Psalm 9:1-20 NKJV
To the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Death of the Son.” A Psalm of David.
9 I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all Your marvelous works.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.
3 When my enemies turn back,
They shall fall and perish at Your presence.
4 For You have maintained my right and my cause;
You sat on the throne judging in righteousness.
5 You have rebuked the nations,
You have destroyed the wicked;
You have blotted out their name forever and ever.
6 O enemy, destructions are finished forever!
And you have destroyed cities;
Even their memory has perished.
7 But the Lord shall endure forever;
He has prepared His throne for judgment.
8 He shall judge the world in righteousness,
And He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness.
9 The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed,
A refuge in times of trouble.
10 And those who know Your name will put their trust in You;
For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion!
Declare His deeds among the people.
12 When He avenges blood, He remembers them;
He does not forget the cry of the humble.
13 Have mercy on me, O Lord!
Consider my trouble from those who hate me,
You who lift me up from the gates of death,
14 That I may tell of all Your praise
In the gates of the daughter of Zion.
I will rejoice in Your salvation.
15 The nations have sunk down in the pit which they made;
In the net which they hid, their own foot is caught.
16 The Lord is known by the judgment He executes;
The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands.
Meditation. Selah
17 The wicked shall be turned into hell,
And all the nations that forget God.
18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten;
The expectation of the poor shall not perish forever.
19 Arise, O Lord,
Do not let man prevail;
Let the nations be judged in Your sight.
20 Put them in fear, O Lord,
That the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah
How often does it seem that chance, rather than God, rules human affairs? How often does it appear that evil prevails in this world? How often does it look as if the nations of the world run the show? The sinful world and unbelieving men believe that they are in charge of the course of human history. David, himself a king, reminds us that although the nations, the wickedness of men, and blind chance seem to rule all things, this is not the case.
The Lord sits on the throne and rules over all things. His rule is hidden so that we do not see it with our eyes. He does not will the evil things that happen in our world, but foreseeing from eternity what the nations and wicked men would do, He set limits to the evil of the world, how far it should go, how long it should last, and how He would punish it. David calls our attention to how God has rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked in the past. Throughout scripture and human history, we see how God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. We see how “the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands.”
David calls us to trust in the Lord even though we cannot see the Lord’s reign over the nations of the world. The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed. The Lord does not forsake those who seek Him. He does not forget His holy Church—all who place their trust in His promised mercy for Christ’s sake. Even when it seems to our flesh that chance, the devil, and wicked men govern human affairs, “we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom 8:28). God reigns over all things and uses all things for the glory of His holy name and the salvation of His elect. Therefore, we do not fear what the nations and wicked man may do. Rather, we ask God to put them in fear, “that the nations may know themselves to be but men” (20). For He will judge the world in righteousness when He returns on the Last Day. Those who forget Him now shall be turned into hell, but those who remember Him in faith will be lifted up from the gates of death to enjoy the eternal—and visible—reign of Christ.
Let us pray: Increase our faith, O Lord, so that when we see evil in the world, we comfort ourselves with the knowledge that You rule over all things for the good of Your church. Amen.