* This magnificent piece of 10th century art is titled, "Hannah thanks God for the birth of Samuel". It is part of The Paris Psalter. The Paris Psalter is a copy of the 150 Psalms of David, translated from Hebrew into demotic Greek. The Paris Psalter is a Byzantine illuminated manuscript 38 x 26.5 cm in size, containing 449 folios and 14 full-page miniatures. The Paris Psalter is considered a key monument of the so-called Macedonian Renaissance, a 10th-century renewal of interest in classical art closely identified with the emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (909-959) and his immediate successors.
>1. What four "I will"s are mentioned and what does it mean to praise the LORD with all the heart? (1-2)
* Psalm 9:1-2 "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."
* The title of this psalm is "For the director of music. To (the tune 0f "The Death of the Son." A psalm of David.
* "I will" -"I will" is not in the original Hebrew though it is implied. It's first English occurrence in verse 1 is "yada" (original Hebrew) meaning praise. The second occurrence, "I will tell" is "sapar" meaning "scribe" and "tell". Thus, David decided to put to pen and ink this psalm.
* "I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart" -The heart is "leb" in the Hebrew meaning the core of our being; our mind, feelings, intentions (will), and intellect.
* "I will tell of all your wonders." -The Hebrew word of "tell of" is translated in the NIV as "declare" in verse 14, but stating that he is going to make this public. "All your wonders" in the original Hebrew is the root verb "pala" properly perhaps meaning to separate, distinguish, and something great, difficult and wonderful.
* "I will be glad and rejoice in you" -"Glad" is the Hebrew verb "samah" and "rejoice" is the verbs "alas zamar". All three are primitive root words. David is commanding himself to change his attitude.
* "I will sing praise to your name, O Most High." -Sing is not in the original Hebrew. The word is "zamar" meaning praise.
* David announces a decision to the Lord his God. David declares that he is going to praise the LORD. David is going to let it all out. His heart will gush forth with exaltation like a geyser from the earth. David is going to reveal in song all of the Most High's wonders.
Heartfelt worship and praise generate gladness and joy from even the most depressed and weary heart. This kind of reaction can only be obtained when the praise is genuine and sincere. How this transpires is a mystery of the Divine, a miracle in the making. Yet I can say it happens for it has happened to me.
Christmas is four days away, a time that is joyful for some and depressing for others. No matter which will I declare the wonders of the Lord? Will I praise the one who left perfection so I can be perfect?
Listen to the above comments on Psalm 9:1-2.
>What did David witness that compelled him to do the "I will"s? (3)
* Psalm 9:3 "My enemies turn back; they stumble and perish before you."
* "My enemies turn back" -David, though a man after God's heart had many enemies throughout his life.
* "they stumble and perish before you." -Implying they were in a hurry.
* David saw his enemies retreat suddenly and quickly.
>2. What does verse 4 imply that the Lord did for David and why he did it?
* Psalm 9:4 "For you have upheld my right and my cause; you have sat on your throne, judging righteously."
* "For you have upheld my right and my cause" -The Lord God through deliverence proved David's right and cause. They are not defined or explained.
* "you have sat on your throne, judging righteously."
* David is publicly celebrating the Lord God's holy virtues and his saving acts graciously bestowed towards him.
* "throne" -"Kisseh" in the original Hebrew. Many say that God's throne is in heaven and Jerusalem is his footstool. During life the stone and wood throne did not exist. His son Solomon built the temple. So David is thinking of the Lord God in heaven, on his throne.
* God is active in the lives of everyone. He is not far away letting things happen as a matter of cause and effect. He interleaves.
>Did this every happen in David's life and if not, then what does it imply? (5-6)
* Psalm 9:5-6 "You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked; you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.
6 Endless ruin has overtaken the enemy, you have uprooted their cities; even the memory of them has perished."
* "You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked" -David and his army did engage in wars with their neighbors. However, this psalm is not about his past, but about our future.
* "you have blotted out their name for ever and ever." -Meaning they are forgotten as stated in verse 6.
* "Endless ruin has overtaken the enemy" -A brief description of hell.
* "you have uprooted their cities" -Sometimes done by ancient conquering nations.
* The neighboring nations that David and Israel engaged in are remembered now because of the Bible. So David must be talking about a time to come. That time is when Jesus comes again.
>3. Considering the future tense of verses 7 and 8 when might this be fulfilled?
* Psalm 9:7-8 "The LORD reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment.
