Psalm 9.
For the director of music, to the tune of the death of the Son, Psalm of David.
I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart.
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and rejoice in you.
I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.
My enemies turn back.
They stumble and perish before you.
You have upheld my right hand and my cause, sitting enthroned as the righteous judge.
You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked.
You have blotted out their name forever and ever.
Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies.
You have uprooted their cities.
Even the memory of them has perished.
The Lord reigns forever.
He has established his throne for judgment.
He rules the world in righteousness and judges the people with equity.
The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
Those who know your name, trust in you.
For you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
Sing the praises of the Lord, enthroned in Zion.
Proclaim among the nations what he has done.
For he who avenges blood remembers.
He does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.
Lord, see how my enemies persecute me.
Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death.
That I may declare your praises in the gates of a daughter Zion.
And there rejoice in your salvation.
The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug.
Their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
The Lord is known by his acts of justice.
The wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.
The wicked will go down to the realm of the dead.
All the nations that forget God.
But God will never forget the needy.
The hope of the afflicted will never perish.
Arise, Lord.
Do not let mortals triumph.
Let the nations be judged in your presence.
Strike them with terror, Lord.
Let the nations know they are only mortal.
Well, this is God's word for us this evening.
And Ray is going to come and explain it for us.
Ray, over to you.
Before we look at it, let's ask God to help us to understand it.
Father, we thank you for your word.
We thank you that it describes who you are.
It describes who we are.
And Lord, it shows us how to live.
I do pray, Father, that you would speak to us now.
You would help me to be clear.
And speak to us all, Lord, according to your will.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
As we look at Psalm 9 tonight, keep your Bibles open.
I don't have any great overheads.
In fact, I don't have any overheads at all.
So I'd like you to look at your Bibles and follow through with me as we cover the verses.
I hope we're going to see two themes come out.
The main theme is about God's reign.
Psalm 9 is predominantly about God's rule over mankind.
And the verses that point us to this are verses 7 and 8.
It's really like a key verse in the psalm.
The Lord reigns forever.
He has established his throne for judgment.
He rules the world in righteousness and judges the people with equity.
So we're told there in verse 7, the time frame for God's reign is eternal.
And we're told also in verse 8, the way he reigns.
It's with righteousness and equity.
Equity means fairness.
So he reigns in righteousness and fairness.
The other theme that we can pick out from this psalm is that of memory.
Let me explain that.
There are two parts to this theme.
And it's the wicked forget God, but God remembers.
And you'll see that threaded through the psalm.
I hope we'll see that tonight.
The verses that summarize this, verses 17 and 18.
The wicked go down to the realm of the dead, all the nations that forget God.
But God will never forget the needy.
The hope of the afflicted will never perish.
So just as a final bit of introduction, who wrote the psalm?
You'll see there from the heading that it's a psalm of David.
And so tonight we see through his eyes how God deals with his enemies,
how God deals with his enemies, God's enemies,
and how God deals with those who trust him.
And you'll see as you read through it that it's a personal reflection
that's born out of David's experience.
And it is predominantly, above all else, that covers many things,
it's predominantly a psalm of praise.
And I'm hoping that we're going to look tonight under two headings,
taking the theme of memory,
that the wicked forget God,
and the result is that they will be forgotten,
and that God does not forget the believer.
And then we'll look at those quickly,
and then we'll look at the main application of the psalm.
So the wicked forget God, and they will be forgotten.
That's our first theme going through.
Those of you that have been around in the Sunday mornings,
we've been looking through 2 Samuel,
and you'll see that we've seen how God deals with David's enemies.
And we see that David's enemies are God's enemies.
And the reason for that is David is the anointed king,
and therefore those who fight against David are fighting against God.
So when we read the psalms of David,
we can thread those thoughts into our reading of the psalm as well.
It's not just David's enemies we're looking at,
we're looking at God's enemies.
And in this psalm, they're known as the wicked,
or predominantly they're called the nations.
So the wicked nations.
Psalm 10 that we'll look at next time, in a month's time,
is a partner to this psalm,
and that deals with the more individuals being wicked,
being wicked in their behaviour.
So three quick things to see about the wicked,
and then one quick thing on David's response.
So we're going to look now at verses 3 to 6.
