The Psalm
Psalm 9 (CSB)
For the choir director: according to Muth-labben. A psalm of David.
1 I will thank the LORD with all my heart; I will declare all your wondrous works.
2 I will rejoice and boast about you; I will sing about your name, Most High.
3 When my enemies retreat, they stumble and perish before you.
4 For you have upheld my just cause; you are seated on your throne as a righteous judge.
5 You have rebuked the nations: You have destroyed the wicked; you have erased their name forever and ever.
6 The enemy has come to eternal ruin; you have uprooted the cities, and the very memory of them has perished.
7 But the LORD sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for judgment.
8 And he judges the world with righteousness; he executes judgment on the nations with fairness.
9 The LORD is a refuge for the persecuted, a refuge in times of trouble.
10 Those who know your name trust in you because you have not abandoned those who seek you, LORD.
11 Sing to the LORD, who dwells in Zion; proclaim his deeds among the nations.
12 For the one who seeks an accounting for bloodshed remembers them; he does not forget the cry of the oppressed.
13 Be gracious to me, LORD; consider my affliction at the hands of those who hate me. Lift me up from the gates of death,
14 so that I may declare all your praises. I will rejoice in your salvation within the gates of Daughter Zion.
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they made; their foot is caught in the net they have concealed.
16 The LORD has made himself known; he has executed justice, snaring the wicked by the work of their hands. Higgaion. Selah
17 The wicked will return to Sheol— all the nations that forget God.
18 For the needy will not always be forgotten; the hope of the oppressed will not perish forever.
19 Rise up, LORD! Do not let mere humans prevail; let the nations be judged in your presence.
20 Put terror in them, LORD; let the nations know they are only humans. Selah
The Prayer
I am set apart, this is true. But set apart by you to you.
I reach out to the world, plead to the world, and with the Spirit, invite the world to come into Your loving embrace.
Few do. Many do not.
How can I respond?
You are my Lord above. You are my King on high. All things, both spiritual and material, are yours. All truth and all philosophies are under your sovereign hand. All lives and minds are under your rightful rulership.
You have set me apart not because of my own goodness but because of the goodness you have given me. You have set me apart and now I am in your safe arms forever. I finally see that you have set me apart in order to keep me safe from your wrath.
Be glorious in my life. Give me courage to proclaim your sweet name. Move me to be more of your of sweet aroma to those being saved and to those perishing.
Amen.