Psalm 9 | Thanksgiving & Triumph (Featuring Music from Free As A Bird)

[Music] [Music] Well, hello everyone and welcome to the Pastor Patrick podcast. My name is Patrick Daly and I am the pastor of Ontario Community Church. It is really great to be here as we are already in episode 9 of the podcast. I cannot believe how quickly time is flying by when you're having fun and just seeing all of the things that are not only happening in church ministry but also in this digital ministry. This podcast exists as an extension of Ontario Community Church where we are going through the word of God specifically through the Psalms right now and it's just been kind of a wonderful time now just going into the depths of God's word.

we have a great show for you today or a great podcast recording or video recording if uh you are watching or listening. I want you to know that no matter where you are tuning in or listening to or watching, God loves you and God invites you to the table of plenty. He invites you to the vineyard where salvation is available for every single person. God calls for us to receive salvation, to grow in him, and to do good in his name. So, we're going to go over Psalm 9 today.

And there are 20 verses in this specific psalm. So, it's a little bit longer and uh Lord willing, we'll be able to get through it uh and do it well. And we have a song today um by the group Free as a Bird, the song I Lift My Eyes Up. So, it's just uh going to be a wonderful lineup today. And so, um yeah, let's go ahead and open in a word of prayer.

I'll just give you some updates. We'll read the psalm together and we'll just dive right in. So, let's open in a word of prayer. Dear Lord and heavenly father, the creator of the heavens and the earth, we are just so grateful uh for your word and for this time and this opportunity for us to um just be able to open the pages of your word and to learn, to study. And we just pray that as as we are reading, as we are learning, we will be moved to live and love like your son, Jesus Christ.

May we live out the faith in the words that we say and the actions that we do. And so we just ask that you bless this time. And Father, I pray for every single person that is listening and every single person that is watching this podcast, this show, whatever, whatever we want to call it. I just pray that you um every listener and every viewer knows that they are loved by you and you call them to salvation. You call them to the table of plenty.

and may they receive that gift. Or if they're hurting or if they're distant, may there be comfort and healing that is required. We just ask for that. And I just pray that um for every single person they may learn something, they may grow a little bit more and be moved to act upon this faith. We love you so much and we're excited for this Psalm 9.

We're grateful for this technology and just the movement of the Holy Spirit and all of the things that you're doing. Um it's just remarkable and we are just filled with gratitude for who you are, what you have done, and what you continue to do. So we just ask that you bless this time together. It is in the name of Jesus that we pray and we all say together, amen. And so we're going to go ahead and go into Psalm 9, but um before we do, you know, I just want to go ahead and give you an update on on this podcast.

I'm really grateful just for the wonderful um turnout and the feedback. just knowing that we've had hundreds of downloads and hundreds of uh listeners and different viewers. Uh this podcast is available on Rumble, YouTube, Facebook, and then it's distributed through all of the different podcast uh wherever you get your podcasts. And so uh really the hand of God has been on this. I haven't been um advertising this or anything.

And really, it's just a fun thing to do uh going into the depths of the word and uh just being able to uh record it. Um, but really it's just seeing how God has been working in and through this. I just really want to thank you um for listening to this or watching it and really supporting this. Um, we're just want to put this into God's hands and see what happens cuz this is not something that's just about me or it's not just about one person. It's about all of us together um seeking God and and his word and just letting him mold us.

And so I just really am so so proud and so excited that we are at our ninth episode and we're going to be approaching our 10th episode which we thank God for that. And I know that the uh podcast has been changing in length. We've now integrate songs and stuff. So it's just been kind of a wonderful thing uh that has been going on. And on a side note, this shirt that I'm wearing today, if you haven't seen it, it says aloha.

Aloha kakua, which is God is love. And this is a shirt that I got back in Hawaii and it's just kind of a great reminder just thinking about the essence that God is love, one of the many attributes of who he is. And so I'm just uh yeah, definitely excited to go through this. So uh we have 20 verses to go through this psalm in Psalm 9. As always, I have my brown little NIV Bible.

Um definitely love that one. And feel free to follow along in your NIV translation or really any Bible of choice. and we will just go ahead and go right to it. So, it starts off by saying Psalm 9. I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart.

I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and rejoice in you. I will sing praises of your name, O. My enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before you. For you have upheld my right and my cause, sitting enthroned as the righteous judge.

You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked. You have blotted out their name forever and ever. Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies. You have uprooted their cities. Even the memory of them has perished.

The Lord reigns forever. He has established his throne for judgment. He rules the world in righteousness and judges the people with equity. The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in the times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you.

For you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. That's a beautiful verse right there. Sing the praises of the Lord enthroned in Zion. Proclaim among the nations what he has done. For he who avenges blood remembers.

He does not ignore the cries of the afflicted. Lord, see how my enemies persecute me. Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death, that I may declare your praises in the gates of daughter Zion, and there rejoice in your salvation. The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug. Their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.

The Lord is known by his acts of justice. The wicked are ins snared by the work of their hands. The wicked go down to the realm of the dead. All the nations that forgot that forget God. But God will never forget the needy.

The hope of the afflicted will never perish. Arise, Lord. Do not let mortals triumph. Let the nations be judged in your presence. Strike them with terror, Lord.

Let the nations know they are only mortal. And so we start off with that. We start off with looking at this specific psalm here where you're starting off where where David is saying, "I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all of my heart." Right? Where he is praising God and he's um having this sense of gratitude and joy. And certainly when we thank God, we should thank God with all that we are, with all of our heart.

And I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. And that's kind of a a beautiful Lord. We a beautiful prayer, a beautiful praise as it were. We find very often in scripture such as uh it says in Psalm 86:12 that I will praise you Lord with all my heart. It's a pattern that we see specifically in Psalms where it's really David is praising God wholeheartedly.

And what a wonderful way. I mean, will you tell of the wonderful things that God is doing in your life? Will you tell that to other people? That's something that we can think of right away in this that I will praise you Lord. I will give thanks to you and certainly how it is connected with other other psalms is something that's remarkable.

