Latest / Reformed Thinking / Praise to the Lord Who Rules with Uprightness (Psalm 9) | Charles Spurgeon

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Praise to the Lord Who Rules with Uprightness (Psalm 9) | Charles Spurgeon · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to Reformed Thinking. This is the deep dive where we
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we try to give you a shortcut to being well informed.
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We take the source material, all the research and scholarly
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commentary, and we pull out the essential insights for you.
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And today we're taking a really concentrated look into Psalm 9.
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Right. It's one of the most structured,
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I'd say, in powerful compositions in the Psalter.
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Our mission here is to get a handle on the core message,
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which it really moves from this kind of jubilant Thanksgiving to
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a very solemn reflection. It does.
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We'll be focusing on a few key themes that run through it.
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God's righteous judgment, the the need for wholehearted
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praise, and that security you find in knowing the divine name.
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The analysis we're using it leans pretty heavily on
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commentary about the Psalm structure, its spiritual
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meaning. And what's so striking about
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Psalm 9 is that dynamic shift you mentioned.
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It starts off like a celebration of a victory, but then it pivots
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pretty quickly into this sober meditation on eternal justice.
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And that connects this ancient scripture directly to these, you
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know, timeless theological principles, things like divine
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sovereignty and human accountability.
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Exactly. So for you listening, this deep
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dive is structured to help you absorb these these concepts,
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which can be challenging, but they're also rewarding.
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We're going to do it quickly and thoroughly and.
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We really have to start at the beginning, the arrangement of
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the text. Yeah, that's what stood out to
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me immediately, this idea that the Psalms themselves are in an
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inspired order. They're not just, you know, an
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ancient playlist. Not at all.
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The sources suggest there's a deliberate flow, especially
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right as Psalm 9 begins. It almost seems to to catch the
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echo of Song 8. It focuses right on that central
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theme, the name. It's as if the praise from the
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previous song is still ringing in the singer's ear.
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And it just prompts this fresh outburst of adoration.
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That structural positioning is it's really central to
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understanding the whole Psalter. Many scholars suggest the order
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is intentional, maybe even inspired by the Holy Spirit.
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Perhaps compiled by figures like Ezra I've read.
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That's a common view. They seem to come to us in this
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as an order, because the sequence itself is meant to
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instruct us. So it's functioning like a like
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a deliberate sacred syllabus. It's guiding the worshipper
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through a certain progression of thought.
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Precisely. And the continuity is well, it's
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unmistakable. Psalm 8 sets up the majesty of
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the name across the whole earth, how God's glory is set above the
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heavens. Right then Psalm 9 just picks
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that theme right up. It opens with David singing
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praise to thy name, O thou Most High.
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There's no theme matic break. It's a continued meditation.
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It is a continued meditation on God's revealed character, and
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the sources point out an even earlier link, Psalm 7.
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It concludes with Justin and Refuge.
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OK. And then Psalm 8 is the high
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praise that results from that kind of deliverance.
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So this whole movement, it feels very intentional.
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It guarantees A coherent flow of thought, making sure that the
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theme of God's name is the the active foundation for the
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entire. Psalm.
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So the architecture itself is confirming that the psalmist
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isn't just listing random ideas, he's building a theological
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argument. But that brings us to maybe the
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most mysterious piece of this architecture, the title itself.
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Muth Lamin. It sounds like I don't know a
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coded instruction or a Riddle. It's deeply ambiguous, and you
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know that ambiguity has led to a lot of scholarly conjecture over
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the centuries. What are some of the main
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theories? Well, some possibilities link it
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to a specific tune, maybe an instrument that's just been lost
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to us. Another very common literal
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interpretation connects it to the defeat of Goliath of Gath.
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The death of the champion. Exactly.
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That would frame it as a purely historical victory hymn for
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David. And while that reading confirms
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David's care for order and worship, it doesn't give us a
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whole lot of instructional light for our own spiritual lives
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today. But the sources we're looking
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at, they steer us toward a very different reading, a non
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historical one. How do they justify prioritizing
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that kind of deeper mystical interpretation over, say, the
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straightforward account of David and Goliath?
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The preference really comes from the scope of the Psalm itself.
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It moves far beyond just one localized military victory.
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It deals with these huge universal themes, like the
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everlasting destruction of the wicked and the eternal refuge of
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the righteous. So the interpretation that's
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gathered from, well, a large company of learned witnesses, is
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that the title means a Psalm concerning the death of the sun.
