Enemies and Gospel Thanksgiving | Psalm 7:14–17

14          Behold, the wicked man conceives evil
            and is pregnant with mischief
            and gives birth to lies.
15          He makes a pit, digging it out,
            and falls into the hole that he has made.
16          His mischief returns upon his own head,
            and on his own skull his violence descends.
17          I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness,
            and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High.

Today, we conclude David’s prayer of innocence in Psalm 7.  We’ve all been falsely slandered and maligned, and these words help us gain confidence in the Lord’s control.  Here, we consider the true description of sinners, their fate, and the Lord’s righteous intervention.

The wicked produce sin.  David compares the wicked to a birthing mother, and we see only more wickedness spawned.  We read similar thoughts in Job 15:35—“They conceive trouble and give birth to evil, and their womb prepares deceit.”  As Jesus said to the Pharisees, “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Mt 12:34)—they can only produce what is in them.  Unfortunately, this is true of all of us outside of Christ (Rm 3:13–14), which is why David hints here at the need for repentance (v. 12).

The wicked fall by their own devices.  In reality, God providentially brings about His judgment.  Galatians 6:7 says, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”  The wicked lay pits, but the Lord makes Himself known when the wicked are ensnared by their own hands (Ps 9:15–16).  Just as Haman hanged from the gallows he built for Mordecai (Est 7:9–10), the Lord will do what He sees as right. 
We might be tempted here to think that David thanks the Lord for the fall of his adversaries and his personal vindication.  However, may we always maintain this focus in adversity:


The wicked aren’t David’s aim; it’s the Lord and His righteousness.  David might be innocent in this case, but he knows he has no true righteousness of his own.  All “our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment” (Is 64:6).  He looks to the LORD Most High, the one who determines the nations (Dt 32:8) and rules over the earth (Ps 47:2).  Ultimately, he looks forward to the Messiah, to Whom we also look for justification and imputed righteousness.  Therefore, we lift high the Name of Jesus Christ, the only name that saves (Acts 4:12).  

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