1 {To the chief Musician. Upon Muthlabben. A Psalm of David.} I will praise Jehovah with my whole heart; I will recount all thy marvellous works.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in thee; I will sing forth thy name, O Most High.
3 When mine enemies turned back, they stumbled and perished at thy presence:
4 For thou hast maintained my right and my cause. Thou sittest on the throne, judging righteously.
5 Thou hast rebuked the nations, thou hast destroyed the wicked; thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.
6 O enemy! destructions are ended for ever. -- Thou hast also destroyed cities, even the remembrance of them hath perished.
7 But Jehovah sitteth for ever; he hath ordained his throne for judgment.
8 And it is he that will judge the world with righteousness; he shall execute judgment upon the peoples with equity.
9 And Jehovah will be a refuge to the oppressed one, a refuge in times of distress.
10 And they that know thy name will confide in thee; for thou, Jehovah, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.
11 Sing psalms to Jehovah who dwelleth in Zion; tell among the peoples his doings.
12 For when he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them; the cry of the afflicted ones hath he not forgotten.
13 Be gracious unto me, O Jehovah; consider mine affliction from them that hate me, lifting me up from the gates of death:
14 That I may declare all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion. I will be joyful in thy salvation.
15 The nations are sunk down in the pit [that] they made; in the net that they hid is their own foot taken.
16 Jehovah is known [by] the judgment he hath executed: the wicked is ensnared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.
17 The wicked shall be turned into Sheol, all the nations that forget God.
18 For the needy one shall not be forgotten alway; the hope of the meek shall not perish for ever.
19 Arise, Jehovah; let not man prevail: let the nations be judged in thy sight.
20 Put them in fear, Jehovah: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 9
Commentary on Psalms 9 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 9
Ps 9:1-20. Upon Muthlabben, or, after the manner according to "death to the Son," by which some song was known, to whose air or melody the musician is directed to perform this Psalm. This mode of denoting a song by some prominent word or words is still common (compare Ps 22:1). The Psalmist praises God for deliverance from his enemies and celebrates the divine government, for providing security to God's people and punishment to the wicked. Thus encouraging himself, he prays for new occasions to recount God's mercies, and confident of His continued judgment on the wicked and vindication of the oppressed, he implores a prompt and efficient manifestation of the divine sovereignty.
1. Heartfelt gratitude will find utterance.
3-5. When … are turned back—It is the result of God's power alone. He, as a righteous Judge (Ps 7:11), vindicates His people. He rebukes by acts as well as words (Ps 6:1; 18:15), and so effectually as to destroy the names of nations as well as persons.
6. Literally, "As to the enemy finished are his ruins for ever. Thou [God] hast destroyed," &c. (1Sa 15:3, 7; 27:8, 9). The wicked are utterly undone. Their ruins shall never be repaired.
7, 8. God's eternal possession of a throne of justice is contrasted with the ruin of the wicked.
9, 10. The oppressed, and all who know Him (Ps 5:3; 7:1), find Him a sure refuge.
11. (Compare Ps 2:6; 3:4).
12. for blood—that is, murders (Ps 5:6), including all the oppressions of His people.
maketh inquisition—(compare Ge 9:5). He will avenge their cause.
13. gates—or, "regions."
of death—Gates being the entrance is put for the bounds.
14. gates … Zion—The enclosure of the city (compare Ps 48:12; Isa 23:12), or, church, as denoted by this phrase contrasted with that of death, carries out the idea of exaltation as well as deliverance. Signal favors should lead us to render signal and public thanks.
15, 16. The undesigned results of the devices of the wicked prove them to be of God's overruling or ordering, especially when those results are destructive to the wicked themselves.
16. Higgaion—means "meditation," and, combined with Selah, seems to denote a pause of unusual solemnity and emphasis (compare Ps 3:2). Though Selah occurs seventy-three times, this is the only case in which Higgaion is found. In the view which is given here of the retribution on the wicked as an instance of God's wise and holy ordering, we may well pause in adoring wonder and faith.
17. shall be turned—or, "shall turn," retreating under God's vengeance, and driven by Him to the extreme of destruction, even hell itself. Those who forget God are classed with the depraved and openly profane.
18. (Compare Ps 13:1-6).
the needy—literally, "poor," as deprived of anything; hence miserable.
expectation of the poor—or, "meek," "humble," made so by affliction.
19. Arise—(compare Ps 4:7).
let not man—(Ps 8:4).
let … be judged—and of course condemned.
20. By their effectual subjection, make them to realize their frail nature (Ps 8:4), and deter them from all conceit and future rebellion.