The ninth Psalm. I will praise Thee, O Lord, with
my whole heart. I will show forth all thy marvelous
works. I will be glad and rejoice in
thee. I will sing praise to thy name,
O thou most high. When mine enemies are turned
back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence. For thou has
maintained my right and my cause. Thou saddest in the throne judging
right. Thou has rebuked the heathen.
Thou has destroyed the wicked. Thou has put out their name forever
and ever. O thou enemy, destructions are
come to a perpetual end. and thou has destroyed cities,
their memorialist perished with them, but the Lord shall endure
forever. He had prepared his throne for
judgment, and he shall judge the world in righteousness. He shall minister judgment to
the people in uprightness. The Lord also will be a refuge
for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble, and they that
know thy name will put their trust in thee. For thou, Lord,
hast not forsaken them that seek thee. Sing praises to the Lord,
which dwelleth in Zion. Declare among the people his
doings. When he maketh inquisition for
blood, he remembereth them. He forgetteth not the cry of
the humble, 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, that I may show forth all thy praise. In
the gates of the daughter of Zion, I will rejoice in thy salvation. The heathen are sunk down in
the pit that they made. In the net which they hid is
their own foot taken. The Lord is known by the judgment
which he executeth. The wicked is snared in the work
of his own hands. Hegiah, Selah. The wicked shall be turned into
hell, and all the nations that forget God. For the needy shall
not always be forgotten. The expectation of the poor shall
not perish forever. Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail. Let the heathen be judged in
thy sight. Put them in fear, O Lord, that
the nations may know themselves to be but men. Let's pray. Lord, we come into your presence
in the high and holy name of your son. And we ask that we might be enabled
by your grace to believe him, to rest in him, to worship him
and to exalt his holy name. May we be given the grace and
the great privilege to get a glimpse of him. Forgive us of our sins
for his sake. In his name we pray, amen. Before I begin, if you didn't
know, Walter Groover passed away Thursday. And let's remember
that family at this time. I would like to give some kind
of tribute to him. I think he's the greatest missionary
of our generation, as far as what I know of. But what a special
man this man has been. Remember his family. Now notice
in Psalm 9, this is called a muthalabim, a muthalabim. Now, what is said
in the treasury of David, what Spurgeon said is that means the
death of the son. And I looked at several other
commentaries and they all said the same thing. How they arrived
at that, I have no idea, but isn't everything in the scripture
related to the death of the son? So I thought that's a good title,
The Death of the Son. Now, you'll notice in these first
two verses, there are four I wills. I will praise Thee, O Lord, with
my whole heart. I will show forth all Thy marvelous
works. I will be glad and rejoice in
Thee. I will sing praise to Thy name,
O Thou Most High. Now that is the desire. of every
believer. I want to do those things, don't
you? I desire to praise him with my whole heart. I desire to show
forth all his marvelous works. These four I wills, I desire
to do those things. But anything that begins with
an I will with me or you is wrong. You believe that? I will. I will, will you? Will you? Now, these are the words of the
Lord Jesus Christ. He's the only one who can say,
I will, and it takes place. I will. I will praise thee, O
Lord, with my whole heart. The Lord Jesus did that. I will
show forth all thy marvelous works." Did he not do that? I will be glad and rejoice in
thee. I will sing praise to thy name,
O thou most high. Now, I love the I wills of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And James tells us, don't say,
I will do this or do that. Say, if the Lord will, we'll
do this or do that. But the Lord could say, I will. Verse three, when mine enemies
are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence. Now, Do you wish this with regard
to your enemies? You take the person who gives
you the hardest time. Do you wish they would perish
forever in hell? I dare say not. Our enemies really are sins,
aren't they? not human beings, but our sins
are our enemies and they will perish forever. But here the
Lord is talking about his enemies. Now, all natural men are described
like this. The carnal mind, the mind we're
born with is enmity. against God. You and I were born God-haters. I say that, I hope, with fear
and trembling, but it's the truth. And everybody outside of Jesus
Christ is God's enemy. God's throne would not be secure
for a second if it were up to me or you. And the cross is the
proof of that. The one time God let men do what
they wanted to do, they nailed him to a cross. But here's the end of his enemies.
