🏹 When You’ve Had Enough of Injustice – A Column on Psalm 7:1–9
Emotional Meditation—by Micah Siemens
Psalm 7 opens like a cry from someone backed into a corner: “Lord my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me.” There’s no mask here. It’s raw survival. David isn’t praying polite prayers—he’s gasping for air.
What strikes me is how he dares to say, “If I’ve done wrong, let my enemy overtake me.” That’s bold. He’s so convinced of his integrity in this moment that he tells God: “If I’m guilty, let me pay for it. But if I’m not, stop the lies against me.” That honesty feels almost reckless, but it’s also freeing. Sometimes I spend too much energy defending myself to others when I should just hand the whole case to God.
Then David says something wild: “Arise, Lord, in your anger; rise up against the rage of my enemies.” He’s literally asking God to wake up and take His seat on the throne of justice. That image stuns me—David doesn’t picture God distant, but as a Judge who can step into the courtroom at any moment. And he begs Him to do it now.
I read that and feel the tension. On one hand, I long for that kind of divine intervention—don’t we all want God to rise up against injustice? But on the other hand, I hesitate. What if His judgment shines on me, too? David isn’t afraid to place himself under that same searchlight: “Let the Lord judge the peoples. Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness.”
That’s the uncomfortable part of Psalm 7—it refuses to let me enjoy the thought of God judging others without remembering He’ll judge me too.
And yet, there’s relief in this: I don’t have to carry the weight of defending myself forever. I don’t have to write the last word in every argument. God is the Judge. He sees the heart. And maybe trusting that is the only way to breathe when the lies pile up too high.
Psalm 7:1–9 is a psalm for anyone who’s had enough of injustice but still knows their own hands aren’t spotless. It’s the cry: “God, I can’t fix this. But You can. So rise up.”
⚖️ When the Wicked Fall Into Their Own Trap – A Column on Psalm 7:10–17
Emotional Meditation—By Micah Siemens
If the first half of Psalm 7 was David pleading for God to rise, the second half is David remembering who God already is: “My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart.” The tone shifts—from desperate gasps to steady confidence.
Here’s the tension: David knows God is angry every day at wickedness. That’s not a comfortable thought in our culture. We like soft edges, not sharp justice. But David says plainly: “If they do not repent, He will sharpen His sword.” It’s a fierce image—God poised with bow and arrow, sword gleaming, ready to act.
At first, I flinch. I don’t like imagining God like that. But then I realize: this is good news if you’re on the side of the oppressed. A God who never judges is a God who doesn’t care about evil. And I can’t worship a God who shrugs at human trafficking, corruption, or betrayal.
Then comes this haunting twist: “Whoever is pregnant with evil conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment. Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit they have made.” It’s poetic justice. The wicked end up tripping over their own schemes.
I think about all the times I’ve seen that play out—even in small ways. The lie that spun out of control. The bitterness that poisoned the bitter person more than the one they hated. The “trap” meant for someone else that became the snare for the one who set it. It’s like God has wired His justice into the moral fabric of the universe.
David closes the psalm with something unexpected: praise. “I will give thanks to the Lord because of His righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High.” Notice—his enemies aren’t gone yet. His circumstances haven’t fully shifted. But his heart has. The psalm that started in desperation ends in a song.
That’s the lesson for me here: I don’t have to wait for everything to be fixed to start thanking God. I can praise Him now—not because I’m ignoring the pain, but because I trust His justice will have the last word.
Psalm 7:10–17 is a psalm for anyone who feels swallowed by the schemes of others, only to remember—God is a shield. The wicked may dig their pits, but in the end, they’re the ones who fall.
Leave a comment