Psalm 9: A good God is worth telling others about.

Joshua Daniels

Poems, Prayers, & Promises • Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago

Psalm 9

0 ratings

· 4 views

Notes

Transcript

Good morning Church.

For the last few Saturdays ashleigh and I have been working our way through the Lord of the Rings films. and the Hobbits. so that’s 6 movies. and we have to do this because I’ve never actually seen any of them. I read all the books. Unabridged. JRR Tolkein is probably the greatest british author of the 20th century. The Lord of the Rings is one of the most important works of Christian literature ever written. Entire college and grad school courses are routinely taught on these books. The allegory for the mortification of sin is incredible. For nearly 70 years now these have continued to be best sellers. and I will talk about them any chance I get, but I’ve never seen the movies. the early 2000’s Peter Jackson films. and Ashleigh is not the first person to try to get me to watch these movies. Probably a dozen people have tried over the years. But those extended editions are just so long. They’re like 4 hours per movie. and that’s tough on me. But after years of people telling me that I needed to watch these movies, I’m finally doing it. And you know what…Everybody was right. They’re amazing.

and that’s why 22 years after fellowship of the ring came out people are still talking about it.

and that’s not just true of Lord of the Rings. What was the last movie or show that you watched that you went and told somebody else they had to watch.

Better yet what is the show or the movie that somebody in your life keeps pestering you to watch.

Why do they do that? Why do we do that? I think when something effects us emotionally, we want to share that with others so that they can experience the same thing.

I don’t get to preach on Sundays very often, but when Chris is kind enough to share his pulpit my general practice is just to take whatever it is we’re doing on wednesday nights with your students and carry it right over here. and We have for the last couple of months on Wednesday nights been in a sermon series in the book of Psalms. So this morning it is my great joy to show you a little bit of what we’ve been doing on Wednesdays with your teenagers.

As I said we’ve been in the book of psalms. Not preaching through each one but hitting the major types and genres of psalm so that we have an idea how to use this book. See, psalms, as the series title suggests, is a book of Poems, Prayers, and Promises. Not of John Denver, but of Israel.

and if we’re reading poems, it matters what kind of poem we’re reading. Different types of poems have different rules, different structures that define the type of poem. Yall, remember your middle school and high school literature classes.

Look at this example, from Elizabeth Barrett Browning. It’s a sonnet, and as a sonnet there has to be a certain number of rhyming couplets arranged in a certain order. That’s what makes a sonnet a sonnet.

Or what about this, traditional japanese style poem. A Haiku, what makes a haiku a haiku is the number of syllables in each line. It has to be 5, 7, 5.

5 syllables in the first line, 7 syllables in the next, and 5 in the last.

One more example. My favorite type of poem is a lymerick. A lymerick is 5 lines. The first and the last lines end in the same word. That’s what makes a poem a lymerick.

and when you understand what type of poem you’re reading you know what markers to looks for which explain its meaning in a much simpler way.

and these types of poetry structures aren’t unique to english. Much of the Bible is written as traditional, highly structured Hebrew style poetry.

and the poem we’re looking at today, Psalm 9 is a Chiastic poem. Here’s what that means. A chiastic poem comes from the root word Chasm. and there is a chasm in the way that you outline one of these. And they are all over the Bible. The whole story of Noah and the ark follows this structure. Large sections of Mathew and Mark fit this pattern. About 1/3 of the book of Psalms looks like this.

The first and last sections of the poem cover the same topic. and the 2nd and 2nd to last sections do the same. and the 3rd and 3rd to last. So as you look at the outline it develops this chasm between the beginning and the end, but more importantly it makes this arrow pointing towards the middle of the poem, screaming at you with big blinking lights, this is the main point right here.

and so for us, in Psalm 9. If you have a physical Bible open in front of you, it should be pretty easy to find. It’s gonna be right in the middle of the chapter. There are 20 verses. and verse 11 is the main point.

Psalm 9:11 CSB

11 Sing to the Lord, who dwells in Zion; proclaim his deeds among the nations.

If you would allow me to put that in my own words. The main point of Psalm 9 is this.

A good God is worth telling others about.

and so every point that the psalmist makes in the front half of the poem is leading up to this idea and everything he says in the back half of the poem is flowing out of this idea. that A good God is worth telling others about.

In fact, what I love about these chiastic poems is that once you find out the main point you can basically plug it in at the end of every line and it should make sense.

Here watch this.

Psalm 9:1 CSB

1 I will thank the Lord with all my heart; I will declare all your wondrous works.

because a good God is worth telling others about...

Psalm 9:2 CSB

2 I will rejoice and boast about you; I will sing about your name, Most High.

because a good God is worth telling others about.

So we have this opening that is just blanket praise to God. but it’s not just praise to God it’s praise about God to others.

I will declare all your wondrous works. I will boast about you.

When something good happens there is an innate desire in us to tell somebody else about it.

