Sing the praises of the Lord, enthroned in Zion;
proclaim among the nations what he has done.
For he who avenges blood remembers;
he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.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 Daughter Zion,
and there rejoice in your salvation.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 acts of justice;
the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.
The wicked go down to the realm of the dead,
all the nations that forget God.
But God will never forget the needy;
the hope of the afflicted will never perish.Arise, Lord, do not let mortals triumph;
(Ps. 9:11-20 NIV)
let the nations be judged in your presence.
Strike them with terror, Lord;
let the nations know they are only mortal.
The Psalmist returns to his theme of v1. He sings the praise of the LORD who is on His throne and he is proclaiming to the nations what God has done. God continues to listen to the cries of His people. The praise of God’s people arises out of the conviction that God cares. Now the Psalmist calls on all of God’s people to sing God’s praise.
Whatever the form of the persecution that the Psalmist is experiencing it feels as if he has been reduced to the gates of death. This is a reminder that we don’t fight against mere flesh and blood but against dark forces. This is no surprise – the Psalmist has been praising God and calling on others to praise God, this has drawn the attention of those who would persecute God’s people. He wants God to lift him so that he can continue to praise God in the midst of God’s people. The gates of the daughter of Zion is a metaphor for the city of God and public worship. This is a prayer that should be on our lips at this time. Many are literally at the gates of death, our churches are not able to meet – LORD lift your people and the nation that we can join together once more to praise your Name and rejoice in Your salvation.
Like we saw in Psalm 7, the wicked fall into the pit that they have dug for the Psalmist.
We are comforted by the news that God does not forget the needy. Our hope in God will never die. The Psalmist calls for the LORD to arise and cause the nations to be judged. All people are mere mortals. May the fear of the LORD come to all nations so that they realise their mortality and cause us all to return to the LORD our God.
The Psalms show the conflict between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of man. We pray to God, ‘your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’. God has dealt with sin and wickedness through the death of Christ. The resurrection of Christ is the assurance that God is victorious over sin and death.
Prayer
Lord we praise your Name that You have done great things for us. We recognise that the kingdom of this world is at war against the kingdom of God. They have introduced laws that are against Your will. Lord help us never to side with the enemies of Your kingdom. Help us to see the victory that we have in Christ, the steadfast hope of eternal life. Because Christ has died for us we can place our hope in Him in life and in death. Hear our prayer through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen