A Prayer Through Psalms: Chapter 9

I Will Recount Your Wonderful Deeds

Psalm 9

To the choirmaster: according to Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.

1 I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;

   I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.

2 I will be glad and exult in you;

   I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

3 When my enemies turn back,

   they stumble and perish before your presence.

4 For you have maintained my just cause;

   you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.

5 You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish;

   you have blotted out their name forever and ever.

6 The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins;

   their cities you rooted out;

   the very memory of them has perished.

7 But the Lord sits enthroned forever;

   he has established his throne for justice,

8 and he judges the world with righteousness;

   he judges the peoples with uprightness.

9 The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,

   a stronghold in times of trouble.

10 And those who know your name put their trust in you,

   for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

11 Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion!

   Tell among the peoples his deeds!

12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;

   he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

13 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,

14 that I may recount all your praises,

   that in the gates of the daughter of Zion

   I may rejoice in your salvation.

15 The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;

   in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.

16 The Lord has made himself known; he has executed judgment;

   the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah

17 The wicked shall return to Sheol,

   all the nations that forget God.

18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten,

   and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.

19 Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail;

   let the nations be judged before you!

20 Put them in fear, O Lord!

   Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah

This Psalm begins as a Psalm of thanksgiving, but David takes a sharp turn in the tone of the Psalm in verse 13. This tone is continued to Chapter 10, so stay tuned!

9:1- The word "wonderful deeds" refers to God's actions in human affairs such as the Exodus.

9:3- This verse does not refer to some past event, but rather a future hope.

9:4- David does not find hope in himself, but the righteousness of God.

9:5- This verse is contrasted with God's name used in verse 2 to indicate that He will be praised forever. However, the enemies of God will be forgotten.

9:11- Those who are persecuted can be confident that God will be with them here on Earth. 

9:13- The first sign of David's distress.

9:14- The gates of the daughter of Zion are contrasted with the gates of death. David will praise God in the most public place in Jerusalem.

9:15- The wicked will have to face the consequences for their actions at some time or another.

9:17- The wicked are all those who have forgotten and turned away from God.

9:18- While the terms "poor and needy" may not necessarily refer to people in poverty, it does refer to those who have placed total dependence on God. God will respond to all those who humble themselves and call on his grace.

9:20- The wicked have come to believe that they are greater than God, David asks God to remind the wicked that they are man and God is... God.

My prayer for this week is that we, followers of Christ, will give our thanks to God in reverence for His justice and wrath. However, I pray that we also take joy in the fact that God is faithful and loving and has provided reconciliation through His Son, Jesus Christ. I pray that God will receive as much glory as he is due for His greatness and kindness.