The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. … Arise, Lord, do not let mortals triumph; let the nations be judged in your presence. Strike them with terror, Lord; let the nations know they are only mortal. (Psalm 9:9-10,19-20)

Most of this Psalm is a prayerful song of praise to God for who he is as Judge of the Nations and what he has done in showing himself to be a refuge for the oppressed against their oppressors. But near the end of the Psalm, the tune begins to turn from praise to plea: a plea for justice and judgement against the nations and the wicked.

Across the Psalm, the congregation who may have sung or recited it identify themselves with the oppressed and needy. “The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed” and a God who never forsakes those who seek him. On the other side, the enemy is identified with the nations, the mortals, the wicked ones.

I have often found it hard to draw such hard lines as the Psalms do. I am rarely as confident in my own righteousness as David is when he shouts out: “Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness!” (Psalm 7:8). I likewise have a hard time slapping the label of wicked on anyone and asking for them to be destroyed.

But there’s more to the prayers of the Psalms than just these hard lines and categories. Surely the wicked and the enemies were present within Israel too. Surely there were also wealthy and arrogant people among the Israelites that were not “oppressed.”

And yet, when the Israelites came to worship before their God, they became “the needy.” To ask for salvation and justice from God, to recognize that there are powers with which one cannot reckon on one’s own is to admit of one’s need. To recognize that we are “only mortal” is to knock our arrogance and pretentions down to a size that makes such an admission of need possible.

As they enter worship, the Israelites are humbled by remembering it is only by God’s work—not their own—that they are saved and preserved, and this whether they find themselves in humble and oppressive circumstances, or not. From this worship perspective, a similar prayer emerges for the nations: may they be reminded that they are but mortal. May the nations also be humbled in the presence of God so to admit of their need.

This, I think, is a very good way to hear this Psalm spiritually for all those of us who might not find ourselves to be particularly “oppressed” at any given moment.

But of course, there is also a very real and hard thread that runs through this Psalm that we just can’t ignore: the Judge will judge with justice. Those who really are oppressed or needy, those who are addicted, abused, homeless, hungry, or afflicted in whatever other way—they have a refuge in God when they seek him. Not just because he comforts them, but also because he brings justice.

This Psalm also serves as a call to all of us who may not be oppressed to keep a keen eye out: both for those who are, but also for the ways that we might be contributing to their oppression. This is where the spiritual meets the practical: as we are humbled to our own mortality and need in worship before God the Judge, we are called to gain the eyes to see others who were already there.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you : wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness : protect you through the storm. May he bring you home rejoicing : at the wonders he has shown you. May he bring you home rejoicing : once again into our doors.