Psalm 9

Psalms 9:1-2 I will praise you, LORD, with all my heart;
I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.
² I will be filled with joy because of you.
I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.

Praises should flow from our hearts all our lives because of the great God and Father that we have. Yahweh is His name and it means our God who is in a relationship with us.

One of the things that has taken me a long time to understand and also to help me let the Word interpret itself to us is the question of agency. God is the ultimate power and creator of all the universe, but He delegates His power and authority to those that He chooses to give it to. All created beings are given freedom of will to obey God, and are given various levels of authority to exercise on His behalf.

For example, God is the author of our salvation, but Jesus is the agent of our salvation. God has decided to give us His grace, but it comes to us through His agent Jesus Christ.

Titus 3:4-7 (NLT) But—When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, ⁵ he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. ⁶ He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. ⁷ Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.

God decided to save us, but the way that He does it is through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. God also has judged His Son worthy of authority to judge the whole world in the future. Only Jesus Christ has the qualifications to do the judging and giving of rewards to all the world’s present, past and future populations. We see the results of this agency here in Psalm 9.

Psalms 9:7-8 But the LORD reigns forever,
executing judgment from his throne.
⁸ He will judge the world with justice
and rule the nations with fairness.

Yahweh executes judgement from His throne, but the agency for that judgement will come from His Son. God has ultimate authority over all the creation but gives Jesus the rulership over the nations.

Acts 17:30-31(NLT) God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. ³¹ For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”

Revelation 19:15-16(NKJV) Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. ¹⁶ And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

As we read Psalm 9 there is so much that we could unpack from it. It has declarations of praise, and proclamations of confidence in God’s care and instruction, and declarations of what the ultimate kingdom of God will be.

Psalms 9:7-10(NLT) But the LORD reigns forever,
executing judgment from his throne.
⁸ He will judge the world with justice
and rule the nations with fairness.
⁹ The LORD is a shelter for the oppressed,
a refuge in times of trouble.
¹⁰ Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, O LORD, do not abandon those who search for you.

The other thing that we should contemplate today is what authority and power has God delegated to you?

Ephesians 1:19-20(NLT) I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power ²⁰ that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.

Ephesians 3:20-21(NLT) Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. ²¹ Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

2 Timothy 1:7(NKJV) For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Thanks be to our God for His great love and grace that we have received and that we need to accept and exercise our position and power that God has given us in Christ.

Psalms 9:15-18(NLT) The nations have fallen into the pit they dug for others.
Their own feet have been caught in the trap they set.
¹⁶ The LORD is known for his justice.
The wicked are trapped by their own deeds.
¹⁷ The wicked will go down to the grave.
This is the fate of all the nations who ignore God.
¹⁸ But the needy will not be ignored forever;
the hopes of the poor will not always be crushed.

Reflection:

How does God ultimately judge the world and the nations?

Who is His agent of judgment?

Prayer:

Our God and Father, creator and ruler of all the cosmos, we lift our hearts in praise to you today. Thank you for the wonderful gift of Your Son who is the agent of our salvation and future. We look to You Father for the power to do Your good in this life. Thank you for the Christ in us which gives us this power. In Jesus wonderful name we pray.

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All His Wonders

Old Testament: Genesis 23 & 24

Poetry: Psalm 9

New Testament: Matthew 9

Psalm 9 is packed with so many insights into God’s character! Take a moment and read this Psalm if you haven’t yet. Keep an eye out for where David talks about God and His character.

In this Psalm, David is comparing those who know God and those who are wicked. He mentions God’s holiness, justness, and provision – contrasting God’s response to both groups of people. David also mentions multiple times that he will “tell of your deeds” as he reminisces on the wonders that God has done in his life. David has confidence and faith in God because he knows that the LORD is faithful.

Ok just a second though… in David’s time, Jesus hadn’t died and risen yet, let alone even been born. But look at how firm David is in his praise! He knows that God has done wonders and will do even more. He knows that God cares about His people.

How much more thankful can we be because we know of Jesus? We can have a beautiful perspective when we read the Old Testament because we know what happens in the New. The hope of God’s throne, of His provision, and judgment have an exponentially greater meaning to us with the hope of the Kingdom.

