I Will Recount Your Wonderful Deeds (Psalm 9)

Announcements

Pre-Thanksgiving Love Feast on Wednesday, November 24th at 7pm (in lieu of Bible Study & Prayer). The food is taken care of, but we could use help with desserts and drinks. Prepare to partake in the Lord’s Supper after dinner.

As you all know, on Sunday morning’s we’ve been working on the Gospel according to John, that has been our primary Sunday AM series since our church was started and we occasionally take breaks from the main series to focus on other series. That’s about to happen again, we have this coming Sunday in the Gospel according to John, but the Sunday after Thanksgiving, we’ll be switching to our Christmas series. Last year, we did an advent series, which was great, but we’re going to do it a little differently this time around.

Usually, in Advent, there is a different theme each week and the sermon is built around that theme with a focus on Christmas. That was ok, but I felt it lacking in one sense. To me, it felt as if, we were rushing through that one theme way too fast and we weren’t really learning what the theme was and how it applied to Christmas.

This year (and really, over the next few years), I want to take one theme and focus on it during the whole month leading up to Christmas. So, last year, each week was a different theme—peace, joy, hope, and love. This year, we’re going to focus on hope, next year we’ll focus on a different theme and so on.

Every sermon leading up to Christmas after Thanksgiving will be focused on the Hope of Christmas.

I’m excited for it, and I hope you’re excited for it as well.

Let me remind you to continue worshiping the LORD through your giving. We give because our LORD has been so gracious to us. We give as part of our thankfulness for the many blessings that we’ve received. To help you give, we have three ways for you to do so: (1) in-person giving can be done at the offering box. Checks should be written to “Grace & Peace” and cash should be placed in an envelope, if you want a receipt for your gift; debit, credit, and ACH transfers can be done either by (2) texting 84321 with your $[amount] or by (3) visiting us online at graceandpeacepa.com. Everything you give goes to the building up of our local church and the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Prayer of Repentance and Adoration

Sermon

Introduction

As you know, our Wednesday evening services has been focused on the book of psalms and we’ve been working through the book verse-by-verse, line-by-line to learn what the text says and to apply it to our lives today. We’ve intentionally been looking at psalms one-by-one, again with the purpose of understanding what it says in order to apply it to our lives properly. So far, many of the psalms have been psalms of David, which isn’t surprising because David wrote quite a few of them, in fact, our psalm for this evening is also written by David. Many scholars believe that Psalm 9 and Psalm 10 were originally connected; not necessarily, as one unit back-to-back, but almost like companion psalms. This is supported by the fact that Psalm 10 doesn’t have a subscript or what we might call a title like Psalm 9 does.

In addition, to support this view is the fact that they both speak of similar subject matters—the realities of a fallen world, but the certainty of God’s triumph; or in other words, the triumph of God over the wicked. The wicked may seem to prosper today, but ultimately, God wins.

The superscription or the title of Psalm 9 says that this is “to the choirmaster: according to Muth-Labben. A Psalm of David.” Obviously, this was written to be a song sang by a choir and it is to be sung according to Muth-Labben, which much like previous psalm titles that utilized the terms Gittith, Shiggaion, Sheminith, and Selah, we don’t really know what these terms mean, but the general understanding is that they’re all musical terms that told the Israelites how to sing these songs. So, the Muth-Labben could have been a musical style, a tune, or any number of other musical ideas, but we aren’t positive on what precisely it is. And then the superscription tells us that this is “A psalm of David.”

