Psalm 7

“Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the just; for the righteous God tests the hearts and minds. My defense is of God, Who saves the upright in heart. God is a just judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day.”  Psalm 7:9-11 (NKJV)

Today’s psalm is a “meditation of David” sung to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite. We do not know much about this fellow, Cush, other than the fact that he was from the tribe of Benjamin. But that actually tells us quite a bit about his character and allegiances. At the time of David’s writing of this psalm, the tribe of Benjamin had just come out of a very dubious season in Israel’s history. The book of Judges ends with the tribe of Benjamin’s war against the rest of the tribes of Israel. Benjamin had refused to hold rapists and murderers accountable within their tribe. While the war began in Benjamin’s favor, were it not for God’s merciful intervention, Benjamin would have been eliminated as a tribe. We know that King Saul was a Benjamite, and he was pursuing David to kill him. Saul was controlling not just the army of Benjamin but the rest of Israel’s troops as well.

We also know what Cush was saying about David because David asks God to weigh Cush’s false accusations and judge fairly.

“O Lord my God, if I have done this: If there is iniquity in my hands, if I have repaid evil to him who was at peace with me, or have plundered my enemy without cause, let the enemy pursue me and overtake me; yes, let him trample my life to the earth, and lay my honor in the dust.  Selah” Psalm 7:3-5 (NKJV)

We will meet some people in life, and they will form false assumptions about us. They will observe our lives and string together false assumptions about our characters. It is like the neighborhood kids who pass by an old widow’s run-down house, observe her overgrown yard, rusty gate, and cats moving through the bushes, and assume she is a witch. It is wrong to make such judgments, but how they develop is understandable. Such judgments could be reversible if the kids simply met the old lady and discovered she is actually very kind.

Then, there are other people who are simply prejudiced and envious. ENVY is PRIDE wounded in competition. That was Cush. He was just plain mean! Cush knew that David had fallen out of favor with Saul, and he tried to earn Saul’s favor by lying about David’s character and behavior. It is good to know that when we have nobody to defend us, we can appeal to the Lord! He is more than capable of judging wisely and delivering the oppressed. (Romans 12:9; Deuteronomy 32:35) Therefore, we can find joy even in the midst of unjust persecution.

“I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness, and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.” Psalm 7:17 (NKJV)