Pastor's Ponderings: Old Testament bible study of Psalm 9:1-18 (March 6, 2025)

March 6, 2025:  Thursday Bible Study on Psalm 9:1-18

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

I pray that your day moves smoothly from hour to hour, and that at this day's end you are filled with the Peace of Christ which passes all understanding.  Please stay safe on this very windy day.  One semi-truck has already been flipped over on the highway at the Speedway crossing, with traffic backed up for miles.  It seems to have backed up traffic all over the downtown including Aviation at Broadway.  I know this because I was stuck in traffic this morning on the way to getting the boys to school.  Today please pray for the people who are looking for work.  Just a few of those include our sons Jesse (he is interviewing today at Baskin Robbins), our Joshua who continues his search for a full-time job, though he now has 25 hours a week work tutoring high school students helping to get them ready for testing that colleges require for admission.  Josh has been out of work for six months, and our Josiah also needs to find work.  Chris is also looking for work as an advocate for those who are struggling to move out of their addiction issues.  Of course, please continue prayers for our list of folks who are facing treatments for their cancer diagnosis, and for Teri who continues with hope to have her hip joint replaced if the surrounding bones heal. 

Today we are moving into the 9th Psalm, verses 1-18.  I want you to understand that Psalm 9 and 10 are connected.  Today we are dealing with the first part of this combination in Psalm 9.  Like the others that we have been studying this one is also attributed to David.  This Psalm indicates that a really great way to come to prayer is to take the time to remember the long list of God's actions for His children throughout their relationship with Him.  For you and me that certainly includes remembering some of the Old Testament actions on behalf of the faithful ones.  We could certainly start with Abraham and Sarah, even though they doubted that what God promised Abraham could happen in their old age, they did indeed conceive and have their son Isaac.  When asked to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham's trust in God brought a different sacrifice that would be made in place of his son.  David and his battle with an overwhelming enemy Goliath.  His victory was given by God, the very same God who guided him to his kingship over the Hebrews.  We often forget Samson and his final victory over the enemies who had blinded and entrapped him.  We must also remember Jacob's faithfulness, and God's presence as Jacob benefited from the lies of his uncle Labin. Perhaps the greatest blessing of God was His action to free the slaves in Egypt, culminating with their safety from the Angel of Death (an act of resurrection), and God's presence and sustaining presence with the Hebrews as they wondered in the wilderness.  The promises of God to restore His people in exile so that they might reestablish the city of Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.  The New Testament is filled with God's inbreaking through Jesus as he teaches God's Truth, heals the ill, and feeds the masses.  He brings miracle after miracle, including raising Lazarus and others after their deaths.  And in the face of it all, the greatest of all, the Resurrection of our Savior, setting us all free from the burden of death.  The praises of this Psalm, and all of the rest of the Old Testament and the New Testament, really prepare us to offer prayers of praise and thanksgiving to God in addition to our usual requests for His action and help.  This is important for us, especially when we are faced with the tough circumstances which happen in every one of our lives.  As we look at these works of God's Love for His people who also have, like us, faced struggle after struggle, both of their own making, and from the impacts of outside forces, we know how it is that our God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit really do favor His human creation.  Our outcries for justice, as they have been for 1000's of years, are heard by God, and have moved Him to action in many and varied ways for the benefit of the faithful.  All of God's actions for His people should result in the strengthening of our faith.  Our God will never ignore our appeals for justice and for God's help in our lives.

With the Love of Christ for our lives, Pastor Kim