We then go on into this um oh verse two that was just verse one. I will be glad and rejoice in in you and I will sing the praises of your name oh most high. It's showing the excitement of who God is. I will be glad and rejoice in you. And there are certainly moments where there is cause for us to have celebration in who the Lord is for looking and recognizing in what God has done, what God is doing, and what God will do.

That's one of the beautiful things that we think of when we think of scripture that we get to see this grand narrative that happens within scripture. knowing that God is the God of miracles. He is the God of salvation and that God is consistent. Right? Just as the word of God says that he is everlasting to everlasting or how the word says that the Lord is the same yesterday, today and forever.

We think about this and that should give us cause to celebrate. It should give us cause to praise the living God. And really when we're thinking when was the last time you praised God wholeheartedly with all of your heart, right? With all of your mind, with all that you are thanking God for who he is. And in this I will sing the praises of your name, oh most high.

Now certainly this is we can think of David as a musician. And I know for some of us, we might not um feel very comfortable in singing, but it's just taking that intentionality in praising God for who he is and just thanking him. And there's many ways that we can thank God, just thanking God for who he is, thanking God for being um being the Lord of all creation. We can thank God for again the promises, right? the prophecies that were fulfilled that it's proving through the word all of this consistency that um God freed the people of God out of Egypt, that God provided a sacrifice through Christ, and that um God provides wisdom and instruction for us, that God gives us eternal life for those who believe in him.

That's a cause for celebration for us. And so, that's just um some wonderful language that we see just within the first two verses. And as I mentioned in Psalm 86:12, there's plenty of other verses where it's talking about praising the living God almost verbatim. It says, "I will praise you, Lord, my God, with all my heart." And this then takes us into the verses three and four. And this is kind of interesting, right?

We start off with the praise. We start off with this sense of thanksgiving. And what is David being thankful for? Right? He's saying, "I'm going to thank you.

I'm going to give thanks to you." verses 3 and four is what specifically David is thanking the Lord for. So it says in this verse, "My enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before you, for you have upheld my right and my cause, sitting enthroned as the righteous judge." So we we certainly should know that God is the righteous judge. Now there's the parable of the persistent widow that I automatically think of where you have this widow who's bothering this wicked judge and eventually through her persistence she is able to get justice through the wicked judge. And the whole reason Christ is sharing this parable of the um the wicked judge or the persistent widow, whatever you want to call that, is the idea. It's showing in in that parable of how much more God will provide justice or how much more God will provide mercy, how much more God will provide love to those that love him.

It's something that we we can see uh in scripture where we're looking at something that is small and looking at something on a grander scale. And that's something that we find very commonly in parables. And I only mention that because when it's using this language of God being the righteous judge for God's justice is very different than our type of human justice, right? Much like when we think of our human understanding, how humans here on the earth deal with uh the things and matters in the world is very different than the things of God. When we think of how we cry out to the Lord or how we are asking God for justice, it's all on his timing.

And certainly when we're dealing with justice, um we have to have this balance, grace and truth, right? The love of God and the truth of his word, but we also have to think of justice and mercy that there is some sort of balance that exists in the eyes of God. And so David here then is talking about this uh deliverance, right? my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before you. Well, that is a wonderful that's an encouragement not only for David but also for us that um when we think of God's justice, the wicked well, they will suffer the consequences so to speak.

And David is acknowledging then in in verse four saying here, you have upheld my right and my cause. It's basically saying that God, you are consistent, right? You have upheld, you are um you provide sustenance as it were, sitting enthroned as the righteous judge. And one of the kind of more real things and heavy things that we can think of is God not only being the righteous judge, but God being the ultimate judge. When we think of human systems that exist here on the earth, we can think of judges that uh well, they only are judges for a certain amount of time in their in their life here on the earth.

But God being that which is eternal, that which is everlasting. Well, he not only reigns in power, but when we think literally of time, there is no end. There's no beginning to God. And it's continuing in that. And so, that's something that's really remarkable.

Who is your judge? Right? It's it's it's a recogni it's a call for us to recognize that God is the ultimate judge just like how God is the ultimate power that he reigns supreme that he is the king he is the lord of all and that's something that can certainly be uh very difficult for some of us that when we think of uh what the physical right the things of the earth and the things of the world that's something that can be uh certainly a challenged there's a uh psalm I want to turn there real quick it's going to be from psalm 18 I wanted to share this with you thought it was very interesting in here. Um, it's going to be Psalm 18 uh 17 here. It's a longer one, but I love how in here he rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes who were too strong for me.

And it's kind of interesting when we're talking about this idea of deliverance, right? because that's what um David is praising God for, right? That the enemies turn back, they stumble and perish. And and it's there's also this idea of rescuing from enemies. When we think of this idea of of deliverance, we can think literally of um people being delivered from their foes much like David has.

But we can also think of deliverance for sin. This imperfection, this uh separation from God as it were. It's the idea that as sin is defined as to miss the mark or um when we think of the Old Testament understanding is not being in the presence of the Lord or how I like to explain it to people is being in darkness and coming to the light of Christ coming to the light of God as it were right when we think of Jesus Christ we think of him as the way the truth and the life and also the light and that's something that we want to get out of that darkness to enter into the marvelous light sort of thing in that. Then we think of how God will save us from our enemies but also save us from well eternal death so to speak. We're going from eternal death to eternal life.

That's something that's remarkable. And and when we think about this as God being the the judge, we may not see that justice in initially. We may not see it immediately. But when we're thinking of how God will save them, save how God saved David from his enemies, God saves us. He protects us.

Now, that's not to say that the wicked aren't going to do anything, but it's certainly knowing that there's comfort, there's safety, and there's security that exists in the Lord. And so, that's something for us to really keep in mind from there, that he rescued me from my powerful enemy. I mean, really think about that. from my foes who were too strong for me. Right?

Well, and we can well, what is my powerful enemy? I mean, it could be um could be Goliath. It it could be a lot of different things, but it's really this idea that God is providing safety and security, and that's something that we should praise God for. We should be thankful for. So, thanksgiving, right?

So, David is being thankful for deliverance, right? That God is the defender and he's going to have justice. um righteous. He is the righteous judge. But he's also going to he's praising God.

And we go into five and six where it's talking about destruction. And here's what it here's what it says here. Verses 5-6. You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked. You have blotted out their name forever and ever.

Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies. You have uprooted their cities. Even their the memory of them has perished. And that's something in that's interesting because when we think about it at the end of the day, God will have the final say for those that are wicked and those that are evil. We can think of just a lot of things that happen in the world today.

All of the um the evil that exists in the world today. And it's a common question that we get not only in scripture but even in the world today. Why is there evil in the world? And why doesn't God intervene? And the main idea, listener, and and viewer, is that it's all on God's timing.

And and that's not an answer we like hearing. I mean, let's face it, we we want to have justice now. But that's when we think of our own human justice that we would enact it immediately. But when it comes to matters of God, he will have the final say, and it will be in his divine timing. It's much like when we think of our prayer life, when we're praying for patience right now or we're um seeking God and we're wanting things to happen immediately.

That's the world that we live in, right? We we live in this constant instant gratification kind of world. But that's very different than when it comes to the spiritual then. And so rebuking the nations and destroying the wicked, talking about judgment because God is the righteous uh judge and God will decisively destroy the wicked. There's even a another psalm that's in Psalm um Psalm 37:38.

I'll even go ahead and turn there real quick. I have it in my notes and I I do like turning to that as well. I'm going to start is so Psalm 37:37 and I'll go to verse 38. Consider the blameless. Observe the upright.

A future await those who seek peace. Well, consider the peace that surpasses all understanding that comes from the Lord. In verse 38, but all sinners will be destroyed. There will be no future for the wicked. Even in verse 39 and 40, salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord.

He is the stronghold in time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them. He delivers them from the wicked and saves them. So, so there again being saved from the wicked, right? From the snares of the enemy as it were.

And we can think of physical people. We can also think of this idea of spiritual warfare that exists. And so, that's something to praise God for. That's something to be thankful. It's a thank God for being delivered from the enemy, right?

The enemy or enemies. but also to thanking God for being saved from destruction and knowing that God being that righteous judge will enact his own justice. Rebuking the nations and destroying the wicked. And I know that can be very harsh language, but let us just understand that this is what is in the word of God. Now that language of being blotted out their name forever and ever, that's a a a type of language that comes, we find this in scripture that when you your name, you want your name to be written in the book of life.

You don't want it to be blotted out and removed, so to speak. And that and when I hear that, I think of a party list when when you, you know, you have your pencil and you're writing in all the names that are RSVPing or people that are visiting kind of thing. And you don't want to have your name erased out, right? Like if if you were on a guest list and they cross out your name, like it's really heavy kind of language. But that's kind of the imagery that we can get of in this to have their name blotted out.

And then endless ruin has overtaken the enemies, uprooted their cities. So again, it has to do with God's justice all in his timing. And it is a challenge for us again for us to not only trust in that but to wait upon the Lord in his timing because we get impatient. That's that's just the reality of of human beings of of the world that we live in. And so then this takes us then where we have um David is thanking the Lord.

And now we go into what is known as the testimony. So we'll start off in here verse 7 to verse 8 that the Lord reigns forever. He has established his throne for judgment. He rules the world in righteousness and judges the people with equity. Now to start off here it again is thanking God.

It's the testimony of God's judgment, right? That God is the eternal righteous judge that he reigns forever, right? the establishment of his throne. You can't overthrow God, so to speak. And that's remarkable that he rules the world.

He's the ruler of all creation in this sense. He's talking about the world here. He rules the world in righteousness and judges people with equity. And so, we think about this that God's justice is very different than human justice. We can think of how human judges can have a bias towards people groups or certain socioeconomics or whatever.

They have human bias. But with God, it's certainly very different when it comes to that. And so even you find in uh Psalm 96:13 a very similar pattern that uh in Psalm 96:13, he will judge the world in righteousness. Right? Because we have to think of God again as the righteous judge.

That God is holy, that he is sovereign, that he is kind, he is merciful, he is slow to anger, he is quick to forgive. Well, I don't know about you, how often are we quick to forgive, right? How how often are we slow to anger? And it's just something to kind of check ourselves realizing that um we're certainly human, but God is divine. and he is very different than how we as human beings are.

And so he's ruling the world in righteousness. We then go into verses 9 through 10 where the Lord, and I love this kind of verse, that the Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. And those are some very encouraging words for those who have had well oppression, right? Those that have experienced some sort of oppression that the Lord is a refuge.

He is safety. He is security. He is the strong tower. And when we read this kind of thing that God provides a refuge, he provides that sense of safety and security. And he cares for those who are oppressed.

That's something that kind of language is very it can be very difficult for us as human beings. And well, let us think for a moment. Think of a people group that has been oppressed. Think of, and I'm sure you can think about it, and I don't want to get too political on, you know, well, who is oppressed today? And there are people that were oppressed back then in in biblical times much as there are people that are oppressed today.

And we have to think that God cares for them. I I mean to me if I were to be oppressed at least how I understand it to know that God is there for me even in any sort of oppression being oppressed by people groups and I mean you can even expand that even further that no matter what it is people are doing to me or no matter what it is that is happening to me, God is there for me. That is encouragement to be a refuge, a stronghold in times of trouble. And I I love using the language of the storms of life or or the valleys that we experience when we think of a strong tower or or when we think of a stronghold in those times of trouble. Look, whenever we get in trouble, right?

When you think of uh children, when they get in trouble, they want to be able to they might go to their bed or they might um cling to their their doll or whatever, right? Knowing that they feel safe with that doll or the pillow or whatever it is. But in a much grander scale, we want to have or we should have something that we can run to in those times of trouble, in times of oppression, in times of sickness, in times of health, in times of crisis. That is the beautiful thing about God and I find great comfort in it knowing look there have been times where I have gone through dry seasons. There have been times where I've just life happens.

And in the same way I know for you listener you certainly may have gone through um oppression. You may have gone through sickness. You may whatever it is just know God is there for you. He is that stronghold. And that's like the piece I would highlight that the Lord is the a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

It is beautiful. And and then it goes into that verse 10. Those who know your name trust in you. They trust in you. For you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Many of us, we do seek safety. Many of us seek peace in this life. Many of us seek for something that is more in this, more than what the world has to offer. And I I love giving the example, I might have given this example before of that famous song, what the world needs now is love, sweet love. We need the love of Christ.

