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. Ps. 9:7-8 ESV

By: Dave Sims

Psalm 9, like many Psalms, is filled with praises to God for his judicious rule. When I was a kid, I appreciated the idea that a God who is all-powerful would choose to be just. (Of course, God acts justly because he is just.) My youthful prayers reflected my admiration and thankfulness for his just nature, likely because I’d seen so much abuse of power by humans.

Psalm 9 also includes numerous praises for God’s compassion toward those who experience injustice, like God intervening and causing the failure of those who would do injustice to his people (vv.3-6, 15-18) or God’s righteous judgment (vv. 4, 8, 16) in response to his enemies’ wickedness (vv. 5, 16-17).

Placed almost near the middle of the Psalm is a plea for help, “Lord, see how my enemies persecute me! Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death…” (v. 13).

This verse causes me to wonder. In a psalm filled with praise to God for his righteous judgment and faithful deliverance (17 out of 20 verses), if David’s intent was to seek God’s intervention why so many effusive praises compared to so few interceding words (3 verses)?

For someone who doesn’t know David’s life, one might think his numerous praises are an attempt to “butter” God up so he could get God to act. I don’t, however. Here’s why.

Samuel tells a story about David during the time he was running for his life from Saul. David and his men arrived at their encampment weary from travel to discover their families had been kidnapped and their settlement burned to the ground (1 Sam 30:1-6). Their first response was to “raise their voices and weep until they had no more strength to weep”(v. 4). David’s men then considered stoning him (v 6a). What happened next is unusual and interesting. David didn’t defend himself. He didn’t fly off the handle with retaliating anger. Nor did he rush off in a panicked pursuit of his family. Samuel says, “David strengthened himself in the Lord” (v. 6b). That sounds like a mature thing to do, but what does it mean? My guess is that it means David spoke affirming words of truth to himself regarding God’s covenant promises. Psalm 9 might be an example of this skill.

The battle we experience between faith and doubt is no more intense than when we experience injustice. During those times, we often ask ourselves, where was God? Is he going to avenge me? Why would God have allowed this? David may have experienced these same questions, but my sense is that he had learned that, to allow himself to dwell only on these kind of thoughts, would lead to a downward spiral of distress and despair, insulating him from the source of his strength and hope.

David’s strengthening himself in the Lord led to his ability to a reorient himself from the emotional flooding that likely accompanied his initial awareness. As the emotions began to settle he was able to regain access to his wisdom. His wisdom then led him to seek discernment from God for what to do next (vv.7-10). God gave him the “go ahead” to pursue his enemy. God then led them to the camp of the abductors at a time and place when they were vulnerable and that allowed David the advantage to overcome them (vv.16-20).

There are numerous places in Scripture where David’s words might qualify as “strengthening himself in the Lord”. Here are three quotations that I believe bear witness to that reality:

"I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my
deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of
my salvation, my stronghold." Psalm 18:1-2

"One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house
of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to
seek him in his temple." Psalm 27:4

"O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh
faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have
looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because
your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you
as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands." Psalm 63:1-4

If we could talk to David today, I think he would affirm the critical role justice plays in every community and the deep commitment we should have to uphold justice and resist wickedness. However, I think he would also tell us that the experience of injustice is not the death of meaning. I think he would tell us that even though injustice can take precious possessions, experiences and people from us, it does not have the power to rob us of what most anchors our lives: the one who is our security, strength, hope and love.

African-American Methodist minister Charles Albert Tindley (1851-1933), no stranger to injustice, wrote a hymn entitled “Some Day”. He was likely a man who knew how to strengthen himself in the Lord, evidenced by this stanza:

Harder yet may be the fight,
Right may often yield to might,
Wickedness awhile may reign,
Satan’s cause may seem to gain;
There is a God that rules above,
With hand of pow’r and heart of love,
If I am right, he’ll fight my battle,
I shall have peace some day.