A psalm of David which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush of the tribe of Benjamin.

1 O Lord my God, in you do I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers and deliver me, 2 lest like a lion they tear my soul apart, rending it in pieces, with none to deliver. 3-5  O  Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands, if I have repaid my friend with evil or  plundered my enemy without cause, let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it, and let him trample my life to the ground and lay my glory in the dust. Selah

6-7 Arise, O Lord, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake for me; you have appointed a judgement. Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you. Over it return on high (or while you sit enthroned on high). 8 The Lord judges the peoples; judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me. 9 Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end, and may you establish the righteous - you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God!

10 My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart. 11 God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day. 12-13 If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow; he has prepared for him his deadly weapons,  making his arrows fiery shafts. 14 Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies. 15-16 He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made. 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. Psalm 7 (English Standard Version)

We don't know who Cush was (the man mentioned in the introduction) but we're told he was from the tribe of Benjamin – the tribe from which King Saul had come. He may have hated David because God had taken the kingdom from Saul and given it to David, so he was now leading a plot against him. Even in those days politicians made enemies. But what was the deeper concern David speaks of in vs 3-5? How would you put it in your own words?

In vs 6-9 David calls out to God – a righteous God who sees everyone’s heart and motives – to take sides with those who love Him and bring to an end the plots and schemes of wicked people. He wasn't just asking God to deal with those who disagreed with him, he was thinking of the sort of people described in vs 2 & 14. People who were scheming and full of plans to destroy him, like lions seeking their prey. We can recall what the apostle Peter wrote about our biggest enemy. He said: “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

Was David being self righteous and presumptuous in vs 8? Can we pray like that?

I suggest he was referring to whatever it was his enemies had accused him of. He wasn't claiming to be a totally sinless and innocent person. None of us could do that. The comfort and encouragement we can take from this Psalm is that if we're ever falsely accused of something, and people are seeking to harm us – we have a God we can turn to for help. Psalm 124 says: “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us up alive when their anger was kindled against us. Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth!”

A last thought – how does David say God's judgement sometimes comes on those who are hell bent on harming His people? (vs 15-16)

The evil they planned may come down on their own heads. If you want an example of that just read the Old Testament book of Esther. That's why vs 11-13 are so important. God is a righteous and honest judge, and He is angry with the wicked every day. If a person doesn't repent God will sharpen his sword; He will bend and string his bow; He will prepare his deadly weapons and shoot His flaming arrows. Far better to have God on our side than to be the target for His flaming arrows! That word 'repent' is the key.