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Psalm 9:6 - Endless ruin has overtaken the enemy, you have uprooted their cities; even the memory of them has perished.
The wrath of God is not gentle or sentimental. He does not do a halfway job of dealing with evil. Nor ought we to desire Him to do a partial work of sanctification within us. He knows the enemy that dwells within our hearts and He is aware that His enemy within us is also our enemy. He loves us enough to deal ruthlessly with that which destroys our souls. May the cities of evil within our lives be uprooted and their memory perish.
Psalm 9:7 - The Lord reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment.
Perhaps we have the notion that God's judgment is some sort of negative force - like "the dark side of God." This could not be further from the truth. It is the ultimate expression of His sovereignty and power, which fuel His grace, mercy, and love. His judgment means that He reigns. He is in charge. He determines, once and for all, what is true, acceptable, and right. As Christians, let us rejoice in His judgment. Facing the cross, Jesus said, "Now is the judgment of this world; now is the prince of darkness cast down … and … if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me. Because God is the sovereign judge, we have hope.
Psalm 9:8 - He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice.
How God judges differentiates Him for all earthly representatives of justice. All that He does is absolutely right and true. He deals fairly with every issue that comes before Him. We can trust Him to help us sort out the ambivalence in our lives. We can rest assured that when He interprets our meaning of our days and guides us in the paths He has set before us, we are safe, and we are walking in His righteousness and justice. In the last judgment, His pronouncements will be the final word on the matter. Let no one else judge your life but submit it to Him daily for His final word of the day.
Psalm 9:9 - The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
The oppressed are very dear to God. A rabbi once said that God must truly love the poor because He made so many of them. So, it is with the oppressed. And the story is bigger than we imagine on the surface. We are all among the oppressed. Temptation, sin, the world, the flesh, and the devil oppress us on all sides and from within. When Israel was at the sea and the Egyptians were in pursuit, God called on Moses to lead His people into a wilderness of refuge. There appeared to be no walls and no shelter, but God had a plan to protect His people. He was their refuge and stronghold and He is ours. We, like them, must move toward Him in faith even when what is ahead looks like a vast wilderness without wall. God is your protector from all that oppresses you today.
Psalm 9:10 - Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
One of the gifts that God gave to Israel was His personal name. It was a secret that was not available outside of the covenant. It was a source of power, strength, and belonging. It was so sacred that no Jew would pronounce it or even consider it without the deepest reverence and awe. And yet, every Jew knew His name and to know it evoked a profound trust and stirred up memories of His faithfulness throughout the generations. To know His name was and is to know Him. We have, through Jesus, free access to our Heavenly Father and know Him by that name. In knowing Him, we trust Him. In trusting Him, we seek Him. And He never forsakes us. Nor shall He forsake you as you seek Him in trust today.
Psalm 9:11 - Sing praises to the Lord, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done.
We must proclaim, not only amongst ourselves, but also among the nations all that our God has done. As we praise Him openly, we practice worship evangelism. Our sincerity, exuberance, and devotion all bear witness to His glory and His mighty deeds. Praise holds up His character, grace, and love for all to see. Praise declares the sovereignty and reign of God and announces His Kingdom with authenticity and believability. If we will praise Him with our whole hearts and let His joy and power flow through us, we will bear witness in a manner that is compelling and truthful. Many do not know. As we worship Him transparently and openly, they will see and hear of His wonderful works and be drawn to Him. But remember this is not a show that we produce for the world. It is real praise that we direct to Him with the world looking on. If we keep these first things first, we won't be able to avoid the fruit of evangelism.
Psalm 9:12 - For he who avenges blood remembers; he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.
Who can forget the image of old Jewish elder, disgusted with the injustices of the world, shaking his fist in prayer to the God he loves and adores, demanding God's attention and justice? And God does not strike him dead. In fact, God hears his cry for it comes from one of his faithful servants. Perhaps we would recommend an attitude of greater humility before a holy God, but we would not forget His willingness and determination to hear the cry of the afflicted. God forgets no injustice without remedy. He does not sweep the blood of martyrs under some cosmic rug and wipe their pain from His memory. God deals with it. Look at the cross. God is dealing with it there. He is remedying the injustice. He is correcting the wrong. He is answering the prayers of the afflicted for restoration and He is hearing your prayers as well.
Psalm 9:13-14 - O Lord, see how my enemies persecute me! Have mercy and lift me up form the gates of death, that I may declare your praises in the gates of the Daughter of Zion and there rejoice in your salvation.