When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish
at thy presence. For thou has maintained my right
and my cause, thou set us in my throne, judging right. Now I can only understand that
by Christ speaking. You know, if I would say he's
maintained my cause, well, if I think of my cause, it's so
sinful, so filled with flesh, but this is the Lord speaking
and this is his cause. Thou has maintained my right
and my cause. Thou settest in thy throne, judging
right. And without any question, this
is a reference to the cross. What the judgment that took place,
everything he does is right. Verses five and six, thou has
rebuked the heathen. Thou has destroyed the wicked. Thou has put out their name forever
and ever. O thou enemy, Destructions are
come to a perpetual end, and thou hast destroyed cities, their
memorial is perished forever. That's the end of the wicked.
Now here, verse seven, but the Lord shall endure forever. He had prepared his throne for
judgment. He shall judge the world in righteousness. He shall minister judgment to
the people in uprightness. Now, I want you to think about
this. The Lord is going to treat me and you, whether we're believers
or unbelievers, the Lord is going to treat me and you with absolute
fairness and justice. If I go to hell, he's given me
exactly what I deserve. If I go to heaven because of
what Christ did for me, I'm getting exactly what I deserve in the
Lord Jesus Christ. He's going to do just, he's going
to do right, he's going to execute justice. Verse nine, the Lord
will be a refuge for the oppressed, for the crushed. That's a hiding
place. A refuge, a hiding place in times
of trouble. I love that song, Hail Sovereign
Love that first began the scheme to rescue fallen man. Hail matchless,
free, eternal grace that gave my soul a hiding place. A hiding place from the wrath
of God, a hiding place from myself. What a sure refuge is the Lord
Jesus Christ. And then he makes this statement
in verse 10. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee. Now, what is it to know his name?
Does it mean you just know how to articulate his name as Jesus
or Jehovah or any of the names of God? It means more than that. The name of the Lord is the person
behind the name. They that know Your name, I know
His name as absolutely just, as absolutely sovereign, as gracious,
as merciful, as all-powerful, as omniscient, knowing all things,
as omnipresent. I can't go anywhere where He's
not. The just God and the Savior, I know His name. And everyone
who knows His name, and the only way you and I are gonna know
His name is if He reveals His name to us. If you know His name,
if you know that person behind the name, you're going to put
your trust, all your reliance, everything in Him. This is the same thing as whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord. shall be saved. I'm calling on His sovereignty,
Lord, save me as an act of Your will. Save me as an act of Your
justice, which You accomplished on Calvary's tree. Save me by
Your mercy. Save me by Your power. You're
calling on His name. Now, those that know His name
will, every one of them, will put their trust in Him. Now, all of my salvation All
of my hope of acceptance with God is in Him and in Him alone. Now let's go on reading. They
that know thy name will put their trust in thee, for thou, Lord,
hast not forsaken them that seek thee. Sing praises to the Lord
which dwelleth in Zion. Declare among the people His
doings. Now notice the Lord dwells in
Zion. That's the church. That's what's going on right
now. The church meeting together. Oh, there's no substitute for
the church meeting together. He dwells in Zion. That's where
he promises his special presence, in Zion. And here's what every
church service should be, singing his praises and declaring his
doings. Isn't that what every church
service should be? Singing His praises. He's worthy to be praised. Declaring
His doings. Isn't that what salvation is?
