Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Ps 9:2-3 and following. Indeed, in their prophetic aspect, Ps. 9 and 10 are closely related. Ps. 9 depicts the enemy from outside: the nations in coalition against Israel; Ps. 10 introduces the enemy within: the ungodly oppressors persecuting the faithful residue. The actions of the villains are only for a limited time. Their name will be erased forever; their devastation will come to an end forever and the wait of the debonairs will not perish forever. Indeed, it is also forever that Jehovah is seated: “He has established His throne for judgment” (Ps 58:11-12). He will then demand an account of the blood and tears of the faithful, shed under all the savings. He will avenge the oppressed, the afflicted whose cry he has not forgotten. But the great charge against humanity, suggested by the title of the psalm, is the death of the Son of God: the outrage done to God by the world by crucifying his Beloved. A terrible judgment is suspended on the race of its murderers. For in the parable of the sheep and goats (Mat 25:31-46) the Lord Jesus describes the judgment of the nations at the dawn of His Kingdom and announces that everyone will be judged according to what has been done to himself.
Then we can notice here, as confirmation of what we have advanced previously, that the righteous man, the Messiah according to the counsel of God, – but rejected (with the afflictions of the residue that flow from it and into which he enters), and consequently glorified as the Son of man and established on all the works of the hands of God – having been placed before us in the first eight Psalms, we find ourselves first in the last days, when the righteous residue will be under the oppression of the wicked and the nations. The two psalms take us into the circumstances of these last days in more detail. For the Messiah, in spirit, in the oppressed residue, recognizes the righteousness of the God who sits on the throne, judging justly. And the fall and destruction of the enemy when God appears, is vividly illustrated in Scripture, in the days of divine visitation and judgment (Ps 114; Ex. 14:24-25; John 18:6). They are anticipated in the condemnation and ruin of the wicked – the Antichrist of the last day (Rev 19). What a terrible solemnity when the nations learn “that they are only men”, although they have lived intoxicated by the serpent’s lie: “you will be like gods”.
Let’s also note in passing, the great difference between the celebration of God’s righteousness, sitting on the throne, justly judging, and avenging the righteous man of the oppressor, and this other scene, where we see Christ on the cross who has not been avenged on earth, but who declares himself abandoned by God (Mat 27:46); his enemies, in appearance, performing all their wicked counsel against him; but then, righteousness being established by heavenly ways, God’s righteousness causes him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places: “Righteousness, for I go unto the Father, and ye shall no longer see me” (John 16:10). As far as this righteousness is concerned, it was entirely removed from this world, so that the disciples, as being in the flesh, and this was the case of the Jews, no longer saw it. He had glorified God, and was glorified in God as God had been glorified in him. The justice that judged the oppressor, though exercised by God who alone is truly just and has power, had its sphere and measure in the earthly government and in the distinction it made between the just and the wicked in the midst of men, between the oppressed and the oppressor: it bound itself to the just government of God. For the understanding of this difference is a key to understanding the whole structure of the Psalms.
Indeed, in verse 6 we find an important principle for faith in all times, then realized in fact: the efforts of the enemy here on earth are for a time; it can, God permitting, destroy present prosperity; – the Lord dwells forever; we only have to do his will on the path that is before our feet; his will will always be fulfilled in the end. This will that we accomplish in our race, perhaps in affliction and suffering now, will certainly dominate at the end of the road. The time had come when the destruction had to end forever – the cities and their memory had been destroyed: Jehovah dwells forever. We have heard of Job’s patience (James 5:11) – this was during the course of his trial; but we have seen the Lord’s end – this becomes a foundation of faith. For faith walks with the One who certainly holds the end in his hands: he sits forever; he prepared his throne for judgment. He will judge the universal world in justice and exercise judgment over peoples with righteousness. This is the public character of the Lord; but there is a particular side of his personal character, the manifestation of which, also public, is the main subject of Ps. 9: with the first public character of which we have just spoken, it really forms the great subject of all the Psalms; these two characters are known only to the faith and they are celebrated in anticipation. This second character is that Jehovah is a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in the time of distress. That is why those who know his name trust in the Lord at all times. His intervention on behalf of those who seek him on that day, will make his name glorious in every place.