I'm not going to read through it,
but try and pick up as I read through quickly,
as I point quickly to the verses.
Verse 3, you can see that David's enemies are turned back.
And why is that?
Because in verse 4, David's cause is upheld.
The wicked are rebuked and destroyed, in verse 5,
to such an extent that verse 6 we read,
their name is blotted out.
So they are under God's judgment,
their memory perishes,
and in the end,
the wicked are forgotten.
Secondly, we see that their evil plans recoil on them.
And again, we've been seeing this in 2 Samuel.
But here we're in verses 15 to 18.
Verse 15,
they fall into the pit that they've dug.
They're caught in their own net.
And we see also that this is borne out in the readings we've had in 2 Samuel.
Two weeks ago, we were looking at, if you remember,
2 Samuel 16, Absalom,
and that name that nobody can pronounce,
Ahithophel.
How did I do?
Ahithophel.
They sought to destroy God's anointed, David.
And we learned that week, two weeks ago,
God always wins.
Trouble recoils on the heads of those
who go against God,
who are wicked.
Verse 17,
their fate is death.
Why is their fate death?
Because they forgot God.
The third thing about the wicked
is that they will see that they are only mortal.
Verses 19 and 20.
In their pride,
they think they're going to triumph.
Verse 19.
But they forget that they are only men.
God would judge them,
and they will be forced to recognize their mortality.
So it's three quick things.
They're under God's judgment.
Their evil plans will recoil on them,
and they will finally see that they're only mortal.
From these verses we've read so far,
there are two things that stand out to us.
God is in control.
That is the first thing.
God's enemies are not in control.
God is in control.
And we see that particularly in verses 13 and 14.
Because David knows that God is in control,
and that finally God will judge his enemies,
for that reason he calls out to God
and asks for deliverance
from the present troubles he was going through.
Verse 13.
See how my enemies persecute me.
Lord, see how my enemies persecute me.
Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,
that I may declare your praises
in the gates of daughter Zion,
and there rejoice in your salvation.
So because of David's experience
of knowing God is in control
in his past problems,
he can now call out to God
and ask God to rescue him
from his present problems.
Why is he praying this?
Well, clearly he needs deliverance.
But his overarching desire there we see,
can you see this in verse 14,
that he may rejoice and declare God's praises.
Therefore, David's preoccupation,
even in his troubles,
is not rescue,
it's that God will be glorified.
I wonder how often we,
mine is close to never,
how often we
take the focus off of our problems
and rescue from that
and onto the glory of God.
Amazingly,
in God's providence,
he's able to do both of those things
at the same time,
rescue us and glorify himself as well.
The other thing that these verses
about the wicked show us
is that God's judgment is real.
Verse 17,
we've seen that the wicked are judged
because they have forgotten God.
God always judges evil.
Always.
Sometimes in this life,
but always it will be in eternity.
Unless Jesus has taken God's judgment for us,
we stand under God's judgment
for the evil that we have done.
So,
we've seen here that the wicked forget God.
What does this phrase mean?
They take no account of God
in their day-to-day living.
They consider they are not accountable to God
and they'll live as they want,
thank you very much.
They'll live as God doesn't exist.
That's what it means to forget God.
And the result we have seen
is that it results in God's judgment
and that they are forgotten.
Notice what David says
about God's judgment here.
These are very solemn
if we take this serious.
Verse 3 and verse 19.
Verse 3,
my enemies turn back,
they stumble and perish before you.
Before you here literally means
at your presence.
so that David's enemies
stumble and perish at God's presence.
Verse 19 says,
Arise Lord,
do not let mortals triumph.
Let the nations be judged
in your presence.
So here,
judgment is by God
and it is in his presence.
This applied to God's enemies
in David's day.
It applies to God's enemies
in our day.
And in the future,
when Christ returns
in the final judgment,
it will apply then.
And we get an awesome glimpse
of this final judgment
and the fact that it is
in God's presence
in Revelation.
Let me read to you.
You can turn to it if you want.
It's page 1133.
Revelation 5,
and we're going to read
three verses there,
15 to 17.
Then the kings of the earth,
the princes,
the generals,
the rich,
the mighty,
and everyone else,
both slave and free,
hid in caves
and among the rocks
of the mountains.
