Psa 9:2 | KingComments | STEP | We have in Psalm 9, which together with Psalm 10 forms a unit, a special stylistic form in the poetry of the Hebrew Psalms, called acrostic. In this, the first word of each verse, or group of verses, begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet, called alephbeth in Hebrew. The Psalms written in the form of an acrostic are: Psalms 9-10; 25; 34; 37; 111; 112; 119; 145. The first psalm is Psalm 9 to which Psalm 10 belongs directly because Psalm 10 continues the alphabetical sequence of Psalm 9. Also, Psalm 10 lacks a heading, which is unusual for book 1 of Psalms (Psalms 1-41). This means that the heading of Psalm 9 applies to Psalms 9-10 together. However, the alphabetical sequence of these two psalms is not compelling, for some letters are missing, being one letter in Psalm 9 and six letters in Psalm 10. Further consideration of this shows that the letters are missing where the antichrist, the man of sin, becomes manifest. Six in the Bible is the number of man. The psalm shows us the governmental ways of God in the life of the oppressed faithful remnant ( ) in “ times of trouble ” ( ). This involves primarily enemies from without in Psalm 9, and enemies from within in Psalm 10. The way of God when there are enemies is to first bring praise to Him ( ; cf. ). After all, the fight is the LORD’s; it is His fight. For “for the choir director” ( ) see at Psalm 4:1. The addition “on Muth-labben” which means ‘Death to the son’ is found only in the heading of this psalm. Several explanations of this expression have been given, which makes it difficult, if not impossible, to give the correct explanation. There is, however, one explanation that appeals to us. That is that by ‘Death to the son’ is meant the death of “the man of lawlessness … the son of destruction” ( ) or the antichrist. This person plays the leading role in evil in this psalm and the next – and in many other psalms. He is the embodiment of lawlessness, which is expressed in the name ‘the man of lawlessness’. The thought of his death also connects well with the previous psalm, Psalm 8, where the realm of peace is described. The establishment of the realm of peace means the death of the antichrist, ‘the son of destruction’. God proves that He is the righteous Judge by killing this person. This gives the God-fearing, who have suffered greatly from him, the occasion for a song of praise, which is heard through David in this psalm. The ‘Death to the son’ is the melody of this psalm by which the words which are sung are carried. For “a Psalm of David”, see Psalm 3:1. After a climax in Psalm 8, the thread with Psalm 7 is picked up. Psalm 7 ends with a song of praise about and to the LORD Most High. That is repeated here in . David begins the psalm by giving thanks to the LORD ( ). He does this with all his heart. There is nothing else in his heart but thanksgiving to God. Next, he says to God that he will tell of all His wonders. Wonders are literally “extraordinary things”, all acts of God that produce astonishment and awe. It is a term more often used in Psalms to describe God’s works, which are numerous. These are primarily wonders of deliverance through judgment on enemies. He testifies to others of what God has done for him. Thus he first gives to God what is due to Him. Then follows the testimony to the outside world, so that they too will begin to ask for Him. Even more than the wonders of deliverance, about which he tells , David is glad and exults in the Deliverer ( ). He jumps up with joy because of Him. To His Name he sings praise. The LORD is the “Most High”. He is exalted above everything and everyone. One who realizes this in faith can sing in spite of enemies who surround him. As noted earlier, the name “Most High” is God’s name in the realm of peace. David sees here, as it were, the full result of deliverance.` In , David speaks of the reason for his joy. Both verses begin with a reasoning word. The first is “when” and then the description follows what happened to the enemies ( ). David is mindful of God’s successive dealings with his enemies. There is a climax – for the enemies an anticlimax – in it. It all happens “before You”, that is, it is His work. In a vivid description, the defeat of the enemies is depicted; we see it happen: 1. God has caused his enemies to “turn back”. 2. Then they do not flee and escape, but “stumble”. 3. Finally, we see their end: they “perish” before God. The word “for” makes it clear that the enemies perished because God has maintained David’s just cause ( ). God, by killing the enemies, justifies David. David has defeated his enemies, but he knows that it is not he, but God who has dealt with his enemies. God has enabled him to do that. Therefore, for that, all credit is due to Him. David served God faithfully. Because He is the righteous Judge, Who is “judging righteously”, He stood up for David. He always stands up for those who suffer because of their faithfulness to Him. This is not always immediately apparent. Sometimes it even seems like the opposite, but it will become visible when He takes His seat on His throne. Because God is the righteous Judge, Who cannot do other than judge righteously, He rebukes “the nations” (cf. ) and destroys “the wicked” – singular, the antichrist ( ). The nations share in the fate of the antichrist because they have followed him and helped in carrying out his evil plans. Nothing remains of them; the eradication is radical. Even their names – those of the nations and that of the antichrist – are blotted out, not for a shorter or longer period, but “forever and ever”. As in , here we have a climax for faith that is an anticlimax for unbelief: rebuked, destroyed and blotted out. begins with the letter gimel and begins with the letter he . The letter daleth is skipped. This has to do here with the mention of “the wicked” in and the “enemy” in . By both is meant the antichrist who is out to disrupt God’s governmental ways. In David says defiantly to the enemy, the antichrist, where does he now stand with all his exploits of which he has always boasted? He has done nothing but cause ruin, uproot cities and making life impossible for countless people. The testimony “destruction and misery are in their paths” ( ) applies to him in particular. When he is put to death, there is an end forever to his destruction as well as to the uprooting of cities. The memory of his devastation has perished along with his destruction. We can apply this to everything modern man boasts of. He strains to make the world more livable, that is, to bend it to his will, just for his own pleasure. The effect of his efforts is to make the world more and more uninhabitable. The trail of destruction that is in his paths becomes deeper and deeper. Not even a memory of him remains, no matter how much people may praise him and “immortalize” his name. One of the greatest symbols of glorification of man is the Hollywood Walk of Fame with names of entertainment industry celebrities admired by countless people. When God takes His seat on the throne, He wipes out all those names and their memory of them. They disappear forever and ever. They are never thought of again, let alone longed for again.

