A Study in Psalms - Vol. II; No. 5

A Study in Psalms - Psalm 9

Psalm 9

For the director of music.
To the tune of "The Death of the Son." A psalm of David.

¹I will praise You, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will tell of all Your wonders.
²I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

³My enemies turn back;
they stumble and perish before You.
⁴For You have upheld my right and my cause;
You have sat on Your throne, judging righteously.
⁵You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked; You have blotted out their name for ever and ever.

⁶Endless ruin has overtaken the enemy,
You have uprooted their cities;
even the memory of them has perished.

⁷The LORD reigns forever;
He has established His throne for judgment.
⁸He will judge the world in righteousness;
He will govern the peoples with justice.
⁹The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
¹⁰Those who know Your name will trust in You,
for You, LORD, have never forsaken
those who seek You.

¹¹Sing praises to the LORD, enthroned in Zion;
proclaim among the nations what He has done.
¹²For He who avenges blood remembers;
He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.

¹⁵The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;
their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
¹⁶The LORD is known by his justice;
the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion. Selah

¹⁷The wicked return to the grave,
all the nations that forget God.
¹⁸But the needy will not always be forgotten,
nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish.

¹⁹Arise, O LORD, let not man triumph;
let the nations be judged in Your presence.
²⁰Strike them with terror, O LORD;
let the nations know they are but men. Selah

The main theme of this psalm is God's righteous rule, His judgment and His justice. In alternating sections of praise and prayer, David speaks of God's righteousness, expresses his thanks to God for past deliverances and asks God for continued safety.

The inscription identifies David as the author and states that the psalm is to be sung "To the tune of `The Death of the Son.'" This reference is fascinating in a psalm that speaks so much of God's righteousness and victory over His enemies because the title evokes the ultimate victory over God's enemies: the death of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Praises to the Lord

¹I will praise You, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will tell of all Your wonders.
²I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

David begins the psalm with an eloquent expression of praise. With his four "I wills", David communicates his resolve to praise the Lord. It is difficult at times to praise the Lord in the face of persecution, as David is here, but we are called to do so. Peter tells us: "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed" (I Pet. 4:12-13).

So, despite David's trials, he proclaims, "I will praise You, O LORD, with all my heart." Significantly, David praises with "all" his heart. But then, what good is half-hearted praise? Many praise the Lord, but how many praise Him with a whole heart? Undoubtedly, God's ear is more receptive to prayers that come from lips that praise with a whole heart.

David goes on, "I will tell of all Your wonders." Those who love God love to tell of His wonders, especially those performed in one's own life. What do you say? You have no such wonders to recount? Perhaps you need to praise Him with "all" your heart, first. Having done this, watch what He will do in your life.

Notice that David proclaims God's "wonders", not just His works. David had a great appreciation for the works of God; so much so, that he considered God's works "wonder"ful. 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 do not see God working in their lives because they attribute His works to luck or (worse) to their own abilities. They say, "My! 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. We also apprectiate more the "wonders" He has performed on everyone's behalf: the Creation, His providence, our redemption.

Praise for His "wonders" leads to joy, so David continues: "I will be glad and rejoice in You." Christians should not be habitually morose; rather, they should ever be rejoicing. As Paul exhorts, "Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again: Rejoice!" (Phil. 4:4). Notice that David in this phrase is not rejoicing in God's works, but in God Himself. We must not only love God's works, but love God Himself, appreciating His attributes and character. This leads to David's final "I will": "I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High." As has been mentioned in these pages before, reference to God's "name" denotes His character. In this psalm, David is referring mainly to God's righteousness, and so David resolves to sing praises to God's righteousness, as well as His sovereignty (for He addresses God as "Most High").

David Recounts God's Previous Work

David now recounts some of the "wonders" of God that he himself has personally experienced. He says, "My enemies turn back; they stumble and perish before You." David, throughout his life, always saw God as fighting his battles. Most men would say, "They stumble and perish before me"; but David knew that his success in battle was due to God's protecting hand.

God was on David's side because David was right in God's sight. David's enemies perished because God "upheld [his] right and [his] cause." We should not expect God to fight our battles unless our cause is holy. It is comforting that God takes sides based on right, not might or power or money or fame, as the world does.

When God condescends to intervene in the battles of men, woe be it for the wicked. His victory is complete, as in David's case: God "rebuked the nations", "destroyed the wicked", and "uprooted their cities". In fact, as numerous as God's enemies have been throughout the centuries, God has always been victorious. David then states: "Even the memory of them has perished." This is true down to today. We know a lot about David, but remember precious little about David's enemies.

The Lord's Righteousness

David goes on to enumerate some traits of God's righteous character. He begins by stating: "The LORD reigns forever." For God's children, this is reassuring; for God's enemies, this is their downfall. For God's children, no matter what the external situation, there is hope; for God's enemies, no matter how they may triumph on earth, they will eventually be undone.

God "has established His throne for judgment." God values His righteous character, and so His throne has been established expressly for His judgment. Since the judgment throne has already been established, judgment will be swift. And make no mistake, "He will judge the world in righteousness." Since God is righteous, there will absolutely come a time when the world will be judged. After that time, the Lord "will govern the peoples with justice." When the Lord reigns, "righteousness will be the scepter of [His] kingdom" (Heb. 1:8). We often praise His mercy, we should also praise His righteousness and justice. We should long for His righteous rule and pray often from our hearts, "May Your kingdom come."