We aren’t certain on a time period in David’s life in which he could have written this, the psalm itself doesn’t say, however the psalm is general enough that we could suggest several times in which it could’ve been. The major theme of the text is that we live in a fallen world, but ultimately God wins, which would suggest anytime that he faced tremendous opposition unfairly, but in this situation (Psalm 9), it’s clear that some amount of judgment or justice had taken place, which is why David praises the LORD immediately in the text; but it’s also clear that David is asking the LORD to continue acting in his justice and deliver him in the second half of the passage. Let’s read Psalm 9 together, and I’ll explain how we’ll break down the passage:

Psalm 9 ESV

To the choirmaster: according to Muth-labben. A Psalm of David. 1 I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. 2 I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. 3 When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before your presence. 4 For you have maintained my just cause; you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment. 5 You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish; you have blotted out their name forever and ever. 6 The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins; their cities you rooted out; the very memory of them has perished. 7 But the Lord sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice, 8 and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness. 9 The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. 10 And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. 11 Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion! Tell among the peoples his deeds! 12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them; he does not forget the cry of the afflicted. 13 Be gracious to me, O Lord! See my affliction from those who hate me, O you who lift me up from the gates of death, 14 that I may recount all your praises, that in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in your salvation. 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. 19 Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail; let the nations be judged before you! 20 Put them in fear, O Lord! Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah

As we study Psalm 9 together, we’re going to study it in two parts: (1) Vs. 1-12, Praise for God’s Righteousness, which starts with David praising the LORD by giving thanks to him and by recounting God’s wondrous deeds; in particular, the fact that God had acted in righteous judgment. (2) Vs. 13-20, Prayer for the Afflicted, then continues the psalm by providing prayers of intersession for those who are or were afflicted (including David). David prays for the afflicters to be judged and he calls upon the LORD to enact that judgment. This psalm will teach us to praise the LORD when righteousness and justice is upheld and it will show us how we can pray concerning issues of injustice and unrighteousness.

Prayer for Illumination

Praise for God’s Righteousness (1-12)

Psalm 9 starts with David essentially giving us the purpose statement of this psalm or at least the first twelve verses of this psalm—that David will give thanks to the LORD and recount all of God’s wonderful deeds:

David says that he will give thanks to the LORD with his whole heart and that he will recount all of God’s wonderful deeds, but before he jumps straight into recounting all of God’s deeds, he returns back to that mission statement and says that “[he] will be glad and exult in [God]; [he] will sing praise to your name, O Most High.” Let’s take a moment to break that down:

It is David’s goal in this psalm to give thanks to the LORD and to recount God’s wondrous deeds and in the first verse, he makes it clear that he’s going to do this with his whole heart.

I think this might sound a bit like common sense, but what this shows us is that David is intentionally doing this in an authentic way—he isn’t being facetious, he isn’t doing this half-heartedly; he genuinely wants to give thanks to the LORD.

We see his willingness to authentically give thanks, in the fact that he actually has reasons for his thankfulness. It isn’t just a “well, thank you God that I’m still alive” moment. He has multiple reasons for his thankfulness, which he divulges to us as he continues in this psalm, but before he does, he makes this additional statement

That he will be glad, he will exult in God, and he will sing praise to God’s name and then he calls God the Most High.

Vs. 2, expands what David is praying in by specifically telling us that he is praising God for who he is and what he has done.

Don’t get exult mixed up with exalt. For David to exult in God means to rejoice in God—to exalt means to lift up to exult means to rejoice. David is rejoicing in God, he isn’t lifting himself up in God; he’s expressing his thanksgiving and his praise in God.

It is notable, that David calls God, the Most High because it emphasizes David’s willingness to lift high God rather than himself.

In times in which it seems as something good has happened, which this is clearly one of them (that’s why David is giving thanks and praising the LORD), it’s easy for us to praise ourselves.

When things are good, it’s easy to puff ourselves up—look at how good I am, look at all that I have done, look at what I did; but David’s response was to call everyone to look at all that God had done and to praise and thank God for doing it.

We know this, because in the next six verses, David lists several different things that God did as part of his giving thanks to the LORD:

His enemies were turned back (3), they were rebuked (5) and they were destroyed.

His enemies have faced such great judgment that their names were blotted out forever (5) and their cities were destroyed (6)

David expounds on God’s righteousness and his justice as reasons for his praise and thanksgiving (7-8)

And as he lists all these different things that God did for him, he points to the fact that God judged those who were unrighteous and upheld David’s just cause.

