Psalm 9

Some think that Psalm 9 was written about David’s victory over Goliath, others don’t. Either way, David is writing about and celebrating a great victory. In vv.1-2 he praises the God of great things and in vv.3-5 the God who defends His people. In vv.6-8 he celebrates a victory and then praises the God who is trustworthy (vv.9-10). In vv.11-12 David remembers followed by God remembering in vv.13-14. The Psalm then ends with judgement (vv.15-18) and glory (vv.19-20). So, what can we take from it today?

In vv.17-18 we see a beautiful contrast and a contrasting choice;

“The wicked are turned back and sent to Sheol;

this is the destiny of all the nations that ignore God,

for the needy are not permanently ignored,

the hopes of the oppressed are not forever dashed”.

(NET)

Those who consistently and persistently choose to live a life that is contradictory to the Word, will, and ways of God are turned back and sent to Sheol. Maybe your Bible says hell in place of Sheol, but the point is the same: eternal separation awaits those who, in this life, choose to separate themselves from God (the destiny of all…that ignore God…). Those who ignore God or forget all that He has done will find themselves in a place where God is known but, then, unreachable. Harsh as this may sound, Psalm 9 is a reminder to act whilst we have the chance and not let lethargy send us to a place we don’t want to go. As Charles Spurgeon wrote,

“Forgetfulness seems a small sin,

but it brings eternal wrath upon the man who lives and dies in it.”

(The Treasury of David)

However, and much more positively, we read that the needy are not permanently ignored and that the hopes of the oppressed are not forever dashed. We read of the needy and the oppressed and David is talking about the believer who faces an enemy or a struggle or a problem (Goliath, perhaps). In contrast the one who forgets, ignores, and decides against God, His people who trust through their troubles are not permanently ignored and their hopes are not forever dashed.

The contrast is stark: feeling fine now but ending up eternally separated versus feeling, albeit temporarily, separated but being eternally fine. God’s promise is that His people are not permanently ignored and their hopes are not forever dashed. Psalm 9 is teaching us, through David’s experience, to trust through our troubles.