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Psalms 9

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Praising God for Victory and Justice 1–6

1
To the chief Musician upon Muthlabben, A Psalm of David. I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. ​
2
I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.
3
When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.
4
For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right. ​
5
Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.
6
O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them. ​

The Lord Judges Righteously 7–10

7
But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment. ​
8
And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.
9
The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
10
And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee. ​

Call to Worship and Assurance 11–12

11
Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.
12
When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble. ​

A Prayer for Present Deliverance 13–14

13
Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death: ​
14
That I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation.

The Certainty of Divine Judgment 15–18

15
The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
16
The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah. ​
17
The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. ​
18
For the needy shall not alway be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.

Final Plea for God's Intervention 19–20

19
Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight.
20
Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Psalms 9

Verse 1

with my whole heart — Yadah, to praise, is built on the word for 'hand': thanks given by an outstretched hand. 'Marvellous works' (pala) are wonders beyond ordinary power; the same call is made to the nations in 1 Chr 16:24, 'his marvellous works among all nations'. The title's 'Muthlabben' means literally death for the son.

Verse 4

my right and my cause — Mishpat and din, a verdict and a suit at law: the LORD has taken up David's case and decided it. He 'satest in the throne judging right' (tsedeq), for 'Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne' (Ps 89:14).

Verse 6

their memorial is perished — The enemy is addressed directly: his 'destructions' (chorbah, ruins) have reached a 'perpetual' end (netsach). 'Memorial' (zeker) answers v.5, 'thou hast put out their name for ever and ever'; the cities he overthrew are gone, and so is the remembrance of them.

Verse 7

shall endure for ever — Yashab, to sit, the verb of v.4, 'thou satest in the throne'. The LORD who sat to judge goes on sitting, in contrast to the perishing of v.6. The throne is 'prepared' (kun, set firm) for judgment: 'The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens' (Ps 103:19); cf. Heb 1:11.

Verse 10

they that know thy name — The 'name' is the LORD as he has made himself known, and knowing (yada) it issues in trust (batach). 'Seek' is darash, the verb of v.12, 'maketh inquisition'. Ps 91:14 puts the same thing from God's side: 'because he hath known my name'.

Verse 12

maketh inquisition for blood — Darash, to seek out, the verb used of seeking the LORD in v.10. The principle stands from Gen 9:5, 'your blood of your lives will I require'. The slain cry out in Rev 6:10, and the answer is given in Rev 16:6; 'the humble' (anav) are not forgotten.

Verse 13

the gates of death — Death is pictured as a city with gates, set against 'the gates of the daughter of Zion' in v.14. Shaar, gate, is the same word for both. The LORD 'liftest' (rum) from the one so that praise can be told at the other; cf. Ps 116:3.

Verse 16

Higgaion. Selah. — Higgayon is a murmuring or meditative sound; selah marks a pause. Both stand after the verse on the wicked 'snared' (naqash) 'in the work of his own hands', the pit-and-net judgment of v.15 and Ps 7:15. The LORD is known by what he does.

Verse 17

turned into hell — Sheol, the place of the dead. 'Turned' is shub, the verb of v.3, where the enemies 'are turned back': the retreat ends there. 'The nations that forget God' repeats the charge of Ps 50:22, 'ye that forget God', and Job 8:13, 'the paths of all that forget God'.

Verse 20

but men — Enosh, mortal man, the word of v.19, 'let not man prevail'. Being put in fear (mora) is meant to teach the nations their frailty, as Isa 31:3 says, 'the Egyptians are men, and not God'. Selah closes the psalm on a pause.