Another point is presented to us here: the Lord, revealing himself in this way, dwells in Zion. His exploits (that is, what He does for the glory of His name, by the judgment in favor of the residue) will be published among the peoples, so that the faithful of the residue will thus be made capable of trusting in Him. Jehovah thus returned to Zion at the end. In verses 13 and 14 the faithful of the residue implore Jehovah, appealing to His mercy, that their hearts may celebrate Him in Zion as well as His judgments. Verse 15 celebrates judgment, the moral side of which is given to us in verse 16: Jehovah makes himself known by the judgment he performs. For the way in which Ps. 9 thus serves as a preface to the entire book of Psalms, and makes us aware of its scope, and its application to the last days, is obvious. And once well understood, it serves greatly to understand the general structure of the book.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
The Lord, Savior of the Poor and Oppressed:
· Praise, examples
2 Ch 20:22 Just as the songs and praises were beginning, Jehovah ambushed the sons of Ammon and Moab and those of the mountain of Seir, who had come against Judah. And they were beaten. Ps 35:28 And my tongue will celebrate your righteousness, She will say your praise every day. Isa 12:1 Thou shalt say on that day: I praise you, O Lord! For you have been angered against me, Your anger has subsided, and you have comforted me. Luke 2:20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, and which was in accordance with what had been announced to them. Luke 19:37 And when he was already approaching Jerusalem, towards the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of disciples, seized with joy, began to praise God aloud for all the miracles they had seen. Acts 2:47 praising God and finding favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the Church every day those who were saved.
· Fall of the wicked, prophesied
Pr 11:5 The righteousness of man of integrity smoothes his way, but the wicked fall by his wickedness. Ec 10:8 He who digs a pit will fall into it, and he who knocks down a wall will be bitten by a serpent. Jer 8:4 Tell them: Thus saith the Lord: Do we fall without getting up? Or do we turn away without coming back? Am 8:14 They swear by the sin of Samaria, and they say, Long live your God, Dan! Long live the way of Beersheba! But they will fall, and will not get up again.
· Divine knowledge, God searches the heart of man
1 Ch 28:9 And you, Solomon, my son, know your father’s God, and serve him with a devoted heart and a well-disposed soul, for the Lord searches all hearts and penetrates all purposes and thoughts. If you seek him, he will let himself be found by you; but if you abandon Him, He will reject you forever. Jer 17:10 I, the Lord, feel the heart, I probe the kidneys, To give back to each according to his ways, According to the fruit of his works. Jer 23:24 Will anyone stand in a hidden place without me seeing him?” said the Lord. Don’t I fill the heavens and the earth?” said Jehovah. Am 9:3 If they hide at the top of Carmel, I will look for them there and seize them; If they evade my gaze in the bottom of the sea, there I will order the serpent to bite them. Zep 1:12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will chastise men who rest on their lees, and who say in their hearts: The Lord does neither good nor evil. Rom 8:27 and he who searches hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because it is according to God that he intercedes on behalf of the saints.
· Help for the Poor and Unfortunate
Ps 35:10 All my bones will say: Eternal! who can, like you, deliver the unfortunate from a stronger than him, the unfortunate and the poor from the one who robs him? Ps 70:6 I am poor and destitute: O God, hurry in my favor! You are my helper and my liberator: Eternal, do not delay! Ps 74:21 Let the oppressed not return confused! May the unfortunate and the poor celebrate your name! Ps 86:1 Prayer of David. Eternal, lend an ear, answer me! For I am unhappy and destitute.
From all of the above, we note that the scope of this psalm is very clear: It’s the Messiah leading the praise of the righteous. His people of the last day celebrate with them the destruction by Jehovah of their great enemy, anticipate its outcome, and the advent of the Messiah on his throne in Zion. There is also a beautiful song of triumph over the now slaughtered enemy, a song that can be compared to all that the Spirit of Christ expresses by the prophet Isaiah, about the king of Babylon (Isa 14), and a reminder of the cry of the afflicted on the day of their calamity. Verse 16 also states that the world learns righteousness when God’s judgments are on the earth on the last day, as in Isaiah 26:9. The nature of these judgments is also given to know – the wicked caught in their own trap, as in Psalms 7, 10, 35, 57, 94, 109, 112. The fall of Haman is a type of it (Esther 7:10); and the cross is the glorious illustration of the same judgment, for there, by death, he who had the power of death was rendered powerless. Thus, Ps. 9 and 10 introduce us historically to the midst of the circumstances in which the residue is found in the last days, in the land of Israel. The main principles have been laid down: the residue; – the Messiah; – affliction in the midst of Israel following its rejection; – a path that he personally got to know; – glory in the Son of man; and we now find, in these two Ps. 9 and 10, a kind of preface which, introducing us to these circumstances, makes us know the scene of the soul exercises of the faithful, the state of affairs that gives rise to these exercises, and the deliverance operated by the judgment of God. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to react to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “the characters of the villain; God punishes the wicked.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.