DIVINE JUDGE-KING
Opening Prayer
Lord, I consider You as king of the universe.
Read PSALM 9
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David.
1 I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.
3 My enemies turn back;
they stumble and perish before you.
4 For you have upheld my right and my cause,
sitting enthroned as the righteous judge.
5 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.
6 Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies,
you have uprooted their cities;
even the memory of them has perished.
7 The Lord reigns forever;
he has established his throne for judgment.
8 He rules the world in righteousness
and judges the peoples with equity.
9 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
11 Sing the praises of the Lord, enthroned in Zion;
proclaim among the nations what he has done.
12 For he who avenges blood remembers;
he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.
13 Lord, see how my enemies persecute me!
Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,
14 that I may declare your praises
in the gates of Daughter Zion,
and there rejoice in your salvation.
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;
their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
16 The Lord is known by his acts of justice;
the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.
17 The wicked go down to the realm of the dead,
all the nations that forget God.
18 But God will never forget the needy;
the hope of the afflicted will never perish.
19 Arise, Lord, do not let mortals triumph;
let the nations be judged in your presence.
20 Strike them with terror, Lord;
let the nations know they are only mortal.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
“The Lord reigns forever” (Psa. 9:7a).
Think Further
Psalm 9 uses rich images to portray the Lord, the most dominant of which is “kingship.” How is it so? Appearing in the psalm as the king enthroned in Zion, the Lord is sovereign over all nations and his reign will last forever (4,7,8,11,19). One of the key roles of divine kingship is as the judge of the nations (7,8). In the past, he has executed punishment against the wicked nations; their ruins have witnessed God’s justice (5,6). God has made himself known by implementing judgment (16). He judges the world with righteousness and equity (8).
This feature of divine kingship forms a firm theological foundation on which prayers for help and songs of praise are based. For the Lord, as a stronghold for the oppressed, has the power and commitment to set things right in the human world, not abandoning those who seek him and not forgetting the cry of the afflicted (9,10,12). No wonder the psalmist cries out to the Lord for deliverance from his enemies (13,19,20), and he summons his fellow Israelites to sing praise for God’s acts (11).
This divine judge-king reminds me of Jesus’ parable of the widow and the unjust judge. Even the unjust judge, who initially rejects the widow’s pleas, eventually relents and grants her request after she bothers him ad nauseam. How much more would our heavenly Father be receptive to our cry to him in times of trouble? Jesus uses this parable to encourage his disciples to seek God’s help relentlessly. The psalmist never stops pleading to God, even though he implicitly acknowledges that God does not dispense retribution immediately (19).
Apply
“Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Gen. 18:25). May Abraham’s conviction also be ours. Let’s bring our pleas to our Judge-King and not be discouraged.
Closing prayer
Lord, You are my refuge in my time of trouble. Plead my cause in the face of my enemies.
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