Study

a Bible passage

Click a verse to see commentary

Select a resource above

Psalm 9

God’s Power and Justice

To the leader: according to Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.

I will give thanks to the L ord with my whole heart;

I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.

I will be glad and exult in you;

I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

When my enemies turned back,

they stumbled and perished before you.

For you have maintained my just cause;

you have sat on the throne giving righteous judgment.

You have rebuked the nations, you have destroyed the wicked;

you have blotted out their name forever and ever.

The enemies have vanished in everlasting ruins;

their cities you have rooted out;

the very memory of them has perished.

But the L ord sits enthroned forever,

he has established his throne for judgment.

He judges the world with righteousness;

he judges the peoples with equity.

The L ord is a stronghold for the oppressed,

a stronghold in times of trouble.

And those who know your name put their trust in you,

for you, O L ord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

Sing praises to the L ord, who dwells in Zion.

Declare his deeds among the peoples.

For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;

he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

Be gracious to me, O L ord.

See what I suffer from those who hate me;

you are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death,

so that I may recount all your praises,

and, in the gates of daughter Zion,

rejoice in your deliverance.

The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;

in the net that they hid has their own foot been caught.

The L ord has made himself known, he has executed judgment;

the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah

The wicked shall depart to Sheol,

all the nations that forget God.

For the needy shall not always be forgotten,

nor the hope of the poor perish forever.

Rise up, O L ord! Do not let mortals prevail;

let the nations be judged before you.

Put them in fear, O L ord;

let the nations know that they are only human. Selah

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

19. Arise, O Jehovah. When David beseeches God to arise, the expression does not strictly apply to God, but it refers to external appearance and to our senses; for we do not perceive God to be the deliverer of his people except when he appears before our eyes, as it were sitting upon the judgment-seat. There is added a consideration or reason to induce God to avenge the injuries done to his people, namely, that man may not prevail; for when God arises, all the fierceness ¹⁸²¹⁸² “Toute la fierte et arrogance.” — Fr. “All the pride and arrogance.” of the ungodly must immediately fall down and give way. Whence is it that the wicked become so audaciously insolent, or have so great power to work mischief, if it is not because God is still, and gives them loose reins? But, as soon as he shows some token of his judgment, he immediately puts a stop to their proud tumults, ¹⁸³¹⁸³ “Leur rage et insolence.” — Fr. “Their rage and insolence.” and breaks their strength and power with his nod alone. ¹⁸⁴¹⁸⁴ “Solo nutu.” - Lat. “Enfaisant signe seulement du bout du doigt.” — Fr. We are taught, by this manner of praying, that however insolently and proudly our enemies may boast of what they will do, yet they are in the hand of God, and can do no more than what he permits them; and farther, that God can doubtless, whenever he pleases, render all their endeavors vain and ineffectual. The Psalmist, therefore, in speaking of them, calls them man. The word in the original is אנוש, enosh, which is derived from a root signifying misery or wretchedness, and, accordingly, it is the same thing as if he had called them mortal or frail man. Farther, the Psalmist beseeches God to judge the heathen before his face God is said to do this when he compels them, by one means or another, to appear before his judgment-seat. We know that unbelievers, until they are dragged by force into the presence of God, turn their backs upon him as much as they can, in order to exclude from their minds all thought of him as their Judge.

¹⁸² “Toute la fierte et arrogance.” — Fr. “All the pride and arrogance.”

¹⁸³ “Leur rage et insolence.” — Fr. “Their rage and insolence.”

¹⁸⁴ “Solo nutu.” - Lat. “Enfaisant signe seulement du bout du doigt.” — Fr.