EP09: Psalm 7 - God of Justice

Praise God. Thank you for making it to another fresh podcast of the Word of God. Thank you for meeting me at this place, at this altar, at this place of learning. We are both learning, we are all learning together, so thank you for being a part of it. We are going to be reading Psalms chapter. I pray that the Holy Spirit will help us understand it. So let us first pray, then I'll read through, and by the grace of God, the Holy Spirit will bring us interpretation of the Word of God, because the Holy Spirit is the teacher of God's Word. So let us pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for the opportunity to be at this altar, at this place, at this dining table, where you serve the Word of God. Thank you for this opportunity, because your Word is life, your Word is light, it is revelation, your Word is teaching, and if anyone will pick on your Word, they will not walk in darkness, they will have the light of life, they will not stumble, their lives will be stable and established, they will be planted, they will flourish, they will bear fruit, and so we thank you that you have chosen us to be among those who would be the ones to feed on your Word, the ones to be planted, the ones to be established, the ones who bear much fruit.

We thank you so much, it is such a privilege, and we pray that today as we read your Word, your Word will have entrance into our hearts, because David writes and says it is the entrance of your Word that brings light. We pray that you soften our hearts, Lord, we pray that you minister to us in a deep and intimate way. Each and every one of us have different questions on our minds, have different issues this day, but we pray that, God, this will truly be our daily bread. We were taught by the Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, to pray that give us this day our daily bread. We pray this will be real daily bread for us today. It will be relevant to each and every one's circumstance.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, we pray that, God, you will line it up to meet our needs and to help us to grow and to help us to flourish in everything that we will be involved in today. We give you praise and we give you glory. We honor you and we worship you, and we want to recognize the Holy Spirit who gives us understanding. Holy Spirit, you are welcome in this place. In Jesus name I have prayed, Amen.

Let us read through Psalms chapter. It says, O Lord my God, in thee do I put my trust. Save me from all them that persecute me and deliver me, lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces while there is none to deliver. O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there be iniquity in my hands, if I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me, yea, I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy, let the enemy persecute my soul and take it, yea, let him tread down my life upon the earth and lay mine honor in the dust. Selah.

Arise, O Lord, in thine anger, lift up thyself because of the rage of mine enemies, and awake for me to the judgment that thou hast commanded. So shall the congregation of the people compass thee about, for their sakes therefore return thou on high. The Lord shall judge the people. Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, that is in me. O let the wicked, O let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the just, for the righteous God tries the hearts and the reins. My defense is of God, which saveth the upright in heart.

God judges the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. If he turn not, he will wet his sword. He has bent his arrow and made it ready. He has also prepared for him the instrument of death. He ordaineth his arrows against the persecutor. Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and has conceived mischief, and has brought forth falsehood. He made a pit and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made. His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own head, or his pate. I will praise the Lord according to his righteousness, and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High. Praise God.

I want to thank God for the reading of his word. Here, looking at Psalm, the introduction, okay, above the psalm, they talk about that it is a song that is sung, or it is a prayer that is made concerning the words of a man called Cush the Benjamite. It is sung because of the slander of a man called Cush the Benjamite. This man, Cush, is a Benjamite. He slandered David. And, you know, I tried to do research on who this Cush is, like through the Bible, different parts, like the life of David, looking in Second Samuel, looking in First Kings, Second Kings, like looking through the life of David, even in Chronicles, and I could not find him. And so, I think maybe he is like, maybe a court official who was against him, or a messenger, or an agitator who was loyal to King Saul. And so, David laments because of the words of this man. His words made David lament.

And so, David, when you look at verse and, David looks at God as the only place of safety. He says God, God is his refuge, his safe, his only safe refuge. David often had like bad vibes from Benjamites because he had taken over King Saul, the son of Cush, who was a Benjamite. So, it is probable that this man called Cush the Benjamite might have been someone who was like an informant for King Saul, and he kept taking wrong information. Maybe he could have been a person whom David had confided in among the band of people whom he used to move with, and this person showered lies into the ears of Saul about David. And so, his words were really offensive or were really grieving to David's heart. David often had like bad interaction with Benjamites. I remember the time when his son Absalom took over the throne. It was a Benjamite who was hurling curses upon the head of David.

