Psalm 9 – Proclaim the Lord

• 1^st – Psalm of Praise… vs. 1-2
  • 1^st – Introduction… vs. 1
    • To the Chief Musician. To the tune of – Death of the Son. A Psalm of David!
    • PSALM of DAVID – a Psalm of PRAISE – God giving the VICTORY over His enemies…
    • DEATH of a SON [עַלְמוּת לַבֵּן] – this is either an EVENT – the death of a SON…
    • More likely [praise Psalm] – this was a particular TUNE – that this Psalm was sung to!
  • 2^nd – Praise the Lord… vs. 1-2
    • I will praise You – O LORD – with my whole heart. I will tell of all Your marvelous works.
    • I will be glad and rejoice in You. I will sing praise to Your name – O Most High!
    • PRAISE – David HAD to [hiphil] PRAISE the LORD – and tell [piel] everyone what He did…
    • Because David was REALLY [cohortative] HAPPY – full of JOY – and PRAISE for God!
    • We do NOT know the specific events around this Psalm – and I kind of like that…
    • No doubt there was a great VICTORY God gave David over his enemies – filling him with JOY…
    • But his RESPONSE – was to PRAISE the LORD – and tell everyone about the LORD!
    • When God does a WORK in our lives – do NOT tell people what God did…
    • Let us tell people about the LORD – point them to the ONE who is the answer!

• 2^nd – Two sides… vs. 3-10
  • 1^st – Winning side… vs. 3-4
    • When my enemies turn back – they shall fall and perish at Your presence.
    • You have maintained my right and my cause – You sat on the throne judging in righteousness!
    • WHEN [not if] the enemies retreated – they would FALL [niphal] in the presence of the Lord…
    • Because – David was on the side [cause] of the Lord – God would judge those opposed to him!
    • Do not miss – it is NOT that God judged those opposed to David…
    • He judged those opposed to the LORD – David just happened to be on the WINNING side!
  • 2^nd – Losing side… vs. 5-6
    • You have rebuked the nations. You have destroyed the wicked…
    • You have blotted out their name forever and ever!
    • O enemy – destructions are finished forever! And you have destroyed cities…
    • Even their memory has perished!
    • How did God JUDGE – He REBUKED [perfect] – DESTROYED [perfect] – and BLOTTED [perfect]
    • All of these are COMPLETE [perfect] actions – meaning they are ALREADY done!
    • We look at a WICKED world – and wonder how long before God JUDGES…
    • But God sees the WICKED – and to Him they are already JUDGED…
    • God has already seen their DESTRUCION – even the memory of them will disappear…
    • Their names are BLOTTED out of the book of life – Revelation 3:5
  • 3^rd – Judgement… vs. 7-8
    • But the LORD shall endure forever. He has prepared His throne for judgment.
    • He shall judge the world in righteousness – administer judgment for the peoples [evenly]!
    • FOREVER – meaning the LORD has no beginning or end – Revelation 1:8
    • That does NOT mean God has an endless amount of TIME – it means God is outside of TIME…
    • And the God who sees ALL has INTENSLY prepared [poel] – His throne to JUDGE the wicked…
    • And when He JUDGES – it will be RIGHT [צֶדֶק] and fair [מֵישָׁר]!
    • Those who chose the WRONG side – live for this world rather than the Lord…
    • They might think they get away with their SIN – they are not JUDGED yet…
    • But God SEES – and has already JUDGED – and is throne is prepared for them!
    • Hebrews 4:13 – “There is no creature hidden from His sight – but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
  • 4^th – Refuge… vs. 9-10
    • The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed – a refuge in times of trouble.
    • And those who trust in You – know Your name!
    • For You have not forsaken those who seek the LORD!
    • In CONTRAST – the LORD is a REFUGE on the day of JUDGEMENT [the time of TROUBLE]
    • To ANY who TRUST in Him – those who KNOW His name!
    • Because there will only be TWO kinds of people when it comes the JUDGEMENT…
    • We either will stand CONDEMENED – because we did not put our FAITH in Jesus…
    • Or we will stand REDEEMED – because we put our TRUST in Jesus Christ!

