Introduction

How do you think you would react if you were wrongly accused? Imagine a knock on the door late in the evening just as you have settled into the warmth of the fire, and as your eyes begin to focus on the darkness of the street before you, you realise that the shadowy figures before you are police. Police who are there for you! You fit the description of someone accused of something, and they want you to come down the road immediately.

Imagine what you would feel when you protested your innocence, and they told you not to worry. It would all be sorted. What would you do? Who would you turn to? Imagine what you would feel like as wrong accusations turned to false convictions, and you found yourself on the other end of a court case with the state saying you were guilty, even as you protested your innocence! What would you do then?

Would you continue to protest your innocence? Would you continue to tell the world that you are innocent? Even though the evidence has said otherwise, a jury of your peers and the state have found you guilty! Regardless of that, you are, in fact, the one innocent person in the justice system! What if you were offered a deal, confess your crime, and you will get out straight away on time served, continue to plead not guilty, and you must serve 20 years? What would you do if that was your situation? Wrongly accused and wrongly convinced?

It sounds ridiculous even to have to consider such an idea, yet, it is such a reality that there are entire charities dedicated to helping those wrongly convicted. Even in the last few weeks, we have seen the case of Andrew Malkinson in the news. A man who spent 17 years in jail wrongly convicted of a crime, to be released when finally evidence that was there for years was tested and proved ultimately innocent after he had exhausted every avenue of appeal.

Context

Though ancient, the Psalms often resonate with timeless themes of human emotion and experience. Psalm 7 is one of those chapters in the Bible that delves deep into the heart’s struggle when confronted with injustice, false accusations, and betrayal.

King David, the attributed author of many Psalms, is no stranger to persecution. Throughout his life, he faced numerous challenges from enemies and those he considered close allies. This Psalm, in particular, is a lament and a plea for vindication, highlighting David’s anguish at being wrongfully accused.

The historical backdrop of Psalm 7, though not explicitly stated in the chapter, relates to a period in David’s life where he was unjustly pursued, possibly by King Saul or another adversary who had taken issue with him. This isn’t a simple case of a personal disagreement; it’s a matter of life and death, honour and dishonour, truth and falsehood. David was not just fighting for his physical safety but also his reputation and his very integrity.

What makes this Psalm remarkable is its relevance to anyone who has ever felt unjustly targeted and its dual focus on the plea for personal vindication and the broader call for divine justice. David does not just ask for his safety; he asks that righteousness and justice prevail.

Given the gravity of false accusations, it’s no wonder that David turns to God, the ultimate judge. Amid overwhelming odds and the seeming silence of heaven, David remains steadfast in his trust that God sees the truth and will ultimately deliver justice.

Drawing parallels to our modern world, wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice are tragically not mere products of ancient times. They persist to this day. People like Andrew Malkinson remind us that errors can occur even in systems designed to uphold justice. Yet, Psalm 7 provides a glimmer of hope, reinforcing the belief in a higher power that oversees all and understands the heart’s deepest cries for justice and redemption.

As we reflect on Psalm 7, it serves as a poignant reminder of the human spirit’s resilience, the ever-present need for justice, and the eternal hope that righteousness will prevail.

An Honest Prayer (1-2)

“If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort, you will not get either comfort or truth, only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair.” – CS Lewis

We live in a world where everything appears perfect; when you go onto social media, all you see is the polished version of life that people want us to see. Often, everything looks great, and we might wonder how our lives feel so different from all we are looking at. We live in a world where everything appears perfect and have little tolerance or attraction to imperfection, struggle or honesty.

Dishonesty in Church

Sadly, Church is often no better, some churches’ social media only shows the best of the best, and if we tune into their live stream, it comes across as the most polished performance. Strangely it’s not even in how we present ourselves as a church that appears perfect; it is as much in our gathering where we find ourselves sitting beside people that we might have known for a lifetime, yet we know nothing about. Why? Is it partly because we find it hard, to be honest? Perhaps even as we gather here, we think that we have to be a certain way – we have to be ‘right’ in our way. So we come regardless of the week or season we have had and put on our best selves.

We were our Sunday best and wore our Sunday masks, even if our world was falling apart! If we are being honest, Church can be very dishonest. I say that knowing I am as guilty as anyone. It is not just that the ways of the world have seeped into our understanding of worship and gathering; Perhaps as well, we have failed to grasp the very essence of what a Christian community should be – Honest! Think about it, we are a people under God who have realised our need for something beyond our ability, and in our seeking of God by faith in Jesus Christ, we have been honest about our helplessness.

