Week 2

Powerful people attract enemies. We see it all around us, politicians, rulers, business people even sporting greats all have others that want to bring them down. Particularly in the world of social media where there is no accountability and in the guise of free speech, accusations are thrown around, often without evidence, and reputations are ruined. Sometimes it gets even nastier, and people’s lives and futures are put at risk.

David had these enemies and one in particular is the subject of this Psalm. He is identified as ‘Cush the Benjamite’, nothing else is said about him. Cush was a region that we now call Ethiopia extending further south to Northern Kenya, and as a Benjamite he was from the same tribe as King Saul who was trying to kill David. Some believe the subject of the Psalm was King Saul himself, or at least one of his close advisors. Accusations were made against David, they were not true, and he was keen to justify himself, one of those accusations was that David was trying to kill Saul and take his place. On two occasions David had opportunity to do that and didn’t in fact he said ‘far be it from me to raise my hand against the Lord’s anointed’.

In many ways David was less than righteous in his behaviour, but in the things he was accused of he could protest his innocence and in this psalm he does that. All of us, especially those that are in positions of leadership or influence have accusations made and lies told about us. They may come from jealousy or insecurity, or just malice. The natural inclination would be to try to justify ourselves, even take revenge – give as good as we get or stand up for our rights. David recognized that his protection could only come from God, he would trust in Him, he alone was his refuge.

David was prepared to examine himself to make sure there was no fault in him, at least as far as these accusations went. He was willing to accept the consequences of any failure on his part, but he was convinced he was innocent. He looked to God not only to justify him but to punish his accusers as well. He left revenge or justice in God’s hands, he knew that God was his deliverer and that eventually he who be restored. Isiah 54:17 promises: ‘no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.”’

David appeals to God to bring judgment; he looks forward to the day when that will happen. So do we. The time is coming when Jesus will return in power, he will hold those who have rejected him, and falsely accused his people to account. He will vindicate those he declares to be righteous, and he will invite them to join him in the New Heavens and the New Earth where will reign. No one likes to be falsely accused, to be lied about. We want to stand up and retaliate, but this was not Jesus’ example, the one we should live by. The Bible tells us that we are to turn the other cheek, just as he did, not to seek revenge, to leave recompense to God. This idea screams out against almost everything we are brought up to believe, stand up for your rights, don’t be a doormat and so on. God guarantees us that the false accusers will not go unpunished, he will bring justice and you will be vindicated. Like David, we can rest in this assurance and, ‘give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.’’

As Psalm 9 closes David cries out to God to rise up and judge the wicked, to make them afraid of what is to come. He wanted justice and retribution on all those that rejected God and oppressed the weak and powerless. This is a natural desire that many of us feel when we see people hurting and suffering at the hands of powerful groups who benefit from the misery of others. We want to see them punished, to feel the pain they inflict on others, it is hard to extend mercy, much better to exact revenge.

Now David wants to know why it seems that God is disinterested, standing a long way off ignoring the plight of the oppressed. The question is often asked why, if God is who he says he is, does he allow suffering in the world, why are evil people allowed to get away with their actions and exploit the poor; why are people starving or suffering because of ‘natural disasters’. How can God stand by and see the pain experienced by the lost and the lonely and do nothing? David asks those questions.

He presses his point, the people who are doing the oppressing say that there is no God and that they are so secure in their own power that they will never be moved. They crush the poor, press them into slavery and take every advantage, increasing their own wealth while stealing from the needy. If they did believe in God, they have forgotten about him, and in any event God had forgotten the poor and was doing to nothing to help them. Where is the God that David had served, that he trusted and was convinced would deliver him and the people? Why was he hiding himself, when would he act?

The prophet Malachi criticized the People in a similar way, he insisted that they had said that there was no point in serving God, no profit in obeying his commands, or even regretting their failings. The arrogant were called blessed and the wicked had become wealthy, they had tested God and got away with it (Malachi 3:14,15). What had happened to the promises of God, what is the purpose of doing the right thing if people who had rejected him and did evil lived better than they did? It is a reasonable complaint.

Then David reminds himself in verse 14 “But you do see, you have been the helper of the fatherless, you will protect those who commit to you. You will take away the power of the wicked and you will bring them to account.” God would deal with the oppressors until there were none left standing, he will bring judgement.  David ends his Psalm by asserting that the Lord, his Lord would be king forever. The nations would perish, the mighty and the powerful would be brought down. God would hear the cries of the afflicted and he would strengthen them. He will pay attention to the complaint and bring justice to them. The disempowered, the oppressed would be lifted up, what they had lost would be restored, and they would have no reason to fear ever again.

It often seems that the ungodly have freedom to act in the world, to make profits out of the least powerful, to deprive them of their entitlements. Slavery is still rife, leaders of business make almost obscene profits while their workers struggle to survive. Nations engage in war to protect mineral deposits or oil supplies to make the rich comfortable while the poor of the world are kept in desperate situations so that they can provide cheap food, clothing and trinkets for the wealthy. God has heard the cry of the oppressed and he will execute judgement on the oppressors. In Exodus 22:22 God makes it very clear what he thinks of those who oppress others: “You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword.” It may seem that God is letting things happen, but he is not. He will bring justice – even if it seems a long way off.

