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INTRODUCTORY NOTES
A Psalm of David, according to Muth-labben: This probably refers to the tune to which these words were set.
- In the Septuagint this Psalm refers to the death of a son.
- Psalms 9 and 10 together constitute an acrostic Psalm[1].
- Some Hebrew manuscripts, the old Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint or LXX - 300 B.C) and the Latin translation by Jerome (the Vulgate, - 400 A.D.) both treat Psalms 9–10 as one Psalm.
The predominant note in this Psalm is one of praise in the midst of the affliction that comes from living life in this sinful world – see verses 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 12, 14. In the midst of sorrow and pain David has learned to know his God as a faithful God (cf. vv. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 18.
The reason why David loved God so well is because through his many challenging times he came to know His faithful and trustworthy God so very well. The more we know of God, the more we can trust Him. Doubt is born of ignorance.
EXPOSITION
David remembers God’s many deliverances from his enemies in battle and he recalls the lessons he has learned from what God has done for him in the midst of these difficult times. These battles were far from over, but David affirms his trust in the Lord who had spread a table for him (i.e who had sustained him) in the presence of his enemies. (Psalm 23).
Though he praised God with all his heart in this Psalm, we observe that he mingled his praise with prayers of petition for continuing deliverance.
The battle against evil is relentless. It will never stop as long as we live on this earth and it will continue until Christ finally returns to judge his enemies. Until the very end we will have to pray – “…deliver us from evil.” (Matt 6:13)
This is what the Christian life is like. We live between euphoria and anxiety. You see this in the structure of this Psalm. There are times when we are carried away in praise for God’s wonderful deliverances and there are times when we had barely escaped the 'slippery place', where we were almost slipping, almost loosing our foothold (Psalm 73:2), as our enemies were waiting for our collapse. As a pastor I face this experience constantly. I see myself and I see people delivered from one battle, only to see myself and them entering into new temptations in the next battle. Just when we think all is well, we have a rude awakening. From an unexpected quarter a new problem arises and David cries, and we cry with him, “Lord save me – the waters have come to my neck.” (Psalm 69:1).
Here is the big question.
Will God help?
Will He deliver when crunch time comes?
The answer is, "Yes He will: “He has not forsaken those who seek Him” (v. 10); “He does not forget the cry of the afflicted” (v.12); the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.” (v.18).
This Psalm teaches us that in this life there are wonderful deliverances and victories and blessings in the name of Christ, but there are no guarantees that we will not have to face another battle. Those who are older among us will tell you that ‘getting old is not for sissies’. David knew this very well.
One of David’s greatest victories was the one that he had over the Philistine giant Goliath. He had been prepared for that encounter on earlier occasions when God had helped him. As a young shepherd boy, when a bear or a lion had attacked his flock of sheep, David would overcome them in the Name of the Lord. And so we read in 1 Samuel 17,
- “When he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him.” (I Sam. 17:35).
- He tells us, “The LORD . . . delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear” (I Sam.17:37). That was the truth and David always remembered that.
- And he said to his king Saul who was quaking before this this huge Philistine Goliath, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (I Sam. 17:27).
- He told Goliath in no uncertain terms, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands” (I Sam. 17:45-47). And then he dispatched Goliath with a single, tiny stone from a slingshot.
- Following the death of Goliath, the Philistine army flees. David and Israel pursued them all the way to Gath and Ekron.(1 Sam 17:52) Their dead were strewn all along the way and they plundered the Philistine camp.
David comments on such victories, secured for them by the LORD in verses 3-6, “When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before your presence. For you have maintained my just cause; you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment. You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish; you have blotted out their name for ever and ever. The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins; their cities you have rooted out; the very memory of them has perished”
With such help from God, David had developed a sure confidence in the Lord, and that confidence was turned to the kind of worship of which we find expressed in the opening words of this Psalm:
Vv. 1&2: “I will give thanks to the LORD, with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High”. David is giving God all the glory. God has done it, not David. The Bible is not a book about human heroes. It is a book about ordinary people in the hands of a mighty God. David understands that God's cause in this world is not dependent upon him.
He knows that he will not reign forever.
He is going to die, and the cause of God will continue, because God (unlike David) is enthroned forever. Therefore David says in verses 7-10,
The LORD sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice, and He judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness. The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name will trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you’” .
Jerusalem was built on a hill with strong walls. The city was notoriously difficult to conquer when enemies came to attack. When the people would hear the warning trumpets from Mt Zion, they fled into the city of Jerusalem. The gates were closed and barred and the people were safe. And so David could write, "The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.” (v. 9). They may feel safe in this fortress called Jerusalem, but remember that there is one refuge far greater than Jerusalem. A prayer follows in verse 10: “And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you” (v.10).
And so we learn a great lesson concerning our faithful God....
DAVID’s PAST EXPERIENCES ARE HIS FUTURE CONFIDENCE THAT HE WOULD KNOW MANY MORE DELIVERANCES FROM THE LORD.
All this is based on our key text in vv. 9 and 10 … those who know his name will trust in him for he has never forsaken those who seek him. These are the deepest convictions of his heart. This is what kept David courageous in difficult times. If you don’t understand those convictions then you will never understand David.
The final verses, 13-20 may be divided up into three sections:
1. a prayer for help
2. a declaration of assurance
3. a renewed prayer
1. vv. 13- 14 David’s Prayer For Help
“Be gracious to me O LORD! See my affliction from those that hate me; O you who lift me up from the gates of death, that I may recount all your praises , that in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in your salvation”.
David was yet again in serious trouble. The tense is the present tense. David was being persecuted as he was writing. David may have been hunted by Saul on this occasion. David committed his way to the LORD and he trusted in God to sort Saul out (I Sam. 24:3-13). And God did it!
2. vv. 15-18 David's Assurance
[15] The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught. [16] The LORD has made himself known; he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah [17] The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God. [18] For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
Many nations were turned against David and God’s people: Moab, Edom, Egypt... the Philistines- you name them.
The truth is that none of them could stand before our God.
They fell into the pit that they themselves had dug.
David learned that Goliath was a big man, but ultimately only a man. So David confidently declares his trust in the LORD.
God is just!
Based upon these facts we may know that our nation in which lawlessness is rife, in which babies are aborted, and where murderers get away with murder, where sexual immorality is rife - this behaviour cannot stand before this God! The Lord is known by his justice. He is the faithful God. Therefore, for every look you give to the wicked and abusive and corrupt, take ten looks at the Lord. David reminds us that, "the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish” (v.18).
(iii) vv. 19-20 David’s Renewed Prayer
“Arise, O LORD, let not man prevail; let the nations be judged before you. Put them in fear O LORD! Let the nations know they are but men”
David's sense of the reality of the living God is based on his many experiences of God.Knowing God means that we will not easily give way to fear. Currently we live in a time when there appears to be an absence of the fear of the Lord. People think that God is irrelevant. However we are told that the nations that forget God will wake up in Sheol - in hell (v.17) , while the needy - those who have trusted in God in this life will not be forgotten(v.18). We are currently living in days of the self exaltation of man. David teaches us to continue to cry out to the Lord to make himself known, to come and convict the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgment.
It is time to pray again, “Arise O LORD! Let not man prevail...! That was David’s renewed prayer at the end of this Psalm. It was based on His knowledge and experience of the faithful God.
O church arise and pray for your land and for God's cause ! He will surely deliver us.
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