triumph, but another limps with the broken rhythm ofcomplaint. There is much bass in the saint's music here below. Our experience is as variable asthe weather in England.

From the title we learn the occasion of the composition of this song. It appears probable thatCush the Benjamite had accused David to Saul of treasonable conspiracy against his royalauthority. This the king would be ready enough to credit, both from his jealousy of David, andfrom the relation which most probably existed between himself, the son of Kish, and this Cush, orKish, the Benjamite. He who is near the throne can do more injury to a subject than an ordinaryslanderer.

This may be called the SO�G OF THE SLA�DERED SAI�T. Even this sorest of evils mayfurnish occasion for a Psalm. What a blessing it would be if we could turn even the mostdisastrous event into a theme for song, and so turn the tables upon our great enemy. Let us learna lesson from Luther, who once said, "David made Psalms; we also will make Psalms, and singthem as well as we can to the honour of our Lord, and to spite and mock the devil."

Division. In the first and second verses the danger is stated, and prayer offered. Then thePsalmist most solemnly avows his innocence. (Psalms 7:3-5). The Lord is pleaded with to arise tojudgment (Psalms 7:6-7). The Lord, sitting upon his throne, hears the renewed appeal of theSlandered Supplicant (Psalms 7:8-9). The Lord clears his servant, and threatens the wicked(Psalms 7:10-13). The slanderer is seen in vision bringing a curse upon his own head, (Psalms 14-16), while David retires from trial singing a hymn of praise to his righteous God. We have here anoble sermon upon that text: "�o weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper, and everytongue that riseth against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn."

1. LORD my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliverme from all who pursue me,

1. Barnes, “O Lord my God, in thee do I put my trust - The psalm opens with an expression ofstrong confidence in God. The psalmist addresses Yahweh as his God, and says that in him hetrusts or confides. The word rendered trust - חסה châsâh - means “to flee;” to flee to a place; totake shelter; and is applied to taking shelter under the shadow or protection of one Jdg_9:15;Isa_30:2; Psa_57:1; Psa_61:4. The idea here is, that in his troubles he fled to God as a refuge, andfelt safe under his protection.

Save me from all them that persecute me - That is, protect my life; rescue me from their power.The word “persecute” here refers to those who sought his life, who endeavored to deprive him ofhis rights. The language would apply to many occasions in the life of David - to the persecutionswhich he endured by Saul, by Absalom, etc. In this case the language was suggested by theopposition of Cush the Benjamite; and it was this that David had particularly in view. It isprobable, however, that, whoever Cush was, he was not alone, but that others were associatedwith him in his opposition to David; and it was natural also that, in circumstances like these,David should remember his other persecutors, and pray that he might be delivered from them all.The prayer, therefore, has a general form, and the desire expressed is that which we all naturallyhave, that we may be delivered from all that troubles us.

And deliver me - Rescue me. It would seem from this expression, and from the following verse,that there was more to be apprehended in the case than mere reproachful words, and that his lifewas actually in danger.

2. Clarke, “O Lord my God - יהוה אלהי Yehovah Elohai, words expressive of the strongestconfidence the soul can have in the Supreme Being. Thou self-existent, incomprehensible,almighty, and eternal Being, who neither needest nor hatest any thing that thou hast made; thouart my God: God in covenant with thy creature man; and my God and portion particularly.Therefore, in thee do I put thy trust - I repose all my confidence in thee, and expect all my goodfrom thee.

Save me - Shield me from my persecutors; abate their pride, assuage their malice, andconfound their devices!

Deliver me - From the counsels which they have devised, and from the snares and gins theyhave laid in my path.

3. Gill, “O Lord my God, in thee do I put my trust,.... The psalmist expresses his interest in Godas his covenant God, and his trust and confidence in him; and with these he sets out as the stay ofhis soul, and his bulwark against the fears of his enemies; and he does not say that he had trustedin God, or would for the future trust in him; but that he did trust in him, and continued to do so.And God is to be trusted in at all times; in times of affliction, temptation, and desertion; andthese the psalmist premises to his petition, which follows, as an encouragement to him to hope forsuccess, since God was his God, and none that ever trusted in him were confounded;

save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me; persecution is no new thing to the

people of God; David had his persecutors, and many of them; the Church, in Jeremiah's time,had hers; the saints, in the times of the apostles, and in all ages since, have had theirs. Every onethat will live godly in Christ Jesus must expect persecution in one shape or another; and there isnone can save and deliver from it but God, and he can and will in his own time, 2Co_1:10. Davidwas sensible of this, and therefore applies to him, and him only; and not to an arm of flesh, to hisfriends, or to neighbouring princes and powers.

4. Henry, “He puts himself under God's protection and flies to him for succour and shelter(Psa_7:1): “Lord, save me, and deliver me from the power and malice of all those that persecute

me, that they may not have their will against me.” He pleads, 1. His relation to God. “Thou artmy God, and therefore whither else should I go but to thee? Thou art my God, and therefore myshield (Gen_15:1), my God, and therefore I am one of thy servants, who may expect to beprotected.” 2. His confidence in God: “Lord, save me, for I depend upon thee: In thee do I put my

trust, and not in any arm of flesh.” Men of honour will not fail those that repose a trust in them,especially if they themselves have encouraged them to do so, which is our case. 3. The rage andmalice of his enemies, and the imminent danger he was in of being swallowed up by them: “Lord,save me, or I am gone; he will tear my soul like a lion tearing his prey,” with so much pride, andpleasure, and power, so easily, so cruelly. St. Paul compares �ero to a lion (2Ti_4:17), as Davidhere compares Saul. 4. The failure of all other helpers: “Lord, be thou pleased to deliver me, forotherwise there is none to deliver,” Psa_7:2. It is the glory of God to help the helpless.

5. J. A. Alexander, “The psalm opens with an expression of strong confidence in God, and aprayer founded on it. Lord, Jehovah, my God, not merely by creation, but by special covenant, inthee, as such, and therefore in no other, / have trusted, and do still trust. This relation and thistrust entitle him to audience and deliverance. Save me from all my persecutors, or pursuers, aterm frequently employed in David s history. See 1 Sam. xxiv. 15 (14) ; xxvi. 20. By these we arehere to understand the whole class of worldly and ungodly men, of which Saul was the type andrepresentative. The all suggests the urgency of the necessity, as a motive to immediateinterposition. And extricate me, or deliver me. The primary idea of the verb translated save isthat of making room, enlarging. See above, on Ps. iv. 2 (1).

6. Calvin, “At the commencement of the psalm, David speaks of having many enemies, and in thesecond verse he specifies some one in the singular number. And certainly, since the minds of allmen were inflamed against him, he had very good reason for praying to be delivered from all hispersecutors. But as the wicked cruelty of the king, like a firebrand, had kindled against him,though an innocent person, the hatred of the whole people, he had good reason also for turninghis pen particularly against him. Thus, in the first verse, he describes the true character of hisown circumstances—he was a persecuted man; and, in the second verse, the fountain or cause ofthe calamity he was enduring. There is great emphasis in these words which he uses in thebeginning of the Psalms O Jehovah my Godly in thee do I trust. The verb, it is true, is in the pasttense in the Hebrew; and, therefore, if literally translated, the reading would be, In thee have I

trusted; but as the Hebrews often take one tense for another,. I prefer to translate it in the present,In thee I do trust, especially since it is abundantly evident that a continued act, as it is termed, isdenoted. David does not boast of a confidence in God, from which he had now fallen, but of aconfidence which he constantly entertained in his afflictions. And this is a genuine and anundoubted proof of our faith, when, being visited with adversity, we, notwithstanding, perseverein cherishing and exercising hope in God. From this passage, we also learn that the gate of mercy

is shut against our prayers if the key of faith do not open it for us. �or does he use superfluouslanguage when he calls Jehovah his own God; for by setting up this as a bulwark before him, hebeats back the waves of temptations, that they may not overwhelm his faith. In the second versesby the figure of a lion, he represents in a stronger light the cruelty of Saul, as an argument toinduce God to grant him assistance, even as he ascribes it to Him as his peculiar province torescue his poor sheep from the jaws of wolves.

7. Treasury of David, “Verse 1. David appears before God to plead with him against the Accuser,who had charged him with treason and treachery. The case is here opened with an avowal ofconfidence in God. Whatever may be the emergency of our condition we shall never find it amissto retain our reliance upon our God.

O Lord my God, mine by a special covenant, sealed by Jesus' blood, and ratified in my own soulby a sense of union to thee; in thee, and in thee only, do I put my trust, even now in my soredistress. I shake, but my rock moves not. It is never right to distrust God, and never vain to trusthim. And now, with both divine relationship and holy trust to strengthen him, David utters theburden of his desire -- save me from all them that persecute me. His pursuers were very many,and any one of them cruel enough to devour him; he cries, therefore, for salvation from them all.We should never think our prayers complete until we ask for preservation from all sin, and allenemies.

And deliver me, extricate me from their snares, acquit me of their accusations, give a true andjust deliverance in this trial of my injured character. See how clearly his case is stated; let us seeto it, that we know what we would have when we are come to the throne of mercy. Pause a littlewhile before you pray, that you may not offer the sacrifice of fools. Get a distinct idea of yourneed, and then you can pray with the more fluency of fervency.

Verse 1. O Lord, my God, in thee do I put my trust. This is the first instance in the Psalms whereDavid addresses the Almighty by the united names Jehovah and my God. �o more suitable wordscan be placed at the beginning of any act of prayer or praise. These names show the ground of theconfidence afterward expressed. They "denote at once supreme reverence and the mostendearing confidence. They convey a recognition of God's infinite perfections, and of hiscovenanted and gracious relations." William S. Plumer.

2. or they will tear me apart like a lion and rip me topieces with no one to rescue me.

1. Barnes, “Lest he - Lest “Cush” should do this. See the title, and the introduction to the psalm,Section 2. Tear my soul like a lion - Tear or rend my “life” - that is, “me” - like a lion. The wordrendered “soul” here - נפׁש nephesh - refers, as it properly does elsewhere, to the “life,” and notto the soul, as we use the term, denoting the thinking, immortal part. The simple idea is, thatDavid was apprehensive of his “life,” and, in order to indicate his great peril, he uses languagederived from the fierceness of the lion. Such imagery would be well understood in a country

where lions abounded, and nothing could more strikingly denote the danger in which David was,or the fierceness of the wrath of the enemy that he dreaded.

Rending it in pieces - Rending me in pieces. Or rather, perhaps, breaking or crushing thebones, for the word used - פרק pâraq (from our English word “break”) - means “to break, tocrush,” and would apply to the act of the lion crushing or breaking the bones of his victim as hedevoured it.

While there is none to deliver - Denoting the complete destruction which he feared would comeupon him. The figure is that of a solitary man seized by a powerful lion, with no one at hand torescue him. So David felt that if God did not interfere, he would fall into the hands of this fierceand wrathful enemy.

2. Clarke, “Lest he tear my soul like a lion - These words seem to answer well to Saul. As the lionis king in the forest; so was Saul king over the land. As the lion, in his fierceness, seizes at once,and tears his prey in pieces; so David expected to be seized and suddenly destroyed by Saul. Hehad already, in his rage, thrown his javelin at him, intending to have pierced him to the wall withit. As from the power of the lion no beast in the forest could deliver any thing; so David knew thatSaul’s power was irresistible, and that none of his friends or well-wishers could save or deliverhim out of such hands. “Lest he tear my soul (my life) like a lion, rending it in pieces, while thereis none to deliver.” All this answers to Saul, and to none else.

3. Gill, “Lest he tear my soul like a lion,.... That is, one of his persecutors, the chief of them; itmay be Saul, whom the psalmist compares to a lion for his majesty and greatness, the lion beingthe king among beasts; and for his authority, power, and might, and for his wrath and cruelty,which he feared; and which, should it be exerted on him, would tear his soul, or himself, inpieces; would rend his soul from his body, and dispatch his life; see Pro_19:12. So the ApostlePaul calls the Roman governor, before whom he was, and from whose hands he was delivered, alion, for his power and fierceness, 2Ti_4:17. And so our adversary the devil, the chief of allpersecutors, and who instigates others against the saints, is by Peter said to go about like aroaring lion, 1Pe_5:8;

rending it in pieces, as the lion does his prey when hungry. So Homer (s) compares Polyphemus toa mountain lion, which devours and leaves nothing, neither the intestines, nor flesh, nor bones;and represents (t) it first taking hold of the creature with its strong teeth, and breaking its neck,and drawing out its blood and all its inwards; see Isa_38:13;

while there is none to deliver; no saviour, no deliverer: for if God does not save and deliver hispeople out of the hands of their persecutors, none can; especially out of the hands of such an oneas is here described tearing and rending in pieces. As there is no God besides the Lord, there is nosaviour besides him: there is no temporal nor spiritual saviour but he: salvation is not to beexpected from any other; and were it not for him, saints must fall a prey to their enemies.

4. John Schultz, “The image of the lion places this psalm for us in the right spiritual perspective.Peter calls Satan “a roaring lion.” He says: “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil

prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”108 There had been a time inDavid’s life when, in his youthful daring, he killed a lion that wanted to steal a sheep. To Saul hesaid: “Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carriedoff a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When itturned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.” �ow, as he is older and less daring,the situation in which he find himself makes him fearful. It is advisable to fear lions. Physical orspiritual recklessness has not merit in itself. David is right to want to flee from the lion and to fleeto God. It is good for us to hide in God and to put ourselves under His protection. C. S. Lewisdevelops the theme of being under God’s protection in his beautiful book That Hideous Strength.

If we flee to God, we put a distance between ourselves and the enemy. It is obvious that we willonly be subject to enemy attacks if we resist him. As long as we have a common cause with thedevil, he will treat us as calves to be fattened for the kill. But once we confess our sins before Godand ask for forgiveness, he turns against us. This is, undoubtedly, the most positive side of thiskind of experience. It is much more dangerous if we are exposed to a sweet, subtle temptationthan when Satan turns against us openly with physical threats. In that way he easily crosses thelimits God has set for him. There is in open demonic attacks a hidden compliment to our spiritualstatus.

David shows a very human reaction to fear and, he deals with this in a healthy way. The solutionto the problem of fear lies in the spiritual realm, which is only accessible in fellowship with God.When Jesus’ disciples were afraid to return with Him to Jerusalem, He told them: “Are there nottwelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world'slight. It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light.”There is in thepersecution of David a semblance of justice which is hard to accept. David is being accused ofcertain things which would give an air of legality to the case. This air of justice is more repulsivethan unlimited absolutism. We are not told what David is charged with. If we do place this psalmagainst the background of David’s flight from Saul, we know that Saul suspected David ofrevolutionary efforts to take over the throne. The basis for this supposition was not imaginary ifSaul was aware of the fact that Samuel had anointed David. Saul would have considered David’sirreproachable conduct towards him as a sly political ploy. Why would he have trusted Davidmore than he trusted himself? Saul’s reasoning was not illogical. The situation was rathercomplicated, mainly because God had started to intervene in David’s life, in a supernatural way,and at an early stage.

Ironically, David found himself in a tight situation into which he got himself because of the graceof God. From a spiritual viewpoint this kind of conflict is the logical result of God’s grace; thedevil reacts when the work of the Holy Spirit becomes evident in the life of man. But in the worldin which we live, with its inter-personal relations, matters are seldom so easily definable as blackor white. We have a hard time accepting that God’s interventions can increase the pressure andmake life more difficult for us. One example is the one of Israel in Egypt after Moses’ first visit toPharaoh’s court. Others include first the life of Joseph, second, the man who was paralyzed forthirty-eight years,111 and third, the man who was born blind, to mention only a few. Jesusadvises us to rejoice and be glad when we find ourselves in similar circumstances. He said:“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom ofheaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evilagainst you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in thesame way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”113 We can only rejoice underthose circumstances, of course, if our conscience is clear. There is always the very subtle dangerthat we will try to manipulate the work of the Holy Spirit to boost our own ego. That was the

difference between David and Saul; both were seized by the power of the Holy Spirit. David,immediately, handed over the reigns of his life to God; Saul did not. At first glance Saul was themore modest one of the two, but his modesty was a cover-up for his efforts to remain in thesaddle. Only “those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”

5. Spurgeon, “Lest he tear my soul. Here is the plea of fear co-working with the plea of faith.There was one among David's foes mightier that the rest, who had both dignity, strength, andferocity, and was, therefore, like a lion. From this foe he urgently seeks deliverance. Perhaps thiswas Saul, his royal enemy; but in our own case there is one who goes about like a lion, seekingwhom he may devour, concerning whom we should ever cry, "Deliver us from the Evil One."�otice the vigour of the description -- rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver. It is apicture from the shepherd life of David. When the fierce lion had pounced upon the defencelesslamb, and had made it his prey, he would rend the victim in pieces, break all the bones, anddevour all, because no shepherd was near to protect the lamb or rescue it from the ravenousbeast. This is a soul moving portrait of a saint delivered over to the will of Satan. This will makethe bowels of Jehovah yearn. A father cannot be silent when a child is in such peril. �o, he willnot endure the thought of his darling in the jaws of a lion, he will arise and deliver his persecutedone. Our God is very pitiful, and he will surely rescue his people from so desperate a destruction.It will be well for us here to remember that this is a description of the danger to which thePsalmist was exposed from slanderous tongues. Verily this is not an overdrawn picture, for thewounds of a sword will heal, but the wounds of the tongue cut deeper than the flesh, and are notsoon cured. Slander leaves a slur, even if it be wholly disproved. Common fame, althoughnotoriously a common liar, has very many believers. Once let an ill word get into men's mouths,and it is not easy to get it fully out again. The Italians say that good repute is like the cypress,once cut it never puts forth leaf again; this is not true if our character be cut by a stranger'shand, but even then it will not soon regain its former verdure. Oh, it is a meanness mostdetestable to stab a good man in his reputation, but diabolical hatred observes no nobility in itsmode of warfare. We must be ready for this trial, for it will surely come upon us. If God wasslandered in Eden, we shall surely be maligned in this land of sinners. Gird up your loins, yechildren of the resurrection, for this fiery trial awaits you all.