You don’t always share the bad things, but you always share the good. If I get on instagram right now; given my age and who my friends are, I’m gonna see engagements, and weddings, and first houses, and babies, and puppies, and travel photos.

You know what I’m not gonna see? Divorces, and lost jobs, and stolen cars, and sick kids. Even though all of those things are happening in all of my friends lives; we tend to share the good things.

Now, I’ll admit that this is the biggest difference between my generation and the one that came before me in how we use social media. Millennials usually only show the good stuff. We edit and crop and go back and delete things later if they don’t get enough likes. because we treat a social media page like its a resume or a highlight reel.

My parents generation, Gen X. They’ll just post anything. Christmas morning photos ain’t nobody got their hair brushed, still in pajamas, junk everywhere. swimming pool and beach photos after everybody is wet, sandy, and burnt. post it. sharing their lives with people. As if social media was just a way of connecting with friends. I do not get it. I will never understand. That stuff has to be curated.

take the beach photos before I get in the water. and my hair sticks to my head, showing off all the thin spots. I don’t need that. I will untag myself from those pictures every time.

Why? because I only want to boast about the good things. I only want to declare the wondrous things.

sandy and sunburnt is not the version of my vacation that I think is worth telling others about.

See in Psalm 9. David is gonna get specific in his comments about his God, and he doesn’t tell the bad stuff watch this.

Psalm 9:3–5 CSB

3 When my enemies retreat, they stumble and perish before you. 4 For you have upheld my just cause; you are seated on your throne as a righteous judge. 5 You have rebuked the nations: You have destroyed the wicked; you have erased their name forever and ever.

Our God rebukes the nations, the Gentiles, not just His own people. Because He is so good that His people can’t be quite about Him. and what’s the result of that. God destroys the wicked and He erases their names for ever and ever.

So wicked and evil nations, entire people groups, millions of people’s names and history are wiped from existence. Why? Because the wicked and unrighteous are not worth remembering. but a good God is worth telling others about.

In the same way that I will untag myself from a bad photo, because that memory of me is not worth sharing.

In the same way people tell you about GOOD movies that they have seen. GOOD restaurants they have visited. GOOD thing that they have experienced. Nobody tries to prolong the memory of bad things.

When you tell your kids and grandkids about the glory days when you played Varsity ball in high school, do you tell them about the games you won or the games you lost?

The games you won. Because you’re silently praying what David did in verse 6.

Psalm 9:6 CSB

6 The enemy has come to eternal ruin; you have uprooted the cities, and the very memory of them has perished.

You want the bad memories erased from the face of the earth.

But David doesn’t just praise the Lord for getting rid of the bad. He praises Him for the Good as well. watch this. Psalm 9:7-8

Psalm 9:7–8 CSB

7 But the Lord sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for judgment. 8 And he judges the world with righteousness; he executes judgment on the nations with fairness.

So the same God who destroys the memory of the wicked and erases them forever, also judges the world with righteousness. Not just His own people, He judges the world. the Nations. not just His Israel. but He treats them with fairness.

See, even to those outside of Israel, outside of the family of God, watch this. verses 9 & 10. Psalm 9:9-10

Psalm 9:9–10 CSB

9 The Lord is a refuge for the persecuted, a refuge in times of trouble. 10 Those who know your name trust in you because you have not abandoned those who seek you, Lord.

Did you catch that? We’re still talking about the nations here. You and me. See Even at this point. This is a psalm of David. David became king in 1000 BC. so somewhere in that general time period, 1000 years before Jesus was born; God had a reputation among the nations. Everyone who Israel had interacted with who had seen the power of this God.

Think of all the people in the days of Joshua who heard about this God of the Hebrews and threw themselves at His mercy. Individuals like Rehab the prostitute. But also entire nations and people groups like the Gibeonites.

Because a good God is worth telling others about, others have heard about Him.

The chickfila truck pulls up in front of Papas and its not 2 hours before there’s a line halfway across the parking lot. Why? Because good news travels fast.

and so because of the way that the Lord has treated outsiders who came to Him for refuge in the past, all the outsiders who have heard of Him, trust Him, because He does not abandon those who seek Him.

and here’s how I know that’s true.

Less than 7% of Americans attend church 2 or more times a month. and that is a self reported stat, so that’s a maximum. We know the real number is lower, we just don’t know how much lower.

So less than 7% of americans attend church half the time. but 70% claim to be Christians. and that stat includes our catholic brothers and sisters.

so you’ve got this tiny group of people for whom their faith in God effects even the smallest part of their life. to the point where God appears on their calendar more than once a month. but you’ve got this huge group who would say that they believe in Him and when they pray, if they pray, that’s who they pray to.

Because of verse 10. again.

Psalm 9:10 CSB

10 Those who know your name trust in you because you have not abandoned those who seek you, Lord.

But how do they know to seek Him. How do they know that He does not abandon them.

Well, we’re back to our main point.

