Today’s psalm is a long one… and to be honest, I had a difficult time with it.

I’ll explain, but first, let’s read it…

Interested in knowing Why? this series on Psalms…
check out the 1^st post.

Psalm 9

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 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

My Thoughts

1. I will give thanks: Honestly… the most difficult thing about going through this psalm, was that I had a tough time getting past v.1.: “I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.“
   • The past year or so in particular, but perhaps even going back as far as my 50^th birthday, I’ve been in a bit of a funk, and that funk has, to some degree, dimmed my eye toward the good things that God has done for me / for us as a family. Oh I see some things, for sure, but there seem to be a lot of reasons for concern as well… and I’ve let them overshadow the good.
   • Sure… I’ve done the 30 Days of Gratitude posts and even the #3GoodThings posts last year, but they were me consciously looking for the good, because I wasn’t naturally noticing and being thankful for them.
   • Really & truly… everything that we have is a blessing from the Lord (Liz frequently reminds me of this), and I’ve got to better at recognizing them as such.
2. The rest of Psalm 9: Just a quick overview comment…
   • The rest of the psalm deals, very broadly, with God’s justice. Sometimes things don’t seem fair, and we’ll question God’s goodness. Psalm 9 (as will psalm 10, tomorrow), seeks to reaffirm to us that God is just. We may not see the accomplishment as we’d like or hope to… but we can rest assured in his justice and ultimate fairness.

Thanks for spending a few minutes with me today!
If you’re not someone who typically spends time reading the Bible…
I’m honoured that you’re spending this time together.