David Prays To Be Delivered Because He Is Pursued and Hard-pressed (Psalms 7:1-2).
‘O YHWH my God, in you I put my trust,
Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me.
Lest he tear my being like a lion,
Rending it in pieces when there is no one to deliver.'
The prayer is a trusting cry to YHWH in the face of false accusations made against him that he was seeking Saul's life, and the resulting need to flee for safety. He prays for deliverance from those who are seeking to hunt him down, and especially from his chief enemy, who, as a lion does to his prey, wants to tear him in pieces. He had often seen sheep torn to pieces by lions, and had himself outfaced them. He knew precisely what they were capable of. And he knew that God had delivered him from the mouth of lions (1 Samuel 17:34-37). Thus he knew that He was also able to deliver from these adversaries as well.
The singular of lion demonstrates that he had one particular person in mind, probably Saul, for he knew how merciless he could be in his mad rages. But it may have been Cush who was leading the search for him.
His appeal is to the covenant God, YHWH, on the ground of His covenant promises. ‘In you do I put my trust (take refuge)' is a constant theme in psalms (Psalms 11:1; Psalms 16:1; Psalms 31:1; Psalms 57:1; Psalms 71:1; Psalms 141:8). It expresses his confidence in God and his sense of insecurity in the present situation.
‘There is no one to deliver'. Along with those who were with him he knew that every man's hand was against him. They had no powerful friends apart from God.
The psalm will be a comfort to all who are hard-pressed or falsely accused. For in the end the hard-pressed one is delivered through prayer.