Psalm 7:2

2 Lest at any time the enemy seize my soul as a lion, while there is none to ransom, nor to save.

Psalm 7:2 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 7:2

Lest he tear my soul like a lion
That is, one of his persecutors, the chief of them; it may be Saul, whom the psalmist compares to a lion for his majesty and greatness, the lion being the king among beasts; and for his authority, power, and might, and for his wrath and cruelty, which he feared; and which, should it be exerted on him, would tear his soul, or himself, in pieces; would rend his soul from his body, and dispatch his life; see ( Proverbs 19:12 ) . So the Apostle Paul calls the Roman governor, before whom he was, and from whose hands he was delivered, a lion, for his power and fierceness, ( 2 Timothy 4:17 ) . And so our adversary the devil, the chief of all persecutors, and who instigates others against the saints, is by Peter said to go about like a roaring lion, ( 1 Peter 5:8 ) ;

rending [it] in pieces,
as the lion does his prey when hungry. So Homer

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FOOTNOTES:

F19 compares Polyphemus to a mountain lion, which devours and leaves nothing, neither the intestines, nor flesh, nor bones; and represents
F20 it first taking hold of the creature with its strong teeth, and breaking its neck, and drawing out its blood and all its inwards; see ( Isaiah 38:13 ) ;

while [there is] none to deliver;
no saviour, no deliverer: for if God does not save and deliver his people out of the hands of their persecutors, none can; especially out of the hands of such an one as is here described tearing and rending in pieces. As there is no God besides the Lord, there is no saviour besides him: there is no temporal nor spiritual saviour but he: salvation is not to be expected from any other; and were it not for him, saints must fall a prey to their enemies.

F19 Odyss. 9. v. 292, 293.
F20 Iliad. 11. v. 175, 176. & Iliad. 17. v. 63.

Psalm 7:2 In-Context

1 O Lord my God, in thee have I trusted: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me.

2 Lest at any time the enemy seize my soul as a lion, while there is none to ransom, nor to save.

3 O Lord my God, if I have done this; (if there is unrighteousness in my hands;)

4 if I have requited with evil those who requited me with good; may I then perish empty by means of my enemies.

5 Let the enemy persecute my soul, an take it; and let him trample my life on the ground, and lay my glory in the dust. Pause.

6 Arise, O Lord, in thy wrath; be exalted in the utmost boundaries of mine enemies: awake, O Lord my God, according to the decree which thou didst command.

7 And the congregation of the nations shall compass thee: and for this cause do thou return on high.

8 The Lord shall judge the nations: judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, and according to my innocence that is in me.

9 Oh let the wickedness of sinners come to an end; and then thou shalt direct the righteous, O God that searchest the hearts and reins.

10 My help is righteous, coming from God who saves the upright in heart.

11 God is a righteous judge, and strong, and patient, not inflicting vengeance every day.

12 If ye will not repent, he will furbish his sword; he has bent his bow, and made it ready.

13 And on it he has fitted the instruments of death; he has completed his arrows for the raging ones.

14 Behold, he has travailed with unrighteousness, he has conceived trouble, and brought forth iniquity.

15 He has opened a pit, and dug it up, and he shall fall into the ditch which he has made.

16 His trouble shall return on his own head, and his unrighteousness shall come down on his own crown.

17 I will give thanks to the Lord according to his righteousness; I will sing to the name of the Lord most high.