We need the love of that which is higher than us. We think of the love that we have, the romantic love, the friendly love, but a love that's much higher than that is very it it can be hard to wrap your mind around. But when we think of God while never forsaking those that seek him, how many of us have tried to seek peace in this life? How many of us have tried to seek uh love or more to this life? And we can find that in the Lord.

And that's the encouraging thing is that God will um provide comfort and safety and peace. I mean, that's just those are some of the things. Let's not even let's not even forget the fact that God provides salvation in Christ in believing him and being saved and and then thinking for a second that God not only saves us, right? Where we are justified by faith, but we are continually sanctified. In other words, being saved by grace through faith is the most critical decision you could ever make in your life.

But it's not the end of your life. It's the beginning of your walk in Christ to become more like him, to be on a path in following in the footsteps of Christ and to be molded, putting on the new self, setting aside the elementary things and seeking the higher things of God. And then we I mean we can even go into the fruit of the spirit, right? And just thinking about all of that, I just give some examples in this, but it certainly should be a call for you to seek the Lord and to trust in him. And it's also of great encouragement that God's not going to abandon us.

He's not going to forsake us. And that's one of the big things that we can learn in scripture is that no matter what it is, again, what it is you're going through, oppression, sickness, anything that is here on the earth, because this earth is imperfect, right? When we think of sin entering the world, not only is it, oh, us as sinners, but it's also the fact that this world needs restoration and renewal and transformation. And so we live, we are imperfect people that live in an imperfect world. And so knowing that God is going to be there for us and he's going to restore us, he's going to transform us.

That is the greatest encouragement right there. And so in that then we can think of the famous uh Psalm 46:1 that God is our refuge and our strength. That's just some powerful words in there. And we then go into so this is where he's David is talking about the judgment right God's judgment and God's justice and then we go into verses 11-14 this is known as the jubilation it says here that it says sing praises of the Lord enthroned in Zion proclaim among the nations what he has done for he avenges for he who avenges blood remembers he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted That's again a very beautiful one. See how my enemies persecute me.

Have mercy and lift me from the gates of death that I may declare your praises in the gates of daughter Zion and there rejoice in your salvation because God does provide salvation. And it's this call to celebrate to sing praises to the Lord for who he is and what he has done. That is the reason, one of the reasons to praise God for what he has done, what he continues to do, and the promises of the future for greater things to happen. And so in this, I mean, we're we're reading this here. Proclaim among the nations what he has done, just like how us as Christians are called to spread in the good news of the gospel.

For he who avenges blood remembers. He does not ignore the cries of the afflicted. I think that's beautiful because very often those that are um being persecuted, those that are being afflicted, those that are being oppressed, they cry out to the Lord and God hears them. And to me, that's great comfort in knowing that because me as a human being, I may not not understand like we've got to help people that are hurting. But in this, God hears their cry.

God is there for them and he's not abandoning them. He's not forsaking them. And it's kind of it's really hard for us to kind of wrap our mind and the timing and divine intervention and and and when or if God's going to inter all of those kind of things is very difficult. But it's still good to know nonetheless that God is going to he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted. And in verse 13, Lord, see how my enemies persecute me.

Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death. Right? He's like, I want salvation so I can continue to praise your name that I may declare your praises. And certainly when we think of have mercy and lift me up much like how you hear this idea of repent and believe the idea the very idea of repentance being the change of mind right and asking God I we can even think of the parable of it's the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee where you had the Pharisee that um he gave over the top and then you had this tax collector who said have mercy see on me God a sinner and that was the one who was justified before the Lord and it's like well wait a minute the tax collector is a sinner this uh this Pharisee he's a good guy but it's kind of showing a difference in that that it matters what matters is the heart and seeking God and seeking his mercy and so David is essentially saying here I don't want to go to the gates of death I want to praise your name and I want to well I want going to rejoice in your salvation. Literally, that's what it says.

And so, we have that. And then that kind of leads us into into verse uh 15. The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug. That's a language you see a a lot of times where um talking about this idea um real quick, I want to go back for a second when we were going over verses 11-4. There's a verse in there from Isaiah.

I don't I don't want to miss this. So it's um Isaiah uh it's chapter 12 and that is so I'll just start from Isaiah 12 and it's connected to this idea where David is calling for praise and celebration. So Isaiah 12 I'm going to start from verse one. In that day you will say, "I will praise you, Lord. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me." This is where it's connected.

Surely God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself is my strength and my defense. Do you see how everything's connected here? I love how it says in the beginning, "Although you were angry with me, right?

You are angry with me and your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. I wonder why. Very often when we think of God and his righteousness and who he is, we think of how when we turn to the Lord, when we have that changing of mind, that sense of repentance where we realize that we need the Lord, right? Just like I was talking about the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. the the scripture says that the uh the tax collector beat his chest and he wouldn't look up to heaven saying have mercy on me God a sinner because showing his posture of humility towards the Lord.

And so it's just kind of similar. I'm not saying that you know what's in Isaiah is clearly the tax collector, but there's patterns that we can see in here. I'll praise you Lord. You were angry with me. Your anger has turned away and you've comforted me.

And that verse two, surely God is my salvation. We find salvation in God. And when we receive salvation, we are saved by grace through faith. It's just the Lord is our salvation. I will trust and and not be afraid.

How many of us trust in God and are not afraid? There's still moments we get afraid, but it's still declaring that your trust in the Lord. And certainly what we're afraid of is another thing. But going from there, the Lord, the Lord himself is my strength and my defense. He has become my salvation.

I'll even go to verse three. With joy, you will draw water from the wells of salvation. I love that language, right? Because God is the God of abundance. And you know on on Sunday at Ontario Community Church on I did an update on the ministry of what's happening at Ontario Community Church.

And one of the things I loved sharing with the congregation is Ontario the the name Ontario. There's a book that I have the his kind of a historical book. It's a 50th year anniversary celebration of this church. And I love that in there it talks about on terrau or onario in Japanese means grace overflowing, grace in abundance. And so when I we're reading about drawing upon the the water of the wells of salvation, it goes to show that God is an abundance and his grace is an abundance.

That's why it's so important for us to share in the good news of the gospel. And that is directly connected to what we've been talking about in celebration. Just as it says in verse 14, right, where David's like, I don't want to I don't want to go to the gates of death, but I want to declare your praises and rejoice in your salvation because the Lord our God is our salvation. And we draw upon this imagery of waters that come from the well of salvation. And we think that grace abundance.

So the next time you hear the word Ontario, let it resound in you. Grace in abundance or grace overflowing. Because that's the essence of God's grace. That it's available for all who believe. not just a select group of people, a a group of elitists, but it's available for everyone.

I wanted to take a side note in that because you see how things are getting connected. It's like we're talking about the the waters of salvation, right? That it's endless in supply drawing upon the well. We also think of this how it's connected with the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. And then this idea that God is there for those who are afflicted, those who are oppressed.

It's kind of just a it can be overwhelming but in a good way and knowing that this there's something that is powerful to the word of God being living and active and that just gives me great comfort and I hope for you who are watching or listening that it gives you great comfort in there. And so I didn't even read the verse four where it said um make known among the nations what he has done. I want to turn back there real quick because I I guess I missed it because I was just going into just the first pieces in there. Um, so page six, uh, let's see here. I have it on here.

In that day, so I just read up to verse three, but in verse four, in that day you will say, give praise to the Lord. Proclaim his name, make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim his name is exalted. Wow. Just like a whole section of Isaiah being tied in here. And we see all these connections.

And that's the beauty of it, knowing that the word of God is interconnected. And certainly we have to wrestle with the text many times, but that's all right. We now go into verses 15 where 15- 20 where this is talking about the triumph. Right? So we have thanksgiving from verses 1 to six.

We have testimony from verses 7 to 14 and the triumph for verses 15 to 20. So it goes on in here uh verses 15 to 16, the nations have fallen into the pit they have dug. And like I like I was mentioning I I kind of began touching on it. That's actually something that you see as a pattern that exists um very often in scripture. It's this idea of reaping what you will sow.

There is a proverb then that I'll go ahead and turn to real quick. It's from Proverbs uh chap 26 uh verse 27. So I'll turn there real quick and let's see here. Um [Music] Proverbs 26. So it's it's a whole section just about well in in wisdom literature it's very interesting.

So I am picking just a section otherwise we'd read all of um Proverbs um 26 here. But it's very similar. Whoever digs a pit will fall into it. If someone rolls a stone, it will roll back on them. So it's similar in this idea where it's saying in verse um 15, they have dug, they have fallen into the pit they have dug.

So it's this idea of reaping what you sow or some people uh use the language that karma is going to get back at you. But tell someone sometime, hey, you're going to reap what you sow if you don't change your ways. That's a lot heavier language in that. And I mean, if you feel convicted to say that, certainly that's that's that's on you. But what I'm saying here is that very often when they're plotting and scheming in their evil, they're going to set up a trap, you know, to trap good people, right?

The righteous, so to speak, and they're going to fall into their own pit. And it's again, this idea of sewing and reaping. They're sowing evil and they're going to fall into that. That's really like, man, that's insane. And it even goes on saying uh their feet are caught in the net that they have hidden, right?

Because they're trying to hide away. That's why when we think very often of uh the web of lies, right? There's a there's a famous uh poem. I if I butcher it, I apologize in advance, but it's oh what a web we weave when first we practice to deceive. Right?

And they're caught in the net they've hidden. very similar in that um that very often when people are trying to do evil, they're trying to spin things or hide things, so to speak. But eventually, and we find this in scripture often, that what is hidden will be exploited. It will be revealed. You can't hide evil forever is basically the premise of that.

And so it goes into that verse 16 where it says, "The Lord is known by his acts of justice. the wicked are ins sns snared by the work of their hands. So again, it goes into this idea they're going to have it coming kind of thing. And it's this idea that evil will destroy itself. And when we think about that though, that is God's justice in action that's happening behind the scenes.

It is as it were God's poetic justice in here. And so when we think about that, that's very interesting, right? That there is a penalty that happens. And so that's something for us to factor in. We go on then into verses 17 and 18.

The wicked go down into the realm of the dead. All the nations that forget God. It's talking about final judgment. But God will never forget the needy. The hope of the afflicted will never perish.

We read that the evil will have it coming. Just like when I'm saying you will reap what you sow. That is why when we think about It's kind of very simplistic language. You've got to there's that song, you've got to change your evil ways, right? Um if you know what song, I mean, comment on that.

But it's something that we have to think about. We have to change our evil ways and think about the matters of the heart. That's something we can think of the Old Testament and the New Testament, right? The changing of mind, the changing of heart, right? Create in me a new heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within me.

realizing that I want to have a softened heart towards God. I want the posture of my heart to be right before God. And that's what we're thinking about here. That's something for us to consider when we're thinking about the wicked going down to the realm of the dead and and all the nations that forget God. That's heavy language and and it gets into some very um much more deeper conversations in that that there are actual nations that forget God and uh there much as there are people that forget God.

And don't let that language discourage you though. One thing that you can initially do even from these verses is pray for the nation or the country that you live in. It's a call for us, you know, when we think, you know, I live in the United States and I think of how important it is to pray for this country to turn from their evil ways. Much like it's important for us to pray for those in political authority, much like we pray for those that do not believe in the Lord, we have to think of those that are unbelievers and have a heart for them. And so, yeah, to think that there are entire nations that forget God is a really heavy thing.

And I pray that that doesn't happen in not only the United States, but if if you're in another country, I pray that that doesn't happen in your own country as well. And certainly, I challenge for you to pray for your own nation or your own country that you live in, but also um for the wicked people that might be against you, your foes or your enemies or those that have gone against you. pray for a change of heart because here it's showing this is what's going to happen to the wicked but we can still pray for those that are for their hardened heart to be softened and so in that yeah it's God is ensuring that evil will well they'll have it coming there's a famous uh verse I want to turn there it's from Galatians some of you may know it in there um let's see here. Um it's one of the final verses in Galatians, right? Where you have in chapter 6, uh brothers and sisters, um if anyone is caught in sin, you live by the spirit.

