For the leader; according to Muth Labben. A psalm of David.
I
I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will declare all your wondrous deeds.
I will delight and rejoice in you;
I will sing hymns to your name, Most High.
When my enemies turn back,
they stumble and perish before you.
II
For you upheld my right and my cause,
seated on your throne, judging justly.
You rebuked the nations, you destroyed the wicked;
their name you blotted out for all time.
The enemies have been ruined forever;
you destroyed their cities;
their memory has perished.
III
The Lord rules forever,
has set up his throne for judgment.
It is he who judges the world with justice,
who judges the peoples with fairness.
The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
Those who know your name trust in you;
you never forsake those who seek you, Lord.
IV
Sing hymns to the Lord enthroned on Zion;
proclaim his deeds among the nations!
For the avenger of bloodshed remembers,
does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
V
Be gracious to me, Lord;
see how my foes afflict me!
You alone can raise me from the gates of death.
Then I will declare all your praises,
sing joyously of your salvation
in the gates of daughter Zion.
VI
The nations fall into the pit they dig;
in the snare they hide, their own foot is caught.
The Lord is revealed in making judgments;
by the deeds they do the wicked are trapped.
VII
To Sheol the wicked will depart,
all the nations that forget God.
For the needy will never be forgotten,
nor will the hope of the afflicted ever fade.
Arise, Lord, let no mortal prevail;
let the nations be judged in your presence.
Strike them with terror, Lord;
show the nations they are only human.
Psalm 9:1-21
This psalm is another one of praise, but this time it is directed in thanks for the Lord helping to overcome enemies. We have a lot of references to God sitting in judgment over us all.
On one hand, the psalmist highlights how God protects the weakest among us: “For the needy will never be forgotten, nor will the hope of the afflicted ever fade.” On the other hand, “The Lord is revealed in making judgments; by the deeds they do the wicked are trapped.”
Honestly, this psalm reminds me of how easy it is to be distracted by fear or anger toward our “enemies.” I know I can get so obsessed with those feelings when someone seems to be against me or my family. It is so easy to become consumed with such negativity. The irony is that my negative emotions have little or no impact on the person who is the target of those feelings. They do, however, have a huge impact on me!
I think this is the revelation that a regular prayer routine can allow us to find. What I have noticed over the last year or so in my life, since I committed myself to starting every day with prayer, is that I am more likely to be able to avoid those obsessive negative attitudes. Sure, I catch myself getting sucked into an angry state of mind from time to time. After all, I am just an average human. But with prayer, I am more often able to let go of anger and get back to a positive outlook.
That is the gift of joy that God wants for all of us. As the percentages of time each day spent in negativity continues to decrease, our progress toward enduring happiness advances. Let’s pray for that!
So instead of asking God to punish my enemies, as this psalm seems to do in later verses, I would rather focus on the opening verse. “I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will declare all your wondrous deeds.”