◄ Psalm 7:11 ►














Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
Purity Of Heart
Psalm 7:3
W. Forsyth
If I have done this.

I. TRUE INNOCENCE IS MARKED BY HUMILITY. David is bold before men, but humble before God. Why? There is the sense that innocence is limited and imperfect. We may be free from particular sins, and yet be guilty in others. Besides, innocence is but comparative. Measured by the standard of men, we may be without offence, but tried by the holy, spiritual Law of God, we are convicted of innumerable sins, and behind all is a sinful heart.

II. ASSOCIATED WITH MERCY. "Yea, I have delivered him" (ver. 4). So David dealt gently with Saul. His magnanimous sparing of him when he was in his power was no mere impulse, but the free outcome of his loving and generous heart. The merciful, whom our Lord has blessed, are placed between those who "hunger and thirst after righteousness" and "the pure in heart," who see God.

III. APPEALS WITH CONFIDENCE TO THE JUDGMENT OF GOD. The sense of right prophesies of the triumph of right. Having faith in the justice of God, we can leave all in his hands; and, loving him and assured of his love toward us, we can patiently await the end, knowing that all things shall work together for our good. - W.F.

Biblical Illustrator
God is angry with the wicked every day.
Psalm 7:11
God's anger against the wicked
I. WHO ARE THE "WICKED" IN THE SCRIPTURE SENSE OF THE TERM? The Bible divides all the human race into two classes only — the righteous and the wicked. Those are righteous who have true faith in Christ, whose spirit is consecrated to God, who live a heavenly life on earth, and who have been renewed by the Holy Ghost. Their original selfishness is subdued and slain, and they live a new life through the ever-present grace of Christ Jesus. Right over against them in character are the wicked, who have not been renewed in heart; who live in selfishness, under the dominion of appetite in some of its forms, — and it matters not in which, out of all possible forms, it may be, but self is the great and only ultimate end of their life.

II. GOD IS ANGRY WITH THE WICKED. This is the testimony of God Himself This truth is also taught by reason. If God were not opposed to the wicked, He would be wicked Himself for not opposing them. Sinners know that God is angry with them, and ought to be. Else, why are they afraid to die?

III. THE NATURE OF THIS ANGER.

1. It is not a malicious anger. God never has a disposition to do any wrong in any way to any being.

2. His anger is not passion in the sense in which men are wont to exhibit passion in anger. Reason for the time is displaced, and passion reigns.

3. God's anger cannot, be in any sense a selfish anger; for God is not selfish in the least degree. Positively, His anger against the wicked implies —(1) An entire disapprobation of their conduct and character. He loathes the wicked with infinite loathing.(2) He feels the strongest opposition of will to their character, as opposed to His own character.(3) Strong opposition of feeling against sinners. In our attempts to conceive of the mental faculties of the Divine mind, we are under a sort of necessity of reasoning analogically from our own minds. As we have intellect, sensibility, and will, so has God. From our own minds we infer not only what the faculties of the Divine mind are, but also the laws under which they act.(4) God is not angry merely against the sin abstracted from the sinner, but against the sinner himself The sin has no moral character apart from the sinner. It grieves and displeases God that a rational moral agent, under His government, should array himself against his own God and Father, against all that is right and just in the universe.(5) The anger of God against the wicked implies all that properly belongs to anger when it exists with good reason.

IV. THE REASONS OF GOD'S ANGER. Causeless anger is always sinful. God never Himself violates His own laws — founded as they are in infinite right and justice.

1. Wicked men are entirely unreasonable. God has given them intelligence and conscience; but they act in opposition to both. God has given them a pure and good law, yet this they recklessly violate. We know that, by a fixed law of our being, nothing can be a greater temptation to anger than to see persons act unreasonably. So when God looks at the unreasonable conduct of sinners, He feels the strongest indignation and displeasure.

2. The course of the wicked is utterly ruinous. No thanks to the sinner if his influence does not ruin the whole world. By the very laws of mind, the sin of any one man tends to influence other men to sin, and they spread far and wide the dreadful contagion of his example. What influence can be more potent than that of example?

3. God is so good and sinners are so wicked, He cannot help being angry at them. Since, in His wisdom and knowledge, He knows more fully than they do the great evil of sin, by so much the more is lie under obligation to be displeased with sin and angry at the sinner.

V. THE DEGREE OF GOD'S ANGER AGAINST SIN. It ought to be equal to the degree of their wickedness, and must be if God is what He should be. We judge of men's guilt by their light, and by their capacity for governing themselves by light and reason. God's anger against sin is in proportion to the sinner's guilt, estimated in view of the light he enjoys and sins against.

VI. THE DURATION OF GOD'S ANGER. It must continue as long as the wickedness itself continues. If they turn not, there can be no abatement, no cessation of His anger.

