Psalm 9

1I will give thanks to the LORD with all (A)my heart;
I will (B)tell of all Your wonders.
2I will be glad and (C)exult in You;
I will (D)sing praise to Your name, O (E)Most High.
3When my enemies turn back,
They stumble and (F)perish before You.
4For You have (G)maintained my just cause;
You have sat on the throne (H)judging righteously.
5You have (I)rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked;
You have (J)blotted out their name forever and ever.
6The enemy has come to an end in perpetual ruins,
And You have uprooted the cities;
The very (K)memory of them has perished.
7But the (L)LORD [b]abides forever;
He has established His (M)throne for judgment,
8And He will (N)judge the world in righteousness;
He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity.
9The LORD also will be a (O)stronghold for the oppressed,
A stronghold in times of trouble;
10And those who (P)know Your name will put their trust in You,
For You, O LORD, have not (Q)forsaken those who seek You.
11Sing praises to the LORD, who (R)dwells in Zion;
(S)Declare among the peoples His deeds.
12For (T)He who [c]requires blood remembers them;
He does not forget (U)the cry of the afflicted.
13Be gracious to me, O LORD;
See my affliction from those (V)who hate me,
You who (W)lift me up from the gates of death,
14That I may tell of (X)all Your praises,
That in the gates of the daughter of Zion
I may (Y)rejoice in Your salvation.
15The nations have sunk down (Z)in the pit which they have made;
In the (AA)net which they hid, their own foot has been caught.
16The LORD has (AB)made Himself known;
He has (AC)executed judgment.
In the work of his own hands the wicked is snared. Higgaion Selah.
17The wicked will (AD)return to Sheol,
Even all the nations who (AE)forget God.
18For the (AF)needy will not always be forgotten,
Nor the (AG)hope of the afflicted perish forever.
19(AH)Arise, O LORD, do not let man prevail;
Let the nations be (AI)judged before You.
20Put them (AJ)in fear, O LORD;
Let the nations know that they are (AK)but men. Selah.

The psalms have such a high view of God. Reading them always convics me because I am so far from where I am supposed to be. I wish I felt and understood God's greatness and his justice constantly as I went about my day-how wonderful life would be. But so much more often I get consumed by myself and so easily take my eyes off of him. and today is Christmas! MERRY CHRISTMAS GIRLS! today is Jesus' birthday! or rather, just the day we celebrate it bc supposedly his birthday was probably in the fall. but no matter-how wonderful to rest on the sovereignty of the Lord whom we can trust, who judges with equity and will right the nations who mock him. It's so amazing to think that this sovereign Lord would humble himself in such a way.. the psalmist says "Put them in fear, O LORD; Let the nations know that they are but men. Selah" we are but men, far beneath God and yet the almighty God humbled himself and became a man being born in the most humble way and placed in a horse's dish.. to be humiliated and rejected by the very world he created.. takes my breath away. its just crazy. its just amazing. so MERRY CHRISTMAS GIRLS! so so so many things to be grateful for and to rejoice over. and I thank God for you!!-for Ashley, Irene, Joyce, and Victoria (in alphabetical order) :D