◄ Psalm 9:6 ►
The enemy has come to eternal ruin, and You have uprooted their cities; the very memory of them has vanished.
Study Bible
Endless ruin
The phrase "endless ruin" conveys a sense of complete and utter destruction. In the Hebrew text, the word often translated as "ruin" is "charbah," which can mean desolation or waste. This term is used throughout the Old Testament to describe the aftermath of divine judgment. The use of "endless" emphasizes the permanence of this destruction, suggesting that the enemies of God face a ruin that is not temporary but eternal. This reflects the ultimate victory of God over evil, a theme that resonates throughout the Psalms and the entire Bible.

has overtaken the enemy
The phrase "has overtaken the enemy" indicates a decisive and overwhelming victory. The Hebrew verb "tamah" implies a sense of completion or fulfillment, suggesting that the enemies have been fully and finally defeated. This is not a partial victory but a total one, underscoring the power and sovereignty of God. Historically, this can be seen in the numerous instances where God delivered Israel from their foes, reinforcing the belief that God is a mighty warrior who fights on behalf of His people.

You have uprooted their cities
The imagery of "uprooting" is powerful, suggesting a complete removal or eradication. The Hebrew word "akar" means to pluck up or root out, often used in agricultural contexts. Here, it signifies the total destruction of the enemy's strongholds. Cities in ancient times were centers of power and culture, and their destruction symbolized the end of a civilization's influence. This reflects God's ability to dismantle the structures of evil, ensuring that no trace of the enemy's power remains.

the very memory of them has vanished
The phrase "the very memory of them has vanished" speaks to the total obliteration of the enemy's legacy. In Hebrew, "zakar" means to remember, and its negation here implies that even the recollection of the enemy is erased. This is a profound statement about the finality of God's judgment. In a historical context, this could refer to the many nations and peoples who opposed Israel and were eventually forgotten. Spiritually, it reassures believers that evil will not only be defeated but will also be forgotten, as God establishes His eternal kingdom where righteousness dwells.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The Enemy
Represents those who oppose God and His people. In the context of the Psalms, this often refers to nations or individuals who are adversaries of Israel and, by extension, adversaries of God's purposes.

2. Eternal Ruin
This phrase signifies the complete and irreversible destruction of the wicked. It emphasizes the finality of God's judgment against those who oppose Him.

3. Uprooted Cities
Symbolizes the total destruction of the enemy's strongholds and places of power. This imagery conveys the idea that God dismantles the very foundations of the wicked's influence.

4. Memory Vanished
Indicates the complete obliteration of the enemy's legacy and influence. It suggests that their impact and presence are entirely erased from history.

5. God as Judge
Implicit in this verse is the role of God as the righteous judge who enacts justice against the wicked and defends His people.
Teaching Points
God's Sovereignty in Judgment
God is sovereign and just, and His judgments are final. Believers can trust that God will ultimately deal with all forms of wickedness and injustice.

The Transience of Evil
The apparent power and influence of the wicked are temporary. God's justice ensures that their legacy will not endure.

The Security of the Righteous
While the wicked face eternal ruin, the righteous have the assurance of God's protection and the promise of eternal life.

The Importance of Legacy
Consider the legacy you are building. Unlike the wicked, whose memory vanishes, strive to leave a legacy that honors God and blesses others.

Trust in God's Timing
God's judgment may not always be immediate, but it is certain. Trust in His timing and remain faithful, knowing that He will act justly.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the imagery of "uprooted cities" in Psalm 9:6 help us understand the completeness of God's judgment against the wicked?

2. In what ways can we see the principle of the wicked's memory vanishing in today's world? How does this encourage us to live righteously?

3. How does the assurance of God's ultimate justice in Psalm 9:6 provide comfort in times of personal or societal injustice?

4. Reflect on a time when you witnessed or experienced God's justice. How did it strengthen your faith in His sovereignty?

5. How can the themes of Psalm 9:6 inspire us to pray for those who are currently opposing God's purposes? What specific prayers can we offer for their transformation?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Psalm 37
This Psalm also speaks of the eventual downfall of the wicked and the enduring presence of the righteous. It reinforces the theme of God's justice and the ultimate fate of those who oppose Him.

Proverbs 10:7
This verse contrasts the memory of the righteous, which is blessed, with the name of the wicked, which will rot. It echoes the idea of the wicked's memory vanishing.

Revelation 18
The fall of Babylon in Revelation parallels the destruction of the enemy's cities in Psalm 9:6, illustrating God's ultimate victory over evil.