VII. THE TERRIBLE CONDITION OF THE SINNER AGAINST WHOM GOD IS ANGRY. Look at the attributes of God. Think of the case of the sinner's exposing himself to the indignation of the great and dreadful God. Look at His natural attributes. Power. Omniscience. Look at His holiness, and His mercy. Such is His nature, and such His character, that you have nothing to hope, but everything to fear. His dreadful anger against you must be expressed. Remarks:

1. God is much more opposed to sinners than Satan is.

2. If God were not angry, with sinners, He would not be worthy of confidence.

3. God's anger with sinners is not inconsistent with His happiness.

4. God's opposition to sinners is His glory.

5. Saints love God for His opposition to sinners, not excepting even His opposition to their own sins. This text is to be understood as it reads. Some have supposed that God is not really angry with sinners, but uses this language in accommodation to our understandings. This is an unwarrantable latitude of interpretation. In God there is a fixed eternal displeasure and opposition against all sinners because of their great guilt.

7. God's anger against the sinner does not exclude love — real compassionate love, the love of well-wishing and good-willing.

8. It is plain that sinners do not realise God's anger, though they know it. If they do both know and realise it, they manifest a degree of hardihood in iniquity which is dreadful. But the fact is, they keep the thought of God's anger from their minds.

( C. G. Finney.)

God's anger with the wicked
W. Arthur.
Many think that God, in order to be perfectly benevolent, ought not to be angry at anything But the idea of a Supreme Ruler, who would not be displeased whenever wrong is done, would be the most frightful idea that ever could pass through the minds of any creatures whatever. This is certain, the God of this Bible is a God that hateth iniquity. What is the anger of God that rests upon the head of a sinning man? It is not hatred. It is not revenge, which implies a sense of injury and a feeling of ill-will, It is not implacable offence. What is it? It is hatred of a bad action, with displeasure against him who does that action. You can separate the doer from the action, so far that while you hate the action you shall not hate him that does it. But you cannot separate the doer so far, that if the action is a hateful one, and you feel rightly, you can hate the action, and yet feel favour towards him that does it. God's displeasure against sin is the simple and inevitable result of God's purity and God's goodness, and is in itself the strict expression of justice. But it is a forbearing anger, and always ready to, forgive. It is no dead sentiment that will be inactive always. What duty, then, does this truth devolve on you and me? Repent; and cease to do evil; and turn unto thy God, saying, "Hide Thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities."

(W. Arthur.)

God angry with the wicked
M. W. Taylor, D. D.
Were any one of us to be completely in the power of some mysterious stranger and did we know that we had done that which would arouse his anger, how anxious we should be to know his purposes towards us. But men do not feel like this in regard to God, against whom they have sinned and in whose power they know they are. They are careless and confident as if all was well with them. But Scripture gives them no encouragement. Consider our text and think —

I. OF WHAT THE ANGER OF GOD IS. Anger is only right where there is that which can properly arouse it. Human anger is, generally, only selfish, and therefore sinful. But the anger of God is only that indignation which benevolence itself must feel toward the enemies of all good.

II. AND THIS ANGER IS ON THE WICKED EVERY DAY.

1. Scripture affirms this.

2. The holiness of God necessitates it. "The righteous Lord loveth righteousness"; He, therefore, must have anger towards its opposite: else He would be as destitute of affections as a statue. Holiness is repugnance to all moral impurity and deformity.

3. The justice of God and the tendency of sin. For the justice of God is His moral perfection directed to uphold His moral government. It is in this character that He is "a jealous God."

III. CONCLUSION.

1. How false and dangerous to deny the reality of the Divine anger. Many do.

2. The wicked cannot have God's favour while they continue in sin.

3. How changed the condition of the righteous.

4. How awful the situation of the stupid sinner.

(M. W. Taylor, D. D.)

People
David, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Angry, Evil-doers, Expresses, Indignant, Indignation, Judge, Judgeth, Righteous, Upright, Wicked, Wrath, Yea, Yes
Outline
1. David prays against the malice of his enemies, professing his innocence
10. By faith he sees his defense, and the destruction of his enemies

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 7:11

     1025   God, anger of
     1125   God, righteousness
     1403   God, revelation
     5358   judges
     5790   anger, divine
     6712   propitiation
     9210   judgment, God's

Psalm 7:11-12

     5236   bow and arrow

Psalm 7:11-13

     5612   weapons

Library
January the Twenty-Ninth Noble Revenge
"I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy." --PSALM vii. 4. That is the noblest revenge, and in those moments David had intimate knowledge of the spirit of his Lord. "If thine enemy hunger, feed him!" Evil for good is devil-like. To receive a favour and to return a blow! To obtain the gift of language, and then to use one's speech to curse the giver! To use a sacred sword is unholy warfare! All this is devil-like. Evil for evil is beast-like. Yes, the dog bites back when it is …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