They called to the mountains
and the rocks,
fall on us
and hide us
from the face of him
who sits on the throne
and from the wrath
of the Lamb.
For the great day
of their wrath
has come
and who can withstand it?
So those who refuse
to acknowledge God,
here it's described
as those who forget God
in this psalm,
they will be judged
in his presence.
And what an awesome
and fearsome thing
that will be.
And it's awesome
and fearsome
because as we read
in verse 8 earlier on,
God is the righteous
and fair judge.
Verse 8 says,
he rules the world
in righteousness
and he judges
the people with equity.
So for the believer,
Jesus is our saviour.
For the unbeliever,
he is the final judge.
And Paul tells us
in Acts 17 verse 31
that the final judge
will be our Lord Jesus.
All judgment
has been handed over
to him.
It says that
he has fixed a day
on which he will judge
the world in righteousness
by a man
he has appointed
and that is Jesus.
So
that is rather solemn
that God will judge
his enemies
but it's because
he is the righteous judge
and he always does
what is right.
But here we see
God's memory
does not fail.
God
remembers
his people.
You see that
in verses 7 to 12
particularly.
Let me read those
to you.
The Lord reigns
forever.
He has established
his throne
for judgment.
He rules the world
in righteousness
and judges the peoples
with equity.
The Lord is a refuge
for the oppressed
a stronghold
in times of trouble.
Those who know
your name
trust in you.
For you Lord
have never forsaken
those who seek you.
Sing the praises
of the Lord
enthroned in Zion.
Proclaim among
the nations
what he has done.
For he who avenges
blood remembers
he does not ignore
the cries
of the afflicted.
So this
psalm also
teaches us
that
though God's
people
are seen
as oppressed
in verse 9
afflicted
in verse 12
and needy
in verse 18
God does not
forget them.
God can be
trusted.
As we've seen
God is declared
to be the one
reigning in
righteousness
and fairness
now and forever
and for those
who continue
to forget God
it results
in judgment
but for the believer
even when they
are persecuted
when they are
afflicted
when they are
needy
because we know
God is righteous
and fair
we know we can
trust him fully
whatever our
situation
whether we're
led through
good times
or bad times
whether our
week has been
good or bad
whether we're
struggling
we can trust
God to do
the right thing
because he rules
in righteousness
Jesus here is
our perfect
example in
1 Peter 2
23
it says that
Jesus continued
in trusting
himself to
him who
judges
justly
and what was
trusting God
for there
what has he
laid down
his life
for us
he was
trusting that
God would
do the right
thing
as he bore
our sin
God can
God can always
be trusted
to do what
is right
that's in
his very
nature
we also
see in God
remembering
his people
that God
is a refuge
for his
people
when God's
people are
oppressed
afflicted and
needy and
even persecuted
in those
times
we read in
verse 9
that he is
our refuge
verse 12
he remembers
us
he does
not
ignore
our cries
so what
marks out
the difference
between the
believer
and the
wicked
we're told
here in
verse 10
this is the
difference
it's that
they know
God
they trust
him
and they
seek him
and because
they know
him
they trust
him
and they
seek him
they are
never
forsaken
verse 10
God will
never forsake
or forget
you
that's certain
the question
we need to
ask ourselves
if we trust
him in our
times of
need
in those
difficult
things that
maybe we've
been going
through this
week or
maybe we
will go
through this
following week
maybe
difficulties
in relationships
problems at
work or
school
perhaps
problems of
health
or perhaps
struggles to
live the
Christian life
that you
seem to be
weighed down
by certain
things
when all
these things
God doesn't
forget you
God is your
refuge
we need to
trust him
so let's
let's finish
with the
application of
this and it
was very late
on in my
studies I
discovered
that there's
a verse
that gives
the application
so we're
going to
look at
it in
verse 11
the application
of all we've
read in
Psalm 9
is this
sing the
praises of
the Lord
enthroned in
Zion
proclaim among
the nations
what he has
done
so two
applications
number one
sing the
praises to
the Lord
number two
proclaim what
he has
done
now David
is our
example in
verses one
and two
right at the
beginning of
the psalm
in singing
praises to
God
verse one
says I
will give