• 3^rd – Preach Jesus… vs. 11-20
  • 1^st – DECLARE… vs. 11-12
    • Sing praises to the LORD – who dwells in Zion! Declare His deeds among the people!
    • When He avenges blood – He remembers them. He does not forget the cry of the humble!
    • SING [imperative] and DECLARE [imperative] the LORD among the people…
    • Because He SEEKS [avenges] blood – He will be revenge on those who have done EVIL…
    • But will NEVER forget the cry – of those who chose to be HUMBLE!
    • Rather than wondering WHEN – God will judge the wicked…
    • Use the time we have been given to tell them about the LORD – because there is still a chance!
    • I Corinthians 15:34 – “Awake… for some do not [know] God. I speak this to your shame.”
  • 2^nd – Grace… vs. 13-14
    • Have mercy on me – O LORD! Consider my trouble from those who hate me…
    • You who lift me up from the gates of death – that I may tell of all Your praise…
    • In the gates of the daughter of Zion. I will rejoice in Your salvation!
    • MERCY [imperative] – 78x in OT – this is the OT version of the NT concept of GRACE…
    • When God has GRACE – we are lifted out of the gates of DEATH [hell]
    • So we can [piel] PRAISE Him – REJOICE [piel] in His SALVATION [יְשׁוּעָה]!
    • The message we tell everyone – is about JESUS [יְשׁוּעָה] – who saves us from DEATH!
  • 3^rd – Justice… vs. 15-17
    • The nations have sunk down in the pit which they made…
    • In the net which they hid – their own foot is caught!
    • The LORD is known by the judgment He executes…
    • The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Meditation. Selah!
    • NATIONS [גוֹיִם] – a general term used to refer to those who are NOT the people of God…
    • SUNK [perfect] in their pit – CAUGHT [perfect] by their own net – already done!
    • KNOWN [יָדַע] – we all SEE [perfect] the LORD JUDGES the wicked according to his WORKS!
    • MEDITATION – 4x in OT – to sing LOUD – for those on the RIGHT side – a reason to REJOICE…
    • SELAH – for those on the WRONG side – a reason to contemplate their lives!
    • The message we tell everyone – without Jesus – we will ALL be JUDGED by our WORKS…
    • Not that they need someone to tell them – they already SEE [perfect] that…
    • Which is why people do NOT like to talk – or think – about death!
  • 4^th – Conclusion… vs. 18-20
    • The wicked shall be turned into hell – and all the nations that forget God.
    • The needy shall not always be forgotten – the [hope] of the [humble] shall not perish forever.
    • Arise – O LORD – do not let man prevail. Let the nations be judged in Your sight.
    • Put them in fear – O LORD – that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah
    • The WICKED – NATIONS [גוֹיִם] – will end up in HELL [שְׁאוֹל]
    • But the NEEDY – the HOPE of the HUMBLE [עֲנָוִים] – will NOT be forgotten or perish…
    • ARISE [imperative] – let the NATIONS [גוֹיִם] be JUDGED…
    • So that they FEAR the LORD – they know they are just MEN – SELAH!
    • We do NOT share Jesus because out of some sense of obligation – or for some reward…
    • We share because of the very real danger of HELL – the destination for any who reject Jesus…
    • Hell is not temporary – hell is the SECOND death – eternal separation from God…
    • Keeping people from Hell is why we are here – people are worth fighting for!

