Psalm 9

Psalm 9.

For the director of music, to the tune of the death of the Son, Psalm of David.

I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart.

I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.

I will be glad and rejoice in you.

I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.

My enemies turn back.

They stumble and perish before you.

You have upheld my right hand and my cause, sitting enthroned as the righteous judge.

You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked.

You have blotted out their name forever and ever.

Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies.

You have uprooted their cities.

Even the memory of them has perished.

The Lord reigns forever.

He has established his throne for judgment.

He rules the world in righteousness and judges the people with equity.

The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

Those who know your name, trust in you.

For you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Sing the praises of the Lord, enthroned in Zion.

Proclaim among the nations what he has done.

For he who avenges blood remembers.

He does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.

Lord, see how my enemies persecute me.

Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death.

That I may declare your praises in the gates of a daughter Zion.

And there rejoice in your salvation.

The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug.

Their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.

The Lord is known by his acts of justice.

The wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.

The wicked will go down to the realm of the dead.

All the nations that forget God.

But God will never forget the needy.

The hope of the afflicted will never perish.

Arise, Lord.

Do not let mortals triumph.

Let the nations be judged in your presence.

Strike them with terror, Lord.

Let the nations know they are only mortal.

Well, this is God's word for us this evening.

And Ray is going to come and explain it for us.

Ray, over to you.

Before we look at it, let's ask God to help us to understand it.

Father, we thank you for your word.

We thank you that it describes who you are.

It describes who we are.

And Lord, it shows us how to live.

I do pray, Father, that you would speak to us now.

You would help me to be clear.

And speak to us all, Lord, according to your will.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

As we look at Psalm 9 tonight, keep your Bibles open.

I don't have any great overheads.

In fact, I don't have any overheads at all.

So I'd like you to look at your Bibles and follow through with me as we cover the verses.

I hope we're going to see two themes come out.

The main theme is about God's reign.

Psalm 9 is predominantly about God's rule over mankind.

And the verses that point us to this are verses 7 and 8.

It's really like a key verse in the psalm.

The Lord reigns forever.

He has established his throne for judgment.

He rules the world in righteousness and judges the people with equity.

So we're told there in verse 7, the time frame for God's reign is eternal.

And we're told also in verse 8, the way he reigns.

It's with righteousness and equity.

Equity means fairness.

So he reigns in righteousness and fairness.

The other theme that we can pick out from this psalm is that of memory.

Let me explain that.

There are two parts to this theme.

And it's the wicked forget God, but God remembers.

And you'll see that threaded through the psalm.

I hope we'll see that tonight.

The verses that summarize this, verses 17 and 18.

The wicked go down to the realm of the dead, all the nations that forget God.

But God will never forget the needy.

The hope of the afflicted will never perish.

So just as a final bit of introduction, who wrote the psalm?

You'll see there from the heading that it's a psalm of David.

And so tonight we see through his eyes how God deals with his enemies,

how God deals with his enemies, God's enemies,

and how God deals with those who trust him.

And you'll see as you read through it that it's a personal reflection

that's born out of David's experience.

And it is predominantly, above all else, that covers many things,

it's predominantly a psalm of praise.

And I'm hoping that we're going to look tonight under two headings,

taking the theme of memory,

that the wicked forget God,

and the result is that they will be forgotten,

and that God does not forget the believer.

And then we'll look at those quickly,

and then we'll look at the main application of the psalm.

So the wicked forget God, and they will be forgotten.

That's our first theme going through.

Those of you that have been around in the Sunday mornings,

we've been looking through 2 Samuel,

and you'll see that we've seen how God deals with David's enemies.

And we see that David's enemies are God's enemies.

And the reason for that is David is the anointed king,

and therefore those who fight against David are fighting against God.

So when we read the psalms of David,

we can thread those thoughts into our reading of the psalm as well.

It's not just David's enemies we're looking at,

we're looking at God's enemies.

And in this psalm, they're known as the wicked,

or predominantly they're called the nations.

So the wicked nations.

Psalm 10 that we'll look at next time, in a month's time,

is a partner to this psalm,

and that deals with the more individuals being wicked,

being wicked in their behaviour.

So three quick things to see about the wicked,

and then one quick thing on David's response.

So we're going to look now at verses 3 to 6.