In addition, David points out God sits enthroned on his throne forever (7) and that God’s throne is for justice.

David expresses that God is righteous, that he judges people rightly, and that God’s throne is the place for right judgment of all people.

There’s a contrast being made between the wickedness of the people and the goodness of the LORD—we could say it like this, though people act and react out of their sin, God only acts and reacts out of goodness.

Understanding this principle should cause within us the same sort of praise that David is expressing in these verses. Because God only acts and reacts in goodness, we should:

Give thanks to the LORD authentically,

Recount all of God’s wondrous deeds,

Be glad and rejoice in him,

and sing praise to his name, O Most High.

David is expressing a beautiful notion in these verses—despite the injustice of the people, despite their wickedness, despite all the unrighteousness that David had faced from his enemies; he knows that the LORD is just, that he is good, and that he is righteous, which he highly emphasizes in Vs. 9-12.

The LORD is trustworthy, he is just, and he is righteous—he is a stronghold for the oppressed a stronghold in times of trouble, those that know him can trust him because God doesn’t forsake those who seek him. Great praise can be shouted and sang towards him because he is mindful of those who suffer and struggle and he doesn’t forget the cry of the afflicted.

A stronghold is a military term, we don’t typically think of strongholds often because most of us don’t work in careers that necessitate a stronghold, but the idea is that it has been fortified against attack. There is great protection there for the one inside the stronghold.

For those that are oppressed and are facing trouble, if they go to God, they can find great protection in him.

David says that those who know him can trust him because God doesn’t forsake his own—in Romans 10, Paul explains that salvation is by grace through faith and that all one must do to gain salvation is to confess with their mouth that Jesus is LORD and believe in his heart that God raised him from the dead. And then Paul writes, “as it is written” so he’s quoting the Old Testament, and he says this, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Those who believe can trust the LORD because the LORD doesn’t forsake his own.

In fact, Jesus himself says that he gives eternal life to those that believe and those who truly believe will never perish, because they are held in the very hand of God and no one can snatch someone out of the hand of God.

David shows us that we can sing praise towards the LORD even in suffering and struggle, because God doesn’t forget the cry of the afflicted.

Often, when we experience great trial and tribulation in life, we think that we’re all alone—that no one cares for us, no one has experienced suffering like this, and the further we continue in that mindset, we can think that God himself doesn’t care for us.

But let’s consider 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.” What Paul writes in 1 Corinthians is that there is no unique temptation, struggle, or suffering.

Your temptation, struggle, or suffering isn’t something that only you have faced. Solomon in Ecclesiastes says it like this, “There is nothing new under the sun.” That alone is a comforting fact, but Paul continues in 1 Corinthians 10:13 by saying “God is faithful, and he will not allow you to be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide a way of escape, that you may endure it.”

Even in our suffering and struggle, the LORD is faithful and he hasn’t forgotten you—you are not alone, in fact, God will provide a way of escaping your suffering, your struggle, and your temptations.

Though arguably, in many sufferings, struggles, and temptations, the only way out is to run to God. Regardless, David’s statement remains true, that even in suffering and struggle we can sing and shout praise to the LORD because God doesn’t forget the afflicted.

So, in the first twelve verses of Psalm 9, David praises the LORD authentically by recounting all the good that God had done despite David facing tremendous evil from wicked people. David reflects on God’s justice and righteousness and ultimately realizes that God judges all people rightly; and he reflects on God’s mindfulness of those who are afflicted. God cares for those who are suffering. Then in the last eight verses, David shifts from praise to prayer. This prayer, is quite possibly due to his last statement, that God is mindful of those who are afflicted. Let’s read these last eight verses together.

