Psalm 9: Praise For God’s Justice. Series

February 14, 2014

Tom Lowe

Psalm 9

Title: The tune of “Death of the Son.”

Praise for God’s justice.

(To the chief musician according to Muthlabban, A psalm of David.)

1 I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvelous 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Introduction

Muth-labben probably refers to the tune to which these words were to be sung. The Chaldean version adds “concerning the death of the champion who went out between the camps,” which makes this Psalm concerned with the death of Goliath of Gath. [Others identify this psalm with the death of Bathsheba’s son. There is also the opinion that it refers to what happened in the land of Egypt when Israel was delivered from slavery by the death of Egypt’s firstborn.] After many triumphant years of victory over his enemies the psalmist recollects the incidents, and writes about them in the psalm. This is the first of the acrostic or alphabetical psalms, of which there are nine (9, 10, 35, 34, 37, 111, 112, 119, and 145). These psalms make use of the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet to begin the opening word of its verses. In the Septuagint the psalm refers to the death of the Divine Son, and recites his victory over death, and the grave, and all our foes.

Psalm 9 and 10 may have originally been one psalm, as they are in the Septuagint. They are similar in form and have similar wording. But there is a strong case for the two psalms being separate. Psalm 9 is a triumphant song of thanksgiving, while Psalm 10 is a complaint and prayer over godless men in the nation. Because Psalm 9 is complete in itself, it is better to regard Psalm 10 as a related psalm.

Psalm 9 is a song of thanksgiving for vindication. Ascribed to David, this psalm is set “to the tune of ‘the Death of the Son.’” What that means is unknown, but there has been some conjecture. One opinion states that “the Death of the Son” is a well-known song, to whose melody the musician is instructed to perform this psalm. In the psalm, David praised the Lord for manifesting His righteousness by judging the wicked nations, and for being a true and eternal Judge in whom the afflicted may trust. He then prayed that God would give him further cause for praise by seeing his affliction and removing it from him.

Commentary

1 I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvelous works.

2 I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.