Daily Devotional Friday 1st October 2021
by William MoodyPsalm 9
I Will Recount Your Wonderful Deeds
1 To the choirmaster: according to Muth-labben.2 A Psalm of David.
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 before3 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.4 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! SelahFootnotes
[1] 9:1
Psalms 9 and 10 together follow an acrostic pattern, each stanza beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Septuagint they form one psalm
[2] 9:1Probably a musical or liturgical term
[3] 9:3Or because of
[4] 9:16Probably a musical or liturgical term (ESV)
David (v1) is committed not to half-hearted but rather wholehearted praise. This praise moves him to tell of what the Lord has done (v1b) and to have great joy (v2). Does your praise of God cause such things in your life?
David’s praise comes from the Lord and gives him victory over His enemies (v3-6). By this he is reminded of some of the Lord’s great characteristics, everlasting rule (v7), righteousness (v8), grace to the needy (v9) and faithfulness to those who seek Him (v10).
Who the Lord is, causes David to burst into praise (v11-12) and to seek His help (v13-20). David as he prays is very aware of the Lord’s righteousness and judgements (v15-18) and this causes David to want to glorify God (v14) and to expect His intervention (v19-20).
As we pray, do we do so with the praise and knowledge of the Lord that David had? As we pray we need to concentrate on the righteousness of the God we come before. Often our praying can be not as powerful as it should be because we focus too much on ourselves and our problems before focusing on God’s greatness.
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