6. Treasury of David, “Verse 2. Lest he tear my soul like a lion, etc. It is reported of tigers, thatthey enter into a rage upon the scent of fragrant spices; so do ungodly men at the blessed savourof godliness. I have read of some barbarous nations, who, when the sun shines hot upon them,they shoot up their arrows against it; so do wicked men at the light and heat of godliness. There isa natural antipathy between the spirits of godly men and the wicked. Genesis 3:15. "I will putenmity between thy seed and her seed." Jeremiah Burroughs.

3. LORD my God, if I have done this and there is guilt onmy hands—

1. Barnes, “O Lord my God - A solemn appeal to God as to the sincerity and truth of what he wasabout to say.

If I have done this - This thing charged upon me, for it is evident that “Cush,” whoever he was,had accused him of some wrong thing - some wicked action. What that was can only be learnedfrom what follows, and even this is not very specific. So far as appears, however, it would seem tobe that he accused David of bringing evil, in some way, upon one who was at peace with him; thatis, of wantonly and without provocation doing him wrong, and of so doing wrong that he had theavails of it in his own possession - some spoil, or plunder, or property, that he had taken fromhim. The charge would seem to be, that he had made a wanton and unprovoked attack on onewho had not injured him, and that he had taken, and had still in his possession, something ofvalue that properly belonged to another. Whether the accuser (Cush) in this referred to himselfor to some other person, does not appear clear from the psalm; but as he was filled with rage, andas the life of David was endangered by him, it would seem most probable that the reference wasto himself, and that he felt he had been personally wronged. The design of David, in the passagenow before us, is to deny this charge altogether. This he does in the most explicit manner, bysaying that this was so far from being true, that he had, on the contrary, delivered the life of himthat was his enemy, and by adding that, if this were so, he would be willing that the injured manshould persecute and oppose him, and even trample his life down to the earth.

If there be iniquity in my hands - That is, if there is the iniquity referred to; or, in other words,if he had in his possession what had been wrongfully taken from another, to wit, as appears, fromthis “Cush” who now accused him. The word “iniquity” here denotes an “unjust possession” - aproperty that had been unjustly taken from another; and, as remarked above, the slanderouscharge would seem to have been, that he had taken that property from some one who was atpeace with him, and that he retained it contrary to justice. This charge David meansperemptorily to deny.

2. Clarke, “If I have done this - David was accused by Saul of affecting the kingdom; and ofwaiting for an opportunity to take away the life of his king, his patron, and his friend. In hisapplication to God he refers to these charges; meets them with indignation; and clears himself ofthem by a strong appeal to his Judge; and an imprecation that, if he had meditated or designedany such thing, he might meet with nothing but curse and calamity either from God or man.

3. Gill, “O Lord my God, if I have done this. The crime which Saul and his courtiers charged himwith, and which was made so public that every body knew it; and therefore it was needlessparticularly to mention it; namely, that he lay in wait for Saul, and sought his life to take it away,1Sa_24:9. The Targum interprets it of this psalm, paraphrasing it, "if I have made this song withan evil intention"; to give an ill character of any, and lead them with false charges;

if there be iniquity in my hands; not that he was without sin, he had it in his heart; nor that helived without the actual commission of sin: but his sense is, that there was no iniquity, as not inhis heart, purpose, and design, so not in his hand, nor attempted by him, of the kind he wasaccused of, 1Sa_24:11. Otherwise, we often hear him complaining of the depravity of his nature,and acknowledging his sins and transgressions, Psa_32:5.

4. Henry, “He makes a solemn protestation of his innocency as to those things whereof he was

accused, and by a dreadful imprecation appeals to God, the searcher of hearts, concerning it,Psa_7:3-5. Observe, in general, 1. When we are falsely accused by men it is a great comfort if ourown consciences acquit us -

- Hic murus aheneus esto,

(il conscire sibi. -

Be this thy brazen bulwark of defence,Still to preserve thy conscious innocence. -

and not only they cannot prove their calumnies (Act_24:13), but our hearts can disprove them,to our own satisfaction. 2. God is the patron of wronged innocency. David had no court on earthto appeal to. His prince, who should have righted him, was his sworn enemy. But he had the courtof heaven to fly to, and a righteous Judge there, whom he could call his God. And here see, (1.)What the indictment is which he pleads not guilty to. He was charged with a traitorous designagainst Saul's crown and life, that he compassed and imagined to depose and murder him, and,in order to that, levied war against him. This he utterly denies. He never did this; there was noiniquity of this kind in his hand (Psa_7:3); he abhorred the thought of it. He never rewarded evil

to Saul when he was at peace with him, nor to any other, Psa_7:4. �ay, as some think it should berendered, he never rendered evil for evil, never did those mischief that had injured him.

5. Calvin, “O Jehovah my God Here David, to induce God to show him favour, protests that he ismolested unjustly, and without being guilty of any crime. To give his protestation the greaterweight, he uses an imprecation. If he has done any wrong, he declares his readiness to bear theblame; yea, he offers to endure the severest punishment, if he is not altogether innocent of thecrime of which all men thought him almost convicted. And by entreating God to succour himupon no other condition than this, that his integrity should upon trial be found to be untarnished,he teaches us, by his example, that as often as we have recourse to God, we must make it our firstcare to be well assured in our own consciences with respect to the righteousness of our cause; forwe do him great wrong if we wish to engage him as the advocate and defender of a bad cause. Thepronoun this shows that he speaks of a thing which was generally known; whence we mayconclude, that the slander which had been raised by Cush was spread far and wide. And as Davidwas condemned, by the false reports and unrighteous judgments which men advanced againsthim, and saw no remedy on earth, he betakes himself to the judgment-seat of God, and contentshimself with maintaining his innocence before the heavenly Judge; an example which all thegodly should imitate, in order that, in opposition to the slanderous reports which are spreadagainst them, they may rest satisfied with the judgment of God alone. He next declares moredistinctly, that he had committed no crime. And in the fourth verse, he mentions two particularsin self-vindication; first, That he had done no wrong to any one; and, secondly, That he hadrather endeavored to do good to his enemies, by whom notwithstanding he had been injuredwithout any just cause. I, therefore, explain the fourth verse thus: If I have wronged any manthat was at peace with me, and have not rather succored the unworthy, who persecuted mewithout a cause, etc. Since David was hated of almost all men, as if ambition to reign hadimpelled him perfidiously to rise up in rebellion against Saul, and to lay snares for the monarchto whom he was bound by the oath of allegiances . “After having sworn the oath of allegiance tohim.” in the first part of the verse, he clears himself of such a foul slander. The reason, perhaps,why he calls Saul him that was at peace with him is, that on account of his royal dignity his personought to be sacred, and secure from danger, “Because the royal name and title ought to be to him

a safeguard, and secure the safety of his person.” so that it should be unlawful to make anyhostile attempt against him. This phrase, however, may be understood generally, as if he had said,�o one who has meekly restrained himself from injuring me, and has conducted himself kindlytowards me, can with truth complain that I have ever injured him in a single instance. And yet itwas the general persuasion, that David, in the midst of peace, had stirred up great confusion, andcaused war. From this it is just so much the more manifest, that David, provided he enjoyed theapprobation of God, was contented with the consolation arising from this, though he should havecomfort from no other source.

In the second clause of the fourth verse, he proceeds farther, and states, that he had been afriend, not only to the good, but also to the bad, and had not only restrained himself from allrevenge, but had even succoured his enemies, by whom he had been deeply and cruelly injured. Itwould certainly not be very illustrious virtue to love the good and peaceable, unless there werejoined to this self-government and gentleness in patiently bearing with the bad. But when a mannot only keeps himself from revenging the injuries which he has received, but endeavours toovercome evil by doing good, he manifests one of the graces of a renewed and sanctified nature,and in this way proves himself to be one of the children of God; for such meekness proceeds only

from the Spirit of adoption. With respect to the words: as the Hebrew word חלץchalats, which Ihave translated to delivers signifies to divide and to separate, some, to prevent the necessity ofsupplying any word to make out the sense, In the clause, “And have �OT delivered him thatpersecuted me without cause,” the word not is a supplement, there being nothing for it in theHebrew text. thus explain the passage, If I have withdrawn myself from my persecutors, in order

not to succour them. The other interpretation, however, according to which the verb is renderedto deliver or rescue from danger, is more generally received; because the phrase, to separate or set

aside, is applied to those things which we wish to place in safety. And thus the negative word not

must be supplied, an omission which we will find not unfrequently occurring in The Psalms.

6. Spurgeon, “Verse 3-5. The second part of this wandering hymn contains a protestation ofinnocence, and an invocation of wrath upon his own head, if he were not clear from the evilimputed to him. So far from hiding treasonable intentions in his hands, or ungratefully requitingthe peaceful deeds of a friend, he had even suffered his enemy to escape when he had himcompletely in his power. Twice had he spared Saul's life; once in the cave of Adullam, and againwhen he found him sleeping in the midst of his slumbering camp: he could, therefore, with a clearconscience, make his appeal to heaven. He needs not fear the curse whose soul is clear of guilt. Yetis the imprecation a most solemn one, and only justifiable through the extremity of the occasion,and the nature of the dispensation under which the Psalmist lived. We are commanded by ourLord Jesus to let our yea be yea, and our nay, nay: "for whatsoever is more than this cometh ofevil." If we cannot be believed on our word, we are surely not to be trusted on our oath; for to atrue Christian his simple word is as binding as another man's oath. Especially beware, Ounconverted men! of trifling with solemn imprecations. Remember the woman at Devizes, whowished she might die if she had not paid her share in a joint purchase, and who fell dead thereand then with the money in her hand.

Selah. David enhances the solemnity of this appeal to the dread tribunal of God by the use of theusual pause.

From these verses we may learn that no innocence can shield a man from the calumnies of thewicked. David had been scrupulously careful to avoid any appearance of rebellion against Saul,whom he constantly styled "the Lord's anointed;" but all this could not protect him from lyingtongues. As the shadow follows the substance, so envy pursues goodness. It is only at the tree

laden with fruit that men throw stones. If we would live without being slandered we must wait tillwe get to heaven. Let us be very heedful not to believe the flying rumors which are alwaysharassing gracious men. If there are no believers in lies there will be but a dull market infalsehood, and good men's characters will be safe. Ill will never spoke well. Sinners have an illwill to saints, and therefore, be sure they will not speak well of them.

7. Treasury of David, “Verse 3. O Lord, my God, if I have done this, if there be iniquity in myhands. In the primitive times the people of God were then a people under great reproach. Whatstrange things does Tertullian tell us they reproached them withal; as that in their meetings theymade Thyestes suppers, who invited his brother to a supper, and presented him with a dish of hisown flesh. They charged them with uncleanness because they met in the night (for they durst notmeet in the day,) and said, they blew out the candles when they were together, and committedfilthiness. They reproached them for ignorance, saying, they were all unlearned; and thereforethe heathens in Tertullian's time used to paint the God of the Christians with an ass's head, and abook in his hand to signify that though they pretended learning, yet they were an unlearned, sillypeople, rude and ignorant. Bishop Jewel in his sermon upon Luke 11:5, cites this out ofTertullian, and applies it to his time: -- "Do not our adversaries do the like," saith he, "at thisday, against all those that profess the gospel of Christ? Oh, say they, who are they that favor thisway? they are none but shoemakers, tailors, weavers, and such as were never at the university;"they are the bishop's own words. He cites likewise Tertullian a little after, saying, that theChristians were accounted the public enemies of the State. And Josephus tells us of Apollinaris,speaking concerning the Jews and Christians, that they were more foolish than any barbarian.And Paulus Fagius reports a story of an Egyptian, concerning the Christians, who said, "Theywere a gathering together of a most filthy, lecherous people;" and for the keeping of the Sabbath,he says, "they had a disease that was upon them, and they were fain to rest the seventh daybecause of that disease." And so in Augustine's time, he hath this expression, "Any one thatbegins to be godly, presently he must prepare to suffer reproach from the tongues ofadversaries;" and this was their usual manner of reproach, "What shall we have of you, an Elias?a Jeremy?" And �azianzen, in one of his orations says, "It is ordinary to reproach, that I cannotthink to go free myself." And so Athanasius, they called him Sathanasius, because he was aspecial instrument against the Arians. And Cyprian, they called him Coprian, one that gathers updung, as if all the excellent things that he had gathered in his works was but dung. JeremiahBurroughs.

Verse 3. If I have done this; if there be iniquity in my hands. I deny not but you may, and ought tobe sensible of the wrong done to your name, for as "a good name is a precious ointment" (Song ofSolomon 1:3), so to have an evil name is a great judgment; and therefore you ought not to beinsensible of the wrong done to your name by slanders and reproaches, saying, "Let men speak ofme what they please, I care not, so long as I know mine own innocency," for though the testimonyof your own innocency be a ground of comfort unto you, yet your care must be not only toapprove yourselves unto God, but also unto men, to be as careful of your good names as possiblyye can; but yet you are not to manifest any distemper or passion upon the reproachful speeches ofothers against you. Thomas Gouge, 1660.

Verse 3. It is a sign that there is some good in thee if a wicked world abuse thee. "Quid mali feci?"said Socrates, what evil have I done that this bad man commends me? The applause of thewicked usually denotes some evil, and their censure imports some good. Thomas Watson.

Verse 3. If there be iniquity in my hands. Injustice is ascribed to the hand, not because injustice asalways, though usually it be, done by the hand. With the hand men take away, and with that men

detain the right of others. David speaks thus (1 Chronicles 12:17 ), "Seeing there is no wrong inmine hands;" that is, I have done no wrong. Joseph Caryl.

Verse 3-4. A good conscience is a flowing spring of assurance. "For our rejoicing is this, thetestimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, butby the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly towardyou." 2 Corinthians 1:12 . "Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidencetowards God." 1 John 3:21 . A good conscience has sure confidence. He who has it sits in the midstof all combustions and distractions, �oah like, all sincerity and serenity, uprightness andboldness. What the probationer disciple said to our Saviour, "Master, I will follow theewhithersoever thou goest," that a good conscience says to the believing soul; I will stand by thee;I will strengthen thee; I will uphold thee; I will be a comfort to thee in life, and a friend to thee indeath. "Though all should leave thee, yet will I never forsake thee," Thomas Brooks.

8. Coffman, “�otice the triple "if" in Ps. 7:3-5. This format was typical of what was called TheOath of Clearance which is mentioned in 1 Kings 8:31-32. When one was accused, he could go tothe temple and there take a solemn oath after the pattern noted here, asking that God wouldreceive his affirmation as righteous and true, including also a curse upon his own head in case hisoath was false. This oath was supposed to be taken in the Temple and administered by the priests;but it was sometimes taken elsewhere. Job is supposed to have had this Oath of Clearance in

mind in the words of Job 31:5-40.F4

The fact of David's having been viciously slandered by people like Doeg and perhaps also byCush the Benjamite, has led some to refer to this Psalm as the Song of the Slandered Saint. But assomeone once said, "If God Himself was slandered in the Garden of Eden, we mortals living uponthis sinful and rebellious earth should not expect to escape it."

4. if I have repaid my ally with evil or without cause haverobbed my foe—

1. Barnes, “If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me - If I have done evil; or if Ihave requited him that was friendly by some unjust and evil conduct. If I have come upon himwantonly and unprovoked, and have done him wrong. This seems to have been the substance ofthe accusation; and, as remarked above, it is most probable that the accuser (Cush) referred tohimself.

Yea, I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy - So far is this from being true, thatthe very reverse is true. So far from taking advantage of another that was at peace with me, anddepriving him of his just rights by fraud or force, it is a fact that I have rescued from impendingdanger the man that was at war with me, and that was an avowed enemy. It would seem probablethat in this he refers to this very Cush, and means to say that there had been some occasion inwhich he, who was long hostile to him, was wholly in his power, and when he had not only

declined to take advantage of him, but had actually interposed to rescue him from danger. Aninstance of this kind actually occurred in the life of David, in his treatment of Saul 1Sa_24:10-11;and it is “possible” that David referred to that case, and meant to say that that was an indicationof his character, and of his manner of treating others. Those who suppose that the whole psalmrefers to Saul (see the introduction, Section 2), of course regard this as the specific case referredto. There may have been other instances of the same kind in the life of David, and there is noimprobability in supposing that on some occasion he had treated this very man, “Cush,” in thisway, and that he refers here to that fact.

2. Clarke, “Yea, I have delivered him - When, in the course of thy providence, thou didst put hislife in my hand in the cave, I contented myself with cutting off his skirt, merely to show him thedanger he had been in, and the spirit of the man whom he accused of designs against his life; andyet even for this my heart smote me, because it appeared to be an indignity offered to him whowas the Lord ‘s anointed. This fact, and my venturing my life frequently for his good and thesafety of the state, sufficiently show the falsity of such accusations, and the innocence of my life.

3. Gill, “If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me,.... That is, when Saul was atpeace with him; when he lived at his court, and ate at his table his meaning is, that he did notconspire against him, nor form schemes to deprive him of his crown nor of his life: or, as it maybe rendered, "if I have rewarded to him that rewarded me evil" (u); that is, as Jarchi explains it,if I rewarded him as he rewarded me, evil for evil. This David did not; and it is eminently true ofChrist his antitype, 1Pe_2:23; and in it he ought to be imitated by every believer, Rom_12:17;

yea, I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy; meaning Saul, who persecuted Davidwithout any just reason, and whom David delivered without any obligation to do it; not for anybenefit and kindness he had received from him; for the phrase "without cause" may be read inconnection either with the word "delivered" (w); for the deliverance was wrought without anycause or merit on Saul's part, or profit to David; or with the word "enemy", for Saul was David'senemy without any just cause on David's part: and the deliverance referred to was when he cutoff Saul's skirt, in the cave at Engedi, and spared his life; and when he took away his spear fromhim, as he was sleeping in the trench, and did not destroy him, nor suffer those that would to doit, 1Sa_24:4. The words may be rendered, "only I stripped him" (x). The sense is, that he cut offthe skirt of his coat, and took away his spear, and so in part stripped him both of his clothes andarmour, at two different times; not to do him any hurt, but to let him know, as Jarchi observes,that he was delivered into his hands, and he could have slain him, but did not. The same Jewishwriter interprets the word used "of stripping of garments"; and Aben Ezra observes, from R.Moses, that the "vau", rendered "yea", signifies "only", as in Gen_42:10.

