Ps. 9 "A Stronghold for the Oppressed in Times of Trouble"

Intro:

Review from last week:

Psalm 9-10 may have origionally been one Psalm. They share some similarities: “in times of trouble”, “mortal man”, and “the nations”.

Psalm 9 is a triumphant song of thanksgiving

Psalm 10 is a complaint and prayer over godless men

This is an acrostic formate where each stanza starts with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet

Outline:

A Resolve to Sing: “I Will” (vs.1-6)

A Righteous Stronghold: “The LORD is...” (vs. 7-16)

A Refrain of Sheol: “All the Nations that Forget God” (vs. 17-20)

Summary: The LORD is the stronghold to those that seek Him

Illustration:

Prayer:

A Resolve to Sing: “I Will” (vs. 1-6)

Pre-Script (vs.)

To the Choirmaster

According to Muth-Labban- “The death of the Son” set to this tune.

A Psalm of David

“I will...” (vs. 1-2)

I will give thanks to the LORD- imperfect

with my whole heart- “the locus of a person’s thoughts (mind), volition, emotions, and knowledge of right from wrong (conschience) understood as the heart”

notice he does not say with the logic of my mind, or the works of my hands

I will recount all of your wonderful deed- imperfect, count, make a written record, report, or announce

wonderful deeds- be too dificult, miracle, a marvelous evetn manifesting a supernatural act of a divine agent; often deviating from the normal course (or laws ) of nature.

I will be glad- imperfect, be merry, to express great joy!

and exult in you- imperfect, to feel extreme happiness or elation

I will sing praise to your name- imperfect, sing, praise, play an instrument

O Most High- “el-yon”

“You have...” (vs.3-6)

When my enemies turn back

they stumble- imperfect, stagger

and perish- imperfect, get lost, go astray

before your presence

For You have...

you have maintained my just cause- perfect, it is done

You have sat on the throne,- perfect

giving righteous judgment

You have rebuked the nations- perfect

You have made the wicked perish- perfect

You have blotted out their name forever and ever- perfect

The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins- perfect

their cities you rooted out- perfect

the very memory of them has perished- perfect

Application/Implications:

Renew the Mind (the Scriptures):

What caught your attention in this section?

Which verses or words would you like to study a little more this week?

Engage the Heart (humility vs. pride):

So, what is your resolve today? What are you giving thanks for? What are you recounting? What are you allowing to influence your emotions? How has God been just? What reasons do you have to be glad? Who are you exulting in? Who is the most high in your life today?

What would it sound/look like for you to give thanks to God with your whole heart this morning?

Does your praise generally come from recounting God’s wonderful deeds to you or the righteous actions He has done towards those that are against you?

Praise Him when He does miraculous deeds (positive)

Praise Him when He corrects or judges wrongdoing (

In both cases, it is still the LORD that is the source of praise, thanksgiving, and exultation!

Enlist the Body (Words, actions, emotions):

“Yes I will” Song by

Oh, yes, I will lift You high in the lowest valley Yes I will bless Your name Oh, yes, I will sing for joy when my heart is heavy All my days Oh, yes, I will For all my days Oh, yes, I will

And I choose to praise To glorify, glorify The name of all names That nothing can stand against

“Praise” Elevation worship

I'll praise in the valley Praise on the mountain I'll praise when I'm sure Praise when I'm doubting I'll praise when outnumbered Praise when surrounded 'Cause praise is the water My enemies drown in As long as I'm breathing I've got a reason to Praise the Lord Oh, my soul C'mon Praise the Lord Oh, my soul I'll praise when I feel it Yes, sir And I'll praise when I don't I'll praise 'cause I know You're still in control 'Cause my praise is a weapon It's more than a sound More than a sound Oh, my praise is the shout That brings Jericho down Oh, as long as I'm breathing I've got a reason to

Transitional phrase: David makes a resolve to Sing to the LORD because of what He has done. For David, it was that God dealt righteously with his enemies (who were also God’s enemies). So what is this resolve rooted in...

A Righteous Stronghold: “The LORD is...” (vs. 7-16)

The LORD is…a righteous judge…a stronghold to trust (vs. 7-10)

But the LORD- in contrast to the enemies in verses 3-6

sits enthroned forever- imperfect

He has established his throne for justice- perfect, a determination of right and wrong on legal matters

and He judges the world- imperfect

with righteounsess-adherence to what is required according to a standard.

He judges the peoples- imperfect

with uprightness- meeting the norm or the standard

His throne is established for justice

He judges the world with righteousness

He judges the people with uprightness- God is the moral standard

The Lord is a- imperfect, over and over again, not you, not me, not the government, the LORD

a stronghold- “mis-gab” kind of looks like “mis-grab”, but the definition could not be further from the truth! The LORD is a strong-hold, not a mis-grab. It is understood to be a high point, or structure fortified for defensive purposes during a battle.

for the oppressed- miserable, victims, a person burned by being oppressed by another

a stronghold- same word as before

in times (occasions) of trouble- “drought”, lack of rain

And those who know your name- experientially, normally as acquired through observation or the senses.

put their trust in you- imperfect, confidence

for you, O LORD,

Have not forsaken- perfect, not abandoned, to forsake or leave behind.

Those who seek you- seek with care, enquire about, investigate. David sought the LORD again and again in his life. For direction, correction, and comfort.

