Psalm 7
David wants the LORD to rescue him verse 1- 2
O LORD my God in YOU do I put my trust
save me from all them that persecute me – deliver me
lest he tear my soul like a lion – rending it in pieces
while there is none to deliver
David comments on his actions to the LORD verse 3- 5
O LORD my God – IF I have done this
IF there be iniquity in my hands
IF I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me
(yea – I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy)
LET the enemy persecute my soul – and take it
YEA – LET him tread down my life upon the earth
and lay mine honor in the dust SELAH
David declares his innocence verse 6- 9
Arise – O LORD – in YOUR anger
lift up YOURSELF because of the rage of mine enemies
and awake for me to the judgment that YOU hast commanded
So shall the congregation of the people compass YOU about
for their sakes therefore return YOU on high
The LORD shall judge the people – judge me – O LORD
according to my righteousness – according to mine integrity that is in me
O let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end
BUT establish the just – for the righteous God tries the hearts and reins
David describes the LORD verse 10- 11
My defense is of God – which saves the upright in heart
God judges the righteous – and God is angry with the wicked every day
David mentions that all need to repent verse 12- 13
IF he turn not – HE will whet HIS sword
HE hath bent HIS bow – and made it ready
HE hath also prepared for him the instruments of death
HE ordains HIS arrows against the persecutors
David knows that the plots of wicked will fail verse 14- 16
BEHOLD – he travails with iniquity – and hath conceive mischief
and brought forth falsehood
he made a pit – and digged it
and is fallen into the ditch which he made
his mischief shall return upon his own head
and his violent dealing shall come down
upon his own pate
David sings praises to the LORD verse 17
I will PRAISE the Lord according to HIS righteousness
I will SING praise to the name of the LORD most high
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
:1. “… Save me from all those who persecute me; And deliver me, (NKJV
ישׁע yšʿ to help, save; to receive, accept help; to be victorious
[יָשַׁע S3467 TWOT929 GK3828] BDB נצל nṣl to pull out, save; to be saved, be secure; to save oneself; to tear from; to remove, withdraw BDB)
DEVOTION: Have you ever been closed in a tight spot or a dark closet and suddenly felt like you could not catch your breath or the room was closing in? The fear of suffocating or being smothered is so intense and terrifying to many. The psalmist seemed to know that feeling and calls out to God in Psalm 7. His enemies were closing in and he needed the presence and security that the Lord offered.
So often we are seized with the reality that our enemies or circumstances are so difficult that, unless the Lord delivers, we are condemned. David cries out to God that he is innocent of the accusations presented. David presents his case before the Just judge and awaits His verdict. Unless the Lord intervenes David is condemned. We also must come before God when falsely accused and cry out to Him for salvation and deliverance in life’s situation as well as eternal redemption in Christ our Savior!
CHALLENGE: I John 2:1-2 tells us that we have a lawyer (Christ) who will present us before the Father when we are condemned or accused. Go to the Lord with your problems today! (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 4 If I have rewarded evil to him that was at peace with me; (yea, I have
delivered him that without cause is mine enemy) (1580 “I have rewarded” [gamal] means to complete, to give recompense for someone’s behavior or actions, whether good or bad, deal fully, recompense, or to deal out to)
DEVOTION: David was willing to face judgment if he had been one who was speaking evil of someone who has done him no harm. He wanted to treat people fairly and he wanted the LORD and the children of Israel to know that that was a goal in his life.
It should be a goal in our lives as well. We should not accuse people who have not treated us badly. We should try to be fair in our evaluation of those around us. It is not always easy because there are people that do treat us badly and there are some who can hide their bad treatment well.
God knows what is going on in our lives and HE will give us wisdom regarding the people who are around us to help us know who is a genuine friend and who is not. David had to seek HIS wisdom in this regard and we need to do the same in our lives.
People can fool us but they can’t fool the LORD. So our goal should be to give people the benefit of the doubt. David was doing this and we need to do it too.
If someone proves to be one that is trying to hurt us we need to pray for them and not give them any ammunition to falsely accuse us of sin. It is not easy to live a life that is pleasing to the LORD but it should be one of the real goals of our lives.
If we find that we have rewarded good for evil we need to apologize for our actions and move on. David was willing to make sure that the LORD knew his intentions and these intentions should be our intentions as well.
