Praying Through: Psalm 9

The Psalm

Psalm 9 (CSB)
For the choir director: according to Muth-labben. A psalm of David.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

The Prayer

I will not and cannot list what I think you have not done for me. That is preposterous! What you have done for me, in me, and through me is too great to even list. But I thank you so much. I thank you for you are absolutely good, absolutely merciful, absolutely gracious, and absolutely love. These I know of you and know you well.

God, you are high and exalted far above all creation, including any little thing I might create with my mind and my hands. I thank you for those many gifts that you have given me. I thank you for the life that you have given me. I thank you for the loves that you have given me. I thank you all.

God, I thank you for the security of your word. I thank you that you cannot break your promises to me. And those promises apply to me because I am your son, of whom you said you are well-pleased. Your Spirit also bears witness with my spirit that I am your child. Your Son intercedes for me on my behalf.  I know you will not reject me but you have saved me to yourself for your everlasting glory and the fullness of my joy.

God, I thank you for your heart that you have given to me. So now, with my voice, my lungs, my mouth, and my heart, I sing. I sing to you, about you, and for you. I sing loudly. I sing because I want you to hear me. I sing because I want you to hear how much I love you. And you hear my song. And you always hear my song.

May my words be a sweet and lovely sound for your ears.

I love you.

I adore you.

Thank you.

In your Son’s incredible name I pray. Amen.