Psalm 9: Colonial Williamsburg
1 I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.
3 My enemies turn back;
they stumble and perish before you.
4 For you have upheld my right and my cause,
sitting enthroned as the righteous judge.
5 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.
6 Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies,
you have uprooted their cities;
even the memory of them has perished.
7 The Lord reigns forever;
he has established his throne for judgment.
8 He rules the world in righteousness
and judges the peoples with equity.
9 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
11 Sing the praises of the Lord, enthroned in Zion;
proclaim among the nations what he has done.
12 For he who avenges blood remembers;
he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.
13 Lord, see how my enemies persecute me!
Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,
14 that I may declare your praises
in the gates of Daughter Zion,
and there rejoice in your salvation.
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;
their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
16 The Lord is known by his acts of justice;
the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. p
17 The wicked go down to the realm of the dead,
all the nations that forget God.
18 But God will never forget the needy;
the hope of the afflicted will never perish.
19 Arise, Lord, do not let mortals triumph;
let the nations be judged in your presence.
20 Strike them with terror, Lord;
let the nations know they are only mortal.
The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ps 9:1–20.
Theme: Justice
Best Verse: 12 For he who avenges blood remembers; he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.
Command to Obey: --
Sin to Avoid: --
Promise to Claim: God remembers, he does not ignore the afflicted
Application to Make: Trust in God
Something New About God: God will act in his time
Reflection: So I am in Colonial Williamsburg taking a break from camping before heading to Shenandoah National Park. And this place is all about early American history and the Revolutionary War. Psalm 9 reminds me of slavery because black Americans suffered terribly but God did remember and hie brought the Civil War to rectify it. But why did God wait so long? It's really heard when we suffer and are persecuted to have God's patience. So one reenactment we went to was a sermon by the Reverend Gowan Pamphlet, an enslaved black Baptist preacher. He led the 1st Baptist Church which was organized in in 1781 and led by a black man until 1807. It didn't become segregated until 1810. So God was at work and there was a chance, had the church stepped up to the task, for racial equality wihout civil war in the revolutionary period. Eventually God did avenge the blood of the enslaved blacks and what a vengeance. But he first tried to advance his kingdom through the church. The church must respond to God's call and advance his kingdom: God will not endure a passive church forever, he will act, and the world will shake.
Colonial Williamsburg: We stayed at the Williamsburg Woodlands, an easy walk into Colonial Williamsburg and the kids loved the pool and firefiles. We saw raccoon, deer, rabbits and fireflies. The craft shops were awesome and the historical character talks were spectacular. I highly recommend a sermon or presentation by "Reverend Gowan Pamphlet" who tackles religious freedom and chattel slavery head on. We also went to the Jamestown settlement and the museum was great but the living history wasn't as good as Colonial Williamsburg. The Colonial Williamsburg Art Museum was also excellent and we enjoyed thier kids craft program. Finally, we took and evening stroll through Williams and Mary and the campus is gorgeous.
