PSALM 9– written by David. It may have been written after a battle in which David won victory over his enemies. Part of psalm relates to deliverance already given; the other to hopeful deliverance in the future. Psalms 9 and 10 may have originally been a single acrostic poem in which alternating lines began with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The past tenses of verses 5-8 are ‘prophetic perfects’, they describe coming events as if they have already happened.
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 T he Lord is known by his acts of justice; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.
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.
THEME: God as a stronghold for his people but will judge the wicked; God’s judgment brings the righteous deliverance.
QUESTIONS
What does David praise God for?
What does David say God has done?
How does David describe the character of God.
For what will you praise God this week? (for something he’s done, or for who he is)
Do you share with others what God has done for you? Can you think of one person that you can share God with this week or Tell them what God has done for me now or in the past or share why I love him?
What does David mean by saying “You will not let the mortals triumph?”
Was there a time you felt forsaken by God?
Can you break down this Psalm into sections like shown in previous psalms?
ADDITIONAL VERSES
Isaiah 49:15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
Blueletterbible.org
- “I will praise You, O Lord with my whole heart.” Half-heart is no heart.” (Spurgeon) “We do not praise God with our lips very much, if at all. And when we do, if we do, we praise him halfheartedly. Christians complain more often of how God has been treating them.
- “I will tell of all your marvelous works.” David described an important and often neglected way to praise God – to tell of all His marvelous works. Simply remembering and telling the great things God has done is a wonderful way to praise Him. Christians, when they meet, seldom speak about God! Why is this? (Clarke)
- “I will be glad and rejoice in You”- David describes a second way to praise God, by simply finding and expressing gladness and joy in God. This is simply choosing to rest in and celebrate the goodness, greatness, and kindness of God.
- I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High: Here David gives a third way to praise God, by singing praise to the name of God. The idea is to honor and celebrate the character and nature of God, recognizing Him as the Most High.
In the first two verses of this psalm David describes general reasons for praising God. Now he gives more specific reasons. God defeated David’s enemies and defended him. God is not impartial regarding right and wrong among men. He isn’t always neutral in human conflict. But men may think God is on their side when He’s not. It may be that God is against both parties in a dispute. We shouldn’t automatically think that God’s on our side in our disputes. Instead we should try to be on God’s side, by conforming ourselves to His word.
David was wise and humble enough to know that God would judge the wicked more for being God’s own enemies instead of David’s. “Those who know Your name will put their trust in You”- David understood that God’s help wasn’t given just because God favored some and opposed others. It was because His people have a relationship with Him, they have faith in Him.
Sometimes we feel that God has forsaken us. When we’ve sinned, face great trials (or many trials come at once), when we have difficult job to do, or our prayers seem unanswered it’s easy to feel that way. But these are times we should study and meditate on so that we know the character of God. We can’t know someone from hurried conversations, much less God. (Meyer)
David encouraged and inspired others to praise God and declare His deeds. David wanted God to rescue him so that he could give God even more praise. But he didn’t see his rescue as the final goal; the goal was always God’s greater glory.
Even the best plans and efforts of those who oppose God end up serving His purpose. This is seen often in Scripture.- Esau and Isaac plot against the purpose of God and end up serving it. Joseph’s brothers fight against the plan of God only to further it. Hamaan built a gallows for Mordecai, only to be executed upon it himself. (Clarke)
Even if they aren’t outwardly as wicked as other men are, people’s forgetfulness of God is the highest form of injustice to him. It’s robbing God of what is his right. Prayers are the Church’s weapons … whereby she is terrible as an army with banners; she prays down her enemies.” (Trapp)
“Let the nations be judged in Your sight. . . That the nations may know themselves to be but men” David expressed his confidence in God’s judgment of the wicked. Yet this didn’t lead David to a hatred of mankind or unhealthy joy in judgment. His real hope was that the display of God’s judgment would teach the nations their proper place before God (to be but mortal men).”
Barnes commentary
The more intimate our knowledge of God, the more we’ll trust him; the more we learn of his real character, the more we’ll see he’s worthy of love. One reason men don’t confide in him is that they don’t understand his real character. God doesn’t forsake those who put their trust in him. Men forsake God; but he doesn’t forsake them.
The wicked man is snared by the work of his own hands – This is also expressed in Psalm 7:16. The wicked cause their own destruction; their own devices are the means of their ruin. All the wicked will be punished in the future. The phrase,”that forget God,” means those who don’t want to think about or honor God. They chose to forget him and to live a life of idolatry and sin. David knows that God will never forsake the needy and helpless and will vindicate them in due time.
Scripturestudies.com
David proclaims God’s “wonders”, not just His works. Appreciation for God’s works is a great catalyst for praise. Many see no “wonders” because they take for granted the great things He has done. They don’t see God working in their lives because they attribute His works to luck or, worse, to their own abilities. They say, “Look what I have done!,”not realizing that it was God paving the way for them. When we realize that we are nothing without God, we begin to see all the “wonders” that He performs on our behalf.
God in His sovereignty has allowed man to rule himself. There are those who are oppressed. But God has not left the oppressed without an advocate, for “the LORD is a refuge for the oppressed.” We may have no safe place to go on earth, but our Lord is our refuge and stronghold in times of trouble. With God as a fortress, who can harm us? Who can break down His defenses? Where do those who do not know the Lord go in times of trouble? How great their darkness must be!
