Psalm 9:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Be gracious to me, O Lord! See my affliction from those who hate me, O you who lift me up from the gates of death,

NIV: Lord, see how my enemies persecute me! Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,

NASB: Be gracious to me, Lord; See my oppression from those who hate me, You who lift me up from the gates of death,

CSB: Be gracious to me, Lord; consider my affliction at the hands of those who hate me. Lift me up from the gates of death,

NLT: Lord, have mercy on me. See how my enemies torment me. Snatch me back from the jaws of death.

KJV: 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:

NKJV: Have mercy on me, O Lord! Consider my trouble from those who hate me, You who lift me up from the gates of death,

David's terminology here is interesting: he emphasizes God's grace in asking for deliverance from enemies. Either directly, or in general, David's enemies were persecuting him, and he was at risk of dying. Rather than declaring to God that he deserves to be rescued, David asks the Lord to be gracious to him. The essential meaning of grace is to be given something we have not earned and do not deserve. While in other psalms David acknowledges that God has honored his obedience (Psalm 9:4; 18:20), in this case David simply asks for grace.

God is not someone believers can command. However, He is gracious and answers prayer when it is for His glory. David had seen God deliver him in the past, therefore he believes God will deliver him again.

The term "the gates of death" is found in Job 38:17, Psalm 107:18, and Isaiah 38:10. It echoes the idea of death as crossing some barrier or border, from which there is no escape. David believed the Lord could and would preserve his life. Believers need not fear death, because it ushers them into the presence of the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). The apostle Paul regarded death, for the born-again Christian, as gain (Philippians 1:21).

Psalm 9:9–20 turns David's attention to various groups of people of Israel. He mentions the oppressed, those who trust in the Lord, the afflicted, the needy, and the poor. He sees the Lord as a safe, secure place, a God who is mindful of His people, and the supplier of hope to the poor.

David praises God in a song which follows an acrostic pattern: the psalm is divided into phrases which begin with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The pattern continues through Psalm 10, leading some to suggest they were intended as a single work, or as closely related halves. In this psalm, David promises to praise God for His great deeds, including awesome victory over evil. The Lord's eternal justice is also praised, as David asks for further rescue from those who seek to kill him. The passage ends with a prayer for God to remind mankind of His authority.

This is a thanksgiving song, where David shows appreciation for the Lord's rescue. This shares similar themes to Psalm 10, though from a very different tone. Some scholars think Psalms 9 and 10 were originally a single work. This is part of the first section of the book of Psalms, including Psalms 1 through 41.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.