The Rapture in Psalm 7

In our study of the Rapture of the Church and when it occurs, we must examine Psalm 7, for in it appears a unique prophecy, which has generally been overlooked by prophetic students. In this connection may I remind you, dear reader, that it is important for us to see a passage, dealing with any subject, in its own connection. If we do not recognize the context and the setting of a passage, it becomes impossible for us to see the truth and the full force of a given scripture. With this thought in view may I insist that, when a person studies the time of the Rapture of the Church--whether before, in the middle of, or at the end of the Tribulation--he must see the special passages dealing with this point in their connections. Being guided by this principle, we shall study the entire Psalm, which we have for consideration.

Shiggaion of David, which he sang unto Jehovah, concerning the words of Cush a Benjamite.

1. O Jehovah my God, in thee do I take refuge: Save me from all them that pursue me, and deliver me,
2. Lest they tear my soul like a lion, Rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.
3. O Jehovah my God, if I have done this; If there be iniquity in my hands;
4. If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me (Yea, I have delivered him that without cause was mine adversary);
5. Let the enemy pursue my soul, and overtake it; Yea, let him tread my life down to the earth, And lay my glory in the dust. Selah.
6. Arise, O Jehovah, in thine anger; Lift up thyself against the rage of mine adversaries, And awake for me; thou hast commanded judgment.
7. And let the congregation of the peoples compass thee about; And over them return thou on high.
8. Jehovah ministereth judgment to the peoples: Judge me, O Jehovah, according to my righteousness, and to mine integrity that is in me.
9. O let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish thou the righteous: For the righteous God trieth the minds and hearts.
10. My shield is with God, Who saveth the upright in heart.
11. God is a righteous judge, Yea, a God that hath indignation every day.
12. If a man turn not, he will whet his sword; He hath bent his bow, and made it ready.
13. He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; He maketh his arrows fiery shafts.
14. Behold, he travaileth with iniquity; Yea, he hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood.
15. He hath made a pit, and digged it, And is fallen into the ditch which he made.
16. His mischief shall return upon his own head, And his violence shall come down upon his own pate.
17. I will give thanks unto Jehovah according to his righteousness, And will sing praise to the name of Jehovah Most High. (Psalms 7:1-17)

In the first five verses David presents his case before God and asks for vindication. According to the superscription of this Psalm, Cush, a Benjamite, had been falsely accusing David of something of which he was not guilty. The king realized the dangerous position in which he had been placed by the circulation of lies against him and understood that only God could solve the problem for him. He therefore in faith, doubting nothing, committed his case to Him and declared that he had taken refuge in the Almighty. Having committed his case to the Lord, David prayed to Him to save him from those who were pursuing him and to deliver him. There evidently were others who were conspiring with Cush to accomplish the downfall of David.

David's experience reminds us of similar ones that constantly come into the life of everyone who is a faithful, true Christian. Oftentimes people like Cush, this Benjamite, through jealousy and envy start circulating lies and false reports concerning a true and faithful servant of the Lord. Whenever anyone is the object of vicious jealousy, diabolic envy, and the fiery darts of false reports and misrepresentation, such an one as is being thus attacked should take refuge in the Lord with the perfect assurance that God will solve the problem.

In Psalm 31:19,20 is voiced the hope that each faithful child of God may entertain: "Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee, which thou hast wrought for them that take refuge in thee, before the sons of men! In the covert of thy presence wilt thou hide them from the plottings of man: thou wilt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues."

God has laid up in store with Himself great lovingkindnesses for those who are true worshipers of His, and who in an open and bold manner take refuge in Him before the children of men. The Lord will always cover them by His presence against the plotting of men and will bring complete deliverance at the proper time.

David protested his innocency in Psalm 7:3-5 by stating that, if he were guilty of the things of which he was accused, he wanted the Lord to deal with him accordingly. He was willing to be pursued and persecuted by his worst enemies if he was guilty of the accusation hurled at him. Instead of being guilty, he declared that he had acted exactly opposite to the way in which he had been accused.

