Thoughts for the Day

Plea for Help against Persecutors. A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjaminite.

O Lord my God, in you I take refuge;
save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me,
or like a lion they will tear me apart;
they will drag me away, with no one to rescue.

O Lord my God, if I have done this,
if there is wrong in my hands,
if I have repaid my ally with harm
or plundered my foe without cause,
then let the enemy pursue and overtake me,
trample my life to the ground,
and lay my soul in the dust.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

This Psalm of David was probably written at a time when King Saul sought to kill him. The psalm is headed 'A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjaminite'. The word 'Shiggaion' only appears in one other place in the Bible, and the experts are not sure what it means, possibly something like an 'emotional meditation'. We learn that the man 'Cush' is from the tribe of Benjamin, also King Saul's tribe!

In the whole of Psalm 7 (and we only have part of it here) we can see how David changes - he starts with the personal cries of a man being hunted to death, to finally realising that God is there not just there for him, but is judge over all the earth. With God as a Judge then justice and salvation will occur. But perhaps the most important thing is the contract he wants to makes with God. Notice the three "If" clauses in the second stanza, above. David challenges God to look at his life, and if he has committed sin then God should allow his death to occur.

Do we sometimes try to make a pact with God - you know the kind of thing - "If you do this... then I will do that...?" When we are this desperate, it would be better not to try and make a pact with God, but to rest in the knowledge that God does offers us judgement but also justice and mercy. We must learn to simply put all our faith in Him.

Heavenly Father,
when we are scared,
or when we feel the world
is pressing in upon us,
help us to turn to You
as our natural refuge,
knowing that You will treat
us with compassion
as well as with judgement.
Amen.