Commentary - Psalm 7:6-13

Bird's-eye view

In this section of Psalm 7, David's personal plea for vindication explodes into a full-throated appeal for cosmic justice. He summons God to the bench, not as a timid petitioner, but as a covenant son demanding that his Father act in accordance with His own stated character. The scene is a universal courtroom where all the peoples are gathered, and God is called to ascend His throne and render judgment. David's appeal is based on his own integrity in the matter at hand, which then broadens into a general prayer for the overthrow of all wickedness and the establishment of the righteous. The psalm concludes with a terrifying depiction of God as a divine warrior, armed and ready, whose judgment is not a distant abstraction but an imminent and fiery reality for all who refuse to repent.

Outline

Commentary

6 Arise, O Yahweh, in Your anger; Lift up Yourself against the fury of my adversaries, And arouse Yourself for me; You have appointed judgment.

David begins with a series of urgent imperatives. Arise. Lift up. Arouse. This is not the language of a man trying to wake a sleeping or indifferent deity. This is the cry of a covenant child calling upon his Father to act as He has promised. David is not telling God what to do, but rather reminding Him of who He is. The fury of his adversaries is real and pressing, but David knows that God's anger is the only righteous and effective response. God's anger is not like man's petty, sinful rage. It is the settled, holy, and implacable opposition of His entire being against evil. David's confidence is rooted in the fact that God has already "appointed judgment." The standards have been set, the court has been established, and the verdict for wickedness is certain. David is simply praying for the sentence to be carried out.

7 Let the congregation of the peoples encompass You, And over them return on high.

The scope of the prayer now expands dramatically. This is not some private affair in a corner. David wants this judgment to be public, a universal spectacle. He envisions all the nations gathered around the throne of God. This is a picture of the final judgment, brought into the present crisis. When God judges, He does so before a watching world. The call for God to "return on high" is a summons for Him to visibly and gloriously assume His position as the supreme Judge over all the earth. Let every knee bow, let every eye see, and let every mouth be stopped as Yahweh takes His seat.

8 Yahweh judges the peoples; Give justice to me, O Yahweh, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.

After establishing God as the judge of all peoples, David brings the case back to himself. This is the kind of verse that makes modern, therapeutic evangelicals squirm. How can a sinner plead his own righteousness? We must understand what is being said. This is not a claim of sinless perfection. Rather, in the specific conflict that occasioned this psalm, David is innocent. He is in the right. He is asking God, the just judge, to look at the facts of the case and vindicate him against his slanderers. This is a prayer of covenantal integrity. For the Christian, we can only pray this with ultimate confidence because we are clothed in the perfect righteousness of Christ. Our plea is ultimately based on His integrity, which has been imputed to us. In Christ, we are in the right before God, and we can therefore ask God to vindicate us according to that standing.

9 O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous; For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds.

The prayer once again moves from the particular to the universal. The ultimate desire of every true believer is not just personal vindication, but the final end of all evil. We long for a world where wickedness is no more and where the righteous are firmly established, secure, and flourishing. What is the basis for this audacious request? It is the character of God Himself. He is the "righteous God" who is not fooled by outward appearances. He "tests the hearts and minds," the inner workings, the seat of our affections and thoughts. He knows who is truly wicked and who is truly righteous. Because He is a perfect discerner of spirits, His judgment will be perfectly just.

10 My shield is with God, Who saves the upright in heart.

From his prayer of petition, David moves to a declaration of faith. His defense, his protection, is not in his own cunning or strength. His shield is God Himself. God is an active defender of His people. And who are His people? They are the "upright in heart." This does not mean those who have never sinned, but rather those whose hearts are sincere, without duplicity, and oriented toward Him. It describes a fundamental disposition of loyalty and love for God. God saves those whose hearts are true to Him.

11 God is a righteous judge, And a God who has indignation every day.

Here is the theological bedrock of the entire psalm. God's character is the reason we can pray for justice and the reason the wicked should tremble. He is a righteous judge. This is His nature. And a necessary component of that righteousness is His constant, daily indignation against sin. The modern conception of God is a grandfatherly being who tolerates everything with a benign smile. The biblical God is a consuming fire. Sin is an offense to His holiness every moment of every day, and His wrath against it is therefore a constant reality.

12 If a man does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and prepared it.

This daily indignation is not a passive mood. It results in active preparation for war. Notice the crucial condition: "If a man does not repent." The door of mercy is held open. The way of escape is to turn from sin and come to God. But for the one who refuses, for the one who hardens his heart, judgment is not a distant possibility. It is an imminent certainty. God is sharpening His sword. The edge is being honed for a clean, swift, and fatal blow. He has bent His bow. The arrow is nocked, the string is drawn taut, and the target is acquired. The judgment is ready to be released.

13 He has also prepared for Himself deadly weapons; He makes His arrows fiery shafts.

The imagery intensifies. God's instruments of judgment are not merely functional; they are "deadly weapons," designed for maximum effect. His arrows are not simple points of wood or stone. They are "fiery shafts." This speaks of a judgment that is not just final, but terrifying and all-consuming. It is the fire of divine wrath, a holy and just punishment that will burn up all that is wicked. This is a fearsome picture, and it is intended to be. It is a grace to be warned of the wrath to come, so that we might flee from it to the only place of safety, which is the cross of Jesus Christ.

Application

This psalm teaches Christians how to pray for justice in a fallen world. We are not to take vengeance into our own hands, but we are commanded to cry out to the righteous Judge to act. We should pray for the evil of our day, whether it be the abortion industry, government tyranny, or sexual rebellion, to be brought to an end. We should pray for the church, the righteous, to be established and made secure.

We make these prayers not on the basis of our own flawless record, but on the basis of the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ which is ours by faith. And this psalm reminds us of the stakes. God is not indifferent to sin. His indignation burns daily, and His weapons of judgment are prepared. This truth should not only comfort us in the face of evil, but it should also fuel our evangelism. The warning of the sharpened sword and the fiery arrows is a profound mercy, intended to drive the unrepentant to the cross, where the judgment we deserved was poured out on the Son of God.