Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 7:2

"Lest they tear my soul like a lion, Rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver." — Psalms 7:2 (ASV)

Lest he tear. — The poet turns from the thought of his enemies generally to the one who has just made himself conspicuous. Such a change from plural to singular often occurs in the Psalms. (Compare to Psalms 41:5-6.)

Rending it in pieces. — The Septuagint, followed by the Vulgate (so too the Syriac), take the verb in its primitive sense of “snatch away,” and translate, “there being none to redeem or deliver.” So Milton: “Tearing, and no rescue near.” Notice the comparison of human enemies to beasts of prey—a reminiscence of the lion and the bear of his youth, so constantly present to David. (1 Samuel 17:37.)