A Meditation Concerning the Words of Cush, a Benjamite.
Save me from all those who persecute me;
And deliver me,
2Lest they tear me like a lion,
Rending me in pieces, while there is none to deliver.
3O Lord my God, if I have
done this:
If there is iniquity in my
hands,
4If I have repaid evil to him who was at peace with me,
Or have plundered my enemy
without cause,
5Let the enemy pursue me and overtake me;
Yes, let him trample my life
to the earth,
And lay my honor in the dust. Selah
6Arise, O Lord, in Your
anger;
Lift Yourself up because of
the rage of my enemies;
Rise up for me to the judgment
You have commanded!
7So the congregation of the peoples shall surround You;
For their sakes, therefore, return on high.
8The Lord
shall judge the peoples;
Judge me, O Lord,
according to my righteousness,
And according to my integrity within me.
9Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end,
But establish the just;
For the righteous God tests
the hearts and minds.
10My defense is of God,
Who saves the upright in
heart.
11God is a just judge,
And God is angry with the
wicked every day.
12If he does not turn back,
He will sharpen His sword;
He bends His bow and makes it
ready.
13He also prepares for Himself instruments of death;
He makes His arrows into fiery
shafts.
14Behold, the wicked brings forth iniquity;
Yes, he conceives trouble and
brings forth falsehood.
15He made a pit and dug it out,
And has fallen into the ditch
which he made.
16His trouble shall return upon his own head,
And his violent dealing shall
come down on his own crown.
17I will praise the Lord
according to His righteousness,
And will sing praise to the
name of the Lord Most High.
Commentary
Vs. 1-2 1O Lord my God, in You I put my trust;
Save me from all those who
persecute me;
And deliver me,
2Lest they tear me like a lion,
Rending me in pieces, while
there is none to deliver.
By the title, we see that this David wrote this Psalm while being hotly pursued and oppressed by a certain man named Cush, a Benjamite, a man of the same tribe as Saul, who was likely trying to orchestrate David’s downfall and death for Saul.
When faced with persecution we see that David’s first inclination and cry for help is not to man; but to the Lord our God, whom he has put his trust in. And so with his life once again in grave peril, David turns to the Lord God as the Only One who can save him from all of those who are persecuting him, who want to devour him. David then does not look to his own skill, power, and might as the means of his deliverance, nor does he hope in his own weapons of war as if he could save himself through these, nor does he even call out to those who had allied themselves with him to come and save and deliver him from them, instead he looks to the Lord our God. For this is the theme of his life, of a Godly life, that seeks after the Lord our God even in his darkest and most desperate times. Which is something that we may also have to learn to do, as the Lord our God allows whatever trying times and perils that have been appointed for us in this life, to come into our lives, so that ultimately our confidence in everything but Himself will likewise be either removed, or brought into a right and true perspective.
If there is iniquity in my
hands,
4If I have repaid evil to him who was at peace with me,
Or have plundered my enemy
without cause,
5Let the enemy pursue me and overtake me;
Yes, let him trample my life
to the earth,
And lay my honor in the dust. Selah
Vs. 6 “Arise, O Lord, in Your anger;
Lift Yourself up because of
the rage of my enemies;
Rise up for me to the judgment
You have commanded!”
David then having made his defense before the Lord; that he is not guilty of any of the slanderous and evil things that his enemies have spoken of him; lies that they are using to justify their own murderous desires to hunt him down and kill him; now calls upon the Lord to Arise in His anger, to lift Himself up because of the rage of his enemies, to render His judgment which He has commanded! For David has not sought out his own vengeance, nor has he schemed anything against his enemies in retaliation, therefore his appeal here is most just, and surely the Most Just God will act Justly!
For their sakes, therefore,
return on high.
8The Lord
shall judge the peoples;
Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness,
And according to my integrity
within me.
Vs. 9 “Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end,
But establish the just;
For the righteous God tests
the hearts and minds.”
David like everyone who lives righteously before God now lets his heart cry out in longing for that Day when God will deal with the wicked of the earth and establish the just in the Lord Jesus Christ’s Kingdom. For God Himself tests the hearts and minds, He himself knows the inner thoughts and workings of man, He knows who truly loves Him, and who does not. Now loving God begins when one has been born again by His Spirit, who by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ now have His Presence within them, and thus now see Him as He really is, and not as this world, or Satan the ruler of it, so wrongly and horribly portrays Him to be.
Vs. 10 “My defense is of God,
Who saves the upright in
heart.”
David then was confident that his defense is of God, who saves the upright in heart. Thus not the hypocrite, not the liar, but everyone who comes to Him openly and honestly, who believes in His Son, will find salvation from Him.
Vs. 11-13 11God is a just judge,
And God is angry with the
wicked every day.
12If he does not turn back,
He will sharpen His sword;
He bends His bow and makes it
ready.
13He also prepares for Himself instruments of death;
He makes His arrows into fiery
shafts.
Even though David was suffering persecution at the hands of wicked, and he was daily seeing troubles by their schemes; David still knew that God is angry with the wicked every day. Therefore, though God may restrain Himself from rendering His Judgment on them as they act wickedly, it is only so that repentance and remission of sins may also be offered to them (Acts 3:19-26). However, as David wisely notes in verses 12-13 if they do not avail themselves of it, then they are only storing up great wrath upon themselves. For God will sharpen His sword, He will draw back His bow, He will prepare His weapons of war to bring about their own downfall and ruin! And so, though God’s wrath on them is not immediately seen by us, it is there, (just as His love is), and it will land upon all the wicked who do not turn back from their ways. Therefore, let us never forget that our God is a consuming fire! He is not One to be trifled with, or taken lightly, but One to be believed, obeyed, and feared.
Vs. 14-16 14Behold, the wicked brings forth iniquity;
Yes, he conceives trouble and
brings forth falsehood.
15He made a pit and dug it out,
And has fallen into the ditch
which he made.
16His trouble shall return upon his own head,
And his violent dealing shall
come down on his own crown.
In seeing how God deals with the wicked, David now describes the ways of the wicked, by which they operate. First, they dream up their plot or scheme, then they seek to put it into practice, here making a pit for their victim to fall into. However, soon enough they will get snared by their own schemes; their own devious ways will become the means of their own ruin. And so, they fall into their own pit which they have dug for others, they are brought to ruin by their own corrupt works and ways. Therefore, their own trouble shall return upon their own heads, and their violent dealings shall come down on their own crowns. God’s judgment will find them, and in His most appropriate timing and way He will deal with them, or He will simply let them fall to their own eternal ruin, through their own works and ways.
Vs. 17 “I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness,
And will sing praise to the
name of the Lord Most High.”
In understanding all of this David cannot but exude with praise. Therefore:
“I will praise the Lord
according to His righteousness,
And will sing praise to the
name of the Lord Most High.”
Scripture Quotations
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