I'm not going to read through it,

but try and pick up as I read through quickly,

as I point quickly to the verses.

Verse 3, you can see that David's enemies are turned back.

And why is that?

Because in verse 4, David's cause is upheld.

The wicked are rebuked and destroyed, in verse 5,

to such an extent that verse 6 we read,

their name is blotted out.

So they are under God's judgment,

their memory perishes,

and in the end,

the wicked are forgotten.

Secondly, we see that their evil plans recoil on them.

And again, we've been seeing this in 2 Samuel.

But here we're in verses 15 to 18.

Verse 15,

they fall into the pit that they've dug.

They're caught in their own net.

And we see also that this is borne out in the readings we've had in 2 Samuel.

Two weeks ago, we were looking at, if you remember,

2 Samuel 16, Absalom,

and that name that nobody can pronounce,

Ahithophel.

How did I do?

Ahithophel.

They sought to destroy God's anointed, David.

And we learned that week, two weeks ago,

God always wins.

Trouble recoils on the heads of those

who go against God,

who are wicked.

Verse 17,

their fate is death.

Why is their fate death?

Because they forgot God.

The third thing about the wicked

is that they will see that they are only mortal.

Verses 19 and 20.

In their pride,

they think they're going to triumph.

Verse 19.

But they forget that they are only men.

God would judge them,

and they will be forced to recognize their mortality.

So it's three quick things.

They're under God's judgment.

Their evil plans will recoil on them,

and they will finally see that they're only mortal.

From these verses we've read so far,

there are two things that stand out to us.

God is in control.

That is the first thing.

God's enemies are not in control.

God is in control.

And we see that particularly in verses 13 and 14.

Because David knows that God is in control,

and that finally God will judge his enemies,

for that reason he calls out to God

and asks for deliverance

from the present troubles he was going through.

Verse 13.

See how my enemies persecute me.

Lord, see how my enemies persecute me.

Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,

that I may declare your praises

in the gates of daughter Zion,

and there rejoice in your salvation.

So because of David's experience

of knowing God is in control

in his past problems,

he can now call out to God

and ask God to rescue him

from his present problems.

Why is he praying this?

Well, clearly he needs deliverance.

But his overarching desire there we see,

can you see this in verse 14,

that he may rejoice and declare God's praises.

Therefore, David's preoccupation,

even in his troubles,

is not rescue,

it's that God will be glorified.

I wonder how often we,

mine is close to never,

how often we

take the focus off of our problems

and rescue from that

and onto the glory of God.

Amazingly,

in God's providence,

he's able to do both of those things

at the same time,

rescue us and glorify himself as well.

The other thing that these verses

about the wicked show us

is that God's judgment is real.

Verse 17,

we've seen that the wicked are judged

because they have forgotten God.

God always judges evil.

Always.

Sometimes in this life,

but always it will be in eternity.

Unless Jesus has taken God's judgment for us,

we stand under God's judgment

for the evil that we have done.

So,

we've seen here that the wicked forget God.

What does this phrase mean?

They take no account of God

in their day-to-day living.

They consider they are not accountable to God

and they'll live as they want,

thank you very much.

They'll live as God doesn't exist.

That's what it means to forget God.

And the result we have seen

is that it results in God's judgment

and that they are forgotten.

Notice what David says

about God's judgment here.

These are very solemn

if we take this serious.

Verse 3 and verse 19.

Verse 3,

my enemies turn back,

they stumble and perish before you.

Before you here literally means

at your presence.

so that David's enemies

stumble and perish at God's presence.

Verse 19 says,

Arise Lord,

do not let mortals triumph.

Let the nations be judged

in your presence.

So here,

judgment is by God

and it is in his presence.

This applied to God's enemies

in David's day.

It applies to God's enemies

in our day.

And in the future,

when Christ returns

in the final judgment,

it will apply then.

And we get an awesome glimpse

of this final judgment

and the fact that it is

in God's presence

in Revelation.

Let me read to you.

You can turn to it if you want.

It's page 1133.

Revelation 5,

Revelation 5,

and we're going to read

three verses there,

15 to 17.

Then the kings of the earth,

the princes,

the generals,

the rich,

the mighty,

and everyone else,

both slave and free,

hid in caves

and among the rocks

and among the rocks

and among the rocks

of the mountains.