Psalm 10 – Victory of the Lord

• 1^st – The question… vs. 1
  • 1^st – Introduction…
    • This is one of only a handful of Psalms WITHOUT an introduction…
    • But – many believe it was originally part of Psalm 9 – similar THEME…
    • In most older manuscripts – LXX – the two are combined into ONE Psalm…
    • Also – together them form an ACROSTIC – organized by the letters of the Hebrew Alphabet!
  • 2^nd – Far away…
    • Why do You stand afar off – O LORD. Why do You hide in times of trouble!
    • WHY – does its seem God is ALWAYS [imperfect] far away when TROUBLE comes…
    • More specifically – does God not PUNISH those who cause the TROUBLE [wicked]!
    • We see people living IMMORAL lives – REJECTING the truth of God…
    • And the WORST part is they seem to be getting away with it…
    • They are NOT suffering – they may even PROSPER – and it seems unfair!

• 2^nd – Accountability of men… vs. 2-13
  • 1^st – What the Wicked do… vs. 2-4 /7-10
    • PRIDEFUL… vs. 2
      • The wicked in pride persecutes the [humble] – let them be caught in the plots they devised!
      • David [presumably] – goes on to describe FIVE sins of the WICKED…
      • FIRST – PRIDE – the wicked ASSUME they are BETTER than the HUMBLE [עֲנָוִים]
    • GREEDY… vs. 3
      • The wicked boasts of his hearts desire. He blesses the greedy and [despises] the LORD!
      • GREEDY – the wicked BOAST [הָלַל] in their desire for MONEY…
      • But they intensely [piel] DESPISE anything to do with the LORD! 
      • The world ALWAYS talks about MONEY – praise [הָלַל] those who have MONEY…
      • But because their god is MONEY – they want NOTHING to do with Jesus – Matthew 6:24
    • GODLESS… vs. 4
      • The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God. God is in none of his thoughts!
      • GODLESS – the PRIDE of the wicked keeps them from seeking God…
      • GOD [אֱלֹהִים] – note the generic name for the LORD – they do NOT know Him…
      • And He is NEVER [אֵין] in their thoughts – they do NOT want to know Him!
      • Because they do not see their NEED for GOD – they are their own god! 
    • LYING… vs. 7
      • His mouth is full of cursing – deceit – oppression. Under his tongue is trouble and iniquity!
      • LYING – the mouth of the wicked are FULL – but not of good things…
      • FULL of – cursing – deceit – fraud [oppression] – mischief [trouble] – and vanity [iniquity]
      • You can tell what is IN someone – by what comes OUT of their mouth!
      • Luke 6:45 – “Out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
    • MURDERER… vs. 8-10
      • He sits in the lurking places of the villages. In the secret places he murders the innocent.
      • His eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless. He lies in wait secretly – as a lion in his den.
      • He lies in wait to catch the poor. He catches the poor when he draws him into his net.
      • So he crouches – he lies low – that the helpless may fall by his strength!
      • MURDER – the wicked find a place to HUNT [lurking] the innocent…
      • They cannot take their eyes off [fixed] the helpless – do devour them like a LION…
      • They are like their MASTER – they are THEIVES and MURDERES!
      • John 8:44 – “[Satan] was a murderer from the beginning – and… there is no truth in him.”
      • PRIDEFUL – GREEDY – GODLESS – LYING – MURDERES…
      • Yet they seem to get away with it – they are NOT judged! 
  • 2^nd – What the Wicked think… vs. 5-6 / 11-13
    • IGNORANT… vs. 5-6
      • His ways are always [twisted]. Your judgments are far above – out of his sight.
      • As for all his enemies – he sneers at them. He has said in his heart – I shall not be moved. 
      • I shall never be in adversity – [in this time I am not evil]!
      • Even though the wicked are ALL [כֹּל] TWISTED – they do NOT see the JUGDEMENT coming…
      • For them it is out of sight – because in their heart they do not think they are EVIL [לֹֽא־בְרָֽע]!
      • Do NOT miss this – they wicked think they are GOOD – by their STANDARD!
      • If we think we are GOOD – we do NOT underhand the standard of God…
      • We assume because we are BETTER than someone else – we are a GOOD person…
      • But God does not grade on a curve – He has only ONE standard – Matthew 5:48
      • And compared to the standard of God – ALL of us are in desperate need of Jesus!
    • FORGOTTEN… vs. 11
      • He has said in his heart – God has forgotten. He hides His face. He will never see!
      • The wicked ALWAYS says [perfect] in his heart – God IGNORES [forgotten] my sin!
      • We may think that we got away with some sin in our life – that no one knows…
      • We may even convince ourselves God does not care – He has done nothing…
      • But God knows everything we do – every thought we have…
      • We should not take his Grace and longsuffering to mean He is OK with sin…
      • He just gives us time so that we can CHOOSE to REPENT – turn back to Him!
      • Proverbs 15:3 – “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.”
    • NO ACCOUNT… vs. 12-13
      • Arise – O LORD! O God – lift up Your hand! Do not forget the humble!
      • Why do the wicked [despise] God. He has said in his heart – You will not require an account!
      • FRUSTRATED – David tells the LORD to ARISE [imperative] – JUDGE the wicked…
      • Because if the LORD did not – they would DESPISE [piel] God…
      • Assuming they would NEVER be required to give an ACCOUNT for their SIN!
      • Revelation 20:11-12 – “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it…  And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God…”
      • But there is a JUDGEMENT coming – where we ALL have to give an ACCOUNT…
      • And if our NAME is not written in the BOOK of life – we will have to ASNWER…
      • For EVERY sin – every ACTION / every WORD / every THOUGHT…
      • Not to see if we will go to heaven or hell – but to show them why we will go to hell!