Another response to God’s righteousness should be to “proclaim among the nations what He has done.” We have a Great Commission to tell of God’s wonderful works, especially His work through Jesus. And let’s be careful that God’s name is not blasphemed among unbelievers because of us. We must be careful how we live and what we do, so that we may represent Christ in a worthy manner.
Sermoncentral.com (Let it Show by Dr. Phillip Paschal on 10/9/19
Introduction. The fact that God woke us up this morning ought to produce praise. The fact that God is better to us than we deserve, ought to produce praise. The fact that God has brought us a long way to this place in life should result in praise and has never left us or forsaken us ought to produce praise. The mere fact that God loved us enough to give his son as a ransom and substitute for us, ought to produce praise. When we reflect on who God is, and the things that God has done, and is doing, and will do for us; it ought to produce praise.
The psalmist recalls how God had delivered him from the hands of his enemies. When he recounts the goodness of God, he has no option but to praise God. All of us are the recipients his goodness, so praising him daily should never be just an option for us. ”Isaiah 63:7, “i will mention the loving kindnesses of the lord, and the praises of the lord “If we have anything to praise god for, we must let it show.
What is praise? While praise involves feelings, it’s always more. The word praise comes from a Latin word that means price or value. True praise consists in a sincere acknowledgment of value. It results from an internal experience with God. Since God is the object of our praise, he is worth the price and value of it and is worthy to be glorified.
As believers in Christ, we must reflect on his goodness and mercy toward us, which will move us to praise him. Praise reflects our gratitude to God for who he is and what he does for us. A praiseless heart is an ungrateful heart. When it comes to praising God, we should praise him with our whole heart. Failure to praise him with our whole heart is both empty and sinful. Pews are populated with those who are embarrassed to publicly praise God; however, God has never been embarrassed to bless us. If we are going to praise God, we must be willing to let it show
Praise should move us to: a) serve God with our whole heart b) witness and evangelize c) sing with our whole heart d) give God the best that we have in all that we do for him. e) want to be more like him. f) be on fire for God h) put our word into actions i) be forgiving j) not to be cliquish k) let go of petty grudges l) not to be harsh in our judgement of others.
Praise requires the use of intellect. It involves a thought process. So when I think, I thank, and I praise! You can’t praise and be sad at the same time. It is our emotional experience with God that results in joy! Praise can be contagious. When others see us praise, if they have an experience with God, they will start praising. So praise him…at the rising of the sun until the end of night.
My reflection on Psalm 9
It may be hard to relate to the enemies David constantly fought and how much he rejoiced in God’s deliverance. But I think of how I am in constant battle with the enemy of God- Satan. He works in me and others to try to cause us to sin. So I try to remember how much God loves the people but not their sin. His desire is that all come to him. When I become try angry at the actions of people that I never want to forget that God created us all. We are his creation and he loves us.
When I first started doing decorative art and painting on wood I made a snowman. I painted the face, the scarf, buttons and hat. When I was done I was satisfied with my work. It wasn’t perfect but I had accomplished what I had wanted to do. I had created my first piece of decorative art. Years later, I was painting and selling my items at a gift store, at fairs, and in a specialty shop. One day, I was cleaning my craft closet when I came across that snowman. He looked pretty pathetic in comparison to my current painted items. I was into painting angels, Santas and realistic animals on wood with a lot of detail in the eyes, clothes and fur. But this was like the work of a first grader in comparison to a college graduate! Yet how I loved that snowman. I had put my heart into creating it. It was a one of kind, an original I had made. There was no other snowman like it. Even if it did look kind of sad, I had spent a lot of time making it and had painted it with love. God must feel the same way about each person he has created. He put his heart of love into each one of us and made us unique. No two people are alike. Can you imagine the millions of people who live and have lived on this earth and yet not one of them is alike? I once knew identical twin sisters and even they were not exactly alike. And because God made us, he loves and values us enough to die for each one of us on the cross “while we were yet sinners.”
This all came home to me after 911. My friend told me a story about what her husband had witnessed at his office. Everyone in the office was gathered together in one room to watch live news coverage of the attack. When the second plane hit the towers, he saw a female muslim co-worker actually lose control of herself. She exhibited her true feelings and stood up and cheered. Suddenly she realized her response, and whose presence she was in, and quickly sat back down. That was pretty shocking to everyone who witnessed her behavior. Sometimes what is in our heart comes out in times like this. I’m sure that not all Muslims had this reaction, but the bible says what is in our heart does come out in our actions and words (sometimes when we’d rather keep it secret!) Matthew 15:18 -19 says, “But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.…”
But I have to admit, I felt just as strongly as she did after the attack. I was angry and could feel the hate start to rise in me. But because I have my Father always speaking to my heart, I asked his help in overcoming these strong emotions. Every day after I turned on the news and heard the sad reports of the people who had died in the attack. I would pray for Father to help me not hate. I realized that my prayer was answered when our nation, in retaliation, dropped our first bomb on our enemy. And I was surpised by my response! I didn’t cheer and smile and think how wonderful it was for everyone to die because now they would get the punishment they deserved. No, God had turned my heart completely around. I was sad when I saw that bomb go off. Those lives were precious to God. I I knew it was necessary and there was a sense of some justice to it, but I had no sense of gladness because there were also innocent people who had to die. It’s right to ask God for vindication. God helped David be delivered from his enemies too. But that doesn’t mean that we forget that we serve a loving and merciful God who also brings judgment to the wicked.
SONG: Lord I Lift Your Name on High, The Lord Reigns,I Sing The Mighty Power of God, Lord of All Creation, I will Never Forget You my people by Rev. Cary Landry