It’s a song of thanksgiving and praise. A lyric of gladness and exultation. Not because the songwriter had not known oppression or times of trouble, but because he had. Not because he had not been needy, but because he had not been forgotten. Not because he had no enemies, but because they had been turned back. And what particularly stands out this morning in this ninth psalm is that to know Him is to trust Him.

And those who know Your name put their trust in You,
      for You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.

(Psalm 9:10 ESV)

Among the things I’m on the lookout for when I’m reading are truths about the people of God. Ways to describe them. Characteristics that mark them. Ideals that should define them. So, this morning I highlight the reminder that God’s people are those who know His name and who seek Him. Know not just in a theoretical sense but know by experience. Seek not just casually, but with care. Knowing Him beyond the documented data about Him. Instead, knowing Him because of repeated deliverance through Him. Seeking Him beyond inquisitive curiosity. But seeking Him in order to engage with Him. The people of God know their God. The people of God seek their God.

Thus, what do the people of God do? They put their trust in their God.

When, not if, enemies arise (v.3); when, not if, oppression and times of trouble are experienced (v.9); when, not if, we are needy and have run out of our own resources (v.19); then those who know God trust God. While tempted to fear, they actually become bold. While their world is shaken, yet they have an abiding sense of security. While they may feel the crush of waves of adversity, still there is a calm of an abiding confidence. To know Him is to trust Him.

And as I chew on it and reflect a bit, isn’t it true that to trust Him is to know Him?

I’m thinkin . . .

Having sought God through our storms, we’ve known Him as a faithful, reliable stronghold (v.9). Having committed to him our conflicts, He has maintained our cause (v.4). Having cried out to Him in our affliction, He has, again and again, born witness that we are not forgotten (v.12).

Yeah, to know Him is to trust Him. And to trust Him is to grow in depths of knowing Him. And so, we give thanks to Him.

I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart;
      I will recount all of Your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and exult in You;
         I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

(Psalm 9:1-2 ESV)

I will recount all of Your wonderful deeds . . .

For us who know Him, for us who seek Him, for us who trust Him, we give thanks and praise for His wonderful works of deliverance. Both for deliverance on the grandest of scales, as in the deliverance from the bondage of slavery to sin and death, but also for deliverance on the most personal of levels, as in the respite known in trials, the rescue known in ill-treatment, and the renewal known in seasons of sorrow.

All because of grace. Only for His glory.

Amen?