• 3^rd – Victory of the Lord … vs. 14-18
  • 1^st – Sees everything… vs. 14-15
    • But You have seen – for You observe trouble and grief – to repay it by Your hand.
    • The helpless commits himself to You. You are the helper of the fatherless.
    • Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man. Seek out his wickedness until You find none.
    • SEES [perfect] – the LORD does NOT miss anything – He sees it all…
    • And there will be a PAY day – one DAY – required by the LORD!
    • Numbers 32:23 – “You may be sure that your sin will find you out.”
  • 3^rd – Is the King… vs. 16
    • The LORD is King forever and ever. The nations have perished out of His land.
    • God is in CHARGE [king] – and He will cast the NATIONS [גוֹיִם] out of HEAVEN [His land]
    • We can only be citizens of one of TWO kingdoms…
    • We either belong to the Kingdom of God – or the kingdom of this world [גוֹיִם]
    • And if we try to get into heaven with the citizenship – we will be kicked out!
  • 4^th – Hears the Humble… vs. 17
    • LORD – You have heard the desire of the humble. You will [establish] their heart.
    • You will cause Your ear to hear. To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed…
    • That the man of the earth may oppress no more!
    • The LORD always HEARS [perfect] – the PRAYER [desire] of the HUMBLE [עֲנָוִים]
    • The LORD will ESTABLISH [hiphil] their heart – give us a NEW heart – II Corinthians 5:17
    • The LORD JUDGES – the men of the earth – so they can never oppress again!
    • Psalm 73:16-17 – “I tried to understand why the wicked prosper. But what a difficult task it is!  Then I went into your sanctuary… and thought about the destiny of the wicked.”
    • Which ANSWERS the question posed at the start of the Psalm…
    • WHY does God seem so far away – WHY do the wicked prosper…
    • Their PROSPERITY is VERY short lived – and unless they REPENT – JUDEMENT is CERTAIN…
    • The LORD is not far away – He is PATIENT – hoping we turn to Him – II Peter 3:9

