Key Verse:
Psalm 9:8 TPT
8 He will issue his decrees of judgment,
deciding what is right for the entire world,
dispensing justice to all.
Ultimately, justice is in the hands of the Lord.
Where to begin?
There are a couple of notable items concerning the scripture text in this week’s lesson. First, Psalm 9 and Psalm 10 are one complete Psalm, not two. To grasp the entire context of the Psalm, both Psalm 9 and Psalm 10 have to be read together. Second, the combined Psalm is an acrostic. In the original Hebrew, each stanza began with a letter from the Hebrew alphabet, from Aleph to Taw, or rather, from Alpha to Omega (Greek). The English transliteration would be, “from A to Z”, or “from Start to Finish.” Why is this important? Maybe it indicates that David, the author, wanted to ensure that he aired the entirety of his heart before the Lord. He wanted to be careful to leave nothing out. One must also consider that by inspiring David to use the acrostic, God is declaring, "I have seen the oppression of my people and I will redress their pain and give them justice." Jesus, The Alpha, and The Omega, the First and the Last entreated us with these words, "Come unto me all ye who are burdened heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." The acrostic then, reveals God's intent to see justice served. What He has begun, He is able to see through to completion. Though I am using ‘The Passion Translation’ because of its expressive rendering, I will add the acrostic alphabet to the text for effect. In some places, the TPT version adds headings in place of the alphabet. I will add the letter before the heading.
The Lesson
Triumphant Thanks!
For the Pure and Shining One
To the tune of “The Secrets of the Son”[a]
A Psalm of David
The heading of Psalm 9 (above)reveals little to the modern reader. However, it does identify the author as David, the King of Judah. It also makes an allusion to whom the Psalm is written: The Lord; God Almighty! Truly He is pure in Holiness. He is the Father from which all light emanates. Finally, the Holy Spirit provides a nugget that points us to Christ. In this case, it is the tune to which this Psalm is set: The Secret of the Son (as translated by St. Augustine). The Hebrew translation is “The death of the son”. It is believed to be a reference to the death of the first son of David and Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah. The death of this sinless child restored David to God. What a picture of the sacrifice Christ made on our behalf...
Psalm 9:1-2 TPT
(Aleph) Delighting in God
1
I will worship you, Yahweh, with extended hands
as my whole heart erupts with praise![b]
I will tell everyone everywhere about your wonderful works!
2
I will be glad and shout in triumph.
I will sing praise to your exalted name, O Most High.
David opens the first stanza with intentional praise, as is his custom. His attitude of worship before God is singularly focused toward God. Truly, he enters into the presence of God with praise, a heart full of gratitude, a mouth full of thankfulness. He will tell. He will shout. He will sing. What inspiration. Like David, wherever we go, we will tell. In the fellowship of believers, we will shout. In in the congregation and alone, in our devotional times, we will sing; songs of joyous praise and songs of quiet, reverent worship before God.
Psalms 9:3-4 TPT
(Bet) Deliverance
3
For when you appear, I worship
you while my enemies run in retreat.
They stumble and perish before your presence.
4
For you have stood up for my cause
and vindicated me when I needed you the most.
From your righteous throne, you have given me justice.
In times of trouble, who holds your attention? When disaster surrounded Elijah, he discerned that God was not in the storm, nor was HE in the toppling of the mountains. Rather, Elijah heard God in a whisper, and that was enough. The Word of God, in a whisper, will dispel all of your foes. When God appears, we who are His, rejoice. Those who are not His flee in terror.
Furthermore, God stands up for His children. He argues our cause in the Heavens. He declares our innocence to creation. From His throne on high, He is our righteous judge. He has delivered us and will deliver us from all our troubles.
Psalms 9:5-6 TPT
(Gimel) Divine Judgment
5
With a blast of your rebuke, nations are destroyed.
You obliterated their names forever and ever.
6
The Lord thundered and our enemies have been cut off,
vanished in everlasting ruins.
All their cities have been destroyed—
even the memory of them has been erased.
Now, David turns a corner and begins to declare God’s great salvation and the thoroughness with which He vanquishes His enemies. So complete is their destruction, once great nations are unremembered in the annals of history.
