Psalm 7:8

The LORD shall judge the people: judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(8) The Lord shall.—Better, Jehovah judgeth the nations. Everything is complete, and the work of judgment begins. The poet prays that his sentence may be according to his own consciousness of righteousness and integrity. Of this plea of innocence Jerome says, “David could not say this; this properly belongs to the Saviour, who was sinless.” Others think it is the ideal Israel, which stands before Jehovah’s tribunal. But we may compare Job’s protestations of innocence, and his persistent demand for a trial. David (if he is the author) refers naturally to his innocence of the charge calumniously brought against him. As between Saul and himself, his conduct had been blameless.

Benson Commentary

Psalm 7:8. The Lord shall judge the people — The Sovereign of the world will not fail to dispense equal justice unto all, according to their works. Assured of which, I say, Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness — For I desire no greater favour than to be disposed of according to my innocence in this matter. If I be guilty of those evil designs toward Saul wherewith Cush and others charge me, do thou give sentence against me; but, if I be just and innocent toward him, as thou knowest I am, and have been, do thou plead my right. Observe, reader, “legal or perfect righteousness and integrity are peculiar to the Redeemer; but evangelical righteousness and integrity all must have who would be saved.” — Horne.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

7:1-9 David flees to God for succour. But Christ alone could call on Heaven to attest his uprightness in all things. All His works were wrought in righteousness; and the prince of this world found nothing whereof justly to accuse him. Yet for our sakes, submitting to be charged as guilty, he suffered all evils, but, being innocent, he triumphed over them all. The plea is, For the righteous God trieth the hearts and the reins. He knows the secret wickedness of the wicked, and how to bring it to an end; he is witness to the secret sincerity of the just, and has ways of establishing it. When a man has made peace with God about all his sins, upon the terms of grace and mercy, through the sacrifice of the Mediator, he may, in comparison with his enemies, appeal to God's justice to decide.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The Lord shall judge the people - Expressing his confident belief that God would interpose, and that his judgment would not much longer be delayed. The proposition is a general one - that God would see that justice would be done to all people; and on this ground the psalmist pleads that He would now interpose and defend him from his enemies.

Judge me, O Lord - That is, in my present circumstances. Interpose to do justice to my cause, and to vindicate me from these false accusations.

According to my righteousness - In this particular case, for to that the proper laws of interpretation require us to confine this. He does not say that he wished his own righteousness to be made the basis of judgment in determining his eternal welfare, or that he depended on his own righteousness for salvation - for that is not the point in question; but he felt that his was, in this case, a righteous cause; that he was not guilty of the charge alleged against him; that he was an injured, wronged, and calumniated man; and he prayed that God would "vindicate" him from these charges, and defend him from those who were unjustly persecuting him. With all our sense of personal unworthiness in the matter of salvation, it is not improper, when we are wronged, to pray that God would interpose and vindicate us in that particular case, according to our innocence of the charges alleged against us.

And according to mine integrity that is in me - Hebrew, "my perfection." That is, his perfection in "this" case; his entire freedom from the charges brought against him; his absolute innocence in respect to the points under consideration. A man may be conscious of "perfect" innocence in respect to a particular matter, and yet have a deep sense of his "general" unworthiness, and of the fact that he is a sinner against God. That I am innocent of a particular act charged on me does not prove that I am guiltless altogether; that I should allege that, and insist on that, and pray to God to vindicate me in that, does not prove that I depend on that for the salvation of my soul, or that I claim absolute perfection before him.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

8. Though not claiming innocence in general, he can confidently do so in this case, and in demanding from the Judge of all the earth a judgment, he virtually asks acquittal.

The Treasury of David

8 The Lord shall judge the people: judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me.

9 Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.

