Psalm 9
The title of this Psalm says, “Prayer and Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Righteous Judgments.” It’s a triumphant song of thanksgiving. It says it’s set to the tune of “The Death of the Son”, but it’s unknown what that is referring to. Some believe David wrote this as a remembrance of his victory over Goliath, who was the Philistine champion who went out between the camps of Israel and the Philistines. Others identify this psalm with the death of Bathsheba’s son. There is also the opinion that it refers to what happened in the land of Egypt when Israel was delivered from slavery by the death of Egypt’s firstborn. It’s possible, but not known for sure.
The fact of the matter is that whatever the reason may be that David wrote this Psalm, the ultimate truth it portrays is that God deserves to be praised. This is the first of the acrostic or alphabetical psalms, of which there are nine (9, 10, 35, 34, 37, 111, 112, 119, and 145). These psalms make use of the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet to begin the opening word of its verses. In the Septuagint the psalm refers to the death of the Divine Son, and recites his victory over death, and the grave, and all our foes. The tone of this psalm is clearly where David is bringing his distress (again) to the Lord, there is still an underlying sense of trust in the Lord that no matter how grim or dark things may appear, David will continue to put his confidence in the Lord.
All of us have stories of those times when God reminded us of just how great He truly is, and we couldn’t help but praise Him. In vs 1, notice first that David says, “I will praise you, Oh Lord, with all my heart!” Some people will say the right words about God… “I praise you, God!”, but in their heart, it’s empty and meaningless, because they don’t truly mean it.
Then, there are those who say the right words about God, but it’s a half-hearted praise…For example, only praising God when He’s done something great in your life, but when a trial comes, you change your tune and refuse to praise God, even in the storm. That reminds me of the song by Casting Crowns “I will praise you in this storm.” The chorus says, “I’ll praise you in this storm, and I will lift my hands. That you are who you are, no matter where I am. And every tear I’ve cried, you hold in your hand. You never left my side, and though my heart is torn, I will praise you in this storm.” That’s praising God with your whole heart…good times, bad times, all times, praising God with your whole heart.
Notice next that he says, “I will tell of all your wonders.” (Psalms 9:1b) When a person does something nice for you, or has done something great for someone else, obviously, you want to tell others what they did, because it’s one of the ways you can show your appreciation and gratitude for what they did. What can be more of a motivator than how God cares for us daily?
PRAY
Father help me to always have your praise on my lips and a willingness to tell of your goodness!