This Cush, the Benjamite, he spoke evil about David, and David took it to God. David took the slander, the lies, the criticism that this man hurled at him or that he spoke against him in the ears maybe of Saul to David. I mean, he took them to God. David carried them and took them to God. David reminds God, in you I put my trust. God, you are my refuge. Save me, deliver me. David has this very close relationship with God. He has nothing to hide. He doesn't pretend. When he comes to God, he says, you see, you are the one I put my trust in. You are my refuge. You know, those days they used to say the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. For him, he said, you are my refuge. You are my God. I put my trust in you. You save me, you deliver me. If God won't help him, this Cush, this man called Cush might tear him. That's what he said. He was just being very honest with God. He opened up his heart and he was being very open and honest with God.

And why I keep thinking that it was the time before he became king when he was still on the run is that he felt like the words of this person were capable of making, of driving king Saul mad, like getting so angry at David and hurting him. So this was not a light matter. So he comes to God and says, it's not a light matter. The words of this man might cause me to be torn apart like a lion into pieces. And his words can cause me to be torn apart like a lion into pieces with no one to deliver me, no one to rescue me. And it teaches us that whenever you go into the presence of God, you just be open and honest with him. First of all, you need to develop a personal, a very close relationship with God so you can talk to God like you talk to your father, or you can talk to him like you talk to a very close companion and tell him that, God, you see, this thing is bothering me.

So if I have, he now goes on to say that if I have rewarded, if I have rewarded evil unto him, unto this man, he says, if I've rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me, he challenges God. He says, yeah, I have delivered him that without a cause, that without a cause, I've delivered him who, the one who was with no cause, have delivered him into the hands of my enemies. Like if God, if I have done that which was wrong, God, let this person, let the enemy persecute my soul and take it. Let him tread down my life upon the earth and lay my honor in the dust. This is a bold prayer. He is not guilty of this charge, what this man called Cush is accusing him of.

And so, it reminds me of, I think it was Jesus was, who was saying that, you know, when you come to the place of prayer, or when you come to offer something into the, at the altar of God, and you remember that you have an issue with your brother, you first leave that gift and first go and make peace with your brother. And I think it is in Mark, I think it is around there, where the Lord Jesus, when he's talking about faith, he now says that, that when we come, when we pray, first of all, before we do anything, the reason why faith will not work is if we hold unforgiveness in our hearts, or if we have any guilt in our hearts. He says, when you stand praying, forgive. So, David is saying, you see, this man has done these things to me. This man is saying all these kinds of things to me, but God, I'm innocent of what he's saying. It is false. It is lies. He has concocted stuff against me. He has concocted stuff against me.

So, one of the things that we learned from Psalms chapter, verse and, is first of all, to have a personal relationship with God. Is God your refuge? Can you talk to him and say, God, you are my refuge. Can you tell him that? Can you be open and honest with God? Can you be open and honest with God? You know, when I was reading this, they call it the dodge or the lament or this passionate song of David, which he sang unto the Lord concerning the words of Cush the Benjamite. I thought about the time when David, why David keeps saying, for me, I am not guilty of doing these things. I think of First Samuel chapter, verse to. When you get time, you read through it.

But you see, David refuses to harm Saul, for instance, and appeals to God as a judge. David found Saul in a cave. Saul was, had gone to help himself in a cave. And David got behind him and slowly cut off a bit of his garment. And he brought it to Saul and said, Saul, you see, me I would have killed you, but I cannot touch the Lord's anointed. If God has anointed you, I cannot touch you. He did not touch him. David was the kind of person who used to rely on God helping him.

Even later on in First Samuel chapter, verse to, you also read that the time when Saul was sleeping with his soldiers in another cave and David and his men came in and one of his soldiers said, you hurl a spear at him and let it go through him, or if you can, let me do it for you. And David said, no, I cannot hurt the Lord's anointed. Like he had this reverence for God. He had this respect for God. And sometimes, like when I was reading this, I was like, God, can it be said of me when I come to the place of prayer that my hands are clean? Can it be said of me that this person is accusing me wrongly, or this person is saying something against me and it is wrong? You know, those are the things that were coming to my mind. And I was saying, God, is it true? You see, we have to have this kind of relationship with God that we are honest with him, that we're able to tell him that, God, you see, I have this challenge.