CHALLENGE: There are people who genuinely want to hurt Christians. However, there are some who are not looking to hurt us and we need to make sure that we are not confused. Prayer will give us an answer.
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: 9 Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God tries the hearts and reins.(3629 “reins” [kilyah] means kidney, mind, or seat of emotions or affections)
DEVOTION: In our lifetime it seems that the wicked our winning. That is a problem. However, even in David’s lifetime it seemed like the wicked were winning. There is nothing new under the sun. Wicked people seem to get away with murder and we seem to pay the consequences for our sins. That doesn’t seem right.
The solution is that the LORD chastens those HE loves. HE doesn’t love those who reject HIM. HE gives all of them an opportunity to become followers of HIM but most don’t think they need the LORD in their life. The LORD makes a distinction between the wicked and the righteous. HE tests the inward motives and emotions and actions of those who claim to be righteous. Those who are righteous need to keep their thoughts centered on the LORD. HE wants our minds to be constantly thinking HIS thoughts.
It can only be done with prayer. The world wants to invade the thinking of the righteous. The thoughts of the righteous need to be transformed to a Biblical worldview, so that; the views of society are dealt with in our thinking.
David is pleading with the LORD regarding those who are giving him trouble. David is asking the LORD examine his life and see if there is anything wrong. He knows that is one of the things the LORD does to every individual that is alive. The LORD examines our lives to see what is going on. HE knows everything.
We can’t hide anything. David is not trying to hide anything; he wants the LORD’S blessing on his life. He wants to sing praises to the LORD for all the blessings he has received. He wants the enemies to be judged of the LORD.
This psalm is probably dealing with the time period when David was running from king Saul. We need to realize that the LORD can take care of all our enemies when we turn them over to HIM.
Are we fighting our own battles or are we turning them over to the LORD in prayer? These first few psalms are ones that deal with the prayer life of a saint. There needs to be morning and evening prayer times. The New Testament tells us that we are to “pray without ceasing.”
One further comment needs to be emphasized: God repeats HIMSELF throughout the Psalms because we are slow learners. If it seems that David is saying the same things it is because he is. He is a slow learner too.
Finally, David does know the solution to the problems he is having: PRAYER!!!
Can we learn the solution to our problems? We should be able to learn from the lives of the Old Testament saints that the LORD is sovereign and can conquer all our enemies if we show that we are dependent on HIM.
CHALLENGE: Prayer shows this!!!
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
:11 “God judgeth the righteous, And God is angry with the wicked every
day.” (Judgeth, 8199 שָׁפַט [shaphat ] to judge, govern,
vindicate, punish, to act as law-giver or judge or governor (of God,
man), to rule, govern, judge, to decide controversy (of God, man), to
execute judgment, vindicating, condemning and punishing, at
theophanic advent for final judgment)
DEVOTION: David reminds us in this psalm that God will judge all men, starting with the righteous. We often wonder why it is that God does not judge the wicked before HE judges us. That means that HE will judge us not based on our saving faith, but on what we have done for HIM since our salvation.
Part of this judgment is our willingness to suffer for the sake of Christ. Peter makes it clear that those who believe in Jesus will encounter suffering in this life (1 Peter 4:11-19), and that this suffering is a marker of God judging us so as to purify our lives and remove any sin or other things hampering us from true service and devotion to the Lord. Often this form of pruning is painful and difficult for us, but is designed to build up our faith in HIM.
God’s judgment, then, is not the same as man’s judgment. Things may not always turn out the way we think that they should in this life. However, we can be sure that the Lord will make things right in the end. We can trust HIM to judge righteously for both the believer and the unbeliever.
CHALLENGE: Is there something that you need to get right before HIM right now, or something that HE is leading you to do for HIM? (Dr.Marc Wooten- board member)
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: 17 I will praise the LORD according to HIS righteousness: and will sing
praise to the name of the LORD most high. (3034 “praise” [yadah]
means to confess, to extol the greatness of a deity or the deity’s works as
an act of worship, give voice, laud, or to profess)
DEVOTION: David wrote many psalms of praise to the LORD. He was one who knew all the emotions you could have regarding the life of service to the LORD. He had good times and bad times. He had times he was running for his life from Saul.
However, he also wrote many psalms of praise to the LORD for HIS treatment of him in good times and in bad times. He wrote many psalms of praise to the LORD and we should sing more songs of praise rather than songs that ask for things of the LORD.
