In the midst of all distresses, we may by faith find a refuge in God and when victory comes,
we should not forget that He expects returns of praise.
Psalm 1
1 I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.
3 When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.
4 For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right.
5 Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.
6 O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them.
7 But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.
8 And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.
9 The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
10 And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.
11 Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.
12 When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.
13 Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:
14 That I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation.
15 The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
16 The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.
17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
18 For the needy shall not alway be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.
19 Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight.
20 Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.
Psalm 1 – J. Vernon McGee
Psalm 9 – Confidence in the Righteous Judge
This is the first of the Acrostic or Alphabetical Psalms, of which there are nine: Psalm 9-10, 25, 34, 37, 111-112, 119, 145.
There is a predominant note of praise, Psalm 9:1-5, 11-12, 14. Let memory heap fuel on the altar of praise. In the resurrection of our Lord, God indeed rebuked our arch-enemy, and his strongholds are now wastes, Zechariah 3:1-2; II Corinthians 10:4; Colossians 2:15. But there is a corresponding note of trust, Psalm 9:7-12. Calamity drives us to God. The more we know the more we trust Him. Doubt is born of ignorance. Leave God to vindicate; He will not forget, Psalm 9:12. There is a petition for further help, Psalm 9:13, 19-20. We have been at the gates of death, Psalm 9:13; here are the gates of the Holy City, Psalm 9:14. Compare Psalm 9:15 and Esther 7:10. God does not forget; forget Him not, Psalm 9:12, 17. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Psalm 9:10—They that know thy name will put their trust in Thee.
We do not trust, because we do not know. If we were once to know God, it would seem as absurd to doubt Him as to fear that we should fly off at a tangent from the surface of the earth. Men complain of their little faith: the remedy is in their own hands; let them set themselves to know God. We may know about God, and yet not know Him. We may hear what others say about Him, but have no direct and personal acquaintance. “That I may know him,” said the Apostle (Philippians 3:10).
The materials for the knowledge of God are all around thee; make use of them. Think of the promises by which God has bound Himself to succour those that come to Him; of the record of his gracious interpositions for his saints; of the necessity that He should maintain his character and reputation in the face of the universe.
Above all, argue, as Jesus bade, from your own heart. Would you give stones to hungry babes, and scorpions into childish hands? Would you desert a forlorn and hunted soul that trusted? Would you insist on a certain measure of agony before stepping in to deliver? Would you take delight in inflicting needless anguish? And will God? Trust may be read as the superlative of true. To trust is to count God true, though circumstances belie; to count Him truer than the melancholy forebodings of our hearts; to count Him our truest and tenderest Friend. “Yea, let God be true, but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4).
But for all this, you must make time. You cannot know a friend in harried interviews, much less God. So you must steep yourself in deep, long thoughts of his nearness and love. —Our Daily Homily