Psalm 9
March 2, 2025 Father, is praise an offering to you as if you needed our praise? No, your Word is clear: in your self-sufficiency you do not need our praise. Then why do we praise you. Why does King David say, “His praise will continually be on my lips.”
The praise of you is for us. Praise is where we recall your deeds; where we, as it were, brag on you. David says, “Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion! Tell among the peoples his deeds!” Yes, telling all people everywhere what you have done through bragging about you is our mission and goal. And why? David says, “I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.” We Recount your deeds to those around us and to ourselves so we and they will turn to you in praise-laden thanksgiving.
King David is our highest authority on the subject of praise and we see in this Psalm that the praise of you is not abstract, it is specific, and it is rooted in remembrance. David says, “I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.” Recollection, recalling your deeds, is the root and substance of praise to you.
In perusing this Psalm we see a list of your deeds, all stated in the past tense:
You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish;
You have blotted out their name forever and ever.
Their cities you rooted out; the very memory of them has perished.
You have maintained my just cause;
David is not whistling in the dark. He has seen you at work. In his praise of you he recalls your faithfulness in the history of your people, Israel. He bolsters a strong, confident trust in you; that you are the Lord who sits enthroned forever and that you judge the world with righteousness; that you are a stronghold for the oppressed in times of trouble, “and those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord have not forsaken those who seek you.
Father, throughout this Psalm we see that you bring righteous judgment to nations that forget you, and salvation to those who cry to you. In this broken world, in the turmoil of our nation and of the whole world, help us to remember that we and our leaders are “but men,” limited in understanding, prone to sin and in need of you. May we brag on you always. May the recollection of your wonderful deeds be on our lips continually, building our confidence in you. Teach us to trust you in all things and be thankful.
And Father, we recall in thanksgiving and praise to you, the arrival of Phoebe Joy Nelson, a new life, life you have created. Go before Abby and David in this time of joy and wonder, of sleeplessness and adjustment to new routines. May they learn to love each other more and more and to trust you through the challenges of nurturing this new little one. Help us to come along side Abby and David in every way as they embark on this adventure.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray
And all of God’s people said,
AMEN