PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Psalm 9
What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?
“The Lord is known by his acts of justice… (Psalm 9:16)
David repeatedly affirms that the Lord does what is right and equitable.
In other words, God treats every person the same, impartially (1 Peter 1:17).
And yet some people experience God’s favour, and others do not… why?
Our experience of God’s favour is not based on God’s selectivity.
Jesus says God causes his favour to shine and rain on everyone (Matthew 5:45).
He is gracious and merciful to all… but only those who welcome it enjoy it.
“… the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.” (Psalm 9:16)
The wicked are not ensnared because God didn’t favour them, but by their own hands.
It is because they rejected God and goodness, and willfully chose the opposite.
In the end God’s justice is people finding what their hearts pursue – good or evil.
The merciful will experience mercy, the forgiving will be forgiven.
Those who live by the sword die by it, hunters fall into their own traps (Psalm 9:15).
This psalm celebrates how God’s goodness triumphs, as well as those who pursue it.
This is God’s justice: what you seek is what you find, what you give is what you get.
PRAYER
Lord, your grace is poured out on everyone, but not everyone opens their hands to receive it. May my hands pursue your kind of goodness, eager to receive and share it with others!
“Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.” It is hard to understand, but I’ve seen it. People who have experienced tragedy and have every reason to be angry with God because God did not intervene to ‘save’ the day – end testifying of their ‘trust’ in God – even in the face of devastating loss. To be able to say like Job did – I know my Redeemer lives. What it says to me is that God does not forsake His children – even when it may seem so. I can ask, God, why did you take Eric from us? Yet, I can trust him to God’s grace knowing that God does not forsake him. I too can live in that trust as age continues to have its impact on me. Lord, you do not forsake me – I praise you for your grace to me!
Seek the Lord while He may be found. He never forsakes those who find Him and do His will in word and deed. He is the Rock of our salvation. Praise Him. Trust Him. He is my security. He is my Refuge.
1 Seek ye first the kingdom of God
And His righteousness;
And all these things shall be added unto you.
Hallelu, Hallelujah!
2 Ask, and it shall be given unto you;
Seek, and you shall find.
Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
Hallelu, Hallelujah!
3 Man shall not live by bread alone,
But by every word
That proceeds out from the mouth of God.
Hallelu, Hallelujah!