Ps. 7:1

We encounter here something (at least at first glance) entirely new. On a literary level we see this in the contrast of vs. 1 (O Lord, my God, I have ….) and vs. 3 (O Lord, my God, if I have…). On first reading David’s sudden change of tone from a desire for protection to an almost self-delivered curse seems odd (to say the least). Surely David knows whether he has, in fact, committed this wrong. Why then do we have this? What purpose does it serve? Is it merely rhetorical? We won’t be able to fully answer this in this reflection but we can begin to lay the groundwork for what I think is at least one answer to the question. Initially, on an emotional level, it seems that David is showing his profound distaste for these accusations. In this way he is, in some ways, siding with his accusers. He is as ‘ravenous’ and “lion-like” against these accusations as his accusers are against him. Although he knows he is innocent he is agreeing that this is the type of punishment that should be meted out to someone who has betrayed an ally. This can be a type of disarming to his accusers. One would expect David to be furious at his accusers, rather than turning this possible condemnation on himself; we have seen how the ‘righteous man’ often calls down judgment on his false-accusers. To cede the propriety of their punishment is to grant them a high degree of respect at a time when many would be attempting to place as much distance between themselves and their attackers. To those who know of David covenantal love for Jonathan and the fact they, again and again, refuses to attack Saul, this strikes a particularly familiar chord. David’s blood runs with covenantal loyalty and the respect inherent within it. One can almost picture David seething with anger as he pronounces this curse (not so much at the fact that they are falsely lain against him but at an imagined betrayer of covenantal bonds).Some structural observations: the self-accusation becomes progressively worse. It moves this way: “this thing”—injustice in my hands—treachery and rescuing of adversary empty handed. This thrice repeated self-accusation is matched by a three fold, increasingly intensified, curse: “let him pursue and overtake me”—trample my life onto the earth—lay my glory onto the dust. This symmetry is not merely literary. I believe it points to something that will be highlighted throughout the psalm and is something we have seen already: punishment for an offense takes its measure from the offense (this is an “eye for an eye” structure). The way this plays out in this psalm is that David essentially says that “If I have been an enemy to my ally, and made him exposed to danger, then leave me exposed for my enemy to pursue me.” The punishment ‘fits’the crime in the same way that the first three condemnations are matched by the three curses. In other words, the formal structure is an expression of the content. “Injustice in my hands”: to have something ‘in your hands’ can often be the sign of treachery (1 Sam. 24.11; 26.18). This image is carried forward as a type of treacherous ‘currency’. “If I have repaid my ally with treachery….”Here we begin to catch the outlines of what exactly David is being accused of. Apparently there have been some (false) accusations that David has acted on behalf of one of his covenant partners allies. This act of treason is here seen as if the covenant ‘blessings’ he was supposed to provide to his ally have, in fact, been covenant curses of betrayal. “And rescued his adversary empty-handed”:Notice here how the idea of ‘rescue’ again emerges. David initiated his prayer with a call for ‘refuge’ from the pursuing lions (his furious allies we now understand). This prayer is then matched by a self-imposed curse that if he has‘rescued’ his allies’ enemy then he should remain exposed for their devouring. Flowing throughout this psalm is this stream of ‘rescue’ from exposure. Also, notice too how the ‘hand full of treachery’ is now really the ‘empty hand’. The worse aspect of the allegations is not that David has behaved treacherously, but that he has done so for nothing else but spite and wickedness (his accusers are essentially saying David helped out this enemy and didn’t even ask for payment). To his accusers David should be extending a hand full of blessing but instead he is gifting them only air and emptiness. “Let an enemy pursue…let him trample….let him lay my glory….”: As said before, one can picture David, within increasing intensity, pronouncing these curses upon a covenant-breaker. The words he uses are vivid in their violence: this ‘pursuit’ recalls the previous ‘tearing’and ‘ripping’ of the abandoned lamp; ‘trampling’ is a particularly horrid image of a body that is the subject of horses or other beasts’ feet stomping; laying my glory in the dust is the image of the lowest point of degradation a person could sink (the ‘glory’ of man could be his respect in the community, his reputation). For David, covenant-breakers should be robbed and their bodies desecrated by their enemies. It is likewise important to note that, for David, this results not from any particular action by Yhwh—it come about, rather, by Yhwh doing nothing (letting his enemy continue the pursuit). The ultimate punishment is not that Yhwh would send down fire, but that Yhwh would simply let things take their course, letting the evil devour the wicked in a self-masticating feeding frenzy.