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The Sun not a champion. Right, and this mystical
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interpretation aligns perfectly with the Psalms ultimate
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concerns. We're not talking about just a
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single battle, but the final cosmic battle between good and
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evil. Wow, OK, that that shifts the
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entire focus. It goes from being a historical
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battle song to an anthem celebrating the greatest victory
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in history. It absolutely does, and if we
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accept that meaning, we frame Psalm 9 as a a triumphal hymn.
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It celebrates the victory of the Son of God over the champion of
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evil, the enemy of souls. And the language of the Psalm.
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It does seem too grand for just David's local enemies.
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The crushing of the oppressor, the eternal judgment seat.
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It's far too grand. This vision is meant to
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strengthen the faith of the the militant believer, to stimulate
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the courage of the timid St. by showing them the Conqueror, King
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of Kings and Lord of Lords. So we're viewing the triumph of
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the Redeemer as the security of the redeemed.
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That's a perfect way to put it. OK, so if the title sets this
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mood, this triumphal hymn about Christ's conquest, later on we
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run into two words that are untranslated and they force to
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just stop. They appear in verse 16, Higeon
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say law. It feels like a jarring
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instruction right after a description of God's devastating
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justice. They are instructional, They
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translate roughly to meditation. Pause.
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Linguistically, higeon refers to, well, the sound of
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meditation, a low murmuring sometimes associated with music,
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but here it conveys deep thought.
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And they Allah see law is a command for a deliberate rest, a
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musical interlude. They show up right after the
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description of God's judgments, how the wicked get snared by
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their own hands. Their purpose is profoundly
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spiritual. What is it they call the reader
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to ponder and meditate upon the Lord's overwhelming judgments
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with with deep seriousness? So after reading about God being
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revealed by this this terrifying judgment he executes, the text
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itself tells you to stop, take a breath, and just compute the
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spiritual weight of what you just read.
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Yes, it's an adjustment of the heart A.
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Deliberate pace setting device. That's right, It forces the
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worshipper to move beyond just a quick reading of the text and to
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make sure they fully absorb the magnitude of God's righteous
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justice. If we treat the destruction of
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the wicked and the condemnation of the forgetters as something
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light, we we miss the whole point.
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The instruction is to adjust the heart to the solemnity of the
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subject it. Is it confirms that God's
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justice is an eternal reality that warrants our full
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contemplation? OK, so let's move from the
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architecture to the the right attitude for worship.
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The psalmist begins his vow. I will praise Thee, O Lord, with
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my whole heart. And this isn't just about
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frequency, is it? It's about quality and
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sincerity. It speaks directly to the nature
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of true devotion, and the sources are very clear on this.
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Half heart is no heart. This wholehearted praise is the
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essential distinction. It's what separates sincere
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worshippers from hypocrites. The mouth might say the words.
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But the mouth is only the organ. The heart is the true instrument
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of praise. And if that instrument is
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divided, the music is discordant.
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It's just noise. And wholeheartedness seems to be
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tied to where we place the credit for our deliverance.
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The sources know that a sincere praiser has to recognize the
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greatness of the deliverance and avoid, you know, secretly
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attributing it to himself. That's precisely the measure of
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sincerity. Wholeheartedness means seeing
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God's marvelous works in their actual size.
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Any depreciation of divine grace, any any secret belief
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that our wisdom or our strength played the decisive part, That
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diminishes the praise. It makes it half hearted.
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So the song has to flow from this, this sacred fullness of
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delight that acknowledges every act of preservation,
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forgiveness, deliverance. It's all wrought entirely by
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him. Yes, but how does a person
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maintain that that wholeheartedness when life is
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just inherently difficult, you know, filled with struggles and
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doubts? It seems like an easy thing to
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vow, but a very difficult state to sustain.
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It requires vigilance. The Puritan commentators, they
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often define this as the unified application of all affections,
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your mind, your will, your emotions, all directed toward
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God. I see.
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It means that even when doubt comes, the will still directs
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the mind back to the known attributes of God.
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It's a state of integrated devotion.
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If the will remains pointed toward God's glory, then the
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praise is wholehearted, even if the emotions are, you know,
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temporarily distressed. And this committed praise?
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It's supposed to be accompanied by a very specific and, well,
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often surprising, attitude, joy and gladness.