If I am not mistaken, David has now seen in the eye of his mind the Lord ascending to his judgment-seat, and beholding him seated there in royal state, he draws near to him to urge his suit anew. In the last two verses he besought Jehovah to arise, and now that he is arisen, he prepares to mingle with "the congregation of the people" who compass the Lord about. The royal heralds proclaim the opening of the court with the solemn words, "The Lord shall judge the people." Our petitioner rises as once, and cries with earnestness and humility, "Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me." His hand is on an honest heart, and his cry is to a righteous Judge. He sees a smile of complacency upon the face of the King, and in the name of all the assembled congregation he cries aloud, "Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just." Is not this the universal longing of the whole company of the elect? When shall we be delivered from the filthy conversation of these men of Sodom? When shall we escape from the filthiness of Mesech and the blackness of the tents of Kedar?

What a solemn and weighty truth is contained in the last sentence of the ninth verse! How deep is the divine knowledge! - "he trieth." How strict, how accurate, how intimate his search! - "he trieth the hearts," the secret thoughts, "and reins," the inward affections. "All things are naked and opened to the eyes of him with whom we have to do."

Matthew Poole's Commentary

It belongs to thee to judge all persons and people, and to give sentence between them, especially when they appeal unto thee; which I now do. If I be guilty of those evil designs towards him, wherewith Cush and others charge me, do thou give sentence against me; but if I be just and innocent towards him, as thou knowest I am and have been. do thou plead my right.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

The Lord shall judge the people,.... The inhabitants of the world in general; for God is the Judge of all the earth, and he judges the world in righteousness daily, and ministers judgment in uprightness, though it is not always manifest; or his own people in particular, whose cause he pleads, whose injuries and wrongs he avenges, whose persons he protects and defends; this the psalmist expresses with confidence, and therefore, suitable to his character as a Judge, he entreats him as follows:

judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness; he speaks not of his justification before God, in whose sight he well knew no flesh living could be justified by their own righteousness, Psalm 143:2; nor of the righteousness of his person, either imputed or inherent; but of the righteousness of his cause, Psalm 35:27; not of his righteousness God-ward, for he knew that he was a sinner with respect to him; but of his righteousness towards Saul, against whom he had not sinned, but had acted towards him in the most righteous and faithful manner, 1 Samuel 24:11; and therefore desired to be judged, and was content to stand or fall according to his conduct and behaviour towards him;

and according to mine integrity that is in me; who had always acted the sincere and upright part towards Saul, though he had pursued him with so much fury and violence; the psalmist's prayer was heard and answered, Psalm 18:20.

Geneva Study Bible

The LORD shall judge the people: judge me, O LORD, according to my {g} righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me.

(g) As concerning my behaviour towards Saul and my enemies.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

8. Render as R.V.:

The lord ministereth judgement to the peoples.

Jehovah has taken His seat and opened the assize (cp. the exactly similar sequence of ideas in Psalm 9:7-8 : and see Isaiah 3:13-14, R.V.): and the Psalmist comes forward with a plea to have justice done him.

judge me] Here as elsewhere, of a judgement favourable to the petitioner (Psalm 26:1, Psalm 35:24, Psalm 43:1, Psalm 82:3): ‘do me justice.’ David challenges a decision according to his righteousness and his integrity; not that he would claim to be perfect and sinless, but he has “a conscience void of offence toward God and toward men,” and protests his innocence of the charges of treachery which have been brought against him. See Introduction, p. lxxxvii ff. Comp. 1 Samuel 26:23 (R.V.).

that is in me] The marg. alternative of R.V., be it unto me, is suggested to meet a difficulty in the usage of the preposition, which commonly means upon. But the rendering of the text can be defended as a well established idiom, of which examples will be found in Psalm 42:6; Psalm 42:11; or we may render upon me, and regard righteousness and integrity as a cloak which envelopes the Psalmist. Cp. Job 29:14.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 8. - The Lord shall judge the people. Hitherto judgment has been prayed for, now it is announced, "The Lord shall judge " - shall decide between David and his enemies - shall judge them in his anger, and at the same time judge David, i.e. vindicate his cause. David has no desire to escape this judgment Judge me, he says, O Lord, according to my righteousness. Judge me, i.e., and, if thou findest me righteous, acquit me and vindicate me. And according to mine integrity that is in me; literally, which is on me (comp. Job 29:24, "I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my judgment was as a robe and a diadem"). Ver. 9: - Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end. It is not the removal of the wicked, but the removal of their wickedness, that David desires (comp. Psalm 10:15). But establish the just; i.e. protect strengthen, and sustain him. For the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins (comp. Jeremiah 11:20; Jeremiah 17:10; Jeremiah 20:12). "The heart, as the seat of the understanding and the will, the reins of natural impulses and affections" ('Speaker's Commentary'). Psalm 7:8