Psalm 11 – Test of the LORD

• 1^st – Trust the Lord… vs. 1
  • 1^st – Introduction…
    • To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David!
    • CHIEF Musician – the one who plays [piel] the music!
    • PSALM of DAVID – a Psalm of WISDOM – who to turn to in times of TESTING!
  • 2^nd – TRUST the LORD… vs. 1
    • In the LORD I put my trust!
    • The word FAITH [πίστις] – appears 244x in the NT…
    • One of the most important TRUTHS – we are SAVED by FAITH – Ephesians 2:8
    • Yet the word is scarcely used in the OT – only TWO times [אֱמוּנָה] in the NKJV!
    • Habakkuk 2:4 – “The just shall live by his faith [אֱמוּנָה].”
    • Much like MERCY [חָנַן] – which is the OT equivalent of GRACE [χάρις]
    • TRUST [חָסָה] – protection or hope – is an OT equivalent of FAITH [πίστις]!
    • I actually PREFER the word TRUST to the FAITH…
    • FAITH is hard for us to relate to daily life – hard to DEFINE…
    • We did not wake up this morning and ask our spouse how their FAITH was doing…
    • But it is easier to ask – where are we putting our TRUST!

• 2^nd – The TEST… vs. 1-5
  • 1^st – The arrows of the wicked… vs. 1-3
    • How can you say to my soul – flee as a bird to your mountain.
    • For look! The wicked bend their bow – they make ready their arrow on the string…
    • That they may shoot secretly at the upright in heart!
    • If the foundations are destroyed – what can the righteous do!
    • FLEE [imperative] – it is assumed this is ADVICE being given to David…
    • Perhaps when he was running for his life from King Saul – I Samuel 20:42
    • Who did have an ARROW aimed [polel] at the heart of David!
    • BUT – if David was NOT trusting in the LORD – if that was NOT his foundation…
    • Then there was NOTHING he [the righteous] could do!
    • We all have what is called the FIGHT or FLIGHT instinct…
    • When bad things happen – we want to either ATTACK or RUN!
    • It is easy to want to DO something when life goes sideways – but that missed the point…
    • Where are we putting our TRUST – in what we can do – FIGHT or FLIGHT…
    • Or realizing it is a TEST meant to point us back to the LORD!
  • 2^nd – The LORD tests… vs. 4-5
    • The LORD is in His holy temple – the LORDs throne is in heaven.
    • His eyes behold – His eyelids test the sons of men!
    • The LORD tests the righteous – but the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates!
    • The LORD is in His TEMPLE – sitting on His THRONE is Heaven – He is in CONTROL…
    • He SEES [eyes open] everything that happens – nothing is hidden from Him…
    • Do NOT miss this – ONLY the RIGHTEOUS [צַדִּיק] are TESTED by the LORD!
    • The WICKED – are not His children – He hates them and does NOT test them!
    • When we see people living in SIN – and nothing seems to happen to them…
    • It can make us frustrated – how come they get away with it – and yet we get PUNISHED…
    • But if God lets someone get away with SIN – it means they are NOT His child…
    • Because God punishes EVERY child that He receives!
    • Hebrews 12:7 – “If you endure [testing] – God deals with you as with sons.”

• 3^rd – The REWARD… vs. 6-7
  • 1^st – For the WICKED… vs. 6
    • Upon the wicked He will rain coals. Fire and brimstone and a burning wind…
    • Shall be the portion of their cup!
    • The WICKED – may not have trouble in THIS life – but JUDGEMENT is coming…
    • God will rain down on them FIRE and BRIMSTONE – a BURNING wind!
    • BRIMSTONE – 7x in OT – consistently used in OT and NT of eternal JUDGEMENT!
  • 2^nd – For the RIGHTEOUS… vs. 7
    • For the LORD is righteous – He loves righteousness. The upright beholds His countenance!
    • Those who put their TRUST [חָסָה] in Him – become RIGHTEOUS…
    • They have TRIALS – because they are the children of the LORD…
    • The LORD who is RIGHTEOUS [צַדִּיק] and LOVES those who are RIGHTEOUS [צַדִּיק]
    • Will then allow those who are RIGHTEOUS – to see the LORD [heaven]!
    • A simple choice – do we TRUST in ourselves – and have NO trials…
    • Or do we TRUST in the LORD – TRIALS will come – John 16:33
    • But the reward is we learn to have FAITH – and inherit the KINGDOM of God!

