Read
(A psalm by David for the music leader. To the tune “The Death of the Son.”)
Sing Praises to the Lord
1I will praise you, Lord,
with all my heart
and tell about the wonders
you have worked.
2God Most High, I will rejoice;
I will celebrate and sing
because of you.
3When my enemies face you,
they run away and stumble
and are destroyed.
4You take your seat as judge,
and your fair decisions prove
that I was in the right.
5You warn the nations
and destroy evil people;
you wipe out their names
forever and ever.
6Our enemies are destroyed
completely for all time.
Their cities are torn down,
and they will never
be remembered again.
7You rule forever, Lord,
and you are on your throne,
ready for judgment.
8You judge the world fairly
and treat all nations
with justice.
9The poor can run to you
because you are a fortress
in times of trouble.
10Everyone who honors your name
can trust you,
because you are faithful
to all who depend on you.
11You rule from Zion, Lord,
and we sing about you
to let the nations know
everything you have done.
12You did not forget
to punish the guilty
or listen to the cries
of those in need.
13 Please have mercy, Lord!
My enemies mistreat me.
Keep me from the gates
that lead to death,
14and I will sing about you
at the gate to Zion.
I will be happy there
because you rescued me.
15 Our Lord, the nations fell
into their own pits,
and their feet were caught
in their own traps.
16You showed what you are like,
and you made certain
that justice is done,
but evil people are trapped
by their own evil deeds.
17The wicked will go down
to the world of the dead
to be with those nations
that forgot about you.
18The poor and the homeless
won't always be forgotten
and without hope.
19Do something, Lord!
Don't let the nations win.
Make them stand trial
in your court of law.
20Make the nations afraid
and let them all discover
just how weak they are.
Reflect
If you find the flow of this psalm hard to follow, you’re in good company. The reason for the apparent jerkiness is that in the original Hebrew each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It’s what is known as an “acrostic” psalm. And it’s only half a psalm, covering only the first half of the alphabet. The second half is Psalm 10, which picks up with the second half of the Hebrew alphabet. We’ll look at Psalm 10 next week, so today is just half a reflection.
Taken together, these two psalms include:
- Praise
- Assertion of what the psalmist knows to be true
- Complaint 1: honest declaration of what’s going on
- Complaint 2: the wicked flourish
- Recognition that God rules
- The cry, “Do something, Lord!”
There’s a lot of complaint in these two psalms. Things are not going well for the psalmist. To make matters worse, it looks as though those who have no time for God are doing just fine. So this is what he does.
He starts with praise. That may seem odd, but he hangs on to what he knows to be true instead of concentrating solely on how he feels. That’s faith! It may be the constraints of the alphabetic structure that puts praise first, but that’s not a bad way to start. If you’re feeling awful, begin by praising God for what you know he is like, rather than dwelling on your own feelings. Even if he seems far away.
Next week we’ll look at the rest of it.
Respond
Thank you, Lord, for what I know you are like. Help me to pray and act on this, rather than my feelings. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.
Annabel Robinson
Annabel was born in Kew, near London, England. She committed her life to Jesus Christ at a Scripture Union camp when she was 16, and immediately found joy and peace. At Oxford she was active in the Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union, where she met her husband, Reid. They emigrated to Canada in 1965, where she taught Classics at the University of Regina until 2007. She has two children, Heather in Oslo and Alasdair in Calgary.