Psalm 9:7 Komentář

In this psalm, I. David praises God for pleading his cause, and giving him victory over his enemies and the enemies of his country (Psa 9:1-6), and calls upon others to join with him in his songs of praise (Psa 9:11, Psa 9:12). II. He prays to God that he might have still further occasion to praise him, for his own deliverances and the confusion of his enemies (Psa 9:13, Psa 9:14, Psa 9:19, Psa 9:20). III. He triumphs in the assurance he had of God's judging the world (Psa 9:7, Psa 9:8), protecting his oppressed people (Psa 9:9, Psa 9:10, Psa 9:18), and bringing his and their implacable enemies to ruin (Psa 9:15-17). This is very applicable to the kingdom of the Messiah, the enemies of which have been in part destroyed already, and shall be yet more and more till they all be made his footstool, which we are to assure ourselves of, that God may have the glory and we may take the comfort. To the chief musician upon Muth-labben. A psalm of David.

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 9 To the chief Musician upon Muthlabben, a Psalm of David. Some, take "muthlabben" to be the name of the tune to which this psalm was sung, and to design the same note which we call the counter-tenor: others think, that "upon muth", or "almuth", are but one word, and the same as "alamoth", Psa 45:1, title; and that it is the name of a musical instrument; and that "Ben" in "labben", is the name of the chief musician, who was over that sort of instrument, to whom the psalm is inscribed (l); and indeed R. Sol Jarchi says, that he had seen in the great Masorah these words as one; and so it seems the Septuagint interpreters read them, who render them, "for the hidden things of the son"; and the Arabic version, "concerning the mysteries of the son": and Ben is a name, it is said, of one of the singers, whose kindred and companions were appointed with psalteries on "alamoth", Ch1 15:18. And so then the title runs thus; "to the chief musician on alamoth, [even to] Ben". But others are of opinion that the subject matter or occasion of the psalm is designed by this phrase; and that as "muth" signifies "death", the death of some person is intended, on account of which this psalm was composed; some say Nabal, seeing the word "Laban", inverted, or read backwards, is "Nabal" (m), whose death affected David; as appears from Sa1 25:38. Others, that it was one of the kings of the Gentiles, whose name was Labben, and is mentioned nowhere else, who fought with David, and whom he slew, and upon his death penned this psalm (n). Others, Goliath the Philistine (o), who is called, Sa1 17:4. , which we render "champion" and dueller, one of two that fight together. But rather the reason of the name is, as given by the Jewish commentators (p), because he went and stood between the two camps of the Philistines and the Israelites; and so the Chaldee paraphrase renders the title of this psalm, "to praise, concerning the death of the man who went out between the camps, a song of David.'' And so the psalm itself, in the Targum, and by other Jewish writers, is interpreted of Goliath and the Philistines, and of the victory over them; and which does not seem amiss. Arama interprets it of the death of Saul. Others interpret Almuth Labben "of the death of the son"; and understand it of the death of Absalom, the son of David (q): but David's passion moved in another way, not in joy, but in grief, Sa2 18:33; nor is there anything in the psalm that can be referred unto it. Others, of the death of the son of God; but of that there is not the least hint in the psalm. Theodoret interprets it of Christ's victory over death by dying, which was a mystery or hidden thing. Rather, I should think, it might be interpreted of the death of the son of perdition, the man of sin and his followers; who may be typified by Goliath, and the Philistines: and so, as Ainsworth observes, as the former psalm was concerning the propagation of Christ's kingdom, this is of the destruction of antichrist. And Jerom, long ago said, this whole psalm is sung by the prophet in the person of the church, concerning antichrist: and to this agrees the Syriac version; which makes the subject of the psalm to be, "concerning Christ, taking the throne and kingdom, and routing the enemy.'' And also the Arabic version, according to which the argument of the psalm is, "concerning the mysteries of the Son, with respect to the glory of Christ, and his resurrection and kingdom, and the destruction of all the children of disobedience.'' To which may be added, that this psalm, according to R. Sol Jarchi, belongs to the time to come, to the days of the Messiah, and the future redemption by him. (l) Kimchi & Abendana in Miclol Yophi in loc. (m) So some in Jarchi & Aben Ezra in loc. (n) Donesh Hallevi in ibid. (o) Kimchi & Ben Melech in loc. (p) Jarchi, Kimchi, Levi Ben Gersom, R. Isaiah, & Ben Melech in 1 Sam. xvii. 4. (q) So some in Jarchi in loc.

