Psalm 9
By Bro David Petersen
The Book of Psalms
Introduction |
Psalm 1 |
Psalm 9 |
Psalm 23 |
Psalm 30 |
Psalm 33 |
Psalm 34 |
Psalm 46 |
Psalm 96 |
Psalm 103 |
Psalm 119
1 I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.
Thy Marvellous Works
The Lord has done many marvellous works in our behalf. Our response should be great joy and total dedication. The joyous praise is "with my whole heart." It is not half-hearted lip service only.
Singing is often associated with great joy in the scriptures.
"Is any merry? let him sing psalms" (James 5:13).
In our church, we try to focus on the Lord's "marvellous works." Our sermons and lessons are not about "4 Steps To Happiness" or "How To Raise Well-Adjusted Children." We are specialists in the things of the Lord.
In witnessing, we need to "shew forth ALL his marvellous works." This includes his righteous judgment as well as his love and mercy.
God's Marvellous Judgment
David wanted to shew forth all the Lord's marvellous works. What marvellous works was he referring to? Well, he is referring to the Lord's righteous judgment against his enemies.
"And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest round about from all his enemies" (2 Sam 7:1).
Praise For God's Righteous Judgment
There are 5 direct references to judment in this psalm.
Sometimes Christians try to sneak quietly around God's judgment when they are talking to people. Many preachers avoid it completely when they are preaching. That is not the case in our church, but it is commonplace in many liberal churches. There is such an emphasis in the culture on avoiding conflict at all costs and emphasizing the positive that judgment is seen as too confrontational and negative to be preached. As a topic judgment is not pc and doesn't "keep 'em coming."
But notice how the Psalmist rejoiced in God's judgment. "I will be gland and rejoice in thee." That is the proper attitude for God's people.
But Jesus never backed off from an opportunity to preach about sin, judgment and condemnation. The gospels contain many instances of Jesus preaching judgment to lost people, but only one case of him preaching God's love and that is in his conversation with Nicodemus in John 3. But even that conversation turned quickly from"God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son" (John 3:16) ; to "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:18). This is not to say that the love of God in salvation is not important, or that we shouldn't talk about it. On the contrary, love was the motivating factor for God to send his Son to die for our sins "for God so loved the world." What I am saying is that judgment carries equal weight with love and should not be ignored in our reaching lost souls.
Judgment And Love
"But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone" (Luke 11:42).
Matt 23:23-24
23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
The word "weightier" in Matt. 23:23 literally means "heavy." Want to know what carries weight with God? It's right here: law, judgment, mercy and the love of God. Those are the big, heavy camels in God's book in that order. The idea here is what we would call the "500lb. gorilla." Another way of saying it is that the Pharisees were so busying trying to swat a gnat, that they did not even notice that there was a 500lb gorilla in the room.
Jesus On Judgment
The following list of scriptures is designed to show that Jesus emphasized God's judgment in his preaching to lost people.
Matt 5:29 At the sermon on the mount:
29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
Matt 10:15 Jesus speaking of the cities that would reject the disciples' preaching:
15 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
Matt 23:33 Jesus speaking to the Pharisees:
33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
Luke 16:23-24 Jesus speaking about the rich man and Lazurus :
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
Matt 25:41 Jesus on the judgment of nations:
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
"But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment" (Matt 12:36).
"Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:44).
"Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:5).
Clearly Jesus emphasized judgment in his preaching. In fact, almost everything we know about hell we learn directly from the lips of Jesus in the gospels. He also had great compassion for the people but he did back off from preaching judgment. Notice above in Matthew 23:33 that Jesus usually had stronger words for the self-righteous Pharisees. To them he projected an even stronger condemnation than to the common people because the Pharisees should have known better.
3 When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.
"They stumble and perish before You."
4 For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right.
Vengeance Is Mine
You have maintained my just cause. You sat on your throne judging righteously. God's judgment is a good thing, because that is where is is going to set things right. We are commanded to turn the other cheek, feed our enemy, give him a drink and overcome evil with good. But as it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Rom 12:19. This is why we should rejoice in God's judgment. He is going to maintain our just cause. He will vindicate us and show that our work in Christ is good.
Have You Ever Lied?
Sister Carrie, the young woman we met at Lakewood on Parade was a mighty witness for the Lord. She emphasized the law in her witnessing. She will usually ask a lost person if they have ever told a lie. If she can get them to admit that they have lied then she will say "Well then what does that make you?" Then she will say "Have you ever taken office supplies home from work, say a pen?" If they say yes, then she responds "So what does that make you?"
The Law Is A Schoolmaster
She mentioned the law so many times during our discussion that I felt the need to ask her how she saw the relationship between the law and the gospel. She said that it was just like it says in Galatians 3:24 "the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." Like the law, she exposed sin in her witnessing. "For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet." Rom 7:7-8.
We don't have to sell Jesus to lost people like he is some kind of consumer product. "This new and improved Jesus, contains more love and less hell and judgment." "He will get your whites whiter, provide eternal life and leave your breath minty fresh."
