Psalms 9&10: Why?

Psalms 9 and10 focus on praise, recollection, corruption, betrayal, petition, and patience. These psalms feature David reacting to enemies arising from within Israel itself. But his words are universal. Recall the plot to destroy Jesus at the start of his ministry (Mark 3:6). Then there’s the perennial issue of Church related evil. Wrongs coming from within our own community hurt. We pray, but sometimes God seems distant. Nothing happens. What then?

The historical concept of these psalms is difficult to pinpoint. Verses 11 and 14 of Psalm 9 give us a clue as it presents God ruling from Zion (Jerusalem). I prefer placing the setting late in David’s reign after Jerusalem became the capital, and likely after the death of Absalom. David was restored as king, but apparently, lots of dissent, corruption, and hatred remained. According to verse 9:14, David seems to miss being able to appear in public. The situation must have been difficult for him.

For the Chief Musician.
Set to “The Death of the Son (Muth-labben).”
A Psalm by David.

The meaning of the Hebrew phrase Muth-labben provokes much debate. The Jewish sage Rashi (1040–1105 CE) tells the literal definition: Muth means death and labben means to the son. Modern translators posit other meanings. These include (1) death of Labben, (2) secrets of the son, (3) death for a son, (4) with all my heart, (5) and female voices. About half of the translators give up and leave the term Muth-labben in their translation. Let’s suppose the meaning is Death of the Son. Which son? Is it one of David’s sons who died? Or is it a son to be born in the future?

Rashi states:

But I say that this song is for the future when the childhood and the youth of Israel will be brightened; their righteousness will be revealed and their salvation will draw near, that Esau and his seed will be erased, according to our Torah.

The Church Fathers identify Muth-labben with Jesus. St. Augustine (354–430 CE) writes:

The very only begotten Son of God should be understood. . . . It cannot properly be taken of Absalom and in no way does it relate to the Gentiles. . . . But the manifest judgment is that in which the Lord, at His coming, will judge the quick and the dead.

St. Jerome (347–420 CE) writes:

Because the translators of the Septuagint were doing their work under the Gentile king Ptolemy, it was difficult, you see, for them to say the ‘death of the Son,’ so they translated the word ‘death’ as ‘hidden things.’ They did not write, ‘for the death of the Son,’ but they knew that the Scripture was speaking about the Son of God. They saw what was written but were afraid to say that the Son of God would die. So much for the title. We really need to understand the whole psalm in its relation to the death of the Savior.

When psalms 8 and 9 are joined together, they are partially acrostic. This means that subsequent verses begin with a following letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The translation below illustrates this by showing the associated Hebrew letter at the start of the verses that fits the pattern.

Psalm 9 begins with praise.

^{1 Aleph – א}I will be glad and rejoice in you.
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
I will tell of (recount) all your marvelous works.

²I will be glad and rejoice in you.
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

^{3 Bet – ב}My enemies try to turn back.
They stumble and perish in your presence.

^{4 Gimmel – ג}For you have maintained my just cause.
You sit on the throne judging righteously.

David now recalls times past when Yahweh dramatically acted on behalf of his people.

^{5 Hey – ה}You have rebuked the nations.
You have destroyed the wicked.
You have blotted out their name forever and ever.

^{6 Vav – ו}The enemy came to everlasting ruin.
The very memory of their cities you rooted out.
The very memory of them has perished.

The tone changes back to praise. As Yahweh acted, so he will continue to act.

^{7 Zayin – ז}Yahweh reigns forever.
He has prepared his throne for judgment.

^{8 Chet – ח}He will judge the world in righteousness.
He will judge the peoples in uprightness.

^{9 Tet – ט}Yahweh will also be a high tower for the oppressed.
He is a high tower in times of trouble.

^{10 Yod – י}Those who know your name will put their trust in you.
You, Yahweh, have not forsaken those who seek you.

Praise continues with remembrance and anticipation.

^{11 Kaph – כ}Sing praises to Yahweh, who dwells in Zion.
Declare among the people what he has done.

¹²The avenger of bloodshed remembers.
He doesn’t forget the cry of the afflicted.

