PSALM 7 REFUGE FOR THE RIGHTEOUS

Written by , Rector of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia
 
¹ O LORD my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me,
² or they will tear me like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
³ O LORD my God, if I have done this and there is guilt on my hands—
⁴ if I have done evil to him who is at peace with me or without cause have robbed my foe—
⁵ then let my enemy pursue and overtake me; let him trample my life to the ground and make me sleep in the dust.
Selah
⁶ Arise, O LORD, in your anger; rise up against the rage of my enemies. Awake, my God; decree justice.
⁷ Let the assembled peoples gather around you. Rule over them from on high;
⁸ let the LORD judge the peoples. Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High.
⁹ O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts, bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure.
¹⁰ My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart.
¹¹ God is a righteous judge, a God who expresses his wrath every day.
¹² If he does not relent, he will sharpen his sword; he will bend and string his bow.
¹³ He has prepared his deadly weapons; he makes ready his flaming arrows.
¹⁴ He who is pregnant with evil and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment.
¹⁵ He who digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit he has made.
¹⁶ The trouble he causes recoils on himself; his violence comes down on his own head.
¹⁷ I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.

It is a matter of arrogance to declare oneself righteous if it is not true. Since we know from the Bible that no one is righteous, and we know David’s less than savory history, why is this statement by David not condemned as arrogance? The answer is that it is true, at least in this specific situation. David is not declaring himself as being righteous in all things. He is merely saying that in this situation the charges being brought against him are totally untrue. He is so sure of his innocence that he even calls upon God to kill him if he is guilty. Then he goes on to petition God to act in this world on behalf of truth. By doing so he acknowledges that God has not just promised to deliver us from evil in the next life, but that he acts in this world against evil and for those who strive for righteousness and integrity. All the martial images are metaphors for God’s mighty intervention in this life, in this world.

Our confidence in God is then two-sided. When we are living in accordance with his will, his mighty arm will protect us. He may not deliver us from the furnace of suffering, but he has promised to walk through it with us. In contrast, when we live in disobedience to his will, we can expect that same mighty arm to chastise us. As we prepare the furnace for others, he will likely let us fall in. God is the shield for those who follow his will and repent when they find they have turned away.

When I call upon you in my distress, O Lord, help me to discern the truth of my circumstances so that I can cry out for vindication or redemption, as necessary. Keep me from the sin of arrogance – of lying to myself and others. Keep my heart soft toward my enemies and my faith in your protection unshakable. Amen.