‏ Psalms 9:2

Introduction

We have in Psalm 9, which together with Psalm 10 forms a unit, a special stylistic form in the poetry of the Hebrew Psalms, called acrostic. In this, the first word of each verse, or group of verses, begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet, called alephbeth in Hebrew. The Psalms written in the form of an acrostic are: Psalms 9-10; 25; 34; 37; 111; 112; 119; 145.

The first psalm is Psalm 9 to which Psalm 10 belongs directly because Psalm 10 continues the alphabetical sequence of Psalm 9. Also, Psalm 10 lacks a heading, which is unusual for book 1 of Psalms (Psalms 1-41). This means that the heading of Psalm 9 applies to Psalms 9-10 together.

However, the alphabetical sequence of these two psalms is not compelling, for some letters are missing, being one letter in Psalm 9 and six letters in Psalm 10. Further consideration of this shows that the letters are missing where the antichrist, the man of sin, becomes manifest. Six in the Bible is the number of man.

The psalm shows us the governmental ways of God in the life of the oppressed faithful remnant (Psa 10:18) in “times of trouble” (Psa 9:9 ; Psa 10:1). This involves primarily enemies from without in Psalm 9, and enemies from within in Psalm 10. The way of God when there are enemies is to first bring praise to Him (Psa 9:1b-2; cf. 2Chr 20:21). After all, the fight is the LORD’s; it is His fight.

Praise to God, the Righteous Judge

For “for the choir director” (Psa 9:1a) see at Psalm 4:1.

The addition “on Muth-labben” which means ‘Death to the son’ is found only in the heading of this psalm. Several explanations of this expression have been given, which makes it difficult, if not impossible, to give the correct explanation.

There is, however, one explanation that appeals to us. That is that by ‘Death to the son’ is meant the death of “the man of lawlessness … the son of destruction” (2Thes 2:3) or the antichrist. This person plays the leading role in evil in this psalm and the next – and in many other psalms. He is the embodiment of lawlessness, which is expressed in the name ‘the man of lawlessness’.

The thought of his death also connects well with the previous psalm, Psalm 8, where the realm of peace is described. The establishment of the realm of peace means the death of the antichrist, ‘the son of destruction’. God proves that He is the righteous Judge by killing this person. This gives the God-fearing, who have suffered greatly from him, the occasion for a song of praise, which is heard through David in this psalm. The ‘Death to the son’ is the melody of this psalm by which the words which are sung are carried.

