Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion;
Declare among the peoples His deeds.
— Psalm 9:11
In this psalm, David does what he does so consistently throughout his songs — he invites us to worship the Lord.
What Praise Is
The call to worship opens with an invitation to sing praises to the Lord. Praise is an acknowledgement of who God is. It is seeing Him for who He truly is — recognising His attributes, acknowledging that He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. In praising the Lord, we are declaring that who He is is worthy of all adoration, and so we offer Him this sacrifice of praise with jubilant joy.
There is something important to understand about the nature of praise — it is not primarily about the person giving it. The focus of praise is not the one offering it but the one receiving it. Praise involves directing full attention to the one being praised, and has very little to do with the one doing the praising.
Such is all praise to God. When we sing praises to Him, it does not matter what kind of people we are. It does not matter how weak or small or unworthy we feel. What matters is who God is — that He is majestic, that He is the King of all kings, the Lord of all lords, the Creator of heaven and earth, the one who is holy, holy, holy, always enthroned in the heavens, the one who was and is and is to come. Our praise is entirely about Him.
Who Are the Dwellers of Zion?
David identifies a specific people whom he is encouraging to sing praises — those who dwell in Zion. In Scripture, Zion is a reference to Jerusalem — the place where God dwells. It is often contrasted with Mount Sinai, which is where God met Moses and gave the law to the children of Israel.
At Mount Sinai, God gave the law and required obedience from His people. But Zion represents something different — it represents grace. It is the place where God offers a way for His people to come to Him, and where He receives their worship and praise.
In other words, the dwellers of Zion are those who have come to understand that they cannot ascend to God by their own effort or by keeping the law. Rather, God has made it possible for them to come to Zion by way of faith — through full trust in His sovereignty, grace, and mercy. These are the people of grace. And these are the people called to sing His praises.
Declaring His Deeds
The psalmist also gives us a glimpse into what this praise and worship actually looks like. He tells his listeners to declare among the peoples His deeds — to recount what God has done. This is a wonderful expression of worship.
When we praise God, we acknowledge Him for who He is — that He is the living God, the great God, the all-good and all-powerful God. We affirm that God is Spirit, that God is light, that God is love — all the truths we find declared throughout Scripture.
And then we go further. We also acknowledge what He has done. We declare His works of creation. We declare His works of redemption. We acknowledge Him calling a people who were not a people and making them His own. We recall Him delivering the children of Israel from the land of captivity, forming them into a nation, and always preserving a remnant for Himself. We declare His great works of deliverance throughout history.
And above all, we acknowledge the greatest of all His works — sending Christ to die for us on the cross. We declare the plan of salvation: the life of Christ, the death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, and His ascension to the right hand of the Father. And we hold on to the promise that He will come back to take us home.
These are the great works of God — and through our praise, we honour Him by declaring them.
So let us sing praises to the Lord and declare His great works among the peoples.
Amen.
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