Psalm Saturday: Psalm 9

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.
__________________________

In this Psalm we see a striking contrast between God and man.

First, God is portrayed as having several distinct characteristics. He does wonderful deeds. He is righteous. He alone is able to pass judgment. He blots out the memory of evil. He is a fortress for the poor, needy, and oppressed. He saves those in trouble. And in the end, God will destroy the wicked and those who have forgotten him.

On the other hand, man is portrayed quite differently. Man is finite. We are often wicked. We oppress the poor and needy. We will be judged for our deeds one day.

Although this contrast is quite stark, it also brings to light the grace of God as seen in the last few verses. Despite the fact that we as people are dirty, despicable, and totally unworthy of mercy, God passes on his wonderful deeds to us in that he saves us from our situation.

God does not forget people in our times of need, most significantly, our need for salvation. Our hope need not perish. The Lord will rise up and save the righteous. Wickedness shall not prevail. The nations will all one realized the fact that God is Lord, and he demands righteousness. I am reminded of Paul's words in Philippians that one day "every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:10-11).

In light of this, we as people are called to be righteous, too. We should exhibit the same kind of love as our Father. We should literally live like God, pouring out love. This should particularly done for the poor and oppressed. God has a special place in his heart for the poor, and so should we. He will not forget them, and we shouldn't either.

God is righteous, and one day, we will all see the glory and righteousness of God. However, it is up to us to determine how we will see it: with a feeling of thankfulness and gratitude because of our love for him and our righteousness through him, or a feeling of despair, guilt, and hopelessness because we forsook the gift that God offered us.