Psalm 7:8 says: “The LORD judges the peoples; vindicate me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.” In Psalm 7, David is calling to God because of what he sees as the unrighteous oppression of his enemies. In this verse, he asserts that God will indeed judge those enemies — and remembers that the same God will also judge HIM! (The word translated “vindicate” here is literally the Hebrew word “judge.”)

So the bottom line is, the same God will judge both David and his enemies: “judge the peoples” and “judge me”. God will do both. Whatever the truth is, it will come out, and right will one day be vindicated. If David is not as righteous as he claims, he will be corrected. If his enemies were wrong, then things will be set right.

This belief in God’s universal judgment is an integral part of our faith. We are tempted to think: “They are getting away with it; they will never be punished for what they did.” But trust in God’s judgment is vital; it is a key both to maintaining a good attitude, and responding rightly to others. We must trust what God’s word says, and believe that He really will judge the wrong that others have done. This allows us to “keep our sanity” when we see the wicked apparently succeeding, and also keeps us from taking things into our own hands in an unrighteous way.

That latter response is a key, for we must also remember that our enemies are not the only ones God will judge. As was true of David here, WE are also accountable to Him. We need to let that accountability correct and direct our actions too. For the standard of righteousness, and the Judge who oversees it, is the same for us as well as for others.