Psalm 9: Prayer and Thanksgiving for the LORD’s Righteous Judgement

Psalm 9 begins with a deliberate decision: “I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvellous works.” David says, I will praise, I will tell, I will be glad, I will sing. Praise here is not simply an emotion that comes over him. David deliberately remembers what God has done and responds by giving Him the glory. That gives us an important pattern for our own faith. When our hearts grow discouraged, one of the simplest things we can do is remember God’s works and speak of them. Testimony reminds us of His faithfulness and can encourage others who are still waiting for the answer we may already have received.

David then turns towards the LORD as the righteous Judge. Human strength can appear enormous for a season. Nations rise, cities fall, and powerful people can seem untouchable, yet none of them endures forever. “But the LORD shall endure forever; He has prepared His throne for judgement.” Evil may appear established, but it is not eternal. God is. David therefore does not need to win a louder argument or convince a majority of people that he is right. The LORD knows the truth and judges in righteousness. As we saw in Psalm 7, the safest prayer is not simply, Lord, be on my side, but rather, Lord, keep me on Your side and judge rightly.

Yet the God who sits upon the throne as righteous Judge is also described as “a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.” These truths belong together. God’s judgment is good news for those who have been crushed by injustice because the Judge is righteous. David then connects knowing God with trusting God: “Those who know Your name will put their trust in You.” Biblical faith is not blind optimism. Trust grows as we learn who God actually is – His holiness, mercy, faithfulness, justice, patience and power. A deep and enduring faith cannot be built upon a shallow knowledge of God. When our confidence grows weak, the answer is not simply to try harder to feel confident. We return to Scripture and look again at the character of the One in whom we trust.

One of the great pastoral truths in Psalm 9 is found in the words, “He does not forget the cry of the humble.” People forget. Systems fail. Sometimes even churches, families and friends overlook another person’s pain. God does not. If you have ever wondered whether your prayers, grief or suffering have simply disappeared into silence, Psalm 9 tells us otherwise. David still prays, “Have mercy on me, O LORD,” even while expressing confidence in God. Confidence does not remove the need for prayer. Instead, confidence gives us reason to keep praying because our trust rests in the One who hears.

David also asks to be delivered so that he might tell of God’s praise. His desire is not merely to return to a comfortable life. He wants the answer to his prayer to become testimony. That gives us a helpful question when we ask the Lord to bring us through difficulty: Lord, as You bring me through this, how can the answer point somebody else back to You? Deliverance is a gift to the one receiving it, but it can also encourage others who need to know that God remains faithful.

Psalm 9 then returns to the certainty of God’s justice. The nations fall into the pits they have prepared, and the wicked are caught in the work of their own hands. This does not mean every evil action will immediately be exposed or corrected in this life. It means that evil never escapes the final judgment of God. We therefore do not need to become what has hurt us in order to defeat it. We do not answer lies with deceit or hatred with greater hatred. We leave room for God to judge and continue walking faithfully with Him.

Then comes the contrast at the centre of the Psalm’s message. There are those who forget God, living as though He does not matter, and yet “the needy shall not always be forgotten.” There will be seasons when the answer seems delayed, when justice appears postponed or when relief feels far away. But delay is not abandonment. God has not misplaced your name. He has not forgotten your prayer. He has not forgotten your need. The Lord still sits upon His throne, and He still hears the cries of the humble.

David finishes by asking that the nations would remember that they are “but men.” Kings forget. Governments forget. Wealthy and powerful people forget. We forget too. We begin to imagine that we are self-made, self-sufficient and secure because of what we have achieved. Psalm 9 restores the proper perspective. We are creatures, not the Creator. We are dependent, not self-sufficient. We are mortal, not eternal. Yet humility does not mean believing we have no value. As Psalm 8 reminded us, God has given humanity dignity. Psalm 9 simply reminds us that all glory ultimately belongs to Him.

So the encouragement of Psalm 9 can be summed up in a few simple truths: remember what God has done, learn His name and character, run to Him as your refuge, keep praying when justice seems delayed, and never interpret delay as abandonment. People may forget. The nations may forget. We ourselves may forget. But the LORD has not forgotten.

Watch or listen to the complete verse-by-verse study of Psalm 9 as we consider praise, God’s righteous judgment, refuge for the oppressed, the importance of knowing His character, and the comforting truth that the LORD has not forgotten His people.

Scripture References

Psalm 9
Psalm 27:14
Psalm 90:12
Psalm 103:2
Psalm 103:14
Proverbs 18:10
Genesis 4
Esther 7
Galatians 6:7
Revelation 6:9