Isaiah 14:22-23
These verses describe God's judgment on Babylon, including the eradication of its name and remnant, similar to the uprooting and vanishing memory in Psalm 9:6.
Sermons
ThanksgivingC. Short Psalm 9:1-6
The Cause of GratitudeC. Short Psalm 9:1-6
A Praiseful HeartPsalm 9:1-20
Praise for the Destroyer's DestructionC. Clemance Psalm 9:1-20
Praise, Trust, and PrayerF. B. Meyer, B. A.Psalm 9:1-20
The Ministry of PraiseJ. H. Jowett, M. A.Psalm 9:1-20
People
David, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Cities, Desolate, Destroyed, Destruction, Destructions, Ended, Endless, Enemy, Everlasting, Finished, Hast, Memorial, Memory, O, Overtaken, Overthrown, Perished, Perpetual, Places, Plucked, Remembrance, Rooted, Ruin, Ruins, Towns, Uproot, Uprooted, Vanished, Waste
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 9:1-6

     8644   commemoration

Psalm 9:4-10

     5581   throne

Psalm 9:5-6

     5043   names, significance

Library
Dilemma and Deliverance
Now, this morning, in addressing you, I shall divide my text into three parts. First, I shall note a certain fiery dart of Satan; secondly, I shall point out to you heaven's divine buckler, as hinted at in the text--"Thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee;" and then, in the third place, I shall notice man's precious privilege of seeking God, and so of arming himself against Satan. I. First, then, I am to dwell for a little time upon A CERTAIN FIERY DART OF SATAN WHICH IS CONSTANTLY SHOT …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 6: 1860

Joy in Salvation
"I will rejoice in thy salvation."--Psalm 9:4. I DESIRE to continue the topic of the morning, only we will look at another side of the same important matter. We spoke this morning, as you have not forgotten, upon these words, "Your own salvation." I trust most of us--would God I could hope all of us--were earnest about our own personal salvation. To those who are earnest this second text will be the complement of the first. They desire that their own salvation shall be secure; it is their own salvation …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 62: 1916

Cry we Therefore with the Spirit of Charity...
26. Cry we therefore with the spirit of charity, and until we come to the inheritance in which we are alway to remain, let us be, through love which becometh the free-born, not through fear which becometh bondmen, patient of suffering. Cry we, so long as we are poor, until we be with that inheritance made rich. Seeing how great earnest thereof we have received, in that Christ to make us rich made Himself poor; Who being exalted unto the riches which are above, there was sent One Who should breathe …
St. Augustine—On Patience

A Few Sighs from Hell;
or, The Groans of the Damned Soul: or, An Exposition of those Words in the Sixteenth of Luke, Concerning the Rich Man and the Beggar WHEREIN IS DISCOVERED THE LAMENTABLE STATE OF THE DAMNED; THEIR CRIES, THEIR DESIRES IN THEIR DISTRESSES, WITH THE DETERMINATION OF GOD UPON THEM. A GOOD WARNING WORD TO SINNERS, BOTH OLD AND YOUNG, TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION BETIMES, AND TO SEEK, BY FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST, TO AVOID, LEST THEY COME INTO THE SAME PLACE OF TORMENT. Also, a Brief Discourse touching the …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

But Concerning True Patience, Worthy of the Name of this virtue...
12. But concerning true patience, worthy of the name of this virtue, whence it is to be had, must now be inquired. For there are some [2650] who attribute it to the strength of the human will, not which it hath by Divine assistance, but which it hath of free-will. Now this error is a proud one: for it is the error of them which abound, of whom it is said in the Psalm, "A scornful reproof to them which abound, and a despising to the proud." [2651] It is not therefore that "patience of the poor" which …
St. Augustine—On Patience

Jesus, My Rock.
When the storm and the tempest are raging around me, Oh! where shall I flee to be safe from their shock? There are walls which no mortal hands built to surround me, A Refuge Eternal,--'Tis JESUS MY ROCK! When my heart is all sorrow, and trials aggrieve me, To whom can I safely my secrets unlock? No bosom (save one) has the power to relieve me, The bosom which bled for me, JESUS MY ROCK! When Life's gloomy curtain, at last, shall close o'er me, And the chill hand of death unexpectedly knock, I will …
John Ross Macduff—The Cities of Refuge: or, The Name of Jesus

"Because of his Importunity. "
"Nov. 19 [1846].--I am now led more and more to importune the Lord to send me the means, which are requisite in order that I may be able to commence the building. Because (1) it has been for some time past publicly stated in print, that I allow it is not without ground that some of the inhabitants of Wilson Street consider themselves inconvenienced by the Orphan-Houses being in that street, and I long therefore to be able to remove the Orphans from thence as soon as possible. (2) I become more and …
George Müller—Answers to Prayer

