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PSALM 9
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
When my enemies turn back,
they stumble and perish before your presence.
For you have maintained my just cause;
you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.
You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish;
you have blotted out their name forever and ever.
The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins;
their cities you rooted out;
the very memory of them has perished.
But the Lord sits enthroned forever;
he has established his throne for justice,
and he judges the world with righteousness;
he judges the peoples with uprightness.
The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion!
Tell among the peoples his deeds!
For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
Be gracious to me, O Lord!
See my affliction from those who hate me,
O you who lift me up from the gates of death,
that I may recount all your praises,
that in the gates of the daughter of Zion
I may rejoice in your salvation.
The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.
The Lord has made himself known; he has executed judgment;
the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah
The wicked shall return to Sheol,
all the nations that forget God.
For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail;
let the nations be judged before you!
Put them in fear, O Lord!
Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah
This Psalm of thanksgiving is because we worship a God who has established His throne for justice. The fact that He is on a throne shows He is in authority as a king would be. That His throne is one of justice, is hopeful for the person who is oppressed because he knows this is a place he can come for help. God is also described as righteous as well. It isn’t often we hear both terms together
The next paragraph describes His throne as a stronghold for the oppressed, where they can go in times of trouble. What a comfort. This God, who is a righteous judge, sitting on a throne, is not so distant that He can’t be touched by His people and their needs. That topic comes up once again in the next to last paragraph where he talks about the needy and poor who are not forgotten. It is very hopeful when we do.
The author of this Psalm describes many hopeful events that come from the presence of this righteous judge. His enemies turn back, my just cause is maintained, my enemies have been rebuked, God has seen my affliction.
The discouraging part is that his payback in terms of justice, is not always on my timetable. Sometimes, it doesn’t come in this lifetime. But it will come!
What else do you see about this righteous judge that you find comforting? discouraging?