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The text suggests God is best pleased with the holy mirth and
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sanctified gladness of his people.
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So it's not just sober respect, it's celebratory joy.
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That is the crucial distinction. Christian joy isn't sorrowful,
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it's characterized by holy mirth.
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Holy mirth. Yeah, the sources compare it to
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the notes of overflowing joy, of birds or fish leaping with
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excess of delight in the water. You see a sharp contrast here
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with Pagan worship historically that was associated with, you
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know, shrieks of pain, sacrifice, fearful groans, all
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aimed at appeasing angry deities.
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But the worship of the living God, whose name is love and
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whose decree is salvation, that demands this celebratory spirit.
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It does. That element of holy mirth is
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something that's often forgotten, I think, in
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discussions of religious duty. What's the practical spiritual
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benefit of cultivating this kind of praising spirit?
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The benefit is significant. It's described as an ornament to
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Christian character, but functionally it helps believers
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surmount difficulties that that low or melancholic spirits would
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be completely unequal to handle. So it's an act of defense
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mechanism. It is like an inner strength
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that's activated by the act of praising.
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Precisely. It's comparable to the harp of
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Jesse's sun driving away the evil spirit in Saul.
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If we intentionally take up the song of praise, the spirit of
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melancholy, that heavy sadness and despair, it often takes
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flight from us. A heart filled with sanctified
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gladness allows a believer to perform double the spiritual
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work because the heart isn't languid or weighed down by its
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own burdens. Joy is the oil in the spiritual
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gears. Well said.
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Now this vibrant praise is paired with another occupation
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in Zion. David says he will sing praises
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and he will declare among the people his doings, and this
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seems to establish the two essential occupations that
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glorify God and Zion, singing praises and and declaring among
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the people his doings, which is preaching.
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These two actions, the internal overflow of praise and the
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external proclamation of truth, they're joined together.
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That's the means by which God is glorified in His church.
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An act of shared worship and shared witnessing.
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Yes, and fundamentally, this combination is a token that the
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Lord still dwelleth in Zion. His presence is marked by both
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the gladness of song and the vocal proclamation of truth
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about His actions. This link between singing and
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speaking, it ties into spiritual history, doesn't it?
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The source material notes that a sudden outburst of the spirit of
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song has often have been connected with all revivals of
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gospel ministry. Can you talk about that
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historical pattern? Certainly it's a very consistent
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sign of restored piety. When the gospel is proclaimed
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afresh, when grace returns to the hearts of the people, the
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response is often spontaneous, collective song.
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Like the Reformation? Think of the Reformation.
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Martin Luther's ministry was accompanied by the the wide
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proliferation of his psalms and hymns ringing out through
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Germany, right? And later, during the modern
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revival, under figures like Wesley and Whitefield, the
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strains of Charles Wesley's hymns were just innocent,
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escapable. The singing is the necessary
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outgrowth of restored piety. It fitly accompanies the return
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of the gracious spring of Divine visitation through the
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proclamation of the Truth. So when we see a church where
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the faithful are singing and preaching with real fervor.
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We have strong confirmation that God is actively dwelling among
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them. OK, so if the Spirit of Zion is
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wholehearted and joyful, that spirit has to rest on a
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foundation that's rational and secure.
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And that brings us directly back to the name in verse 10.
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They that know thy name will put their trust in thee.
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That statement, it just encapsulates a core principle of
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Reformed thought, doesn't it? Faith is not some emotional leap
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in the dark. It's it's intelligent grace.
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Absolutely. The structure is clear.
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While you can have intellectual knowledge without faith, you can
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have no saving faith without knowledge.
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Knowledge must carry the torch before faith you.
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Have to know who God is. And what He has promised before
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you can logically and rightly rely on Him.
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The belief in God is a necessary and blessed consequence that
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flows from understanding His character.
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And the most important object of that necessary knowledge is
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God's name itself, understood not as just a sound, but as the
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sum total of His attributes. Yes.
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The best knowledge exercises itself upon the name of God, and
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knowing God's name means having an experimental acquaintance
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with the attributes of God. This is far more than knowing
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the title Jehovah. It involves knowing what that
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name signifies in specific context, like Jehovah Jira, the
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Lord our Provider, or Jehovah Rofi the Lord our Healer, or El
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Shaddai the God Almighty. This is knowledge that's been
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validated by experience. So understanding these
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attributes is what provides the stability for the soul.
