Psalm 9:title–7 (ESV): I Will Recount Your Wonderful Deeds

9  To the choirmaster: according to Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.

  1  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.

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Abba,

What does it mean

To worship with one’s whole heart?

What is required for this to be so?

It is easy to worship when things go well.

But what about when the sun is hidden?

When grief drags on with relentless weight?

When hurts and betrayals mound?

When struggles trap and enslave?

When forbidden desires persist?

What then?

How can I give thanks with my whole heart then?

How can I give thanks through the hurt and tears?

How can I give thanks when denied the longings of the heart?

How can I give thanks for the pain and sorrow?

The injustice…

The death of self…

The denial of desire…

The disappointment of life?

HOW?

By looking up.

By recounting YOUR wonderful deeds

By beholding YOU.

Your incredible beauty

Your supreme worth

Your flawless deeds

Your impeccable nature

These…These are greater than my disappointment

My sorrow

My pain

My suffering

My injustices

Once it is beheld

And delighted in

It becomes a refuge

A safe haven

The waves of your worth

Crash over my sorrows

And wash away the debilitating loss

Yes, it still hurts

The heart still aches

The soul still yearns

AND YET

Peace finds a place to rest

A quiet contentment can find a place to perch

And a patient endurance is embraced

Waiting for a greater day

When even greater works will be beheld

And thanksgiving will be made

Despite the sorrows and disappointments

In which they were birthed

Until that day, may the wonder of your person

Be a safe haven

A refuge

From the sorrows of this life

May I ever give thanks

With my WHOLE heart

And recount all your wonderful deeds!