8 He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice."
* "The LORD reigns forever" -"Reign" in the original Hebrew is the verb "yashab" elsewhere translated "dwell", "inhabit", "sit down", "abide", and "remain". As kings sat down to judge, so the Lord God is actively eternally the Judge.
* "throne" -See verse 4.
* "He will" -Future tense.
* Jesus is the LORD (YHWH) who will accomplish the things mentioned here.
>In the meantime, what are we to remember about the LORD?
* Psalm 9:9-10 "The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you."
* "The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed" -Present tense as opposed to the future tense of verse 8.
* "a stronghold in times of trouble." -Jesus also said that trouble will come to those who believe in him. He said to take heart because he has overcome the world.
* "Those who know your name will trust in you" -"Know" is "yada" in the original Hebrew. This is just not intellect. It is personal.
* "for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you." -David personally knows that bad things happen to the righteous. Yet he also experienced tha the Lord God was with him all the time.
* The Psalms (like this one), the prophets, Jesus, and the apostles all agree, that a time is coming when God will judge the living and the dead. (Daniel 11-12, Matthew 24, Mark 13) When Jesus comes again, "he will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice." Those who were enemies of God and his people will turn back; they will stumble and perish before him." Those who trusted in Him, he will uphold "our right and our cause." David sings of what happened in his life. I will sing when this happens in my life.
David instructs me how to deal with enemies who oppress me until then. "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." (9,10) I am to trust God. How to trust in times of trouble, when all seems hopeless? How to turn back depression because of my enemies? Trust and obey by faith. There is no better way than to trust and obey Jesus by faith.
Listen to the above comments on Psalm 9:3-10.
II. Sing Praises to the LORD (9:11-20)
* This magnificent piece of 10th century art is titled, "Healing of Hezekiah". It is part of The Paris Psalter. The Paris Psalter is a copy of the 150 Psalms of David, translated from Hebrew into demotic Greek. The Paris Psalter is a Byzantine illuminated manuscript 38 x 26.5 cm in size, containing 449 folios and 14 full-page miniatures. The Paris Psalter is considered a key monument of the so-called Macedonian Renaissance, a 10th-century renewal of interest in classical art closely identified with the emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (909-959) and his immediate successors.
>4. What is the natural response to someone who trusts in the LORD?
* Psalm 9:11 "Sing praises to the LORD, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done."
* "Sing praises to the LORD"
* "enthroned in Zion" -God's heavenly through is also called Zion. The Zion in heaven is the real Zion. Zion on earth is a copy. God's heavenly throne has its counterpart on earth in his tabernacle, then the stone and wood temple in Jerusalem, and now in the hearts of believers. (Psalm 132:13)
* "proclaim among the nations what he has done."
* Verses 11-16 have some joined phrases requiring God's revelation during deep Bible study. Phrases like "enthroned in Zion" (What Zion for the temple was not built in David's life? The tabernacle and then the ark was moved to Jerusalem late in David's life. So, what and when is Zion referring to?); "proclaim among the nations" (David only left Israel a few times, yet not to declare the LORD's praises.); "in the gates of the Daughter of Zion" (Neither the tabernacle nor the ark were in gated land during David's life, except if this is referring to Jerusalem.); "declare your praises... gates of... Zion" (David could and did go in the Tabernacle and next to the ark, so why only at the gates?); "avenges blood" (Who's blood? David's blood?); "the nations... enemies... the nations" (Almost sounds prophetic.); "gates of death" (Is this merely poetry?). Considering the whole psalm, I believe this is a prophecy-psalm to be fulfilled when Christ returns bodily.
Despite the need for more thought, these verses are clear, the Lord God is in control. As a king sits in judgment on his throne, God controls the nations. He avenges blood. He hears the cry of the afflicted. He has mercy. He lifts up from the gates of death. I am reminded that no matter how bleak the situation, if I have faith in God and wait for him, he will save and restore me.
Listen to the above comments on Psalm 9:11-16.
>What does it mean to avenge blood?
* Psalm 9:12 "For he who avenges blood remembers; he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted."
* "For he who avenges blood remembers" -"Avenges" is "darash" in the original Hebrew implying treading. "Blood" is "dam" in the original Hebrew.
* "he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted."
* Deuteronomy 32:40-43 "I lift my hand to heaven and declare: As surely as I live forever, when I sharpen my flashing sword and my hand grasps it in judgment, I will take vengeance on my adversaries and repay those who hate me. I will make my arrows drunk with blood, while my sword devours flesh: the blood of the slain and the captives, the heads of the enemy leaders." Rejoice, O nations, with his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants; he will take vengeance on his enemies and make atonement for his land and people."
