Handling False Accusations

“1 O Lord my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me, 2 or they will tear me like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.” (Psalm 7:1-2 NIV).

The title to this particular song is “A shiggaion of David.” The idea conveyed by that title is that this was a piece–poetical or musical–written with intense feeling. The events which precipitated this cry for help are found in 1 Samuel 24:9-11. Let’s step back there to set the stage for today’s comment: “9 He (David) called out, ‘Why do you listen to those who say ‘David is out to get you’? 10 This very day with your very own eyes you have seen that just now in the cave God put you in my hands. My men wanted me to kill you, but I wouldn’t do it. I told them that I won’t lift a finger against my master—he’s God’s anointed. 11 Oh, my father, look at this, look at this piece that I cut from your robe. I could have cut you—killed you!—but I didn’t. Look at the evidence! I’m not against you. I’m no rebel. I haven’t sinned against you, and yet you’re hunting me down to kill me.’” (1 Samuel 24:9-11 MSG).

David was running from Saul. But the cry of this Psalm is not a cry for God to protect him from Saul’s hand, but from Cush the Benjamite’s mouth who had added fuel to the suspicious Saul’s mind, by accusing David of insurrection. Bottom line, if Saul caught David, he (David) was a dead man.

In our text, David impassionately cries to God for protection from false accusations! Do you remember the old child’s rhyme, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me?” It’s a lie. Words do far more damage than do sticks and stones. Sticks and stones bruise muscle and can even break a bone, but those things heal (trust me I have ample experience in this area), but words–they injure the psyche and do far greater damage both in depth and time. It is protection from the false accusation that has David crying out to God in our text.

What about you? Are you a victim of false rumors, unfair accusations? You can either take them upon yourself and become bitter or you can turn them over to God and get better. The choice is yours.