Psalm 12 – Help from the LORD

• 1^st – No more Godly… vs. 1
  • 1^st – Introduction…
    • To the Chief Musician. On an eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David!
    • CHIEF Musician – the one who plays [piel] the music!
    • EIGHT stringed [הַשְּׁמִינִית] – could speak of an OCTAVE…
    • PSALM of DAVID – a Psalm of LAMENT – the Godly were gone!
  • 2^nd – No more Godly men…
    • Help – LORD – for the godly man ceases!
    • For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men!
    • HELP [imperative] – the GODLY men are disappearing – just the sons of MEN [אָדָֽם] are left!
    • After defeating the prophets of Baal – Elijah ran from wicked Jezebel – I Kings 19:3
    • Elijah though he was the LAST man to serve the Lord – he was ALONE…
    • But Elijah was not alone – God had 7000 men faithful to Him – I Kings 19:18
    • We NEVER stand ALONE – God always has a REMNANT…
    • We may not know till we get to heaven – just how many people really love Jesus…
    • But no matter how dark / difficult things seem to be – we are never ALONE…
    • Often it is when we STAND up for Jesus – other will stand up too!

• 2^nd – The Help… vs. 2-8
  • 1^st – The Wicked… vs. 2-4
    • They speak idly everyone with his neighbor. With flattering lips and a double heart they speak!
    • May the LORD cut off all flattering lips – and the tongue that speaks proud things!
    • Who have said – with our tongue we will prevail. Our lips are our own. Who is lord over us!
    • How do you KNOW who is WICKED – listen to their WORDS…
    • SPEAK [piel] – empty [idly] words – flattering one another in an effort to get something…
    • SAID [perfect] – who think their WORDS give them victory – they do NOT need the LORD!
    • David wanted the LORD to CUT off [jussive] their LIPS – and remove their TONGUE!
    • WORDS are powerful – and WORDS matter – we will have to answer for our WORDS!
    • Mathew 12:36 – “I say to you that for every idle word men may speak – they will give account of it in the day of judgment.”
  • 2^nd – The Godly… vs. 5
    • The oppression of the [humble] – for the sighing of the needy – now I will arise – says the LORD.
    • I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.
    • How do you know the GODLY – the HUMBLE [עֲנִיִּים] – who see the need to be SAVED [יֵשַׁע]
    • NOTE – it is not what they DO – it is what they UNDERSTAND…
    • We are all sinners – but it is admitting that that allows us to be SAVED – I John 1:9
  • 3^rd – How they are SAVED… vs. 6
    • The words of the LORD are pure words – like silver tried in a furnace of earth…
    • Purified seven times!
    • How do men go from being WICKED to GODLY – the WORD of the LORD…
    • It is PURE – like SILVER – refined in the fire SEVEN [perfect] times!
    • II Timothy 3:17 – “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete [same root word], thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
    • That is why it is so important for us to be constantly in the WORD – II Timothy 2:15
    • Because it is THROUGH the WORD that we are SAVED – Romans 10:17
  • 4^th – What they are SAVED from… vs. 7-8
    • You shall keep them – O LORD – You shall preserve them from this generation forever…
    • The wicked prowl on every side – when vileness is exalted among the sons of men!
    • The LORD saves [keeps] us – from a WICKED generation…
    • Those who walk on every side of us – who are worthless [vile] – the sons of Adam [אָדָֽם]!
    • Taking all FOUR of these Psalms together – we see an OBVIOUS picture…
    • The WORLD is full of WICKED men – who do not think they will be JUDGED…
    • But the LORD has already JUDGED them – they are on borrowed time…
    • Better to see our need for the LORD – put our TRUST in Him…
    • Because it is not about this life – it is about what ETERNAL life to come!