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Precisely those attributes are every one of them, anchors to
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hold the soul from drifting in seasons of peril.
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When a believer faces financial uncertainty, they cast the
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anchor of Jira. When they face physical
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distress, the cast, the anchor of Rofi the Trust, isn't based
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on some generic hope and something bigger.
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It's based on the demonstrated specific faithfulness contained
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in God's revealed character. So if knowledge is the
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prerequisite for trust, then spiritual ignorance must have
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some very serious consequences. Indeed, the sources identify
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ignorance of God as the mother of unbelief.
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This is a critical point. Unbelief, which is described so
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vividly as a hooting night bird, it cannot live in the light of
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divine knowledge. It flies before the sun of God's
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great and gracious name. It does.
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If a person lacks the crucial knowledge of God's faithfulness,
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His mercy, His power, then the root cause of their unbelief,
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their fear, their doubt, their reliance on themselves, it just
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remains intact. Is this ignorance something
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passive though? Like it just a lack of access to
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information? Or is the text addressing a more
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willful form of ignorance and neglect of seeking the light
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that is available? That's an excellent distinction
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to draw. While the text does acknowledge
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human limitations, the condemnation is generally aimed
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at a a functional atheism, a willful neglect of the light
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that is available. OK, if God has revealed himself
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through creation and conscience, and definitively through
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Scripture, then spiritual ignorance isn't passive.
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It's an active choice not to seek the most essential reality.
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The person who neglects the means of grace, who refuses to
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study God's attributes. They voluntarily choose
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darkness. And in that darkness, unbelief
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thrives. They refuse the torch that would
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precede faith. The final piece of assurance the
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psalmist offers isn't just theoretical, it's grounded in
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historical reality. It serves as the concrete reason
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for our trust. That factual basis is essential,
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the psalmist confirms. For thou Lord has not forsaken
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them that seek thee. This is the experiential proof
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from centuries of relationship between God and His people.
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While God may for a season hide his face for testing or for
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discipline, the knowledge confirms that he has never
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utterly, finally, really, or angrily forsaken them that seek
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him. The Seeker can draw immense
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comfort from this fact. So God's faithfulness is so
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assured that even the act of seeking is enough to guarantee
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non abandonment. That's the problem.
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We're going to transition now from God as the faithful refuge
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to God as the impartial judge. The sources state pretty clearly
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that God is known by the judgement he executes.
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That sounds severe, but it's necessary for a full view of his
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character, isn't it? It is absolutely necessary,
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God's execution of judgement. It publicly displays His
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character, especially His Holiness and His abhorrence of
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sin. Right.
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A ruler who failed to act against wickedness would would
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himself be seen as deficient in righteousness.
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Of course, but the ruler who is severely just in judgement
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reveals his own nature. Thereby, God acts on a public
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stage and He ensures His justice is known and recorded for future
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generations. And the execution of that
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judgement is administered in uprightness that must provide
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some profound comfort to the oppressed.
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Exactly. Partiality and respected persons
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are things unknown in the dealings of the Holy One of
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Israel. There's no favoritism, no
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bribery, no emotional bias influencing the divine tribunal.
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This prospect of a of a perfectly impartial court is a
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tremendous comfort to believers when they're slandered or
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falsely accused or. Oppressed.
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They know their cause will be heard with perfect fairness.
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Yes. But the mechanism of this
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justice is described as singularly wise and indisputably
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just. And this is because he makes the
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wicked become their own executioners.
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How does the source material explain that idea of self
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execution? This is the striking feature of
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divine justice in the Psalm. The wicked are snared in the
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work of his own hands. God often allows the natural
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consequences of sin to recoil directly upon the Sinner.
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Their own projects become their downfall.
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They're malicious projects which they laboriously manufactured
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specifically to entrap the godly.
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They become the instruments of their own downfall.
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They're busy plotting external mischief, but they're actually
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plotting their own ruin. They build a metaphorical Babble
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that falls directly on their own heads.
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The cruel snare proves its efficacy by snaring its own
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maker. And this allows men to read
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their sin in their punishment. The punishment isn't arbitrary
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or disconnected, it's the natural symmetrical result of
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the sin they committed. The punishment is the inevitable
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fruit of the seed of sin they sowed.
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The sources cite some very specific examples of this.
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Like what? Well, drunkards kill themselves
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through ruin. Health prodigals beggar
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themselves through wastefulness. The contentious ruin themselves
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with exorbitant costs and broken relationships.
