Psalm 9:20 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Put them in fear, O Lord! Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah

NIV: Strike them with terror, Lord; let the nations know they are only mortal.

NASB: Put them in fear, Lord; Let the nations know that they are merely human. Selah

CSB: Put terror in them, Lord; let the nations know they are only humans. Selah

NLT: Make them tremble in fear, O Lord. Let the nations know they are merely human. Interlude

KJV: Put them in fear, O Lord: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.

NKJV: Put them in fear, O Lord, That the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah

Apart from God, humanity is finite and frail. God created man from dust, and man will return to dust (Genesis 3:19). Human life is brief and tentative. The old must die soon, and the young may die at any time. Hebrews 9:27 assures us that every person has an appointment with death and after death with judgment. The apostle James pictures life as extremely brief. He asks, "What is your life" and answers, "For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes" (James 4:14).

It is common for pride to inflate a person's ego, while deflating his awareness of how much he needs God. Indeed, some philosophies teach that man can do whatever he dreams and is limited only by his imagination. In the closing verse of this psalm, David asks the Lord to put the nations—those outside the family of God—in fear and let them know they are only men. In other words, he prays for the Lord to put mankind in their place.

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.

Accessed 11/21/2024 9:57:36 AM