David finally is about to address his situation. He is afflicted; the future is tenuous. Internal strife abounds. He wants to be lifted from the ‘gates of death’ and set at the ‘gates of the daughters of Zion.’ Origen of Alexandria (184–254 CE) explains:

The virtues are the doors of heaven, but the vices are the doors of death. … One cannot come to be at the gates of the daughter of Zion and proclaim all the praises of God, unless one has been lifted up by God from the Gates of death. … [An evil] person is a bow that has become a bent bow by the devil, so that it may be wound through the arrow of anger.

¹³Have mercy on me, Yahweh.
See my affliction by those who hate me.
Lift me up from the gates of death.

¹⁴Then I can show all of your praise.
In the gates of the daughter of Zion, I will rejoice in your salvation.

More remembrance follows.

¹⁵The nations have sunk down in the pit that they made.
In the net which they hid, their own foot is taken.
¹⁶Yahweh has made himself known.
The wicked are snared by the work of his own hands.

A pause. David waits.

Selah.

Time passes. David still waits. No answers yet. More anticipation.

¹⁷The wicked shall be turned back to Sheol.
So will all the nations that forget God.

¹⁸The needy shall not always be forgotten.
Nor will the hope of the poor perish forever.

David is getting impatient. The situation is urgent. Act Lord; act now!

¹⁹Arise, Yahweh!
Don’t let man prevail.
Let the nations be judged in your sight.

²⁰Put them in fear, Yahweh.
Let the nations know that they are only men.

More Delay. What is happening?

Selah.

We encounter a major break before continuing. The Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate combine Psalms 9 and 10. Most modern translations, however, treat Psalm 10 as a separate unit. There are reasons for each approach. Together, Psalms 9 and 10 tell a story. Psalm 9 reflects on past conflicts with wicked nations, while Psalm 10 addresses current struggles between the wicked and the helpless. Both psalms emphasize reasons for God to be praised, and both use similar vocabulary. Finally, there is no superscription to Psalm 10, implying that the superscription from Psalm 9 applies.

Those separating the psalms point to the tone beginning with the first verse of Psalm 10. It differs dramatically from what precedes. Psalm 10 also stands complete on its own. Nevertheless, I’ve decided to join the two psalms. See the conclusion at the end of thid article for why.

Psalm 10 (or the continuation of Psalm 9)

An age-old question. Why? Didn’t I pray? Isn’t my cause just? Nothing is happening! Things are getting worse! Where are you God?

^{21(1) Lamed – ל}Why do you stand far off, Yahweh?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

David cries out. He is about to detail all of the terrible things that are happening. Rather than taking matters into his own hands, he turns everything over to God.

²²⁽²⁾In arrogance, the wicked hunt down the weak.
They are caught in the schemes that they devise.

²³⁽³⁾The wicked boasts of his heart’s cravings.
He blesses the greedy, and condemns Yahweh.

²⁴⁽⁴⁾In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him.
All his thoughts are, “There is no God.”

²⁵⁽⁵⁾His ways are prosperous at all times. He is arrogant.
Your laws are far from his sight.
As for all his adversaries, he sneers at them.

²⁶⁽⁶⁾He says in his heart, “I shall not be shaken.
For generations I shall have no trouble.”

²⁷⁽⁷⁾His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression.
Under his tongue is mischief and iniquity.

²⁸⁽⁸⁾He lies in wait near the villages.
From ambushes, he murders the innocent.
His eyes are secretly set against the helpless.

²⁹⁽⁹⁾He lurks in secret as a lion in his ambush.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless.
He catches the helpless, when he draws him in his net.

³⁰⁽¹⁰⁾The helpless are crushed.
They collapse.
They fall under his strength.

³¹⁽¹¹⁾He says in his heart, “God has forgotten.
He hides his face.
He will never see it.”

A second pressing call for Yahweh to act. This one is even more urgent than Ps 9:19. God, act! Now!

^{32 Qoph – ק}Arise, Yahweh!
God, lift up your hand!
Don’t forget the helpless.

³³⁽¹³⁾Why does the wicked person condemn God?
Why does he say in his heart, “God won’t call me into account?”

The following verses are full of anticipation.

^{34(14) Resh – ר}But you do see trouble and grief.
You consider it to take it into your hand.
You help the victim and the fatherless.

^{35(15) Shin – ש}Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer.
Call his wickedness to account till you find none.