Turn or Burn
In the first place, what is the turning here meant? In the second place let us dwell on the necessity there is for men's turning, otherwise God will punish them; and then thirdly, let me remind you of the means whereby men can be turned from the error of their ways, and the weakness and frailty of their nature amended by the power of divine grace. I. In the first place, my hearers, let me endeavour to explain to you the NATURE OF THE TURNING HERE MEANT. It says--"if he turn not he will whet his sword." …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 2: 1856

Self-Respect and Self-Righteousness
PSALM vii. 8. Give sentence for me, O Lord, according to my righteousness; and according to the innocency that is in me. Is this speech self-righteous? If so, it is a bad speech; for self- righteousness is a bad temper of mind; there are few worse. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar. …
Charles Kingsley—The Good News of God

Love for Hate, the True Quid Pro Quo
'And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily. 5. And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him, because he had out off Saul's skirt. 6. And he said unto his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord's anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

A Bundle of Proverbs
'Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly. 23. The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips. 24. Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones. 25. There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. 26. He that laboureth laboureth for himself; for his mouth craveth it of him. 27. An ungodly man diggeth up evil: and in his lips there is as a …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Of Having Confidence in God when Evil Words are Cast at Us
"My Son, stand fast and believe in Me. For what are words but words? They fly through the air, but they bruise no stone. If thou are guilty, think how thou wouldst gladly amend thyself; if thou knowest nothing against thyself, consider that thou wilt gladly bear this for God's sake. It is little enough that thou sometimes hast to bear hard words, for thou art not yet able to bear hard blows. And wherefore do such trivial matters go to thine heart, except that thou art yet carnal, and regardest …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

The Exile --Continued.
There are many echoes of this period of Engedi in the Psalms. Perhaps the most distinctly audible of these are to be found in the seventh psalm, which is all but universally recognised as David's, even Ewald concurring in the general consent. It is an irregular ode--for such is the meaning of Shiggaion in the title, and by its broken rhythms and abrupt transitions testifies to the emotion of its author. The occasion of it is said to be "the words of Cush the Benjamite." As this is a peculiar name …
Alexander Maclaren—The Life of David

Twenty-Third Lesson Bear Fruit, that the Father May Give what Ye Ask;'
Bear fruit, that the Father may give what ye ask;' Or, Obedience the Path to Power in Prayer. Ye did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that ye should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide: that whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, He may give it you.'--John xv. 16. The fervent effectual prayer of a righteous man availeth much.'--James. v. 16. THE promise of the Father's giving whatsoever we ask is here once again renewed, in such a connection as …
Andrew Murray—With Christ in the School of Prayer

The Section Chap. I. -iii.
The question which here above all engages our attention, and requires to be answered, is this: Whether that which is reported in these chapters did, or did not, actually and outwardly take place. The history of the inquiries connected with this question is found most fully in Marckius's "Diatribe de uxore fornicationum," Leyden, 1696, reprinted in the Commentary on the Minor Prophets by the same author. The various views may be divided into three classes. 1. It is maintained by very many interpreters, …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

The Blessings of Noah Upon Shem and Japheth. (Gen. Ix. 18-27. )
Ver. 20. "And Noah began and became an husbandman, and planted vineyards."--This does not imply that Noah was the first who began to till the ground, and, more especially, to cultivate the vine; for Cain, too, was a tiller of the ground, Gen. iv. 2. The sense rather is, that Noah, after the flood, again took up this calling. Moreover, the remark has not an independent import; it serves only to prepare the way for the communication of the subsequent account of Noah's drunkenness. By this remark, …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Calvin -- Enduring Persecution for Christ
John Calvin was born in 1509, at Noyon, France. He has been called the greatest of Protestant commentators and theologians, and the inspirer of the Puritan exodus. He often preached every day for weeks in succession. He possest two of the greatest elements in successful pulpit oratory, self-reliance and authority. It was said of him, as it was afterward said of Webster, that "every word weighed a pound." His style was simple, direct, and convincing. He made men think. His splendid contributions to …
Various—The World's Great Sermons, Volume I

Some General Uses from this Useful Truth, that Christ is the Truth.
Having thus cleared up this truth, we should come to speak of the way of believers making use of him as the truth, in several cases wherein they will stand in need of him as the truth. But ere we come to the particulars, we shall first propose some general uses of this useful point. First. This point of truth serveth to discover unto us, the woful condition of such as are strangers to Christ the truth; and oh, if it were believed! For, 1. They are not yet delivered from that dreadful plague of …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

He Does Battle for the Faith; He Restores Peace among those who were at Variance; He Takes in Hand to Build a Stone Church.
57. (32). There was a certain clerk in Lismore whose life, as it is said, was good, but his faith not so. He was a man of some knowledge in his own eyes, and dared to say that in the Eucharist there is only a sacrament and not the fact[718] of the sacrament, that is, mere sanctification and not the truth of the Body. On this subject he was often addressed by Malachy in secret, but in vain; and finally he was called before a public assembly, the laity however being excluded, in order that if it were …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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