Like David in verse 11, we can tell those around us the wonderful things God has done (and will do). We can even see this topic in the New Testament. If we flip to the other side of our Bibles, we see in Hebrews 10:23-25 that we have a steadfast hope because of the faithfulness of God through the sacrifice of Jesus. With this foundation, we can encourage each other as brothers and sisters. This encouragement will lead to love and good deeds – loving God and loving others!

Let’s take some time today to praise God for His faithfulness. That He has done wonderful deeds (Psalm 9:1), that He is a stronghold in times of trouble (9:9), that He hears the cry of the afflicted (9:12), and that He does not forget the needy (9:18). I find it so amazing that Matthew 9 reveals the heart of God even more. Jesus’ mission was to do his Father’s will, which means that we can see God’s character through the actions of Jesus.

In Matthew 9:12-13, Jesus says that he isn’t calling the righteous, but the sinners – the ones who are sick and need healing. WOW! Friends, that’s all of us. Even those of us who have been believers for a while. We must remember that we too were and are sinners and have been saved! Thank you God for seeing the needy, the poor, the hurt, and the sinners. Now THAT is something to praise God with our WHOLE HEART (Psalm 9:1) for. Let us be glad in that.

Today, I want to encourage you to think about the wonderful deeds that God has done in your life. See if you could ask that same question to another believer in your life. Sharing God’s faithfulness encourages and edifies both ourselves and those around us.

-Katelyn Salyers

Reflection Questions

What wonderful deeds has God done in your life?
Today who will you ask to tell you what wonderful deeds God has done in their life?
Why is it important to tell yourself and others what God has done? What happens when we forget?

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Arise, Lord!

Old Testament: Jeremiah 11 & 12

Poetry: Proverbs 9

New Testament: 1 Peter 1

And, since there is never a wrong Bible passage to read and discuss on any given day, today’s devotion will be over Psalm 9.

For quite some time, the headlines of news reports have involved some form of injustice taking place in the world. Human trafficking is finally getting the attention needed to address the problem, but it is still very much an epidemic that needs to be solved. Racial discrimination has received national attention for various reasons, and is one that Christians who believe that we are “all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28) take very seriously. Poverty in many third-world countries (and some first-world countries) remains a constant issue that governments have been unable to correct. For all the wrong done in this world, and has gone wrong since mankind fell in the Garden, there is an ultimate answer to put our hope in: our heavenly Father’s justice.

Our reading in Psalm 9 today tells us what God is going to do when the end of this age comes: judge the world in righteousness (v. 7-9). When our heavenly Father intervenes in the last days, He is going to do something about the injustices that many suffer from. He is going to favor those who have been oppressed, those who were powerless to do anything, and those who are the poorest among us. This tells us that our heavenly Father values each and every person on earth, seeing the injustice that they suffer from as a personal attack on what He has created. Every individual on earth is made in His image (Genesis 1:26-28), and they should be treated as such by our leading figures, and especially by us as followers of Jesus Christ.

There is a warning here in this passage: you don’t want to be on the other side of the Great Judgment coming in the end. Those who are the oppressors and abusers should take heed; they are in serious danger if they don’t change and repent. This should strike a healthy amount of fear into our hearts, if we have people around us who we have wronged (v. 20). Jesus warns us that we need to reconcile differences with others before the End comes, or we have some dangerous things waiting for us (Matthew 5:21-26).

Brothers and sisters, let today be a challenge to you to do two things: reconcile with anyone you may have wronged, and stand up for those who are being unjustly oppressed. It could be as simple as a classmate who is being bullied; stand up for them and help them. It could be a co-worker that is being treated unfairly by a boss; stand up for them and help them. Because when we help the “least of these”, we are ultimately helping Jesus (Matthew 25:40).

-Talon Paul

Reflection Questions

How important is justice to you? How have you and can you be a part of seeking justice for the oppressed? How important is justice to God? How has He and will He show His righteous justice?
Prayerfully consider who you need to reconcile with and then do it.
This devotion was written before the events of this past weekend – the attacks on Israel. How does it relate and what are your thoughts and feelings after reading Psalm 9? Pray for Israel and for God’s intervention and righteous judgment. Come, Lord Jesus, Come and do the work your Father has prepared for you.

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