A Path Through Chapter 7 - Refuge and a Judge

 

There's a path, let's follow it It has been great to begin down the path of the Psalms, there is so much to open up through these songs of old. Today it's chapter four which is a prayer and request to God from David.    We'll break down this chapter, have some songs together, and hear from our guest speaker. This week our guest is a friend of mine who attended Kings Bible College when we did in 2006/2007. It's  Paul Meathrel who is the leader of Chipping Norton Communtiy Church in Oxfordshire. He'll be looking at chapter 7 for us, so lets... get on the path

Psalm 7  A shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjamite.     Lord my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me, 2 or they will tear me apart like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me. 3 Lord my God, if I have done this and there is guilt on my hands 4 if I have repaid my ally with evil or without cause have robbed my foe 5 then let my enemy pursue and overtake me; let him trample my life to the ground and make me sleep in the dust. 6 Arise, Lord, in your anger; rise up against the rage of my enemies.     Awake, my God; decree justice. 7 Let the assembled peoples gather around you, while you sit enthroned over them on high.  8     Let the Lord judge the peoples. Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High. 9 Bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure you, the righteous God who probes minds and hearts. 10 My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart. 11 God is a righteous judge, a God who displays his wrath every day. 12 If he does not relent, he will sharpen his sword; he will bend and string his bow. 13 He has prepared his deadly weapons; he makes ready his flaming arrows.  14 Whoever is pregnant with evil conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment. 15 Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit they have made. 16 The trouble they cause recoils on them; their violence comes down on their own heads. 17 I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness;     I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High.

Refuge and rescue.  These are two words that David sings throughout his songs. He knows God is his only refuge and that He is the only one who can rescue. Let's step on the path today by singing and declaring that 'You Alone can Rescue' by Matt Redman.

David knew where he could hide. Though he looked for the most hidden cave, and a well-camouflaged space he knew where the refuge was found. Whether it was hiding from pursuers or even a wild animal he found his refuge and safety in God. In our chapter today we again find David being pursued, if not physically through hurtful words. It is unclear the exact setting of the meditation that David sang. There is little known about Cush other than he was a Benjamite. It's likely that Cush was a partisan or friend of Saul, possibly even a name for Saul, who was going after David. Maybe he was a henchman out on the hunt, or he may have been another person who was spreading rumour and hateful words towards David. Either way David looked to God as his refuge and rescue. He did this through singing a shiggaion to the Lord. It's hard to know the full meaning of the word, the easiest way to understand it is a song of trouble and comfort. It's the only place in the Psalms where David or an author wrote a shiggaion. That leads me to believe that it was different from other songs, maybe one more meditative or deeper emotionally. Let's have our hearts open as we look further at this shiggaion.

If. If I have done this, if I have repaid my ally. We see in these words from verse three that David isn't claiming to be perfect, he is leaving space that he could part of the problem with his enemies. It sounds to me like you and I are much like David. We too aren't perfect. It's the wrestling with our imperfection and the realising that we've made mistakes which is important. Romans 6:23 says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, not some or the elite haven't, all. Sure we may not have repaid our ally with evil or robbed our enemy, but we have certainly done people wrong, had poor attitudes toward another and any number of other vices. Throughout the Bible we say characters who are less than perfect in many ways, no matter who they are, they are still loved, cherished and can used by God.  'If', we are all 'if', and we are all loved, cherished and can used by God. to do amazing things, who knows maybe one of you will write a modern-day shaggaion soon.

Let's listen to our Psalm, number 7 being sung. This recording has just been done during this latest lockdown and came out earlier this week. It's Psalm 7 by Will Gray and Ruth Mukonoweshuro.

Arise and Awake, we see these terms in verse 6. These are commands you give to someone who is sleeping or dozing off. Maybe we need to have their attention or something has happened where it's time to get up. Now and then if I'm not already up I'm awoken in the morning to Rebecca's voice calling me downstairs to help with the girls or even worse to the sound of yelling between the girls. It's not fun to wake up like that from sound sleep, but as you do I quickly jump into action. I've been asleep and not able to respond. Sometimes I need to be awoken and arise.  Is David confused? Surely he musn't expect that the Lord is asleep and not responding to his request for help? Does God sleep, does He turn off his response to our voice? I can see where David is coming from. It does feel as though at times God doesn't hear our prayer and cry. It can seem as though we are praying into an ether or our words are hollow and not heard. It could be at that time or period of time we feel a lack of connection with the Lord. Maybe He is silent, or maybe it feels like he doesn't hear or is silent. It's interesting to note that David himself refutes his own statement here in chapter 7 later in the Psalms. In chapter 121 of Psalms he says that God neither slumbers or sleeps. I think here in this verse it's more of a desperate cry for response. Not that He thinks God has shut down for a period of time but rather that He is looking for response. We have to remember that sometimes God's response though is silence, it is to wait, maybe to ask again and wait for the next response.

The next set of verses speaks of God as the judge, actually a righteous judge. That's what a judge needs to be, righteous. If a judge doesn't see the situation wholly and bring perspective from a right perspective are they really judging or giving their opinion based on what they think is best. We see here that David is imploring God to be the judge to the evildoers and the wicked. Once again though David doesn't let himself off the hook as he asked to be judged or vindicated too. He realises that he is likely part of the problem and that God is the solution. Ultimately he wants and end to the violence and wickedness surrounding him. I think that we can find solidarity in David's words. Don't you want an end to the violence around, to the wickedness that pervades seemingly each nook and cranny of our society. Thankfully we aren't the judges, that God is all righteous and the one who probes minds and hearts.  It's interesting to note that David isn't praying here for special favourtism as we mentioned he asked the Lord to judge him too. He is looking for the righteous one to make everything right again.

Our guest speaker today, Paul Meathrel brings to us his thoughts on our chapter.

I want to take us to verse 12, it's probably not one that you've dwelled on at great length before but there is something important about it. It's talking about how God will sharpen his sword, bend the bow, prepare the weapon and make a flaming arrow. What it doesn't say is that he is using them, rather preparing them. Could that be because the evildoer, the one who is being judged is given more time, by God's mercy and only by God's mercy is where repentance is offered. Yes the sword is sharpened and the bow's ready but it's not in use, yet. God leaves space to relent and for the sinner to repent.  What we see in these images is a God who is ready to judge. This is one of the main take-aways from our chapter that God hates sin, he deals with sin and gives space to the sinner to repent. What a righteous judge He is!

We'll step off the path today by reflecting on of the big ideas from today, that God is our protector. His protection comes out in this Psalm and in so many others. Here is the classic hymn 'A Mighty Fortress if our God' done accapella by Veritas.

This Psalm is another one that is perfect to take, pray and make your own. Especially the verses 7-12 which talk about the judgment of God upon the wickedness around us. There is much that we can make personal throughout this Psalm, why not take some time to pray it as your own song.