Psalm 9: Thanking Him With My Whole Heart

I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart;

My heart is full. I am thankful before Him. He has spoken into the depths of my soul and awakened me to His life. I was dead; lifeless. Blessed is He who is the Breath of Life reads a Hebrew blessing, and it permeates my being. The goodness of God is immeasurable—it never ceases. He has performed miracles in my life, even in the desert, in the midst of the draught, He has filled me with Living Water.

I will tell of all Your wonders. I will be glad and exult in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High. {vs. 1-2}. 

Blessed are You, Breath of Life, continues the Hebrew blessing; who makes every human throat a shofar for the breathing of Your Truth. 

God’s praises should always be upon our lips, He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water, speaks the beloved disciple in the book that bears his name (7:38). He saved me; filled me with His Spirit; spoke a Word to me; gives me a hope and a future and an expected end (see Jer. 29:11). How can I stand before God, absent of a heart of gratitude? How can I not thank Him with my whole heart? 

When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before You. For You have maintained my just cause; You have sat on the throne judging righteously. You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked; You have blotted out their name forever and ever. The enemy has come to an end in perpetual ruins, and You have uprooted the cities; The very memory of them has perished. But the Lord abides forever; He has established His throne for judgment, and He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity. The Lord also will be a stronghold for the oppressed, A stronghold in times of trouble; And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You. {vs. 3-10}.

If this is not reason enough to be grateful before Him…He is my refuge and fortress; He does battle on my behalf, El Gabor-the Warrior Messiah, the Mighty God. He has a plan and purpose for my life. He has a purpose among the nations; and plans of ruin for the wicked. He is God and He rules sovereign in all the world.

Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion; Declare among the peoples His deeds.
For He who requires blood remembers them; He does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
Be gracious to me, O Lord; See my affliction from those who hate me,
You who lift me up from the gates of death, That I may tell of all Your praises,
That in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in Your salvation. {vs. 11-14}.

God is worthy of all praise, honor and glory. He is wonderful, and glorious. He is Elah Eloah—the Adorable One. He is the King of Glory. He is more than deserving of our praise. We have witnessed the holy and made it common, rather than turning it into something blazing. As one wise minister said, we want to remove the rods from the ark, so we can praise the way we want, instead of being led by the Spirit. God will not forget those that praise Him;

Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who esteem His name. Malachi 3:16

God has not forgotten those that fear Him; He has not forgotten those that don’t fear Him:

The nations have sunk down in the pit which they have made; in the net which they hid, their own foot has been caught. The Lord has made Himself known; He has executed judgment. In the work of his own hands the wicked is snared. Higgaion  Selah. 

The wicked will return to Sheol, Even all the nations who forget God. For the needy will not always be forgotten, Nor the hope of the afflicted perish forever. Arise, O Lord, do not let man prevail; Let the nations be judged before You. Put them in fear, O Lord; Let the nations know that they are but men. Selah. {vs. 15-20}.

Nations that reject God are without excuse; for since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse {Rom. 1:20}. 

 The last five verses call upon God’s justice; His mercy. The nations need a paradigm shift—they are but dust. Higgaion means meditation or consideration, and probably an interlude giving musical expression to the feelings uttered by the psalmist. God wants this to be deeply-rooted in our thoughts; our spirits; to meditate on His judgment and His mercy for the nations and for men. We are but dust…

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30 NIV

Cultivate a grateful heart. How can God give us more if we can’t thank Him for what He has already so generously, graciously given? Was Salvation not enough? He has performed wonders in our lives and loved us when we were filthy and unlovable. How can I not thank Him with my whole heart?   

Let your heart sing with gratefulness and He will sing over you...

 In His Grace,

JJ— Jesu Juva Jesus help!

SDG— Soli Deo Gloria— to God be the glory!