The Righteous Judge | Psalm 9:7–10
7 But the Lord sits enthroned forever;
he has
established his throne for justice,
8 and he judges the world with
righteousness;
he judges
the peoples with uprightness.
9 The Lord is a stronghold for the
oppressed,
a
stronghold in times of trouble.
10 And those who know your name put their
trust in you,
for you, O
Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
When we consider God’s attributes, remember that He
establishes and defines them; He doesn’t submit to any standard outside of
Himself. So, as we continue considering
the justice of God, note that He establishes what is right and true. David praises God for His consistency in
judgment and strength. No matter what arises,
God is steadfast and therefore trustworthy.
He’s eternal and the
King. As He deals with His enemies,
He does so with the authority of His throne.
They vanish from the earth, their memory perishes (v. 6), but He remains
forever.
He’s righteous and true. Because He’s righteous and upright, we
should expect that He’ll judge the world with equity. Psalm 99:4 says, “The King in his might loves
justice. You have established equity; you have executed justice and
righteousness in Jacob.” Truth will
reign as long as He does.
He’s the omnipotent
stronghold. He’s a high tower, the impregnatable
“shelter of the Most High” (Ps 91:1), and those finding no justice in this
world find it in the Lord. God brings
down the strongholds of others (Is 25:12) and serves as a true fortress for
those taking refuge in Him. During times
of trouble, we come to know His true protection.
He’s trustworthy. None of this would be as impressive if He
were capricious. However, the God Who
establishes equity remains consistent, so those who know God’s name can trust
in Him. This Old Testament reference to
salvation calls us to the New Testament, where we read that God bestowed upon
Jesus “the name that is above every name” (Phil 2:9), because “there is
salvation in no one else… no other name under heaven given among men by which
we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). We can
trust He’ll never leave or forsake us (Hb 13:5) when He says “everyone who
calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rm 10:13)!