When you look at that kind of relationship, I look at, I think it is Psalms chapter, verse, where they say, the Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer. This is another Psalm of David. David says, the Lord is my rock, is my fortress, is my deliverer. He could have said, the Lord is our rock, is our fortress and our deliverer. He personalised his relationship with God because he has this deep relationship with God. And then he knows that God is his protection. In fact, I was looking, when I read through it, I remembered there's a part, I think it's in Proverbs chapter, verse, that talks about the name of the Lord being a strong and mighty tower that the righteous run into it and they are safe. To know God, to know his character, to rely completely upon him, this is who David was. David completely relied upon God.

And when you look at it like that, sometimes many people think that David was some, when you read this Psalm, sometimes you think, David, I think was just a weak person. No, David was a warrior. David was a warrior. I think I'll maybe be able to read First Samuel chapter, verse to. So you can understand what kind of person we are dealing with.

You see, maybe you'll be able to read it, but let me give you, let me just narrate a story to you. David had been with, there's a man called Nebo. That man was from the lineage of Caleb. You remember Joshua and Caleb? Yeah, that Caleb. So he was from the lineage of Caleb. That Nebo had married a very wise woman called Abigail. But while he was out there in the field, his shepherds were looking after the sheep and David and his men protected those sheep. And now when it came to sharing time, he sent his men to come along with those shepherds and tell Nebo that Nebo, if it is possible, you give us something to drink and you give us some, maybe some meat that we can share with our men. Because when your men were in the wilderness, we protected them. And if you can count your sheep, there is none that is missing. Then Nebo said, who is this David? And who is the son of Joseph that I should, that I should now get my sheep, which I'm sharing. And instead of giving to my sharers, I carry and give him. There are very many people who keep running away from their masters or betraying their masters. And he talked all kinds of rubbish.

And you see, David got so upset and he said, okay, it is fine. David said, I will come, I will destroy the house of Nebo. I will not even leave one person who pisses on the wall, as in all the men in the house of Nebo, whether they be servants, whether they be soldiers, whether, I will make sure that they are finished. I will slay all of them. But while he was on this rage coming with his mighty men, you know, David had his mighty men, he had those guys who used to fight with him battles. Abigail heard about it. One of the shepherds came and told Abigail and Abigail got up and said, no, no, no, no, let us take five sheep that have already been slaughtered. Let us carry some two bottles of wine and you know, some cakes, bake some cakes out of raisin and take them to him. And he met David, David was enraged. And he, she spoke to David and said, David, don't do this thing. Don't do this thing because I know that God is going to make you Lord. He's going to make you king over Israel and you do not have to stain your hands with blood. And you know, she managed, if you read that First Samuel chapter, verse to, you realize that she talked to him and calmed him down and David did not take revenge in his hands.

If this psalm is written after David is king, because we do not know this Cushite person. So if it's written after David is king, I'm going to presume that it was even after the time that David had taken revenge in his hands over the Hittite, Uriah the Hittite was one of his mighty men. And you know, David had slept with his wife, with the wife of Uriah and gotten her pregnant and then tried to convince him to sleep with his wife so he can tie the pregnancy on Uriah. But Uriah said, this is a time of war. I cannot be going to sleep with my wife and, you know, stay in my house in the warmth of my house when there are soldiers out there fighting battle and dying. And so he refused to enter into the house and go and sleep with his wife. And then he took matters into his hands and they put Uriah at the front line where the war was really so terrible and Uriah died among the men that had been killed.

And, you know, later on, the prophet Nathan came and approached David and said, you see this thing that you have done, you did it in the dark, but God was seeing you. God saw what you did. And you see this thing that you did, you took a man's wife, you took him into his chambers, you slept with her, you got her pregnant. Your neighbor, he didn't say even son, said your neighbor will be the one who will sleep with your wives in the open air under the sun. And it happened when Absalom took over the kingdom. That is exactly what Absalom did. He got the contrabands that had been left behind by David when he was fleeing, when Absalom had accepted the throne and Absalom slept with all those women on the top of the palace in the view of Israel and under the sun. And he saw how you cannot take justice into your own hands. You cannot try to cover up sin.