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And the envious. This one is fascinating that
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they're described as eating their own hearts.
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They're consumed by the corrosive nature of their own
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malice. The ruin is intrinsic to the
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wickedness itself. Sin is its own eventual wages.
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And the historical record seems to validate this fatal trap over
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and over. We always think of the clear
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scriptural example of Heman on his own gallows, the one he
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built for Mordecai. Heman is the quintessential
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example of symmetrical justice. He constructed the mechanism of
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his own death with meticulous detail, thinking only of his
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enemy right. But the sources provide an even
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more striking modern example from the French Revolution that
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illustrates how this justice works on a grand scale.
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Consider the fate of those who condemned Queen Marie
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Antoinette. The revolutionary figures who
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authorized the use of the guillotine.
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Precisely all those key individuals implicated in her
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death, the accusers, the judges, the jury members, they perished
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by the same instrument, the guillotine, as their innocent
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victim. And within nine months of her
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execution. Is that right?
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Men like Antoine Fuquitinville, the merciless public prosecutor,
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and various key figures in the National Convention who voted
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for her death. All of them met their end on the
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very machine they legalized and perfected.
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They fell into the pit they dug. And were taken in the net they
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laid. It provides A terrifying
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historical confirmation that God's justice isn't just
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retributive, it's often symmetrically vindicating.
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It uses the wicked's own tools to achieve his righteous
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purpose. This discussion of impartial
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justice leads us directly to the the profound and solemn warning
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about the ultimate fate of the wicked.
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This results in a clear and eternal division.
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It does. And who precisely falls into
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this category of the wicked that faces such an absolute
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judgement? It seems far more encompassing
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than just those who commit overt crimes.
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It's a much broader category. The ultimate fate of God's
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forgetters is to be turned into hell, and critically, the
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sources stress that forgetfulness of God is
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equivalent to wickedness. Equivalent to wickedness.
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Yes, because forgetfulness excludes the primary essentials
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of religion, valuing God, fearing Him, aiming at his
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glory. If God is excluded from your
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daily thought and practice, the soul is left empty of true
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devotion, regardless of your external actions.
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So this category of forgetters, it's described as far more
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numerous than the profane or profligate.
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It catches those who appear outwardly respectable.
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It catches the masses. It includes the moral who are
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not devout, the honest who are not prayerful, the benevolent
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who are not believing, and the amiable who are not converted.
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These are people who live perfectly well horizontally in
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their relations with other people.
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But they are functionally atheists.
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Vertically, they act as though God either doesn't exist or
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doesn't require their allegiance.
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It's the sin of omission, the sin of neglect.
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That's the tragedy, though. Forgetfulness seems a I'm all
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sin, you know, just a lack of active engagement.
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It brings eternal wrath upon the person who lives and dies in it
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because it is an exclusion of the primary object of creation
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from one's entire being. It's the ultimate rejection of
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the Light. And the condemnation is
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described with incredible force. The wicked shall be turned into
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hell. The linguistic force of the
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Hebrew phrase here. It must not be missed.
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The verb used is extremely forceful.
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It indicates that they shall be hurled headlong as a violent,
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decisive action, not some gentle redirect.
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Into the nethermost hell. And the destination itself is
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described as a fiery lake, sulfurous and inextinguishable.
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The language is all meant to convey the immediacy, the
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violence, and the eternity of the resulting judgment.
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The sources are also specific about the nature of the
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punishment itself, that it's continuous and complete.
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It is eternal and irreversible. In that place they will be
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tormented day and night, forever and ever.
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The existential condition is described as having a life that
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always dies and a death that always lives.
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The number of these forgetters is vast, and they must share
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their portion with the openly wicked in the place prepared for
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the devil and his angels. This is the terrible scene that
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the spiritual instruction Higeon Selah commanded us to pause and
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contemplate. Yes, the magnitude of eternal
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separation that results from functional forgetfulness.
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But in the context of this overwhelming justice, the Psalm
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immediately swings back to assure the believer that God
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acts simultaneously as a faithful refuge.
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Indeed, while God is executing this crushing judgement upon the
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forgetters, He remains the defense and refuge of His Saints
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in the day of trouble. God never has forsaken those who
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seek Him. So when God maketh inquisition
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for blood, when He begins that eternal process of avenging the
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oppressed and martyred Saints, He.
