1 I will give thanks to Yahweh with my whole heart.
I will tell of all your marvelous works.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you.
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
3 When my enemies turn back,
they stumble and perish in your presence.
4 For you have maintained my just cause.
You sit on the throne judging righteously.
5 You have rebuked the nations.
You have destroyed the wicked.
You have blotted out their name forever and ever.
6 The enemy is overtaken by endless ruin.
The very memory of the cities which you have overthrown has perished.
7 But Yahweh reigns forever.
He has prepared his throne for judgment.
8 He will judge the world in righteousness.
He will administer judgment to the peoples in uprightness.
9 Yahweh will also be a high tower for the oppressed;
a high tower in times of trouble.
10 Those who know your name will put their trust in you,
for you, Yahweh, have not forsaken those who seek you.
11 Sing praises to Yahweh, who dwells in Zion,
and declare among the people what he has done.
12 For he who avenges blood remembers them.
He doesn’t forget the cry of the afflicted.
13 Have mercy on me, Yahweh.
See my affliction by those who hate me,
and lift me up from the gates of death;
14 that I may show all of your praise.
In the gates of the daughter of Zion, I will rejoice in your salvation.
15 The nations have sunk down in the pit that they made.
In the net which they hid, their own foot is taken.
16 Yahweh has made himself known.
He has executed judgment.
The wicked is snared by the work of his own hands.
Meditation. Selah.
17 The wicked shall be turned back to Sheol,[a]
even all the nations that forget God.
18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
nor the hope of the poor perish forever.
19 Arise, Yahweh! Don’t let man prevail.
Let the nations be judged in your sight.
20 Put them in fear, Yahweh.
Let the nations know that they are only men.
Selah.
Footnotes:
a. Psalm 9:17 Sheol is the place of the dead.
Jesus, our conquering King, goes on to give all glory and credit to His Father for the great deliverance He won on the cross. Jesus was the afflicted One, rejected by His people, His priests, the Roman governor and soldiers. Yet despite the shame and humility, the blood and gore, the pain and agony, the Father did not despise Him as the Jewish leaders taunted Him. The Father did not abhor, or utterly detest Jesus' terrible afflictions. The Father did not forsake Jesus forever, but heard His bitter cry, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" The Father accepted His sacrifice, delivered Him from hell, and gently brought His Son's soul to paradise, even as loving hands took His body down from the cross, wrapped it for burial, and gently laid it in the unused tomb.
We too are often afflicted in life. We wonder how God responds to seeing us in pain, fear, doubt, agony. Does He despise us as weak and insignificant? Does He abhor us, wanting nothing to do with creatures so helpless and unclean? Does He hide His face and stop His ears from our pain and suffering?
No, our gracious Father is always with us to look upon us in need, to hear our groans and pleas, and to deliver us from all troubles, from all enemies, and from death and hell. It was that great love which moved Him to send His only begotten Son as our victorious Savior. That is why we fear Him, praise Him, glorify Him, and stand in awe of Him.
THE PRAYER: Heavenly Father, through Your Son Jesus Christ, You always watch us, hear our prayers, and deliver us from all trials. Receive our thanks and praise for Jesus' sake. Amen.
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