You should restore that person gently. It's going on. And then um in verse 6, nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor. But then it goes on in here, do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked.

A man reaps what he sws. And it goes on uh whoever sws to please their flesh, their flesh will reap destruction. Talking about kind of that sin nature kind of thing. But I want to focus on that verse 7 where it's talking about um you will reap what you sow when it comes to when it comes to sin cuz it's very different when you know the Lord, right? You're not going to go into eternal damnation, right?

You're not going there, but you're saved by grace through faith. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean um we still can do silly things, stupid things as it were, and sometimes we pay the consequences for that. Um but when we're talking about evil and and the kind of punishment that comes with that, that's very different. So there's a few dynamics that are at play here um in that. So it that's something the wicked uh in that Galatians 6:7.

It's just this idea I want you to keep in mind that a man will reap what is sown. And God is not mocked. God does not um you're not going to surprise God with the evil that you're doing. In fact, God will have the final say. And just as I've mentioned here, it's that falling into that pit as it were.

That that's God's kind of poetic justice that happens. And so this then leads us into that the final two verses. Arise, Lord. Do not let mortals triumph. Let nations be judged in your presence.

Strike them down with terror, Lord. Let the nations know they are only mortal. When you read that, you're like, what in the world is David going for here? It's this idea that, you know, when we think of like the Tower of Babel, we think about relying on man and not relying on God. It's certainly fine for us to strive for excellence to be the best that we can be.

But it's also when we think of, especially in scripture, it's when you no longer need God or when you walk away from God or just as the language saying in verse 17, that you forget God. Certainly having God incorporated in the center of our lives. It's just acknowledging and recognizing that there is something far more powerful than than you, than me, than us, right? And recognizing that God is what we need in our lives and the salvation that comes from him. And so don't let mortals triumph, right?

Don't let man become its own God, so to speak. Let the nations be judged in your present and striking them with terror, right? We can think of this idea of the fear of the Lord. Well, the only time you should be afraid of the Lord is when you don't know him. But the fear of the Lord is that sense of awe and wonder of who he is.

And so, it's basically a call for humility, right? That David is asking for God's divine intervention on these wicked nations. So, it's something that's very specific here in that don't let the mortals triumph. Well, it's just like in Psalm 10. Um the next psalm we'll be going into in Psalm 10 verse12.

Arise Lord, lift up your head. Do not forget the helpless. Right? We or lift up your hand praying for God's intervention. And so just as I have been saying that you pray for individuals who are wicked, pray for nations that are wicked.

It's kind of hard to think of an entire nation that may be godless, but certainly we find it in scripture. So, let's pray for those godless nations, much like we should pray for godless individuals. I mentioned previously the idea of the parable of the wicked judge and the persistent widow. In the text in that specific parable, it talks about how the wicked judge neither fear God nor respected man. And it's supposed to be a double whammy that he doesn't care about anyone or anything.

And certainly we can think of those people that are godless and they don't respect anyone. And certainly it's a call for us to pray for them that their hearts are changed and that their hearts become softened. It's certainly there's a lot of people that we can pray for even nations that we can be um praying for. And so when we think of this Psalm 9, it's it's the psalm of uh thanksgiving and triumph. And it's praising God for his justice, him being the righteous judge.

And so we're going to go ahead and shift over to our uh song for this week. This is known as uh I Lift My Eyes Up by Free as a Bird. And one thing that I find really cool about this specific song by by Free as a Bird is that it is pretty much the Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the shelter of my life.

Of whom shall I be araid? I will lift my eyes up. I will lift my eyes up. I will lift my eyes up. I will lift my [Music] eyes.

Teach me your way and make me holy. Do not hide your face. I long to dwell in the house of the Lord. All of my days I will lift my eyes up. I will lift my eyes up.

I will lift my eyes [Music] up. I will lift my [Music] eyes. I lift my eyes up to the mountains. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, maker of the universe.

We wait. We wait on you. I lift my eyes up to the mountains. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, maker of the universe.

We wait, we wait on you. We wait, we wait on you. I will lift my eyes away. We wait on you. I will lift my eyes away.

I will wait on you. I will lift my eyes wait on you. I will lift my hands. I wait on you. I will lift my hands.

I wait on you. I will lift my hands away. Wait on you. I lift my eyes up to the mountains. Where does my help come [Music] from?

My help comes from the Lord, maker of the universe. We wait. We wait on you. I lift my eyes up to the mountains. Where does my help come [Music] from?

My help comes from the Lord, maker of the universe. We wait. We wait on [Music] you. We wait. We wait on you.

Wait for the Lord. Be strong. Take heart. This I am [Music] sure. In the land of the living.

I will sing the goodness of the Lord. I will lift my hands up. I will lift my hands up. I will lift my hands up. I will lift my [Music] hands.

All right. Well, welcome back to the podcast. I'm really That was a really beautiful psalm. Very beautiful song, actually. And what's really beautiful about the lyrics in that is it's taking from uh different psalms in here.

I actually have the lyrics on here and I'll just put it right here. What's really beautiful about it is, you know, that it starts off um the Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? Which we find in Psalm uh 27:1. And there's some other references in there.

Teach me your way, Lord. And and that's in verse 11. do not hide your face from me. Right? That's also from verse 9 and just remaining confident in this.

And and I think that's verse 13. But then also you see um in that kind of repeated chorus in there, that's a reference to Psalm 121, which is I lift up my eyes to the mountains. Where does my help come from? Right? Um my help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.

And obviously it's a little bit of a variation to that, the maker of the universe. and uh this idea that they are waiting upon the Lord. And I I just think it's so beautiful when you write a song that is based off of the Psalms. I mean, you write you can write a song obviously based off of whatever. Um but specifically when we're doing this uh study over the Psalms, it's kind of interesting when we see this uh kind of sense of uh connection uh to the word of God and just a way to to praise the Lord.

And I I just think that that was some um absolutely beautiful lyrics in there. And so um if you are listening to this um go ahead and give them a like um or I'm going to have their social media. I know I'm going through a lot of things right now. Um Bri as a bird if you're watching or listening to this really love that psalm that song just how it's connected with the Psalms. It's just really um beautiful in there.

