Have you ever felt overlooked? Left out? Unseen or underappreciated?

“Be gracious to me, O LORD!
See my affliction from those who hate me,
O you who lift me up from the gates of death,
that I may recount all your praises,
that in the gates of the daughter of Zion
I may rejoice in your salvation” (ESV).
Psalm 9:13-14

In these verses, David makes two requests of God: be gracious to me and see me! Even the guy often referred to as a “man after God’s own heart” had these kinds of feelings. Now, you may not feel death-precipice kind of down today, but we’ve all had moments in our lives when we felt left out, unseen, and without grace. What do we do when these moments arise because they inevitably will?

One of the most valuable things we can do when we’re feeling like we’re in a pit or at the gate of death is remember who God is. Oftentimes, we get our eyes so focused on ourselves that we fail to remember God and His faithfulness! David describes God as the one who lifts him up from the gates of death, and indeed, he is the lifter of our souls!

Let’s look closer to see why David asks for God to give him grace and see him. “That I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion:” (14, KJV) Wow! The reason David is asking for God’s grace and attention is so he will have another reason to praise Him! In the original Hebrew, the word “praise” in this verse refers to a hymn, song of praise. We’re not talking about a ho-hum, passive “Hallelujah, Thank ya, Jesus.” Those kinds of “praises” don’t tend to lift us or change our unseen, overlooked feelings. We’re talking about a song of rejoicing!

One of the most interesting things about these two verses is that David juxtaposes those gates of death and the gates of Zion (the gates of Jerusalem/the people of Israel). This is the Hebrew people’s place of belonging and community! Rather than languishing at the gates of death, David proclaims his desire for God at the entrance gates of Zion! God gives grace, sees David, and saves him. All that just adds fuel to the fire for David’s rejoicing with God’s people in the gates of Zion.

So, what about you? Why don’t you take a moment today to ask God, the lifter of our soul, for his grace. Ask him to see you, and when He does - because trust me, He always does - rejoice, and do it with God’s people. Go ahead! Start prepping your rejoicing song now, He’s bound to come through!