A Prayer For Vindication
Psalms 7
August 19, 2018
I’ve titled this Psalm “A Prayer for Vindication”.
What else could you call it?
In verse 8 David prays, “Vindicate me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.”
And upon reading that phrase we are suddenly filled
With so many red flags, and ready rebukes.
How could David pray such a thing!?!
First of all, asking for vindication!
Seriously, doesn’t he know the crowning jewel of the Christian life is forgiveness?
Secondly, toting as the basis for vindication his own righteousness and his own integrity!
Does David actually think that we don’t know who he is?
• We know about this man and his failures.
• We know how he blew it with his sons…
• We know about the time he numbered the people in arrogance and brought a plague…
• We know about David’s affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband…
Would David seriously have the audacity to pray for vindication
According to his righteousness?
And yet – THERE IT IS
Printed with black ink right there on white paper.
Included in the sacred Scriptures
As a song for the church is David’s prayer for vindication.
Based upon the current trends of Christianity I’d almost be willing to guess that you would’ve never considered praying such a prayer.
(Or at least you wouldn’t admit to it in the presence of the congregation
For fear of sounding “Un-Christian”)
That’s what makes studying Psalms like this so important.
We already introduced this concept of Imprecatory Psalms a few weeks back when we looked at the 5th Psalm.
• You’ll remember it as the Psalm for Battle where David arose and presented his requests before God
• He knew that God took no pleasure in wickedness and David had an enemy who was just that.
So David’s prayer blew our minds:
Psalms 5:10 “Hold them guilty, O God; By their own devices let them fall! In the multitude of their transgressions thrust them out, For they are rebellious against You.”
That again was another one of those seemingly “Un-Christian” prayers.
And yet here we are, only 2 Psalms later,
Addressing that same issue yet again.
What is the Christian supposed to do with the Imprecatory Psalms?
I told you then, and I tell you again now – WE PRAY THEM!
Your other option is to assume that the God who inspired them
Has somehow changed and that this portion of His word has expired
And should now be removed from your Bible.
Not at all…
What I actually think it reveals is a great ignorance
That our culture has of the true character of God.
In fact we could even say that it reveals the great ignorance
That the present day church has of the true character of God.
It has become clear to me that today’s church
Does not get their doctrine from a study of the Scriptures,
But more likely they get it from social media
And from (so-called) Christian music.
• If it has a catchy beat…
• If it rolls well off the tongue…
• And if it matches what I feel…
• Then that must be a good Christian song!
We learn it, we sing it, we digest it, and our doctrine of God changes.
The proof of this is seen today in the fact that
Christianity no longer recognizes a God of judgment
Or a God of vindication or a God who hates wickedness.
• Certainly those aren’t popular ideas of God today,
• So they are commonly omitted from Christian media
• And the average Christian (ignorant of the Scriptures) never hears about them.
But turn off your radio and open your Bible
And you might just find a different God than the one you hear sung about.
That’s not to condemn every doctrine that is broadcast on Christian radio.
For sure some are accurate, it’s just that there’s an IMBALANCE.
• We hear songs of grace and mercy and forgiveness…
• We hear songs of God’s love and God’s patience and God’s desire for men to be saved…
And surely we have no problem with those realities,
It’s just that it seems that the pendulum has swung too far.
It has reached the extreme where
If a person were to attend a church meeting and pray (as David does)
“Hold them guilty O God”
“Vindicate me according to my righteousness”
That the entire room would gasp in disbelief.
Quick to our rebuke would be the masses
Who would piously remind us:
Jesus said to turn the other cheek!
And of course that is true!
Matthew 5:38-39 “You have heard that it was said, ‘AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.’ “But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.”
The believer is absolutely commanded to be meek and forgiving and mild.
We are absolutely commanded to suffer even when we do what is right.
THAT IS A CLEAR COMMAND.
But can I tell you what that verse does NOT say?
Just because Jesus tells us that we must turn the other cheek
Does not mean that our Heavenly Father
Is ok with His children being slapped.
CERTAINLY we do not take our own revenge.
But can I remind you of the rest of that command?
