HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 854
P S A LM 9
8
the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,
and everything that swims the ocean
currents.
9
O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills
the earth!
page 484
5
6
7
9
1
2
3
4
For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be
sung to the tune “Death of the Son.”
I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all the marvelous things you
have done.
I will be filled with joy because of you.
I will sing praises to your name,
O Most High.
My enemies retreated;
they staggered and died when you
appeared.
For you have judged in my favor;
from your throne you have judged with
fairness.
8
9
10
11
12
13
• Self-Esteem
PSALM 8 :4 -5
14
The psalmist could not understand how
the God who made the stars could have
any interest in a mere human being. This
is healthy humility. Then the psalmist
caught a glimpse of God’s perspective:
We were made just a little lower than the
angels. When we recognize that God
bestows on us this kind of honor and
glory, we begin to understand our value.
The healthiest self-image is produced
from the merging of humility and Godgiven honor. We dishonor God when we
dishonor ourselves; we also dishonor
God when we forget that our life and
position come from him.
• Pride
15
16
17
18
19
PSALM 1 0 :2 -1 1
20
Pride is like a cancer of the soul.
Beginning with a few cells of selfcongratulation, boasting, or vanity, it
soon grows unchecked into arrogance
and conceit. Soon there is no room left
for the healthy cells that worship God and
pursue healthy purposes. As with cancer,
the key to eliminating pride is to subject
it to the surgeon’s scalpel before it has a
chance to grow out of control. Through
confession and repentance, invite God
to cleanse your heart of pride.
You have rebuked the nations and destroyed
the wicked;
you have erased their names forever.
The enemy is finished, in endless ruins;
the cities you uprooted are now forgotten.
But the Lord reigns forever,
executing judgment from his throne.
He will judge the world with justice
and rule the nations with fairness.
The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed,
a refuge in times of trouble.
Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, O Lord, do not abandon those
who search for you.
Sing praises to the Lord who reigns in
Jerusalem.*
Tell the world about his unforgettable
deeds.
For he who avenges murder cares for the
helpless.
He does not ignore the cries of those
who suffer.
Lord, have mercy on me.
See how my enemies torment me.
Snatch me back from the jaws of death.
Save me so I can praise you publicly at
Jerusalem’s gates,
so I can rejoice that you have rescued me.
The nations have fallen into the pit they dug
for others.
Their own feet have been caught in the
trap they set.
The Lord is known for his justice.
The wicked are trapped by their own
deeds.
Quiet Interlude*
The wicked will go down to the grave.*
This is the fate of all the nations who
ignore God.
But the needy will not be ignored forever;
the hopes of the poor will not always
be crushed.
Arise, O Lord!
Do not let mere mortals defy you!
Judge the nations!
Make them tremble in fear, O Lord.
Let the nations know they are merely
human.
Interlude
10
2
3
O Lord, why do you stand so far
away?
Why do you hide when I am in trouble?
The wicked arrogantly hunt down the poor.
Let them be caught in the evil they plan
for others.
For they brag about their evil desires;
they praise the greedy and curse the Lord.
1
9:11 Hebrew Zion; also in 9:14. 9:16 Hebrew Higgaion Selah.
The meaning of this phrase is uncertain. 9:17 Hebrew to Sheol.