For “a Psalm of David”, see Psalm 3:1.

After a climax in Psalm 8, the thread with Psalm 7 is picked up. Psalm 7 ends with a song of praise about and to the LORD Most High. That is repeated here in Psa 9:1b-2. David begins the psalm by giving thanks to the LORD (Psa 9:1b). He does this with all his heart. There is nothing else in his heart but thanksgiving to God.

Next, he says to God that he will tell of all His wonders. Wonders are literally “extraordinary things”, all acts of God that produce astonishment and awe. It is a term more often used in Psalms to describe God’s works, which are numerous. These are primarily wonders of deliverance through judgment on enemies. He testifies to others of what God has done for him. Thus he first gives to God what is due to Him. Then follows the testimony to the outside world, so that they too will begin to ask for Him.

Even more than the wonders of deliverance, about which he tells, David is glad and exults in the Deliverer (Psa 9:2). He jumps up with joy because of Him. To His Name he sings praise. The LORD is the “Most High”. He is exalted above everything and everyone. One who realizes this in faith can sing in spite of enemies who surround him. As noted earlier, the name “Most High” is God’s name in the realm of peace. David sees here, as it were, the full result of deliverance.`

In Psa 9:3-4, David speaks of the reason for his joy. Both verses begin with a reasoning word. The first is “when” and then the description follows what happened to the enemies (Psa 9:3). David is mindful of God’s successive dealings with his enemies. There is a climax – for the enemies an anticlimax – in it. It all happens “before You”, that is, it is His work.

In a vivid description, the defeat of the enemies is depicted; we see it happen:

1. God has caused his enemies to “turn back”.

2. Then they do not flee and escape, but “stumble”.

3. Finally, we see their end: they “perish” before God.

The word “for” makes it clear that the enemies perished because God has maintained David’s just cause (Psa 9:4). God, by killing the enemies, justifies David. David has defeated his enemies, but he knows that it is not he, but God who has dealt with his enemies. God has enabled him to do that. Therefore, for that, all credit is due to Him.

David served God faithfully. Because He is the righteous Judge, Who is “judging righteously”, He stood up for David. He always stands up for those who suffer because of their faithfulness to Him. This is not always immediately apparent. Sometimes it even seems like the opposite, but it will become visible when He takes His seat on His throne.

Because God is the righteous Judge, Who cannot do other than judge righteously, He rebukes “the nations” (cf. Mt 25:31-33) and destroys “the wicked” – singular, the antichrist (Psa 9:5). The nations share in the fate of the antichrist because they have followed him and helped in carrying out his evil plans. Nothing remains of them; the eradication is radical.

Even their names – those of the nations and that of the antichrist – are blotted out, not for a shorter or longer period, but “forever and ever”. As in Psa 9:3, here we have a climax for faith that is an anticlimax for unbelief: rebuked, destroyed and blotted out.

Psa 9:5 begins with the letter gimel and Psa 9:6 begins with the letter he. The letter daleth is skipped. This has to do here with the mention of “the wicked” in Psa 9:5 and the “enemy” in Psa 9:6. By both is meant the antichrist who is out to disrupt God’s governmental ways.

In Psa 9:6 David says defiantly to the enemy, the antichrist, where does he now stand with all his exploits of which he has always boasted? He has done nothing but cause ruin, uproot cities and making life impossible for countless people. The testimony “destruction and misery are in their paths” (Rom 3:16) applies to him in particular. When he is put to death, there is an end forever to his destruction as well as to the uprooting of cities. The memory of his devastation has perished along with his destruction.

We can apply this to everything modern man boasts of. He strains to make the world more livable, that is, to bend it to his will, just for his own pleasure. The effect of his efforts is to make the world more and more uninhabitable. The trail of destruction that is in his paths becomes deeper and deeper. Not even a memory of him remains, no matter how much people may praise him and “immortalize” his name.

One of the greatest symbols of glorification of man is the Hollywood Walk of Fame with names of entertainment industry celebrities admired by countless people. When God takes His seat on the throne, He wipes out all those names and their memory of them. They disappear forever and ever. They are never thought of again, let alone longed for again.