Psalm 9 - A Shout of Victory!!!

These days victory in our lives, and in our world, seems to be a foreign concept to many of us.

At the moment, it seems as if there are so many things that are lined up against us and are aiming to hurt us - be they spiritual or in the physical realm. They aim to hurt us emotionally, physically, spiritually, relationally and financially.

Mostly, we tremble in fear and worry about what the next day holds, even as we crawl through the present day, hoping that we get to the end of it relatively unscathed.

King David knew what this was like - as a shepherd, as a warrior and as a king. In Psalm 9, King David lays it all out for us to see. In this psalm he acknowledges the power, authority and judgement of God upon those that stand against him as he goes about doing God’s work in his nation. It serves as a beacon for our own lives, and how to go about facing the attacks our enemy throws at us on a daily basis.

Psalm 9 says….

Verses 1-2: “I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvellous works. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.”

• Praising God instantly takes us out of focussing on ourselves and our situations, and places it firmly on Him. he should be our focus no matter what our situation is.

• To praise Him with our whole heart means that we cannot be giving our heart (for that is where our treasure lay) - “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart.” - Matthew 12:35

• After that initial acknowledgement, King David speaks of how he will speak about the great things God has done. And because of those great things, then the result is being glad and rejoicing because of his relationship with God.

• That relationship then leads King David right back around towards a position of praise and worship.

• This cycle is what we should implement in our lives, whether we are in a good or bad situation in our lives. God will continue to do marvellous works in our lives, and it is those that we hold on to and in turn we acknowledge and praise the name of the Lord.

Verses 3-6: “When my enemies turn back, They shall fall and perish at Your presence. For You have maintained my right and my cause; You sat on the throne judging in righteousness. You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked; You have blotted out their name forever and ever. O enemy, destructions are finished forever! And you have destroyed cities; Even their memory has perished.”

• These verses by King David speak not only of the physcial realm but also the spiritual realm - where God (Yahweh) is the authority above all others. It is HE who will judge the nations in the past, in the present, and in the future.

• When God judges a nation, a people or a place - that place is wiped out completely, and very little remains of it. Consider how great Babylon was, and now it is a few isolated archaeological remains buried in the desert sands. Or consider Sodom/Gammorah, where the region was known to be fertile and green (which is why Lot moved there) - but God destroyed those tows for their violence and their sexual immorality.

• This is a warning here for all of us as individuals, as families, as communities and as nations. If we turn our backs on God then we too will be judged.

This is why we need to be like King David and try to live in the will of God, to live righteously. If we do this the God will protect us from our enemies.

Verses 7-8: “But the Lord shall endure forever; He has prepared His throne for judgment. He shall judge the world in righteousness, And He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness.”

• Because God is eternal, and He is perfect then when he judges - he shall do so righteously.

• These verses are also prophetic in nature. They are looking forward into distant time (for David) where God (through his son Jesus) is going to have His throne on Earth, and the nations will be judged for their actions and their sins.

• This should form some semblance of hope for us, because whatever injustices we have experienced i this life - God will judge those who have perpetrated it against us, especially those from the spiritual world.

Verses 9-12 - “The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, A refuge in times of trouble. And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.” Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion! Declare His deeds among the people. When He avenges blood, He remembers them; He does not forget the cry of the humble.”

• God being a refuge in times of trouble is a common theme in David’s psalms.

• When David talks about a refuge, he doesn’t mean some stone house or shelter to hide in - rather he is talking about a fortified city or village. One that is defendable, and one where true protection can be found.

• God is the ultimate fortress, he is able to defend us and himself. He is the fortress that can never be knocked down and invaded. So, we need to put out trust in HIM, and HIM alone - and cry out to HIM in our times of troubles.

• And when our enemies attack us, and try to harm us God will hear our cries and will act on our behalf.

Verses 13-14: “Have mercy on me, O Lord! Consider my trouble from those who hate me, You who lift me up from the gates of death, That I may tell of all Your praise In the gates of the daughter of Zion. I will rejoice in Your salvation.”

Verses 15-16: “The nations have sunk down in the pit which they made; In the net which they hid, their own foot is caught. The Lord is known by the judgment He executes; The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Meditation…Selah”

• It is interesting that David connects the actions of the nations to the predicaments that they find themselves in. That the traps that they set for people fail, and end up tripping themselves up and entrapping themselves in.

• This is vital for us in these times. Many of us may be scared and petrified of some global conspiracy (which are present and are fact) run by governments, corporations and the like - however their plans will fail.

• God will make sure that their plans fail, because it is HIS will that becomes true.

• It is then interesting to note that King David adds in a curious piece of musical notation that is sometimes used in the psalms. The term ‘Selah’ is not fully understood, however it is correctly assumed to mean something along the lines of a musical pause where the audience and the musicians contemplatively consider what has just been sung.

• Basically, David is saying “Hey, remember what you literally just sang and read…God is with you and for you, don’t worry, he has your back!!!”

Verses 17-20: The wicked shall be turned into hell, And all the nations that forget God. For the needy shall not always be forgotten; The expectation of the poor shall not perish forever. Arise, O Lord, do not let man prevail; Let the nations be judged in Your sight. Put them in fear, O Lord, That the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah”

• It is interesting that King David is once again not only talking about his current situation in these verses, but also prophesying. He talks about the nations that have turned their back on God, and are doing wicked things, and how they will be judged. Not only will they be judged, but they will be “turned into hell” note this is not thrown into hell. This means that this is a judgement that comes whilst those nations/empires are still in existence during human history. This time is rapidly coming in our own time.

• In the midst of that, King David then lets us know that those who are struggling, going through difficult times or are the targets of oppression by other people/groups - they will not be forgotten by God.

• What these concluding verses let us know is this… “God hears and sees our struggles. He sees what is being done to us. He sees the evil that is happening in the world around us - do not be afraid for God is with us!”

• King David finishes this psalm with another contemplative pause - another ‘Selah’ moment for us to pause and listen to the voice of God in the words we have just read/sung.

Psalm 9 is perhaps not a familiar psalm to many people, but it has elements that David repeats in other psalms that we are very familiar with. Namely, whatever you are going through “God is with you!!!” This is what we need to take away from this psalm. In our lives today, with each day being a struggle, and much evil being committed on a great many people, by nations, corporations and groups - God sees that injustice and he will judge the nations for it.

Be of good courage, stand firm in your faith, and cling closely to God and his son Jesus who died and rose for your sake.