More praise. David speaks of the future as though his prayers are already answered.

³⁶⁽¹⁶⁾Yahweh is King forever and ever!
The nations will perish out of his land.

^{37(17) Tav – ת}Yahweh, you have heard the desire of the humble.
You will strengthen their heart.
You will incline your ear.

³⁸⁽¹⁸⁾You will judge the fatherless and the oppressed.
The man who is of the earth will terrify no more.

Conclusion

We pray. We acknowledge God. We are sure that our requests deserve attention. We continue to cry out. And then nothing happens. God is quiet. No answers come. What do we do? We could waver and lose faith. Or we can keep praying, believing that God will do what is right and acknowledge that we don’t understand the whole picture. We continue to trust. Recall Luke 18:1:

He also spoke a parable to them that they must always pray, and not give up, saying,
There was a judge in a certain city who didn’t fear God, and didn’t respect man. A widow was in that city, and she often came to him, saying,
Defend me from my adversary!
He wouldn’t for a while, but afterward he said to himself,
Though I neither fear God, nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will defend her, or else she will wear me out by her continual coming.
The Lord said,
Listen to what the unrighteous judge says. Won’t God avenge his chosen ones, who are crying out to him day and night, and yet he exercises patience with them? I tell you that he will avenge them quickly.

Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:1–8).

Another example is the Gospel account of the ship in the storm:

Now on one of those days, he entered into a boat, himself and his disciples, and he said to them,
Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.
So they launched out. But as they sailed, he fell asleep. A wind storm came down on the lake, and they were taking on dangerous amounts of water. They came to him, and awoke him, saying,
Master, master, we are dying!
He awoke, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water, and they ceased, and it was calm. He said to them,
Where is your faith?
Being afraid they marveled, saying to one another, Who is this then, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him (Luke 8:22–25)?

Jesus himself knows what it feels like when answers don’t come. Quoting Psalm 22:

Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying,
Eli, Eli, lima sabachthani?
That is,
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Matt 27:46).

It is hard to wait for God to act, especially at times when our distress is intense. This is especially true as we observe the weak and vulnerable suffering. But God does hear. A good prayer is:

God strengthen us so that the Lord will find faith on the Earth when he comes.

Together psalms 9 and 10 paint a complete and unified picture; when separated, part is lost.

Thanks for listening,

Modern Musical Renditions for Psalm 9

Shelter Me by Irish Worship Music
Lord of Justice by Bible Jamz
Fighting for Me by the Psalms Project

Modern Musical Renditions for Psalm 10

Psalm 10 by the Celtic Psalms Project
Rise Up for the Oppressed by Bible JamZ
Yahweh is King Forever by the Psalms Project

For Further Meditation

Agpeya: Prayer Book of the Hours, (Coptic Orthodox Church of Saint Mark, 2017).
Christopher Ash, The Psalms: A Christ Centered Commentary: Psalms 1–50, Vol. 2, (Crossway, 2024).
Athanasius, “letter to Marcellinus: On the Interpretation of the Psalms.”
Augustine, “Exposition on the Psalms.”
Basil, The Fathers of the Church: A New Translation, Vol. 46.
Basil, On Prayer.
Bonhoeffer Dietrich, Psalms: The Prayer Book.
C. Hassell Bullock, Encountering the Book of Psalms, (Baker 2001).
Hilary of Poitiers, “Homilies on the Psalms.”
Joseph Galineau, The Psalms: A New Translation Singing version, (Paulist Press, 1991).
Jerome, The Fathers of the Church: The Homilies of Jerome 1–59, Vol 1.
Dereck Kidner, Kidner Classic Commentaries: Psalms 1–72, (IVP Academic, 1973).
C. S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms, (New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1958).
Temper Longman III and David E. Garland, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Vol. 5, (Zondervan, 2008).
Origen of Alexandria, Fathers of the Church: Homilies on the Psalms Codex Monacensis Graecus 314, (Catholic University of America Press, 2020).
Origen, Commentary on Psalms.
Pettingill, Christ in the Psalms, (Van Kampen Press, 1937.
Rashi, “On Psalms.”

Dan Harvey, author of Wrestling with Faith and Experiencing the Apocalypse

Psalms 9&10: Why?

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