Psalm 7

Commonplace –

“I will praise the Lord according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the Lord most high” (Psalm 7:17).

David begins this psalm with a reminder to himself: “O Lord my God, in thee do I put my trust” (v.1.). The circumstances surrounding David were harrowing and terrifying. His enemy was close at hand and threatening violence toward him. To combat his fear, David declares his trust in God and asks for God’s help. He entreats God to search him for sin and turn him over to the enemy, if sin is found within him. David is relying on God’s justice and righteousness.

“The Lord shall judge the people: judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me” (Psalm 7:8).

and

“My defence is of God, which saveth the upright in heart” (Psalm 7:10).

God’s righteousness is a gift. He is not a God of caprice. We do not have to wonder at what He will do; He will always do what is right and good. What we learn herein from David is trust and faith, even when the circumstances make it seem as if the wicked are winning. In this type of suffering, when we do good but evil appears to be winning, we join in suffering for the good. In his summary, Matthew Henry notes,

“In this David was a type of Christ, who was himself, and still is in his members, thus injured, but will certainly be righted at last” (212).

Works Cited

Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 7.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3 and Volume 6, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

© 2025 Angela Hormberg