And he shall judge the world in righteousness,.... The word rendered "world", is, as Ben Melech well observes, a general name for all the countries of the habitable world; and so shows that it is the universal judgment that is here spoken of; and which will be carried on and finished with the utmost righteousness, and according to the strictest rules of justice and equity; and is therefore called the righteous judgment of God, Rom 2:5; see Psa 96:13; he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness; which signifies the same with the former clause, unless by the "world" there, should be meant the wicked of the world; and by the "people" here, the people of God; to whom the righteous Judge will give the crown of righteousness.

"And the Lord abides for ever" [Psalm 9:7]. "Wherefore" then "have the heathen raged, and the people imagined vain things against the Lord, and against His anointed:" for "the Lord abides for ever. He has prepared His seat in judgment, and He shall judge the world in equity." He prepared His seat when He was judged. For by that patience Man purchased heaven, and God in Man profited believers. And this is the Son's hidden judgment. But seeing He is also to come openly and in the sight of all to judge the quick and the dead, He has prepared His seat in the hidden judgment: and He shall also openly "judge the world in equity:" that is, He shall distribute gifts proportioned to desert, setting the sheep on His right hand, and the goats on His left. [Matthew 25:33] "He shall judge the people with justice" [Psalm 9:8]. This is the same as was said above, "He shall judge the world in equity." Not as men judge who see not the heart, by whom very often worse men are acquitted than are condemned: but "in equity" and "with justice" shall the Lord judge, "conscience bearing witness, and thoughts accusing, or else excusing." [Romans 2:15]

"And the Lord endures forever." Here he sets forth the authority of the doer; and he touches upon six conditions regarding the judgment of God. First, that it is not momentary but eternal. The rule of others is brief in life; therefore the Psalmist says, "The Lord endures forever." Jerome: "The Lord sits as if for judgment." He also says that it is always ready; the judgment of others is not so; hence he says, "He has prepared his throne in judgment," that is, he has it ready. Is. 3: "The Lord stands to judge, he stands to judge the peoples." And these things can be explained of Christ. "The Lord endures forever," because "Jesus Christ yesterday and today," Heb. 13. "He has prepared judgment," because he sits on his throne judging.

Upon Muthlabben, or, after the manner according to "death to the Son," by which some song was known, to whose air or melody the musician is directed to perform this Psalm. This mode of denoting a song by some prominent word or words is still common (compare Psa 22:1). The Psalmist praises God for deliverance from his enemies and celebrates the divine government, for providing security to God's people and punishment to the wicked. Thus encouraging himself, he prays for new occasions to recount God's mercies, and confident of His continued judgment on the wicked and vindication of the oppressed, he implores a prompt and efficient manifestation of the divine sovereignty. (Psa. 9:1-20) Heartfelt gratitude will find utterance.

God's eternal possession of a throne of justice is contrasted with the ruin of the wicked.

(Heb.: 9:8-9) Without a trace even of the remembrance of them the enemies are destroyed, while on the other hand Jahve endureth for ever. This strophe is the continuation of the preceding with the most intimate connection of contrast (just as the ב-strophe expresses the ground for what is said in the preceding strophe). The verb ישׁב has not the general signification "to remain" here (like עמד to endure), but just the same meaning as in Psa 29:10. Everything that is opposed to Him comes to a terrible end, whereas He sits, or (which the fut. implies) abides, enthroned for ever, and that as Judge: He hath prepared His throne for the purpose of judgment. This same God, who has just given proof that He lives and reigns, will by and by judge the nations still more comprehensively, strictly, and impartially. תּכל, a word exclusively poetic and always without the article, signifies first (in distinction from ארץ the body of the earth and אדמה the covering or soil of the earth) the fertile (from יבל) surface of the globe, the οἰκουμένη. It is the last Judgment, of which all preceding judgments are harbingers and pledges, that is intended. In later Psalms this Davidic utterance concerning the future is repeated.