Thus, Church should be one of the most honest spaces in our lives, yet it is often the most dishonest as we come with our desires and intentions. Even as Anglicans, we miss the flow of our Worship that begins with honesty before God and seeking him in our Confession; we should find honesty in our engagement with Scriptures and be reminded honestly about our state, the world and our need of God as we confess our faith each week. Perhaps it’s time, to be honest about our struggle with honesty.

We Have No Excuse to be anything but Honest

We might struggle to be honest with each other about what is going on in our lives or the things that worry us, yet right from the start of this Psalm; we are clear about how David is feeling and his situation. Why? Because he is honest before God because he knows God and in that knowledge knows that we can only be honest in approach to God if we are approaching God sincerely:

“I come to you for Protection, O Lord my God.” (NLT)

David is honest from the very first world before God because he has to know where else to turn, and he knows God; he knows that the Lord knows all things, so there is nothing to fear in being honest before Him. Nothing is lost in being honest with our situation and requests before God. In the opening words of Davids’s Psalm and his request for rescue from those pursuing him, we are reminded about the beauty of honesty and the place of honesty in our lives, faith, church and most especially before God.

We have no excuse to be anything but honest before God, and if we are to be honest before God, then we must consider what that looks like in the community of God. Why? Because being honest before God is not something to be fearful of; it’s a beautiful gift of our relationship with him that in all things and all seasons, we have someone to turn to who will not Judge us, who already knows and who is working in us and through us for good. David is honest about his need for help from God and his lack of help from elsewhere, and as he is honest about that, he also acknowledges what will happen if God does not act: “If you don’t, they will maul me like a Lion, tearing me to pieces with no one to rescue.

Considering ourselves Honestly before God

David is honest before God because he knows that in every situation, there is nowhere else to turn and no one else to trust, and he knows that if he is honest with himself, there is no help outside of God. That leaves us to think about our relationship with God. Is it one where honesty is our norm? And as we consider our honesty before God, let’s ask ourselves honestly as well, if it’s not God that we are turning to for help and comfort what are we trusting in?

The truth of the Situation (3-5)

I love the honesty that jumps from every sentence of this Psalm; as David has been honest about how helpless he feels to the only one, he knows that help can come from; the depth of his honesty now increases and reveals to us something more of the situation he is in and what he is feeling. Notice the rhythm of this section of verses, three times, a clause/picture begins with the word “if:”

1. If I have done wrong.
2. If there is injustice on my hands
3. If I have harmed my ally at peace, or plundered my adversary …..
   

These three ifs reveal the depth of emotion David feels and the hurt in his life. It is not just that he is being persecuted or pursued. It is the fact that he is being slandered. This situation is deeply personal to him, and the cry of Davids’s heart here reveals something about his morality and honour. All of this together in the challenge in here 5, namely that if he is guilty of these things, he may receive the judgment that he is due with the drastic imagery of his enemies capturing, utterly shaming, and removing him from history.

David is acknowledging that he is willing to submit to the judgment of God if the things that had been said about him were true. Thus, the point is rhetorical because he is confident in how he has lived and acted. Namely, he knows these stories to be false and trusts that God will know this not just because of his honesty but because of God’s goodness and that God will act.

A Cry For Direct Intervention (6-11)

Notice just on the edge of the passage margin; there is a short little word ’ Selah.’ It teaches us nothing about God, it does not help us to understand what we are reading, but it does call us to act, to do something. Here the Psalmist wants us to pause and consider everything we have read. To dwell on it in a sense before we feel the fullness of what comes next, namely, Davids’s cry for help to the only person service can come from – Yahweh.

David has been wronged, and he wants justice to be done! Who can blame him here, as he is one falsely accused? In our day under slander and accusation, we might sue whoever has said something about us and hope to take them to the cleaners, or we might demand compensation from somewhere because of what we have suffered! In our world of entitlement, we can understand precisely what David seems to be demanding, and we agree! Yet, upon closer inspection, we see that Davids’s please for action differs from what we might expect and what it might seem. Yes, he calls for God to act against his enemies but the call for action and justice is not in the individual sense but in the cosmic. David wants Yahweh to enact Universal Justice concerning the wagons that have been done, not personal justice. He is praying that God works in the world to right wrongs broadly, not simply the private wrongs he has experienced.

