“O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands, if I have repaid my friend with evil or plundered my enemy without cause, let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it, and let him trample my life to the ground and lay my glory in the dust. Selah” –Psalm 7:3–5
It is one thing to claim one does not have any sin, but it’s another thing altogether to be accused of sin that others have fabricated. There are few things more discouraging than being slandered. But it is clear from both the biblical narrative (2 Samuel 15) and the Psalms, that much like our modern politicians, Absalom knew how to run a smear campaign. And it was clearly hurting David.
By way of a trinity of “ifs,” David makes an oath, solemnly affirming his integrity. He calls for his own death, along with the discrediting of his glory, if he is guilty as charged. In other words, like all human beings, of course, David is guilty of sin, but not those sins.
How often can we be that confident about our integrity that we could call down a curse upon our heads if they charges against us were true?
“Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, a curse that is causeless does not alight.” –Proverbs 26:2