Psalm 9 is an incomplete acrostic psalm, using the 11 hebrew letters aleph-kaph. Some scholars have argued that this may have been imposed on the psalm, but it bears mentioning if for no other reason than to remind us again that this is not a letter or prose. It is an artful song, lyrics to be sung to a God who hears. While beginning as a song of thanksgiving, it turns into a prayer for the righteous judge to act.
Verses 1-2. David exhorts himself to praise the Lord, not only as a therapy to forget his troubles for a moment, but to deepen his trust in the Lord. (Van Gemeren) David knows that the right ordering of his world and heart begins with worship. And so whether he feels the particular inclination to sing to God at that very moment or not, he pushes himself to do it. Are we not the same in our need?
Verses 3-6. Apparently the Lord has won some victory for David. Not only has he won, but God has “blotted out their name”. These are present perfect verbs, meaning they have continuing results. God continues to rebuke, destroy and blot out their character and evil nature, removing even the memory of their acts.
Verses 7-10. God is absolutely sovereign and will judge those who oppress others. This is what makes him such a refuge. He WILL WIN, and will stand by “those who seek you” - literally “your seekers”. Here again we are named with a wonderful name; we are God’s seekers, to be added to the title “beloved”.
Verses 11-14. afflicted - the poor, wretched, weak, helpless, humble. They are overwhelmed by their sense of need and inability to deal with their situation (Van Gemeren). This is us. This is also the small girl who lives in the trash dump in India, the child in the US who is at the mercy of the state to find them a permanent home, and the woman who is told a lie and sold into prostitution in Thailand. The sovereign judge has not forgotten the cry of the afflicted. And those who trust in him will be delivered, some not until the day they meet their righteous judge.
Knowing that he will be heard, David again pleads with God for his help.
Verses 15-18. The verbs here are prophetic perfects, meaning that David has such confidence in God acting again for him as he has in the past, that he speaks of sure victory over his enemies.
return to Sheol - Note here that those who hate God will not just be sent to death, they will return to it; it is their native land.
Verses 19-20. The word used here for man is one that emphasizes his frailty. Man is dust, a vapor that rises and is gone. Only God gives man his dignity. God’s judgement reveals the reality of God to the world. And only when we realize our own weakness and helplessness can we really understand who God is.
Food for thought:
- When do you worship and thank God? Do you do it outside of Sunday, not just singing songs, but marveling at him, thanking him for things? Do you make yourself do it when you don’t feel like doing it? What would it be like to choose to worship at some point this week when your heart and mind want to do anything but that?
- How does God’s concern for the afflicted (verses 11-14) change your perspective on the suffering in the world? Or does it? What does this mean for how we pray for those who suffer?
OOPS! I completely forgot to study Ps 9 last week!
ReplyDeleteI wish I knew what he was thinking when he wrote the first couple verses. Was he feeling like worshiping, or was he choosing to worship in spite of how he felt. One thing that I've spent a lot of time thinking about the last 5 years is how trust is a choice. It's that way with worship, too. Sometimes I have to choose to praise, even when my heart's not in it, and trust that my heart will follow suit and catch on to what my mouth is doing. Sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn't.
I love the contrast between the end of 6 and beginning of v 7. The very memory of them has perished. Not only have they perished, nobody even remembers them. BUT. Not only has God stuck around, he is enthroned forever. He will stick around for all eternity, and he will be king for all eternity.
Verse 13: Even while God is giving him victory, there is suffering. From the outside, it looks like life is great. In reality, life is hard. It's sometimes easier to look at the girl who lives in the trash dump in India, or the prostitute in Thailand, and minimize our pain and suffering. Both are valid.
You sense that confidence in the Lord, again, that He will prevail, and it's just a matter of time. He is God, people are not. Those who do evil WILL be defeated at some point. And so we trust. And watch. And wait. And pray. And act.