A Pattern of Prayer

Thus, it is within that framework of God being at work in the world for his purposes that David pleads that he might be vindicated according to his righteousness (a righteousness that comes from God) before the assembly of people under the throne of God. It is a beautiful prayer that seeks to place what David longs for under God’s more excellent work and cause. In his prayer for action, David acknowledges that God is the Sovereign one; we see this in the double imagery of God gathering the assembled people around him. At the same time, he is seated on this throne – A picture of Absolute authority and then David prays that God would continue to work in the world – do justice, and seeks that in that work he would find that which he longs for vindication.

Davids ask here reveals his confidence in who God is and what God is doing, and as David prays in the middle of a profoundly personal situation, we might be challenged to honestly ask ourselves how it is we are approaching the throne of God in prayer; like David are we seeking to find the longing of our hearts in the place of Gods rule and work in the world? Or do we approach like selfish little children who treat God like our own personal genie in a bottle? We can always be honest with God about what we are feeling and facing, but we must also remember to open up with ourselves about the majesty, power, and authority of the God we approach by faith in Christ. The God who has vindicated us eternally by faith in Christ, not according to anything we have done but because of what the Son has done! Let us delight in approaching the throne of God like David here, but like David, let us remember who we are praying to.

No Matter the Situation, God is God (12-16)

CS Lewis once wrote, “God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from Himself because it is not there. There is no such thing.” In our pursuit of truth, of authenticity, we’re drawn again to the unwavering character of God. This section serves as a remarkable crescendo, a reminder that, despite the turbulence in our lives and the storms in our souls, God remains immutable, unchanging in His essence.

God’s Unchanging Nature

As we meander through life, we know the road will take us through different places, challenges and scenes. Sometimes we will find ourselves beside quiet waters, and then soon after, we might find ourselves entering into the valleys of shadows, then over mountains of triumph, our circumstances change, our feelings shift, and our perceptions waver. However, God’s nature does not. He remains the bedrock, the anchor, and the north star. When David penned these words, he was grounding himself in the knowledge that God’s character remains steadfast regardless of his adversities, whether false accusations or genuine failings.

A Refuge in the Storm

In verses 12-16, the psalmist brings to our attention that while our situations fluctuate, while the winds of change or circumstance may blow us about, God stands as an enduring refuge. As much as David faced enemies and trials, he knew there was one constant in his life: Yahweh. Even when the earth seemed to shift beneath him, God was his fortress, unyielding and mighty.

In our struggles to remain honest and authentic in a world obsessed with perfection, God provides a sanctuary where our masks can fall off. In His presence, we find a space where we’re not judged by our Sunday best but are embraced for who we genuinely are.

His Eyes See All Because God is Sovereign

We might recall the All-Seeing Eye in the Lord of the Rings, an all-seeing eye yet could not see all things. Here, David speaks of God’s all-seeing eyes; the difference is that the Eye of the Lord sees all things in all places at all times. Yahweh’s eye scans the earth, discerning righteousness and wickedness. This is our comfort and peace in all times and every season: God sees. In our honesty, in our raw and unfiltered prayers, God sees the depths of our hearts. He knows when we’ve been wronged and understands when we falter. No act goes unnoticed; no tear falls in vain.

It is a double-edged sword, however. While it offers solace that our integrity is seen, it also stands as a caution that deceit or malice cannot hide from His gaze. As David lays out, the wicked might dig pits for others, but they will invariably fall into them. God’s justice, while patient, is always precise.

Embracing A Foundation of Certainty

As we navigate the often uncertain waters of our lives, we must cling to what is sure and constant. David, in his wisdom, offers us the roadmap. No matter how fierce the storm, how deep the valley, or how formidable the enemy, our response should mirror David’s: to turn our eyes to God, the unchanging, ever-present, always-faithful King.

Let’s challenge ourselves. Do we remember the divine certainty of who God is in moments of despair or joy? Do we let our situations define our God, or do we let our God define our cases?

In wrapping up this segment, it is clear that God’s nature offers us a grounding. While honesty might waver in the world, and authenticity might seem like a distant dream today, God remains faithful. It’s a reminder and an invitation: No matter the situation, God is God. Let’s rest, find solace, and draw strength from this eternal truth.

