My Psalm 9

Bob Hostetler

I will praise you, Lord, with my whole heart;
I will mention your marvelous works.

I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing my praises to you, O Most High.

When my enemies retreat,
it is you—not me—who causes them to fall and fail.
For you have defended my cause;
you judge justly from your throne.

You have rebuked the heathen,
you have destroyed the wicked,
you have erased their legacy for ever.

I have seen, Lord, that you let your enemies stew in their own juices;
you let their own words and deeds destroy them
and erode their reputations.

But you, Lord, endure for ever;
your throne, your place of judgment, is established.
You judge the world in righteousness,
and you rule its people fairly and faithfully.

You are also a refuge for the oppressed, Lord,
a shelter in times of trouble.
Those who know your name will put their trust in you,
for you never fail those who seek you.

I sing your praises, Lord, in my home, church, and community;
I will openly give you the credit you deserve.
I know that you are my defender; you do not ignore my humble cry.
Have mercy on me, Lord;
focus your gaze on those who cause trouble for me,
and lift me out of their clutches and the need I sometimes feel to defend myself,
so that my deliverance will be clearly your doing,
and my salvation will bring glory to you, not me.

Let the wicked, the hypocritical, the scheming, the resentful,
see their sin and turn from it,
or else be snared in the traps they lay for others.
You, Lord are just in all your works;
the wicked are justly brought down by you.

Let them go down, Lord;
let the fate of all those who ignore you befall them.
But remember the needy,
and let not the hopes of the poor be crushed.

Arise, Lord!
Don’t let silly humans defy you.
Straighten them out; straighten us all.
Let your enemies tremble in fear, Lord,
remind them that you are Sovereign…and they are not. Amen.