This episode looks at Psalm 9:19, “Arise, O LORD! Let not man prevail; let the nations be judged before you!” We know that the wicked will fall, so we pray that God would come and do so.

This episode looks at Psalm 9:18, “For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.” The needy and poor most often see their desperate state before God, and thus they find wisdom and righteousness. For the righteous, there is an eternal hope of future resurrection and life with God. We long for that day, and we ask for God to continue showing us our deep need for him.

This episode looks at Psalm 9:17, “The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God.” The wicked return to the dust without hope of resurrection. They have forgotten God, and he will forget them as well. We pray a prayer of thanksgiving that the wicked do not have the final word, and we also pray for those who have forgotten God to turn to him while there is still time.

This episode looks at Psalm 9:16, “The LORD has made himself known; he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their hands. Higgaion. Selah.” God makes himself known when the wicked receive justice. Thus, we pray a prayer of thanks for when God has executed justice, a prayer of trust when it looks like the righteous are receiving what the wicked are due, and a prayer of request for God to continue to bring justice to the world, either when sinners repent and their sins are paid for on the cross or through judgment upon the wicked even now and for eternity.

This episode looks at Psalm 9:15, “The nations have sunk in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.” This prayer gives assurance to the request for God to show favor to the righteous. In the past (Psalm 7:15) we may have trusted that God would not let the wicked win, but we can look back at past moments where that came true and trust that God will continue to keep the wicked from winning. They will instead fall by their own devices.

This episode looks at Psalm 9:14, “that I may recount all your praises, that in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in your salvation.” We want God to show us grace and to deliver us from affliction first for his glory to be praised and second because it brings us joy. These are not at odds, so we pray for both of these things.

This episode looks at Psalm 9:13, “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.” God has been just, and he will establish his justice forever, so David can ask him to do so again right now. We mimic his prayer.

This episode looks at Psalm 9:12, “For he who avenges blood is mindful of them; he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.” God so values the lives of his image bearers that he requires justice when his image bearers are oppressed or afflicted, and especially when they are killed. We pray that he will do so now either in the cross of Christ or in hell forevermore.

This episode looks at Psalm 9:11, “Sing praises to the LORD, who sits enthroned in Zion! Tell among the peoples his deeds!” When we are captivated by God it makes us make music to God in our hearts (9:1–2) and pushes us into inviting us to join with us in doing so. May God grant us grace to be captivated by him and to draw others into praise with us.

This episode looks at Psalm 9:10, “And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.” The more we see God deliver, the more we trust him. We ask for God’s help to seek him and to know him and to have our confidence grow in him more and more.