Um, definitely. Uh, yeah, that's that's really cool. So, yeah, I'll have their uh their social and and ways you can connect with them, listen to their music, and uh check it all out. It's just uh really good to be able to feature a song like this and be able to kind of use it and tie it into what we're going for here at the podcast. And so, um, that's really that's really good.

At this time we're going to go ahead and go into the interpretation piece that side where we talk about what we can learn from this. And you know the first thing is the importance of thanksgiving right that we are to thank the Lord and and that um having this sense of thankfulness having this sense of gratitude for what God has done what God is doing and what God will do right God's victory and and in Christ this helps us deepen our faith and have this sense of appreciation for God. Let us never take for granted and never um miss and and forget about the things that God has done because that helps us um be grounded in the word, grounded in our faith. And I think of initially the it's found in Colossians. I want to go ahead and turn there.

Um and I want to show you what I mean in this. Let's see here. It's in Colossians 3:15 where uh you see right at the end where the apostle Paul is writing to the uh the church at Colassi. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one body you were called to peace. Right?

We can think of the peace that surpasses all understanding. And it goes in verse 16, let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, songs of the spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. Right? It's this sense of appreciation. And I love that verse 17.

That's one of my favorite verses in scripture. And whatever you do, whether in word or in deed, do it in the name of the Lord of Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. And so what we can learn again is to have that sense of gratitude and thankfulness towards God and let that transform our hearts. Let that ground us and let us never forget the things that God has done. I mean, my goodness, there's there not only is there a lot to know about the Lord and his word, but there's a lot to remember about it.

Don't forget the parables. Don't forget the Psalms. Don't forget the salvation story. Don't forget the gospel narrative, right? Don't forget these things.

And it's okay to be reminded. That's the other thing. It's okay to have that uh sense of remembrance. But let us be encouraged about being appreciative of our life, the things that we have in this life, but also how God has worked in your life. And never forget that in there.

The second thing then is that God's justice provides hope. And and this is a very powerful thing that knowing God is knowing the judge, right? Knowing the righteous judge, knowing that God is the king, he's he's sovereign. He's all of these things. He's the healer.

He's the um God of transformation. And it's that rock, our rock of salvation, right? That we don't have to fear anything. much like we see in in scripture about building our house upon the rock, something that is solid that will withstand storms as it were. Um instead of building your house on a on the sand and there's a verse in uh Deuteronomy that's a pretty cool one.

I'll go ahead and turn there. It's from Deuteronomy 32:4. And that's a pretty powerful one. Let's see. 32.

That's a long verse. It's the song of Moses. And I just want to share the one verse. You can read pretty much all of verse 30 or chapter 32 in there. So, it's uh Deuteronomy chapter 32:4.

I'll just read a little bit of it, right? I I'll read from verse one. Listen you heavens and I will speak. Hear your earth, the words of my mouth. Listen.

Let my teaching fall like rain and the words descend like dew. like showers on the new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants. So verses 3 to four here, I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God. And verse four, he is the rock.

His works are perfect and all his ways are just, a faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he. So that's goes to show that when we're talking about God's justice, it's trusting in God being the judge that he will have his justice whether the wicked fall into their own pit, but it will be in God's timing, not our own timing. And that's hard, but it's very powerful nonetheless that justice will be served one way or another. The third thing then is that um and since we're talking about wickedness is that wickedness will fall upon itself. That wickedness will collapse, right?

That God's justice is so perfect, right? That evil will destroy itself. Just as we've talked about this idea of well, the wicked are going to fall into their own pit that they set up. It's kind of again, we've been talking a great deal about someone who will reap what they sow. And so to us that should give us comfort and and and give us um kind of this sense of knowing that those that are evil, those that are wicked will have it coming.

I want to turn then to the book of uh Job, which is a very it's very powerful. I'm going to I'm going to want to reread it sometime here. It's going to be in Job chapter 5 verse 13. And I I'll go right right to there. Um it's kind of talking about from verse 10.

He provides the rain from the earth. He sends water to the countryside. So Job 10 um or Job 5:10, I'm starting from there. The lowly he sets on high and those who mourn are lifted to safety. He thwarts the planned of the crafty so that their hands achieve no success.

He catches the wise in their craftiness and the schemes of the um willy are swept away. And it talking about kind of this um this catching kind of thing is is pretty interesting in there. Um but we think about again wickedness that God will catch that, right? And we think about God knows what's going on for the wicked and for the righteous, for the good and the evil in the world. And so that's something for us to factor in.

The fourth thing then is that proclaiming God strengthens our faith. It's a call for us to share in our testimony, right? And how God has worked in our life much as we are called to share in the gospel message with others. It's so important for us because we're humans. We It's so how wonderful is it when we share stories of experiences we've had or sharing stories about other people.

Think about that and how God has worked in your life in your own personal story. And we can think of specifically in Revelation. Then I'll turn there real quick in Revelation uh chapter 12. You may know what verse I'm going to be referring to for those of you who love Revelation. In Revelation 12, where it's talking about the woman and the dragon um 12:10, then I heard a loud voice in the heavens say, "Now have come the salvation and the power in the kingdom of God and the authority of his Messiah from the accuser, our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our our God day and night has been hurled down." So this is where it goes into verse 11.

They triumphed over him by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony. They did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore rejoice you heavens and you who dwell in them. But woe to the earth and the sea because the devil has gone down to you. He is filled with fury because he knows that his time is is uh short.

The earth and the sea. It's kind of interesting. you find when you study parables and you study scripture that the sea is typically a representation of the world. And so that's one of the times where you see that woe to the earth and the sea because when you think about what what's what's God's got beef with the sea, it's spiritual language in that. Um, but in in that I I just kind of divert for a second here is that when we're looking about this, the word of their testimony, triumph over him by the blood of the lamb is that's the language when we're thinking about our testimony and that we should share our testimonies with others and it's showing it.

It is reminding us of the power of how God has worked in our life. I've given examples of how God has worked in my life by the children that I have that my wife and I couldn't have children for four years and we prayed about it. We waited upon the Lord and by the grace of God we have five children. And a lot of people don't know that. They think I just had children right away.

