“The wicked conceive evil; they are pregnant with trouble and give birth to lies. They dig a deep pit to trap others, then fall into it themselves. The trouble they make for others backfires on them. The violence they plan falls on their own heads.”
Psalm 7:14-16 NLT
David continues his Psalm with another rant about wicked people, written in a language rich with analogy and graphic in detail. He compares the thoughtful ways of an evil person with pregnancy. The moment of conception is when a wicked idea emerges in a person’s mind. Then the gestation commences, as the idea gains weight and form, and finally a bundle of lies is born. Anyone with an imagination can immediately grasp what David was getting at, and the analogy is one that we pilgrims can relate to. We can imagine someone who is thinking of stealing a lot of money. The idea is conceived, perhaps to rob a bank. This is followed by the growth of the idea, as plans are made to circumvent the bank’s security systems, a process that might take quite a time, needing careful planning by the evil mind. Perhaps a tunnel into the vault is required, or the help of a corrupt insider engaged. And then finally the evil deed is carried out, giving birth to the robbery. But most evil as considered by David, is not as dramatic and instead concerns everyday life, lived the devil’s way. It may start as a bit of a joke. Or an innocent thought might become corrupted by a mind unrestrained by a guilty conscience. But whatever the situation, mankind’s propensity for evil needs little encouragement.
David continues to describe what happens to the evil that has appeared as a new birth. He paints a picture of the evil people digging a “deep pit” to try and capture someone who they hope will fall into it. Perhaps the pit he describes could today be a situation much like the scene in the Garden, when the devil, masquerading as a snake, cleverly but evilly, twists words to trap a person into doing something they shouldn’t. We see such attempts in news interviews where the journalist formulates trick questions that try and trap someone into saying things they don’t want to, or putting them into a position where they are trapped by their own words. In a court of law, a clever prosecutor will try and “dig a deep pit” for the accused or a witness with questions designed to discredit their defence or testimony. But whatever the “deep pit” is, David envisages the evil person falling into their own trap, with the trouble they birth causing them the grief they try and impose on others.
In the context of Psalm 7, David was writing about evil in the presence of God. Verse 11, “God is an honest judge. He is angry with the wicked every day”. Ultimately, evil people will discover the consequences of their evil, either in a human court, or, if they escape that, when they stand before God on that terrible day we read about in Revelation 20.
But we pilgrims are not those who think about evil deeds. Paul wrote about evil people in his Ephesian letter, “Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity” (Ephesians 4:18-19). These are people whose minds dwell on evil, giving birth to “every kind of impurity”. But Paul goes on, “But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy” (Ephesians 4:20-24). We pilgrims have to do something. We have to be proactive in our thinking to avoid falling into evil ways, and let the Holy “Spirit renew [our] thoughts and attitudes”. Our hearts and minds will not, by some miracle, become instantly pure and holy when we became a Christian, because the sin within us will constantly battle for the upper hand. If we drop our guards, even for a moment, then David’s picture emerges, as evil is conceived. The enemy is constantly looking for an opportunity to plant an evil seed in our minds, so we pray for protection from the evil one (“deliver us from evil”), and we read God’s Word, allowing it to refresh our minds day by day.
Dear Father God. We pray Jesus’ prayer this morning, for deliverance from evil and temptation. In Your precious name we pray. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 