>5. Why does David want to do when the LORD lifts him up from the gates of death?
* Psalm 9:13-14 "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."
* "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"
* "there rejoice in your salvation."
>How is the justice of the Lord defined in verses 15-16?
* Psalm 9:15-16 "The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
16 The LORD is known by his justice; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion. Selah"
* "The nations" -"Goy" in the original Hebrew is found in the beginning of Genesis to mean all the people who are not Israelites. However, from God's view it means every people group and tribe.
* "have fallen into the pit they have dug" -Self brought about. God ensures it will happen.
* "their feet are caught in the net they have hidden." -Self brought about. God ensures it will happen.
* "The LORD is known by his justice" -God invokes justice by causing us to be the victim of our own design and execution.
* "the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands" -Self brought about. God ensures it will happen.
>6. What does human eternal existence depends on according to verses 17-18?
* Psalm 9:17-18 "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."
* Under the Lord's just rule, those who wickedly attack others bring destruction on themselves and their end will be the grave. But those who are attacked will not trust in the Lord in vain. (NIV Study Bible)
* "grave" -"Sheol" in the original Hebrew meaning the place of the dead, often associated with the earth.
* "forget God" -Live as if he didn't exist they do whatever they determine is right and wrong. "The wicked" ("rasha" in Hebrew) is conjoined with "the nations" ("goy" in Hebrew).
* "But the needy will not always be forgotten" -They are forgotten in the aspect of they are not taken into account of by others. God does not forget them. This is in contrast to the nations that forget God.
* "the hope of the afflicted ever perish" -In this psalm David and Israel are counted among the needed and afflicted because of the threat from the enemies.
* Hope is the subject of the manuscript "The Believer's Future - Hope".
>Why would the author ask the Lord to strike the nations with terror?
* Psalm 9:19-20 "Arise, O LORD, let not man triumph; let the nations be judged in your presence. Strike them with terror, O LORD; let the nations know they are but men. Selah"
* 'let not man triumph" -Sinful mankind forget God and thus end up destroying all that God has created. They will not triumph in the end.
* "let the nations be judged in your presence" -The last judgment of Christ.
* "Strike them with terror" -"Terror" is "mora" in the original Hebrew, the deepest fear, fear to the core of our soul. The rest of the verse reveal that once we know and accept our limitations we are struck with terror.
* "are but men" -Not strong and invincable, but actions taken into account by God leading to death.
* The grave (Sheol in Hebrew) is not the subject of family and friends parties. Most people do not like thinking about the end of our physical life. The one who brings up the subject will find themself alone in a crowd of lifetime acquaintances.
Two occasions exist when we ponder the eventual end of our physical life. Usually, it is a funeral of a family member or friend. Then there is the occasion when all are so hopeless and distraught that we consider ending our life. Such events can compel us to reach out to someone to help us understand and believe that hope exists beyond Sheol's pangs.
Yesterday while walking on a rip tide beach during a much-needed week vacation I learned of lifeguards rescuing a family from knee-deep churning Gulf of Mexico waves. The forty-eight-year-old mother did not survive. Sheol doesn't consider a person's circumstances when feeding its unquenchable hunger pains. Her husband, children, and friends are asking, "Why?" and hoping for a happy life after physical death. Now is the time to consider what happens when Sheol becomes hungry for me.
The wicked are people who forget God. Forgetting in verse 17 is not completely erasing God from my memory. Rather forgetting is knowing that God exists, but not maintaining loving and respectful attention to him. This is wickedness. Those who do not choose to know God in life, will not know him in death.
The needy and afflicted are often forgotten by others. Family and friends do not necessarily erase them from memory. Rather, they do not maintain a loving and respectful relationship with them. (1 John 3:14) This is especially true if the needy and afflicted maintain a relationship with God who holds life and death in his hands. (Revelation 1:18) "...the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish." When hopeless and distraught come, don't let these tricks of Shoel consume the soul. Rather, let Jesus, the defender be my hope of happy life after death.
Listen to the above comments on Psalm 9:17-20.
III. Why, O LORD, Do You Stand Far Off (10:1-18)
* A woodcut by Urs Graf depicting Christ carrying the Cross. The image was taken from a 1506 harmony of the Gospel texts of the Passion, edited by Matthias Ringmann, translated by Geiler von Keysersberg and printed by Johann Knobloch in Strasbourg.