When we are burdened and persecuted, is this the nature of our cry that of this psalmist? Are we seeing an end result in God's mercy merciful rescue that culminates in greater and more heartfelt praise for Him? Do we envision rejoicing that ultimately honors Him and brings glory to His name? How wrapped up are our own wishes, emotions, and requests in His purposes, will, and desires? How deeply do we long for His will to be done and His reign to come on earth as it is in Heaven? Let us not cease to cry for mercy and deliverance - for we are in great need - but may we grow to see that our salvation is something intimately connected with the worship of God.
Psalm 9:15 - The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
Like the nations, we have often fallen into puts we have dug or have become entrapped in nets of our own making. This probably does not come as news to you since it is so common to our human experience. If we are honest, we will admit to our contributory role in our own troubles. Whenever we devise clever and sinister plots it is, we ourselves who enter into forced servitude to the very forces that drove us to ambition. So powerful are the snares and false promises of success and competition among humans that we are lured into their captivity by a wink, a nod, or an image. The antidote is focus - clear and centered upon God through Jesus Christ. We face grave danger today if we lose our focus and untold possibilities for blessing if we keep seeking Him.
Psalm 9:16 - The Lord is known by his justice; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.
Have you ever considered the reputation of God? That fact that He is known by His justice is a telling sign. Before we encounter the love and grace of God, we already understand that He is fair and righteous and truthful. We also know that in the grand scheme of things, poetic justice dictates that their own devices ensnare the wicked. If the world already understands this dimension of God and His ways, we have good news for them. Jesus came to brings us, as Paul Harvey used to say, “the rest of the story.” That story is that this same God passionately and jealously loves us with a love so deep that mercy and grace flow in unbroken succession from His heart. Do not wince at the justice of God, for it is His justice that leads us into His arms.
Psalm 9:17 - The wicked return to the grave, all the nations that forget God.
There is no future for those who forget God. There is nothing that godlessness offers us but death. Even if we are saved by grace, nothing that we invest in sin will stand the tests of time of eternity. God will not circumvent His own ways in our lives to achieve His purposes. He is consistent and true to Himself and to His Word. Count on it and count on Him to be trustworthy and scrupulously committed to integrity in His dealings with us. If He declares that X + Y = Z, then we can plan our lives around the principle. That is not to say that He cannot and will not intervene in His grace, but we must not presume upon His character. He loves us and pines for us, but He will not force His love upon us. If we reject it and to the extent, we reject it, we are left to our own devices which lead to death.
Psalm 9:18 - But the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish.
We have a God whose ways are not our ways and thoughts not our thoughts. He reverses the power of conventional wisdom and defies the accepted truisms of society to make His own order. He simply does not forget the needy. He has a bias for them. He will not abandon the afflicted. For those who are hopeless, He offers hope. Let us proclaim hope daily – first to our own defeated souls, weighed down with the worries and cares of life, discouraged in well doing, spent and depleted. Then let us proclaim the same message with the authentic credibility of a person who has embraced hope in his or her own life to a needy and broken world. May hope exude from our pores. May it be the aura that surrounds our lives, the given pitch that tunes our voices, the color of our countenances, and the tenor of our words. The good news of hope is the one word that broken people cannot create from wishful thinking. It is not denial; it is reality. May we live it and speak it daily.
Psalm 9:19 - Arise, O Lord, let not man triumph; let the nations be judged in your presence.
Man’s ways can be very frightening. The history of mankind is peppered with incidents of mob violence and injustice that was condoned by the crowd. Majority rule has often ruled out righteousness and minorities have been oppressed by masses simply because they had the power to do so. The prayer of the righteous man or woman always includes the desire for justice, for limits on evil, and for God’s restraint and ultimate judgment of all that goes against Him and His ways. We can pray this way with confidence because we are assured of the character and promises of God to set all things aright in His own timing and according to His purposes. Do not grow discouraged and do not stop praying for the right and for God’s will. And do not be alarmed when the evil one seems to be directing the political forces of the world. Evil shall not prevail. God wins – always.
Psalm 9:20 - Strike them with terror, O Lord; let the nations know they are but men.
There is a kind of terror that is to be desired within us and among men and women. It is that terror that absolutely melts our souls under the glaring reality of God. It is that terror that teaches us that we are but mere men. As we grow in grace, may we keep a sense of that terror. Even as we flourish in the wonderful awareness of God’s love, acceptance, dignity, and value of us as His children, may we avoid the conceit that marginalizes Him and maximizes our own importance. We are only human. That is not an excuse and not a put-down; it is basic truth. We do not overcome sin in our own strength. We do not grow in Christ because we have the best motives, the purest thoughts, and the most attractive personalities. We are absolutely, utterly dependent upon God. We are but men – male and female. It is a life-affirming and esteem-building exercise to realize this in the light of the truth that God, who also knows this, chooses to love and grace us.