His doings? He accomplished salvation. Oh,
this is the true worship service. Singing His praises in Zion and
declaring His doings. Verse 12, when He maketh inquisition
for blood, He remembereth them, he forgeteth not the cry of the
humble. Now, when he maketh inquisition
for blood, he remembers them. You know what that means? When
I see the blood, I will pass over you. He remembers all of his people
in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. When I see the blood,
this is him making inquisition for blood. When I see the blood,
I will pass over you. He remembereth them. He forgeteth
not the cry of the humble. Remember me when you come into
your kingdom. He always remembers that cry. Now 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. Now, once again, yes, David is
speaking and we're continually asking for mercy and help in
our trouble. That's something that we do all
the time, but this is the Lord speaking. And the reason I know
this is the Lord speaking is because he makes reference to
his resurrection. Look in verse 13, have mercy upon me, O Lord,
consider my trouble, which I suffer of them that hate me. And there's
never been anybody hated like the Lord Jesus Christ. You know,
we think, oh, somebody hates me, somebody treats me wrong.
Not really, not really. But he experienced that in its
completeness. But look how he says, thou that
liftest me up from the gates of death. This is a reference
to his resurrection, the Lord lifting him up from the gates
of death. Why, verse 14, that I may show forth all thy praises
in the gates of the daughter of Zion. I will rejoice in thy
salvation. Now, this is what the Lord Jesus
did in his resurrection. He showed forth all of his praises. He manifested every attribute. Now, let me remind you of this,
this thing of the death of Christ. It's the most God-like thing
God ever did. I say that with fear, but I say
it really believing that the death of Jesus Christ is the
most God-like thing God ever did. And it shows forth all of
his praises. Every attribute of God is manifest
and glorified in the death of Jesus Christ. Like I said, this
psalm is called the death of the son. And there's nothing
more glorious than the death of the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ
showing forth all of God's praises. He says, I will rejoice in thy
salvation. Aren't you thankful that God's
salvation is his salvation? And you can rejoice in what he
has done. Not in what you do, but in what
he has done. Now look what he says in verse
15. These verses are helpful to me. are sunk down in the pit that
they made. In the net which they hid is
their own foot taken. If a man goes to hell, it's all
his fault. Every bit of it. I love the way it says the heathen
are sunk down in the pit that they made. They dug the pit,
they fell into it. They're dug down into the pit
that they made. It says in the net which they
hid in maliciousness, trying to entrap somebody and hurt somebody
and cause somebody to trip up. In the net they hid is their
own foot taken. Now what that's letting us know
is that if a man goes to hell, he's not a victim of the sovereignty
of God. He can't say, well, God ordained
me to this and I have no recourse. Now understand this, it's true. If a man goes to hell, he was
ordained to that condemnation. The scripture says that. And
I'm not going to apologize for that. That's what the Bible says.
They were ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, the scripture says.
They were ordained to this. But it's not like this was some
kind of arbitrary choice of God where he says, I think I'm going
to damn that one. and they're just gonna, I'm gonna assign
them to eternal condemnation, I'm gonna save that one. That's
not the way it works at all. If you go, if I go to hell, there's
only one person to blame, me. What if somebody, just in life,
somebody in a job, they don't do their job, they're lazy, they're
good for nothing, they never perform their responsibilities,
and they get fired? Well, whose fault is it? Is it
the employers? No, it's the employees. It's
because of the way they conducted themselves. Well, that's the
same thing as hell. If you go to hell, if I go to
hell, I got no one to blame but myself. And that's what the Lord
is saying. That's what David is saying.
