_O Lord my God, in Thee do I put my trust._ AN APPEAL FROM THE SLANDERED I. The appeal (Psalms 7:1; Psalms 7:6). A petition for freedom and deliverance from his persecutors, in which he desires God to be attentive to him, because of the relation between them, and because he trusted Him: and he als... [ Continue Reading ]
_While there is none to deliver._ TIMES WHEN THERE MUST BE A GOD Why pray so loudly, clearly, and distinctly? Because the enemy is mighty, and he may “tear my soul like a lion. .. while there is none to deliver.” If it be a question between man and man, woe betide the weak! If the great battles of... [ Continue Reading ]
_O Lord my God, if I have done this; if there be iniquity in my hands._ THE APPEAL OF CONSCIOUS INTEGRITY When near his end Mahomet made an effort to obtain himself the peace and pardon of the living before presenting himself before his Judge. Sustained beneath the arms by his two cherished discipl... [ Continue Reading ]
_Arise, O Lord, in Thine anger: lift up Thyself because of the rage of mine enemies._ THE FIRST OF THE IMPRECATORY PSALMS Comminations are present in verses 11-17, and imprecations upon the writer himself (under certain contingencies) in verse 5. I. The psalm is not vindictive. 1. It is certainl... [ Continue Reading ]
_For their sakes, therefore, return Thou on high._ DAVID’S STRONG LANGUAGE David had no difficulty in invoking a tremendous punishment upon his enemies. But the language must be judged by the times in which it was employed. Not only so, but every man has his own language. In a sense there is a pri... [ Continue Reading ]
_Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me._ INTEGRITY AND PEACE A truly noble confidence! and yet many of our time would call the language very dangerous, if it were spoken by any but one of the Scripture saints. Some, on the other hand, charge... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end._ THE SELF-DESTROYING POWER OF WICKEDNESS The accents require Psalms 7:9 to be rendered, “Let wickedness make an end of the wicked,” but that introduces an irrelevant thought of the suicidal nature of evil. It may be significant that the Psalmist’s p... [ Continue Reading ]
_My defence is of God, which sayeth the upright in heart._ GOD, THE SHIELD BEARER OF THE UPRIGHT Lit.: God is my shield bearer. Fig.: I hang my shield upon God. The idea is that of going to war, and having God as the carrier, the bearer, of our shield, so that before we can be struck down, God Hims... [ Continue Reading ]
_God is angry with the wicked every day._ GOD’S ANGER AGAINST THE WICKED I. Who are the “wicked” in the Scripture sense of the term? The Bible divides all the human race into two classes only--the righteous and the wicked. Those are righteous who have true faith in Christ, whose spirit is consecra... [ Continue Reading ]
_If he turn not, He will whet His sword; He hath bent His bow, and made it ready._ TURN OR BURN So, then, God has a sword, and He will punish man on account of iniquity. This evil generation hath sought to take away from God the sword of His justice. Perhaps the Puritans insisted too much on the w... [ Continue Reading ]
_He ordaineth His arrows against the persecutors._ GOD’S ARROWS Mercy and love often lurk in the meanings of these Psalms, which on their surface seem, like Saul on the road to Damascus, to breathe threatenings and slaughter. David thought only of the arrows of God’s judgments; the Christian loves... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold, he travaileth with iniquity._ THE ENEMIES OF THE CHURCH 1. That all the labour of wicked men against the Church is but labour in vain in respect of their own intent and expectation. 2. That the labour of wicked men is turned clean contrary to their own intent and expectation. These thing... [ Continue Reading ]
_He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made._ SOCIAL SAPPERS There is much among men of the particular sin rebuked in this text. I. How this pit digging may be done. It may be done by attempting to lower a man’s reputation. We are often guilty of talking in such a way... [ Continue Reading ]