Romans 12:19 “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord.”
And to many even that notion sounds wrong,
That we would embrace the judgment of the wicked at all.
After all, we all know about Jesus on the cross:
Luke 23:34 “But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.”
(A prayer that even Stephen echoed at his own stoning)
And so are we to assume then that Jesus categorically refused God’s retribution or vindication of any kind?
If we are to assume that then we’re going to have a tough time explaining some of the other things He said:
Matthew 11:20-24 “Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. “Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon inthe day of judgment than for you. “And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. “Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.”
Jesus didn’t torch their cities, but He knew it was coming.
Or consider this confrontation of the Pharisees:
Matthew 23:29-33 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ “So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. “Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?”
That sounds definitely like a promise of vindication and retribution.
Did Jesus attack them on earth?
No, He was meek and mild and like a lamb led to the slaughter,
But that did not mean that He did not expect His Father to vindicate Him.
Consider:
1 Peter 2:21-23 “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;”
• Jesus didn’t take His own revenge.
• Jesus didn’t offer His own judgment.
• But He most certainly trusted that God would.
The reality is that our current Christianity
Has desperately tried to eliminate the message
That God is the Judge.
Isn’t that true?
Everyone loves to speak of God being the Savior and the Good Father,
But no one sings about God being the Judge of all the earth.
• One casualty to that omission is that it obviously blasphemes God since it strips Him of authority that is obviously His.
• Another obvious casualty is that sinners no longer fear God and therefore see no need for salvation. (That discussion is for another time)
• The other casualty is that Christians no longer understand that their God will vindicate them when they suffer righteously.
This is one of the reasons meekness is so hard for the present day believer.
• They are afraid that if they are meek then no one will make things right.
This is why forgiveness is so hard for the present day believer.
• They are afraid that if they forgive, no one will vindicate them.
They are afraid that if they don’t take their own revenge
Then justice will never have its day.
That is the casualty of losing sight of the fact
That God is a righteous judge.
Scripture promises that we can be meek and forgiving and submissive because God does vindicate His people.
Listen to Moses speaking to the children of Israel, just before his death.
Deuteronomy 32:36 “For the LORD will vindicate His people, And will have compassion on His servants, When He sees that their strength is gone, And there is none remaining, bond or free.”
Listen to Isaiah as he pleads for Israel to trust God
Isaiah 51:7-8, 21-23 “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, A people in whose heart is My law; Do not fear the reproach of man, Nor be dismayed at their revilings. “For the moth will eat them like a garment, And the grub will eat them like wool. But My righteousness will be forever, And My salvation to all generations…Therefore, please hear this, you afflicted, Who are drunk, but not with wine: Thus says your Lord, the LORD, even your God Who contends for His people, “Behold, I have taken out of your hand the cup of reeling, The chalice of My anger; You will never drink it again. “I will put it into the hand of your tormentors, Who have said to you, ‘Lie down that we may walk over you.’ You have even made your back like the ground And like the street for those who walk over it.”
Or even travel to the New Testament.
Listen to Jesus make a promise to faithful and persecuted believers.
Matthew 10:24-26 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household! “Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.”
Listen to Paul speak to the Colossians
Colossians 3:1-4 “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”
Listen to Jesus promise the church at Philadelphia:
Revelation 3:9 “Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie — I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you.”
And listen to heaven as God’s vengeance is poured out:
Revelation 16:4-7 “Then the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters saying, “Righteous are You, who are and who were, O Holy One, because You judged these things; for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. They deserve it.” And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”
Do you get my point?
Certainly as believer we go the extra mile,
And turn the other cheek, and never take our own revenge,
And we forgive those who trespass against us.
This was the model of our Lord, and this is our divine command.
But here we are talking about our prayer life.
• Here we are talking about the spiritual battle we fight.
• Here we are talking about the language of the church as she privately appeals
to her God and Savior.
And here we learn that
The believer has every right to cry out to God for vindication!
Let’s work through this Psalm together.
I’m just going to break it down into 2 main points.
• What we have here is something similar to that of a courtroom scene.
• David is approaching the bench and making his appeal before the most righteous Judge to ever take his seat.