Our life should be one of praise for all the blessing the LORD has given us. If we can’t think of blessings, we need to take a second look at what is going on in our life.
Too often we seem to always want MORE blessings and wonder why we don’t get more blessings because we are such faithful servants of the LORD.
However, if we genuinely look at our lives, we see that there is room for improvement in our relationship with the LORD. Also, the LORD knows how many blessings we can handle at a given time.
We think we could handle more blessings but it they were to come we might be like many who are never satisfied and show it by not praising the LORD enough for the ones we have.
Also, our prayer life would suffer. God knows us better than we know ourselves. HE gives us all the blessings we need and so HE sends all the trials we need to keep us looking to HIM for guidance.
Remember as David does that, HE is righteous at all times and we are not. We need to be singing praises regularly whether we are in church or not. We can walk down the sidewalk singing praises to HIM.
CHALLENGE: How often do you sing praises to the LORD outside of church? Are our days full of praises or asking for more!
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
David’s prayer for deliverance verse 1- 9
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Congregation of the people verse 7
Praise verse 17
Sing verse 17
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 1, 3, 6, 8, 17
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 1, 3, 9- 11
LORD my God verse 1, 3
Anger of the LORD verse 6, 11
LORD shall judge verse 8
Righteous God verse 9, 17
God tries the hearts verse 9
Saves the upright verse 10
God judges the righteous verse 11
HE ordains HIS arrows verse 13
Lord – Adonai (Master, Owner) verse 17
LORD most high verse 17
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Enemy verse 4- 6
Wicked verse 9
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Persecute believers verse 1, 5, 13
Tear the soul of believer verse 2
Iniquity verse 3, 14
Evil verse 4
Enemy verse 4, 6
Wickedness verse 9
Wicked verse 9, 11
Mischief verse 14, 16
Falsehood verse 14
Violence verse 16
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Trust verse 1
Save verse 1, 10
Deliver verse 1
Peace verse 3
Judge verse 8
Righteousness verse 8
Integrity verse 8
Righteous verse 9, 11
Just verse 9
Defense verse 10
Upright in heart verse 10
Praise verse 17
Sing verse 17
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Instruments of death verse 13
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QUOTES regarding passage
2. That they are children of death, as all the children of wrath are, sons of perdition, marked out for ruin. See their destruction.
(1.) God will destroy them. The destruction they are reserved for is destruction from the Almighty, which ought to be a terror to every one of us, for it comes from the wrath of God, v. 13, 14. It is here intimated, [1.] That the destruction of sinners may be prevented by their conversion, for it is threatened with that proviso: If he turn not from his evil way, if he do not let fall his enmity against the people of God, then let him expect it will be his ruin; but, if he turn, it is implied that his sin shall be pardoned and all shall be well. Thus even the threatenings of wrath are introduced with a gracious implication of mercy, enough to justify God for ever in the destruction of those that perish; they might have turned and lived, but they chose rather to go on and die and their blood is therefore upon their own heads. [2.] That, if it be not thus prevented by the conversion of the sinner, it will be prepared for him by the justice of God. In general (v. 13), He has prepared for him the instruments of death, of all that death which is the wages of sin. If God will slay, he will not want instruments of death for any creature; even the least and weakest may be made so when he pleases. First, Here is variety of instruments, all which breathe threatenings and slaughter. Here is a sword, which wounds and kills at hand, a bow and arrows, which wound and kill at a distance those who think to get out of the reach of God’s vindictive justice. If the sinner flees from the iron weapon, yet the bow of steel shall strike him through, Job 20:24. Secondly, These instruments of death are all said to be made ready. God has them not to seek, but always at hand. Judgments are prepared for scorners. Tophet is prepared of old. Thirdly, While God is preparing his instruments of death, he gives the sinners timely warning of their danger, and space to repent and prevent it. He is slow to punish, and long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish. Fourthly, The longer the destruction is delayed, to give time for repentance, the sorer will it be and the heavier will it fall and lie for ever if that time be not so improved; while God is waiting the sword is in the whetting and the bow in the drawing. Fifthly, The destruction of impenitent sinners, though it come slowly, yet comes surely; for it is ordained, they are of old ordained to it. Sixthly, Of all sinners persecutors are set up as the fairest marks of divine wrath; against them, more than any other, God has ordained his arrows. They set God at defiance, but cannot set themselves out of the reach of his judgments. (Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 753). Peabody: Hendrickson.)
