Articles . Volume 07 | Issue 04 . Warren Wiersbe

Psalm 9

Psalm 9:7-12: Safest Protection in the World

In verses 7-12 we are talking about one great truth–the safest and strongest protection you have is in the name of the Lord. “And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You” (v. 10). As I read those words, I’m reminded that God forsook His Son for us. Jesus said from the cross, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt. 27:46). Has it ever dawned on you that the only person God ever really forsook was His own Son? “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all” (Rom. 8:32). Because He did this, we can be sure He will never forsake us for the sake of His Son. The Father loves His Son and says to Him, “You have died for these people. I will never forsake them.” God’s promise to us is “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb. 13:5). That’s the last thing our Lord said in the Gospel of Matthew: “Lo, I am with you always” (28:20).

The safest place in all the world is in the will of God, and the safest protection in all the world is the name of God. What is the name of God? It’s His nature. When you know God’s name, you know God’s nature. His names and titles reveal His nature. They tell us who He is and what He can do. For example, He is Jehovah, the God who makes covenants. He is the Lord, the sovereign king. He is Jesus, the Saviour. You can sutdy all the names and titles of God, and each name that He bears is a blessing that He shares.

Are you getting to know God? “And those who know Your name [who know God’s nature] will put their trust in You” (Ps. 9:10). The better you know God, the more you will trust Him. The more you trust Him, the better you’ll get to know Him. You’ll discover that knowing and walking with God is an experience of excitement and enrichment.

Psalm 9:13-16: In His Time

One of the worst things you and i can do is to take judgment into our own hands. God does everything so well. He can do them better than you and I can. Have you ever looked at a beautiful rose and watched it slowly, day after day, blossoming forth? Have you ever tried to help it open? You’ll kill it. I recall reading about some children who tried to help a butterfly out of its cocoon. They killed it. God makes everything beautiful in His time. He causes everything to straighten out and line up in His time. If you have a problem in your life with a person or a circumstance, leave it with God. ” ‘ Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Rom. 12:19).

In verses 13-16 of Psalm 9 the psalmist was telling us, “Don’t take judgment into your own hands. Let God take care of it. Let God be the judge, the jury and the prosecuting attorney. He knows more about this than we do.” The psalmist was assuring you and me that, in His time, God will catch those who are doing wrong. The nations are going to sink down into the pit that they have made. Sinners who have laid nets in the pathway are going to get caught in those nets themselves. “The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands” (v. 16).

It encourages me to know that I don’t have to devote my time or energy, even my inward concern, to wondering what’s going to happen to all the evil in the world. God’s going to take care of it. Of course, you and I as Christians should do our part to make this a better world. We are the salt fo the earth. We are the light of the world. But we’ve been called to do something even more wonderful–to tell these wicked people that they don’t have to go to hell. We hav ethe privilege of witnessing to them and letting them know that they can be saved. Yes, let God be the judge, the jury and the prosecuting attorney. Your job today is to be a witness.

Psalm 9:17-20: Who’s Ruling the World?

The humanist goes around singing, “Glory to man in the highest.” And it does look as if man is prevailing today. It looks as if God is a failure. You may recall the slogan that was going around a few years ago: “God is dead.” Then the philosophers decided God was not really dead, He was just sick and infirm and couldn’t do much about what was going on in the world.

In verses 17-20 we are told that man is not going to prevail. “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (v. 17). Today it looks as though man is succeeding–truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne. But notice what David prayed: “Arise, O Lord, do not let man prevail” (v. 19). “That the nations may know themselves to be but men” (v. 20). There’s the big problem. Satan came in Genesis 3 and said, “Look, why should you be a man? You can be like God.” That’s the same lie that runs the world today. Man is saying, “I will be like God.”

If you take the scepter out of God’s hand, you’ll make a mess out of things. This universe is run by God, and He has ordained that you and I are going to be under His authority. The word David used for man in verse 19 is a Hebrew word that menas frail man, weak man. The problem today is that men don’t know they are men; they think they’re the Creator. And they begin worshiping and serving the creature, rather than the Creator. But the sad thing is this: When men try to be God, they don’t become God–they become animals. They sink lower than men and start acting like animals. That’s why we are in such a mess in our world today.

I rejoice that I’m just a frail person. I need God. I can come to God and say, “O Lord, give me the strength I need to glorify Your name today.”

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© Warren Wiersbe