thanks to
you Lord
with all
my heart
I will
tell of
all your
wonderful deeds
I will be
glad and
rejoice in
you I
will sing
the praises
of your
name O
Most High
so why
is David
praising God
according to
verses one
and two
because of
his wonderful
deeds
because of
what he's
done
what were
these things
for David
their
deliverance
from his
enemies
they are
rescue
for God's
people
and they're
too that
God will
not forget
us
but he also
praises God
because of
who he is
here it
talks about
his name
his very
essence
and he
is the
Most High
the one
who is high
above all
that is the
all powerful
sovereign
the one
who is
the righteous
judge
so no
wonder David
rejoices
no wonder
he sings
God's
praise
he says
here that
he's 100%
committed to
this
we're told
that he's
going to
give thanks
with all
of his
heart
he's
not
he's
not
50-50
he's
not
you know
partly
praising
God
but
you know
there's
so much
other
things
to think
about
100%
committed
with all
his
heart
he will
praise
God
what an
example
he is
to us
and it's
significant
that David
starts his
psalm
his wording
is a
resolution
to praise
let me
explain what
I mean by
that he
doesn't say
I give
thanks I
tell of all
your wonderful
deeds but
four times he
says I
will I
will give
thanks I
will tell of
all your
wonderful deeds
I will be
glad and
rejoice in
you I
will sing
the praises
of your
name that's
significant
because here
he's setting
out his
resolution
this is
what I'm
going to
do
whether I'm
rescued from
my enemies
or not
whether good
times or bad
times I
will praise
my God
so whether
he's joyful
or sad
he will
praise his
God
now to be
a people
full of
praise if
you can
100%
praise God
and if
you need
to reflect
on what
God has
done as
David
did
you need
to reflect
on who
he is
as David
did and
you need
to resolve
to praise
as we go
into this
week let's
do that
let's resolve
to praise
for who
God is
and for
what he's
done
but the
other application
here from
verse 11
is to
proclaim his
name among
the nations
proclaim
what he
has done
to proclaim
means to
declare
to speak
out
and it's
telling the
good things
that he
has done
for us
that he
is a
refuge for
the oppressed
and a
stronghold in
times of
trouble
verse 8
and that
he never
forsakes
his people
verse 10
now we're
told to do
this not
just to
those we
gather with
in church
we're told
to proclaim
this to
the nations
to all
people
as we've
seen in
this psalm
when David
is talking
about the
nations
his emphasis
is on
the wicked
so this
psalm is
telling you
to proclaim
to the
wicked
the good
things
that God
has done
it's
it's to
the wicked
in verse 5
it's to
those who
have fallen
into the
pit of
sin
in verse 15
it's to
those who
forget God
in verse 17
it's for
those who
are under
God's
judgment
in verse
19
so what
do you
think
the deeds
of the
Lord are
that we
should be
declaring
to the
wicked
particularly
well they
need to
know about
the goodness
of God
in our
lives
they need
to know
about all
the goodness
of God
as we
all do
but they
also need
to know
of the
mercy
and grace
of God
the same
thing we
needed to
hear of
when we
were still
in our
sins
where we
were still
forgetting
God
when we
were still
living
without
God
as we
saw this
morning
the grace
of God
we need
to be
able to
proclaim
that
to
those
around
us
friends
and
those
who
are
God's
enemies
in Jesus
we see
God
the righteous
judge
but also
the saviour
rich in
mercy
compassionate
one who
bears and
forgives
our sin
so what's
our goal
in
proclamation
not that
we may
have a
big church
not that
we may
feel we've
done
something
good at
last
but the
glory may
be brought
to God
verse 11
says
sing the
praises of
the Lord
enthroned in
Zion
proclaim
among the
nations
what he
has done
so we
proclaim
what God
has done
so that
other people
may not
just hear
but they
may come
to know
God as
saviour
too
and that
then they
will go
on to
proclaim
among
the nations
other people
what he
has done
for them
so let
me just
close
by asking
you
what do
you think
this
proclamation
of what
God has
done
will look
like
tomorrow
morning
in the
workplace
or school
perhaps
it's
praying
for
opportunities
and taking
those small
opportunities
that we're
presented
with
to tell
of our
experience
of God's
goodness
to us
pointing
people
to Jesus
our saviour
and our
Lord
with the
long term
aim
that God
will be
glorified
in their
lives as
well
thank you
Twins
I
had a
time
for
to
k
wanted
to