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Remembereth them. The humble cry of the poorest
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Saints is never drowned out by the thundering justice or the
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cries of the condemned. The assurance is clear.
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Their expectation, their hope of deliverance and vindication
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shall not perish forever. Having seen the terrifying
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symmetry of justice for the wicked, we return to the
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believers posture 1 of humble dependence and total gratitude.
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And this brings us to what the sources call the Christians
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distinctive motto. This is a beautiful contrast
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that the sources provide. While a worldly nobleman might
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declare, I will maintain it, asserting his own strength and
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right, the Christian has a better, humbler motto, one
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rooted in complete reliance upon sovereignty.
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Thou hast maintained it. That distinction, it signifies
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the total attribution of stability and security away from
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the self and entirely to God. It does.
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It means the believer attributes the maintenance of their cause
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and their right entirely to God. They've united their cause with
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God by faith, recognizing that while God lives, their right and
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their standing shall never be taken from them.
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All their stability is external to themselves.
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It rests solely on the revealed attributes and the active decree
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of God. It's fitting, then, that the
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first great division of Psalm 9, verses 1 to 14, covering praise
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and the certainty of justice, that it closes with prayer.
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David divides his time between praising and praying.
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This combination, it defines the spiritual rhythm of the Saints,
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time and heart. You're expressing gratitude for
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deliverance and petitioning for future help.
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And the prayer that closes this section is described as a little
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prayer book. That's an intriguing
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description. What specific elements make this
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short prayer so universally suitable for the believer that
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it would earn the title of a little prayer book?
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Well, the sources list several key components that give it
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universal application. First, it breathes a humble
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spirit. It acknowledges personal
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frailty. Second, it appeals to the proper
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attributes of God, specifically His mercy and power in the face
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of suffering. And 3rd, it's concise yet
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complete, so it's suited for all occasions of distress.
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David appeals to the one that lifts me up from the gates of
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death. Right, which indicates a
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reliance on God to rescue him from the very deepest
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distresses. He's acknowledging that his
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deliverance is not his own doing.
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The prayer contains elements of confession, urgent petition, and
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a declaration of intent to praise.
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It's a perfect model for daily use.
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He seeks to be rescued from the gates of death, but his desire
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for mercy isn't self-centered, is it?
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His ultimate object in petitioning for deliverance is
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God's glory. Absolutely.
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David desires mercy that I may show forth all thy praise.
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Saints desire the diamond of mercy, that priceless act of
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deliverance, so that others may see it flash and sparkle.
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So they may admire him who gives such priceless gems.
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Exactly. The Saint isn't asking for a
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hidden favor. They ask for public vindication
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so that God receives public honor.
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So his deliverance becomes a means of magnifying God's grace
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publicly. It's intended to show forth all
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that marvelous works, magnifying grace and all its heights and
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depths. His songs of praise are excited
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to the highest pitch by considering that dramatic
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contrast once we are taken the very gates of death and to what
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we have been advanced. The hope of Zion, the gates of
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the New Jerusalem. That movement from utter ruin to
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eternal security provides the believer with material for
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endless and rapturous worship. It confirms that God's redeeming
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acts are fully and publicly known.
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So this deep dive into Psalm 9, it's really revealed a picture
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of God that is, well, it's perfectly balanced.
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He's a faithful refuge to those who know and rely on his name.
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And at the same time, he's an impartial judge who makes even
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the Wickeds own malicious works serve his ultimate righteous
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justice. The message is it's sobering,
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but it's clear. Seekers are eternally remembered
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and the functional forgetters are condemned.
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That eternal distinction hinges entirely upon active knowledge
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of and sincere reliance on God's revealed attributes.
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He does. So since the source material
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stressed that the wicked are snared by their own works,
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building structures that collapse on them, and the
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believers better motto is thou hast maintained it, we should
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probably pause and really reflect on this.
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What does our own daily labor look like?
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If you examine your efforts in your business, in your
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relationships, in your thoughts, are you building something that
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furthers God's purposes or are you in your self-reliance or
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maybe even hidden malice, unknowingly laboring on a
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structure that will inevitably fall upon your own head?
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What is attributing the maintenance of our cause
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entirely to Him require of our own daily efforts and
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intentions? A question well worth pondering.
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It compels us to align the intention of our entire life's
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work with the nature of the Conqueror.
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Thank you for joining us for this deep dive into the source
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material of Psalm 9.