Kingdom Seekers Circle

Emotional Meditation—By Micah Siemens

Psalm 9 doesn’t open with a cry for help. It opens with a decision: “I will give thanks to You, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonderful deeds.” David chooses gratitude before he even gets to the hard stuff. And right there, I feel the first jab—how often do I start my prayers with complaints instead of thanks?

Then the psalm shifts. David paints God as a righteous Judge: “You have upheld my right and my cause, sitting enthroned as the righteous judge. You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked.” Thrones may topple, cities may vanish, but God’s seat never shakes.

It’s bold. Because when I look at the news, it doesn’t always feel true. Wicked rulers still rise. Injustice still reigns. And yet David speaks in the past tense: “You have rebuked… You have destroyed.” It’s as if God’s justice is so certain, so baked into history, that David can talk about it like it already happened.

Then comes the gut-check: “The Lord reigns forever; He has established His throne for judgment.” The permanence of God’s reign stands against the temporary flash of human power. Rome fell. Babylon fell. Every empire has its graveyard. But God’s throne? Still there.

And tucked in the middle of all this cosmic judgment is something deeply personal: “The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.” The God who topples nations is also the God who shelters the broken. He’s big enough to unmake empires, but tender enough to guard the one who feels crushed.

The emotional pull here is that collision—justice on the world stage, comfort in the hidden corners of pain. God isn’t just “out there,” ruling history. He’s “right here,” being a safe place.

So if I had to sum up Psalm 9:1–10 in a bite? It’s this: thrones fall, but the refuge stands.

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