“But the needy will not be ignored forever; the hopes of the poor will not always be crushed. Arise, O Lord! Do not let mere mortals defy you! Judge the nations! Make them tremble in fear, O Lord. Let the nations know they are merely human.”
Psalm 9:18-20 NLT
David brings Psalm 9, what is to many a difficult Psalm, to an end. Its references to wicked people, enemies, judgement, and nations that ignore God, are not uplifting reading. But they are a sobering reminder that we live in an evil and sinful world that, particularly here in the West, and if the news media reports are to be believed, is set on ignoring God. David doesn’t forget the poor and needy in his society however, and he possibly feels despair that poverty is present. But his confidence in God is such that the “hopes of the poor” together with the cries of the needy will “not be ignored forever”. One day the scales of justice will be balanced, as we saw from the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16).
David looked around his society and the adjacent nations from his kingly perspective and expressed his frustration that God didn’t seem to be doing anything about the injustices of life. The poor continued to be poor. His enemies continued to defy God. And David continued to pray, even cry out, to God for justice. Not some time in the future, but now.
David ends his Psalm with the request for the nations to be put in their place. Point out to them that they are “merely human” is his request of God. Of course, God will one day answer David’s prayer in every generation, but anyone can compare his status with that of God right now. The evidence is all around us everywhere. Elihu, one of Job’s friends, said the following about God, “He repays people according to their deeds. He treats people as they deserve. … He doesn’t care how great a person may be, and he pays no more attention to the rich than to the poor. He made them all. In a moment they die. In the middle of the night they pass away; the mighty are removed without human hand” (Job 34:11 19-20). And then, in Job 38:1-7 we read, “Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind: “Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them. “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line? What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?”
There is no doubt that human beings are “merely human”. But the arrogance of mankind is endemic. It was in David’s day and it still exists today in 21st Century societies and nations everywhere. People everywhere ignore God and even invent theories that try and explain origins and how the world was formed. Even in the Church, some men and women stand up and in their arrogance they declare the thoughts of the Lord as though they live almost on His plane and have a special hot-line to His very throne. They well might have, but where is the reverence and awe of the One who created the universe? Where is the acknowledgement of the One to whom all glory and honour is due? Where is the humility of those God has created? It is just as well that God has not answered David’s prayers for justice and punishment because there would not be a single human being left on this planet.
But we pilgrims worship at God’s footstool. We are there in awe of the One who gave His life for those who are “merely human”. Let’s not ever forget that.
Dear Father God. Sometimes we assume too much from our relationship. Please forgive us when we step over the mark. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 