Series: Psalms
Title: Praise the LORD
Text: Psalm 9: 1-20
Date: March 8, 2012
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
Psalm 9: 1: I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.
The sinner saved by the free and sovereign grace of God simply cannot praise our Lord enough. He has filled our hearts full of gladness and joy for him. He has put a song in our hearts and a joyful tune on our lips. We sing with delight in our hearts for him.
THE ONE WE PRAISE—Psalm 9: 1: I will praise thee, O LORD.
Every mention of praise in the scripture from first to last is of praise to the Lord—I will praise, thee, O LORD
Psalm 145:3: Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.
We praise the one great God in three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit manifest in the Lord Jesus Christ for in him dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
THE NATURE OF OUR PRAISE—Psalm 9: 1…I will shew forth thy praise with my whole heart;
The new heart that the Spirit of God creates in a sinner is the new nature in which the believer praises the LORD.
I WILL…The dead sinner has no willingness to praise anyone but self. Willingness to praise only the LORD comes from the LORD.
Psalm 110: 3: Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power,…
God works in his child that which is well-pleasing in his sight therefore the quickened soul is made willing in the power of Christ and his gospel to praise the Lord. (Heb 13: 21).
With the whole heart--The whole heart is that new heart given. (Jer 24: 7)
Find out where the heart comes from—and we find out what the treasure, the abundance, of that heart is. (Turn to Jeremiah 24)
Jeremiah 24: 7: And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: [catch this next word] for they shall return unto me [with what?] with their whole heart.
WHAT WE PRAISE THE LORD FOR—Psalm 9: 1: I will shew forth all thy marvelous works
Illustration: The new car and the snow falling. I could not focus on the car because the snow looked so much better. That which falls from God’s hand far excels the beauty of anything man could ever build.
Proposition: When God makes a sinner to see the marvelous works of God’s salvation accomplished by Christ Jesus we will stop speaking about anything in us worthy of being praised. We will praise his name and his marvelous works.
Christ is the Sweet Psalmist of Israel. So read this hearing the Lord Jesus Christ praising the Father with his perfect, whole heart. His joy and praise is perfect. The marvelous works Christ shows forth are the works he wrought for his elect when he walked this earth. Christ’s victory concerns not only himself, but also the elect of God in him. So Christ’s rejoicing is our rejoicing. We rejoice in what he rejoices in.
I. GOD’S PRESENCE WITH US—WE REJOICE IN THE MARVELLOUS WORK RESULTING FROM GOD’S PRESENCE—Psalm 9: 3: When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.
When CHRIST’S enemies came to arrest him in the garden, the Lord asked who they sought.
John 18: 6: As soon then as he had said unto them, I AM, they went backward, and fell to the ground.
The presence of the triune God dwelt bodily in Christ Jesus. He is the great I AM! When that glorious presence shined, it caused his enemies to go backward, and fall down.
Believer, Christ is God our Savior—he has promised to never leave you nor forsake you. All your enemies shall stumble at his Divine Presence. He hinders every enemy
Ps 68: 2: As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
We praise him, we rejoice over this marvelous work he performs by his presence being with us.
II. WE REJOICE IN THE MARVELLOUS WORK OF GOD’S FAITHFUL AND JUST MAINTAINCE OF OUR RIGHT AND OUR CAUSE—Psalm 9: 4: For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right.
When Christ Jesus walked this earth, God the Father justly fulfilled all covenant engagements toward Christ-
· God the Father spoke and glorified him from heaven again and again
· The LORD God supported the manhood of CHRIST in his encounters with his enemies
· We see God’s faithfulness in the fidelity manifest between God and his Christ.
Believer—who is it you look to and praise for maintaining your right and your cause? If we turn, he is faithful and just to chasten, to correct us—so that we continue in Christ. And likewise, when the enemy comes up against us, he will maintain our right and our cause throughout this life—Our right is Christ and nothing shall separate us from him—God our Savior will see to it. Our cause is the glorious good news of Christ. Christ our Head will maintain us in this cause.
III. WE REJOICE THAT OUR REDEEMER HAS DESTROYED OUR ENEMIES AT THE CROSS. Psalm 9: 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.
By his blood and righteousness, by his death on the cross, Christ has defeated, Satan—thou enemy thy destructions are come to a perpetual end—along with sin, death, hell, and the grave. The whole empire of destruction is brought to a final end—it is finished!
Colossians 2: 15: And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
Remember: This defeat came when Satan and wicked hands were permitted to crucify Christ. It appeared to be victory for Satan and his army. But the wicked were actually conquered by the very trap they laid—Psalm 9: 15-16.
There may be times when it appears to you dear believer that your enemies will triumph over you at last—but we have v9: the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us; (2Co 1:9-10). It appeared to the enemy that the enemy had won—when Christ gave up the ghost—but don’t let the natural eye deceive you, brethren.
IV. WE PRAISE HIM FOR HAVING PREPARED HIS THRONE FOR JUDGMENT—Psalm 9: 7: But the LORD shall endure for ever:
Christ rose from the dead the third day,
Philippians 2: 9: Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Psalm 9: 7:…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.
Sinner—you who are yet questioning God, worshipping your idols, the work of your own hands—hear the apostle Paul:
Acts 17: 30: And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: 31: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
When he arose, all his elect arose in him. Judgment is accomplished for them for whom Christ died—you are dead and risen anew--“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Ro 8:1)
But God shall judge the world in righteousness by that Man, Christ Jesus (Psalm 9: 12)
Jude 1: 14: And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, 15: To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
Come to him confessing your utter inability. Cast all on Christ believing him—and you will find mercy. That is the 5th work we praise him for.
V. WE PRAISE HIM FOR HIS MERCY
Psalm 9: 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.
· Are you oppressed? The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed
· Are you in trouble? Christ is our refuge in times of trouble
· They that know his name will put their trust in him—you can’t trust who you do not know
· His name is Faithful—for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee—By his own name he declares he will not forsake them that put their trust in Him. (vv13-14).
Who do we praise?—only the LORD. What is the nature of praise? We praise him with the whole heart—the heart he has made new. We praise him for all his marvelous works:
1. His presence turns back all our enemies
2. He will justly faithfully maintain our right and our cause—he will never leave us
3. He has defeated all our enemies—on Calvary’s tree
4. He has prepared his throne for judgment—condemnation is put away by him for his elect (whom he shall call) and he will judge the world in righteousness
5. We praise him and declare his mercy to the oppressed—seek mercy in Christ
Psalm 9: 11: Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.
Zephaniah 3: 14: Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. 15: The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more. 16: In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack. 17: The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
AMEN!