O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me:
Psalm 7 opens with David fleeing to Jehovah under persecution and false accusation. The psalm later shows that David’s cause involved enemies who pursued him, charged him, and sought to tear his soul like a lion (vv.2-5). He does not begin by answering every accusation, gathering allies, or defending himself before men. He begins with God. This is the right order for the righteous under reproach. Before David pleads his integrity, before he asks God to arise in judgment, before he declares that God judgeth the righteous and is angry with the wicked every day (v.11), he first casts himself upon the LORD.
“O LORD.” David addresses Jehovah, the living and faithful God. LORD in all capital letters is the King James Bible’s usual way of representing the divine name Jehovah. This name gives strength to the prayer. David is not crying to an idol, a distant deity, or a weak helper. He cries to Him Who is self-existent, “I AM THAT I AM” (Exodus 3:14); almighty, for nothing is too hard for Him (Genesis 17:1; Jeremiah 32:17); holy, with none beside Him (1 Samuel 2:2); merciful, gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth (Exodus 34:6); and true, for He cannot lie (Titus 1:2). The persecuted saint needs more than human sympathy; he needs Jehovah. Men may misunderstand, accuse, pursue, and misjudge, but Jehovah sees (Psalm 11:4), hears (Psalm 34:17), weighs the spirits (Proverbs 16:2), and rules over all (Psalm 103:19).
“My God.” This makes the prayer personal. David does not speak of God at a distance. He says, “my God.” Faith lays hold upon God as its own refuge, portion, help, and judge. This is not presumption, for David comes as one who trusts, prays, and appeals to the LORD. The same personal confidence appears often in the Psalms: “The LORD is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1), “The LORD is my light and my salvation” (Psalm 27:1), and “Thou art my God” (Psalm 31:14). In trouble, the saint must not be content with general truths; he must bring those truths home to his own soul and say, “my God.”
“In thee.” David’s trust has a definite object. He does not place trust in himself, his innocence, his reputation, his sword, his friends, or his ability to answer enemies. He trusts in the LORD. This phrase also contains a figure of refuge, for faith hides itself in God as a man flees into a stronghold. David says elsewhere, “In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed” (Psalm 31:1). Trust is not empty feeling. It is the soul running to God, resting in God, and committing the cause to God.
“Do I put my trust.” The words show present and deliberate faith. David is not simply saying that he believes God exists. He puts his trust in Him. Trust includes confidence, dependence, submission, and expectation. The danger is real, but God is greater. The accusation may be painful, but God knows the truth. The enemy may be violent, but God is Judge. The righteous man must not answer persecution with fleshly fear, deceit, revenge, or sinful haste. He must put his trust in the LORD. “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee” (Psalm 56:3).
This trust is especially important because the psalm concerns justice. David will soon ask God to judge him according to his righteousness and integrity in the matter before Him (v.8). Such prayer requires a conscience willing to be searched. David is not hiding wickedness while asking for rescue. He is putting his cause before the Judge of all the earth (Genesis 18:25). Those who trust God must also be willing for God to examine them. “Search me, O God, and know my heart” (Psalm 139:23). True trust is not a cover for sin, but confidence in the righteous God.
“Save me.” This is a cry for practical salvation. David is not here asking to be eternally redeemed from hell, but to be saved from present danger, persecution, violence, and overthrow. The word “save” must be read by context. His enemies are pursuing him (v.1), and he fears being torn like a lion (v.2). Practical salvation includes deliverance from enemies, snares, false accusations, fear, shame, and ruin in this life. The LORD often saves His servants in this sense. He saved David from Saul, from violent men, from reproach, from fear, and from many deaths (Psalm 18:1-3).
“From all them.” David asks for full deliverance. He does not minimize the number or persistence of his enemies. “All them” includes every persecutor in this cause, whether chief or lesser, open or secret, violent or deceitful. The righteous may have many adversaries, but none are outside God’s knowledge. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all” (Psalm 34:19). God can save from one enemy or from many. He can expose the hidden enemy and restrain the open one.
