The cry of the oppressed child of God, when neither people nor events that happen to us seem fair, often brings from our hearts intense emotions that struggle to express what we are meditating on. There are so many things that arise in our hearts that defy expression that we get frustrated. That is what "shiggaion" really means. We may not always be able to order our words and thoughts, so what is expressed may not mean much to other people, but to us, and particularly to our Lord, what seems like an outburst of emotion can be both praise and petition.
When false accusations have hurt one, or what one has said has been misrepresented or twisted so that it means something different from what was said and meant, there is a desire to take matters into one's own hands. We want to retaliate against those who oppose us. That was what David was experiencing in this psalm.
David sang out, "O Lord my God," with the plaintive sounds of one who has been unfairly treated, and yet at the end of the psalm, he sings his praise with assurance to "The Lord Most High." There is victory over one's own emotions when we reject the desire for revenge. When we respond to slander with prayers of intercession for those who accuse us and make supplication for our own need of balance and understanding, then faith comes into its own, and our trust calms the soul. It is then that we can think and pray rationally.
David's call was to God to save him from enemies who, to him, seemed like lions determined to destroy him. God had enabled him in his youth to defeat a lion when he called on God in faith. He was asking God to deliver him again "from the lion's mouth." The unjustified attacks of his enemies stirred his own heart to examine himself. Three times, he used the word "If" to testify to his innocence. Three times he speaks of just judgment on himself if what his enemies said was true.
When we are opposed, unjustly accused, or slandered, it is good for us to consider the reasons behind such things. The word "Selah" here indicates that David had taken time to consider the basis for the challenges against him. Vengeance belongs to the Lord. It is not our right to retaliate to get real justice. When we turn such a matter over to our Lord, we know it will be fair and impartial. He is the One who can establish and maintain our reputation, or, if it has been lost, restore it if He wants to.
Wisely, David deliberately passed the matter over to the Lord. Likely, he was like most of us; he wanted the Lord to take action against his accusers now, immediately, if not sooner! But if we really turn an issue over to our all-knowing Lord, we need to leave it to Him and not worry whether it continues or not. He knows, and when we leave a burden that we have upon Him, we then need to go on about our own business. Faith in Him makes a believer able to rest in confidence that the outcome will be right, even if the turmoil and opposition continue.
David knew God well enough to be confident that God probes and tests the minds and hearts of all people. When God wants, the wicked will be stopped, and the righteous will be saved. The just and fair God is "my Righteousness" to God's servants. He who knows all knows whether one's integrity is intact. We cannot fake integrity when dealing with our Lord. Truth cannot be hidden from Him who knows the thoughts and intents of the heart.
God's anger with the wicked is not an attitude of disdain or peevishness, but rather, He is justly and legally opposed to their wickedness. He does not compromise with evil, nor does He overlook evil as if it doesn't matter. The wicked bring to birth trouble and deceit. That comes from the inherent nature of those who have never experienced the new birth by the Spirit of God and the word of God.
There are consequences to sin and wickedness that cannot be avoided. Either repentance takes place, and God can, in mercy, forgive the sin of the repentant sinner, or judgment will fall as divine retribution on the head of the violent schemer. What the wicked want to happen to the righteous will occur to them. An evil man who lays a trap for another person will fall into his own trap. Fairness by the Just Judge will bring what he intended to happen to another person to fall on him in righteous vindication.
In the confidence that faith gives, we can praise God for a fair outcome to any matter before we know the outcome ourselves. Our trust is in the Just Judge whose character remains unchanged, pure, holy, and fair. We can give praise to our Sovereign Lord and sing at any time, "My Jesus hath done all things well!" PSALM 7. The Cry of the Oppressed. The Lord is appealed to to defend him against his enemies. This was a loud, enthusiastic hymn. Cush was of the same tribe as Saul and was probably one of Saul’s officers. He obviously was an enemy of David. David prays for deliverance. Otherwise, he will be like a lamb attacked by a lion and carried off limp and lifeless. Cush had accused David of a long list of crimes, and David declared his innocence. He had not taken vengeance on Saul even when he had the opportunity to do so. If he had done these things, he was willing to face up to them.
Because he hadn’t, he called on the Lord to be the Judge and punish the adversaries and vindicate the innocent. David is claiming innocence and righteousness in this area of his life. [v.9] Every righteous person longs for the day when evil will be ended, and Christ sets up His kingdom. Until then, God is the protector of the righteous and is angry with the wicked. Unless they repent, God will loosen His arrows on them
He uses the natural course of life to illustrate the way of the “wicked”: conception, pregnancy, birth, and death. But this backfires on the wicked, and he falls into his own trap, and all he had planned falls on his own head. God’s even-handed justice makes David lift his heart in thanksgiving and praise to “the Lord Most High.”