Ep. 440. Psalm 7. Justice.
Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.
Psalm 7 pictures justice as a hole and a boomerang. It says,
Whoever digs a hole
falls into it.
The trouble they cause recoils on them,
their violence comes down on their own heads (v. 15-16).
If you throw evil into the wide world, it will boomerang back on you. If you dig a hole, you fall in. This is not legal justice where you lawyer up and launch a lawsuit. You reap what you sow, you get caught in the trap you lay.
You live a violent life? Expect violence to find you.
How did the psalmist arrive at this picture of justice? And what does God have to do with it?
Start at the beginning of the psalm. Danger threatens the psalmist, so he prays,
O Lord, I take refuge in you;
save me from all who pursue me,
or they will tear me apart like a lion,
and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me (v 1-2).
Then the psalmist introduces his take on justice.
O Lord, if there is guilt on my hands–
if I have repaid friends with evil,
or enemies by stealing from them,
then let my enemy . . . trample my life to the ground (v 3-5).
I’m willing to get what I deserve, he says. Scrutinize my life, judge my actions. They prove me innocent! No grounds for a lawsuit against me. I plead not guilty.
Then the psalmist invites God to investigate his enemies. They are pregnant with evil, they conceive trouble, and give birth to disillusionment (v 14). They are the ones digging pits to trap him, planning violence against him.
So the psalmist prays:
Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness.
Stop the violence of the wicked
and make the righteous secure (v. 9).
Let’s pray.
O father, Jesus teaches us to confess our sins, but this psalm teaches us to stand on our righteousness.
You are the God who probes minds and hearts (v 9). Evaluate our lives and our behavior.
We work for your kingdom on earth.
We shape our lives by your laws.
We measure our actions by your word.
We live at peace.
Now turn your inquiry on our enemies. Those who bomb the earth, who pervert with bribes, whose rage ruins relationships, who hoard your good gifts. Those who make laws to shield the rich and exploit the poor.
O God, may they reap what they sow. May they tumble into the pits they dig. May they gather a harvest of the violence they inflict on others. Let the wealth they have stolen be stolen from them.
Bring justice on earth. The justice of consequences, and the justice of law.
With the psalmist we say,
We give you thanks because of your righteousness,
We sing praises to your name, O Most High (v. 17).
Amen
I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.
YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube
Pray with Me 