1-2 I’m thanking you, God, from a full heart,
    I’m writing the book on your wonders.
I’m whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy;
    I’m singing your song, High God.

3-4 The day my enemies turned tail and ran,
    they stumbled on you and fell on their faces.
You took over and set everything right;
    when I needed you, you were there, taking charge.

5-6 You blow the whistle on godless nations;
    you throw dirty players out of the game,
    wipe their names right off the roster.
Enemies disappear from the sidelines,
    their reputation trashed,
    their names erased from the halls of fame.

7-8 God holds the high centre,
    he sees and sets the world’s mess right.
He decides what is right for us earthlings,
    gives people their just deserts.

9-10 God’s a safe-house for the battered,
    a sanctuary during bad times.
The moment you arrive, you relax;
    you’re never sorry you knocked.

11-12 Sing your songs to Zion-dwelling God,
    tell his stories to everyone you meet:
How he tracks down killers
    yet keeps his eye on us,
    registers every whimper and moan.

13-14 Be kind to me, God;
    I’ve been kicked around long enough.
Once you’ve pulled me back
    from the gates of death,
I’ll write the book on Hallelujahs;
    on the corner of Main and First
    I’ll hold a street meeting;
I’ll be the song leader; we’ll fill the air
    with salvation songs.

15-16 They’re trapped, those godless countries,
    in the very snares they set,
Their feet all tangled
    in the net they spread.
They have no excuse;
    the way God works is well-known.
The shrewd machinery made by the wicked
    has maimed their own hands.

17-20 The wicked bought a one-way
    ticket to hell.
No longer will the poor be nameless—
    no more humiliation for the humble.
Up, God! Aren’t you fed up with their empty strutting?
    Expose these grand pretensions!
Shake them up, God!
    Show them how silly they look. The Message

As in many other places in the Bible, Psalm 9 speaks boldly about things that one day will happen as though they have already happened. We may look, for example, at verses 5,6, and think, ‘Well I’m not currently seeing this.’ Well, maybe not. But this psalm calls us to ‘see’ it through the eyes of faith.

We pass our own judgments on the nations (and leaders of nations), or we are tempted to. But we are unable to do this correctly for several reasons, including these:

a.) We are sinners ourselves – and blinded by our own sin;

b.) Our knowledge is partial, and even distorted (not everything we read in the papers or on the news is accurate);

c.) We are not God! This is the biggest reason of all. It’s not our calling; it’s not our job!

‘Even though life is troubled and the final settlement of all things has not yet come, there is still matter for praise in what the Lord is and what he has done…what will be supremely true on the day of Judgment (because God is on the throne) is in due measure true now (because he is always on the throne)’ Alec Motyer.

Whatever the news media (and social media!) may tell us today, let us hold on to this truth that ”God holds the high centre…”