Prayer for the Afflicted (13-20)

Psalm 9:13–20 ESV

13 Be gracious to me, O Lord! See my affliction from those who hate me, O you who lift me up from the gates of death, 14 that I may recount all your praises, that in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in your salvation. 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. 19 Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail; let the nations be judged before you! 20 Put them in fear, O Lord! Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah

David after recounting all the good that God had done for him, then turns his attention to all the affliction that he’s experiencing from those who hate him.

The term affliction emphasizes a great pain or suffering

And in this scenario, we aren’t entirely certain of what or who is causing that great pain or suffering. We can look back at David’s life and we can see several times in which he faced pain and suffering from those who hated him—people like his son Absalom or the previous King Saul, but beyond just educated guesses as to whom this might be, we aren’t certain on the identity and thus, can’t be certain about when this was occuring.

However, I’m going to suggest that this is intentionally done so that those who read it, sing it, and worship the LORD with it can utilize it in their own life.

Or in other words, if David had written this psalm in such a way that we knew precisely when it happened and who his enemy was, we would have a harder time for us to relate to the psalm, but because it is a bit general in its statements of suffering, it applies to anyone who has ever suffered, it applies to anyone who has ever been wrongfully afflicted, and it applies to anyone who struggles in life.

David speaks of this affliction just briefly, but his focus is on prayer:

David asks God to be gracious toward him and to see this affliction that he’s facing, but again, he returns to the idea of praise. “O you who lift me up from the gates of death, [so] that I may recount all your praises.” See my affliction, so that I may recount all your praises and that “I may rejoice in your salvation” “in the gates of the daughters of Zion.”

He’s asking God to “see his affliction.” Now that might sound like an odd thing to ask when you consider the fact that God is omniscient, he knows all things. God has already seen David’s affliction.

However, David isn’t just asking God to look at his affliction, God has already seen that David’s suffering affliction. He’s asking God to understand his affliction and consider his affliction.

And part of this consideration or understanding of his affliction, is David requesting God’s salvific action again so that David can return to praising the LORD for his deliverance in Jerusalem.

Vs. 15-17, shows us David’s confident trust in the LORD by him recounting how God typically handles the wicked. David says that:

“The nations have sunk in the pits that they’ve made in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught. The Lord has made himself known; he has executed judgment; the wicked are ensnared in the work of their own hand. The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God.”

The word translated as nations in Vs. 15 is specifically referring to those who are pagan in nature, they’re the unbelieving nations that reject God.

And what David writes is that these nations that have rejected God fall victim to their own traps. They fall in the pits that they’ve dug, they get ensnared in their own nets, and that this poetic justice is actually the justice of the LORD.

God is the one who executed their judgment; and part of their judgment is simply a return to Sheol.

Sheol is the Hebrew word for the grave, but the word carries a deeper connotation of just the grave. Sheol is the idea of the wasteland, it’s often utilized to describe where those who refuse God end up.

Which is a significant contrast to those who put their trust in the LORD—who can sing praises and exult in the LORD. The needy and the afflicted that turn to God will see their hope fulfilled, but those who reject God will face judgment and Sheol. They will face judgment and death.

How do we know that this is truth? How does David know that this is going to happen? Because this is how God deals with the wicked.

The wicked seemingly prosper, but in reality, during the times they seem prosperous, God is patiently awaiting their repentance

But eventually, the wicked face judgment for their wickedness, this has been the pattern that David was praising the LORd for in Vs. 1-12.

God is righteous and he is just and in righteousness and justice, he judges all of mankind. Including those who act in wickedness, even though it might seem like their presently prospering.

And then David closes this prayer and ends this psalm by reminding us that the needy shall not be forgotten; because the LORD will arise. Vs. 18-20, “For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever. Arise, O LORD! Let not man prevail; let the nations be judged before you! Put them in fear, O LORD! Let the nations know that they are but men!” David concludes this psalm by making three statements that essentially sum up everything that he has written thus far:

David concludes this psalm by stating that those in need will not always be forgotten:

Often, when we’re in need or like the verses prior to this said, we’re struggling, we’re hurting, or we’re facing opposition and affliction, we think that God has forgotten us or has neglected us

And often, when we start to feel that way, we start thinking that how we feel (neglected or forgotten) is how we’re always going to feel, but the reality is that those who are needy, struggling, hurting, opposed, and afflicted that actually believe in God and runs to God won’t always feel neglected and forgotten.