The Assurance of Faith & The Response of Faith: Worship (17)

This has been an honest Psalm, and if we are honest, it has been a hard Psalm; the depth of emotions that it brings forth, some of the imagery used to paint the picture, and what it deals with gives us a lot of weight and a lot to consider before God and as we walk with God by faith in Christ. This Psalm that has been honest throughout finishes on the most honest and beautiful of notes – praise.

Difficult may David’s days be as he deals with slander and accusation around his situation and the Chaos that afflicts him as he places his vindication at the feet of God’s throne and within the will of God’s work. Yet amid all the heaviness and difficulty, what does David do? He gives thanks to God and praises his name! Namely, he gives thanks to God because of the Lord’s Righteousness, or as the NLT frames it, he gives thanks because God is just, and he will Praise him.

Why? Because David knows that regardless of the situation or circumstance, the pain or accusation that if you have God, you always have enough and always have something to be thankful for. He is thankful because of God’s righteousness/goodness that he has known every day of his life regardless of the situations the world or his stupidity has given him. Our circumstances do not change the goodness of God to us! So if David is thankful, then how much more reason do we have to give thanks to God and praise his name for the more that we know and have received by faith in Christ?

The anticipation of Christ throughout the Old Testament writings, including the Psalms, prepares our hearts for the magnificent story of God’s redemption. Psalm 7 beautifully manifests the heartbeat of a faithful follower like David, whose longing for justice and righteousness is met profoundly in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

While David looked forward to the promise of a redeemer and found solace in God’s righteousness, we live in the blessing of hindsight, having witnessed the promise fulfilled in Jesus. The Christological richness in David’s praise foreshadows the assurance and joy we experience as followers of Christ. Just as David finds hope in God’s righteousness amidst trials, we, too, find solace in the righteousness of Christ, who took our sins, bore our burdens, and granted us His righteousness.

Jesus is the embodiment of God’s unwavering justice and love. He faced slander, betrayal, and the harshest accusations, yet He responded with love, sacrifice, and ultimate vindication through His resurrection. In Christ, we find the fulfilment of David’s deepest longings: a Savior who understands our struggles, vindicates us in the face of our enemies (which are not just people but sin and death), and offers eternal righteousness.

So, when we praise God for His righteousness, as David did, our praise is deeply enriched by our knowledge of Christ. Through Him, we’ve experienced God’s righteousness in ways David could only dream of. In the face of challenges, when we feel overwhelmed, we find our ultimate assurance in the cross of Christ and His resurrection. In Christ, God’s righteousness is not just an abstract concept but a lived reality, a gift, and a promise that shapes our every moment. And this, undoubtedly, gives us every reason to sing praises to the name of the Lord Most High, now and forever. It is only in Christ that our prayers will ever truly be heard and our praises and thanks-givings true. Thus, as we give thanks, we must consider: are our prayers and praises brought to God through our faith in the Son or are will still trying our own approach?

Conclusion & Application: Trust God and Give Thanks

In a world that seems to value the veneer of perfection over the beauty of authenticity, we, as believers, find solace in the raw vulnerability displayed by David in the Psalms. His emotional openness is a stark reminder of the depth of a faith that recognises God’s overarching sovereignty even amidst personal turmoil. In these sacred verses, David doesn’t merely voice his individual grievances, but rather, he articulates a plea for justice that resonates beyond his personal circumstances, challenging every believer to adopt a more holistic perspective of divine justice. It invites us to understand that our relationship with God isn’t merely transactional, based on our individual needs and desires. Instead, it’s transformational, beckoning us towards God’s broader purpose for creation.

However, the pressures of the world can sometimes infiltrate even the holiest of sanctuaries. The church, our refuge, can occasionally become a theatre of pretence, pulling us away from genuine spiritual engagement. It’s essential for us, especially in such times, to mirror David’s model of honesty in our relationship with the divine and with our community.

The renowned theologian John Stott once said, ” The essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man.” As we navigate our faith journey, may we resist the temptation to place ourselves at the centre and instead anchor our hopes, fears, and aspirations in God’s unwavering love and purpose. Let David’s pattern of prayer guide us not just to seek our own justice but to align our hearts with God’s expansive and encompassing vision of righteousness.