Psalm 9 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Psalm 9 Short Summary:

David begins the Psalm 9 praising God for His previous deeds, specifically His deliverance of David from his enemies. David presented God as the afflicter of the evil man, and the avenger of the afflicted man. He encouraged people to “sing praises to the Lord” for this characteristic. Towards the end of the psalm, we see a statement of optimism about the future. David writes, “For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever” (9:18).

Psalm 9 Summary

AUTHOR:

• David (9:1)

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES:

• No known New Testament references.

THEMES:

• God sits on His throne forever.

• He will humble proud and wicked nations and erase the memory of them from the earth.

• He is to be feared by wicked men.

• He is a stronghold for the oppressed (9:9).

DEFINITIONS:

• Muth-labben – Some people believe Muth-labben was a popular tune to which the psalm was written. A minority of others believe it was the name of an instrument.

• Sheol – “The idea which was conveyed by the word Sheol, or Hades, was not properly a grave or sepulcher, but that dark, unknown state, including the grave, which constituted the dominions of the dead” (Barnes).

OUTLINE:

• GOD, THE ETERNAL KING AND THE JUST JUDGE (9:1-20):

  • David begins the psalm praising God for His previous deeds, specifically His deliverance of David from his enemies.

  • God defended David because he fought for a “just cause.”

  • David asked for God’s “righteous judgement” to fall on his enemies and the perpetrators of evil.

  • God destroyed wicked nations and they disappeared from the earth (9:6). In contrast, God’s throne of justice lasts forever.

  • David presented God as the afflicter of the evil man, and the avenger of the afflicted man. He encouraged people to “sing praises to the Lord” for this characteristic.

  • God caused evil people to fall into their own traps and get caught in their own snares.

  • David wanted God to rise up in power to humble evil nations by reminding them that they were mere men in the face of an all-powerful God. They would not succeed, they would end up in the grave, in Sheol. God’s victory was certain.

  • Towards the end of the psalm, we see a statement of optimism about the future. David writes, “For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever” (9:18).
    

APPLICATION:

• This psalm is still very appropriate for our modern world.

• Things haven’t changed that much since David’s day.

• The powerful still oppress the poor. The wicked still scatter the seeds of evil into the world. Godless nations still rage against God and try to suppress the knowledge of Him.

• Perhaps you’ve been mistreated in some way because of your faith in God, because of your “just cause” (9:4).

• We can pray this same psalm.

• We can pray that God maintains us, that the wicked stumble, that evil nations and rulers are humbled, that the needy aren’t forgotten, that evil men will be smitten with the fear of God, that God will sit on His throne forever and bring justice to the world.

• David’s language might be a little foreign to us as modern readers, but when we look at the sentiments behind the words, we realize these expressions and pleas to God are shared between us and David, even though he lived 3,000 years ago.

• As we read through the Psalms, the authors’ word choices might seem odd to us, maybe we wouldn’t express ourselves with the same words or phrases, but try to identify the emotion behind the expressions and see if you’ve ever shared the author’s sentiments.