Psalm 9

To the chief musician upon Muth-labben,
A Psalm of David.

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 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 always 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.

JW: David praises God for giving him victory over his enemies, ver. 1-6; triumphs in confidence that God would judge the world and protect his people, ver. 7-10; calls others to praise him, ver. 11, 12; prays for help, and praises God, ver. 13-20.

[On verse 10:] 'Thy name' - thy infinite power and wisdom, and faithfulness and goodness. The name of God is frequently put for God. 'Put their trust' - the experience of thy faithfulness to thy people in all ages, is a just ground for their confidence.

[On verse 12:] 'Blood' - the bloodshed of his innocent and holy ones; which though he may not seem to regard for a season, yet he will certainly call the authors of it to a severe account. 'Them' - the humble, as it follows, or the oppressed, ver. 9, that trust in him, and seek to him, ver. 10, whom he seemed to have forgotten.

[On verse 14:] 'Gates' - in the great assemblies. These gates he elegantly opposes to the former [of death, ver. 13]. 'Of' - of the people who live or meet together in Zion. For cities are as it were mothers to their people, and the people are commonly called their daughters. So the names of the daughters of Egypt, Jer. 46.11, and of Edom, Lam. 4.21,22, and of Tyre, Psalm 45.12, are put for the people of those places.

This psalm, like several we have already encountered, dwells heavily upon the forthcoming righteous judgment of God. Although other psalms express more discontent with the current status of the people of God being treated unjustly, this psalm at times has an undertone of being unsettled with the current circumstances. However, this psalm expresses a deep-seated confidence that God will put things to right, that he will remember the poor and oppressed and judge those who have murdered and done wrong to his people.

I'm a big fan of Jon Foreman, the lead singer of Switchfoot. I think his lyrical expressions, especially in the EP's released for the seasons, are beautiful and potent, filled with rich biblical imagery, language, and imagination. One song that stood out in my mind as I read this Psalm this morning was 'Equally Skilled,' a song which illuminates our failure to live righteously, but also points out the evils of oppression, and finally expresses confidence in the righteous judgment of God to right the wrongs that are done. Here's a video of Jon singing this song:



I love that Wesley noticed the juxtaposition of the "gates"; first the gates of death are mentioned in verse 13. But when God vindicates the humble and oppressed, they will be found in his gates, and shall rejoice in his salvation. When we hear and read about salvation in the Psalms the first synonym that should come to our mind is 'rescue.' Think about dramatic rescues that have taken place and been noticed in the media. I'm think most recently about the rescue of the Chilean miners. Do you recall the rejoicing that took place as one by one, the miners were rescued and brought to safety? Do you recall what Jesus said about the rejoicing that takes place when a lost sheep is brought back to the fold?

"For the needy shall not always be forgotten; the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever." Now in case you missed some of the lyrics of 'Equally Skilled' by Jon Foreman, I close with his closing lyrics to the third verse:

"I will be patient as the Lord
punishes me for the wrongs I've done against him.
After that he'll take my case,
bringing me to light and to justice for all that I've suffered.

And both of his hands are equally skilled,
at ruining evil...
at judging the judges...
administering justice...
at showing mercy...
at loving the loveless."