And David, in full awestruck honor of this Judge, makes his appeal.
It is a model picture of praying for vindication.
#1 HIS CASE
Psalms 7:1-11
We are aware that this heading does in fact give us the context, though it is difficult since Scripture doesn’t seem to include the specific story.
“A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning Cush, a Benjamite.”
“A Shiggaion” was a highly emotional song to the Lord.
And this one was regarding “Cush, a Benjamite”
As I said, that’s difficult because we don’t know who he’s talking about.
Spurgeon wondered if it might be “Kish a Benjamite”
And that’s not far-fetched since Hebrew has no vowels, only consonants.
If that is so, then we could be talking about the father of Saul
Saul was called “the Son of Kish” and was of the tribe of Benjamin.
It could be that David is frustrated that
Despite his decisions not to persecute or oppress Saul
That he is still being provoked against David.
David, as you know (like the believer), has been forbidden from touching God’s anointed or from taking his own revenge.
And even when David has Saul in his grasp,
He chose twice to let him go, and yet Saul still rages after him.
David can’t take his own revenge,
But he can most assuredly pray for the Lord’s vindication.
Here he is presenting his case.
Let’s break this down just a tad farther.
1) HIS APPROACH (1-2)
“O LORD my God, in You I have taken refuge; Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me, Or he will tear my soul like a lion, Dragging me away, while there is none to deliver.”
Here we are instantly reminded of David’s faith.
• He isn’t coming to God because He has heard that God is a fierce bounty hunter.
• He is coming to God because all of His trust is in God.
“in You I have taken refuge”
David purposely didn’t kill Saul
Because he had believed that such an action would dishonor God,
And David had chosen to trust God.
What is also clear is that despite David’s meekness, he was under attack.
So, still not willing to deal with Saul himself, David approaches God:
“Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me,”
• Do you note the boldness with which he approaches the throne?
• Do you note the confidence with which he appeals to God?
David’s job had been submission to God.
God’s job was the salvation of David.
So David, in his submission, now runs to God asking for His salvation.
Most notably because THE STAKES ARE HIGH.
(2) “Or he will tear my soul like a lion, dragging me away, while there is none to deliver.”
This is shepherd talk from David.
• He knows that a sheep without a shepherd is easy pray for a lion.
• Sheep need constant care from their protector.
David is the sheep, and the LORD is his Shepherd.
David is no match for the lion that lurks, and so he is bleating like a sheep
That his Shepherd might come running.
Certainly, thanks to the New Testament, we fill in the gaps even more.
And we read what Peter had to say:
1 Peter 5:8 “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
And in our defense, WE HAVE BUT ON OPTION,
And that is to approach the throne of our God that He might deliver.
That is what David does.
2) HIS ARGUMENT (3-5)
“O LORD my God, if I have done this, If there is injustice in my hands, If I have rewarded evil to my friend, Or have plundered him who without cause was my adversary, Let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it; And let him trample my life down to the ground And lay my glory in the dust. Selah.”
David begins by stating his plea before God,
And it is a clear and resounding “Not Guilty!”
• That does not mean that David is claiming sinless perfection in his life.
• Most certainly not, many other Psalms will reveal that David knew he was sinful before God.
Rather, David is coming before God and in this case declaring innocence.
And he boldly states it by calling down a curse on his head
If God should find him otherwise.
“If I have done this, if there is injustice in my hands, if I have rewarded evil to may friend, or have plundered him who without cause was my adversary, let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it; and let him trample my life down to the ground and lay my glory in the dust.”
David knew that regarding Saul, he was innocent.
• He had never rewarded him with evil
• He had never plundered him, even though Saul had no cause to be his
adversary.
AND AGAIN WE STRESS that the behavior of a Christian
Must not mirror the request of the Christian in this instance.
David is praying for vindication, but David never went after it.
• David never justified attacking Saul…
• David never justified plundering Saul…
• David never said, “Well, I tried to do what is right, but he doesn’t deserve that anymore.”
How many Christians blaspheme their God through their behavior because they determine to take matters into their own hands?