Until that time, because 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 we have the Lord as a city of refuge. He is our "stronghold in times of trouble." With God as a fortress, who can harm us? Who can break down His defenses? "We need never fear that God will be dethroned, or overreached, or defeated."[Footnote #9]

Where do those who do not know the Lord go in times of trouble? How great their darkness must be! (cf. Matt. 6:23). However, as David says to the Lord: "Those who know Your name will trust in You." Ignorance of God's providence is caused by ignorance of God. Many charge God's children with having blind faith, but true faith in God cannot be blind; rather, true faith is strengthened as the vision of God grows clearer through knowledge of Him. Our faith is based on the knowledge of His attributes. "The mother of unbelief is ignorance of God, His faithfulness, mercy and power."[Footnote #10] This is why it is so important to increase our knowledge of God through the study of His Word. We should all be able to say, as Paul, "I know whom I have believed" (II Tim. 1:12).

Some would say that there is no way to know God, but God has done much so that we might know Him. The Romans of old and the modern agnostics have set up an altar "to an unknown God" (cf. Acts 17:23). As Paul states, "In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30). Now none have an excuse not to know God. We have His works, His Word and His Son. Ignorance of God is due not to God's lack of communication, but to man's lack of perseverance.

"Those who know" the Lord's name and His character know that the Lord has "never forsaken those who seek [Him]." These verses present the beginnings of an answer to the oft asked question concerning the native in Africa or New Guinea or some such place who has never heard the gospel presented objectively. David states, the Lord will judge the world "in righteousness" (v. 8) and the Lord has "never forsaken those who seek Him" (v. 10). In the history of mankind, God has never forsaken anyone from any nation or tribe who has honestly sought Him.

Our Response: Praise and Proclamation

¹¹Sing praises to the LORD, enthroned in Zion;
proclaim among the nations what He has done.
¹²For He who avenges blood remembers;
He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.

Our response to the revelation concerning God's character described in the previous section should be to, as David says, "Sing praises to the LORD." To praise the Lord is our duty; David words his statement as a command. Those who know Him must glorify Him. We should get used to singing God's praises on earth; then we will be better prepared for doing so forever in heaven. We must cultivate a joy for singing out God's praises. Secret prayers of praise are not enough. "Public mercies call for public praise, and great mercies for great thanksgivings."[Footnote #11]

Another response to God's righteousness should be to "proclaim among the nations what He has done." And so, we have a Great Commission to tell of God's wonderful works, especially His work through Jesus Christ. The Jews also had a Great Commission of sorts, as we see in this verse. They were to "proclaim among the nations what He has done." In this, they failed. Instead of being a light to the Gentiles, "God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of [them]" (Rom. 2:24). Let us be careful that God's name is not blasphemed among unbelievers because of us Christians. We must be careful how we live and what we do, so that we may represent Christ in a worthy manner.

David reiterates the reason to praise the Lord, that is, because of His righteousness: "For He who avenges blood remembers." Our blood is precious, its shedding will be punished. Moreover, "He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted." At times, we do not think that the Lord sees our afflictions at the hands of the wicked. We wonder why the Lord does not strike them dead for their transgressions. But He does not strike them dead the same reason that He did not strike us dead before we knew Him. As Peter points out: "He is patient with [us], not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (II Peter 3:9).

David Prays for Deliverance

¹³O LORD, see how my enemies persecute me!
Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,
¹⁴that I may declare Your praises
in the gates of the Daughter of Zion
and there rejoice in Your salvation.
¹⁵The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;
their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
¹⁶The LORD is known by his justice;
the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion. Selah

¹⁷The wicked return to the grave,
all the nations that forget God.
¹⁸But the needy will not always be forgotten,
nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish.

After praising the Lord, after telling of God's past work in his life, after describing God's righteousness, and after exhorting us to sing praises to the Lord, David finally gets to His petition. If only our prayers were likewise proportioned! David prays: "O LORD, see how my enemies persecute me!" He also prays: "Have mercy." Though our immediate cause is right, we still need God's mercy for so many wrong causes we have sided with. "The holiest mere man that ever lived had great need to cry for mercy."[Footnote #12] David's motive for his petitions is that he "may declare [the Lord's] praises" and "rejoice in His salvation." God acts for the glory of His name. I dare say that our prayers would be more readily answered if God knew their answering would glorify His name.

David gained confidence that his prayer would be answered when he remembered how the wicked are dealt with by God: they reap what they sow, they "[fall] into the pit they have dug", they are "ensnared by the work of their hands". The wicked do not realize that, as they dig an ensnaring pit, one is being dug for them. They will "return to the grave." Eventually, they will have to meet their God. The end of life on earth is the end of the wicked, but it is the "hope of the afflicted."

Prayer to End Man's Delusion

¹⁹Arise, O LORD, let not man triumph;
let the nations be judged in Your presence.
²⁰Strike them with terror, O LORD;
let the nations know they are but men. Selah

David ends the psalm with a petition for God to "Arise" and "let not man triumph." Most men live under the delusion that man reigns on earth. In their pride, they overlook their weakness and frailty. David asks that they be instilled with the fear of the Lord: "Strike them with terror, O LORD." The world would be a much better place if all men had a healthy dose of the fear of the Lord.

And so Lord, we also pray that You would instill the men of the earth with the fear of God. Let Your righteousness be known to all; may Your justice be manifest in the earth. We praise You for Your righteous nature; we praise You that "the hope of the afflicted will [never] perish"; we praise You that You are "a stronghold in times of trouble." Give us, by Your Spirit, the desire to sing Your praises; give us the opportunity to proclaim among the nations what You have done. In Jesus' name we pray these things, Amen.

(Our study in the Psalms will continue in the next issue with Psalm 10)

Footnotes:

9. Plumer, Studies in the Book of Psalms, pg. 145.

10. John Ball, cited in Spurgeon, A Treasury of David, Vol. I, pg. 103.

11. Plumer, Studies in the Book of Psalms, pg. 138.

12. Ibid., pg. 147.