A Clear Conscience in a Den of Lions Text: Psalm 7:1-5
Introduction: The Courtroom of Slander
We live in an age that has weaponized words. Slander is no longer a back-alley affair; it is an industrial enterprise. Reputations are manufactured and destroyed in the digital ether by anonymous mobs, and the accusation is often treated as the verdict. For the Christian who seeks to live faithfully in this world, who refuses to bend the knee to the spirit of the age, it is not a question of if you will be slandered, but when, and for what. The words of Cush the Benjamite, which occasioned this psalm, may be ancient, but the spirit behind them is as current as this morning's rage-post.
Cush was from the tribe of Benjamin, which was Saul's tribe. His words against David were almost certainly political slanders, designed to paint David as a traitor, a man of violence, a usurper with "injustice in his hands." These were lies intended to justify Saul's persecution and to turn the hearts of the people against God's anointed. And so David finds himself pursued, not just by soldiers with spears, but by lies that are far sharper. He is hunted, and his good name is being torn to pieces.
What is a righteous man to do? Where does he go when the court of public opinion is a kangaroo court, and the judge is a fool? Where is his appeal? This psalm is David's answer. It is a passionate, raw, and legally precise prayer. The heading calls it a "Shiggaion," which likely means a wild, wandering, passionate poem. But this is not the passion of emotional incontinence. It is the zealous passion of a man who knows he is in the right, appealing to the only Judge whose verdict matters. David takes his case out of the court of Cush and Saul, and brings it directly into the high court of Heaven. He teaches us that the first and final refuge for the slandered saint is the throne of God.
This psalm is therefore a manual for spiritual warfare. It teaches us how to pray when we are lied about. It shows us the necessity of a clear conscience, the ferocity of our enemies, and the absolute justice of our God. And in all this, David is a type of the Lord Jesus, the only truly innocent man, who was pursued by lions and condemned by lies, and who entrusted Himself to Him who judges righteously.
The Text
O Yahweh my God, in You I have taken refuge; Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me,
Lest he tear my soul like a lion, Rending me in pieces, while there is none to deliver.
O Yahweh my God, if I have done this, If there is injustice in my hands,
If I have rewarded evil to him who is at peace with me, Or have plundered my adversary without cause,
Let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it; And let him trample my life down to the ground And cause my glory to dwell in the dust. Selah.
(Psalm 7:1-5 LSB)
The Only Safe Place (vv. 1-2)
David begins by declaring his allegiance and his position. He is not a free agent looking for an ally; he is a covenant man running to his covenant Lord.
"O Yahweh my God, in You I have taken refuge; Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me, Lest he tear my soul like a lion, Rending me in pieces, while there is none to deliver." (Psalm 7:1-2)
Notice the personal nature of this cry: "O Yahweh my God." This is not an abstract prayer to a distant deity. This is a son crying out to his father. The covenant relationship is the foundation of his confidence. Because Yahweh is his God, he has a place to run. To take refuge in God is not simply to hide behind Him; it is to enter into Him, to find your safety in His very character. God Himself is the fortress.
The threat is existential. The enemy, personified by Cush but representing all his pursuers, is a lion. This is not a political rival who wants to win an election. This is a predator who wants to tear his "soul" his very life, his being, his nephesh to pieces. The goal of satanic slander is not just to embarrass, but to destroy. It is to rend a man's reputation, his family, his livelihood, and his spirit into pieces so that there is nothing left. And apart from God, there is "none to deliver." David is not being dramatic. He recognizes his utter helplessness in the face of this kind of malice. If God does not intervene, the lion will win. This is the sober reality for every believer. Our enemies are stronger than we are, and if we try to fight them in our own strength, we will be devoured.
So the first thing we must learn from this is where to run. Don't run to your lawyer first. Don't run to social media to defend yourself. Run to your God. Establish your position in the only safe place in the universe, which is in the presence of your covenant Lord. Your first move is always vertical.
The Courtroom of Conscience (vv. 3-4)
Having taken refuge, David now presents his case. He is not asking for a pardon; he is pleading his innocence on the specific charges leveled against him.
