Psalms 7:8
in Psalms 7The LORD judges the peoples; vindicate me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and integrity.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Jehovah ministereth judgment to the peoples: Judge me, O Jehovah, according to my righteousness, and to mine integrity that is in me.
KJV
The Lord shall judge the people: judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me.
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This verse in Psalms 7
Commentary
15 notes on this verseThese words seem to contain some boastfulness and to be very much like the prayer of the Pharisee who was exalting himself, but, if one considers them reasonably, the prophet will be seen to be far from such a disposition.… "According to my justice" [means] according to that attainable by people and possible for those living in the flesh. "And according to my innocence," [in this] he names his innocence as if it were simplicity and ignorance of things useful to know according to the saying in the Proverbs: "The innocent believes every word."
This site's exposition
Arise, O LORD, in Your anger
on Psalms 7:6-8
Four commands call God to judge, arise, rise up, awake, and ordain judgment. The scene is a court, the peoples assembled, God seated above them, and David asking to be vindicated by the integrity he has just sworn to. He leaves the judgment to God.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
That same adversary, Absalom, as if he has been born again from ourselves, prepares the war against us. Our sound judgment concerning the matter, or rather our alliance with God, turns him who is bloodthirsty against us back. For because he attributes the cause of the good things that have been accomplished for him through "the words of Cush" to God, he composes this thanksgiving.… It would be worthwhile to apply the figures of the story to the virtuous life, how the advice that saves us becomes the strangling of the adversary; and this saving advice has been recorded, on the one hand, in the history, and on the other, in the psalm.
In these words the divine David has not left a testimony to his own righteousness: we hear him protesting the opposite, "because I acknowledge my lawlessness, and my sin is always before me"; and, "I said, 'I shall declare my lawlessness against myself to the …
'Judge me, O Lord, according to my justice, and according to my innocence upon me.' This David cannot say; this fits properly the Saviour, who did not sin.
There is an important difference between human righteousness and that of God; the Psalmist wishes to be judged according to the righteousness of the Lord, knowing for sure that this will mean salvation for him.
The Medieval Church1 voice
The second part of this Psalm is that in which the hearing of the petition is treated. And because the hearing of the petition takes place by the judgment of God, the divine judgment is introduced. And first he sets it forth. Second, he treats …
8 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), " Judge me, judge for me, give sentence on my side." To enforce this suit, [1.] He pleads that his cause was now brought into the proper court: The Lord shall judge the people,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Lord shall judge the people,....
God's appearing on David's behalf, and fulfilling his promise to him, would be such an instance of his righteousness, goodness, and faithfulness, as would greatly enlarge the hearts of all his faithful worshippers and fill their mouths with praise.
The Nineteenth Century5 voices
The Lord shall judge the people - He will execute justice and maintain truth among them. They shall not be as sheep without a shepherd. Judge me, O Lord - Let my innocence be brought to the light, and my just dealing made clear as the noonday.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
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.
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 at 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.
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."
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
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. […]
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יְהוָה֮ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| יָדִ֪ין | yadin | let him judge | H1777 → | 24 times |
| עַ֫מִּ֥ים | ʾamim | peoples | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| שָׁפְטֵ֥נִי | shafeteni | vindicate me | H8199 → | 202 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | O Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| כְּצִדְקִ֖י | ketzidki | according to righteousness my | H6664 → | 119 times |
| וּכְתֻמִּ֣י | ukhetumi | and according to integrity my | H8537 → | 23 times |
| עָלָֽי׃ | ʾalai | on me | H5921 → | 5755 times |
יְהוָה֮Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
יָדִ֪יןlet him judge
yadinH1777 →24 times
עַ֫מִּ֥יםpeoples
ʾamimH5971 →1873 times
שָׁפְטֵ֥נִיvindicate me
shafeteniH8199 →202 times
יְהוָ֑הO Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
כְּצִדְקִ֖יaccording to righteousness my
ketzidkiH6664 →119 times
וּכְתֻמִּ֣יand according to integrity my
ukhetumiH8537 →23 times
עָלָֽי׃on me
ʾalaiH5921 →5755 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 96:13before the LORD, for He is coming— He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness.
it leads to
- Revelation 19:11
Then I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse. And its rider is called Faithful and True. With righteousness He judges and wages war.
- 2 Timothy 4:8
From now on there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but to all who…
- Revelation 19:11
Through
2 Corinthians 1:12And this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in relation to you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God—not in worldly wisdom,…
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 2:17
For we are not like so many others, who peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as men sent from God.
- 1 Corinthians 2:13
And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.
- James 3:13–18
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
- 2 Corinthians 2:17
Through
Psalms 43:1Vindicate me, O God, and plead my case against an ungodly nation; deliver me from deceitful and unjust men.
it leads to
- Psalms 35:1
Contend with my opponents, O LORD; fight against those who fight against me.
- Psalms 26:1
Vindicate me, O LORD! For I have walked with integrity; I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.
- 1 Samuel 24:15
May the LORD be our judge and decide between you and me. May He take notice and plead my case and deliver me from your hand.”
- Psalms 35:1
About Psalms
This page draws on 14 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Basil of Caesarea, HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 11:6 (PS 7); Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 1; Didymus the Blind, FRAGMENTS ON THE PSALMS 7:9; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Gregory of Nyssa, INSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS 2:11.148-49; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Homily 3, on Psalm 7; John Calvin, Commentary on the Book of Psalms; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 7:5 and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.