Recount God's Wonderful Deeds

To a student in school one of the worst words in the English language is, “homework.”  Nobody likes homework.  School should stay at school right?  Well, sometimes it is profitable to focus on a particular subject or thought and really dig deep in a way you can’t do in a class or group.  So, I normally don’t assign “homework” in a Bible Time, but with today’s passage I think you will benefit from taking some time at the end for a little extra work. 

Here is today’s passage and then I will give you your assignment.

Psalm 9

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
    I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
² I will be glad and exult in you;
    I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

³ When my enemies turn back,
    they stumble and perish before your presence.
⁴ For you have maintained my just cause;
    you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.

⁵ You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish;
    you have blotted out their name forever and ever.
⁶ The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins;
    their cities you rooted out;
    the very memory of them has perished.

⁷ But the Lord sits enthroned forever;
    he has established his throne for justice,
⁸ and he judges the world with righteousness;
    he judges the peoples with uprightness.

⁹ The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
    a stronghold in times of trouble.
¹⁰ And those who know your name put their trust in you,
    for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

¹¹ Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion!
    Tell among the peoples his deeds!
¹² For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
    he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

¹³ Be gracious to me, O Lord!
    See my affliction from those who hate me,
    O you who lift me up from the gates of death,
¹⁴ that I may recount all your praises,
    that in the gates of the daughter of Zion
    I may rejoice in your salvation.

¹⁵ The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
    in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.
¹⁶ The Lord has made himself known; he has executed judgment;
    the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.

¹⁷ The wicked shall return to Sheol,
    all the nations that forget God.

¹⁸ For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
    and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.

¹⁹ Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail;
    let the nations be judged before you!
²⁰ Put them in fear, O Lord!
    Let the nations know that they are but men!

Things to think about:

• This Psalm was written by King David.  As a king who controls an army and has a nation to defend his “recounting” of God’s “wonderful deeds” was pretty specific.  He rejoiced over his enemies defeat.  Do you think we should rejoice over our enemies defeat?  Who are your enemies?  People, trials, world, temptations, sin, etc. 
• In this Psalm how does David describe God?  Example: vs. 9 “The LORD is a stronghold.”  What are more examples?
• David was calling for God to see his affliction in verse 13.  Doesn’t God see everything?  Why would David call for God to see something he already sees?  When we pray are we asking God for things he already knows we need?  Then why should we pray? 

Homework:

• Verse 1 says, “I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.”  Grab a sheet of paper or type up a document recounting all of God’s wonderful deeds.  Be general, be specific, and be grateful!  It doesn’t need to be in any particular form or order.  Just start listing all the wonderful things God has done in this world, in your life, in the past 24 hours, in your life, everything. 
• Then take that list and share it with someone else!  You can email it to them, you can give it to them, you can read it out loud to them, just proudly proclaim the good things of God to someone else.  What a blessing that will be to you both. 
• So, there is your homework.  May take some time, but I think it will be totally worth it.