“I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.”
Psalm 9:1-2

This wonderful Psalm encourages me once again that praise is based on who God is and on His marvelous works, not on my circumstances, whether they be good or bad.

While the psalm opens with two verses of unrestricted praise to God, the bulk of the rest of the psalm is about trials. David speaks of enemies (v.3), oppression (v.9), those who sought to entrap him (v.15), wickedness (v.17), and the poor and needy (v.18). Clearly the psalm is seasoned with undesirable circumstances—yet David praises God throughout, trusting that He is in control and He will avenge.

What is the take-away from this? Praise God because of who He is and because of His marvelous works, irrespective of whether you are on top of the world, or the weight of the world is crushing you. Remember, if you are in Christ, your sins are forgiven!