“That persecute me.” Persecution is hostile pursuit. David’s enemies were not content to disagree with him; they pursued him. This fits the later image of a lion ready to tear his soul in pieces (v.2). The righteous must not be surprised by persecution. Cain hated Abel because his own works were evil and his brother’s righteous (1 John 3:12). Saul pursued David without righteous cause (1 Samuel 24:11). The Lord Jesus taught that the world hates those who belong to Him because they are not of the world (John 15:19). Persecution often arises because the wicked hate the light, resent righteousness, and cannot bear the testimony of truth.
“And deliver me.” David repeats the request in another form. To deliver is to rescue from the hand, power, pursuit, or snare of an enemy. The repetition shows urgency. David does not offer a cold and casual prayer. He is in danger and knows it. Faith does not pretend there is no threat; it brings the threat to God. The LORD is able to deliver from the hand of the wicked, from the power of the violent, and from the mouth of the lion (Psalm 22:20; 2 Timothy 4:17).
This verse also instructs the persecuted saint how to act. He must begin with prayer and trust. He may use lawful means, answer wisely, flee when necessary, and appeal to proper authority, but his first refuge must be the LORD. If he begins with self-defense apart from trust, he will often speak too much, fear too much, or fight in the flesh. David begins, “O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust.” That is the safest beginning for any troubled soul.
The Lord Jesus Christ perfectly fulfilled this spirit of trust under persecution. When He was reviled, He reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not, but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously (1 Peter 2:23). He was falsely accused, hated without a cause, and pursued unto death, yet He trusted His Father perfectly (Psalm 22:8; Matthew 27:43). David’s prayer belongs first to David’s own trouble, but the holy pattern of trusting God under persecution shines most brightly in Christ.
Psalm 7:1 therefore gives the first movement of a righteous man under persecution. He runs to Jehovah. He claims Him personally as “my God.” He puts his trust in Him. He asks for practical salvation from all persecutors and deliverance from danger. The verse calls saints to flee first to God, to trust Him with their cause, to keep a clean conscience, and to seek deliverance from Him. The persecuted man is safest when his refuge is Jehovah and his prayer begins, “O LORD my God.”
O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me:
Psalm 7 opens with David fleeing to Jehovah under persecution and false accusation. The psalm later shows that David’s cause involved enemies who pursued him, charged him, and sought to tear his soul like a lion (vv.2-5). He does not begin by answering every accusation, gathering allies, or defending himself before men. He begins with God. This is the right order for the righteous under reproach. Before David pleads his integrity, before he asks God to arise in judgment, before he declares that God judgeth the righteous and is angry with the wicked every day (v.11), he first casts himself upon the LORD.
“O LORD.” David addresses Jehovah, the living and faithful God. LORD in all capital letters is the King James Bible’s usual way of representing the divine name Jehovah. This name gives strength to the prayer. David is not crying to an idol, a distant deity, or a weak helper. He cries to Him Who is self-existent, “I AM THAT I AM” (Exodus 3:14); almighty, for nothing is too hard for Him (Genesis 17:1; Jeremiah 32:17); holy, with none beside Him (1 Samuel 2:2); merciful, gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth (Exodus 34:6); and true, for He cannot lie (Titus 1:2). The persecuted saint needs more than human sympathy; he needs Jehovah. Men may misunderstand, accuse, pursue, and misjudge, but Jehovah sees (Psalm 11:4), hears (Psalm 34:17), weighs the spirits (Proverbs 16:2), and rules over all (Psalm 103:19).
“My God.” This makes the prayer personal. David does not speak of God at a distance. He says, “my God.” Faith lays hold upon God as its own refuge, portion, help, and judge. This is not presumption, for David comes as one who trusts, prays, and appeals to the LORD. The same personal confidence appears often in the Psalms: “The LORD is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1), “The LORD is my light and my salvation” (Psalm 27:1), and “Thou art my God” (Psalm 31:14). In trouble, the saint must not be content with general truths; he must bring those truths home to his own soul and say, “my God.”
