Psalm 9 – I Will Give Thanks!

 January 30, 2024

Today I join with the psalmist in praying Psalm 9 – I will give thanks! Thank you, God, for blessings bestowed, for your love and mercy, for you. What is the writer of Psalm thanking God for?

Psalm 9

The writer of Psalm 9 begins with words of praise and thanksgiving:

“I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
 I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.” (1-2)

He gives thanks for victory over his enemies:

“My enemies turn back;
they stumble and perish before you.
For you have upheld my right and my cause,
sitting enthroned as the righteous judge.” (3-4)

Those who are against him will be tripped up by their wrong doings.

“The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;
their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.” (15)

The writer goes on to speak of his trust in God

“The Lord reigns forever;
he has established his throne for judgment.
He rules the world in righteousness
and judges the peoples with equity.
 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.” (7-10)

His trust is in the Lord, a refuge for the oppressed, a fortress for those in trouble, whose reign is forever, beyond the reign of earthly rulers.

Victory over Enemies

God gave the writer victory over his enemies. We don’t know who those enemies are. This leaves us free to insert our own enemies in their place. The enemies don’t have to be other human beings. They could be anything that harms us or tries to keep us from being the person we are meant to be. Under this category could be any number of physical ailments: cancer, heart disease, mental challenges, addictions. All are enemies.

Would that God would turn them back, make them stumble and finally die. Would that God would defeat all of the enemies of the human race.

Psalm 9 – I Will Give Thanks

Some translations of this psalm read I will praise rather than give thanks. The two are often used interchangeably. The difference, according Nancy Kay Grace, is that praise recognizes God’s nature and thanks is expressing gratitude for what God has done. She quotes Ben Patterson: (What’s the Difference Between Praise and Thanks? – Nancy Kay Grace)

“In thanksgiving we list God’s benefits, in praise God is the benefit. Thanksgiving is like a child opening a gift from a parent, a new doll or a baseball mitt, and throwing her arms around her mom and dad and saying, “Thank you, thank you! It’s just what I wanted. It’s wonderful!” Praise is what happens when that child can pause and look up from the gift into her folks’ eyes and say, ‘You are wonderful.’ There is, in prayer and worship, a kind of ascendancy that moves from thanks to praise to wonder to awe and silence—and then back again to thanks to praise to wonder to awe to silence.” (from Deepening your Conversation with God, by Ben Patterson).

There are elements of both in this psalm. The writer gives thanks to God for God’s wonderful deeds and for giving him victory over his enemies. He also praises God for being a just judge and a refuge to all who seek him.

“Sing the praises of the Lord, enthroned in Zion;
    proclaim among the nations what he has done.” (11)

God is worthy of thanks and praise for all God has done. Thanks and praise then lead to awe and wonder at our awesome God.

Psalm of Trust

Psalm 9 – I will give thanks – is a psalm of trust, where God is in heaven, and all is right with the world. In a world where it can be hard to know who to trust, there is someone we can always trust, our God. Even when we don’t understand, when we have no idea why certain things are happening or where it will lead, we can trust our God. Certainly, this as a reason to praise God and give thanks.

Do you find it hard to trust God? If so, why? Do you have to trust God before you give thanks? What are the enemies that are challenging you? I would love to hear from you.

For another take on this psalm see What Does Psalm 9 have in Common with the 2018 Super Bowl Commercials? – Patricia M Robertson

This post is part of a series of blog posts on the Psalms. Sign up to follow this blog and and receive a free copy of  Still Dancing, the second book in my Dancing through Life Series.      click here to sign up

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