Devotions

Psalms 7:11 God is a righteous judge and a God who demonstrates his wrath every day.

The psalmist is speaking to those who bank on a God who only interferes in human lives and events on some cosmic chronological scale. No, he says. God is constantly both judging and punishing those who disregard his laws. He didn’t just set things in motion in his universe and sit back with popcorn in hand and watch. He’s watching all right. But he is also acting.

Psalms 7:10 My shield is from God, who saves those who are upright in heart.

Having called on God to treat both himself and his enemies with the same justice, the psalmist now boasts of a protective shield from God. The Lord will act to right the wrongs inflicted on his servant. The Lord will save and vindicate those who are upright in heart.

Loyalty to Christ in an age like this one will require praying like this. We will have many enemies who claim we are being unjust, who will claim to be genuine, and accuse us of being hypocritical. We must trust in the shield of God. We must pray through those terrible accusations.

Psalms 7:9 Cause the evil of the wicked to come to an end, but make the righteous permanent. The one who tests the thoughts and emotions is a righteous God.

What the psalmist is praying for is the victory of righteousness over evil. The victory is not gained by the mere separation of the two groups for eternity. No, God’s righteousness must win, and the devil’s unrighteousness must lose. Only one is going to be permanent. The loser comes to an end: evil must die.

Psalms 7:7 Cause the assembly of peoples to gather around you; take your exalted seat presiding over it.

Psalms 7:8 Yahveh who judges the peoples — vindicate me, Yahveh, based on my righteousness and my integrity.

We know that God plans to judge the world on judgment day. In prayer, we can ask him for a present installment of that judgment. We are asking him to intervene in our lives. He is willing to do this for his children who stay loyal to him.

Psalms 7:6 Get up angrily Yahveh; lift yourself up against the burning anger of my enemies; awake for me; you have destined a judgment.

The psalmist knows that God has destined a judgment day against all evil in the future. He calls on God to enact that judgment now against his enemies.

Psalms 7:3 Yahveh, my God, if I have done this — if there is a crime on my hands,

Psalms 7:4 if I have done harm to one at peace with me or even took advantage of my enemy without cause,

Psalms 7:5 may an enemy pursue and overtake me; may he trample me to the ground and leave my honor in the dirt.Selah

The psalmist has been treated unfairly. A crime has been committed against him and he wants justice. He doesn’t just want retribution. He is willing to suffer the same fate if he has been guilty of the same offense.

The endurance of hardship often challenges our confidence in our own innocence.

Psalms 7:2 They are going to rip me apart like a lion, tearing me apart with no one to rescue me.

The psalmist uses very graphic language to describe the way he feels about his enemies. I get the feeling that his enemies may have been friends but betrayed him. He sees only God as the rescuer.

I want that kind of faith. I need that kind of faith.

Lord, rescue us!

Psalms 7:1 Yahveh my God, I seek safety in you; save me from all my pursuers and deliver me.

I am walking back up a hill right now disappointed. The shelter had a sign saying “water” but there is none.

The psalmist was looking for safety, and he knew he could only find it in his God. Wise man.

Psalms 6:10 All my enemies will be ashamed and shake with terror; they will turn around and suddenly be shamed.

The psalmist feels afraid and ashamed. But he prays for a reversal of fortune. He is not being vindictive. He is expressing faith in God to turn things around.

This may seem a strange way to end— but I am glad the prayer ends this way. This prayer is for those of us still seeking God’s intervention.

Psalms 6:9 Yahveh has heard my plea for help; Yahveh accepts my prayer.

There are prayers that go unanswered because the Lord does not accept them as genuine. He is the judge. How I wish that some of my prayers had been answered more quickly. But we have to trust him — especially when we don’t understand what he does.