You can, so if this psalm is written after the time that David has become king, he knows not to tamper with justice. He knows not to enter into these things. He knows that God had, God, he left Saul to pursue him to do all kinds of things. Remember one time Saul was in the palace and he held the spear against David and that spear missed David by inches. He did not die. And he said, if God could deliver me from Saul, David went and even stayed in Ziklag among Philistines who were the enemies of Israel. God gave him favor with the enemies of Israel and he left Saul pursued David until Saul died and God nicely gave him the kingdom of Israel as in Judah on a silver platter. He knew that God can be trusted and he also knew not to take justice into his own hands. And I think that's why David says that, you know, God is my refuge. God is my fortress. This is Psalm to God is my deliverer. So we see that he has this great relationship with God.

Let's continue. Verse to, David's plea in God's court. David says that he's not guilty of the charge of this man called Cush, the one he is accusing him of. It is a bold claim of integrity. Let us read Job chapter verse. He says, let me be weighed, let me be weighed in an even balance that God may know my integrity. Can you say the same to God? Can you say the same to God? What does your heart look like? First Kings chapter, First Kings chapter, verse. For thou, even thou only knowest the heart, the hearts of all the children of men. God is the one who knows the hearts of all the children of men. So he could, he knew whom he was approaching. He said, God, for me, if you look at me, I don't have any ill. I don't even know why this man is doing this.

When you look at the name Cush, it carries a certain connotation of like, I think darkness or dark skin or something like that or foreignness. It looks like he's a hostile Benjamite whose words were dark and malicious or inflammatory. Maybe a supporter of soul like Doeg, the Edomite. If you go through, I know the things I'm talking about a bit. Those who do not read the Bible through, sometimes it's a bit difficult, but if you get time, please read through the book. So First Samuel, Second Samuel, First Kings, Second Kings, and maybe the chronicles. It will help you understand the life of David and then help you understand the Psalms.

So Cush speaks, but God judges. Cush accuses David falsely, but God examines the heart. God examines the heart. That's why David is confident to say, God, you check. God just check my integrity. Cush will soon disappear, but God remains. Cush represents every false accuser, every slanderer, every enemy whose words wound deeply. His words, that is Cush's words, may matter for a moment, but God's judgment matters forever. At the moment when someone is hurling words at you or slandering you or falsely accusing you, it is painful, but it is just for a moment. But having integrity before God is so important because God's judgment matters forever.

Let's go to verse to. If you read through, remember while reading through verse to, it is the appeal for God's righteous judgment. The appeal for God's righteous judgment. He says to God, arise O Lord. He asks God to do it. He doesn't say, I will arise. David was a warrior. David had men. The Bible calls them the mighty men of David. David's mighty men. He had them at his disposal, but David did not take the matter of Cush into his own hands. He could have, but he knew not to do it.

We can contrast it with when he had not yet matured in his relationship with God and he wanted to go against Nebuchadnezzar, the man from the tribe of Caleb. He wanted to go against him and destroy him. If it hadn't been for Abigail, he would stand in his way. But at this point, David has matured in the things of God. David has matured in the things of God. Genesis chapter, verse. This actually reminds me of Abraham. David trusted God, trusted that God will be just in his judgment. And so like Abraham, Abraham was pleading for for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah. He said, shall not a judge of all the earth do right? You know, Abraham is another person who trusted in God's justice system. And David also grew to trust in God's justice system.

Psalms verse says, justice and judgment are the habitation or the foundation of thy throne. Mercy and truth shall go before thy face. Habitation is like the foundation. So you have to know that you see God is a just God. God can be trusted. Justice and righteousness, truth and mercy, all these four elements are part of who God actually is. Psalms verse says, clouds and darkness are around about him. Righteousness and judgment are the habitation, the foundation of his throne. God does not rule by power alone. God is very powerful. God is very great. There is no one and nothing in creation that can stand against.