Life is not right. It is not fair. It is not just. When I was writing this sermon 1000’s of children of poor families could not find a place for their kids to go to school. A hitman had executed the father of a police officer. Last week 17 people were executed. Children are being abused. Women mistreated. There is so much injustice. So much oppression. So many terrible things that never see the light of day. Every person here has their own story of injustice done to them.
Where is God in this? Does he see? Is he good? Is he just? Is he loving? This Psalm answers these questions.
In the Greek Translation of the Hebrew bible Psalm 9 and 10 are one psalm.
In the Hebrew language each stanza begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet from psalm 9-10. This would make it easier to memorize for the people. We can consider them the ABC’s of God’s justice. In Psalm 9 we see the Psalmist almost reminding himself of Gods justice, in the midst of the reality of Psalm 10 when he does not seem to experience that justice.
God sees the unjust suffering of his people.
The Reminder!
“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 see praise to your name, O most High!” This is what we need in an upside-down world we need to worship! Give thanks! That we is what we do here!
“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 judgement.” Who is speaking here? David. Who was he? He is the one chosen by God. So his enemies were Gods enemies. When we say, my enemies turn back – we need to see them as Gods enemies.
You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish; You have blotted 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. Wow how is that for total destruction and annihilation. Hear these words. BLOTTED OUT. Everlasting ruin. Even the memory of them will perish. This is the story of oppression, of evil, of darkness. It feels like it goes on forever, as we suffer. But it is not forever. No in fact the opposite – it will be wiped off the face of the earth forever. Even the memory of it will be gone. This is the call of the gospel! Repent and be saved – or stand before the judge of heaven and earth.
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 memory of the wicked will perish – but the LORD sites enthroned forever! He is the judge and the savior!
This is the amazing thing about how these two roles find their unity in Jesus. God has vindicated his Son, the enemies that encircled him there on the cross where crushed in a moment. Where obliterated by the victory that he has wrought. Forever he conquered them! And he brought all the nations under his rule. He rules NOW beloved!
He is the one who judges justice, and the one who was judged for the sake of those who come to him for refuge. The same LORD that sits enthroned forever 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.” The question is who are you? Oppressing, or broken? The Lords comes to us in our lowliness. Do you seek Him? for real? Or just say that you seek him – when actually you are seeking a lot of other things in life but him? For those who seek him will find him and rejoice.
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.” Though the world moves on – God does not. He hears you. Jesus Christ sits enthroned – he became the afflicted one! And that is where we meet him – at the foot of the cross! He will deliver! He will save. That is what the Lord’s supper is about!
And it is on that basis the Psalmist prays, “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.”
He has just said – this is a God who remembers the cry of those who are afflicted, and now he cries out for the LORD to see his cry. Not just to hear it but see it. It’s one thing to hear someone’s plea for help, it’s another thing to see it, and understand it. O dear child of God – come to him in your brokenness, let him lift you up. You have tried for too long to do it on your own. It has made you broken. It has hardened you. Stop it – he is the one that lifts you from the gates of death – cry to him. Your enemies are real. It is not just physical but spiritual sin, Satan, and this world would want nothing more then to conquer you.
Cry to him. NOW! Jesus bore your sin! So that he might redeem you – and open your mouth to see his praises. That you can sing and shout with Gods people here and shre what he has done for you. For he will deliver his people. And those that reject him will trip over their own plans.
The nations have sunk in the pit they have 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. I love it, “The LORD has made himself known!” He has executed judgement! He has done it, and the wicked are snared in the work off their own hands. We see this happen throughout history all the time. But especially on the cross! There he executed judgment. There the powers of darkness thought they won, but they basically sprung their own trap, and were caught. For it was through their attack on the Son that they would be defeated. And often it is like this for the children of God. WE simply are called to be faithful!
The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations forget God..
For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.” I am not poor you say. I am not needy. O but, yes you are! Do you see that? Your need? A need he alone can fill. Your poverty. The poverty he alone can satisfy. Is that not what this table is about today. Who are you. He cares fore the poor the needy the broken. He cares for us, and makes us whole. The deepest problem is that we don’t see it, and then we don’t think we need God.
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!” This is the reverse of the fall! Men wanted to be God – God must judge them so that they know themselves to be men.
Indeed, the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. Fear is not a word we like in our world. Although we are full of it – fear of sickness, fear of the future, fear of the past, fear of not measuring up, fear of death, fear of loneliness etc. But fearing the LORD? Yes! He we need the fear of GOD again! ARISE O LORD! Judge the nations put the fear of God in them.
What happens when God judges – they become aware of the sentence of death that hangs over them. Temporal and eternal. What happens when that happens, they fear God – and are humbled! And what happens then – the gospel actually becomes the gospel – Good news! O how amazing is this! Gods’ judgement can lead to salvation. the only path for salvation is also clear. It is at the place of judgement in the cross. May you come today as one who knows that this sacrifice is for you. So that you might to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.
Amen