Bible Commentaries
Psalms 9

Verses 1-20

Psalms 9:1-20

The ninth psalm is to the chief musician on Muthlabben. Muthlabben is the death of a son. This could have been when Bathsheba's first son died.

I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will show forth all thy marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou Most High. When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence. For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; you sat in the throne judging right. You have rebuked the heathen, and you have destroyed the wicked, you have put out their name for ever and ever. O thou enemy, destructions come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them. But the LORD ( Psalms 9:1-7 )

And here is contrast: they have perished,

But the LORD will endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment. And he shall judge the world ( Psalms 9:7-8 )

Now you are building thought upon thought, "He has prepared His throne for judgment."

And he shall judge the world with righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness. The LORD will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in time of trouble. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee. Sing praises to the LORD, which dwells in Zion: declare among the people his doings. When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble. Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou liftest me up from the gates of death: That I may show forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation. The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which is hid their own foot is taken. The LORD is known by the judgment which he executes: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands ( Psalms 9:8-16 ).

And that Higgaion is "meditate on that." "The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands." Just, meditate on it.

The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all nations that forget God. For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever. Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight. Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men ( Psalms 9:17-20 ).

O God, answer that. Put the leaders, the heathen in fear, that the nations may know themselves to be but men. We so often get an exalted idea of ourselves. "