Psalms 7: A Plea for Righteous Judgment
David asks God to judge between him and his accusers.
Called a Shiggaion of David, this chapter follows Psalms 6 and is a direct appeal to God as judge. David asks to be tested, insisting he has not wronged the man now persecuting him, and calls on the LORD to arise in judgment.
O Jehovah my God, in thee do I take refuge: Save me from all them that pursue me, and deliver me,
Lest they tear my soul like a lion, Rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.
O Jehovah my God, if I have done this; If there be iniquity in my hands;
If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me; (Yea, I have delivered him that without cause was mine adversary;)
Let the enemy pursue my soul, and overtake it; Yea, let him tread my life down to the earth, And lay my glory in the dust. Selah
Arise, O Jehovah, in thine anger; Lift up thyself against the rage of mine adversaries, And awake for me; thou hast commanded judgment.
And let the congregation of the peoples compass thee about; And over them return thou on high.
Jehovah ministereth judgment to the peoples: Judge me, O Jehovah, according to my righteousness, and to mine integrity that is in me.
O let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish thou the righteous: For the righteous God trieth the minds and hearts.
My shield is with God, Who saveth the upright in heart.
God is a righteous judge, Yea, a God that hath indignation every day.
If a man turn not, he will whet his sword; He hath bent his bow, and made it ready.
He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; He maketh his arrows fiery `shafts'.
Behold, he travaileth with iniquity; Yea, he hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood.
He hath made a pit, and digged it, And is fallen into the ditch which he made.
His mischief shall return upon his own head, And his violence shall come down upon his own pate.
I will give thanks unto Jehovah according to his righteousness, And will sing praise to the name of Jehovah Most High. Psalm 8 For the Chief Musician; set to the Gittith. A Psalm of David.