Psalm 9:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For you have maintained my just cause; you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.

NIV: For you have upheld my right and my cause, sitting enthroned as the righteous judge.

NASB: For You have maintained my just cause; You have sat on the throne judging righteously.

CSB: For you have upheld my just cause; you are seated on your throne as a righteous judge.

NLT: For you have judged in my favor; from your throne you have judged with fairness.

KJV: For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right.

NKJV: For You have maintained my right and my cause; You sat on the throne judging in righteousness.

David is thankful that the Lord defended him against his enemies. Even so, David acknowledges that this is because his efforts were in line with the will of God. God established David to be king, and the one through whom the Messiah would come to save all people from their sin. The Lord would not let anyone or anything disrupt that plan. In that sense, David was on the "right side of history," and his enemies were on the wrong side.

Psalms such as this acknowledge that God is fully sovereign. The Lord is depicted as regal, kingly, and in authority. This depiction comes in the context of Israel's defeat of those who attacked the nation (Psalm 9:3). Not even those assaults could topple the Lord from His throne, and the total defeat of those enemies was part of God's perfect judgment.

In the dawn of history, Lucifer tried to topple God from His throne and claim the throne for himself. He learned the hard way that God's throne is established securely forever. God responded to Lucifer's rebellion by casting him down from his privileged position. Isaiah 14:12 exclaims: "How you have fallen from heaven, O Day Star [Lucifer], son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!"

Psalm 9:1–8 opens the song as David ascribes praise to God. He celebrates the Lord for saving him and his army from the nations that attacked him and his people. He recalls the triumph the Lord accomplished over the enemy. The victory evidenced the Lord's righteous judgment and sovereignty. The nations perished but the Lord's name lives forever.

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.