• Forget slaves submitting to their masters, “I told my boss where he could
go!”
• Forget wives submitting to their husbands, “He should’ve met my needs!”
• Forget husbands loving their wives, “Well she should’ve quit nagging me!”
• Forget honor the king, “Well if Donald Trump wasn’t such an idiot”
Do you understand that if you take your own revenge then you have just rendered yourself unable to appear before this Judge?
David didn’t take his own revenge
And now he could stand before God and honestly say,
“I have left this matter for You to handle.”
Let me just remind you that
This is a legitimate prayer for vindication
But only for those who have legitimately obeyed God’s mandate
For how they treat their enemies.
David approached in faith
David argued in his own integrity
3) HIS APPEAL (6-11)
Well there it is!
And David pulls no punches.
“Arise, O LORD, in Your anger; Lift up Yourself against the rage of my adversaries, And arouse Yourself for me;”
Could it be any clearer?
Get up, be angry, and do it for me!
HOW COULD DAVID PRAY SUCH A PRAYER?
BECAUSE OF WHAT HE KNEW ABOUT GOD.
For ONE THING, David didn’t invent the concept of judgment, God did.
“You have appointed judgment”
• It was God who ordained that the wicked would be judged and the righteous would be vindicated.
For ANOTHER THING, God’s role as a faithful judge is a foundational role that He plays among His people.
(7) “Let the assembly of the peoples encompass You, and over them return on high.”
• David expected God to Judge, because God judging was fundamental to the way He governed His people.
“encompass” is a Hebrew word
That can mean “turn towards”
Which is David’s way of saying that
God’s propensity to judge Israel’s enemies
Is one of the things that keeps Israel turning to God.
Beyond that, and probably most importantly, DAVID KNEW GOD
He gives here 4 attributes about God,
And the church today would do well to remember them.
(8) “The LORD judges the peoples;”
• Have we forgotten that?
• Have we forgotten that every man will in fact give an account to God?
• Have we forgotten that God evaluates all men and returns their conduct upon
their own head without partiality?
God judges (even in a world “Judge nots!”) God still judges.
Which is why David prayed “Vindicate me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.”
Again, David speaks of this situation.
But since God is the judge,
Then look at the situation and make a just ruling.
When you are in need of a judgment, you turn to the Judge.
David knew God is the Judge.
He also knew:
(9b) “the righteous God tries the hearts and minds.”
That is to say that David knew that God judged more than just behavior.
• God also judges men’s motives.
• God also judges men’s thoughts.
Jeremiah 17:10 “I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.”
Acts 15:8 “And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us;”
God will certainly condemn the wicked
Even if their wickedness has been concealed.
David knew that no fact eludes the gaze of God
And when He judges, He will get His judgment right,
For He judges all things.
That is why David could pray at the beginning of verse 9
(9) “O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous”
He knew God alone was capable of such a feat
Because God could look at the heart and see with total accuracy
Who was wicked and who was righteous.
God knows what’s going on in the heart of man
And His judgments are always accurate.
Let me tell you something else David knew about God.
(10) “My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart.”
David knew that when God took the throne to judge
And when God looked at the heart
THAT GOD NEVER CONDEMNED THE INNOCENT.
God “saves the upright in heart.”
That is why David brought this issue to God.
He knew that God would issue a righteous judgment.
God never condemns the righteous.
And that is yet another truth David knows about God.
(10) “God is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation every day.”
• God never acquits the guilty.
• God is never amused with the wicked.
• God never laughs at iniquity.
• God never condones vileness.
God is a righteous judge and sin infuriates Him.
• He sits on His bench and He judges all men.
• He sees their hearts.
• And those who are righteous He acquits.
• And those who are guilty He judges and He judges with “indignation”.
That’s just theology right there.
That is the doctrine of who God is.
A righteous judge who sees the heart
And who always acquits the innocent
And who always condemns the wicked with fierce wrath.
AND SINCE DAVID KNOWS GOD
David refrains from taking his own revenge
And comes and presents his case before God.
Christian, that is how you do it.
• We do not take our own revenge…
• We do not withhold forgiveness…
• We do not rebel and stop our submission…
We do as Christ did.
