Psalm 7:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.

NIV: He has prepared his deadly weapons; he makes ready his flaming arrows.

NASB: He has also prepared deadly weapons for Himself; He makes His arrows fiery shafts.

CSB: He has prepared his deadly weapons; he tips his arrows with fire.

NLT: He will prepare his deadly weapons and shoot his flaming arrows.

KJV: He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors.

NKJV: He also prepares for Himself instruments of death; He makes His arrows into fiery shafts.

A portrayal of God as a mighty warrior continues here. He is depicted as having deadly weapons ready (Psalm 7:12). His arrows are fiery shafts. In His relationship with unrepentant sinners, God is a wrathful avenger (John 3:36). David celebrates this as he asks God to bring judgment (Psalm 7:6–9) on those who have assaulted and slandered him (Psalm 7:1–5). Rather than seeking revenge, David trusts in God's timing (Romans 12:19).

Revelation 6:15–17 reports the actions of unrepentant nonbelievers in the tribulation period, when Jesus, the Lamb of God, opens the sixth seal of the seven-sealed scroll. They hide among the rocks of the mountains and pray to the mountains and rocks to fall on them and hide them from the wrath of God and the Lamb. They call out, "The great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?" (Revelation 6:17). Under the seventh bowl judgment of the tribulation period, we read, "The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath" (Revelation 16:19).

Psalm 7:12–17 is the closing section of this psalm. David expresses confidence in God's inevitable punishment of the wicked. David's enemies would be defeated by God, whom David describes as a warrior prepared for battle. The psalm began with a prayer for deliverance and concludes with thanks for answered prayer.

David takes refuge in God and asks to be rescued from those seeking his life. He boldly defends himself from accusations of fraud or plunder. Rather than seek his own revenge, David calls on the Lord to execute judgment. The wicked man plots evil, is full of mischief, and gives birth to lies. However, trouble will come back to strike such a person. His sin and violence will lead to a sinful, violent end. David concludes this psalm by giving thanks and praise to the Lord.

This psalm was written by David. He prays to the Lord, the righteous Judge of the universe, to judge his wicked enemies. David may have written this psalm when he was being pursued by Saul's forces (1 Samuel 24:1–2). Themes expressed by David in 1 Samuel chapter 24 resemble those found in Psalm 7. The accusations he responds to may have come from Cush, mentioned in the psalm's title.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.