Day # 7 (Psalm 9) – “Stronghold for the Oppressed”

​GATHERING
RESPONSIVE CALL | Matthew 6:19–24
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,

but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
 
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,  

but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. 

If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. 

You cannot serve God and money.


ASSURANCE | Psalm 121:1-2 [ESV]
I lift up my eyes to the hills.
    From where does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
    who made heaven and earth.


SING: Gloria Patri [sheet music] [demo recording]
Glory be to the Father
And to the Son and to the Holy Ghost
As it was in the beginning
Is now and ever shall be world without end
Amen Amen

WORD
Read Psalm 9
2nd Reading: I Peter 2:20-25
 “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.”  (V.7-8) 
 
Psalm 9 shows that God’s justice is a blessing for the oppressed.  The author of this psalm is David and we might wonder how these reflections on the justice of God shaped his execution of justice as the king of Israel.   Language about God judging shows up repeatedly. In particular, the justice of God makes him a stronghold for the oppressed (v.9.)  For example, God “does not forget the cry of the afflicted” (v.12), “the needy shall not be forgotten” (v.18), and “the poor shall not perish forever” (v.18.)  While Americans celebrate the ideals of “liberty and justice for all” our experience of human justice often falls short.  As we look to the wider world around us we are reminded that in many places the situation is even far worse.  Psalm 9 directs our hope for justice to God.  He is able to intervene now in human affairs.  Sometimes we see the wicked among the nations “sunk in the pit they have made” (v.15.)  In the future, we will see God display perfect justice on the final day of judgment.  Either way, each person will have to give account for his or her actions. 
 
The psalm invites us to consider how we can live in the face of the injustice we experience now.  In the New Testament, Peter encourages Christians to endure unjust suffering.  Now it is hard to suffer in any circumstance, but when we suffer for something that was not our fault, there is a deep sting in that.  Peter’s admonition is to look to Jesus as a helper in the midst of suffering.  When Jesus had to endure ridicule and even torture from his oppressors, he did not lie, revile, or threaten (I Peter 2:22-23.)  Instead, “he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”  Through his suffering Jesus became both our savior (I Peter 2:24-25) and our example (I Peter 2:21.) 
 
It is proper for us to desire and seek after justice in this life.  We should not be complacent in the face of injustices.  But we should also be realistic.  We will, at times, experience a failure of justice that cannot be rectified.  When this happens, we have an opportunity to draw near to Jesus and follow him by “entrusting ourselves to him who judges justly.”  


ABIDING
SING | Psalm 121

• Metrical Psalter 121 [MUSIC] [demo recording]
• Psalm 121 | I Lift My Eyes [MUSIC] [recording]

LECTIO DIVINA | Psalm 121
We memorize things we value. The brain has an incredible ability to remove information that we don’t need. As we make an effort to memorize the Psalms, the beginning of each week seeks to establish the value of God's Word in our hearts before we view it as information to be remembered. Read more about the Lectio Divina HERE.
Receive God's Word from Psalm 121 as a gift as you read or listen. 

1. Re-read and meditate on the meaning of the Psalm. If you are in a group, briefly share an idea that applies to your life. 
   
2. Pick an attribute of the Psalm and pray from it in your own words.
   
3. Silently contemplate how God has spoken to you through his Word.
   

SENDING
LORD'S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, 
hallowed be your Name, 
your kingdom come, 
your will be done, 
on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread. 
And forgive us our debts, 
as we also have forgiven our debtors

And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. 
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, 
Amen.

COMMISSION | Psalm 121:7–8 [ESV]
The LORD will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
The LORD will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.