So the issue is not that the lost person is really ok, and that they are just missing out on the consumer product benefits that Christ can provide that will make their life better for all eternity. No, the problem that needs to be addressed is that they are eternally condemned sinners.
God Commands All Men Everywhere To Repent
Some lost people you talk to will not see the need for God's love in their life. They don't see the love of God as applying to themselves. They may say something like "That's ok for YOU if you need that kind of crutch in your life." But God's judgment applies to everyone by definition.
When Paul preached to the Athenian philosophers he did not mention anything about the love of God. Instead, his message was about repentance and God's judgment. "Now God commands all men everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with righteousness by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead." Acts 17:30-31.
The Lord's church doesn't need to tiptoe around God's righteous judgment. Jesus didn't, Paul didn't and David doesn't in this psalm. The Hammer is coming down. The Tower Of Siloam is going to fall on everyone in the end. "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13).
5 Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.
6 O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them.
"And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Rev 20:15). The apostle John wrote these words in Revelation 20 under inspiration of the Holy Spirit. To that we can say "amen."
The Condemning Sin
People do not go to hell because they lie or steal. Breaking the commandments is serious for sure. But people are condemned to hell for one reason only: rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ. As we saw above in John 318: "he that believeth not is condemned already," because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
God is righteous in condemning those who reject Jesus Christ to eternal damnation. But that is not his desire. As Peter said "The Lord is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9. As believers, we have the love of God shed abroad in our hearts. We should have a burden for the salvation of lost souls. We need to shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life to the lost, praying earnestly for their salvation and always being ready to give an answer to everyone who asks the reason for the hope that is in us with gentleness and respect.
7 But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.
The LORD abides or reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment.
"And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people" (2 Samuel 8:15). David's throne and his judgment of the people was a picture or type of God's own throne and judgment. As God established David's throne to reign over all Israel, so God will establish his own throne over all the earth when the Lord Jesus rules his kingdom.
8 And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.
He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern <execute judgment> the peoples with justice or equity.
Jesus Is The Judge
"For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son." John 5:21-22.
In John chapter 4 and in Matthew 21, Jesus claimed to be the one who will judge the world. See the right sidebar for the full text of Jesus' discourse on judgment.
In John 5:27 he explained that he is qualified to do this because he is the Son of Man. Jesus is one of us. He knows what it is like to walk this earth and be tempted by sin. Yet he was without any sin himself. No one can say that Jesus doesn't know what it's like to live the lives that we live.
As judge, Jesus will judge the world righteously. He will execute judgment with justice or equity. The problem is that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23. No one will stand in the judgment on their own merit because we are all sinners. Any attempts to save ourselves apart from the sufficient work of the savior is self-righteousness. Unredeemed sinners will stand condemned in the judgment.
9 The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
10 And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.
The Lord has provided the way of salvation. In John 5:24, Jesus said "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." Notice that the one who hears his word and believes on the One who sent him HAS everlasting life right now and shall not come into condemnation. That is a promise from the Lord Jesus. Those who believe in him have already passed from death unto life.
Everyone has the opportunity to escape God's judgment if they will seek him according to the method he has prescribed. That one way is to know the Lord and place your trust in him.
11 Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.
12 When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.
Verse 12 "inquisition for blood" could also be translated "he who avenges blood." This is a picture that goes back to the Law of Moses.
Deut 19:11-12
11 But if any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these cities:
12 Then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.
The avenger of blood was the kinsman of someone who had been killed; in this case murdered. The avenger of blood had the right to execute justice in behalf of the murdered person. Likewise God will avenge the blood of his martyred saints. He will also avenge the blood of Jesus.
13 Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:
14 That I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation.
Verses 13 and 14 show a contrast. David prays that God lift him up from the gates of death so that he can praise the Lord in the gates of the daughter of Zion. The daughter of Zion is the city of Jerusalem which typically represents heaven in the Bible.
15 The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
16 The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.
17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
The world's way of saying it is "What goes around comes around." God's version is "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
Galatians 6:7-8
7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
18 For the needy shall not alway be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.
Jesus said "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matt 5:3. Those who see their own need for God shall not be ignored forever. The hope of the poor will not perish forever. Their hope is in the Lord and they will not be disappointed.
19 Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight.
20 Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.
One might wonder why the Psalmist doesn't want man to prevail. This speaks of arrogant mankind who lifts himself up against God. It is a prayer for the Lord to show self-sufficient mankind that they are mere men who depend on the Lord for their very life.
Jesus Is the Judge
Matt 25:31-46
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
John 5:21-30
21 For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
23 That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
The Book of Psalms
Introduction |
Psalm 1 |
Psalm 9 |
Psalm 23 |
Psalm 30 |
Psalm 33 |
Psalm 34 |
Psalm 46 |
Psalm 96 |
Psalm 103 |
Psalm 119