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

(Heb.: 7:7-9) In the consciousness of his own innocence he calls upon Jahve to sit in judgment and to do justice to His own. His vision widens and extends from the enemies immediately around to the whole world in its hostility towards Jahve and His anointed one. In the very same way special judgments and the judgment of the world are portrayed side by side, as it were on one canvas, in the prophets. The truth of this combination lies in the fact of the final judgment being only the finale of that judgment which is in constant execution in the world itself. The language here takes the highest and most majestic flight conceivable. By קוּמה (Milra, ass in Psalm 3:8), which is one of David's words of prayer that he has taken from the lips of Moses (Psalm 9:20; Psalm 10:12), he calls upon Jahve to interpose. The parallel is הנּשׂא lift Thyself up, show thyself in Thy majesty, Psalm 94:2, Isaiah 33:10. The anger, in which He is to arise, is the principle of His judicial righteousness. With this His anger He is to gird Himself (Psalm 76:11) against the ragings of the oppressors of God's anointed one, i.e., taking vengeance on their many and manifold manifestations of hostility. עברות is a shorter form of the construct (instead of עברות Job 40:11, cf. Psalm 21:1-13 :31) of עברה which describes the anger as running over, breaking forth from within and passing over into words and deeds (cf. Arab. fšš, used of water: it overflows the dam, of wrath: it breaks forth). It is contrary to the usage of the language to make משׁפּט the object to עוּרה in opposition to the accents, and it is unnatural to regard it as the accus. of direction equals למּשׂפט (Psalm 35:23), as Hitzig does. The accents rightly unite עוּרה אלי: awake (stir thyself) for me i.e., to help me (אלי like לקלאתי, Psalm 59:5). The view, that צוּית is then precative and equivalent to צוּה: command judgment, is one that cannot be established according to syntax either here, or in Psalm 71:3. It ought at least to have been וצוּית with Waw consec. On the other hand the relative rendering: Thou who hast ordered judgment (Maurer, Hengst.), is admissible, but unnecessary. We take it by itself in a confirmatory sense, not as a circumstantial clause: having commanded judgment (Ewald), but as a co-ordinate clause: Thou hast indeed enjoined the maintaining of right (Hupfeld).

The psalmist now, so to speak, arranges the judgment scene: the assembly of the nations is to form a circle round about Jahve, in the midst of which He will sit in judgment, and after the judgment He is to soar away (Genesis 17:22) aloft over it and return to the heights of heaven like a victor after the battle (see Psalm 68:19). Although it strikes one as strange that the termination of the judgment itself is not definitely expressed, yet the rendering of Hupfeld and others: sit Thou again upon Thy heavenly judgment-seat to judge, is to be rejected on account of the שׁוּבה (cf. on the other hand 21:14) which is not suited to it; שׁוב למּרום can only mean Jahve's return to His rest after the execution of judgment. That which Psalm 7:7 and Psalm 7:8 in the boldness of faith desire, the beginning of Psalm 7:9 expresses as a prophetic hope, from which proceeds the prayer, that the Judge of the earth may also do justice to him (שׁפתני vindica me, as in Psalm 26:1; Psalm 35:24) according to his righteousness and the purity of which he is conscious, as dwelling in him. עלי is to be closely connected with תּמּי, just as one says נפשׁי עלי (Psychol. S. 152 [tr. p. 180]). That which the individual as ego, distinguishes from itself as being in it, as subject, it denotes by עלי. In explaining it elliptically: "come upon me" (Ew., Olsh., Hupf.) this psychologically intelligible usage of the language is not recognised. On תּם vid., on Psalm 25:21; Psalm 26:1.