◄ Psalm 7:7 ►
Let the assembled peoples gather around You; take Your seat over them on high.
Study Bible
Let the assembled peoples
The phrase "assembled peoples" refers to a gathering of nations or groups, indicating a collective unity before God. In Hebrew, the word for "peoples" is "עַמִּים" (amim), which often denotes not just the Israelites but all nations. This suggests a universal call to worship and recognize God's sovereignty. Historically, this reflects the vision of God's ultimate authority over all humanity, a theme prevalent throughout the Psalms. The assembly of peoples can be seen as a foreshadowing of the eschatological gathering where all nations will acknowledge God.

gather around You
The act of gathering around God signifies a centralization of focus and worship. The Hebrew root "סָבַב" (sabab) means to encircle or surround, indicating a protective and reverent posture towards the divine presence. This imagery evokes the idea of God as the central figure of authority and worship, reminiscent of the Israelites encamping around the Tabernacle in the wilderness. It underscores the importance of community in worship and the acknowledgment of God's central role in the life of believers.

take Your seat
The phrase "take Your seat" is a call for God to assume His rightful position of authority and judgment. In Hebrew, the word "שָׁבַת" (shavat) can mean to sit or dwell, often used in contexts of kingship and judgment. This imagery is powerful, portraying God as the ultimate judge and ruler, seated on a throne. It reflects the ancient Near Eastern practice where kings would sit to render judgments, emphasizing God's role as the just and righteous judge over all creation.

over them on high
The phrase "on high" denotes a position of exaltation and supreme authority. The Hebrew word "מָרוֹם" (marom) is often used to describe something elevated or lofty, symbolizing God's transcendence and majesty. This highlights the divine nature of God's rule, far above human authority and understanding. It serves as a reminder of God's omnipotence and the reverence due to Him. Historically, this reflects the belief in God's heavenly throne, a central theme in Jewish and Christian eschatology, where God reigns supreme over all the earth.

Persons / Places / Events
1. David
The author of the psalm, who is seeking God's justice and protection from his enemies.

2. God
The central figure to whom David directs his plea for justice and righteousness.

3. Assembled Peoples
Refers to the nations or groups of people who are called to gather around God, acknowledging His sovereignty.

4. Enemies of David
Though not directly mentioned in this verse, they are the context for David's plea throughout the psalm.

5. Judgment Seat
Symbolizes God's authority and His role as the ultimate judge over all peoples.
Teaching Points
God's Sovereignty
Recognize that God is the ultimate authority over all nations and peoples. His judgment is righteous and just.

Call to Gather
As believers, we are called to gather in God's presence, acknowledging His lordship and seeking His guidance.

Trust in Divine Justice
In times of trouble or injustice, trust that God sees all and will judge rightly in His time.

Community of Believers
The "assembled peoples" can also be seen as the community of believers who come together to worship and honor God.

Living Under God's Authority
Live your life with the awareness that God is the supreme judge, and align your actions with His will.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does understanding God's role as judge influence your perspective on justice and fairness in your own life?

2. In what ways can you actively participate in the "assembly" of believers today, both in worship and in community?

3. How does the imagery of God taking His seat on high provide comfort or challenge in your current circumstances?

4. What are some practical steps you can take to align your life more closely with God's authority and righteousness?

5. How can the concept of divine justice shape your response to personal or societal injustices you encounter?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Psalm 9:7-8
This passage also speaks of God sitting on His throne, judging the world in righteousness, which parallels the imagery of God taking His seat over the assembled peoples.

Revelation 20:11-12
Describes the great white throne judgment, where God judges all people, connecting to the theme of divine judgment and authority.

Hebrews 12:23
Refers to the assembly of the firstborn in heaven, drawing a connection to the gathering of peoples around God.
Sermons
David's Strong LanguageJoseph Parker, D. D.Psalm 7:7
An Appeal from the SlanderedWilliam Nicholson, D. D.Psalm 7:1-17
David and His EnemiesThomas Wilcocks.Psalm 7:1-17
Exemplary Conduct Under Social TrialHomilistPsalm 7:1-17
The Ferocity of PersecutorsJeremiah Burroughs.Psalm 7:1-17
The Slandered Saint Appealing to His GodC. Clemance Psalm 7:1-17
Trust in GodJ. P. Wright.Psalm 7:1-17
Trust in GodC. Short Psalm 7:1-17
Turning to God in Time of NeedF. B. Meyer, B. A.Psalm 7:1-17
People
David, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Assembly, Company, Compass, Congregation, Encompass, Gather, Gathered, Meeting, Nations, Peoples, Return, Round, Rule, Sakes, Seat, Surround, Turn
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 7:6

     5360   justice, God
     5534   sleep, spiritual

Library
January the Twenty-Ninth Noble Revenge
"I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy." --PSALM vii. 4. That is the noblest revenge, and in those moments David had intimate knowledge of the spirit of his Lord. "If thine enemy hunger, feed him!" Evil for good is devil-like. To receive a favour and to return a blow! To obtain the gift of language, and then to use one's speech to curse the giver! To use a sacred sword is unholy warfare! All this is devil-like. Evil for evil is beast-like. Yes, the dog bites back when it is …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