The reality is that when we’re struggling, when we’re afflicted, when we’re hurt; even though we feel forgotten or neglected, God hasn’t really forgotten us. All things work for good for those who love God—God is utilizing these times of affliction and pain to make us more like Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately, when we do struggle with these types of afflictions, we tend to lose hope; David refers to this as our hope perishing, but just like how he says the needy will not always be forgotten, he says that the poor’s hope will not perish forever.

It’s easy for us when faced with trials and tribulations to fall into the mindset of hopelessness—it’s easy to assume that life will never get any better and that we can’t have hope in the future

But again, the reality is that when we’re struggling and afflicted, when we’re hurt; even though we feel hopeless, there is still hope to be had in God.

That’s why David can make the statement that “the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.”

They may feel hopeless, but if they’ve truly believed, they can have true hope.

David concludes this psalm by stating that all the nations will be judged before God:

And remember, that when David utilizes that term nations, he’s specifically referring to pagan nations that have refused or rejected God.

But I think we all realize that this judgment extends beyond just those pagan nations that David is referencing in Psalm 9. Hebrews 9:27 tells us that “it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.”

For those that have repented from their sins and believed, that judgment is not one of fear, but one of great celebration because they are judged according to what Jesus has done for them on the cross, but for those that have rejected Jesus, this ought to be a moment of fear. So, much so, that David’s last two sentences of this psalm concludes with him wanting them to be in fear for this judgment.

We often hear people make the statement that only God can judge someone; and often that’s concerning someone not wanting to hear a complaint about their own sinful behavior.

The reality is that the fact that God judges should cause great fear and great trembling unless you’ve believed in God and you’ve repented from your sins.

David says, “Arise, O LORD! Let not man prevail; let the nations be judged before you! Put them in fear, O LORD! Let the nations know that they are but men!”

David concludes this psalm by asking God to “Put fear in the nations” and to let the nations know that they are but men:

When people gain authority and power, that power and authority tend to reveal their sinful desires. The more power and authority a person gains, the more they deceive themselves into thinking that they are what caused that power and authority

Or in other words, their pride convinces them that the reason for their success is purely themselves.

As they continue in that line of thinking, they tend to fall deeper and deeper into sin. David concludes this psalm by praying for God to put within them a fear of the LORD and to remind the men that they are but man.

Allen Ross, “The psalm closes with the prayer that the LORD would arise and put mortal man to fear in a terrifying judgment. Such a destruction would make the wicked realize that they are but human and that they cannot oppress those who trust in the LORD.”

Taken altogether, Psalm 9 is a psalm that reminds those that trust in the LORD, that the LORD is truly worthy of that trust and of great praise. It calls us to continue in that praise of Yahweh because of what all God has already done and continues to do today—that even when it feels as if God has forgotten us, he hasn’t actually forgotten us.

Matthew Henry, “Those who believe that God is greatly to be praised, not only desire to praise him better themselves, but desire that others may join with them. There is a day coming, when it will appear that he has not forgotten the cry of the humble; neither the cry of their blood, or the cry of their prayers. . . David encourages the people of God to wait for his salvation, though it should be long deferred. God will make it appear that he never did forget them: it is not possible he should.”

I think I’ve done well at sprinkling application throughout the text, but I want to make it clear how we can apply this passage today in the last few minutes remaining. This is a psalm, that though it is longer than usual, all works together. So, unlike our typical pattern of diving up the psalm in order to apply it to our lives today, we have to look at this psalm altogether.

