Psalm 9: I will recount Your wonderful deeds. Praying through the Psalms



Psalm 9: I will recount Your wonderful deeds

In Psalm 9, David once again praises God and expresses joy for all that God has done. His heart is filled with thankfulness for who God is and all “His wonderful deeds”. Like David, we ought to be thankful for God’s divinity, His awesome work, and unfathomable power. A truly thankful heart can’t help but express that thankfulness in word and in deed; the more we know who God is, the more thankful we will be.

God desires a living relationship with His people and has therefore given us ways to get to know Him. Not only has He given us His word, but Romans 1:19-20 tells us,

19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

When we learn to see how awe-inspiring, loving, just, and gracious He is we ought to be so thankful that we cannot help but want to share this with others. David expressed praise for the amazing attributes and works that God has done. He tells God of his desire to share them with others in verse 11, where he says, “Tell among the peoples His deeds!” True thankfulness always leads to expressions of gratitude.

Knowing and loving God will not be easy. Just as Christ was persecuted, so too will His followers be persecuted. “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). This should not deter us from worshipping Him, though, as we can find comfort in knowing that God is a just God. He vindicates us and “and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness” (Psalm 9:8). Only by trusting in God, receiving the gift of salvation in Jesus Christ, and the working of the Holy Spirit can we find true peace, comfort, and strength when we go through all of this life’s trials and tribulations.

In Psalm 9, we also see where our hearts and motivation ought to be. David came to God with a right heart; he wanted God’s help so that Israel would be restored and he could once again spread the praises of God to others. When we come before God in prayer, seeking His help, we need to first consider what is motivating our cries for help. Are you seeking righteous justice and to bring glory to God? Do you seek restoration so you can recount His praises and rejoice in Him? “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves” (2 Corinthians 13:5).

Psalm  9 is filled with comfort for God’s people; it reminds us that, though we go through trials and persecution, God will never forsake those who seek Him. He is our stronghold, refuge, and fortress. We are also reminded that, to find this comfort and strength, we must seek Him. We must read His word, praise Him, spread His praises to others, and commune with Him in prayer and song. Even more than that, we are to surrender ourselves completely to Him. “He does not forget the cry of the afflicted” (verse 12); He is just and will avenge the wrongdoings done to His people. He promises us that, “If you seek him, he will be found by you” (2 Chronicles 15:2b), and, “though he (we) fall, he (we) shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand” (Psalm 37:24).

Praying through the Psalms:

Gracious God, O Most High

Thank you for Your awesome and wonderful deeds! I sing praise to You and exalt in Your Holy Name! Your just and righteous judgment rules the earth; none can stand against You. You have made the wicked perish; from Your throne on high You judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with uprightness!  I praise and thank You for being our stronghold in times of trouble, for You do not forsake those who seek You. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, O LORD, that I may tell of Your deeds among the peoples. Be gracious to Your Children, O God; when we are being afflicted, graciously lift us from the gates of death that we may sing Your praises to all the nations. By Your righteous justice, make the wicked fall into their own snares. Remember Your people, O God, and, by Your Son Jesus Christ, forgive us where we fall short of Your will and expectations. Though we are not worthy, we praise and thank You for Your merciful work of salvation. By Your Holy Spirit, fill us with everlasting gratitude and praises to Your name. All this we ask in Jesus' Name alone, Amen.

Psalm 9 I Will Recount Your Wonderful Deeds

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[c] 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

 

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