Psalm 7 is a psalm of David, “which he sang to the LORD concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite.” While we don’t know the specific circumstances, it’s clear that David had been hurt by Cush’s words. Cush was of the tribe of Benjamin, the same tribe as Saul, the first king of Israel. You may remember that during a particularly difficult season of David’s life, Saul hunted David like a wild animal, seeking to kill him rather than tolerate him as a potential rival for the throne of Israel.
While the words of Psalm 7 are 3,000 years old, they can still teach us how to pray when we’ve been hurt by others.
What can you pray when you’ve been unfairly criticized? What can you pray when you’re on the receiving end of unjust persecution? What can you pray when your heart is hurting because of the hateful words of others? Consider Psalm 7:8-11:
The LORD judges the peoples;
judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness
and according to the integrity that is in me.
Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
and may you establish the righteous—
you who test the minds and hearts,
O righteous God!
My shield is with God,
who saves the upright in heart.
God is a righteous judge,
and a God who feels indignation every day.
A couple of takeaways:
- Our God feels; that’s an extraordinary thought worth meditating upon today
- When I pray from a heart that’s been hurt by others, I ought to pray with a humble awareness of the fact that the LORD is the judge of all, including me
- It’s perfectly appropriate to pray that the evil of the wicked would come to an end
- One of the most profound things I can pray is that God would “establish” me in righteousness
- Whether I’m treated well by others or not, my heavenly Father expects me to walk in “uprightness of heart”
“My shield is with God.” What a comfort! What a blessing to find strength in weakness and perspective in pain so that I can resolve with David:
I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness,
and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High. (Psa 7:17)