But there was there was four years where my wife and I could not have children and it was all in God's timing and trusting in his divine timing kind of thing. So that's just an example. But we think of every victory. We think of every experience or every story in our life. And see, that's the thing.

You can relate to a specific person that I might not be able to or the next person may not be able to. How God has worked in your life is how you can relate to other people in sharing. And that God is powerful and he works in and through us. And it's showing, look at how wonderful our God is. You should know him as well.

And so those are the lessons that that we have. And finally we have the application then is that how can we live this out is the final question. Well the first thing is that we can be thankful to God. Practice daily thanksgiving and this sense of attitude before God. Think of the victories of God.

Right? You can turn to the word and see about how God has worked in and through people. but also be thankful for how God has worked in and through your life or if there's people that you know, think about how God has worked in and through them. We think of um it's in 1 Thessalonians chapter uh 5:1 18 and one really beautiful thing uh verse that's in there. I'll go ahead and turn there and let's see here.

Yeah. So, 1 Thessalonians um it's chapter 5 verse 18 and you you probably know this one where it's right at the end. Rejoice always. Pray continuously and give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Jesus Christ. Now, I know there's obviously more to that, but that's a a verse that is directly applicable to us where we think about this to give thanks in all circumstances, right?

We're to pray without ceasing kind of thing. But giving thanks to God in all circumstance. That can be a challenge in in in every circumstance. Are you sure about that? But yes, that's what the scripture calls for us to do.

So, practice that sense of um giving thanks to God. The second thing then is to share in your testimony openly. There is power in how God has worked in your life. And it's telling others specifically how God has worked in and through your life. In Psalm 107:2, I'll just go ahead and read it where it says, "Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story." That's pretty powerful, right?

Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story. You know what? I will go ahead and turn there. Um Psalm 107. Give thanks to the Lord for he is good.

His love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story. Those he redeemed from the hand of the foe. Those he gathered from the lands from the east and the west and from the north and the south. Right?

So in other words, well let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story. Tell other people about how God's worked in your life, how you came to know the Lord and how God is continuing to work in your life. The third thing then that we can do is to trust in the righteous judge. Trust in his judgment and his timing. And that is probably one of the biggest challenges I know for a person like me is like, well, you know, you want me to forgive my enemies, you want me to trust in your timing.

And absolutely it is a challenge right it's knowing that God will handle justice better than you can right just as how this is tied into that parable of the wicked judge and the uh persistent widow where it's saying that where Jesus is saying how much more will God's righteousness be how God's justice will be towards those that love him right and it's paralleled into here when we're talking about that well God will handle justice far better than we can that is very difficult and a scripture that we can think of is from Romans 12 verse 19 and it's a it's another good one verse 19 I'll go from verse 17 to give you some context do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. And verse 19, do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath. For it is written, it is mine to avenge, I will repay, says the Lord.

Wow, that's and and then and then the Apostle Paul goes even further and saying, on the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is h thirsty, give him something to drink. If he in doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. Verse 21, do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. It it's that's completely counterultural.

That's completely different than what the world has to say. But when we think about it, we're um we are trusting in God to do his thing. Not for us to take um to inflict justice or to carry out justice to others, but let God do his thing. That is the big thing with that. And then finally, uh the fourth thing, our application is to pray confidently for justice.

I think that's a really big thing that we forget. We pray for the wicked judge, right? Um the wicked judges in the world. We pray for wicked people. Uh we pray for sinners to come to know who Christ is, but we also pray for the wicked nations.

And we pray for justice in there. um asking God, you know, do your thing and trusting his timing and in his righteousness. Um much like how it says in Hebrews um in Hebrews 4:16 where it says to approach God's throne of grace with confidence. I want to go ahead and turn there in verse where it says that Jesus is the high priest in in verse uh Hebrews 4:14. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we possess we possess.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to emphasize with our weakness, but we have one who has been tempted in every way. Just as we are, yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. It is going to God and asking for grace and mercy much like how we should ask God to mold us to become more like him because God is patient. He is kind.

He is merciful. He is overflowing in abundance with his grace. So it's see how all of that is connected in there. And so maybe for you, you can approach God's throne of grace with confidence, asking God to work in and through your life when it comes to God's peace, his patience, and his mercy. Because we're made in the image of God, and we're to be transformed to be more like him.

And I don't know about you, but the essence of God, his qualities, and his attributes are far greater than mine. And I want to be more like the Lord. And I hope for you, you want that as well. And so some questions that you can think about is consider about how you can be gratitude. How can you be grateful for how God is working in your life?

That's a question. And how can you share in the in your testimony with others? And so where do you need to trust in God for his justice? Have you thought about that before? That's a question for you to think about.

And when is the last time you have remembered God's victory or God's successes? And how has that in other words how have you looked towards the word or how God has worked to help you face any circumstance or situation that's a challenge for you. And so in all of this then we this is Psalm 9. It's something that is full with a lot of depth. When we're looking at this psalm, it's like, man, there there is a lot that's going on in here.

But in like in any psalm, it is something for us to explore and to discover. A lot of nuggets of wisdom and of truth and help us not only come to know the Lord, but to grow in him. And I hope that this psalm will help you to be moved to act in a positive manner, being more like exhibiting the light, love, and truth of Christ. I mean, when we look at this in in conclusion here, we think about how we should be thankful to God. We think about how um God is that righteous judge and that God reigns supreme and he does things that we may not understand and that's okay.

And so I hope that this Psalm 9 is and even this song that we have um listened to together will just help you in your spiritual walk. And it is my prayer that if you are wicked, if you are a sinner, that your heart will be softened. If you do not know the Lord, I pray that you are on a spiritual journey to know Christ. And if you know the Lord, I pray that you will be on this journey in Christ. Um, if you've been distant from the Lord, may you return to him and be fully restored unto him, but may you be on this journey in Christ, being transformed every single day.

And so, I hope that this um this psalm specifically will be in your mind and be in your heart. And um I hope that this will just help you on your spiritual journey. So once again, my name is Patrick Daly, the pastor of Ontario Community Church, and you are watching and listening to the Pastor Patrick podcast. May you live and love like Jesus.