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7:12–16. ‘Sin, when it is finished …’
The clause in 12a, If a man does not repent, reveals what God was waiting for when he seemed merely dilatory (6). How pressing is the need to repent is now implied by the three converging lines of retribution: the wrath of God (12, 13) and the inherent fertility (14) and futility (15f.) of evil. On the first of these, Scripture emphasizes the personal aspect of judgment, in that the sinner must face the living God himself (here pictured as a formidable warrior), not the anonymity of a purely natural process; cf. e.g. Hebrews 10:31; Revelation 6:16. The second picture, of the sinner pregnant with evil (14), has the same hard logic as our Lord’s sayings on the bad tree or the evil treasure (Luke 6:43–45). The metaphor itself is used in James 1:15 for the growth-cycle of desire—sin—death. The third form of judgment, that of evil coming home to roost (15f.), operates unevenly in the material realm, but inescapably in that of the spirit, in the baleful effect of a wrong attitude on the one who harbours it (cf. 1 John 2:11), more disastrous to him than any suffering he inflicts on others. (Kidner, D. (1973). Psalms 1–72: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 15, pp. 81–82). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
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God Judges Sinners Righteously (vv. 6–13)
David didn’t take the situation into his own hands; rather, he turned Saul and his scheming men over to the Lord. Only God’s holy anger could truly vindicate David (Rom. 12:17–21). “Arise, O Lord” reminds us of the words of Moses when the camp of Israel began their march with the ark leading the way (Num. 10:35; see also 2 Chron. 6:40–42). David knew that danger was near, and he wanted the Lord to move into action. (See 3:7; 9:19; 10:12; 17:13; 44:26; 68:1.) It’s during those times when God seems inactive that we get impatient and want to see things happen immediately. But God is more longsuffering than we are, and we must wait for Him to work in His time. “Let God convene the court! Ascend Your throne on high! Let all the people gather together to witness the trial! Let the Lord try me and prove to all that I am innocent!” David knew that Almighty God could test the minds and the hearts (v. 9; see Rev. 2:23), and he wanted to see the wickedness of his enemies exposed and stopped. David’s defense was with the Lord.
How can God both love the world (John 3:16) and hate the wicked? (On God’s hatred of evil, see 5:5.) The King James Version puts “with the wicked” in italics, which means the phrase was added by the translators, but both the New International Version and the New American Standard Bible translate the text without it. Their emphasis is that God expresses His anger at sin every day, so He doesn’t have to summon a special court to judge sinners. He allows sinners to reap the sad consequences of their sins day by day (v. 16; see Rom. 1:24, 26–27, 32), but sometimes their persistent rebellion causes Him to send special judgment when His longsuffering has run its course (Gen. 6:5ff). God’s love is a holy love, and if God loves righteousness, He must also hate wickedness.
Note that God is called “God Most High” (vv. 8, 10, 17), which is El Elyon in the Hebrew. This divine name is used twenty-three times in the Psalms and goes back to Genesis 14:18–22. (See also Deut. 32:8; 2 Sam. 22:14 and 23:1.) Jesus was called “Son of the Most High” (Mark 5:7; Luke 1:32, 35; 8:28). (Wiersbe, W. W. (2004). Be worshipful (1st ed., pp. 38–39). Colorado Springs, CO: Cook Communications Ministries.)
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Ver. 13. He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death, &c.] The weapons of his indignation, Isa. 13:5. which will issue both in the first and second death, corporeal and eternal; the instruments of the former are diseases of various kinds, and judgments, as famine, pestilence, &c. and of the latter not only the law is an instrument of it, that being the letter which kills, and is the ministration of condemnation and death, but even the Gospel itself to wicked men is the savour of death unto death; and devils will be the executioners of it. He ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors; the word for persecutors signifies hot or burning, and designs such persons who burn in malice and wrath, in rage and fury, against the saints, and hotly pursue after them, as Laban did after Jacob, Gen. 31:36. for these more especially God has determined in his eternal purposes and decrees, and for these he has provided in his quiver, arrows of wrath and vengeance, fiery ones; and against these will he bring them forth, direct them, and shoot them at them, Psal. 64:7. Some understand all this not of God, but of the wicked man, and read if he turn not, but, on the contrary, instead of that, will whet his sword, bend his bow, &c. against the righteous; yet he shall be disappointed, he shall not accomplish his designs, as appears by the following verses; these phrases are used of wicked men, Psal. 11:2 and 37:14, 15 and 64:2, 3, 4. but the former sense seems best. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 3, pp. 552–553). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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A Jewess, Naomi, and her two daughters-in-law lose their husbands.