The LORD is…praiseworthy and gracious (vs. 11-14)

Sing praises to the Lord- imperative, a command! Congregation, SING!

who sits enthroned in Zion- “Zion” 2 sam. 5:7 David calls the city of Jerusalem, Zion, or the city of David. So, this gives us a glimps into the timeline of when this could have been written. It was during the time that he conqured and ruled from Zion

Tell among the people his deeds!- Imperative, a command!

For he who avenges blood is mindful (8:4) of them- perfect, to remember. This is important, why, because if there is not an avenger in the middle, both sides will just continue to spill blood to even the score.

He does not forget the cry of the afflicted- perfect, does not supress. How many times in history (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Israel, Egypt, Wilderness, Joshua, judges, and now the kings have the people “cried” and God has not supressed or forgotten their cry!).

Be Gracious to me O LORD!-Imperative, a command! Towards the LORD.

See my affliction from those who hate me- imperative, command! see the cause of my great suffering and distress!

O you who lift me up from the gates of death- why would David call on God to do this for him...

that I may recount all your praises- imperfect, over and over

that in the gates of the daughter of Zion- two very different gates.

I may rejoice in your salvation- imperfect

God’s grace was ment to be the gateway to praise, not the gateway to ease.

The LORD has… made Himself known (vs. 15-16)

The nations (Those not of the line of Israel) have sunk in the pit that they made- perfect, the “nations” meaning...

in the net that they hid- perfect,

their own foot has been caught- perfect,

The LORD has made himself known- perfect, personally, God has made Himself known!

He has executed judgment- perfect,

the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands

Higgaion- “Talk (or mockery); meditation; playing (the zither)”. The root of the word has taken 4 distinct meanings

Music- Psalm 9:16 “The Lord has made himself known; he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah”

Meditation- Psalm 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

grumbling- Lamentations 3:62 “The lips and thoughts of my assailants are against me all the day long.”

Tune- Psalm 92:3 “to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre.”

Selah- pause, be silent, tune your heart strings

Application/Implications:

Renew the Mind (the Scriptures):

What caught your attention in this section?

Which verses or words would you like to study a little more this week?

Engage the Heart (humility vs. pride):

How well do you “know” the LORD? Since He has made himself known and people put their trust in Him, what about you? Would you describe Him as the stronghold of your mind and circumstances?

Would you describe your present experiences as being more oppressed (by a tormentor; phyiscally or mentally) or being in times/circumstances of trouble? How can Jesus be a stronghold for you this week?

What situation or circumstance do you need to allow him to the be the righteous judge over?

Enlist the Body (Words, actions, emotions):

How are you going to tell the peoples about His deeds this week? What “song” will you sing about His grace?

Which gate do you feel closer to today, “The gates of death” or “The gates of the daughter of Zion”? What has to happen to shift your affliction to praise and rejoicing? Because in John 10 Jesus is going to call himself the “gate” of the sheepfold. In order to get to the destination, you have to go through the gate! Whether to death, Zion, or the sheepfold. In essence, what I am asking, is how close are you to Jesus? are you walking through His gate?

Transitional phrase: David identifies the LORD as his righteous stronghold becasue of who He is and what He has done! He is gracious and praiseworthy and has made Himself knowable to His people. In light of that, David commands the people to sing praises. Yet, for those that do not want to sing to God, there is another refrain that they can sing...

A Refrain of Sheol: “All the Nations that Forget God” (vs. 17-20)

Forgotten? (vs. 17-18)

The wicked shall return to Sheol- imperfect, “grave”

all the nations that forget God

VS...

For the needy shall not always be forgotten- imperfect

and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever- imperfect

“Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”

Mere men (vs. 19-20)

Arise O LORD! Imperative, a command

let not man prevail- imperfect, to prove superior as in military conflict or some other kind of struggle

let the nations be judged before you- imperfect

Put them in fear O Lord! imperative, a command

Let the nations know that they are but men! Imperfect

Selah- be silent, tune your heart strings to what you just heard, because there is more coming!!

Application/Implications:

Renew the Mind (the Scriptures):

What caught your attention in this section?

Which verses or words would you like to study a little more this week?

Engage the Heart (humility vs. pride):

We had communion, which is one of the major reminders to ourselves of what Jesus has done for us, so that we do not forget God

The choice is pretty simple, be associated with those that forget God because they regard themselves very highly, or be associated with those that recognize their need and will not always be forgotten.

According to David and the text, the two f words that make up the refrain over the life of the wicked are: forgotten and fear. Allow this to sober us this morning. If you have not humbled youself this morning before the LORD, prepare for a life of fear and being forgotten. Let’s all remember that we are but mere men and women and put our hope in the stronghold of Jesus!

Enlist the Body (Words, actions, emotions):

Transitional phrase:

Discussion Starters:

What is my resolve today? What am I giving thanks for, recounting, glad or exulting in?

What situations or circumstances do I need to allow Him to the be the righteous judge over?

In what areas of my life and I tempted to “forget” God and live as if I don’t need Him?

Summary:The LORD is the stronghold to those that seek Him

Song: Sovereign “in my greatest joy, in my deepest cry”

Benediction/Looking ahead: INVITE PEOPLE TO TALK AFTER AND GRAB A COFFEE