“In thee.” David’s trust has a definite object. He does not place trust in himself, his innocence, his reputation, his sword, his friends, or his ability to answer enemies. He trusts in the LORD. This phrase also contains a figure of refuge, for faith hides itself in God as a man flees into a stronghold. David says elsewhere, “In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed” (Psalm 31:1). Trust is not empty feeling. It is the soul running to God, resting in God, and committing the cause to God.
“Do I put my trust.” The words show present and deliberate faith. David is not simply saying that he believes God exists. He puts his trust in Him. Trust includes confidence, dependence, submission, and expectation. The danger is real, but God is greater. The accusation may be painful, but God knows the truth. The enemy may be violent, but God is Judge. The righteous man must not answer persecution with fleshly fear, deceit, revenge, or sinful haste. He must put his trust in the LORD. “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee” (Psalm 56:3).
This trust is especially important because the psalm concerns justice. David will soon ask God to judge him according to his righteousness and integrity in the matter before Him (v.8). Such prayer requires a conscience willing to be searched. David is not hiding wickedness while asking for rescue. He is putting his cause before the Judge of all the earth (Genesis 18:25). Those who trust God must also be willing for God to examine them. “Search me, O God, and know my heart” (Psalm 139:23). True trust is not a cover for sin, but confidence in the righteous God.
“Save me.” This is a cry for practical salvation. David is not here asking to be eternally redeemed from hell, but to be saved from present danger, persecution, violence, and overthrow. The word “save” must be read by context. His enemies are pursuing him (v.1), and he fears being torn like a lion (v.2). Practical salvation includes deliverance from enemies, snares, false accusations, fear, shame, and ruin in this life. The LORD often saves His servants in this sense. He saved David from Saul, from violent men, from reproach, from fear, and from many deaths (Psalm 18:1-3).
“From all them.” David asks for full deliverance. He does not minimize the number or persistence of his enemies. “All them” includes every persecutor in this cause, whether chief or lesser, open or secret, violent or deceitful. The righteous may have many adversaries, but none are outside God’s knowledge. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all” (Psalm 34:19). God can save from one enemy or from many. He can expose the hidden enemy and restrain the open one.
“That persecute me.” Persecution is hostile pursuit. David’s enemies were not content to disagree with him; they pursued him. This fits the later image of a lion ready to tear his soul in pieces (v.2). The righteous must not be surprised by persecution. Cain hated Abel because his own works were evil and his brother’s righteous (1 John 3:12). Saul pursued David without righteous cause (1 Samuel 24:11). The Lord Jesus taught that the world hates those who belong to Him because they are not of the world (John 15:19). Persecution often arises because the wicked hate the light, resent righteousness, and cannot bear the testimony of truth.
“And deliver me.” David repeats the request in another form. To deliver is to rescue from the hand, power, pursuit, or snare of an enemy. The repetition shows urgency. David does not offer a cold and casual prayer. He is in danger and knows it. Faith does not pretend there is no threat; it brings the threat to God. The LORD is able to deliver from the hand of the wicked, from the power of the violent, and from the mouth of the lion (Psalm 22:20; 2 Timothy 4:17).
This verse also instructs the persecuted saint how to act. He must begin with prayer and trust. He may use lawful means, answer wisely, flee when necessary, and appeal to proper authority, but his first refuge must be the LORD. If he begins with self-defense apart from trust, he will often speak too much, fear too much, or fight in the flesh. David begins, “O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust.” That is the safest beginning for any troubled soul.
The Lord Jesus Christ perfectly fulfilled this spirit of trust under persecution. When He was reviled, He reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not, but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously (1 Peter 2:23). He was falsely accused, hated without a cause, and pursued unto death, yet He trusted His Father perfectly (Psalm 22:8; Matthew 27:43). David’s prayer belongs first to David’s own trouble, but the holy pattern of trusting God under persecution shines most brightly in Christ.
Psalm 7:1 therefore gives the first movement of a righteous man under persecution. He runs to Jehovah. He claims Him personally as “my God.” He puts his trust in Him. He asks for practical salvation from all persecutors and deliverance from danger. The verse calls saints to flee first to God, to trust Him with their cause, to keep a clean conscience, and to seek deliverance from Him. The persecuted man is safest when his refuge is Jehovah and his prayer begins, “O LORD my God.”