4. Henry, “ What evidence he produces of his innocency. It is hard to prove a negative, and yetthis was a negative which David could produce very good proof of: I have delivered him that

without cause is my enemy, Psa_7:4. By this it appeared, beyond contradiction, that David had nodesign against Saul's life - that, once and again, Providence so ordered it that Saul lay at hismercy, and there were those about him that would soon have dispatched him, but Davidgenerously and conscientiously prevented it, when he cut off his skirt (1Sa_24:4) and afterwards

when he took away his spear (1Sa_26:12), to attest for him what he could have done. Saul himselfowned both these to be undeniable proofs of David's integrity and good affection to him. If werender good for evil, and deny ourselves the gratifications of our passion, our so doing may turnto us for a testimony, more than we think of, another day.

5. John Schultz, “In vs. 4 David makes reference to an incident in which he saved the life of aperson who wanted to kill him. The �IV says: “If I have done evil to him who is at peace withme ...” The �KJ renders it: “If I have repaid evil to him who was at peace with me ...” Thisreference could describe the incidents at Engedi and later Hakilah, where Saul was cornered andDavid could have killed him, but refrained from doing so.

6. Treasury of David, “Verse 4. If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me. To doevil for good, is human corruption; to do good for good, is civil retribution; but to good for evil, isChristian perfection. Though this be not the grace of nature, yet it is the nature of grace. WilliamSecker.

Verse 4. Then is grace victorious, and then hath a man a noble and brave spirit, not when he isovercome by evil (for that argues weakness), but when he can overcome evil. And it is God's wayto shame the party that did the wrong, and to overcome him too; it is the best way to get thevictory over him. When David had Saul at an advantage in the cave, and cut off the lap of hisgarment, and did forbear any act of revenge against him, Saul was melted, and said to David,"Thou art more righteous than I." 1 Samuel 24:17 . Though he had such a hostile mind againsthim, and chased and pursued him up and down, yet when David forbear revenge when it was inhis power, it overcame him, and he falls weeping. Thomas Manton.

7. Coffman, “The �ew English Bible's rendition of the second line in Ps. 7:4 is severelycondemned by Derek Kidner who affirmed that, "Their translation not only contradicts the OldTestament's demand of generosity to a personal enemy, but also David's known convictions."

Yea, I have delivered him that without cause was mine adversary. George DeHoff cited two clearexamples of David's doing that very thing on behalf of King Saul in 1 Sam. 24:1-22; and in 1Sam. 26:1-25.

In the following six verses (Psalms 7:5-11), believed by some to have once been a separate Psalm,"The Psalm moves from the intensely personal plea of a man who is betrayed and hounded, to

the conviction that God is judge of all the earth,"F7 and in effect calls for such a judgment inwhich Israel will be declared innocent.

It was perhaps passages such as this one that led ancient Israel to the habit of frequently callingupon God to usher in the judgment day. Of course, they had some very erroneous ideas aboutthat day, as indicated by the prophet Amos (Amos 5:18-20). For some, the Judgment Day wasenvisioned as a day when Almighty God would appear, kill all the Gentiles and turn the wholeworld over to God's Chosen People!

5. then let my enemy pursue and overtake me; let him

trample my life to the ground and make me sleep in thedust.[c]

1. Barnes, “Let the enemy persecute my soul - Persecute my “life,” for so the word rendered“soul,” נפׁש nephesh, is evidently used here. He was willing, if he had been guilty of the thingcharged upon him, that the enemy here referred to should “pursue” or persecute him until heshould destroy his life. Compare with this the expression of Paul in Act_25:11. The meaning hereis simply that if he were a guilty man, in the manner charged on him, he would be willing to betreated accordingly. He did not wish to screen himself from any just treatment; and if he hadbeen guilty he would not complain even if he were cut off from the land of the living.

And take it - Take my life; put me to death.

Yea, let him tread down my life upon the earth - The allusion here is to the manner in which thevanquished were often treated in battle, when they were rode over by horses, or trampled by meninto the dust. The idea of David is, that if he was guilty he would be willing that his enemy shouldtriumph over him, should subdue him, should treat him with the utmost indignity and scorn.

And lay mine honor in the dust - All the tokens or marks of my honor or distinction in life.That is, I am willing to be utterly degraded and humbled, if I have been guilty of this conducttoward him who is my enemy. The idea in all this is, that David did not wish to screen himselffrom the treatment which he deserved if he had done wrong. His own principles were such thathe would have felt that the treatment here referred to would have been right and proper as arecompense for such base conduct; and he would not have had a word to say against it. His desirefor the interposition of God, therefore, arose solely from the fact of his feeling that, in theserespects, he was entirely innocent, and that the conduct of his enemy was unjust and cruel.

Selah - A musical pause, not affecting the sense, but introduced here, perhaps, because thesense of the psalm now demanded a change in the style of the music. See the notes at Psa_3:2.

2. Clarke, “Let the enemy persecute my soul - If I have been guilty of the things laid to mycharge, let the worst evils fall upon me.

3. Gill, “Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it,.... That is, if the above things he wascharged with could be proved against him; then he was content that Saul his enemy shouldpursue after him, and apprehend him, and bring him to justice, by taking away his life from him;

yea, let him tread down my life upon the earth; with the utmost indignation and contempt,without showing any mercy; as the lion treads down his prey, and tears it to pieces, Mic_5:8; oras the potter treads his clay under foot, Isa_41:25;

and lay mine honour in the dust; meaning either his life and soul, as before; denominatinghimself from his better part, and which he elsewhere calls his glory, Psa_16:9; see Gen_49:6; orelse his body, as R. Judah Ben Balaam, who is blamed for it by Jarchi; or rather his fame, credit,

and reputation, that he had gained, both by his courage and valour in the field, and by his wiseand prudent behaviour at court, 1Sa_18:7. Should he appear to be guilty of the crimes he wasaccused of, he is willing to have his glorious name buried in the dust of oblivion, and his memoryperish for ever. The words are to be considered as a strong assertion of his innocence, in anappeal to God, the searcher of hearts, and the trier of the reins of men; and as imprecating onhimself the worst of evils, should it not appear; see Job_31:21.

Selah; Aben Ezra renders "selah", "in truth", "let it be so"; and the Targum renders it, as usual,"for ever"; See Gill on Psa_3:2.

4. Henry, “ What doom he would submit to if he were guilty (Psa_7:5): Let the enemy persecute

my soul to the death, and my good name when I am gone: let him lay my honour in the dust. Thisintimates, [1.] That, if he had been indeed injurious to others, he had reason to expect that theywould repay him in the same coin. He that has his hand against every man must reckon upon itthat every man's hand will be against him. [2.] That, in that case, he could not with anyconfidence go to God and beg of him to deliver him or plead his cause. It is a presumptuousdangerous thing for any that are guilty, and suffer justly, to appeal to God, as if they wereinnocent and suffered wrongfully; such must humble themselves and accept the punishment oftheir iniquity, and not expect that the righteous God will patronise their unrighteousness. [3.]That he was abundantly satisfied in himself concerning his innocency. It is natural to us to wishwell to ourselves; and therefore a curse to ourselves, if we swear falsely, has been thought asawful a form of swearing as any. With such an oath, or imprecation, David here ratifies theprotestation of his innocency, which yet will not justify us in doing the like for every light andtrivial cause; for the occasion here was important.

III. Having this testimony of his conscience concerning his innocency, he humbly prays to Godto appear for him against his persecutors, and backs every petition with a proper plea, as onethat knew how to order his cause before God.

5. Calvin, “Let mine enemy pursue It is a striking proof of the great confidence which David hadin his own integrity, when he is willing to endure any kind of punishment, however dreadful,provided he should be found guilty of any crime. If we could bring a good conscience like thisbefore God, his hand would be more quickly stretched forth to afford us immediate assistance.But as it often happens that those who molest us have been provoked by us, or that we burn withthe desire of revenge when offended, we are unworthy of receiving succour from God; yea, ourown impatience shuts the gate against our prayers. In the first place, David is prepared to begiven over to the will of his enemies, that they may seize his life, and throw it down to the ground;

and then to be publicly exhibited as an object of their mockery, so that, even after he is dead, hemay lie under eternal disgrace. Some think that the כבוד kebod, which we have translated glory, ishere to be taken for life, and thus there will be three words, soul, life, glory, signifying the samething. But it appears to me, that the meaning of the passage will be fuller if we refer the wordglory to his memory, or his good name, as if he had said, Let my enemy not only destroy me, but,after having put me to death, let him speak of me in the most reproachful terms, so that my namemay be buried in mire or filth.

6. Treasury of David, “Verse 5. Let him tread down my life upon the earth. The allusion here is tothe manner in which the vanquished were often treated in battle, when they were rode over by

horses, or trampled by men in the dust. The idea of David is, that if he was guilty he would bewilling that his enemy should triumph over him, should subdue him, should treat him with theutmost indignity and scorn. Albert Barnes, in loc.

Verse 5. Mine honour in the dust. When Achilles dragged the body of Hector in the dust aroundthe walls of Troy, he did but carry out the usual manners of those barbarous ages. David dares inhis conscious innocence to imprecate such an ignominious fate upon himself if indeed theaccusation of the black Benjamite be true. He had need have a golden character who dares tochallenge such an ordeal. C.H.S.

6. Arise, LORD, in your anger; rise up against the rage ofmy enemies. Awake, my God; decree justice.

1. Barnes, “Arise, O Lord, in thine anger - That is, to punish him who thus unjustly persecutesme. See the notes at Psa_3:7.

Lift up thyself - As if he had been lying in repose and inaction. The idea is derived from awarrior who is called on to go forth and meet an enemy.

Because of the rage of mine enemies - �ot only of this particular enemy, but of those who wereassociated with him, and perhaps of all his foes. David felt, on this occasion, that he wassurrounded by enemies; and he calls on God to interfere and save him.

And awake for me - Or, in my behalf. The word “awake” is a still stronger expression thanthose which he had before used. It implies that one had been asleep, and insensible to what hadoccurred, and he addresses God “as if” He had thus been insensible to the dangers whichsurrounded him.

To the judgment that thou hast commanded - To execute the judgment which thou hastappointed or ordered. That is, God had, in his law, commanded that justice should be done, andhad proclaimed himself a God of justice - requiring that right should be done on the earth, anddeclaring himself in all cases the friend of right. David now appeals to him, and calls on him tomanifest himself in that character, as executing in this case the justice which he required underthe great principles of his administration. He had commanded justice to be done in all cases. Hehad required that the wicked should be punished. He had ordered magistrates to execute justice.In accordance with these great principles, David now calls on God to manifest “himself” as thefriend of justice, and to show, in this case, the same principles, and the same regard to justicewhich he required in others. It is an earnest petition that he would vindicate his own principles ofadministration.

2. Clarke, “Arise, O Lord, in thine anger - To thee I commit my cause; arise, and sit on the throneof thy judgment in my behalf.

3. Gill, “Arise, O Lord, in thine anger,.... This and the following phrase do not suppose localmotion in God, to whom it cannot belong, being infinite and immense, but are spoken of himafter the manner of men, who seems sometimes as though he had laid himself down, and wasunconcerned about and took no notice of human affairs, of the insults of the wicked and theoppressions of the righteous; wherefore the psalmist beseeches him to "arise", which he may besaid to do when he comes forth in his power in the defence of his people, and against theirenemies; see Psa_12:5; and he also prays him to arise in anger, to show himself displeased, andgive some tokens of his resentment, by letting his enemies feel the lighting down of his arm withthe indignation of his anger;

lift up thyself, because of the rage of mine enemies; ascend the throne of judgment, and there sitjudging right; show thyself to be the Judge of the earth, high and lifted up; let it appear that thouart above all mine enemies, higher and more powerful than they; stop their rage, break the forceof their fury, lift up a standard against them, who, likes mighty flood, threaten to bear all beforethem: or "lift up thyself in rage", or "fierce wrath, because of", or "against mine enemies" (y):and so the sense is the same as before; and this way go many of the Jewish interpreters (z);

and awake for me to the judgment that thou hast commanded; not that sleep falls upon God, forthe keeper of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps; nor does it fall on any but corporeal beings, notupon angels, nor the souls of men, much less on God; but he sometimes in his providence seems tolie dormant and inactive, as if he disregarded what is done in this world; and therefore his peopleaddress him as if he was asleep, and call upon him to arise to their help and assistance; seePsa_44:23; and so David here, "awake for me", that is, hasten to come to me and help me;suggesting that he was in great distress and danger, by reason of his enemies, should he delaycoming to him. By "judgment" is either meant the vengeance which God had ordered him toexecute upon his enemies, as Jarchi interprets it, and therefore he entreats him to arise and puthim in a capacity of doing it; or else his innocence, and the vindication of it, which God hadpromised him, and then the petition is much the same with Psa_7:8. But the generality of Jewish(a) writers understand it of the kingdom which God had appointed for him, and for which he wasanointed by Samuel; and who had told Saul that God had found a man after his own heart,whom he had "commanded" to be captain over his people, 1Sa_13:14; wherefore the psalmistprays that God would hasten the fulfilment of his purpose and promise, and set him on thethrone, that so he might administer justice and judgment to the people.

4. Henry, “1. He prays that God would manifest his wrath against his enemies, and pleads theirwrath against him: “Lord, they are unjustly angry at me, be thou justly angry with them and letthem know that thou art so, Psa_7:6. In thy anger lift up thyself to the seat of judgment, and makethy power and justice conspicuous, because of the rage, the furies, the outrages (the word isplural) of my enemies.” Those need not fear men's wrath against them who have God's wrath forthem. Who knows the power of his anger?

2. He prays that God would plead his cause.

(1.) He prays, Awake for me to judgment (that is, let my cause have a hearing), to the judgment

which thou hast commanded; this speaks, [1.] The divine power; as he blesses effectually, and istherefore said to command the blessing, so he judges effectually, and is therefore said to command

the judgment, which is such as none can countermand; for it certainly carries execution along

with it. [2.] The divine purpose and promise: “It is the judgment which thou hast determined topass upon all the enemies of thy people. Thou hast commanded the princes and judges of theearth to give redress to the injured and vindicate the oppressed; Lord, awaken thyself to thatjudgment.” He that loves righteousness, and requires it in others, will no doubt execute it himself.Though he seem to connive at wrong, as one asleep, he will awake in due time (Psa_78:65) andwill make it to appear that the delays were no neglects.

5. John Schultz, “In the two parallel couplets of vs. 6 and 7 and vs. 8 and 9, David asks God tointervene on his behalf. The words: “Arise O LORD ...” are the same as in Ps. 3:6, where wecommented that God acted on behalf of man against the evil powers in the heavenlies. We shouldnever lose sight of the difference between our struggle against “flesh and blood” and “against thespiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” David, obviously, believed that God intervenes inthe world and in the lives of individuals. If we think that God’s omnipotence only means that Godsits on the throne in heaven as a figurehead, we do not understand Who He is. God arises, andsometimes even jumps up in answer to our prayers. The word “awake” speaks of the mistakennotion we often have of God, as if He were asleep. “He who watches over you will not slumber;indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”

God is also the source of all justice and righteousness, and David is in need of justice. Only Godcan justify a man. TLB renders vs. 7 and 8 as follows: “Gather all peoples before you; sit highabove them, judging their sins. But justify me publicly.” With this prayer David sets the stage fora public rehabilitation. The scene reminds us of the judgment John describes in Revelation,where it is made public whose name is in the Book of Life and whose is not. We read there: “ThenI saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence,and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne,and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead werejudged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead thatwere in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judgedaccording to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. Thelake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he wasthrown into the lake of fire.”

We find the same thought repeated in the following verses. We conclude again that the HolySpirit said more in David’s words than David intended to say himself. It may have been true thatDavid was not guilty of the things his accusers charged him with, but nobody is without guiltbefore God, not even David. If a man is pronounced not guilty and is found to be righteous, this isa miracle that is brought about by the death of Jesus Christ. “God made him who had no sin tobe sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”120 Righteousness is onlyour through faith in Christ. Our guiltlessness is imputed to us in Him. David’s wordsdemonstrate how complete this imputation is; so that even the Argus eye of God Himself cannotfind anything objectionable in us.

6. Calvin, “Arise, O Jehovah David here sets the anger of God in opposition to the rage of hisenemies; and when we are in similar circumstances we should act in the same manner. When theungodly are inflamed against us, and cast forth their rage and fury to destroy us, we oughthumbly to beseech God to be inflamed also on his side; in other words, to show in truth that hehas, no less zeal and power to preserve us, than they have inclination to destroy us. The word,Arise, is taken in a figurative sense, for to ascend into a judgment-seat, or rather to prepare one’s

self to make resistance; and it is here applied to God, because, while he delays to succour us, weare very apt to think him asleep. Accordingly, David also, a little after, beseeches him to awake;

for it seemed on the part of God something like the forgetfulness of sleep to give no assistance toan individual who was so much afflicted and oppressed on all hands.

In the end of the verse he shows that he asks nothing but what is according to the appointment ofGod. And this is the rule which ought to be observed by us in our prayers; we should in everything conform our requests to the divine will, as John also instructs us, (1 John 5:14.) And,indeed, we can never pray in faith unless we attend, in the first place, to what God commands,that our minds may not rashly and at random start aside in desiring more than we are permittedto desire and pray for. David, therefore, in order to pray aright, reposes himself on the word andprose mise of God; and the import of his exercise is this: Lord, I am not led by ambition, orfoolish headstrong passion, or depraved desire, inconsiderately to ask from thee whatever ispleasing to my flesh; but it is the clear light of thy word which directs me, and upon it I securelydepend. Since God, of his own good pleasure, had called him to be one day king, it belonged tohim to defend and maintain the rights of the man whom he had chosen for his servant. David’slanguage, therefore, is the same as if he had said, “When I was well contented with my humblecondition in private life, it was thy pleasure to set me apart to the honourable station of being aking; now, therefore, it belongs to thee to maintain this cause against Saul and his associates whoare using their efforts to defeat thy decree in making war upon me.” The Hebrew word עורה,urah, which we have rendered awake thou, might also be taken transitively for to build up, or toestablish the right of David. The sum of the whole, however, comes to this, that David, trusting tothe call of God, beseeches him to stretch forth his hand for his relief. The faithful must, therefore,take care not to exceed these bounds, if they desire to have God present with them to maintainand preserve them.

