What does Psalm 7:5 mean?

These consequences are dramatic, nothing David truly expects to happen. His enemies (Psalm 7:1–2) may have accused him of terrible things (Psalm 7:3–4); these are slander. David is confident he is innocent of those crimes, so he emphasizes his innocence by accepting severe punishment "if" such things were true.

A modern person might say, "you can take me to prison if I'm lying, but I know this is the truth." In a similar sense, David was willing for God to allow enemies to overtake him and kill him. He was willing for the enemy to humiliate and humble him, even ruining his good name for all of eternity. However, he was comfortable stating his innocence; he was innocent of all the malicious charges that the enemy laid against him.

It should be the goal of every believer to be faithful to the Lord until death. The apostle Paul ran the Christian race faithfully by disciplining his body (1 Corinthians 9:25–27) and by doing the Lord's will. At the end of his life, he could declare, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7). His honor did not lie in the dust; he would receive the crown of righteousness from the Lord (2 Timothy 4:8).