Psalm 9:1-12
Sweet
relief! Nothing can feel quite as wonderful as when the pressures of life
suddenly lift. It is as if the weight has been lifted off your shoulders. You
energy level increases and you fell a spring in your step again. Those around
you notice the change. Sleep returns to normal. Instead of being one edge every
moment, you find the time and space to relax. What a wonderful feeling.
And
when that relief comes, and you know it was the LORD who brought you relief,
you want to tell people about what happened. You want to share the goodness of
the LORD with others. The relief is so sweet, that you just have to tell people
about it. You can’t keep that kind of joy bottled up.
I
think it is this kind of experience that the Psalmist was trying to record as
he wrote today’s section. The joy was bubbling up. He gives thanks with all his
heart, not just part of it. It is really wonderful to have someone truly
grateful for a gift. You can see it in their eyes. They overflow with a genuine
heart of thanks. You can also tell when someone is just being polite in their
expressions of thanks. The Psalmist is bubbling over. He wants to tell other
people about what the LORD has done for him.
He
feels vindicated. He was right all along. Their evil has come back to haunt
them. And this is the work of the LORD. There is nothing David could have done
to bring this about. It was the LORD who did it. He turned them back from their
pursuit of David. He has passed judgment on them. He rebuked the nations.
What
I find interesting is that most of the nations that attacked Israel at that
time in history have faded from the world stage. There are no groups of people
who claim these nations as their own. Israel is unique in that they survived
intact. There have always been a people since that point in history who called
themselves Jews. But no peoples call themselves Hittites, Ninevites, Amorites, Canaanites,
or any other group. They have all vanished from the active pages of history. We
only know of them from the pages of history and the sifting screens of
archaeologists.
The
response to the LORD’s intervention in the writer’s life is worship. He has
felt the pressure of his enemies weighing on him. And now he feels relief. He
doesn’t pat himself on the back and claim the victory for himself. He could
have run a Twitter campaign of self-congratulatory words. But instead, he
breaks out in worship. He gives the LORD all the credit.
One
of the downfalls today of individuals and society at large, is that we try to
take credit for the good things that happen, and pass the buck when things go
wrong. But our writer acknowledges that the LORD is in charge. He is on the
seat of power and authority. He rules as a fair and just ruler, something rare
in today’s world. Those who are the weakest can know that they will be
protected by Him. They can find refuge from the onslaught of attack.
If
we know the LORD, we will trust in Him. And He will never forsake us. So let’s
take this message to the world. This is the kind of news that needs to be
spread to the nations. This is Good News.