7. Spurgeon, “We now listen to a fresh prayer, based upon the avowal which he has just made.We cannot pray too often, and when our heart is true, we shall turn to God in prayer as naturallyas the needle to its pole.

Arise, O Lord, in thine anger. His sorrow makes him view the Lord as a judge who had left thejudgment seat and retired into his rest. Faith would move the Lord to avenge the quarrel of hissaints.

Lift up thyself because of the rage of mine enemies -- a still stronger figure to express his anxietythat the Lord would assume his authority and mount the throne. Stand up, O God, rise thouabove them all, and let thy justice tower above their villainies.

Awake for me to the judgment that thou hast commanded. This is a bolder utterance still, for itimplies sleep as well as inactivity, and can only be applied to God in a very limited sense. Henever slumbers, yet doth he often seem to do so; for the wicked prevail, and the saints aretrodden in the dust. God's silence is the patience of longsuffering, and if wearisome to the saints,they should bear it cheerfully in the hope that sinners may thereby be led to repentance.

7. Let the assembled peoples gather around you, while you

sit enthroned over them on high.

1. Barnes, “So shall the congregation of the people compass thee about - That is, as the result ofthy gracious interposition in defending the righteous, and in bringing just judgment on thewicked. The meaning is, that such an act would inspire confidence in him as a just and holy God,and that, as the result, his people would gather round him to express their gratitude, and torender him praise. In other words, every act of justice on the part of God - all hls interpositionsto defend his people, and to maintain the principles of righteousness and truth - tend to inspireconfidence in him, and to increase the number of his friends. The phrase “the congregation of thepeople,” here, does not necessarily refer to any “congregation,” or assembly as such, thenexisting; but it means that a great congregation - a great multitude - would thus encompass him,or that great numbers would worship him the result of his interposition. This the psalmist urgesas a motive, or as a reason why God should interpose, that in this way the number of hisworshippers would be greatly increased.

For their sakes - On their account; or to secure this result in regard to them.

Return thou on high - The most probable meaning of this is “ascend thy throne of justice, orthy judgment-seat;” spoken here either as a king ascending his elevated throne (compareIsa_6:1), or as ascending to heaven, the place where he dispensed justice. The “language” is as ifhe had come down from his throne - as if he had not been engaged in dispensing justice; andDavid now calls on him to reascend the throne, and to execute righteous judgment among men.The effect of this, he says, would be to secure the confidence of his people, and to increase thenumber of those who would worship him. Of course, this is not to be understood literally, but in amanner appropriate to the divine majesty. It is language, in this respect, similar to that which iselsewhere used, when the psalmist calls on God “to awake, to arise, to lift up himself.” SeePsa_7:6. Such language is easily understood; and language drawn from the common modes ofspeaking among men must be used when we speak of God. The whole idea in this passage is thatGod seemed to delay in the execution of his judgment, and the psalmist entreats him to hasten it.

2. Clarke, “For their sakes therefore return thou on high - Thy own people who compass thyaltar, the faithful of the land, are full of gloomy apprehensions. They hear the charges against me;and see how I am persecuted. Their minds are divided; they know not what to think. For theirsakes, return thou on high - ascend the judgment-seat; and let them see, by the dispensations ofthy providence, who is innocent and who is guilty. David feared not to make this appeal to God;for the consciousness of his innocence showed him at once how the discrimination would bemade.

3. Gill, “ So shall the congregation of the people compass thee about,.... By "the congregation ofthe people" are meant the nation of the Jews, the twelve tribes of Israel, called an assembly ofpeople, and a company of nations, Gen_28:3; and this is to be understood not of their gatheringtogether in an hostile manner about David to take him, which might be interpreted compassing

God himself about, David being as dear to him as the apple of his eye, which is the sense ofseveral Jewish commentators (b); but rather of their encompassing and surrounding the altar ofGod with songs of deliverance, upon David's being rid of his enemies and advanced to the throneof the kingdom; see Psa_26:6; unless it should have regard to the pure worship of God by David,which was greatly neglected in Saul's time; and then the sense is, that the psalmist prays that hemight be established in his kingdom, as God had appointed and commanded, when he wouldfetch up the ark of God, and encourage the worship of God, and rectify all disorders in it; that sothe several tribes might come up to Jerusalem and encompass the ark, the symbol of the divinePresence, and worship in his holy mountain;

for their sakes therefore return thou on high; take, the throne of justice, high and lifted up,vindicate the cause of the oppressed, deliver me from all my troubles, put me into the peaceablepossession of my kingdom; if not for my, sake, yet for the sake of thy church and people, and forthe sake of thy worship and thy glory; the Targum paraphrases it, "return thou to the house ofthy Shechinah".

4. Henry, “He prays (Psa_7:7), “Return thou on high, maintain thy own authority, resume thyroyal throne of which they have despised the sovereignty, and the judgment-seat of which theyhave despised the sentence. Return on high, that is, visibly and in the sight of all, that it may beuniversally acknowledged that heaven itself owns and pleads David's cause.” Some make this topoint at the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, who, when he returned to heaven(returned on high in his exalted state), had all judgment committed to him. Or it may refer to hissecond coming, when he shall return on high to this world, to execute judgment upon all. Thisreturn his injured people wait for, and pray for, and to it they appeal from the unjust censures ofmen.

5. Calvin, “And a congregation of peoples Some limit this sentence exclusively to the people ofIsrael, as if David promised that, as soon as he should ascend the throne, he would endeavour toreunite together, in the pure worship of God, the people who before had been as it were in a stateof dispersion. Under the reign of Saul, religion had been neglected, or such an unrestrainedlicense in wickedness had prevailed, that few paid any regard to God. The meaning, therefore,according to these expositors, is this: Lord, when thou shalt have constituted me king, the wholepeople, who have so basely gone astray from thee, shall return from their wanderings anddisorderly courses to thee and to thy service, so that all shall know that thou rulest in the midst ofthem, and shall worship thee as their only King. But I am rather inclined to view this as languagewhich has a respect in common to many nations. David here speaks in high terms of the effectsresulting from his deliverance, the report of which would be spread far and wide, and his wordsare, as if he had said, “Lord, when thou shalt have put me in peaceable possession of thekingdom, this will not only be a benefit conferred on me personally, but it will be a commonlesson to many nations, teaching them to acknowledge thy just judgment, so that they shall turntheir eyes to thy judgment-seat.” David here alludes to the practice of a people who surroundtheir king, as in a circle, when he holds a solemn assembly. In the same sense, he addsimmediately after, that God, who, for a time, lay still and kept silence, would raise himself onhigh that not only one or two, but whole nations, might behold his glory: And on account of this

return thou on high Fry reads, “And over it resume thy high tribunal.” He supposes that theword עליה, aleha, which Calvin has rendered on account of this, may be understood, “concerningthis affair,” and gives the following paraphrase: ”Resume thy judgment-seat, in order to

investigate the cause in which I have been prejudged by the adversary.” There is in these words, atacit comparison, that although it might not be necessary to have a regard to one man alone, it isrequisite that God should keep the world in the fear and reverence of his judgment.

6. Spurgeon, “So shall the congregation of the people compass thee about. Thy saints shall crowdto thy tribunal with their complaints, or shall surround it with their solemn homage: for theirsakes therefore return thou on high. As when a judge travels at the assizes, all men take theircases to his court that they may be heard, so will the righteous gather to their Lord. Here hefortifies himself in prayer by pleading that if the Lord will mount the throne of judgment,multitudes of the saints would be blessed as well as himself. If I be too base to be remembered,yet, for their sakes, for the love thou bearest to thy chosen people, come forth from thy secretpavilion, and sit in the gate dispensing justice among the people. When my suit includes thedesires of all the righteous it shall surely speed, for, "shall not God avenge his own elect?"

7. Treasury of David, “Verse 7. The congregation of the people: either,

1. A great number of all sorts of people, who shall observe thy justice, and holiness, andgoodness in pleading my righteous cause against my cruel and implacable oppressor. Orrather,

2. The whole body of thy people Israel, by whom both these Hebrew words are commonlyascribed in Holy Scripture.

Compass thee about; they will, and I, as their king and ruler in thy stead, will take care that theyshall come from all parts and meet together to worship thee, which in Saul's time they havegrossly neglected, and been permitted to neglect, and to offer to thee praises and sacrifices for thyfavour to me, and for the manifold benefits which they shall enjoy by my means, and under mygovernment.

For their sakes; or, for its sake, i.e., for the sake of thy congregation, which now is woefullydissipated and oppressed, and has in a great measure lost all administration of justice, andexercise of religion.

Return thou on high, or, return to thy high place,i.e. to thy tribunal, to sit there and judge mycause. An allusion to earthly tribunals, which generally are set up on high above the people.1 Kings 10:19 . Matthew Poole, 1624-1679.

8. Let the LORD judge the peoples. Vindicate me, LORD,according to my righteousness, according to my integrity,O Most High.

1. Barnes, “The Lord shall judge the people - Expressing his confident belief that God wouldinterpose, and that his judgment would not much longer be delayed. The proposition is a general

one - that God would see that justice would be done to all people; and on this ground the psalmistpleads that He would now interpose and defend him from his enemies.

Judge me, O Lord - That is, in my present circumstances. Interpose to do justice to my cause,and to vindicate me from these false accusations.

According to my righteousness - In this particular case, for to that the proper laws ofinterpretation require us to confine this. He does not say that he wished his own righteousness tobe made the basis of judgment in determining his eternal welfare, or that he depended on his ownrighteousness for salvation - for that is not the point in question; but he felt that his was, in thiscase, a righteous cause; that he was not guilty of the charge alleged against him; that he was aninjured, wronged, and calumniated man; and he prayed that God would “vindicate” him fromthese charges, and defend him from those who were unjustly persecuting him. With all our senseof personal unworthiness in the matter of salvation, it is not improper, when we are wronged, topray that God would interpose and vindicate us in that particular case, according to ourinnocence of the charges alleged against us.

And according to mine integrity that is in me - Hebrew, “my perfection.” That is, his perfectionin “this” case; his entire freedom from the charges brought against him; his absolute innocence inrespect to the points under consideration. A man may be conscious of “perfect” innocence inrespect to a particular matter, and yet have a deep sense of his “general” unworthiness, and ofthe fact that he is a sinner against God. That I am innocent of a particular act charged on medoes not prove that I am guiltless altogether; that I should allege that, and insist on that, andpray to God to vindicate me in that, does not prove that I depend on that for the salvation of mysoul, or that I claim absolute perfection before him.

2. Clarke, “The Lord shall judge the people - He will execute justice and maintain truth amongthem. They shall not be as sheep without a shepherd.

Judge me, O Lord - Let my innocence be brought to the light, and my just dealing made clearas the noonday.

3. Gill, “The Lord shall judge the people,.... The inhabitants of the world in general; for God isthe Judge of all the earth, and he judges the world in righteousness daily, and ministers judgmentin uprightness, though it is not always manifest; or his own people in particular, whose cause hepleads, whose injuries and wrongs he avenges, whose persons he protects and defends; this thepsalmist expresses with confidence, and therefore, suitable to his character as a Judge, heentreats him as follows:

judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness; he speaks not of his justification before God,in whose sight he well knew no flesh living could be justified by their own righteousness,Psa_143:2; nor of the righteousness of his person, either imputed or inherent; but of therighteousness of his cause, Psa_35:27; not of his righteousness God-ward, for he knew that hewas a sinner with respect to him; but of his righteousness towards Saul, against whom he had notsinned, but had acted towards him in the most righteous and faithful manner, 1Sa_24:11; andtherefore desired to be judged, and was content to stand or fall according to his conduct andbehaviour towards him;

and according to mine integrity that is in me; who had always acted the sincere and upright parttowards Saul, though he had pursued him with so much fury and violence; the psalmist's prayerwas heard and answered, Psa_18:20.

4. Henry, “He prays again (Psa_7:8), “Judge me, judge for me, give sentence on my side.” Toenforce this suit, [1.] He pleads that his cause was now brought into the proper court: The Lord

shall judge the people, Psa_7:8. He is the Judge of all the earth, and therefore no doubt he will doright and all will be obliged to acquiesce in his judgment. [2.] He insists upon his integrity as toall the matters in variance between him and Saul, and desires only to be judged, in this matter,according to his righteousness, and the sincerity of his heart in all the steps he had taken towardshis preferment. [3.] He foretels that it would be much for the glory of God and the edification andcomfort of his people if God would appear for him: “So shall the congregation of the people

compass thee about; therefore do it for their sakes, that they may attend thee with their raises andservices in the courts of thy house.” First, They will do it of their own accord. God's appearing onDavid's behalf, and fulfilling his promise to him, would be such an instance of his righteousness,goodness, and faithfulness, as would greatly enlarge the hearts of all his faithful worshippers andfill their mouths with praise. David was the darling of his country, especially of all the goodpeople in it; and therefore, when they saw him in a fair way to the throne, they would greatlyrejoice and give thanks to God; crowds of them would attend his footstool with their praises forsuch a blessing to their land. Secondly, If David come into power, as God has promised him, hewill take care to bring people to church by his influence upon them, and the ark shall not beneglected, as it was in the days of Saul, 1Ch_13:3.

5. Calvin, “Jehovah shall judge the nations This sentence is closely connected with the precedingverse. David had prayed God to show himself as judge to the nations; and now he takes it for acertain and admitted truth, that it is the peculiar office of God to judge the nations: for the wordput in the future tense, and rendered shall judge, denotes here a continued act; and this is thesignification of the future tense in general sentences. Besides, he does not here speak of one nationonly, but comprehends all nations. As he acknowledges God to be the judge of the whole world,he concludes a little after from this, that he will maintain his cause and right. And as often as weseem to be forsaken and oppressed, we should recall this truth to our remembrance, that as Godis the governor of the world, it is as utterly impossible for him to abdicate his office as to denyhimself. From this source there will flow a continual stream of comfort, although a longsuccession of calamities may press upon us: for from this truth we may assuredly conclude, thathe will take care to defend our innocence. It would be contrary to every principle of justreasoning to supposes that he who governs many nations neglects even one man. What happenswith respect to the judges of this world can never take place with respect to him; he cannot, asmay be the case with them, be so occupied about great and public affairs as to neglect, becauseunable to attend to them, the concerns of individuals. He again brings into new his integrity thathe may not seem, after the example of hypocrites to make the name of God a mere pretext for thebetter furthering of his own purposes. Since God is no respecter of persons, we cannot expect himto be on our side, and to favour us, if our cause is not good. But it is asked, how can David hereboast of his own integrity before God, when in other places he deprecates God entering intojudgment with him? The answer is easy, and it is this: The subject here treated of is not how hecould answer if God should demand from him an account of his whole life; but, comparinghimself with his enemies, he maintains and not without cause, that, in respect of them, he was

righteous. But when each saint passes under the review of God’s judgment, and his owncharacter is tried upon its own merits, the matter is very different, for then the only sanctuary towhich he can betake himself for safety, is the mercy of God.

6. Spurgeon, “If I am not mistaken, David has now seen in the eye of his mind the Lord ascendingto his judgment seat, and beholding him seated there in royal state, he draws near to him to urgehis suit anew. In the last two verses he besought Jehovah to arise, and now that he is arisen, heprepares to mingle with "the congregation of the people" who compass the Lord about. The royalheralds proclaim the opening of the court with the solemn words,

The Lord shall judge the people. Our petitioner rises at once, and cries with earnestness andhumility,

Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me.His hand is on an honest heart, and his cry is to a righteous Judge.

7. Treasury of David, “Verse 8. Believers! let not the terror of that day dispirit you when you

meditate upon it; let those who have slighted the Judge, and continue enemies to him and the wayof holiness, droop and hang down their heads when they think of his coming; but lift ye up yourheads with joy, for the last day will be your best day. The Judge is your Head and Husband, yourRedeemer, and your Advocate. Ye must appear before the judgment seat; but ye shall not comeinto condemnation. His coming will not be against you, but for you. It is otherwise withunbelievers, a neglected Saviour will be a severe Judge. Thomas Boston, 1676-1732.

9. Bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make therighteous secure— you, the righteous God who probesminds and hearts.

1. Barnes, “Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to and end - Of all the wicked; wickednessnot in this particular case only, but wickedness of all forms, and in all lands. The prayer here is anatural one; when a man becomes impressed with a sense of the evil of sin in one form, he wishesthat the world may be delivered from it in all forms and altogether.

But establish the just - The righteous. This stands in contrast with his desire in regard to thewicked. He prays that the righteous may be confirmed in their integrity, and that their plans maysucceed. This prayer is as universal as the former, and is, in fact, a prayer that the world maycome under the dominion of the principles of truth and holiness.

For the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins - That is, the hearts and reins of all people.He understands the character of all people; he is intimately acquainted with all their thoughts,and purposes, and feelings. To search or try “the heart and the reins” is an expression frequentlyused in the Bible to denote that God is intimately acquainted with all the thoughts and feelings of

people; that is, that he thoroughly understands the character of all people. The word “heart” inthe Scriptures is often used to denote the seat of the “thoughts;” and the word “reins” seems to beused to denote the most secret feelings, purposes, and devices of the soul - as if lodged deep in ournature, or covered in the most hidden and concealed portions of the man. The word “reins,” withus, denotes the kidneys. In the Scriptures the word seems to be used, in a general sense, to denotethe inward parts, as the seat of the affections and passions.