In this Psalm David either recalls a conversation he had when he was being pursued by King Saul and in fear for his life, or perhaps another occasion when he was threatened. His friends offered him advice, ‘run away, head for the hills until the danger passes. Your enemies have got their weapons ready, and they are not taking prisoners. If you and the leaders are killed what hope is there? Better to make a strategic retreat than to be a dead hero’. Sounds like good advice, but David’s response seems to come from a sense of outrage.

“My trust is in God, he is my refuge, he will protect me. How can you tell me to run away?” Many years later Jesus told his disciples that he was heading to Jerusalem where there was danger. Peter tried to discourage him and to protect himself. Jesus’ response was “Get out of my way Peter, the advice you are giving me is not from God, in fact you are speaking Satan’s words”. A harsh response indeed. Many times throughout the words of the Bible men and women are instructed not to fear, but to be strong and courageous, to trust God to protect them.

Like David we are called to choose: fear or faith. What will it be? There are voices spurred on by ungodly spokespersons in media and elsewhere seeking to upset the faith of the righteous, to upset the confidence of the faithful, to abandon unquestioning confidence in the God of the universe and to put their trust in those who will not stand in the presence of God. Whose agenda do they pursue as they seek to destroy the foundations of our faith? We are told we must fear disease, then we are told we are to fear vaccinations against disease. We are to fear the conspiracies of the ungodly and also to fear the decisions of governments. Throughout history there have been scaremongers who have tried to destabilize society to foment rebellion and give rise to anarchy. David would not listen, he knew where his help came from, he sought refuge in God and his word, and he stood steadfast.

The Lord is in his temple, he sits on the throne of power and authority, he sees and he tests the hearts of men and women everywhere. He especially tests those who are righteous. Will they stand strong or will they run from the battle? Will they choose faith, or succumb to fear? From where will they take counsel – spiritual men and women and the word of God or the ungodly, political and social activist whose only agenda is their ego? God hates the wicked, those who oppress the poor, the refugee, the orphan and he will bring judgement against them. The apostle Paul warns Timothy to be a diligent student of God’s word because there were those, even in the church, who had strayed from the truth and were upsetting the faith of others, but he says: “God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

God’s promise is sure, those that are righteous will see his face – however “for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury” (Romans 2:6). God calls us to stand firm and “Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.” (Revelation 3:10). Let us choose like David, not to listen to those who tell us to give in to fear but find refuge in God who is in his temple.

This Psalm is known as a community lament. It is intended to be sung by the congregation, but it is not a happy song. If we had to make a comparison with the songs that fill our airways we might call this the Blues, music that had its origin among the slaves of the deep south of the United States a couple of hundred years ago. Songs that contained themes of oppression and hopes of deliverance. I am a fan of blues music, it is evocative and speaks of pain, it is always hopeful but recognizes continuous struggle. This is that type of psalm.

One writer introduces the psalm with these words, ‘This is a community lament, describing a time when liars are in positions of authority.’ Sadly this make the psalm very contemporary, politicians make promises in order to be elected, knowing that they cannot be delivered. A previous Prime Minister went so far as to say he made core and non-core promises, he felt no obligation to keep his word if it was a non-core promise. There is a very low level of trust of those in power, people expect lies to be told and are not surprised when they are. What is true in politics is also true in business and other arenas of life, we have what has been called a trust deficit at almost every level of society.

The particular lies that David is accusing the rulers of are flattering lips and insincere speech (a double heart). These people manipulate others so that they can gain power, opportunity or influence for themselves. David’s prayer is that God would remove these people and restore integrity and godliness to places of authority. Proverb 14:43 in the Amplified Bible says: ‘Righteousness [moral and spiritual integrity and virtuous character] exalts a nation, But sin is a disgrace to any people.’ God has seen the disgrace, the poor are plundered and the needy groan so he says he will rouse himself. He will restore the broken, he will provide a place of safety for them, and of course he will deal with the liars and exploiters as well.

Treatment of the poor is a reference point for righteousness in the Bible. Throughout the law God’s people are commanded to protect them and care for them. Revival in the community depended on obedience to this command, the book of Proverbs gives constant reminders of God’s compassion on them. Proverb 21:13 says that ‘he who shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, will also cry himself and not be heard’ and 28:27, ‘He who gives to the poor will never want, but he who shuts his eyes will have many curses’. When the council in Jerusalem sent out Paul and Barnabas ‘they only asked us to remember the poor – the very thing I also was eager to do’ (Galatians 2:10). Latin American pastor Gustavo Gutierrez used the term ‘preferential option for the poor‘ to suggest that the law and the prophets, and even Jesus saw the liberation of the poor as evidence of righteousness, and for those who claimed to be righteous, they must be active in seeking to relieve poverty. Indeed Jesus used a parable of the kingdom to separate those who ministered to the poor and needy from those that turned their back on them. (Matthew 25:34-46).

David draws the distinction between those who lie, flatter and manipulate with the poor of the land. He will rescue and welcome the poor but will reject the wealthy and powerful who have gained their position through oppression. Meanwhile he expects his church to actively pursue righteousness by liberating the poor, binding up the broken hearted and setting the captives free.