Frequently the prophets and the psalmists discussed a local situation in which they were involved or which confronted them. Then they were borne along by the Spirit into the future and saw a situation similar to their own. In other words, oftentimes they were carried forward by the Spirit in vision across the centuries to the end-time, were let down amidst that future environment, and spoke for or to, or identified themselves with, this coming situation. There are numerous examples of this principle appearing throughout the Scriptures. Psalm 7 is no exception to this rule.

"Arise, O Jehovah, in thine anger; lift up thyself against the rage of mine adversaries, and awake for me; thou hast commanded judgment. And let the congregation of the peoples compass thee about; and over them return thou on high" (Psalms 7:6,7).

In verse 6 Jehovah is addressed by the psalmist and is requested to arise in anger and to lift up Himself against the rage of David's enemies. An interesting study is to be found in the investigation of the petition for Jehovah to arise. In a number of the contexts in which a similar petition appears, an examination of the facts will show that this prayer is offered by downtrodden and persecuted Israel in the latter part of the Tribulation. For example see Psalm 10:12. In Psalm 12:5 is another situation somewhat similar to this case. An examination of its context shows that it is again the persecuted remnant of Israel, praying to God and being assured that deliverance will come. Again in Psalm 17:13 we see the remnant of Israel praying similarly but in Psalm 82:8 we have the petition, "Arise, O God, judge the earth for thou shalt inherit all the nations." The one who is here addressed as God is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, who accepted the invitation of God the Father, after He was rejected by the Jews, to ascend to the right hand of the Almighty and to sit there during the time of His rejection. This passage envisages a time when the people of God upon the earth, being hard pressed, will plead for Christ to arise from His seat in glory to come back, and to judge the world as He will do according to Matt. 25:31-46. He is asked to do this because He is the rightful heir to the nations of the world, over whom He will reign according to Psalm 2:7-9

David in Psalm 7:6,7 was carried forward, as we shall presently see, in vision by the Spirit of God to the time of the Rapture. He identified himself with the suffering servants of God and prayed for Jehovah the Son to arise from His seat at the right hand of the Father and to bring deliverance to His oppressed saints. That this is the correct interpretation of this passage becomes evident by a closer study of verse 7: "And let the congregation of the peoples compass thee about: and over them return thou on high." Here is mentioned the congregation of the peoples. The psalmist sees a congregation, an assembly, a host of people. They are called the congregation of the peoples, that is, of the nations of earth. Here is seen therefore a great congregation made up of peoples of every race, tribe, tongue and language. When we read this passage in the light of New Testament revelation, we see that God is, during the Christian Dispensation, gathering out from all nations a people for His name. This is asserted in Acts 15:13-18: "... Brethren hearken unto me; Symeon hath rehearsed how first God visited the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After these things I will return, and I will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: that the residue of men may seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who maketh these things known from of old."

According to this petition the psalmist sees that this congregation of the peoples will be persecuted and oppressed by the rage and fury of their adversaries. Jesus taught that the world would hate His people. There are indications in the Scriptures that point to the thought that the people of God will be hated, despised, and persecuted the more as we approach the time of the Rapture. The inspired psalmist in this petition, verses 6 and 7, prays for Jehovah, the Son, to allow this congregation of the peoples to compass Him about. When they shall have done that, he prays that the Lord will return over them on high.