The Hebrew word כליה kilyâh, means the same as the word “reins” with us - the kidneys,Exo_29:13, Exo_29:22; Job_16:13; Isa_34:6; Deu_32:14. From some cause, the Hebrews seem tohave regarded the “reins” as the seat of the affections and passions, though perhaps only in thesense that they thus spoke of the “inward” parts, and meant to denote the deepest purposes of thesoul - as if utterly concealed from the eye. These deep thoughts and feelings, so unknown to otherpeople, are all known intimately to God, and thus the character of every man is clearlyunderstood by him, and he can judge every man aright. The phrase used here - of trying thehearts and reins - is one that is often employed to describe the Omniscience of God. CompareJer_11:20; Jer_17:10; Jer_20:12; Psa_26:2; Psa_139:13; Rev_2:23. The particular idea here is,that as God searches the hearts of all people, and understands the secret purposes of the soul, heis able to judge aright, and to determine correctly in regard to their character, or to administerhis government on the principles of exact justice. Such is the ground of the prayer in this case,that God, who knew the character of all people, would confirm those who are truly righteous, andwould bring the wickedness of the ungodly to an end.

2. Clarke, “The wickedness of the wicked - The iniquity of Saul’s conduct.

But establish the just - Show the people my uprightness.

3. Gill, “Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end,.... Which will not be till the measureof it is fully up, and that will not be till the wicked are no more; for, as long as they are in theworld they will be committing wickedness, and like the troubled sea continually cast up the mireand dirt of sin; and they will remain to the end of the world, till the new Jerusalem church stateshall take place, when all the Lord's people will be righteous, and there will not be a Canaanite inthe house of the Lord of hosts, nor a pricking brier or grieving thorn in all the land; for, in thenew earth will no sinner be, but righteous persons only; and for this state the psalmist may bethought to pray; however by this petition and the following he expresses his hatred of sin and loveof righteousness: some choose to render the words (c), "let wickedness now consume the wicked";as in the issue it will, unless the grace of God takes place; some sins consume the bodies, othersthe estates of wicked men, and some both; and all are the means of destroying both body and soulin hell, if grace prevent not; this may be considered as a declaration of what will be, being aprophetic petition (d);

but establish the just; or righteous one; meaning himself, and every other who is made righteous,not by his own righteousness, but by the righteousness of Christ imputed to him; and who needsnot to have his righteousness established, which is in itself stable, firm, and sure, and cannot bemore so; it is an everlasting one, and cannot be abolished, but abides for ever, and will answer forhim in a time to come; but his faith to be established more and more in its exercise on thisrighteousness: nor do the persons of the just need establishing, or can they be more stable thanthey are, as considered in Christ, as they are the objects of God's everlasting love, secured in the

covenant of grace, and built on Christ the foundation; but the graces of faith, hope, and love,need daily establishing on their proper object, they being weak, fickle, and inconstant in theiracts; and the saints need more and more establishing in the doctrines of the Gospel, and in theiradherence to the cause of God and Christ and true religion; and it is God's work to establishthem, to whom the psalmist applies; see 1Pe_5:10;

for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins; he is righteous himself in his nature, and in allhis works, and he knows who are righteous and who are wicked; he knows the hearts, thoughts,affections, and inward principles of all men, and the springs of all their actions; he looks not atoutward appearances, but at the heart; and as he can distinguish between the one and the other,he is capable of punishing the wicked and of confirming the righteous, consistent with the truthof his perfections.

4. Henry, “He prays, in general, for the conversion of sinners and the establishment of saints(Psa_7:9): “O let the wickedness, not only of my wicked enemies, but of all the wicked, come to an

end! but establish the just.” Here are two things which everyone of us must desire and may hopefor: - (1.) The destruction of sin, that it may be brought to an end in ourselves and others. Whencorruption is mortified, when every wicked way and thought are forsaken, and the stream whichran violently towards the world and the flesh is driven back and runs towards God and heaven,then the wickedness of the wicked comes to an end. When there is a general reformation ofmanners, when atheists and profane are convinced and converted, when a stop is put to thespreading of the infection of sin, so that evil men proceed no further, their folly being mademanifest, when the wicked designs of the church's enemies are baffled, and their power is broken,and the man of sin is destroyed, then the wickedness of the wicked comes to an end. And this isthat which all that love God, and for his sake hate evil, desire and pray for. (2.) The perpetuity ofrighteousness: But establish the just. As we pray that the bad maybe made good, so we pray thatthe good may be made better, that they may not be seduced by the wiles of the wicked norshocked by their malice, that they may be confirmed in their choice of the ways of God and intheir resolution to persevere therein, may be firm to the interests of God and religion and zealousin their endeavours to bring the wickedness of the wicked to an end. His plea to enforce thispetition is, For the righteous God trieth the hearts and the reins; and therefore he knows the secretwickedness of the wicked and knows how to bring it to an end, and the secret sincerity of the justhe is witness to and has secret ways of establishing.

As far as we have the testimony of an unbiased conscience for us that in any instance we arewronged and injuriously reflected on, we may, in singing these verses, lodge our appeal with therighteous God, and be assured that he will own our righteous cause, and will one day, in the lastday at furthest, bring forth our integrity as the light.

5. John Schultz, “Vs. 9 states all the problems of this world in a nutshell: there is a battle ragingbetween light and darkness, between God and Satan, and man has chosen to be in one of the twocamps. David’s choice is with God and His righteousness. This does not mean, however, that theproblems of sin within him have been completely resolved. As every descendant of Adam, he toowas born in the wrong camp. That is why his heart and mind must be searched. Or, as the KJVputs it: “God trieth the hearts and reins,” an expression which stands for the purifying work ofthe Holy Spirit. So, this psalm speaks of our justification and our sanctification, and of God’sfinal victory over Satan, both objectively as subjectively: outside us, in us and by us.

As in the third psalm, here too David calls God his shield. “My shield is God Most High.” In Ps. 3the shield protected a miserable sinner who had confessed his guilt; here it protects a man whomay not be guilty of gross sins but who, yet, has found a righteousness that is not his own. Thissituation is the same as that which the apostle Peter calls “grace.” He says: “For it iscommendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious ofGod. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But ifyou suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.”The Greek wordthat is translated “commendable” in the �IV, (“acceptable” in the KJV) is charis, which means“grace.” The shield of God’s grace does not, in the first instance, change our circumstance,but it changes us. The salvation of the upright in heart is, in the first place, a being saved fromourselves.

6. Calvin, “Let the malice of the wicked come to an endow I beseech thee. David, in the first place,prays that God would restrain the malice of his enemies, and bring it to an end; from which itfollows, that his affliction had been of long duration. Others suppose that this is rather a dreadfulimprecation, and they explain the Hebrew word גמר, gamar, somewhat differently. Instead ofrendering it to cease, and to come to an end, as I have done, they understand it to make to cease,

which is equivalent to destroy or to consume. Thus, according to them, David wishes that Godwould cause the mischief which the wicked devise to fall upon their own heads: Let the

wickedness of the wicked consume them But, in my opinion, the former interpretation is the moresimple, namely, that David beseeches God to bring his troubles to a termination. Accordinglythere follows immediately after the corresponding prayer Direct thou the righteous, or establish

him; for it is of little importance which of these two readings we adopt. The meaning is, that Godwould re-establish and uphold the righteous, who are wrongfully oppressed, and thus make itevident that they are continued in their estate by the power of God, notwithstanding thepersecution to which they are subjected.—For God searcheth the hearts The Hebrew copulative ishere very properly translated by the causal particle for, since David, without doubt, adds thisclause as an argument to enforce his prayer. He now declares, for the third time, that, trusting tothe testimony of a good conscience, he comes before God with confidence; but here he expressessomething more than he had done before, namely, that he not only showed his innocence, by hisexternal conduct, but had also cultivated purity in the secret affection of his heart. He seems toset this confidence in opposition to the insolence and boasting of his enemies, by whom, it isprobable, such calumnies had been circulated among the people concerning him, as constrainedhim in his deep affliction to present his heart and reins to be tried by God. Perhaps, also, hespeaks in this manner, in order to divest them of all those plausible but false and deceitfulpretenses, which they made use of for the purpose of deceiving men, and if they succeeded indoing this they were satisfied.. He shows that, although they might triumph before the world, andreceive the applause of the multitude, they, nevertheless, gained nothing, inasmuch as they would,by and by, have to make their appearance before the judgment-seat of God, where the questionwould not be, What were their titles? or, What was the splendor of their actions? but how it stoodas to the purity of their hearts.

7. Spurgeon, “He sees a smile of complacency upon the face of the King, and in the name of allthe assembled congregation he cries aloud,

Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just. Is not this theuniversal longing of the whole company of the elect? When shall we be delivered from the filthyconversation of these men of Sodom? When shall we escape from the filthiness of Mesech and the

blackness of the tents of Kedar? What a solemn and weighty truth is contained in the lastsentence of the ninth verse! How deep is the divine knowledge! --

He trieth. How strict, how accurate, how intimate his search! -- he trieth the hearts, the secretthoughts, and reins, the inward affections. "All things are naked and opened to the eyes of himwith whom we have to do."

8. Treasury of David, “Verse 9. The righteous God trieth the hearts and reins. As commonexperience shows that the workings of the mind, particularly the passions of joy, grief, and fear,have a very remarkable effect on the reins or kidneys. (Proverbs 23:16 Psalms 73:21), so fromtheir retired situation in the body, and their being hid in fat, they are often used to denote themost secret workings and affections of the soul. And to "see or examine the reins," is to see orexamine those most secret thoughts or desires of the soul. John Parkhurst, 1762.

Verse 9. (last clause). "The righteous God trieth the hearts and reins."

"I that alone am infinite, can try How deep within itself thine heart doth lie.Thy seamen's plummet can but reach the ground, I find that which thine heart itselfnever found." Francis Quarles, 1592-1644.

Verse 9. The heart, may signify the cogitations, and the reins the affections. Henry Ainsworth.

10. My shield[d] is God Most High, who saves the uprightin heart.

1. Barnes, “My defense is of God - The meaning here is, that God was his protector, and that inhis troubles he confided in him. The original word here, as in Psa_3:3, note; Psa_5:12, note; is“shield.” See the notes at thoses verses.

Which saveth the upright in heart - whom he that searches the heart Psa_7:9 sees to beupright; or to be sincere, truthful, just. The writer says that it is a characteristic of God that hesaves or protects all such; and, conscious of his innocence of the charges against himself, he hereappeals to him on that ground, and confides in his protection because he sees that in this respecthe was blameless.

2. Clarke, “My defense is of God - I now leave my cause in the hands of my Judge. I have nouneasy or fearful apprehensions, because I know God will save the upright in heart.

3. Gill, “My defence is of God,.... Or "my shield is in" or "of God" (e); God was his shield, his

protector and defender; see Psa_3:3; or "my shield is with God"; that is, Christ, who was theshield his faith made use of against every spiritual enemy, was with God; he was with him as theWord and Son of God from all eternity, and as the living Redeemer of his people before hisincarnation; and he is now with him as their intercessor and advocate, who pleads in defence ofthem, and opposes himself, his blood and righteousness, to all the charges and accusations ofSatan;

which saveth the upright in heart: who have the truth of grace in them, wisdom in the hiddenpart; who are sincere in their affections, purposes, and designs, in their faith, hope, and love; andact from real principles of truth and love, in the integrity of their souls; for these light andgladness are sown, to them grace and glory are given, and no good thing is withheld from them;they are saved by God from sin, Satan, the world, death, and hell, and every enemy, with aspiritual and everlasting salvation.

4. Henry, “David having lodged his appeal with God by prayer and a solemn profession of hisintegrity, in the former part of the psalm, in this latter part does, as it were, take out judgmentupon the appeal, by faith in the word of God, and the assurance it gives of the happiness andsafety of the righteous and the certain destruction of wicked people that continue impenitent.

I. David is confident that he shall find God his powerful protector and Saviour, and thepatron of his oppressed innocency (Psa_7:10): “My defence is of God. �ot only, God is mydefender, and I shall find him so; but I look for defence and safety in no other; my hope forshelter in a time of danger is placed in God alone; if I have defence, it must be of God.” My shield

is upon God (so some read it); there is that in God which gives an assurance of protection to allthat are his. His name is a strong tower, Pro_18:10. Two things David builds this confidenceupon: - 1. The particular favour God has for all that are sincere: He saves the upright in heart,

saves them with an everlasting salvation, and therefore will preserve them to his heavenly

kingdom; he saves them out of their present troubles, as far as is good for them; their integrityand uprightness will preserve them. The upright in heart are safe, and ought to think themselvesso, under the divine protection. 2. The general respect he has for justice and equity: God judgeth

the righteous; he owns every righteous cause, and will maintain it in every righteous man, andwill protect him. God is a righteous Judge (so some read it), who not only doeth righteousnesshimself, but will take care that righteousness be done by the children of men and will avenge andpunish all unrighteousness.

5. Calvin, “My shield It is not wonderful that David often mingles meditations with his prayers,thereby to inspire himself with true confidence. We may go to God in prayer with great alacrity;but our fervour, if it does not gather new strength, either immediately fails or begins to languish.David, therefore, in order to continue in prayer with the same ardour of devotion and affectionwith which he commenced, brings to his recollection some of the most common truths of religion,and by this means fosters and invigorates his faith. He declares, that as God saves the upright in

heart, he is perfectly safe under his protection. Whence it follows, that he had the testimony of anapproving conscience. And, as he does not simply say the righteous, but the upright in heart, heappears to have an eye to that inward searching of the heart and reins mentioned in the precedingverse.

6. Spurgeon, “The judge has heard the cause, has cleared the guiltless, and uttered his voiceagainst the persecutors. Let us draw near, and learn the results of the great assize. Yonder is theslandered one with his harp in hand, hymning the justice of his Lord, and rejoicing aloud in hisown deliverance.

My defense is of God, which saveth the upright in heart. Oh, how good to have a true and uprightheart. Crooked sinners, with all their craftiness, are foiled by the upright in heart. God defendsthe right. Filth will not long abide on the pure white garments of the saints, but shall be brushedoff by divine providence, to the vexation of the men by whose base hands it was thrown upon thegodly. When God shall try our cause, our sun has risen, and the sun of the wicked is set for ever.Truth, like oil, is ever above, no power of our enemies can drown it; we shall refute their slandersin the day when the trumpet wakes the dead, and we shall shine in honour when lying lips are putto silence. O believer, fear not all that thy foes can do or say against thee, for the tree which Godplants no winds can hurt.

11. God is a righteous judge, a God who displays his wrathevery day.

1. Barnes, “God judgeth the righteous - That is, he pronounces a just judgment on their behalf;he vindicates their character. It is true, in a general sense, that God judges all according to theircharacter; but the particular idea here is, that God will do justice to the righteous; he willinterpose to vindicate them, and he will treat them as they ought to be treated when assailed bytheir enemies, and when reproached and calumniated. The original phrase here is susceptible oftwo translations; either, “God is a righteous judge” or, “God is judging,” that is judges, “therighteous.” The sense is not materially varied, whichever translation is adopted. Our commonversion has probably expressed the true idea; and there the design of the writer is to contrast themanner in which God regards and treats the righteous, with the manner in which he regards andtreats the wicked. The one he judges, that is, he does him justice; with the other he is angry everyday.

And God is angry with the wicked - The phrase “with the wicked” is supplied by ourtranslators, but not improperly, since the writer evidently intends to speak of these in contrastwith the righteous. The words “God is angry” must, of course, be understood in a manner inaccordance with the divine nature; and we are not to suppose that precisely the same passions, orthe same feelings, are referred to when this language is used of God which is implied when it isused of people. It means that his nature, his laws, his government, his feelings, are all arrayedagainst the wicked; that he cannot regard the conduct of the wicked with favor; that he willpunish them. While his judgment in regard to the righteous must be in their favor, it must just ascertainly be against the wicked; while he will vindicate the one, he will cut off and punish theother. Of the truth of this in respect to the divine character there can be no doubt. Indeed, wecould not honor a God - as we could honor no other being - who would deal with the righteousand the wicked alike, or who would have no respect to character in the treatment of others, andin his feelings toward them.

Every day - Continually; constantly; always. This is designed to quality the previousexpression. It is not excitement. It is not temporary passion, such as we see in men. It is notsudden emotion, soon to be succeeded by a different feeling when the passion passes off. It is thesteady and uniform attribute of his unchanging nature to be always opposed to the wicked - to allforms of sin; and in him, in this respect, there will be no change. The wicked will find him nomore favorable to their character and course of life tomorrow than he is today; no more beyondthe grave, than this side the tomb. What he is today he will be tomorrow and every day. Time willmake no change in this respect, and the wicked can have no hope on the ground that the feelingof God toward sin and the sinner (as such) will ever be in any way different from what it is at thepresent moment. This is a fearful truth in regard to the sinner; and both aspects of the truth herestated should make the sinner tremble;

(a) that God is angry with him - that all His character, and all the principles of His govermnentand law, are and must be arrayed against him; and

(b) that in this respect there is to be no change; that if he continues to be wicked, as he is now,he will every day and always - this side the grave and beyond - find all the attributes of Godengaged against him, and pledged to punish him.

God has no attribute that can take part with sin or the sinner.

2. Clarke, “God is angry with the wicked every day - The Hebrew for this sentence is thefollowing: ועל זעם בכל יום veel zoem becol yom; which, according to the points, is, And God isangry every day. Our translation seems to have been borrowed from the Chaldee, where thewhole verse is as follows: אלהא דינא זכאה ובתקוף רגיז אל רשיעי כל יומא elaha daiyana zaccaahubithkoph rageiz al reshiey col yoma: “God is a righteous Judge; and in strength he is angryagainst the wicked every day.”

The Vulgate: Deus Judex justus, fortis, et patiens; numquid irascitur per sinpulos dies? “God is aJudge righteous, strong, and patient; will he be angry every day?”

The Septuagint: Ὁ Θεος Κριτης δικαιος, και ισχυρος, και µακροθυµος, µη οργην επαγων καθ’ἑκαστην ἡµεραν; “God is a righteous Judge, strong and longsuffering; not bringing forth hisanger every day.”

Syriac: “God is the Judge of righteousness; he is not angry every day.”

The Arabic is the same as the Septuagint.