>7. What is David experiencing in his life? (1)
* Psalm 10:1 "Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?"
* Psalm 10 was probably originally part of psalm 9.
* The title is "For the director of music. To the tune of "The Death of the Son." A psalm of David." See psalm 9.
* "Why" -Not doubt that God exists. Rather, knowing God exist and it appears he is not doing anything during our suffering and agony.
* "far off... hide yourself" -Ignore on purpose.
>Why? (2-4)
* Psalm 10:2-4 "In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises. He boasts of the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD. In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God."
* "In his arrogance the wicked man" -Deeds betray the arrogance with which they defy God.
* All the wicked does is planned oppression.
* "reviles the LORD" -By their actions.
* "Pride" -Believing they can accomplish whatever they sent their mind to. Thus they don't need God.
* Never thinks about God because they are to busy aquiring more and more by any means.
>8. Why might the wicked be prosperous?
* Psalm 10:5-7 "His ways are always prosperous; he is haughty and your laws are far from him; he sneers at all his enemies. He says to himself, "Nothing will shake me; I'll always be happy and never have trouble." His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue."
* "His ways are always prosperous" -A fact that is hard for many to accept just as it was for David. We want justice now, not recognizing that though he judge others well we do not judge ourselves well.
* "he sneers at all his enemies" -Hate, scorn, contempt, derisive.
* "curses and lies and threats" -Three of the main violent tools of the wicked often mentioned in the Psalms.
* "trouble and evil are under his tongue." -The heart is so wicked that they can readily and easily verbally attack.
* The apostle James wrote, "All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water." (James 3:7-12)
* The apostle Peter quoted Psalm 34:1-16, "For, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." (1 Peter 3:10-12)
>What false believe does his success bring and why might God allow this to happen?
* Psalm 10:8-11 "He lies in wait near the villages; from ambush he murders the innocent, watching in secret for his victims.
9 He lies in wait like a lion in cover; he lies in wait to catch the helpless; he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
10 His victims are crushed, they collapse; they fall under his strength.
11 He says to himself, "God has forgotten; he covers his face and never sees."
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* David looks at society and his unassuming life and asks two grievous life questions, "Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?" Repeating too often it seems, God does not seem to see me in my time of trouble for I am not happy, do not have what I want, and have that which I do not want. Nothing seems to heal the troubled soul. The tears flow till the well dries up. The soul empties till the body is numb. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
David, thinking of the wicked in society adds to the belief that God does not see, does not care, and does not get involved. The wicked are arrogant, boastful, proud of their evil ways, haughty, lie, distaining, and self-assured. They feed by stealing from the lowly and the weak. He reviles God. In all his thoughts there is no room for God. The wicked prosper. They are the rich and powerful. The famed and celebrated. Others want to be in their life till they are consumed by the wicked and left for dead. They are secret murderers. "He says to himself, 'God has forgotten; he covers his face and never sees.'" And David is tempted to agree with the wicked.
Whose soul does not ask these questions? All souls must deliberate on such queries for them to be purified. The conclusion is the determining factor. One of two belief are birthed in David's hole in the ground and on Job's ash heap; faith in or disdain and disbelief in God.
"Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness... But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve... as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:14-15)
Listen to the above comments on Psalm 10:1-11.
>9. What is David's plea even in spite of his original questions?
* Psalm 10:12 "Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless."
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>What is God considering all the time the wicked triumph over the weak? (13-15)
* Psalm 10:13-15 "Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, "He won't call me to account"?
14 But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evil man; call him to account for his wickedness that would not be found out."
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>10. What is proclaimed in verse 16?
* Psalm 10:16 "The LORD is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land."
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>What is the conclusion?
* Psalm 10:17-18 "You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more."
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* David's lamented questions turn into a jubilant poetic prayer. His joy is engulfed in the Lord's compassionate triumph. The Lord does see trouble and grief. He is the helper of the fatherless. God calls all to account for wickedness, all things done while in the flesh. His patience allowed them to repent, not wanting any to meet a dismal completion. Yet, the call for enough comes. "Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God."
The LORD is King forever and ever. His way is often not understood and more so misunderstood. Yes. The godless concludes, "He won't call me to account." And the victim acks, "Why?" and "How long?" The faithful declare, "You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more."
Wait just a little more and we will all see the Victoms' Defender and the Evils' Judge. He will "break the arm of the wicked and evil man; call him to account for his wickedness that would not be found out."
