The meaning of the word "shiggaion" in the superscript of Psalm 7 is unknown. It is thought that it could mean a lament or a dirge. However, this is a very minor point and we shall not be overly concerned with it. What we do know is that David composed this Psalm when he was facing a vicious, aggressive and merciless foe. And again we have very little clue concerning Cush the man from the tribe of Benjamin who was tormenting King David.
A quick scan of this Psalm will help us see how David progressively laid out his arguments before God. He began by seeking the help of God to deliver him from his pursuer. He had come to God His refuge. Verses 3-5 implied that David interacted with himself and his conscience, and maintained his innocence. Having assured himself of his innocence, he then turned to appeal to God to intervene and vindicate him as revealed in verses 6-8. He went on in verses 9-16 to talk about how God would free the righteous by allowing the wicked to be ensnared by their own evil. He then rounded up in verse 17 with a pledge to give thanks to God. Throughout the Psalm, David maintained that God is righteous and He would help the righteous.
We are well aware that Saul, who belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, disobeyed God and was rejected by Him as king over His people. In Saul's place God replaced David, who hailed from the tribe of Judah. Saul's family enraged by David's claim to the throne came up against him. Long afterwards, they were still slandering him and opposing his right to rule. Second Samuel 16:5-8 narrate how David was treated as he was fleeing from his son, Absalom. He was explicitly told by Shimei, a man from the house of Saul to, "Get out, get out, you murderer, you scoundrel! The Lord has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul in whose place you have reigned. The Lord has given the kingdom into the hands of your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a murderer!" Perhaps all these were in David's mind as he expressed his lament.
Psalm 7:1-2 tell us that Cush's attack was fierce. David likened the attack on him to a lion tearing up its helpless prey. He maintained his innocence and hinted that Cush had made all kinds of slanderous accusations against him. Verse 4 implied that David had wronged an innocent person. The thought is that David had been disloyal to Saul by helping an enemy of the deposed king. To assert his innocence , David's rhetoric was that if the accusation was true, he was willing to let the enemy destroy him and put him to death in dishonour. David must have recalled how on two separate occasions, he could have killed Saul, but he didn't. He refused to touch the Lord's anointed.
Using strong words such as "Arise," "Lift up Yourself," "Arouse Yourself for me," and " You have appointed judgement...' David cried to God. While they were his strong assertions that only God alone could help, they also reveal to us his state of mind. David wished God's help would come sooner and more swiftly. The picture painted here is as if God's response was slow, passive or perhaps He was even sleeping. We must know that God has His own timetable and schedule. His thoughts are higher that our thoughts and His ways higher than our ways. Isn't it true that in the midst of crisis, we wish to see God's help more forth coming? David was not maligning God. He was expressing his desire for a faster intervention from God. We need to know that God often uses such moments to train our patience, and then build the level of our trust in Him.
It is said that crisis makes a man. And that's true. But more than making a man, crisis also reveals what a man is made up of. It reveals his character and substance. God often allows crises in our life so that we can turn to Him. In those moments as we interact with what's happening to us, we also learn to trust God to take us through. It is precisely in those circumstances that a strong mind is forged and a strong trust in God is developed. Like David, let's stay trusting and keep holding on to Him. His grace is more than enough to meet our every rising tide. God will never lead us to where His grace cannot sustain us!
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