Psalm 9:7-8 TPT
(He)
7
But Yahweh, our mighty God, reigns forever!
He sits enthroned as King ready to render his verdicts
and judge all with righteousness.
8
He will issue his decrees of judgment,
deciding what is right for the entire world,
dispensing justice to all.
Yes, God will ultimately judge all. It is He who sits on the circle of the earth, all men are as grasshoppers before Him. On that last, great day of the Lord, we will all appear before the judgment seat, whether it is the Judgement Seat of Christ for believers or, the Great White Throne Judgement for the unsaved.
Psalm 9:9-10 TPT
(Waw)
9
All who are oppressed may come to Yahweh as a high
shelter in the time of trouble, a perfect hiding place.
10
For everyone who knows your wonderful name
keeps putting their trust in you.
They can count on you for help no matter what.
O Lord, you will never, no never, neglect those
who come to you.
But, Beloved, all who are oppressed will be heard. They will not be forsaken by God. Justified, they will live by faith. That faith will see their oppression lifted and their wrongs redressed. God hears and sees all whose hope is in Him.
Psalm 9:11-12 TPT
(Zain)
11
Listen, everyone! Sing out your praises to the God
who rules in Zion!
Tell the world about all the miracles he has done!
12
He tracks down killers and avenges bloodshed,
but he will never forget the ones forgotten by others,
hearing every one of their cries for justice.
While the lesson ends here, the Psalm does not. In fact, David seems to be just now coming to the point. Yes, He reigns! Yes, He works miracles among us. But God is our Avenger. He will avenge every wrong. He will punish every injustice. He will right every wrong.
In these times, there is an outcry for justice throughout the world. The economic disparity that exists between the rich and the poor fuels an ever-increasing cry for economic justice. The rich cannot continue to grow richer at the expense of the poor. Equity must be reached somehow.
Just as urgent is the cry for social justice, a cry that has endured through the ages, as one group discriminates, sometimes openly, against another because of differences in ethnicity, even though all bleed the same red blood. Included in this social justice arena are gender bias, racism, classism, and any number of other -isms that continue to divide us.
And now, in this age, there is an increasing awareness of environmental injustice that places the poorest among us in the poorest of living situations. Conversely, there is an inordinate hoarding of resources by the wealthy, so much so that our excesses threaten the very viability of the ecosystem that we all must live in.
Beloved, David, the psalmist assures us that God will set all of this aright. Nothing will escape His eternal gaze. He hears every cry and sees every child’s tears. He will not forget. He did not forget the Hebrew children enslaved in Egypt. He avenged every injustice against them. The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King summarized it in this way: “The arc of history is long, but it bends towards justice.” Beloved, God will complete His story with justice.
Selah,
wb
p.s. below: Psalm 9 and 10 combined with the acrostic acknowledgment for your perusal. In order to better understand the entirety of David’s effort, it would be beneficial to reread both Psalms together in your devotional time.
Psalm 9 (KJV)
(Aleph)
1 I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.
(Bet)
3 When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.
4 For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right.
(Gimel)
5 Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.
6 O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them.
(He)
7 But the Lord shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.
8 And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.
(Waw)
9 The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
10 And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.
(Zain)
11 Sing praises to the Lord, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.
12 When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.
(Het)
13 Have mercy upon me, O Lord; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:
14 That I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation.
(Tet)
15 The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
16 The Lord is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.
(Yod)
17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
(Kaph)
18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.
19 Arise, O Lord; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight.
20 Put them in fear, O Lord: that the nations may know themselves to be but men.
Selah.
Psalm 10 KJV
(Lamed)
1 Why standest thou afar off, O Lord? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?
2 The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.
(Mem)
3 For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth.
(Nun)
4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.
5 His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.
6 He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.
(Samek)
(Pe)
7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.
8 He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages:
(Ain)
in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor.
9 He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor:
(Zade)
he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net.
10 He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones.
11 He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.
(Qoph)
12 Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.
13 Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.
(Resh)
14 Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.
(Shin)
15 Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.
16 The Lord is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.
(Taw)
17 Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:
18 To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.
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