The Aethiopic: “God is a just Judge, and strong and longsuffering; he will not bring forthtribulation daily.”

Coverdale: God is a righteous judge, and Gob is ever threateninge.

King Edward’s Bible by Becke 1549, follows this reading.

Cardmarden: God is a righteous judge, [strong and patient] and God is provoked every day.

Cardmarden has borrowed strong and patient from the Vulgate or Septuagint, but as he foundnothing in the Hebrew to express them, he put the words in a smaller letter, and included them inbrackets. This is followed by the prose version in our Prayer Book.

The Genevan version, printed by Barker, the king’s printer, 1615, translates thus: “Godjudgeth the righteous, and him that contemneth God every day.” On which there is this marginalnote: “He doth continually call the wicked to repentance, by some signs of his judgments.” Myancient Scotico - English MS. Psalter only begins with the conclusion of this Psalm.

I have judged it of consequence to trace this verse through all the ancient versions in order to

be able to ascertain what is the true reading, where the evidence on one side amounts to a positiveaffirmation, “God is angry every day;” and, on the other side, to as positive a negation, “He is�ot angry every day.” The mass of evidence supports the latter reading. The Chaldee firstcorrupted the text by making the addition, with the wicked, which our translators have followed,though they have put the words into italics, as not being in the Hebrew text. In the MSS. collatedby Kennicott and De Rossi there is no various reading on this text.

The true sense may be restored thus: -

,al, the same letters, with the point pathach אל :el, with the vowel point tsere, signifies God אל signifies not. Several of the versions have read it in this way: “God judgeth the righteous, and is�ot angry every day.” He is not always chiding, nor is he daily punishing, notwithstanding thecontinual wickedness of men: hence, the ideas of patience and longsufferiny which several of theversions introduce. Were I to take any of the translations in preference to the above, I should feelmost inclined to adopt that of Coverdale.

3. Gill, “God judgeth the righteous,.... �ot all that are thought to be righteous, or thinkthemselves to be so, are such; nor is any man naturally righteous, or of himself, nor by virtue ofhis obedience to the law of works; but such only are righteous who are made so by the obedienceof Christ; these God governs and protects, avenges their injuries and defends their persons; somerender the words, "God is a righteous Judge" (f); he is so now in the administrations of hisgovernment of the universe, and he will be so hereafter in the general judgment of the world;

and God is angry with the wicked every day; wicked men are daily sinning, and God is always thesame in his nature, and has the same aversion to sin continually; and though he is not alwaysmaking men examples of his wrath, yet his wrath is revealed from heaven against allunrighteousness of men; and there are frequent stances of it; and when he is silent he is stillangry, and in his own time will stir up all his wrath, and rebuke in his hot displeasure.

4. Henry, “He is no less confident of the destruction of all his persecutors, even as many of themas would not repent, to give glory to God. He reads their doom here, for their good, if possible, thatthey might cease from their enmity, or, however, for his own comfort, that he might not be afraidof them nor aggrieved at their prosperity and success for a time. He goes into the sanctuary ofGod, and there understands,

1. That they are children of wrath. They are not to be envied, for God is angry with them, isangry with the wicked every day. They are every day doing that which is provoking to him, and heresents it, and treasures it up against the day of wrath. As his mercies are new every morningtowards his people, so his anger is new every morning against the wicked, upon the freshoccasions given for it by their renewed transgressions. God is angry with the wicked even in themerriest and most prosperous of their days, even in the days of their devotion; for, if they besuffered to prosper, it is in wrath; if they pray, their very prayers are an abomination. The wrathof God abides upon them (Joh_3:36) and continual additions are made to it.

5. Calvin, “God judgeth the righteous etc. Others read, God is a righteous Judge, and God is angry

every day. The words will certainly admit of this sense; but as the doctrine is fuller according to

the first reading, I have preferred following it, as I see it is more approved of by the most learneddivines, and, besides, it is more suitable to the subject which David is now considering. As Sauland his accomplices had, by their calumnious reports, so far succeeded in their wicked design asto have produced a general prejudice against David, so that he was condemned by almost thewhole people, the holy man supports himself from this one consideration, that whatever may bethe confusion of things in the world, God, notwithstanding, can easily discern between therighteous and the wicked. He, therefore, appeals from the false judgments of men to Him whocan never be deceived. It may, however, be asked, How does the Psalmist represent God as

judging every day, when we see him delaying punishment frequently for a long time? The sacredwritings certainly most justly celebrate his long-suffering; but, although he exercises patiencelong, and does not immediately execute his judgments, yet, as no time passes, yea, not even a day,in which he does not furnish the clearest evidence that he discerns between the righteous and thewicked, notwithstanding the confusion of things in the world, it is certain that he never ceases toexecute the office of a judge. All who will be at the trouble to open their eyes to behold thegovernment of the world, will distinctly see that the patience of God is very different fromapprobation or connivance. Surely, then, his own people will confidently betake themselves tohim every day.

6. Spurgeon, “God judgeth the righteous, he hath not given thee up to be condemned by the lipsof persecutors. Thine enemies cannot sit on God's throne, nor blot thy name out of his book. Letthem alone, then, for God will find time for his revenge.

God is angry with the wicked every day. He not only detests sin, but is angry with those whocontinue to indulge in it. We have no insensible and stolid God to deal with; he can be angry, nay,he is angry today and every day with you, ye ungodly and impenitent sinners. The best day thatever dawns on a sinner brings a curse with it. Sinners may have many feast days, but no safedays. From the beginning of the year even to its ending, there is not an hour in which God's ovenis not hot, and burning in readiness for the wicked, who shall be as stubble.

7. Treasury of David, “Verse 11. God judgeth the righteous, etc. Many learned disputes havearisen as to the meaning of this verse; and it must be confessed that its real import is by no meanseasily determined: without the words written in italics, which are not in the original, it will readthus, "God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry every day." The question still will be, is this agood rendering? To this question it may be replied, that there is strong evidence for a contraryone. AI�SWORTH translates it, "God is a just judge; and God angrily threatens every day."With this corresponds the reading of COVERDALE'S Bible, "God is a righteous judge, and Godis ever threatening." In King Edward's Bible, of 1549, the reading is the same. But there isanother class of critics who adopt quite a different view of the text, and apparently with muchcolour of argument. BISHOP HORSLEY read the verse, "God is a righteous judge, although heis not angry every day." In this rendering he seems to have followed most of the ancient versions.The VULGATE read it, "God is a judge, righteous, strong, and patient; will he be angry everyday?" The SEPTUAGI�T reads it, "God is a righteous judge, strong, and longsuffering; notbringing forth his anger every day." The SYRIAC has it, "God is the judge of righteousness; he isnot angry every day." In this view of the text Dr. A. Clarke agrees, and expresses it as his opinionthat the text was first corrupted by the CHALDEE. This learned divine proposes to restore thetext thus, "(la), el, with the vowel point tseri, signifies God; (la), al, the same letters, with thepoint pathach, signifies not." There is by this view of the original no repetition of the divine namein the verse, so that it will simply read, as thus restored, "God is a righteous judge, and is �OT

angry every day." The text at large, as is intimated in the VULGATE, SEPTUAGI�T, and someother ancient versions, conveys a strong intimation of the longsuffering of God, whose hatred ofsin is unchangeable, but whose anger against transgressors is marked by infinite patience, anddoes not burst forth in vengeance every day. John Morrison, in "An Exposition of the Book ofPsalms," 1829.

Verse 11. God is angry. The original expression here is very forcible. The true idea of it appears tobe, to froth or foam at the mouth with indignation. Richard Mant, D.D., 1824.

Verse 11-12. God hath set up his royal standard in defiance of all the sons and daughters of apostate

Adam, who from his own mouth are proclaimed rebels and traitors to his crown and dignity; andas against such he hath taken the field, as with fire and sword, to be avenged on them. Yea, hegives the world sufficient testimony of his incensed wrath, by that of it which is revealed fromheaven daily in the judgments executed upon sinners, and those many but of a span long, beforethey can show what nature they have by actual sin, yet crushed to death by God's righteous foot,only for the viperous kind of which they come. At every door where sin sets its foot, there thewrath of God meets us. Every faculty of soul, and member of body, are used as a weapon ofunrighteousness against God; so every one hath its portion of wrath, even to the tip of the tongue.As man is sinful all over, so is he cursed all over. Inside and outside, soul and body, is written allwith woes and curses, so close and full, that there is not room for another to interline, or add towhat God hath written. William Gurnall.

Verse 11-13. The idea of God's righteousness must have possessed great vigour to render such a

representation possible. There are some excellent remarks upon the ground of it in Luther, who,however, too much overlooks the fact, that the psalmist presents before his eyes this form of anangry and avenging God, primarily with the view of strengthening by its consideration his ownhope, and pays too little regard to the distinction between the psalmist, who only indirectlyteaches what he described as part of his own inward experience, and the prophet: "The prophettakes a lesson from a coarse human similitude, in order that he might inspire terror unto theungodly." For he speaks against stupid and hardened people, who would not apprehend thereality of a divine judgment, of which he had just spoken; but they might possibly be brought toconsider this by greater earnestness on the part of man. �ow, the prophet is not satisfied withthinking of the sword, but adds thereto the bow; even this does not satisfy him, but he describeshow it is already stretched, and aim is taken, and the arrows are applied to it as here follows. Sohard, stiff necked and unabashed are the ungodly, that however many threatenings may be urgedagainst them, they will still remain unmoved. But in these words he forcibly describes how God'sanger presses hard upon the ungodly, though they will never understand this until they actuallyexperience it. It is also to be remarked here, that we have had so frightful a threatening andindignation against the ungodly in no Psalm before this; neither has the Spirit of God attackedthem with so many words. Then in the following verses, he also recounts their plans andpurposes, shows how these shall not be in vain, but shall return again upon their own head. Sothat it clearly and manifestly appears that to all those who suffer wrong and reproach, as amatter of consolation, that God hates such revilers and slanderers above all other characters. E.W. Hengstenberg, in loc., 1845.

12. If he does not relent, he[e] will sharpen his sword; he

will bend and string his bow.

1. Barnes, “If he turn not - If the wicked person does not repent. in the previous verse thepsalmist had said that God is angry with the wicked every day; he here states what must be theconsequence to the wicked if they persevere in the course which they are pursuing; that is, if theydo not repent. God, he says, cannot be indifferent to the course which they pursue, but he ispreparing for them the instruments of punishment, and he will certainly bring destruction uponthem. It is implied here that if they would repent and turn they would avoid this, and would besaved: a doctrine which is everywhere stated in the Scriptures.

He will whet his sword - He will sharpen his sword preparatory to inflicting punishment. Thatis, God will do this. Some, however, have supposed that this refers to the wicked person - theenemy of David - meaning that if he did not turn; if he was not arrested; if he was suffered to goon as he intended, he would whet his sword, and bend his bow, etc.; that is, that he would go on toexecute his purposes against the righteous. See Rosenmuller in loc. But the most naturalconstruction is to refer it to God, as meaning that if the sinner did not repent, He would inflict onhim deserved punishment. The “sword” is an instrument of punishment (compare Rom_13:4);and to “whet” or sharpen it, is merely a phrase denoting that he would prepare to executepunishment. See Deu_32:41.

He hath bent his bow - The bow, like the sword, was used in battle as a means of destroying anenemy. It is used here of God, who is represented as going forth to destroy or punish his foes. Thelanguage is derived from the customs of war. Compare Exo_15:3; Isa_63:1-4. The Hebrew hereis,” his bow he has trodden,” alluding to the ancient mode of bending the large and heavy bowsused in war, by treading on them in order to bend them.

And made it ready - Made it ready to shoot the arrow. That is, He is ready to executepunishment on the wicked; or, all the preparations are made for it.

2. Clarke, “If he turn not - This clause the Syriac adds to the preceding verse. Most of theversions read, “If ye return not.” Some contend, and not without a great show of probability, thatthe two verses should be read in connection, thus: “God is a just Judge; a God who is provokedevery day. If (the sinner) turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made itready.” This, no doubt, gives the sense of both.

3. Gill, “ If he turn not,.... �ot God, but the enemy, or the wicked man, spoken of Psa_7:5; if heturn not from his wicked course of life, to the Lord to live to him, and according to his will;unless he is converted and repents of his sin, and there is a change wrought in him, in his heartand life; the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions read, "if ye turn not", or"are not converted", an apostrophe to the wicked;

he will whet his sword: God is a man of war, and he is sometimes represented as accoutred withmilitary weapons; see Isa_59:17; and among the rest with the sword of judgment, which he may

be said to whet, when he prepares sharp and sore judgments for his enemies, Isa_27:1;

he hath bent his bow, and made it ready; drawn his bow of vengeance, and put it on the fullstretch, and made it ready with the arrows of his wrath, levelled against the wicked, with whomhe is angry; which is expressive of their speedy and inevitable ruin, in case of impenitence; seeLam_2:4; or "trod his bow", as is the usual phrase elsewhere; see Psa_11:2; which was done bythe feet, and was necessary when the bow was a strong one, as Jarchi on Psa_11:2; observes; andso the Arabs, as Suidas (g) relates, using arrows the length of a man, put their feet on the string ofthe bow instead of their hands.

4. Calvin on 12-13, “If he turn not These verses are usually explained in two ways. The meaningis, that if David’s enemies should persevere in their malicious designs against him, there isdenounced against them the vengeance which their obstinate wickedness deserves. Accordingly,in the second clause, they supply the name of God,—If he turn not, GOD will whet his sword; Thisis the view adopted by Hengstenberg in his excellent Commentary on The Psalms. “Theapparently coarse manner of expression in our text,” says he, “representing God as a warriorequipped with sword and bow, has besides for its foundation the coarseness of sinners, and theweakness of faith on the part of believers, which does not direct itself against the visible dangerwith pure thoughts of God’s controllable agency, but seeks to clothe those thoughts with flesh andblood, and regards the judge as standing over against the sinner, man against man, sword againstsword.” as if it had been said, If my enemy do not repent, “Do not cease from pursuing me.” heshall, at length, feel that God is completely armed for the purpose of maintaining and defendingthe righteous. If it is understood in this sense, the third verse is to be considered as a statement ofthe cause why God will thus equip himself with armour, namely, because the ungodly, inconceiving all kinds of mischief, in travailing to bring forth wickedness, and in at length bringingforth deceit and falsehood, directly assail God, and openly make war upon him. But, in myjudgment, those who read these two verses in one continued sentence, give a more accurateinterpretation. I am not, however, satisfied that even they fully bring out the meaning of thePsalmist. David, I have no doubt, by relating the dreadful attempts of his enemies against him,intended thereby to illustrate more highly the grace of God; for when these malicious men,strengthened by powerful military forces, and abundantly provided with armour, furiouslyrushed upon him in the full expectation of destroying him, who would not have said that it was allover with him? Moreover, there is implied in the words a kind of irony, when he pretends to beafraid of their putting him to death. They mean the same thing as if he had said, “If my enemy donot alter his purpose, or turn his fury and his strength in another direction, who can preserve mefrom perishing by his hands? He has an abundant supply of arms, and he is endeavouring, by allmethods, to accomplish my death.” But Saul is the person of whom he particularly speaks, andtherefore he says, he hath made fit his arrows for the persecutors This implies that Saul had manyagents in readiness who would willingly put forth their utmost efforts in seeking to destroy David.The design of the prophet, therefore, was to magnify the greatness of the grace of God, byshowing the greatness of the danger from which he had been delivered by him. Moreover, whenit is here said, if he do not return, returning does not signify repentance and amendment inDavid’s enemy, but only a change of will and purpose, as if he had said, “It is in the power of myenemy to do whatever his fancy may suggest.” Whence it appears the more clearly, howwonderful the change was which suddenly followed contrary all expectation. When he says thatSaul had prepared the instruments of death for his bow, he intimates that he was driving after noordinary thing, but was fully determined to wound to death the man whom he shot at. Some,

referring the Hebrew word דולקים doulekim, which we have rendered persecutors, to arrows, have

rendered it burning, 119 119 Those who adopt this rendering, support it from the reading of theSeptuagint, Vulgate, and Syriac versions, although the Chaldee version reads persecuting; andthey generally view the 12th and 13th verses as a representation of God under the image of awarrior ready to shoot his flaming, burning, fiery arrows, against the object to which he isopposed.” I read וצלקים urentes, inflammatos; the arrows of the Almighty, (Deuteronomy 32:24.)Languishments of famine, the burnings of the carbuncle, and the bitter pestilence. Schultens,(Proverbs 26:23.) Lightnings are also called God’s arrows, (Psalm 18:15,) and represented as theartillery of heaven.”—Dr Kennicott’s note on this place in his Select Passages of the Old Testament.

Hengstenberg takes the same view. His rendering is, He [that is, God] makes his arrows burning. “

to burn. In sieges it is customary to wrap round the arrows burning matter, and to shoot ,רלקthem after being kindled.” because it has also this signification; but the translation which I havegiven is the more appropriate. David complains that he had reason to be afraid, not only of oneman, but of a great multitude, inasmuch as Saul had armed a powerful body of men to pursueand persecute a poor fugitive.

5. John Schultz, “Verses 12 and 13 give a vivid description of the judgment that falls upon a manwho does not want to repent of his sins while he is still alive. I cannot see in this description apicture of the final moment at which man stands before the judgment seat to give account of hislife. What we read here speaks about the pitfalls in which man is caught, traps which he has setup himself in the sins he committed. This also seems to be the case in the vs. 14-16. James’explanation as to how man is caught in the web of his sins, is probably based upon the 14th verseof this psalm. He says: “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannotbe tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evildesire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; andsin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”123 The image of a conception that leads to givingbirth seems to indicate that the origin of evil comes from outside man, but it becomes part of hisbeing. It also shows that the sinful act is the result of a growing process. Man does not fall intosin, without any previous preparation for it. In the same way, a woman does not give birthwithout having been pregnant.

