January 15

The Final Say

Today’s Scripture Readings: Psalms 9:13-20 | Genesis 31:17 – 32:12 | Matthew 10:26 – 11:6 | Proverbs 3:16-18

Today’s Scripture Focus: Psalm 9:13-20

But God will never forget the needy;

the hope of the afflicted will never perish.

  Arise, LORD, do not let mortals triumph;

let the nations be judged in your presence (Psalm 9:18-19, NIV).

The Psalmist looks to God as a righteous judge and finds hope and security. God is known for his acts of justice. His throne is established in righteousness and he rules in equity. He cares for those who face injustice and stand in need. He will repay the wicked, and he will remember the afflicted and needy.  He will hear the cries of the afflicted (12).

The Psalmist rests in the hope of vindication—God will have the final say, he will remember how his enemies have treated him and will vindicate and set things right. Believing in the rightness of his cause and actions, he is comforted by the thought that a righteous judge will sort these things out and make them right.

The wicked have reason to fear, for they will be caught in their own traps (15, 16). One day they will stand before the Judge to give an account—and given their actions such a thought ought to bring terror (20). But to the Psalmist, and to the needy and afflicted, it brings the hope of vindication.

When life proves unfair, when we are trampled upon by others, when people let us down, we do not lose perspective. Life is often unfair, circumstances are often difficult, people are often unrighteous, but God is just. And he gets the final say.

Righteous Judge, care for the needy and afflicted and remember their cause. Bring hope and vindication. Enable me to find hope in difficult times, even when ill-treated in life knowing that you have the final say. Amen.