Application

In the first twelve verses we see David offering up praise to the LORD. This is praise done in an authentic way by recounting all of the wonderful deeds that God has already done and then rejoicing and singing praise to the LORD. And of course, we have to consider the fact, that this seems to be a time in David’s life when he’s experiencing affliction, trial, and tribulation because he ends the psalm by praying for God’s deliverance from wicked people. In the last eight verses that praise turns into a prayer as David prays not just for his own deliverance from affliction, but for those who are afflicting him to have the fear of the LORD placed within them so that they will be reminded that they are mere men. So, how do we apply this psalm?

Be aware that life is filled with great difficulty. I know that I’ve said that before and I know that I’ve said it quite frequently, but the concept of life being filled with great difficulty is prevalent throughout the psalms. It is a part of life, so much so that James essentially tells us to expect life to be difficult.

There’s a false teaching that makes it seem that if you believe and if you have enough faith, you won’t suffer—you’ll have great health, you’ll have money, and you’ll be successful, but even logically, that doesn’t make sense.

Think about Job, who experienced great suffering and remember that it’s God who allowed Satan to do what he did to Job.

Again, looking back at James 1, he tells us to count it all joy when we face trials of various kinds—it’s when; not if.

Life is difficult and you will experience great suffering, great trials and tribulations, and you will experience hardship.

To say that you won’t, is simply a lie. You will experience great difficult in life.

Notice that some of that difficulty is caused by people who want to do you harm, even if you’ve never done anything to them.

Jesus himself teaches us that if the world hates us its because the world hated him first. In fact, I would go further and make the statement that if the world loves you, you’re probably in sin.

The world loves those who are just like them; and the world is in sin. So, if they love you and you’re just like them, you’re also in sin.

Now, when you reject that lifestyle because you believe in Jesus as the Christ, even if you never bother to tell other people that you don’t believe their lifestyle is correct, they’ll hate you simply because your lifestyle differs from them—they’ll assume that you think you’re better than they are, and they’ll assume that you’re judging them for what they’re doing.

And in some cases, they will revile you, they will attack you, they will disdain you, and they will hate you.

Those strong emotions and sins against you will cause some of them to want to harm you and make your life difficult.

Sometimes, your life is difficult because you’re experiencing the repercussions of someone else’s sin. That might mean that you are taking the brunt of their sinful activity or you might just be close enough to experience the punishment of their sins.

We have to be careful when we find ourselves in situations like this because our flesh will cause us to want to respond in sin. We’ll want to lash out, we’ll want to fight back, we’ll want to stir up strife in response to their hatred against us.

But Jesus calls us to love our enemies and for us to lash out, fight back, and stir up strife in response to their sin, isn’t loving; it’s sinful.

So, what do we do when we’re faced with great difficulty, even if it’s because someone is attacking us and sinning against us? Psalm 9 gives us a pretty good idea:

In situations when you face great difficulty, what David does in Psalm 9 is how you should respond:

In situations when you face great difficulty, Praise God authentically—don’t allow the great difficulties in your life to cause you to stop rejoicing in who God is. If you stop praising God when life is hard, it tells us two things: (1) you might not actually believe in God, because if you did, you wouldn’t stop worshiping him just because life got harder; and (2) it tells us that you think the difficulties in your life are greater than your God is.

In reality, what should happen when you face great difficulties in life, is that you should still praise Jesus in the midst of great storms. David faces difficulties in life, and he still gives thanks to the LORD with his whole heart.

David faced difficulties in life and he states that he’s still going to be glad and rejoice in God

David faced difficulties in life, and he still sings praise to the LORD.

Why do you think he does this? Might I suggest that it’s because he recognizes that difficulties are a part of life, but he realizes that his God is greater than those difficulties and he can have hope in his God despite those difficulties.

When life is hard, praise God authentically.

In situations when you face great difficulty, Remind yourself of all that God has done for you—often when we do face great difficulty in life are tendency is to focus on what God hasn’t done for us or the bad things that have happened to us: “God it’s your fault that I don’t have a new job; it’s your fault, that my life seems out of control; it’s all your fault because you didn’t bless me the way I wanted to be blessed.”