The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made, in the
net which they hid is their own foot taken. Verse 16, the Lord
is known. Now, don't miss that. The Lord is known. He's known. Every believer knows the Lord. This is not speculative knowledge. This is knowing a person. There's
a relationship with this glorious person. The Lord is known. How? The Lord is known by the
judgment which he executeth. Now, what that is a reference
to is the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, you think of the
judgment that was executed on the cross of Christ. Judgment's
already taken place. In Christ, I've already been judged and
condemned and justified. On the cross, Christ bore my
sin. and bore the just judgment of
my sin. He put it away. And judgment has already taken
place. He's known by the judgment which
he executed. Is there anything more glorious
than the way God has made a way to be just? and justify the ungodly. How God has made a way to take
somebody like me who drinks iniquity like water, according to the
scripture, and make me absolutely, perfectly, completely just. Not just a a paper that says
I'm just, but I am just in God's sight. There is no sin. Oh, the
judgment, which he executes on the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's how he's known. The Lord is known by the judgment,
which he executed, but he talks about the wicked, the wicked
ensnared in the work of his own hands. And that word, Hegion,
Sela, means meditate upon this. absolute justice in the salvation
of the sinner and the wicked are snared in the work of their
own hands. It's their fault that they have been put in this place. Verse 17, the wicked shall be
turned into hell. and all the nations that forget
God. Now, while we were driving to
Columbus, Friday, we were going up there for Lynette MRI. Several times we passed this
sign, hell is real. You ever seen that on a highway,
you're going, hell is real. And you know, hell is real, but
the fear of hell never brought anybody to repentance. You get
scared, nobody wants to go to hell. I always think it's interesting,
a lot of times where you have one of those bad places, right
before it, you'll have the Ten Commandments up. You know, when
you're on the highway and you see one of those, I don't know
why. No one was ever brought to Christ
by fear of hell. But one of the things that amazed
me is to think that Jesus Christ, hell is real. They're right about
that. And Jesus Christ bore the full
equivalent of hell on Calvary's tree. Whatever hell is, Jesus
Christ suffered hell. You know, when people say, I'm
going through hell, no, you're not. No, you're not. I'm sorry for any sorrow any
of us go through, but no, it's not hell. Jesus Christ suffered
the full equivalent of hell on Calvary's tree and put it away. But here is the end of the wicked. The wicked shall be turned into
hell and the With God, the punishment always fits the crime. The wicked shall be turned into
hell and all the nations that forget God. Verse 18, for the
needy shall not always be forgotten.
The expectation of the poor shall not perish forever. Now here
we have this description that's found over and over in the Psalms,
the poor and the needy. Now, if you're poor, that means
you don't have anything to bring to the table in your salvation.
You have absolutely nothing. You're poor. And your needy means
that you have great need. You have great need to be saved
by grace. You have great need to be saved
by the righteousness of Christ. You have great need of the mercy
of God. I need Him. I need him to have
mercy on me. I don't have anything to recommend
myself and I have great need. Now, a believer never leaves
that position. What is the first beatitude?
Blessed are who? The poor in spirit. Do you ever
quit being poor? No. poor and the needy. Now look what he says. For the
needy shall not always be forgotten. He may think that, but it's not
gonna continue. The expectation of the poor shall
not perish forever. What's my expectation? To be
perfectly conformed to the image of Christ by what he did for
me. Verse 19. Arise, O Lord. Let not man prevail. Now, if men could prevail, you
know what would happen? They'd kill God. They'd take
his throne for themselves. They'd put him out of business
if men could prevail. That's what every man wants.
And you know, in the Garden of Eden that's brought out, you'll
be like God. You'll be as God. You won't be under his thumb.
You'll be equal to him. Now, let not man prevail. This
is the desire of every believer, isn't it? We're on the Lord's
side. We're not on man's side. Man's an enemy of the Lord. We're
on the Lord's side. He says, arise, let not men prevail. Let the heathen be judged in
thy sight. Now, this is once again the Lord
Jesus Christ speaking. And he says, with regard to his
people, I pray for them. I pray not for the world. but
for them which you have given me. And the Lord can say this,
like you and I can't really say this right now. I can't say,
I hope that person goes to hell. That's what they got coming.
Now, one of these days when I have a glorified mind and glorified
body, when I see the Lord judging somebody, I'll be saying, righteous
are you, oh Lord, your judgments are perfect. But right now, I
can't enter into that. Not like I will one day, but
I can't right now, but the Lord does. He says, let not man prevail,
let the heathen be judged in thy sight. Put them in fear,
O Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but men. You know, we want men to know
that, don't we? I want every man to know that
they're nothing more than a man, a weak, sinful, frail, faulty
man, because everybody that really knows that about themselves,
you know what they're going to do? They're going to call out for mercy.
If you ever, if I ever get a glimpse of what I really am and what
being a man is, I'm going to say, Lord, have mercy on me. Put them in fear, O Lord, that
the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah. Meditate upon that. Amen.