The Desire of the Righteous Granted;
OR, A DISCOURSE OF THE RIGHTEOUS MAN'S DESIRES. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR As the tree is known by its fruit, so is the state of a man's heart known by his desires. The desires of the righteous are the touchstone or standard of Christian sincerity--the evidence of the new birth--the spiritual barometer of faith and grace--and the springs of obedience. Christ and him crucified is the ground of all our hopes--the foundation upon which all our desires after God and holiness are built--and the root …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Heart's Desire Given to Help Mission Work in China.
"Sept. 30 [1869].--From Yorkshire L50.--Received also One Thousand Pounds to-day for the Lord's work in China. About this donation it is especially to be noticed, that for months it had been my earnest desire to do more than ever for Mission Work in China, and I had already taken steps to carry out this desire, when this donation of One Thousand Pounds came to hand. This precious answer to prayer for means should be a particular encouragement to all who are engaged in the Lord's work, and who may …
George Müller—Answers to Prayer

Introduction. Chapter i. --The Life and Writings of St. Hilary of Poitiers.
St. Hilary of Poitiers is one of the greatest, yet least studied, of the Fathers of the Western Church. He has suffered thus, partly from a certain obscurity in his style of writing, partly from the difficulty of the thoughts which he attempted to convey. But there are other reasons for the comparative neglect into which he has fallen. He learnt his theology, as we shall see, from Eastern authorities, and was not content to carry on and develop the traditional teaching of the West; and the disciple …
St. Hilary of Poitiers—The Life and Writings of St. Hilary of Poitiers

Trials of the Christian
AFFLICTION--ITS NATURE AND BENEFITS. The school of the cross is the school of light; it discovers the world's vanity, baseness, and wickedness, and lets us see more of God's mind. Out of dark afflictions comes a spiritual light. In times of affliction, we commonly meet with the sweetest experiences of the love of God. The end of affliction is the discovery of sin; and of that, to bring us to a Saviour. Doth not God ofttimes even take occasion, by the hardest of things that come upon us, to visit …
John Bunyan—The Riches of Bunyan

The Care of the Soul Urged as the one Thing Needful
Luke 10:42 -- "But one thing is needful." It was the amiable character of our blessed Redeemer, that "he went about doing good," this great motive, which animated all his actions, brought him to the house of his friend Lazarus, at Bethany, and directed his behavior there. Though it was a season of recess from public labor, our Lord brought the sentiments and the pious cares of a preacher of righteousness into the parlor of a friend; and there his doctrine dropped as the rain, and distilled as the …
George Whitefield—Selected Sermons of George Whitefield

Letter xix (A. D. 1127) to Suger, Abbot of S. Denis
To Suger, Abbot of S. Denis He praises Suger, who had unexpectedly renounced the pride and luxury of the world to give himself to the modest habits of the religious life. He blames severely the clerk who devotes himself rather to the service of princes than that of God. 1. A piece of good news has reached our district; it cannot fail to do great good to whomsoever it shall have come. For who that fear God, hearing what great things He has done for your soul, do not rejoice and wonder at the great …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

King of Kings and Lord of Lords
And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, K ING OF K INGS AND L ORD OF L ORDS T he description of the administration and glory of the Redeemer's Kingdom, in defiance of all opposition, concludes the second part of Messiah Oratorio. Three different passages from the book of Revelation are selected to form a grand chorus, of which Handel's title in this verse is the close --a title which has been sometimes vainly usurped by proud worms of this earth. Eastern monarchs, in particular, …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2

The Knowledge of God
'The Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.' I Sam 2:2. Glorious things are spoken of God; he transcends our thoughts, and the praises of angels. God's glory lies chiefly in his attributes, which are the several beams by which the divine nature shines forth. Among other of his orient excellencies, this is not the least, The Lord is a God of knowledge; or as the Hebrew word is, A God of knowledges.' Through the bright mirror of his own essence, he has a full idea and cognisance …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

The Justice of God
The next attribute is God's justice. All God's attributes are identical, and are the same with his essence. Though he has several attributes whereby he is made known to us, yet he has but one essence. A cedar tree may have several branches, yet it is but one cedar. So there are several attributes of God whereby we conceive of him, but only one entire essence. Well, then, concerning God's justice. Deut 32:4. Just and right is he.' Job 37:23. Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

A Preliminary Discourse to Catechising
'If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled.' - Col 1:23. Intending next Lord's day to enter upon the work of catechising, it will not be amiss to give you a preliminary discourse, to show you how needful it is for Christians to be well instructed in the grounds of religion. If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled.' I. It is the duty of Christians to be settled in the doctrine of faith. II. The best way for Christians to be settled is to be well grounded. I. It is the duty of Christians …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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