Turn or Burn
In the first place, what is the turning here meant? In the second place let us dwell on the necessity there is for men's turning, otherwise God will punish them; and then thirdly, let me remind you of the means whereby men can be turned from the error of their ways, and the weakness and frailty of their nature amended by the power of divine grace. I. In the first place, my hearers, let me endeavour to explain to you the NATURE OF THE TURNING HERE MEANT. It says--"if he turn not he will whet his sword." …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 2: 1856

Self-Respect and Self-Righteousness
PSALM vii. 8. Give sentence for me, O Lord, according to my righteousness; and according to the innocency that is in me. Is this speech self-righteous? If so, it is a bad speech; for self- righteousness is a bad temper of mind; there are few worse. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar. …
Charles Kingsley—The Good News of God

Love for Hate, the True Quid Pro Quo
'And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily. 5. And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him, because he had out off Saul's skirt. 6. And he said unto his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord's anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

A Bundle of Proverbs
'Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly. 23. The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips. 24. Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones. 25. There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. 26. He that laboureth laboureth for himself; for his mouth craveth it of him. 27. An ungodly man diggeth up evil: and in his lips there is as a …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Of Having Confidence in God when Evil Words are Cast at Us
"My Son, stand fast and believe in Me. For what are words but words? They fly through the air, but they bruise no stone. If thou are guilty, think how thou wouldst gladly amend thyself; if thou knowest nothing against thyself, consider that thou wilt gladly bear this for God's sake. It is little enough that thou sometimes hast to bear hard words, for thou art not yet able to bear hard blows. And wherefore do such trivial matters go to thine heart, except that thou art yet carnal, and regardest …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

The Exile --Continued.
There are many echoes of this period of Engedi in the Psalms. Perhaps the most distinctly audible of these are to be found in the seventh psalm, which is all but universally recognised as David's, even Ewald concurring in the general consent. It is an irregular ode--for such is the meaning of Shiggaion in the title, and by its broken rhythms and abrupt transitions testifies to the emotion of its author. The occasion of it is said to be "the words of Cush the Benjamite." As this is a peculiar name …
Alexander Maclaren—The Life of David

Twenty-Third Lesson Bear Fruit, that the Father May Give what Ye Ask;'
Bear fruit, that the Father may give what ye ask;' Or, Obedience the Path to Power in Prayer. Ye did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that ye should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide: that whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, He may give it you.'--John xv. 16. The fervent effectual prayer of a righteous man availeth much.'--James. v. 16. THE promise of the Father's giving whatsoever we ask is here once again renewed, in such a connection as …
Andrew Murray—With Christ in the School of Prayer

The Section Chap. I. -iii.
The question which here above all engages our attention, and requires to be answered, is this: Whether that which is reported in these chapters did, or did not, actually and outwardly take place. The history of the inquiries connected with this question is found most fully in Marckius's "Diatribe de uxore fornicationum," Leyden, 1696, reprinted in the Commentary on the Minor Prophets by the same author. The various views may be divided into three classes. 1. It is maintained by very many interpreters, …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

The Blessings of Noah Upon Shem and Japheth. (Gen. Ix. 18-27. )
Ver. 20. "And Noah began and became an husbandman, and planted vineyards."--This does not imply that Noah was the first who began to till the ground, and, more especially, to cultivate the vine; for Cain, too, was a tiller of the ground, Gen. iv. 2. The sense rather is, that Noah, after the flood, again took up this calling. Moreover, the remark has not an independent import; it serves only to prepare the way for the communication of the subsequent account of Noah's drunkenness. By this remark, …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Calvin -- Enduring Persecution for Christ
John Calvin was born in 1509, at Noyon, France. He has been called the greatest of Protestant commentators and theologians, and the inspirer of the Puritan exodus. He often preached every day for weeks in succession. He possest two of the greatest elements in successful pulpit oratory, self-reliance and authority. It was said of him, as it was afterward said of Webster, that "every word weighed a pound." His style was simple, direct, and convincing. He made men think. His splendid contributions to …
Various—The World's Great Sermons, Volume I

Some General Uses from this Useful Truth, that Christ is the Truth.
Having thus cleared up this truth, we should come to speak of the way of believers making use of him as the truth, in several cases wherein they will stand in need of him as the truth. But ere we come to the particulars, we shall first propose some general uses of this useful point. First. This point of truth serveth to discover unto us, the woful condition of such as are strangers to Christ the truth; and oh, if it were believed! For, 1. They are not yet delivered from that dreadful plague of …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

He Does Battle for the Faith; He Restores Peace among those who were at Variance; He Takes in Hand to Build a Stone Church.
57. (32). There was a certain clerk in Lismore whose life, as it is said, was good, but his faith not so. He was a man of some knowledge in his own eyes, and dared to say that in the Eucharist there is only a sacrament and not the fact[718] of the sacrament, that is, mere sanctification and not the truth of the Body. On this subject he was often addressed by Malachy in secret, but in vain; and finally he was called before a public assembly, the laity however being excluded, in order that if it were …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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