Psalms 9:1-20

I will worship you, YAHWEH, with extended hands as my whole heart erupts with praise! I will tell everyone everywhere about your wonderful works! I will be glad and shout in triumph. I will sing praise to your exalted name, O Most High. For when you appear, I worship you while my enemies run in retreat. They stumble and perish before your presence. For you have stood up for my cause and vindicated me when I needed you the most. From your righteous throne you have given me justice. With a blast of your rebuke, nations are destroyed. You obliterated their names forever and ever. The Lord thundered and our enemies have been cut off, vanished in everlasting ruins. All their cities have been destroyed— even the memory of them has been erased. But YAHWEH, our mighty God, reigns forever! He sits enthroned as King ready to render his verdicts and judge all with righteousness. He will issue his decrees of judgment, deciding what is right for the entire world, dispensing justice to all. All who are oppressed may come to YAHWEH as a high shelter in the time of trouble, a perfect hiding place. For everyone who knows your wonderful name keeps putting their trust in you. They can count on you for help no matter what. O Lord, you will never, no never, neglect those who come to you. Listen, everyone! Sing out your praises to the God who rules in Zion! Tell the world about all the miracles he has done! He tracks down killers and avenges bloodshed, but he will never forget the ones forgotten by others, hearing every one of their cries for justice. So now, O Lord, don’t forget me. Have mercy on me. Take note of how I’ve been humiliated at the hands of those who hate me. You are the one who can snatch me away from the gates of death. Then I will sing your praises as I pass through the gates of the Daughter of Zion, rejoicing in your deliverance! For the nations get trapped in the very snares they set for others. The hidden trap they set for the weak has snapped shut upon themselves! YAHWEH is famous for his justice. While the wicked are digging a pit for others, they are actually setting the terms for their own judgment. They will fall into their own pit. Consider the truth of this and pause in his presence Don’t forget this: all the wicked will one day fall into the darkness of death’s domain, including the nations that forget God and reject his ways. He will not forget the needs of the poor. One day the needy will be remembered, and their hopes will not be forever dashed in disappointment. YAHWEH, it’s time to arise and judge the nations who defy you. Don’t let rebellious men triumph. Make them tremble in fear before your presence. Place a lawgiver over them. Make them know that they are only puny, frail humans who must give account to you! Pause in his presence