They called to the mountains

and the rocks,

fall on us

and hide us

from the face of him

who sits on the throne

and from the wrath

of the Lamb.

For the great day

of their wrath

has come

and who can withstand it?

So those who refuse

to acknowledge God,

here it's described

as those who forget God

in this psalm,

they will be judged

in his presence.

And what an awesome

and fearsome thing

that will be.

And it's awesome

and fearsome

because as we read

in verse 8 earlier on,

God is the righteous

and fair judge.

Verse 8 says,

he rules the world

in righteousness

and he judges

the people with equity.

So for the believer,

Jesus is our saviour.

For the unbeliever,

he is the final judge.

And Paul tells us

in Acts 17 verse 31

Acts 17:31

that the final judge

will be our Lord Jesus.

All judgment

has been handed over

to him.

It says that

he has fixed a day

on which he will judge

the world in righteousness

by a man

he has appointed

and that is Jesus.

So

that is rather solemn

that God will judge

his enemies

but it's because

he is the righteous judge

and he always does

what is right.

But here we see

God's memory

does not fail.

God

remembers

his people.

You see that

in verses 7 to 12

particularly.

Let me read those

to you.

The Lord reigns

forever.

He has established

his throne

for judgment.

He rules the world

in righteousness

and judges the peoples

with equity.

The Lord is a refuge

for the oppressed

a stronghold

in times of trouble.

Those who know

your name

trust in you.

For you Lord

have never forsaken

those who seek you.

Sing the praises

of the Lord

enthroned in Zion.

Proclaim among

the nations

what he has done.

For he who avenges

blood remembers

he does not ignore

the cries

of the afflicted.

So this

psalm also

teaches us

that

though God's

people

are seen

as oppressed

in verse 9

afflicted

in verse 12

and needy

in verse 18

God does not

forget them.

God can be

trusted.