We see this principle clearly at work in the life of Saul, who may have been the object, or thecause for the writing of this psalm. The power he obtained when he became king, corrupted himuntil, at the end the devil could dominate him to the point where he surrendered the reigns of hislife completely. David’s analysis of the background of Saul’s acts, we read about here, probablyshows his deep psychological insight. David had a better understanding of what Saul did, andwhy he did it, than Saul himself had. He recognized the growing process of evil in the life of hisadversary, that preceded the first attempt to pin him to the wall with a spear. It is possible thatSamuel had told David in confidence how Saul’s disobedience had begun with the unlawfulbringing of the sacrifice at his own initiative and, afterthat, with his neglect to eradicate Amalek

The basis for Saul’s sin was not impatience but fear of men. He was afraid of his own troupes,because he never really believed that God had anointed him king of His people. The book ofProverbs says: “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is keptsafe.” One cannot serve God and please man at the same time. Paul says: “If I were still trying toplease men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”David must have understood that the reason Saulwanted to kill him was because he was afraid of him. Ironically, Saul, who had tried to pin Davidto the wall with his spear, died by being pierced with his own sword. He had hoped David would

be killed in his effort to obtain the foreskins of one hundred Philistines as a bride price, but Sauldied himself on the battlefield during the war with the Philistines. David’s prophecy in vs. 15 and16 was literally fulfilled: Saul fell into the pit he had made, and the trouble he caused recoiled onhimself; his violence came down on his own head.”

6. Spurgeon, “If he turn not, he will whet his sword. What blows are those which will be dealt bythat long uplifted arm! God's sword has been sharpening upon the revolving stone of our dailywickedness, and if we will not repent, it will speedily cut us in pieces. Turn or burn is the sinner'sonly alternative. He hath bent his bow and made it ready.

7. Treasury of David, “Verse 12. If he turn not, etc. How few do believe what a quarrel God hathwith wicked men? And that not only with the loose, but the formal and hypocritical also? If wedid we would tremble as much to be among them as to be in a house that is falling; we wouldendeavour to "save" ourselves "from this untoward generation." The apostle would not so haveadjured them, so charged, so entreated them, had he not known the danger of wicked company."God is angry with the wicked every day;" his bow is bent, the arrows are on the string; theinstruments for their ruin are all prepared. And is it safe to be there where the arrows of God areready to fly about our ears? How was the apostle afraid to be in the bath with Cerinthus!"Depart," saith God by Moses, "from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, lest ye beconsumed in all their sins." How have the baskets of good figs suffered with the bad! Is it notprejudicial to the gold to be with the dross? Lot had been ruined by his neighbourhood to theSodomites if God had not wrought wonderfully for his deliverance. Will you put God to workmiracles to save you from your ungodly company? It is dangerous being in the road with thieveswhilst God's hue and cry of vengeance is at their backs. "A companion of fools shall bedestroyed." The very beasts may instruct you to consult better for your security: the very deerare afraid of a wounded chased deer, and therefore for their preservation thrust him out of theircompany. Lewis Stuckley.

Verse 12. If he turn not, he will whet his sword, etc. The whetting of the sword is but to give akeener edge that it may cut the deeper. God is silent as long as the sinner will let him; but whenthe sword is whet, it is to cut; and when the bow is bent, it is to kill; and woe be to that man whois the butt. William Secker.

13. He has prepared his deadly weapons; he makes readyhis flaming arrows.

1. Barnes, “He hath also prepared for him - The instruments of punishment are alreadyprepared, and God can use them when he pleases. They are not to be made ready, and, therefore,there is no necessity for delay when he shall have occasion to use them. The idea is, thatarrangements are made for the destruction of the wicked, and that the destruction must comeupon them. The world is full of these arrangements, and it is impossible that the sinner should

escape.

The instruments of death - The means of putting them to death; that is, of punishing them. Theparticular means referred to here are arrows, as being what God has prepared for the wicked.“Death” here is designed simply to denote punishment, as death would be inflicted by arrows.

He ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors - Or rather, as the Hebrew is, “He makes hisarrows for burning,” that is, “for burning arrows.” Horsley renders it, “He putteth his arrows inaction against those who are ready for burning.” Prof. Alexander, “His arrows to (be) burning hewill make.” DeWette, “His arrows he makes burning.” The Latin Vulgate and Septuagint, Hisarrows he has made for the burning: “that is, probably for those who are burning with rage, forpersecutors. This seems to have been the idea of our translators. The Hebrew word - דלק dâlaq -means to burn, to flame; and hence, also, to burn with love, with anxiety, or with zeal or wrath -as persecutors do. But here the word seems properly to be connected with “arrows;” and thesense is, as rendered by Gesenius, “he maketh his arrows flaming;” that is, burning - alluding tothe ancient custom of shooting ignited darts or arrows into besieged towns or camps, for thepurpose of setting them on fire, as well as for the purpose of inflicting greater personal injury.The sense is, that God had prepared the means of certain destruction for the wicked. Thereference here is not necessarily to persecutors, but what is said here pertains to all the wickedunless they repent.

2. Clarke, “He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death - This appears to be all aprophecy of the tragical death of Saul. He was wounded by the arrows of the Philistines; and hisown keen sword, on which he fell, terminated his woful days!

3. Gill, “He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death,.... The weapons of hisindignation, Isa_13:5; which, will issue both in the first and second death, corporeal and eternal;the instruments of the former are diseases of various kinds, and judgments, as famine, pestilence,&c. and of the latter not only the law is an instrument of it, that being the letter which kills, andis the ministration of condemnation and death, but even the Gospel itself to wicked men is thesavour of death unto death; and devils will be the executioners of it;

he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors: the word for persecutors signifies "hot" or"burning" (h), and designs such persons who burn in malice and wrath, In rage and fury, againstthe saints, and hotly pursue after them, as Laban did after Jacob, Gen_31:36; for these moreespecially God has determined in his eternal purposes and decrees, and for these he has providedin his quiver, arrows of wrath and vengeance, fiery ones; and against these will he bring themforth, direct them, and shoot them at them, Psa_64:7. Some (i) understand all this not of God, butof the wicked man, and read "if he turn not", but, on the contrary, instead of that, "will whet hissword, bend his bow", &c. against the righteous; yet he shall be disappointed, he shall notaccomplish his designs, as appears by the following verses; these phrases are used of wicked men,Psa_11:2, but the former sense seems best.

4. Henry, “God will destroy them. The destruction they are reserved for is destruction from the

Almighty, which ought to be a terror to every one of us, for it comes from the wrath of God,

Psa_7:13, Psa_7:14. It is here intimated, [1.] That the destruction of sinners may be prevented bytheir conversion, for it is threatened with that proviso: If he turn not from his evil way, if he donot let fall his enmity against the people of God, then let him expect it will be his ruin; but, if heturn, it is implied that his sin shall be pardoned and all shall be well. Thus even the threateningsof wrath are introduced with a gracious implication of mercy, enough to justify God for ever inthe destruction of those that perish; they might have turned and lived, but they chose rather to goon and die and their blood is therefore upon their own heads. [2.] That, if it be not thus preventedby the conversion of the sinner, it will be prepared for him by the justice of God. In general(Psa_7:13), He has prepared for him the instruments of death, of all that death which is the wagesof sin. If God will slay, he will not want instruments of death for any creature; even the least andweakest may be made so when he pleases. First, Here is variety of instruments, all which breathethreatenings and slaughter. Here is a sword, which wounds and kills at hand, a bow and arrows,which wound and kill at a distance those who think to get out of the reach of God's vindictivejustice. If the sinner flees from the iron weapon, yet the bow of steel shall strike him through,

Job_20:24. Secondly, These instruments of death are all said to be made ready. God has them notto seek, but always at hand. Judgments are prepared for scorners. Tophet is prepared of old.

Thirdly, While God is preparing his instruments of death, he gives the sinners timely warning oftheir danger, and space to repent and prevent it. He is slow to punish, and long-suffering to us-

ward, not willing that any should perish. Fourthly, The longer the destruction is delayed, to givetime for repentance, the sorer will it be and the heavier will it fall and lie for ever if that time benot so improved; while God is waiting the sword is in the whetting and the bow in the drawing.Fifthly, The destruction of impenitent sinners, though it come slowly, yet comes surely; for it isordained, they are of old ordained to it. Sixthly, Of all sinners persecutors are set up as the fairestmarks of divine wrath; against them, more than any other, God has ordained his arrows. Theyset God at defiance, but cannot set themselves out of the reach of his judgments.

5. Spurgeon, “Even now the thirsty arrow longs to wet itself with the blood of the persecutor. Thebow is bent, the aim is taken, the arrow is fitted to the string, and what, O sinner, if the arrowshould be let fly at thee even now! Remember, God's arrows never miss the mark, and are, everyone of them, "instruments of death." Judgment may tarry, but it will not come too late. TheGreek proverb saith, "The mill of God grinds late, but grinds to powder."

6. Treasury of David, “Verse 13. He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he

ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors. It is said that God hath ordained his arrows againstthe persecutors; the word signifies such as burn in anger and malice against the godly; and theword translated ordained, signifies God hath wrought his arrows; he doth not shoot them atrandom, but he works them against the wicked. Illiricus hath a story which may well be acommentary upon this text in both the parts of it. One Felix, Earl of Wartenber, one of thecaptains of the Emperor Charles the 5th, swore in the presence of divers at supper, that before hedied he would ride up to the spurs in the blood of the Lutherans. Here was one that burned inmalice, but behold how God works his arrows against him; that very night the hand of God sostruck him, that he was strangled and choked in his own blood; so he rode not, but bathedhimself, not up to the spurs, but up to the throat, not in the blood of the Lutherans, but in hisown blood before he died. Jeremiah Burroughs.

Verse 13. He ordaineth his arrows, This might more exactly be rendered, "He maketh his arrowsburning." This image would seem to be deduced from the use of fiery arrows. John Kitto, 1804-

1854.

14. Whoever is pregnant with evil conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment.

1. Barnes, “Behold, he travaileth with iniquity - The wicked man does. The allusion here is to thepains and throes of child-birth; and the idea is, that the wicked man labors or struggles, evenwith great pain, to accomplish his purposes of iniquity. All his efforts, purposes, plans, are for thepromotion of evil.

And hath conceived mischief - That is, he hath formed a scheme of mischief. The allusion hereis common when speaking of forming a plan of evil.

And brought forth falsehood - The birth is falsehood; that is, self-deception, or disappointment.It does not mean that falsehood was his aim or purpose, or that he had merely accomplished a lie;but the idea is, that after all his efforts and pains, after having formed his scheme, and laboredhard (as if in the pangs of child-birth) to bring it forth, it was abortive. He would bedisappointed, and would fail at last. This idea is expressed more distinctly in the following verse,and the design of the whole is to say that any plan or purpose of wickedness must be in the end afailure, since God is a righteous Judge, and will vindicate His own cause.

2. Clarke, “He travaileth with iniquity - All these terms show the pitch of envy, wrath, andmalevolence, to which Saul had carried his opposition against David. He conceived mischief; hetravailed with iniquity; he brought forth falsehood - all his expectations were blasted.

3. Gill, “ Behold, he travaileth with iniquity,.... Is full of it, and big with it, as a woman with child,and eagerly desires to bring it forth, and is in pain till he commits it;

and hath conceived mischief; that which is injurious to God and the perfections of his nature, atransgression of his law, and an affront to his justice and holiness, is doing wrong to fellowcreatures, and harm to themselves, either to their name and credit, or to their substance andestates, or to their bodies and souls, and it may be to them all; and yet this they conceive, theydevise it in their hearts, and form schemes how to bring it to pass, and which they do with greatfreedom, deliberation, and pleasure;

and brought forth falsehood; or "vanity" (k), or a vain thing, as the same word is rendered inJob_15:35; no fruit at all, but wind, or stubble, Isa_26:17; that which deceives does not answerthe expectation, but the contrary to it; the sense is, that wicked men having devised mischievous

things against the saints, they are big with expectations of success, and strive to bring theirpurposes to bear, but are miserably disappointed, for it all ends in vanity and vexation of spirit tothemselves.

4. Henry, “They will destroy themselves, Psa_7:14-16. The sinner is here described as taking agreat deal of pains to ruin himself, more pains to damn his soul than, if directed aright, wouldsave it. His conduct is described, [1.] By the pains of a labouring woman that brings forth a falseconception, Psa_7:14. The sinner's head with its politics conceives mischief, contrives it with agreat deal of art, lays the plot deep, and keeps it close; the sinner's heart with its passions travails

with iniquity, and is in pain to be delivered of the malicious projects it is hatching against thepeople of God. But what does it come to when it comes to the birth? It is falsehood; it is a cheatupon himself; it is a lie in his right hand. He cannot compass what he intended, nor, if he gain hispoint, will he gain the satisfaction he promised himself. He brings forth wind (Isa_26:18), stubble

(Isa_33:11), death (Jam_1:15), that is, falsehood. [2.] By the pains of a labouring man that workshard to dig a pit, and then falls into it and perishes in it. First, This is true, in a sense of allsinners. They prepare destruction for themselves by preparing themselves for destruction,loading themselves with guilt and submitting themselves to their corruptions. Secondly, It is oftenremarkably true of those who contrive mischief against the people of God or against theirneighbours; by the righteous hand of God it is made to return upon their own heads. What theydesigned for the shame and destruction of others proves to be their own confusion.

- (ec lex est jusitior ulla

Quam necis artifices arte perire sua -

There is not a juster law than that the authorof a murderous contrivance shall perish by it.Some apply it to Saul, who fell upon his sword.

5. Calvin, “Behold, he shall travail David has hitherto shown how great and formidable thedanger was which was near him. In this verse, laughing to scorn the presumptuous and foolishattempts of Saul, and his magnificent preparations, he declares that they had failed ofaccomplishing their object. . “Saying that the whole ended in smoke.” By the demonstrativeadverb Behold, he enhances the wonder, inasmuch as such a result fell out, on his part altogetherunlooked for. Behold, says he, after he has travailed to bring forth wickedness, like as he had

conceived mischief, at length there comes forth only empty wind and vanity, because Godfrustrated his expectations, and destroyed all these wicked attempts. Iniquity and mischief arehere put for every kind of violence and outrage which Saul intended to inflict upon David. Someinterpreters think that the order of the words is inverted, because travailing to bring forth is putbefore conceiving; but I think that the words have their proper place if you explain them thus:Behold, he shall travail to bring forth wickedness, for he hath conceived mischief; that is to say,as he long ago devised with himself my destruction, so he will do his utmost to put his design intoexecution. David afterwards adds, he hath brought forth falsehood This implies that Saul hadbeen disappointed in his expectation; as Isaiah, (Isaiah 26:18,) in like manner, speaks ofunbelievers “bringing forth wind,” when their success does not correspond to their wicked andpresumptuous attempts. As often, therefore, as we see the ungodly secretly plotting our ruin, letus remember that they speak falsehood to themselves; in other words deceive themselves, and

shall fail in accomplishing what they devise in their hearts. If, however, we do not perceive thatthey are disappointed in their designs until they are about to be brought forth, let us not be castdown, but bear it with a spirit of patient submission to the will and providence of

6. Spurgeon, “In three graphic pictures we see the slanderer's history. A woman in travailfurnishes the first metaphor.

He travaileth with iniquity. He is full of it, pained until he can carry it out, he longs to work hiswill, he is full of pangs until his evil intent is executed.

He hath conceived mischief. This is the original of his base design. The devil has had doings withhim, and the virus of evil is in him. And now behold the progeny of this unhallowed conception.The child is worthy of its father, his name of old was, "the father of lies," and the birth doth notbelie the parent, for he brought forth falsehood. Thus, one figure is carried out to perfection; thePsalmist now illustrates his meaning by another, taken from the stratagems of the hunter.

7. Treasury of David, “Verse 14. Behold he travaileth with iniquity, etc. The words express theconception, birth, carriage and miscarriage, of a plot against David. In which you may consider:--

1. What his enemies did. 2. What God did. 3. What we all should do: his enemies' intention, God's prevention, and our duty; his

enemies' intention, he travails with iniquity, and conceives mischief; God's prevention, hebrought forth a lie; our duty, Behold ... Observe the aggravation of the sin, he conceives.He was not put upon it, or forced into it: it was voluntary. The more liberty we have not tosin, makes our sin the greater. He did not this in passion, but in cold blood. The less will,less sin. Richard Sibbs.

Verse 14. He travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief. All note that conceiving isbefore travailing, but here travailing, as a woman in labour, goeth first; the reason whereof is,that the wicked are so hotly set upon the evil which they maliciously intend, that they would beimmediately acting of it if they could tell how, even before they have conceived by what means;but in fine they bring forth but a lie, that is, they find that their own hearts lied to them, whenthey promised good success, but they had evil. For their haste to perpetrate mischief is intimatedin the word rendered "persecutors" (Psalms 7:13), which properly signifieth ardentes, burning;that is, with a desire to do mischief -- and this admits of no delay. A notable common place, bothsetting forth the evil case of the wicked, especially attempting anything against the righteous, tomove them to repentance -- for thou hast God for thine enemy warring against thee, whose forcethou canst not resist -- and the greedy desire of the wicked to be evil, but their conception shall allprove abortive. J. Mayer, in loc.

Verse 14. And hath brought forth falsehood. Every sin is a lie. Augustine.

Verse 14. "Earth's entertainments are like those of Jael. Her left hand brings me milk, her right, anail." Thomas Fuller.

Verse 14-15. They have digged a pit for us -- and that low, unto hell -- and are fallen into itthemselves.

"�o juster law can be devised or made, Than that sin's agents fall by their own

trade."

The order of hell proceeds with the same degrees; though it give a greater portion, yet still a justproportion, of torment. These wretched guests were too busy with the waters of sin; behold, nowthey are in the depth of a pit, "where no water is." Dives, that wasted so many tons of wine,cannot now procure water, not a pot of water, not a handful of water, not a drop of water, to coolhis tongue. Desideravit guttam, qui non dedit micam. (Augustine Hom. 7) A just recompense! Hewould not give a crumb; he shall not have a drop. Bread hath no smaller fragment than a crumb,water no less fraction than a drop. As he denied the least comfort to Lazarus living, so Lazarusshall not bring him the least comfort dead. Thus the pain for sin answers the pleasure of sin ...Thus damnable sins shall have semblable punishments; and as Augustine of the tongue, so wemay say of any member ... If it will not serve God in action, it shall serve him in passion. ThomasAdams.