Psalm 9:11 CSB

11 Sing to the Lord, who dwells in Zion; proclaim his deeds among the nations.

A good God is worth telling others about.

So now we start working backwards out of this main point. and some of your Bibles may have this already broken out into paragraphs like this. but verses 12-14 is a new point matching up with verse 6-10.

We saw this testimony that God saves the righteous, now we see a prayer that He will do that in David’s life. Psalm 9:12-14

Psalm 9:12–14 CSB

12 For the one who seeks an accounting for bloodshed remembers them; he does not forget the cry of the oppressed. 13 Be gracious to me, Lord; consider my affliction at the hands of those who hate me. Lift me up from the gates of death, 14 so that I may declare all your praises. I will rejoice in your salvation within the gates of Daughter Zion.

read verse 14 again. Why does David ask that the Lord will save him from his present situation?

So that David can declare the praises of the Lord, and rejoice in His salvation in the city gates.

Because a good God is worth telling others about.

then verses 15-18 match up with verses 3-6

We saw God judging the wicked. and again, we see God judging the wicked.

Psalm 9:15–18 CSB

15 The nations have fallen into the pit they made; their foot is caught in the net they have concealed. 16 The Lord has made himself known; he has executed justice, snaring the wicked by the work of their hands. Higgaion. Selah 17 The wicked will return to Sheol— all the nations that forget God. 18 For the needy will not always be forgotten; the hope of the oppressed will not perish forever.

Because a good God is not just worth telling others about But a good God makes Himself known. To everyone. He executes justice. He let’s the wicked get caught in and brought down by their own sins.

Whatever sin issue you think you’ve got hidden; you are lying to yourself but you can’t lie to God. I promise you, that will be the thing to wreck your life. You will get caught in a hole you dug for yourself. You will be brought down by your own sin.

and then we close with this great reversal of David’s opening point.

He started with this promise to proclaim the Lord to the nations and He closes with a prayer that God would make Himself known to the nations.

Psalm 9:19–20 CSB

19 Rise up, Lord! Do not let mere humans prevail; let the nations be judged in your presence. 20 Put terror in them, Lord; let the nations know they are only humans. Selah

So what do we do with this today. I believe, and what I tell your kids every week is that when God’s Word is preached it demands a response from everyone present. You have to do something with this. Even if that’s just ignoring it. That’s something. and what you choose to do, how you choose to respond to God’s Word matters. It matters immediately in your life and it matters eternally.

So how do you respond. I don’t know what the Holy Spirit has for you today, but I have some suggestions.

Give your life to Jesus today.

Deal with your sin before it deals with you.

Tell someone else about the good things that the Lord has done for you.

Maybe you know of the Lord but you don’t really know Him. You’re one of those that David was talking about this morning. On the periphery. You know of the Lord and His goodness enough to turn to Him in times of need but you don’t know Him well enough that He effects your life in any meaningful way. Give some thought to this. If you were not a Christian, how different would your life look this week? How would you use your time, your money, how would you speak to others. If you don’t know the Lord well enough for those things to be different, then I have to wonder how well you really know Him at all. So if that’s you. You have an opportunity today to truly lay yourself before the Lord. He is a refuge for those in need.

Maybe you know the Lord but you’ve got some sin issue that you’re just not ready to deal with. You think you’ve got it under control. You only give into that sin on a rare occasion. It’s not that big of a problem. It’s not effecting your life.

If that’s you, I’d actually encourage you to go back and rewatch the first Lord of the Rings film. Or reread the books. Just the beginning. Remember, it’s a Christian allegory about the mortification of sin. Remember Bilbo Baggins, who held onto the ring for decades. He rarely put it on. Sometimes he’d go years without touching the ring. But it effected him in some big ways. He almost couldn’t leave it behind. He kept trying to put it away and walk out the door, but he kept putting it in his pocket instead. When Gandalf tried to make him put the ring down, his face contorted into this monster for just a second as he defended his right to keep it. because it’s his and it’s not even that big of a deal. and that’s when you could really see the effect that even his private little secret, part-time sin had on him over the years. Or worse. Think of Smegol, who had the thing for even longer and it physically changed him permanently.

Don’t let your sin become the thing that ensnares you. God is a good and righteous judge and He will let you fall into the Hole that you’ve dug for yourself with your sin. But He is also a refuge for those who seek Him. and He will help you out of that hole you’ve gotten yourself into. all you have to do is ask him.

Maybe that’s not you. You know the Lord. He has rescued you from your sin. If that’s you. Awesome. Who was the last person you told that story to? There’s something powerful in your testimony. You don’t need to have the romans road memorized. You don’t need to study theology and apologetics to tell somebody what God did for you. How he changed your life. and nobody can argue against that. If the Lord has done something good for you, go tell someone about it. because

A good God is worth telling others about.

I don’t know what the Lord has for your today, but I know He has something for you. Some way that He wants you to respond. and if you need to do that by coming forward today, now is the time.

Related Media

Related Sermons