“In You I Put My Trust” (Ps 7)

“O LORD my God, in You I put my trust; Save me from all those who persecute me; And deliver me” (vs1)

The Lord defends the righteous, and if we honor Him, seeking His will, then we can be sure of help. We don't have to worry that justice cannot see us, and we're without help. Doing right is rewarded, and there's no need to surrender to wickedness. Indeed, persecutions and troubles abound, but God helps us do His will, according to His will, and for His glory in our good.

Bless His holy name. By faith, I'm righteous, and seeking to honor Him is something that can't fail.

First, we are righteous by faith (vs3-5). He says, “O LORD my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands, if I have repaid my friend with evil or plundered my enemy without cause, let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it, and let him trample my life to the ground and lay my glory in the dust”. The Son died for us, and we've received it, “not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ (the gospel), the righteousness which is from God by faith” (Phil 3:9). Likewise, we aren't praying to sin, to be mean, or to prosper in ungodliness. We're praying for obedience as justified children, to live godly by the Spirit, and to be rewarded in our pursuit of holiness with the enjoyment of holiness obtained.

Secondly, God will intervene (vs6-16). The Psalmist said, “Arise, O LORD, in Your anger; Lift Yourself up because of the rage of my enemies; Rise up for me to the judgment You have commanded! So the congregation of the peoples shall surround You; For their sakes, therefore, return on high. The LORD shall judge the peoples; Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, And according to my integrity within me. Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, But establish the just; For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds”. He didn't send His Son to the cross to blindly and unjustly deal with sin. Calvary reveals His holiness, and hell will reveal His hatred of sin forever. He will assuredly reward the obedient, and He will help the righteous in our cause, as we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but spiritual wickedness and the rulers of darkness.

Thirdly, the Lord is glorified in salvation, as we praise Him (vs17). He says, “I will praise the LORD according to His righteousness, And will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High”. Salvation's power belongs to the Lord, so that we depend on Him for it, and thereby glorify Him for it all. Christ was obedient, and yet He fended not for Himself, committing His cause to the Judge. Peter wrote, “ who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Pet 1:23). We are thereby exhorted to faith, so that God can be praised for His faithfulness, and we can enjoy the spoils of grace.

Finally, be thankful that you're on God's side, and press on in holiness. You have God to help you, and then you have God to reward the obedience He enables you to do.