As we've seen

God is declared

to be the one

reigning in

righteousness

and fairness

now and forever

and for those

who continue

to forget God

it results

in judgment

but for the believer

even when they

are persecuted

when they are

afflicted

when they are

needy

because we know

God is righteous

and fair

we know we can

trust him fully

whatever our

situation

whether we're

led through

good times

or bad times

whether our

week has been

good or bad

whether we're

struggling

we can trust

God to do

the right thing

because he rules

in righteousness

Jesus here is

our perfect

example in

1 Peter 2

23

it says that

Jesus continued

in trusting

himself to

him who

judges

justly

and what was

trusting God

for there

what has he

laid down

his life

for us

he was

trusting that

God would

do the right

thing

as he bore

our sin

God can

God can always

be trusted

to do what

is right

that's in

his very

nature

we also

see in God

remembering

his people

that God

is a refuge

for his

people

when God's

people are

oppressed

afflicted and

needy and

even persecuted

in those

times

we read in

verse 9

that he is

our refuge

verse 12

he remembers

us

he does

not

ignore

our cries

so what

marks out

the difference

between the

believer

and the

wicked

we're told

here in

verse 10

this is the

difference

it's that

they know

God

they trust

him

and they

seek him

and because

they know

him

they trust

him

and they

seek him

they are

never

forsaken

verse 10

God will

never forsake

or forget

you

that's certain

the question

we need to

ask ourselves

if we trust

him in our

times of

need

in those

difficult

things that

maybe we've

been going

through this

week or

maybe we

will go

through this

following week

maybe

difficulties

in relationships

problems at

work or

school

perhaps

problems of

health

or perhaps

struggles to

live the

Christian life

that you

seem to be

weighed down

by certain

things

when all

these things

God doesn't

forget you

God is your

refuge

we need to

trust him

so let's

let's finish

with the

application of

this and it

was very late

on in my

studies I

discovered

discovered

that there's

a verse

that gives

the application

so we're

going to

look at

it in

verse 11

the application

of all we've

read in

Psalm 9

is this

sing the

praises of

the Lord

enthroned in

Zion

proclaim among

the nations

what he has

done

so two

applications

number one

sing the

praises to

the Lord

number two

proclaim what

he has

done

now David

is our

example in

verses one

and two

right at the

beginning of

the psalm

in singing

praises to

God

verse one

says I

will give

thanks to

you Lord

with all

my heart

I will

tell of

all your

wonderful deeds

I will be

glad and

rejoice in

you I

will sing

the praises

of your

name O

Most High

so why

is David

praising God

according to

verses one

and two

because of

his wonderful

deeds

because of

what he's

done

what were

these things

for David

their

deliverance

from his

enemies

they are

rescue

for God's

people

and they're

too that

God will

not forget

us

but he also

praises God

because of

who he is

here it

talks about

his name

his very

essence

and he

is the

Most High

the one

who is high

above all

that is the

all powerful

sovereign

the one

who is

the righteous

judge

so no

wonder David

rejoices

no wonder

he sings

God's

praise

he says

here that

he's 100%

committed to

this

we're told

that he's

going to

give thanks

with all

of his

heart

he's

not

he's

not

50-50

he's

not

you know

partly

praising

God

but

you know

there's

so much

other

things

to think

about

100%

committed

with all

his

heart

he will

praise

God

what an

example

he is

to us

and it's

significant

that David

starts his

psalm

his wording

is a

resolution

to praise

let me

explain what

I mean by

that he

doesn't say

I give

thanks I

tell of all

your wonderful

deeds but

four times he

says I

will I

will give

thanks I

will tell of

all your

wonderful deeds

I will be

glad and

rejoice in

you I

will sing

the praises

of your

name that's

significant

because here

he's setting

out his

resolution

this is

what I'm

going to

do

whether I'm

rescued from

my enemies

or not

whether good

times or bad

times I

will praise

my God

so whether

he's joyful

or sad

he will

praise his

God

now to be

a people

full of

praise if

you can

100%

praise God

and if

you need

to reflect

on what

God has

done as

David

did

you need

to reflect

on who

he is

as David

did and

you need

to resolve

to praise

as we go

into this

week let's

do that

let's resolve

to praise

for who

God is

and for

what he's

done

but the

other application

here from

verse 11

is to

proclaim his

name among

the nations

proclaim

what he

has done

to proclaim

means to

declare

to speak

out

and it's

telling the

good things

that he

has done

for us

that he

is a

refuge for

the oppressed

and a

stronghold in

times of

trouble

verse 8

and that

he never

forsakes

his people

verse 10

now we're

told to do

this not

just to

those we

gather with

in church

we're told

to proclaim

this to

the nations

to all

people

as we've

seen in

this psalm

when David

is talking

about the

nations

his emphasis

is on

the wicked

so this

psalm is

telling you

to proclaim

to the

wicked

the good

things

that God

has done

it's

it's to

the wicked

in verse 5

it's to

those who

have fallen

into the

pit of

sin

in verse 15

it's to

those who

forget God

in verse 17

it's for

those who

are under

God's

judgment

in verse

19

so what

do you

think

the deeds

of the

Lord are

that we

should be

declaring

to the

wicked

particularly

well they

need to

know about

the goodness

of God

in our

lives

they need

to know

about all

the goodness

of God

as we

all do

but they

also need

to know

of the

mercy

and grace

of God

the same

thing we

needed to

hear of

when we

were still

in our

sins

where we

were still

forgetting

God

when we

were still

living

without

God

as we

saw this

morning

the grace

of God

we need

to be

able to

proclaim

that

to

those

around

us

friends

and

those

who

are

God's

enemies

in Jesus

we see

God

the righteous

judge

but also

the saviour

rich in

mercy

compassionate

one who

bears and

forgives

our sin

so what's

our goal

in

proclamation

not that

we may

have a

big church

not that

we may

feel we've

done

something

good at

last

but the

glory may

be brought

to God

verse 11

says

sing the

praises of

the Lord

enthroned in

Zion

proclaim

among the

nations

what he

has done

so we

proclaim

what God

has done

so that

other people

may not

just hear

but they

may come

to know

God as

saviour

too

and that

then they

will go

on to

proclaim

among

the nations

other people

what he

has done

for them

so let

me just

close

by asking

you

what do

you think

this

proclamation

of what

God has

done

will look

like

tomorrow

morning

in the

workplace

or school

perhaps

it's

praying

for

opportunities

and taking

those small

opportunities

that we're

presented

with

to tell

of our

experience

of God's

goodness

to us

pointing

people

to Jesus

our saviour

and our

Lord

with the

long term

aim

that God

will be

glorified

in their

lives as

well

thank you

Twins

I

had a

time

for

to

k

wanted

to

to