1 Peter 2:21-23 “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;”
We submit and we trust God to save and vindicate and judge.
And I have no problem praying that way to Him about it.
• God stop them…
• God silence them…
• God rise up and vindicate Your people…
THAT IS HOW DAVID PRAYED.
Now, one thing you WON’T FIND in this Psalm is GOD’S ANSWER.
We have no doubt that God vindicated David,
But we don’t know how or when He did it.
But what we do see is the confidence and peace that overtook David
When he was able to lay this burden before God.
You see David’s Case
#2 HIS CONFIDENCE
Psalms 7:12-17
Having left his case before God, while awaiting the verdict,
You don’t get any concern in the heart of David.
David is still convinced of 3 things because he knows who God is.
Look at the three things David is confident in.
1) THAT GOD DOES JUDGE (12-13)
“If a man does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and made it ready. He has also prepared for Himself deadly weapons; He makes His arrows fiery shafts.”
Now again, we hold out that very important clause.
“If a man does not repent”
This is one of the things we love about our God.
• He is a righteous God who has indignation every morning,
• And yet He is a merciful God that always leaves room for repentance.
Saul deserved judgment from God,
But Saul did not have to receive judgment from God.
Saul had the opportunity to repent.
And we never lose sight of that.
Even in our prayers for vindication, we always begin by asking that God would change the heart of our persecutor and lead them to repentance.
That is always our plea.
Even Jesus, who pronounced judgment on Jerusalem wept because they would not repent when given the opportunity.
Judgment was fitting but it was not preferred.
Maintain that balance.
But we also know that
God does not just allow sinners to shun forgiveness
And afflict His people forever.
To state it again.
God has commanded us to turn the other cheek, but that does not mean that He is ok with the wicked slapping His children.
THE WICKED MUST REPENT OF THAT.
And if they don’t “He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and made it ready. He has also prepared for Himself deadly weapons; He makes His arrows fiery shafts.”
After this trial David was supremely confident of one thing.
Saul would either apologize or God would crush him.
Let it do your heart good to know that as a child of God,
Your Father will protect His children.
David had no doubt that God does in fact judge.
Let me show you something else David was confident about.
2) THAT THE WICKED WILL FALL (14-16)
“Behold, he travails with wickedness, And he conceives mischief and brings forth falsehood. He has dug a pit and hollowed it out, And has fallen into the hole which he made. His mischief will return upon his own head, And his violence will descend upon his own pate.”
The pagan religions confuse this with karma
It is actually the unfailing promise of a righteous God
That the wicked will not escape.
Galatians 6:7 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.”
It is seen in that beautiful story of Esther.
Esther 7:9-10 “Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs who were before the king said, “Behold indeed, the gallows standing at Haman’s house fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai who spoke good on behalf of the king!” And the king said, “Hang him on it.” So they hanged Haman on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai, and the king’s anger subsided.”
David knew that all the mischief conceived by the wicked
Will only destroy the wicked.
Do not let the fact escape your notice that
The only person Saul’s sword ever killed was Saul.
1 Chronicles 10:4 “Then Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, otherwise these uncircumcised will come and abuse me.” But his armor bearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took his sword and fell on it.”
Saul’s mischief returned on his own head.
And David was confident of that fact.
He knew that not only does God judge,
But God sees to it that the wicked will fall.
One other thing David was confident in.
3) THE RIGHTEOUS WILL BE VINDICATED (17)
“I will give thanks to the LORD according to His righteousness And will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.”
While the wicked will be suffering
David knew that the righteous would be singing.
That is the picture here.
• David went to court and appeared before God.
• He presented his case before the righteous Judge.
• And now David sits out in the hall as the Judge sits in His chamber preparing to render His judgment, but David has no doubt how this will end.
Believer you are afforded that same confidence.
• God will vindicate you.
• And you can ask Him for it.
• You cannot pursue it by your own hand,
• But you most certainly can appeal to your Heavenly Father and the Righteous Judge to provide it for you.
To read once more:
Revelation 3:8-9 “I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name. ‘Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie — I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you.”
