Psalm 9 - Praise God For His Deliverance (Part Three).

We must take seriously the radical contrast between the “wicked” and the “needy.” - "The wicked return to the grave, all the nations that forget God. But the needy will not always be forgotten,
nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish" (vs. 17-18).

Who are the “needy”? – Here, God’s Word is speaking to us of the godly who recognize their spiritual need of the Lord’s saving grace. By contrasting the “wicked” and the “needy”, God is calling us to come to Him, in our need, and receive, from Him, his salvation.

There are two prayers which we must pray.

We must ask that God will make it known that He is Lord - "Arise, O LORD, let not man triumph;
let the nations be judged in your presence" (v. 19)..

We must ask that we will recognize that we are “but men.” - "Strike them with terror, O LORD;
let the nations know they are but men" (v. 20).

When we recognize that God is God and we are but men, we are ready to be led to the Cross where we learn of both God’s hatred of sin and God’s love for the sinner.

Thus, we come to the point where we are able to share, with the Psalmist, in worshipping the Lord - "I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High" (vs. 1-2).

We worship God as those who have come to trust in Him as the God of our salvation -"The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you" (vs. 9-10).

Trusting in the Lord, the God of our salvation, our worship is heartfelt worship - "I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart" (v. 1).

Trusting in the Lord, the God of our salvation, our worship is joyful worship - "I will be glad and rejoice in you" (v. 2).

Psalm 9 - Praise God For His Deliverance (Part Two).

We read about God’s trustworthiness - "The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you" (vs. 9-10).
We praise God. We make it known that He is to be praised - "Sing praises to the LORD, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what He has done" (v. 11).
In our worship, we speak of God’s judgment as well as His salvation - "For He who avenges blood remembers; He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted" (v. 12).
In our worship, we look to the Lord for mercy and, with joy, we praise Him for His salvation - "O 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 the Daughter of Zion and there rejoice in your salvation" (vs. 13-14).
As well as emphasizing that God is trustworthy, we must also emphasize that He is not to be taken for granted by proud unbelief - "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 justice; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hand" (vs. 15-16).

Psalm 9 - Praise God For His Deliverance (Part One).

* The Psalmist worships the Lord - I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonders.  I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High" (vs. 1-2).

* He does not speak proud words. He sees all things in the light of the holy God - "My enemies turn back; they stumble and perish before you. For you have upheld my right and my cause; you have sat on your throne, judging righteously. You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
you have blotted out their name for ever and ever. Endless ruin has overtaken the enemy, you have uprooted their cities; even the memory of them has perished. The LORD reigns forever;
he has established his throne for judgment. He will judge the world in righteousness;
he will govern the peoples with justice" (vs. 3-6).

* At the heart of this Psalm, there is a declaration of the character of God - "The LORD reigns forever; He has established his throne for judgment. He will judge the world in righteousness; He will govern the peoples with justice" (vs. 7-8).

* The majesty, righteousness and judgment of God – Have we lost these important aspects of God’s character? Have we turned God into a sentimentalized ‘god’ of our own making?

Let’s not take God for granted. Let God be God. This is very different from insisting that God must be what we think He should be.

The Word Of God - Our Pure And Trustworthy Guide

Reading the words of the Psalmist, “The words of the Lord are pure words” (Psalm 12:6), brought to mind the words of the Apostle Paul – “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst” (1 Timothy 1:15). God’s Word is pure. God’s Word is trustworthy. Take these two thoughts together. We think of the perfection of God’s Word. Let’s also give thanks for His perfect love. there is no love like the love of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. He loves us with the greatest love of all. There can be nothing more perfect than this – the love of Jesus. Where do we learn of His love? We learn of His love as we read God’s Word – “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so”, I am so glad that my Father in heaven tells of His love in the Book He has given. Wonderful things in the Bible I see. This is the greatest that Jesus loves me” ... As we receive mercy from the Lord, we rejoice in His trustworthiness. Deeply conscious of our sin, which He so graciously forgives, we become deeply conscious of His holiness, and we bow before Him in worship. The greatness of His holiness and the greatness of His mercy – the two belong together. They remind us that we, who haven saved by grace, are called to holiness. In our journey along “the High Way of Holiness” (Isaiah 35:8), we have the Word of God as our pure and trustworthy guide.

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“The words of the Lord are pure words” (Psalm 12:6).

Let's Stop Running Away From God.

Psalm 139:7-8

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

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We can run away from God, but we can't get away from Him!

Let's stop running away from God.

Even when we're "a great way off", He is running out to meet us (Luke 15:20).

He loved us long before we ever thought of loving Him - "When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son" (Romans 5:10).

The Holy Spirit Leads Us Into A Life Of Worship.

‘I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live’ (Psalm 104:33). Do you feel like giving up? Other things are becoming more important to you. Worshipping the Lord is being pushed out to the edge of your life. Wrong attitudes are creeping in. It starts with the idea, ‘Worship’s just an hour on a Sunday’. Then, it becomes, ‘I’ll worship the Lord when I feel like it’. It soon becomes, ‘I’ll worship the Lord when I’ve nothing better to do’. Before long, all desire for worshipping the Lord has gone! Little-by-little, you are drifting away from the Lord. It’s time to start thinking about what’s happening. It’s time for a new beginning. It’s time for an ‘all my life’ commitment to worshipping the Lord - not just on a Sunday, not only when I feel like it, not only ‘when there’s nothing better to do’!

"God's love ... "

God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.

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Psalm 78:40-72

‘He brought His people out like a flock; He led them like sheep through the desert’ (52). The Lord brought His people out of Egypt. He brought them safely through the wilderness to ‘His holy land’ (42-43,51,54-55). He did great things for Israel. He does great things for us - ‘He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake’ (23:3). Through faith in our Saviour, Jesus Christ, we have ‘peace with God’. Our sins have been forgiven. We now ‘stand’ in His ‘grace’. In our new life with Him, there will be times of ‘suffering’. None of us is exempt from suffering. It comes to all of us - without exception. In your suffering, remember this: We will not be disappointed in ‘our hope of sharing the glory of God’ - ‘God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit...’ (Romans 5:1-5).

Bible Reading Notes At "The Promises Of God" Blog

At "The Promises of God" blog, you will find Bible reading notes on numbers , Psalms , john, Colossians, and Ephesians.

"Look To The Lord ... "

Look to the Lord for help. Pray that the Lord's Name will be glorified.
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We look at what's going on in our world today. We hear the enemies of the Lord saying, "Where is their God?" So many people are turning away from the Lord. They no longer worship Him. We wonder if things can be turned around. It would be so easy to give up and go the way of the world. This is what we must not do. We must keep on praying - "How long, O Lord? Will You be angry for ever?" We must look to the Lord for help - "Help us, O God of our salvation." We must look to "our Saviour" for deliverance and forgiveness. We must pray that the Lord's Name will be glorified. How is the Name of the Lord to be glorified in today's world? It must begin with us - "We, Your people, the flock which You shepherd, will give thanks to You forever. We will praise You throughout every generation" (Psalm 79:5 , 9-10, 13).