In Ancient Near Eastern feudalism, one would present before the sovereign emperor a petition against injustice. The natural assumption is not that the Lord doesn’t know, but that He won’t necessarily act if you think you can handle it. Delegation is a necessity of life, but when someone else interferes with your assigned domain, it may be necessary to seek enforcement. The question presented here is not asking God to judge on some question, but to enforce His own declared Laws.
In that culture, stating the obvious is simply a matter of offering context. David cries out for justice, not simply revenge. The issue is God’s reputation. Unlike an earthly sovereign given to human boredom, God doesn’t play head games, though it might seem like it by our Western standards. David is wholly unafraid to come before God because his life is an open book. David’s heart was committed to God’s moral character. The biblical concept of violence is using unjustified force for unjustified gain, and David was careful to understand and avoid that mistake.
At God’s whim, He may elect to restore justice in some spectacular fashion. When a situation becomes truly unjust, that may be what’s coming. David doesn’t complain if God takes His time responding, because it can only signal His intent to do something glorious and unmistakably the work of His hand. David has seen such things with his own eyes before. He compares God’s miraculous care to a man’s instinct to protect his eyes. David suffers no arrogance about being so highly favored of God, but is awestruck.
And he is no fool about how God allows some folks enough rope to hang themselves. So it’s not a panic-stricken call that he feels surrounded at times. The cold winds of his own demise seem to blow often in his life. The threats are all too real, but so is God’s protection. Thus, he calls on the Lord to humble the enemies and restore His own divine justice. While some seem to profit from injustice and it appears all is well for them, David has no quarrel with their earthly prosperity. Such is not the real measure of God’s favor. What David wants is divine favor as expressed in something far more subtle and eternal. He wants a clear vision of what pleases his Creator, because the moral truth is more valuable than all the world.
