God of Justice, God of Truth
As society’s ground of morality shifts to whatever feels good, relationships are increasingly blighted by injustice and false accusation. This psalm invites victims to take refuge in the just Judge of all.
A David psalm, which he sang to YHWH about Cush the Benjaminite.
1 YHWH my God
I’ve taken refuge in you.
Rescue me from this mob stalking me.
Save me 2 lest, like a lion
they maul me and tear me limb from limb
with no one to rescue me or even help.
3 If their charges are true, YHWH my God
if I’ve stained my hands with extortion
4 if I’ve repaid my ally evil for good
or attacked my enemy for no reason
5 then let them hunt me down
trample me to the ground
and stomp my honor into the dirt.
6 Do something, God!
Burst onto the scene, YHWH!
Meet my foes’ fury
with the inferno of your anger
as your just sentence is carried out.
7 Summon my accusers
and let all rise as you take your seat
high above all earthly courts—
8 for you judge everyone everywhere.
Then, YHWH
declare me honorable and in the right.
9 Ring down the curtain on evil
and set those who please you on their feet.
Since you probe us, heart and mind
be the righteous God that you are.
10 God is my shield
saving the pure in heart
11 a just judge
whose anger against evil burns constant.
12 When a person refuses to repent
God sharpens his sword
pulls back his bow, takes aim
13 and shoots his flaming arrows
with deadly accuracy.
14 Look at the wicked:
they conceive evil plans
become pregnant with mischief
and give birth to falsehood.
15 The deeper they make their trap
the farther they fall
when they then stumble into it.
16 All their mischief backfires
landing on their own skulls.
17 I will thank YHWH
for being just and true.
I will sing praise to YHWH
for being God Most High.
Cush, a member of King Saul’s tribe, is in hot pursuit of David. Furious with David, he and his band falsely accuse him of injustice, mistreating friends, and picking fights with enemies. In a culture prizing loyalty and honor, Cush makes David out to be an absolute jerk.
David’s framework here is legal. Saul has denied him his day in court. So, he asks God to take up his case and defend him since God is just, knows everything, and is committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of those who keep his covenant. Having run to him for shelter, David declares that he’s willing to pay with his life if it turns out he’s the villain his enemies make him out to be. That’s how sure he is of his innocence. As his stalkers close in on him, he urges God to stop them in their tracks and entrusts himself to the only judge he can count on to judge him justly.
God’s character is implicitly in sharp contrast to that of the neighboring nations’ gods, whose own worshippers saw them as capricious narcissists. Recalling how perfect God’s justice is, how implacable his hatred of evil, David imagines God in position, ready to judge his foes. Having devoted themselves to evil, they produce falsehood, but all their efforts are futile. For in setting a trap for the innocent, they only set themselves up.
David isn’t out of the woods when the psalm ends, but he sees the answer to his prayer is on the way. So he promises to praise God for being the God he is, voicing his assurance that God will act on his behalf.
Prayer:
Jesus, you know all about blame shifting and false accusation. And you aren’t fooled by it: no thought or motive escapes you. You’re in complete control, ready to act when the time is right. Deliver me from evil. Trusting that you will ultimately enact perfect justice, I praise your name. Amen.
In your free moments today, meditate on these words:
I will thank YHWH for being just and true.
I’ll sing praise to him for being God Most High.
