Psalms 9:1-20
1 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 maintaineda 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 refugeb 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.c
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.d 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.
Confidence in the Righteous Judge
The Chaldee version adds to the inscription, “concerning the death of the champion who went out between the camps,” referring to the death of Goliath. This is the first of the Acrostic or Alphabetical Psalms, of which there are nine: Psalms 9:1; Psalms 10:1; Psalms 25:1; Psalms 34:1; Psalms 37:1; Psalms 111:1; Psalms 112:1; Psalms 119:1; Psalms 145:1.
There is a predominant note of praise, Psalms 9:1; Psalms 9:11; Psalms 9:14. Let memory heap fuel on the altar of praise. In the resurrection of our Lord, God indeed rebuked our arch-enemy, and his strongholds are now wastes, Zechariah 3:1; 2 Corinthians 10:4; Colossians 2:15. But there is a corresponding note of trust, Psalms 9:7. Calamity drives us to God. The more we know the more we trust Him. Doubt is born of ignorance. Leave God to vindicate; He will not forget, Psalms 9:12 . There is a petition for further help, Psalms 9:13; Psalms 9:19. We have been at the gates of death, Psalms 9:13; here are the gates of the Holy City, Psalms 9:14. Compare Psalms 9:15 and Esther 7:10. God does not forget; forget Him not, Psalms 9:12; Psalms 17:1.