"O Yahweh my God, if I have done this, If there is injustice in my hands, If I have rewarded evil to him who is at peace with me, Or have plundered my adversary without cause," (Psalm 7:3-4 LSB)
This is a profound act of a clean conscience. David is not claiming sinless perfection. He knows he is a sinner who needs grace, as he confesses plainly in other psalms. But on the matter at hand, on the accusations of Cush the Benjamite, he knows he is innocent. "If I have done this," he says. He is referring to the specific slanders. He lays out the charges: that he is a man of violence ("injustice in my hands"), a man of treachery ("rewarded evil to him who is at peace with me"), a man of greed ("plundered my adversary without cause").
This is not pride; it is integrity. We live in an age of cheap grace and sentimental piety that often discourages this kind of robust self-defense. We are told to just murmur that "we're all sinners" and let the accusations stand. But that is a false humility. While we are indeed sinners saved by grace, we are also called to walk in righteousness and to maintain a conscience void of offense toward God and men (Acts 24:16). It is essential for Christians to live in such a way that when the lies come, they can stand before God and say, "Lord, you know my heart. You know my other failings, which are many. But on this particular charge, the charge of being a racist, a hater, a grifter, whatever it is, I am not guilty." A Christian man should be able to look his accuser in the eye, and more importantly, look his God in the eye, and plead "not guilty" to the specific lie being told.
David's defense is specific. He had opportunities to harm Saul, his adversary, but he spared him. Far from plundering him, he delivered him (1 Sam. 24:6-7, 26:9). His conscience is clear, and this gives him boldness in prayer.
The Solemn Self-Malediction (v. 5)
David is so confident in his innocence and in God's perfect justice that he concludes his testimony with a startling oath. He calls down a curse upon himself if he is lying.
"Let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it; And let him trample my life down to the ground And cause my glory to dwell in the dust. Selah." (Psalm 7:5 LSB)
This is the language of a man who believes in objective truth and absolute justice. He is saying, "God, if Cush is telling the truth, then I deserve everything that is happening to me, and more. If I am the traitor he says I am, then let the lion catch me. Let him trample my life into the ground. Let my glory, my honor, my reputation, my very being, be ground into the dust." He is willingly placing himself under the terms of the covenant curse (Deut. 28) if he is found to be a covenant-breaker in this matter.
This is the polar opposite of the squishy relativism of our day. David is not interested in "his truth" versus Cush's truth. There is only God's truth. He is so submitted to God's righteous judgment that he would rather be destroyed by it than be vindicated by a lie. This is terrifying, and it is glorious. It is the prayer of a man who fears God more than he fears lions.
And then we have that word, "Selah." It is a pause. A musical or liturgical instruction. Stop. Think about what was just said. Let the weight of it settle. Consider the gravity of appealing to the living God. Let the congregation ponder: could I make such an appeal? Is my conscience this clear? Am I this submitted to the perfect justice of God? Selah.
The Greater David
As we read this, we must see that David is pointing to one greater than himself. David was innocent of Cush's charges, but he was not innocent altogether. There is only one man who could pray this prayer with perfect and absolute integrity, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.
He was the one truly pursued by lions. The Pharisees, the Romans, the demonic powers, all sought to tear His soul to pieces. He was the one slandered with monstrous lies, called a blasphemer, a drunkard, a friend of sinners, a rebel against Caesar. He was the one with no injustice in His hands, who only ever rewarded good to those at peace with Him and showed mercy to His adversaries.
And here is the glorious, terrible exchange. Jesus, the only one who could have called down this oath in perfect innocence, did the opposite. He stood silent before His accusers. And though He was innocent, He allowed the curse of verse 5 to fall upon Him. The enemy pursued His soul and overtook it in Gethsemane. They trampled His life down to the ground at Golgotha. They caused His glory to dwell in the dust of the tomb.
Why? He did it so that we, who are guilty, could be declared innocent. He took the curse that David invoked, and that we deserved, upon Himself. He became the perjurer in our place so that we could be brought into the courtroom of God and be declared righteous for His sake. Our refuge is in Him because He was cast out for us. Our glory is restored from the dust because His was laid in it.
Therefore, when the slanders of our own Cushites come, we run to Christ. We take our refuge in His finished work. Our ultimate standing is not our own integrity, but His perfect righteousness imputed to us. And from that secure position, we are then called to live lives of such integrity that we can, with a clear conscience, bring our case before our Father. We can appeal to Him against the lies of the world, not because we are sinless, but because we are His, and we are striving to walk in a manner worthy of the calling we have received. We fight the lions of this world from the high ground of a clear conscience, a secure refuge, and a righteous King who has already won the case.