Mensa Otabil - Let the Lord Arise (10/30/2025)
So we’ve been looking at Psalm 9 throughout this week, and we’re closing with the last two verses of Psalm 9. I trust it’s been an interesting study for you as we see how David handles an attack that is coming to him and depends on God’s mercy to help. So verses 19 and 20: Arise, O Lord; do not let man prevail. Let the nations be judged in Your sight. Put them in fear, O Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah. The psalm concludes with a call for God to respond to His people or to David. He says, «Arise, O Lord.» He’s calling for the Lord to do something about this; «Lord, act; step in.»
What we see from this psalm is that at the moment that David is praying, deliverance has not come, but he’s hopeful for deliverance; he’s expectant of deliverance. He starts with praise, states his case, describes the case, and then affirms his faith in how God is going to deal with it. Now he says, «Lord, I leave it in Your hands; arise, O Lord, and do something about this situation.» The reason why he ends this way is revealed in these verses. He says, «Lord, arise, because don’t let man prevail; do not let man prevail.» David says, «God, don’t let these wicked people succeed.» Why? Because when wicked people succeed, wickedness increases, and the righteous are weakened in their faith. People begin to doubt that God is able to take care of business or to bring justice. He says, «Lord, don’t let this go; don’t let this pass; don’t let these people prevail.» That should also be our prayer, that wickedness should not prevail, that the wicked should not triumph in the end.
Then the second thing he says is, «Lord, put fear in them.» This is a call for God to terrify those who are trying to destroy the righteous. He says, «Lord, put fear in them.» But there is a redemptive side to that prayer; if God puts fear in them, then they will begin to learn wisdom. They will begin to submit to the Lord and acknowledge Him because when God truly comes against you and puts fear in you, His fear will terrify you, and hopefully, you will be repentant and seek His salvation. This prayer is actually for the salvation of the wicked, not that they should be destroyed altogether, but that the wicked will learn of their ways, return to the Lord, and revere the Lord.
David finally concludes by saying, «Let them know that they are just men; teach them this lesson. Let them know that their best plans will not succeed, that they are just human beings, limited in power and scope.» It may seem like a judgment against the wicked, but it’s also a call for redemption for the wicked. If God puts fear in them and they learn that they are just men, then, as happened to Nebuchadnezzar, they would come to proclaim that there is no God but Jehovah. So David starts with praise and ends with a call for the Lord to step into his case and do something about it so that wickedness will stop. The people who commit wickedness will reverence the Lord and fear the Lord, facing the reality of their own humanity- that they are just human beings and not gods, that they do not rule over people’s destinies.
That’s a good way for this psalm to end, and that is also the way we want to pray and trust God that He will come through for us and deliver us. In delivering us, may He also teach a lesson to the oppressor, so the oppressor may amend his or her ways. May the Lord, who helped David out of his many troubles, also help us out of our many troubles. Let us pray. Say with me: Heavenly Father, arise in our world; cause wickedness and evil to cease. Magnify Your name in all the earth. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.