Take me to the afflicted ones
1 I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
3 When my enemies turned back,
they stumbled and perished before you.
4 For you have maintained my just cause;
you have sat on the throne giving righteous judgement.
5 You have rebuked the nations, you have destroyed the wicked;
you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.
6 The enemies have vanished in everlasting ruins;
their cities you have rooted out;
the very memory of them has perished.
7 But the Lord sits enthroned for ever,
he has established his throne for judgement.
8 He judges the world with righteousness;
he judges the peoples with equity.
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.
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion.
Declare his deeds among the peoples.
12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
13 Be gracious to me, O Lord.
See what I suffer from those who hate me;
you are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death,
14 so that I may recount all your praises,
and, in the gates of daughter Zion,
rejoice in your deliverance.
15 The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
in the net that they hid has their own foot been caught.
16 The Lord has made himself known, he has executed judgement;
the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah
17 The wicked shall depart to Sheol,
all the nations that forget God.
18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
nor the hope of the poor perish for ever.
19 Rise up, O Lord! Do not let mortals prevail;
let the nations be judged before you.
20 Put them in fear, O Lord;
let the nations know that they are only human. Selah
This, the Ninth Psalm, presents two realities. God is God. We are only human.
When we forget we are only human and that God has a bias to the oppressed, the weak, the afflicted – then all life goes out kilter.
But God values life. And the psalmist tells us that it is in God’s character to remember the cry of the afflicted (vs12), while the enemies of God, even their names are blotted out (vs5).
Psalm 9 begins as a hymn of praise to the Most High Lord who is enthroned (vs 7), is judge of all the world (vs8) and is a stronghold ‘for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble’ (vs9). It is a very personal thanksgiving. The poet tells how his or her ‘whole heart’ is full of thanks and wants to tell all who will hear all God’s ‘wonderful deeds (vs1). And it is God’s name that is remembered and praised.
What might the setting – the context – be for this psalm? We can’t be for sure. Some scholars think it was a communal song sung by the generations after returning from the long exile (a deep scar and sorrowful memory which has shaped Judaism, again and again). It is linked very closely with Psalm 10. Indeed, some scholars think they are one and the same because, together, they share an acrostic pattern (the verses start with letter A, then B, then C and so on – in Hebrew of course).
This psalm links the personal thanksgiving (for something that God helped an individual face) directly to an international reality. Each individual struck down anywhere in this world is linked, not just as a statistic, but in reality with people from every nation who are struck down. This psalm teaches us the age-old biblical truth that God takes the side of the afflicted - one person at a time - while judging everyone with equity. Justice is God’s personal and international policy. He remembers the afflicted, the poor, those laid low, those struck down, those unfairly treated – and he ‘avenges blood’ (vs12): in other words, God values life above all things.
Tonight, tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of people stood outside their front doors or hung out of their windows and clapped (or rang bells or bashed bin lids and pots and pans, or set of fire works) at 8pm for those who work for the NHS. They value life. And they value life-savers. The personal stories of those who are afflicted might not all be heard. But those who come to their aid are valued. We have had other wonderful news in these last few days. As I write, more than 500, 000 people from all walks of life in the UK have offered to volunteer to support the work of the NHS and those who are stuck at home struck down with Covid-19. Each one of them will have a personal story of help. Each one of them make up a national narrative of hope.
‘For the needy shall not always be forgotten,’ exclaims the psalmist, ‘nor the hope of the poor perish for ever.’ The afflicted, as we are learning in the theology of the psalms, are those who know they are not self-sufficient. They need help. And they entrust their lives and their future to God.
The great contemporary jazz composer and singer Gregory Porter, wrote a most wonderful song a few years ago which sings of a king who comes to town. All the great and the good line the streets to welcome this king with all their ‘shiny things’. But the king is not interested in their acclaim. He says, instead, ‘Take me to the alley, take me to the afflicted ones.’
Well they gild their houses in preparation for the king
And they line the sidewalks with every sort of shiny things.
They will be surprised when they hear him saying
‘Take me to the alley.
‘Take me to the afflicted ones.
‘Take me to the lonely ones that somehow lost their way.
‘Let them hear me saying. I am your friend.
‘Come to my table. Rest here in my garden. O you will have a pardon.’
Christ goes with those who say, ‘Take me to the afflicted.’
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Music brings hope.
ReplyDeletev2 of this psalm speaks of making music to the Lord’s name. Praise and thanksgiving is enriched and deepened through the gift of music. Music speaks into and out of our deepest being in a way mere words cannot. So even in the psalmist’s situation of the memories of enemies and oppression it is music which lifts the heart into thanksgiving and hope.
Last night’s nationwide clap for the NHS was a percussive song of thanksgiving and hope and incredibly moving to be part of. I’ve also heard of an individual musician who has set up an email address where you can request a song to be written for someone who needs some hope. I wonder what personalised song we each need to hear today.
Gregory Porter’s last line “Come to my table” links with my commentary which reminds us that the Church has a great act of Thanksgiving - The Eucharist. Each week, gathered round the Lord’s table, we give thanks and praise, usually with music and song, and proclaim the death and resurrection of Christ. But we can no longer do this confined to our homes. How I both miss and long for communion with my church family and wonder how the national Church will help us be creative in ways to “come to my table”.