INSIGHT
In Ruth, we see one of the most stirring examples of loyalty in the Bible. In spite of Naomi’s urgings to the contrary, Ruth stays with her, looking not for personal fulfillment or material comfort but longing merely to maintain the relationship with one whom she loves. This loyalty comes from a pure heart, and it is not surprising that it extends not just to Naomi but also to the Lord.
In stark contrast to Samson, Ruth’s selflessness leads to beauty, fulfillment, and seeking the good of others. We should take instruction for our own lives and live as Ruth, not as Samson. (Quiet Walk)
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Astonishing Doctrine
“And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine.” (Matthew 7:28)
This is the first mention of “doctrine” (Greek didache) in the New Testament, and as such it is significant that it refers to the doctrines taught by Christ in the so-called Sermon on the Mount. It is also significant that there are four other verses telling us that His hearers were “astonished at his doctrine” (Matthew 22:33; Mark 1:22; 11:18;Luke 4:32) in addition to the statement in Acts 13:12 that a certain new convert had been “astonished at the doctrine of the Lord” when he heard Paul preach.
The astonishing aspect of the doctrine of Christ is indicated by Mark. “They were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes” (Mark 1:22). No wonder He could speak with authority! “My doctrine is not mine,” He said, “but his that sent me” (John 7:16). Paul could also teach this astonishing doctrine because he was careful to teach only the Word of God. And so can we if we likewise believe and teach only in the context of the inerrant, doctrinal authority of God’s Word.
It has become fashionable today, even in many evangelical churches, to avoid “indoctrination” in favor of “discussion” and “personal Christianity.” This is a great mistake and largely accounts for the increasing secularization of our society and the weak testimony of the Christian church. In the Bible, teaching and doctrine are the same, so that true teaching is indoctrination, and teaching “all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20) is an integral part of Christ’s great commission. It is imperative that we, like Paul, teach “all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:27), for “whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God” (2 John 1:9). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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Killing Me Softly
I have become mute, I do not open my mouth. PSALM 39:9
A man and his wife were having some problems at home and were giving each other the silent treatment. The husband realized he needed to be awakened early one morning to catch a business flight, but he didn’t want to be the first to break the silence. So he left a note on his wife’s side of the bed that read, “Please wake me at 5 A.M.
By the time bright sunshine roused him the next morning, it was 9 A.M. Furious, he threw back the covers and shouted to his wife (who was nowhere to be found), “Why didn’t you wake me up like I asked you to?” That’s when he saw, stuck to the lamp on his bedside table, a note in her handwriting that read, “It is 5 A.M. Time to wake up.” It doesn’t take much to make us angry and create emotional distance from each other. But it does take great, courageous effort to fight through the silence to a place of forgiveness and oneness. Isolation seems to offer us protection, a certain kind of self-preservation. There is a type of peace found in avoidance that appears much more appealing than the pain of dealing with reality.
Silence feels like a security blanket. But in fact, it is one of Satan’s most deadly disguises. The silent treatment is perilously deceptive and ultimately destructive. When you find yourself tempted to square off against each other, retreating to your corners and refusing to give in, remember that Jesus could have given
us the cold shoulder. He could have taken one look at our many, many sins and shortcomings and never sought to draw us out. May His reaching, redemptive love be our model and motivator. We serve a God who both seeks and speaks. Be sure you’re a spouse who does the same.
DISCUSS: What, if anything, drives you into silence? Discuss what your spouse should do when you are silent. (Moments with You Couples Devotional by Dennis and Barbara Rainey)
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If the Bible is just a fairytale, why is it banned in 52countries? No on goes to prison for reading Cinderella. If it really was made up. Then it’s supposed ot have no power. So why ban it? It’s banned because it’s the most powerful, freeing and transforming truth (Shawn C. Stevenson)
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