When this prayer and prophecy is studied in the light of the New Testament revelation, the student of prophecy cannot avoid the conclusion that the psalmist was given a vision of the Church in the end of the age and of its being persecuted by adversaries. Then prayer is made for the Lord Jesus to arise from His position at the right hand of God and to descend to the air for the purpose of gathering all His saints round about Him and to take them to glory. This prophecy is in perfect accord with the teaching of I Thess. 1:9,10 which reads as follows: "For they themselves report concerning us what manner of entering in we had unto you; and how ye turned unto God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, who delivereth us from the wrath to come." It is also in perfect alignment with I Thess. 4:13--5:12. In these two passages the facts of each context show that these are prophecies concerning the Lord's arising from His position at the right hand of the Throne of God, of His coming in the air, of His raising the dead in Christ, of His catching up all the living saints and changing their bodies from corruptible to incorruptible, and His returning on high with them. When Psalm 7:6,7 is compared with the unquestioned passages in the Thessalonian letters, it becomes apparent that the psalmist David saw a vision of the persecuted Church and its praying the Lord to rapture it out of the earth.

In verses 8-13 the psalmist, in vision, is carried forward a little farther by the Spirit of God into the Tribulation proper and is let down in the midst of that environment. Then he makes a statement of what he sees: "Jehovah ministereth judgment to the peoples: Judge me, O Jehovah, according to my righteousness, and to mine integrity that is in me ... He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; He maketh his arrows fiery shafts." The psalmist in these verses identifies himself with the people of God, who will be here upon the earth in the Tribulation. They, too, will be persecuted by the enemies of God and of righteousness. The psalmist sees the Lord ministering judgment to the peoples of earth, that is, he sees Him bringing one judgment after another upon the people of the world in order to break their stubborn wills and in order to purge the world of sin. These strokes of judgment prepare those who want the truth to see it and to accept it. When we note in this prophecy that Jehovah is ministering judgment to the peoples, and study this passage in the light of Revelation, chapters 6 to 19, we see that what John narrates in detail is exactly what the psalmist sees and speaks of in these verses in a sentence or two.

All truth lovers who will be living in the Tribulation and who will turn to God will express their faith in Him and in Christ's coming to their deliverance. Thus they will speak, saying, "My shield is with God, Who saveth the upright in heart. God is a righteous judge, Yea, a God that hath indignation every day." Jehovah will be righteous in all that He does in sending His judgments of the Tribulation upon the world. According to verse 11 God, the Lord Jesus Christ, is a righteous judge who has indignation every day--every day of the Tribulation. The more the injustices and the unrighteous acts of the enemies of God in the Tribulation rise to a new height, the more intense will God's indignation become.

Finally at the end of the Tribulation He will, figuratively speaking, seize His sword and whet it, and taking His arrows, will enter the field of battle. This passage, Psalm 7:12,13, is based upon the fundamental passage found in Deuteronomy 32:39-43.

In verses 14 to 16 we have a picture of the outstanding persecutor of the people of God, namely the antichrist. He is indeed and in truth the man of sin, the son of perdition. He is preeminently the man of sin--deception, persecution, wickedness in the extreme sense of the term. There is nothing that is too diabolical and sinister for him to do. But the psalmist in vision sees him overthrown and falling into the very pit which he digs for others. His diabolical plans and purposes will come back like a boomerang upon himself. He will go down in utter defeat--at the second coming of our Lord.

"I will give thanks unto Jehovah according to his righteousness, And will sing praise to the name of Jehovah Most High" (Psalm 7:17).

The psalmist becomes the spokesman for the tribulation saints, both Jews and Gentiles, who accept the salvation of God during the Tribulation. They will come off from the beast victorious in their opposition to him and will give thanks unto Jehovah according to His righteousness and will praise the name of God Most High.

In this hasty glance at psalm 7 we see three distinct pictures or stages of the development of this prediction. First, we see David when he was persecuted by an inveterate enemy, Cush the Benjamite. This picture, found in verses 1 to 5 blends into another one--of the Church or Congregation of the peoples, which is gathered from among all nations. This group of people will be persecuted and will be brought to the point that they pray very earnestly for the Lord Jesus to arise from His seat at the right hand of the Throne of God, to come and gather them out from all over the world, and to take them home to glory. This picture in verses 6 and 7 is blended with another of the tribulation saints, both Jews and Gentiles, who will be persecuted by the antichrist and they, too, will pray for deliverance just as David did and just as the Church will do at the time of the rapture.