But the reality is that every good gift comes from above. Everything good that we have is from Jesus and just like Job says, “the LORD gives; and the LORD takes, blessed be the name of the LORD.”

God gives us good because he is the giver of all good things, but it is his to give and his to take. Remind yourself when life is difficult of all the good things that God has done for you:

You can start the very breath you breathe, but you can continue and remind yourself of the family that he has given you, the friends that he has given you, the food that nourishes you, and the homes that keep you warm.

You can think of the spiritual blessings that he has given you—your salvation, your progressive sanctification, your justification by faith alone, the perseverance of the saints, and the knowledge that he will soon return for you to take you to the place that he has prepared for you.

Remind yourself of all the good things in your life and remember that those are gifts from the LORD.

When life is hard, remind yourself of all that God has done for you.

In situations when you face great difficulty, Pray that those who harm you will be reminded of who God is and that they would repent.

Again, often are tendency is to attack those who attack us, but I think what might help you is for you to remember that each individual is a soul created by God. If they’re attacking you, it’s because they’ve succumbed to sin, but that still doesn’t change the fact that they are a soul created by God.

Loving your enemies requires praying for their repentance, but you’ll never pray for their repentance if you only ever think of them as your enemies.

Each person is created by God and each person has a soul given to them by God; so treat them with love, respect, and honor; even if you don’t like them and even if they hate you.

When life is hard, even when it’s being caused by someone else, pray that those who harm you will remember who God is and that they would repent.

In situations when you face great difficulty, have hope, God has not forgotten you.

When we’re facing great difficulty, it’s easy for us to wallow in depression and self-pity. It’s easy for us to sulk in our emotions and we eventually lose sight of the truth.

We start to believe that God has rejected us, that he’s forgotten us, and maybe even that he hates us.

What happens when we start feeling that way is that it starts changing the way we think—if God has abandoned us, then who cares if I sin, who cares if I do wrong, who cares if I continue in depression and self-pity?

The reality is, however, that if you are a believer, God hasn’t rejected you, he hasn’t forgotten you, and he certainly doesn’t hate you. In fact, he loves you.

Because he loves you, he’s made promises to you—that he will hold you in his hand and no one can snatch you from his hand, that he will seal you to the day of redemption, that he will return, that he will take you to the place that he has prepared for you.

And what we’ve seen throughout Scripture is that our God keeps his promises. That means that these promises, are promises he intends to keep.

When life is hard, have hope, God has not forgotten you.

Put simply, Psalm 9 teaches us (1) that life is sometimes filled with great difficulty, (2) sometimes that difficulty is caused by other people, (3) and when you face great difficulty, praise God for who he is and what he has done, remind yourself of the good things that he has done for you, pray those that harm you, and simply have hope.

Life is sometimes filled with difficulty, but God is still good and God still does good things for you, so remind yourself of what he has done, pray for those who harm you, and have hope; he hasn’t forgotten you.

Prayer Requests

These are the prayer requests for this week:

Bill Stiver is having surgery sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas—pray for the doctors to have wisdom and pray for a quick recovery.

Pray for the Steiner family who has recently experienced a great loss in the family. Pray for the family to experience comfort that only the LORD can provide.

Melissa Bush - Over this past weekend, she fell and hurt her back. Pray for a quick recovery.

We were informed that six of our regular attenders has been confirmed with COVID-19. They were not at this past weekend’s service due to their illness, so as far as I know, no one else has been near them since they started showing symptoms, however, we should still pray for their quick recovery.

Also, please use this as a reminder to keep washing your hands, use hand sanitizer, and in general, practice good hygiene.

Caleb Miller - Medical Issues

Alan Wisor - Medical Issues

Pray for the remaining renovation work—we’re currently $4,800 short of completing all the projects. Continue praying for the LORD’s provision for these projects.

Continue praying for Philipsburg and the surrounding areas; that we can be utilized by God to continue making mature believers of Jesus Christ.