8 He shall judge the world in righteousness, and He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness. 9 The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed . . . 10 And those who know Your name will put their trust in You . . . 11 Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion! Declare His deeds among the people. 12 When He avenges blood, He remembers them; He does not forget the cry of the humble. 13 Have mercy on me, O Lord! . . . 14 that I may tell of all Your praise in the gates. . . . 15 The nations have sunk down in the pit which they made; in the net which they hid, their own foot is caught. 16 The Lord is known by the judgment He executes; 17 The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. . . . 18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten; the expectation of the poor shall not perish forever. 19Arise, O Lord . . . let the nations be judged in Your sight. 20 . . . that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah —Psalm 9:8-20

A principle related to the physics of flight states that an increase of a flow results in a decrease of pressure. Under some conditions, airflow above the wing [of a plane or a bird] travels faster than the flow below the wing, so the pressure below the wing is higher than that above it. Lift is created that pushes the wing upward. How does this apply to us? Although the pressure from below may feel very strong, that is the very force that can lift you up!

David stressed that public praise is important (v. 11), and there is never a time when praise is powerless. When the pressures of life are exploited by the enemy and he tries to talk you into setting aside the work of God, remind him that God is doing a great work in your life and you are going to use the hard times as a resource to lift yourself up through praising Him.

Praise will raise us up and thrust us forward at all times. Do we allow the presence of our enemies to silence our praise? Or do we long to bring glory to God when things seem to be working against us and the outcome doesn’t look good, or even when tragedy has already occurred?

Consider this: we are designed for praising the Lord. Everything in creation will one day bow the knee and acknowledge that Jesus is Lord, but some won’t praise Him. The devil and his angels will acknowledge Him, but they won’t praise Him. Believers can and must praise Him. So if you have breath this morning, let the pressure from below your “wing” (no matter how intense) lift you above, and praise the Lord! It is what you were created for!

Excerpt from “Beside Still Waters” now available on Amazon.

BARRY STAGNER