Psalm 7 Words can Hurt

Sticks 'n' Stones!

The words of Cush the Benjaminite had got under David’s skin. Cush was a tribal ally of King Saul (and might even have been a nickname for Saul himself) and he was trying to undermine David in the eyes of people. David was trying to be the best he could be in God’s service, but enemies like Cush were trying to destroy his reputation. The words hurt and troubled David; so he brought both those words and his anxious feelings to God.

We may say ‘sticks and stones can break my bones but names can never hurt me’ – but actually, the threats and gossip of others frequently shakes our confidence. This is especially true if we sincerely want to please God with our lives.

In this Psalm, David wrote about his experience. In it we learn that David hid in the Lord. He privately took his fears and his vulnerability to his God, whom he knew to be a fort (palisade; refuge; place of safety; hiding place). Like the image of the lone cowboy riding hard for the safety of the fort with the Indians in pursuit, David went in to God to envelop him and fight off his pursuers.

This is an echo of Peter’s advice: Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you. 1 Peter 5.7

It was his soul that was under attack (v2) – it was not so much the physical damage his enemies could wreck on him that bothered David. Cush’s words were attacking his soul and tearing at his confidence so he was losing his peace and joy.

Evidently Cush was spreading rumours about David, the veracity of which David spread out before God (v3). He asked God to judge the matter of these rumours and to declare what was true (v4,5). He asks God to judge both the peoples and himself to see and bring to light where the truth lies (v8). David openly invites God to test him and his enemies because he does not want to be found wrong in God’s eyes; he is not afraid to have God bring him in line.

David understands the indignation that God feels about evil (v11) – an indignation that God experiences every day as sin-damaged humanity marches towards the last day.

David knows that repentance is essential – he embraces repentance; he does not want to be found to be God’s enemy for he is a dreadful opponent that cannot be resisted (12,13).

As David unpacks his troubled soul to God, he remembers how the evil are really digging pits and traps for themselves; their mischief redounds upon them - like the recoil of a canon that lurches back when fired and flattens those behind it.

David’s shoulders seem to visibly relax and his racing heartbeat slows to its healthy rest as his soul gets things back into their correct perspective. Cush’s rumours and threats mean nothing compared to the righteousness of the Lord. David’s compass has found true North again and his mind and soul are set on the Lord. He gives thanks and praise (v17).

Lesson from David: When rumours, threats, criticism and malicious words eat away at your joy, peace and confidence, go in to the Lord and spread out your concern to him. Tell him of your strong want to be right with him at any cost – just as David did. Now we are in Christ we have no fear of God’s judgement. We can hide in it, knowing that he will correct our wrongs and vindicate our faith in Christ. He will shield us from our enemies and use their own evil to trip them up.