8. Warren Wiersbe, “This passage presents a frightening picture. We read about swords andarrows, pits, ditches and death. God is angry and is judging sin, and He hears David's petitionabout his persecutors: "O Lord, they are accusing me of something I didn't do. They are Lyingabout me." That's tough to take. People lied about the Lord Jesus, too. And anyone who tries tolive like Him is going to suffer this kind of persecution. David's enemies wanted to kill him. Someinnocent men had been killed because of him. But David was praying that God would firstcleanse his own heart. He said, "Examine me. Look at me. Test me. I want to be sure my life isruled by integrity."

Sin brings its own judgment. "Behold, the wicked travails with iniquity, conceives trouble andbrings forth falsehood" (v. 14). This is a picture of pregnancy and birth. When a person conceivessin and then gives birth to it, he gives birth to a monster that will turn on him and destroy him.David changed the picture in verses 15 and 16: "He made a pit and dug it out, and has fallen intothe ditch which he made. His trouble shall return upon his own head." That's a word ofencouragement and also a warning. We can't give birth to sin without having to live with thebaby, watching it grow up and create problems. Yes, God in His grace forgives. But God in Hisgovernment says, "We must reap what we sow."

The warning here is don't give birth to sin. There's also an encouragement: If others are givingbirth to sin, don't fret over it but pray for them.

What is your response when others do their worst to you? Be encouraged that God knows what ishappening and will judge sin. If you take care of yourself and walk with integrity, you may beconfident that God will deal with those who sin against you. Above all, don't give birth to sinyourself; rather, pray for those who persecute you. God will one day turn your persecution intopraise.

15. Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pitthey have made.

1. Barnes, “He made a pit - The allusion here is undoubtedly to a method of hunting wild beastswhich was common in ancient times. It consists in digging a pit-fall, and covering it over withbrush and grass so as to deceive the animals, and then enclosing them and driving them into it.See the notes at Isa_24:17.

And digged it - And hollowed it out so as to be large enough to contain his prey, and so deepthat he could not escape if he fell into it. The idea is, that the enemy here referred to had laid asecret and artful plan to destroy others. He meant that they should not be aware of his plan untilthe mischief came suddenly upon them. He was preparing to ruin them, and supposed that hewas certain of his prey.

And is fallen into the ditch which he made - Into the pit-fall which he had constructed forothers; as if a man who had made a pit-fall for wild beasts had himself fallen into it, and couldnot extricate himself. That is, he had been snared in his own devices; his cunning had recoiled onhimself, and instead of bringing ruin on others he had only managed to bring it on himself. Seethis sentiment illustrated in the notes at Job_5:13. A remarkable instance of the kind may befound in Esther (Est. 5–7), in the case of Haman. Indeed, such things are not uncommon in theworld, where the cunning and the crafty are involved in the consequences of their own plans, andare taken in meshes from which they cannot free themselves. A straightforward course is easy,and men are safe in it; but it requires more skill than most men are endowed with to manage acrooked and crafty policy safely, or so as to be safe themselves in pursuing such a course. A spiderwill weave a web for flies with no danger to himself, for he is made for that, and acts as if heunderstood all the intricacies of his own web, and may move safely over it in every direction; butman was made to accomplish his purposes in an open and upright way, not by fraud and deceit;hence, when he undertakes a tortuous and crooked course - a plan of secret and scheming policy -in order to ruin others, it often becomes unmanageable by his own skill, or is suddenly sprungupon himself. �o one can overvalue a straightforward course in its influence on our ultimatehappiness; no one can overestimate the guilt and danger of a crooked and secret policy indevising plans of evil.

2. Clarke, “He made a pit - He determined the destruction of David. He laid his plans with muchartifice; he executed them with zeal and diligence; and when he had, as he supposed, the grave ofDavid digged, he fell into it himself! The metaphor is taken from pits dug in the earth, andslightly covered over with reeds &c. so as not to be discerned from the solid ground; but theanimal steps on them, the surface breaks, and he falls into the pit and is taken. “All the worldagrees to acknowledge the equity of that sentence, which inflicts upon the guilty the punishmentintended by them for the innocent.” - Horne.

3. Gill, “ He made a pit and digged it,.... That is, he digged a pit, and made it very large andcapacious, to answer his purposes;

and is fallen into the ditch which he made; so it is said of the Heathen, Psa_9:15; and isexemplified in the case of Haman, who was hanged upon the gallows he had built for Mordecai.Kimchi explains this of Saul's falling upon his own sword, and dying by it, which he drew against

David; phrase is proverbial, Pro_26:27; the sense of this and the above figurative expressions isliterally and properly given in Psa_7:16.

4. Jamison, “1Sa_18:17; 1Sa_31:2 illustrate the statement whether alluded to or not. These versesare expository of Psa_7:14, showing how the devices of the wicked end in disappointment,falsifying their expectations.

5. Calvin, “Here David says not only that their wicked devices were without success, but that, bythe wonderful providence of God, the result was the very opposite of what had beencontemplated. He sets this forth in the first place metaphorically, by employing the figure of a pit

and a ditch; and then he expresses the same thing in simple terms without figure, declaring, thatthe mischief intended for others returned upon the head of him who had devised it There is nodoubt that it was a common proverb among the Jews, He who hath digged a pit falleth into it;which they quoted when they meant to say, that wicked and crafty men are caught in the snaresand traps which they have set for others, or that the contrivers of the ruin of others perish bytheir own devices. . “Fall into the destruction which they had contrived.” There is a twofold useof this doctrine: the first place, however skilled in craft our enemies may be, and whatever meansof doing mischief they may have, we must nevertheless look for the issue which God herepromises, that they shall fall by their own sword. And this is not a thing which happens bychance; but God, by the secret direction of his own hand, causes the evil which they intend tobring upon the innocent to return upon their own heads. In the second place, If at any time weare instigated by passion to inflict any injury upon our neighbours, or to commit any wickedness,let us remember this principle of retributive justice, which is often acted upon by the divinegovernment, that those who prepare a pit for others are cast into it themselves; and the effect willbe, that every one, in proportion as he would consult his own happiness and welfare, will becareful to restrain himself from doing any injury, even the smallest, to another.

6. Spurgeon, “He made a pit, and digged it. He was cunning in his plans, and industrious in hislabours. He stooped to the dirty work of digging. He did not fear to soil his own hands, he waswilling to work in a ditch if others might fall therein. What mean things men will do to wreakrevenge on the godly. They hunt for good men, as if they were brute beasts; nay, they will not givethem the fair chase afforded to the hare or the fox, but must secretly entrap them, because theycan neither run them down nor shoot them down. Our enemies will not meet us to the face, forthey fear us as much as they pretend to despise us. But let us look on to the end of the scene. Theverse says, he is fallen into the ditch which he made. Ah! there he is, let us laugh at hisdisappointment. Lo! he is himself the beast, he has hunted his own soul, and the chase hasbrought him a goodly victim. Aha, aha, so should it ever be. Come hither and make merry withthis entrapped hunter, this biter who has bitten himself. Give him no pity, for it will be wasted onsuch a wretch. He is but rightly and richly rewarded by being paid in his own coin. He cast forthevil from his mouth, and it has fallen into his bosom. He has set his own house on fire with thetorch which he lit to burn a neighbour. He sent forth a foul bird, and it has come back to its nest.

7. Treasury of David, “Verse 15. He made a pit, and digged it. The practice of making pitfalls wasanciently not only employed for ensnaring wild beasts, but was also a stratagem used against menby the enemy, in time of war. The idea, therefore, refers to a man who, having made such a pit,

whether for man or beast, and covered it over so as completely to disguise the danger, did himselfinadvertently tread on his own trap, and fall into the pit he had prepared for another. PictorialBible.

16. The trouble they cause recoils on them; their violencecomes down on their own heads.

1. Barnes, “His mischief - The mischief which he had designed for others.

Shall return upon his own head - Shall come upon himself. The blow which he aimed at othersshall recoil on himself. This is but stating in another form the sentiment which had beenexpressed in the two previous verses. The language used here has something of a proverbial cast,and perhaps was common in the time of the writer to express this idea.

And his violent dealing - Which he shows to others. The word rendered violent dealing meansviolence, injustice, oppression, wrong.

Shall all come down upon his own pate - The word here rendered “pate” means properlyvertex, top, or crown - as of the head. The idea is that it would come upon himself. He would betreated as he had designed to treat others. The sentiment here expressed is found also inPsa_9:15; Psa_35:8; Psa_37:15. Compare Eurip. Med. 409, and Lucretius v. 1151.

2. Clarke, “Shall come down upon his own pate - Upon his scalp, קדקד kodkod, the top of thehead. It may refer to knocking the criminal on the head, in order to deprive him of life. Hadscalping been known in those days, I should have thought the reference might be to thatbarbarous custom.

3. Gill, “His mischief shall return upon his own head,.... That which he conceived and devised inhis mind, and attempted to bring upon others, shall fall upon himself, as a just judgment fromheaven upon him;

and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate; referring to the violence with whichSaul pursued David, which would be requited to him, and of which he prophesied, 1Sa_26:10.

4. Spurgeon, “The rod which he lifted on high, has smitten his own back. He shot an arrowupward, and it has returned upon his own head. He hurled a stone at another and it has comedown upon his own pate. Curses are like young chickens, they always come home to roost. Ashesalways fly back in the face of him that throws them. "As he loved cursing, so let it come untohim." (Psalms 109:17.) How often has this been the case in the histories of both ancient andmodern times. Men have burned their own fingers when they were hoping to brand theirneighbour. And if this does not happen now, it will hereafter. The Lord has caused dogs to lick the

blood of Ahab in the midst of the vineyard of �aboth. Sooner or later the evil deeds ofpersecutors have always leaped back into their arms. So it will be in the last great day, whenSatan's fiery darts shall all be quivered in his own heart, and all his followers shall reap theharvest which they themselves have sown.

5, Treasury of David, “Verse 16. That most witty of commentators, Old Master Trapp, tells thefollowing notable anecdote, in illustration of this verse: -- That was a very remarkable instance ofDr. Story, who, escaping out of prison in Queen Elizabeth's days, got to Antwerp, and therethinking himself out of the reach of God's rod, he got commission under the Duke of Alva tosearch all ships coming thither for English books. But one Parker, an English merchant, tradingfor Antwerp, laid his snare fair (saith our chronicler), to catch this foul bird, causing secret noticeto be given to Story, that in his ship were stores of heretical books, with other intelligence thatmight stand him in stead. The Canonist conceiving that all was quite sure, hasted to the ship,where, with looks very big upon the poor mariners, each cabin, chest, and corner above boardwere searched, and some things found to draw him further on: so that the hatches must beopened, which seemed to be unwillingly done, and great signs of fear were showed by their faces.This drew on the Doctor to descend into the hold, where now in the trap the mouse might wellgnaw, but could not get out, for the hatches were down, and the sails hoisted up, which, with amerry gale, were blown into England, where ere long he was arraigned, and condemned of hightreason, and accordingly executed at Tyburn, as he had well deserved.

Verse 16. The story of Phalaris's bull, invented for the torment of others, and serving afterwardsfor himself, is notorious in heathen story ... It was a voluntary judgment which ArchbishopCranmer inflicted on himself when he thrust that very hand into the fire, and burnt it, withwhich he had signed to the popish articles, crying out, "Oh, my unworthy right hand!" but whowill deny that the hand of the Almighty was also concerned in it? William Turner in "DivineJudgments by way of Retaliation", 1697.

17. I will give thanks to the LORD because of hisrighteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of theLORD Most High.

1. Barnes, “I will praise the Lord according to his righteousness - That is, particularly asmanifested in the treatment of the righteous and the wicked, protecting the one, and bringingdeeserved punishment upon the other. The purpose of the psalm is to show this. In the course ofthe psalm the author had declared his full conviction that this was the character of God, and now,in view of this, he says that he will render to him the praise and glory which such a characterdeserves. He will acknowledge him by public acts of praise as such a God; and will at all timesascribe these attributes to him.

And will sing praise to the name of the Lord - To the name of Jehovah; that is, to Yahweh

himself, the “name” being often used to designate a person, or that by which he is known; andalso, in many cases, as in this, being significant, or designating the essential nature of him towhom it is applied.

Most high - Exalted above all other beings; exalted above all worlds. The purpose heredeclared of praising God may refer either to the act which he was then performing in thecomposition of the psalm, or it may be a purpose in respect to the future, declaring his intentionto be to retain in future life the memory of those characteristics of the divine nature nowdisclosed to him, and to celebrate them in all time to come. The great truth taught is, that God isto be adored for what he is, and that his holy character, manifested alike in the treatment of therighteous and the wicked, lays the foundation for exalted praise.

2. Clarke, “I will praise the Lord according to his righteousness - I shall celebrate both his justiceand his mercy. I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High. The name of God is often putfor his perfections. So here, שם יהוה עלין shem Yehovah Elyon; “The perfections of Jehovah, whois above all.” My old Scotico - English MS., mentioned at the conclusion of the introduction,begins at this verse, where are the following words by way of paraphrase: Sang falles til ioy; and

he that synges well that name, his ioy es mare than i kan tell. Those who are happy may sing; andhe who can duly celebrate the name of God, who knows it to be a strong tower into which he canrun and find safety, has inexpressible happiness. That is the sense of the above.

2B. Coffman, “It is of great interest here that the true God is designated as Most High. Yes, it istrue that the pagans of Palestine so designated one of their false deities, but "in the Bible" theterm has no other application than the one evident here. It belongs to the true God and Creatorof all things. Melchizedek was a priest of "God Most High" (Genesis 14:17-24); and in the fewverses where he is introduced the expression "God Most High" is found four times; but theexpression is not often found in the Old Testament. Significantly, Abraham himself used it andmade it absolutely certain that the words refer to the true and only God. He said, "I have liftedup my hand unto Jehovah God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth" (Genesis 14:22).

The scriptural application of the words is made even more certain in the �ew Testament, wherethe author of Hebrews revealed Melchizedek as a type of Jesus Christ, absolutely forbidding thenotion that Melchizedek was the worshipper of a false deity. Also in Luke 8:18 the demoniacconfessed the Christ as "Son of God Most High," adding the request that Christ would nottorment him. The Matthew account of the same event (Matthew 8:29) indicated that the demonicworld recognized the right of God to torment them eventually in hell at some appointed time inthe future, hence the request that Christ would not torment him "before the time."

Likewise, the martyr Stephen's great address has a reference to "The Most High" (Acts 7:48),revealing that Person as the one whose throne is in heaven and who "dwelleth not in templesmade with hands."

3. Gill, “I will praise the Lord according to his righteousness,.... Or on account of it, as it wasdisplayed in vindicating the innocent, and punishing the wicked; so Pharaoh having ordered maleinfants of the Hebrews to be drowned, and he himself and his host in righteous judgment beingdrowned in the Red sea; Moses and the children of Israel sung a song, as the psalmist here;

and will sing praise to the name of the Lord most high; whose name is Jehovah, and is the mostHigh over all the earth; and who had now, according to the psalmist's request, Psa_7:6; arose andlifted up himself, and returned on high, and had shown himself to be above all David's enemies,and had sat on the throne judging right.

4. Henry, “In singing this psalm we must do as David here does (Psa_7:17), praise the Lord

according to his righteousness, that is, give him the glory of that gracious protection under whichhe takes his afflicted people and of that just vengeance with which he will pursue those that afflictthem. Thus we must sing to the praise of the Lord most high, who, when his enemies dealproudly, shows that he is above them.

5. Calvin, “I will praise Jehovah according to his righteousness; and I will sing to the name of

Jehovah, Most High As the design of God in the deliverances which he vouchsafes to his servantsis, that they may render to him in return the sacrifices of praise, David here promises that he willgratefully acknowledge the deliverance which he had received, and at the same time affirms thathis preservation from death was the undoubted and manifest work of God. He could not, withtruth, and from the heart, have ascribed to God the praise of his deliverance, if he had not beenfully persuaded that he had been preserved otherwise than by the power of man. He, therefore,not only promises to exercise the gratitude which was due to his deliverer, but he confirms in oneword what he has rehearsed throughout the psalm, that he is indebted for his life to the grace ofGod, who had not suffered Saul to take it from him. The righteousness of God is here to beunderstood of his faithfulness which he makes good to his servants in defending and preservingtheir lives. God does not shut up or conceal his righteousness from our view in the secret recessesof his own mind, but manifests it for our advantage when he defends us against all wrongfulviolence, delivers us from oppression, and preserves us in safety although wicked men make warupon us and persecute us.

6. John Schultz, “But what a way to end a song of complaint with a doxology! Vs. 17 says: “I willgive thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of theLORD Most High.” Once again, nothing had changed in outward circumstances. David is still arefugee who flees for his life, but the fact that he has poured out his heart before the Lord madehim see his position in the right light. What can man do unto us when we take refuge in theLord? God’s righteousness is imputed to us; His �ame is written on our foreheads, as it was onAaron’s: HOLY TO THE LORD. If we realize this, we can hardly do anything else but praiseGod. He gives “a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and agarment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”

7. Spurgeon, “We conclude with the joyful contrast. In this all these Psalms are agreed; they allexhibit the blessedness of the righteous, and make its colours the more glowing by contrast withthe miseries of the wicked. The bright jewel sparkles in a black foil. Praise is the occupation ofthe godly, their eternal work, and their present pleasure. Singing is the fitting embodiment forpraise, and therefore do the saints make melody before the Lord Most High. The slandered one isnow a singer: his harp was unstrung for a very little season, and now we leave him sweeping its

harmonious chords, and flying on their music to the third heaven of adoring praise.

Footnotes:

a. Psalm 7:1 In Hebrew texts 7:1-17 is numbered 7:2-18.

b. Psalm 7:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term

c. Psalm 7:5 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.

d. Psalm 7:10 Or sovereign

e. Psalm 7:12 Or If anyone does not repent, / God