But the Lord sits enthroned forever;
he has established his throne for justice,
and he judges the world with righteousness;
he judges the peoples with uprightness.
The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion!
Tell among the peoples his deeds!
For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
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,
that I may recount all your praises,
that in the gates of the daughter of Zion
I may rejoice in your salvation.
—Psalm 9:7-14 (ESV)
A reformer in Strasbourg, Augsburg, and Bern, Wolfgang Musculus (1497–1563) composed numerous biblical commentaries and an influential theological text, the Loci Communes Sacrae Theologiae. In the psalmist’s meditation on the enthronement of the Lord (Psalm 9), Musculus identifies two commands to which the church of God must adhere: the Lord must be praised, and his deeds must be proclaimed among the nations.
David demands these two things from the church of God—which through divine kindness has been freed from the hands of the impious tyrants—first to praise and second to proclaim. He requires these two things together from the people of God. First, that they sing praise to the Lord, that is, that they sing his praises to the end with a grateful heart and give him thanks. Second, that they proclaim and thoroughly preach his deeds among the people, among those who have no knowledge of the true God.
Therefore, the church should sing psalms and worship by lifting up their hearts to their Liberator, that is, to offer the sacrifice of praise. Then to proclaim his wonderful deeds to all nations with zeal for the propagation of his glory and for devotion to the salvation of mortals. These are two things which the church of the redeemed should do without ceasing.
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