“Rise up, LORD!”
Psalm 9:19 (CSB)
A stone’s throw from the Valley of Elah, an Egyptian general stood at the head of his “vast army.” This was the Valley of Zephathah in Judah. Another valley, another invader…
General Zerah’s mission was simple. He’d been sent by Pharaoh Osorkon to plunder Jerusalem, just like Osorkon’s father Shoshenq had done 30 years before. Only this time, as the “brave fighting men” of Judah took up their battle positions in the valley, King Asa called out to the LORD, his prayer sounding a lot like Psalm 9:
“LORD, there is no one like You to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, LORD our God, for we rely on You, and in Your Name we have come against this vast army. LORD, You are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against You.”
2 Chronicles 14:11 (NIV)
Rise up, LORD! Do something! Don’t let mere mortals have the last laugh! Rise up, untamed, triumphant, terrifying! Take the head off this Egyptian horde!
The chronicler lays out the rest of the story…
The LORD rose up and “struck down” Zerah’s forces with such force that “they could not recover,” and “the terror of the LORD” took hold (2 Chronicles 14:12-14, NIV). King Asa’s prayer was answered, so also the prayer of Psalm 9:19.
God does not forget the down-and-out. He does not forget the powerless, those on the ropes. Instead, to the desperate: He gives a song of hope. To the wronged: a song of justice carried on the wind, reverberating from Golgotha’s summit. The sound of an ancient promise fulfilled.
“Look at My Servant, whom I strengthen.
He is My Chosen One, who pleases Me.
I have put My Spirit upon Him.
He will bring justice to the nations.
He will not shout
or raise His voice in public.
He will not crush the weakest reed
or put out a flickering candle.
He will bring justice to all who have been wronged.
He will not falter or lose heart
until justice prevails throughout the earth.”Isaiah 42:1-4 (NLT)
When it looked for all money like mere mortals had prevailed against God, the Chosen One rose, triumphant! “Tetelestai!” “Yes and amen!” ring out from an empty tomb. I follow the One who is risen.
Looking at the unjust, broken state of the world, like the psalmist I long to see the LORD’s perfect justice invade the imperfect present. To see its warm piercing glow crest the horizon and fill the Earth with all that is just and right. Despite how things seem, no matter how bad things get, I know “He will not falter…until justice prevails throughout the Earth.” Until His Kingdom comes, His will is done, and justice rolls “like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:24 (NIV)
“Rise up, LORD!”
This is today’s song of hope. A song of the rolling justice of the LORD. May the triumphant sound of “It is finished!” reach you in the valley, or, perhaps, on top of the world. Wherever you find yourself, in Christ you are held in the mind of God. Remembered. Like Judah’s brave, may the Holy Spirit carry you to a new depth of reliance on the LORD, of confidence in His Name. Yes and amen!