Catholic Commentary on Psalm 9

"The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble." (Psalm 9:9)

Praise After Deliverance

Psalms 9 and 10 together form an acrostic poem, with successive stanzas beginning with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet, though the pattern is incomplete. Together they move from the praise of God for specific deliverances to a lament about the prosperity of the wicked and a plea for God to act. Psalm 9 is primarily a song of thanksgiving. David has seen enemies retreat and fall before the face of the Lord. He commits to praise with all his heart, to tell of all the Lord's wonderful deeds, to sing praises to the Lord Most High.

The particular quality of God that Psalm 9 celebrates is his justice. You have upheld my right and my cause, sitting enthroned as the righteous judge. God's throne is established on justice and righteousness. The nations that forget God, the wicked who scheme against the innocent, are all subject to this throne. The Lord will reign forever. This is not wishful thinking. It is the bedrock conviction that gives the persecuted people of every age their hope: the ultimate throne is not in Washington or Beijing or Rome. It is in heaven, and it is occupied by the one who judges in righteousness.

Refuge for the Oppressed

The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. This is one of the defining characterisations of God in the entire Old Testament: the God who takes the side of the oppressed. From the Exodus to the prophets to the Magnificat to the Beatitudes, the consistent testimony of Scripture is that God is not neutral in the face of oppression. He hears the cry of the afflicted. He does not ignore the suffering of those who seek him. St. Gregory the Great wrote that the Church is the community that keeps alive this knowledge of God as refuge for those who have nowhere else to turn.

The Nations Must Know Their Place

The psalm ends with a plea for God to act against the nations that do not acknowledge him, and a declaration that the needy will not always be forgotten. Arise, Lord, do not let mortals triumph; let the nations be judged in your presence. The final line has a sobering quality: Mortals are not able to fend for themselves. The Hebrew is stark: humanity is dust. This is not pessimism but realism. The one who forgets their dependence on God will be shown by history and by death that they were wrong.

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, wherever you are among the oppressed, the forgotten, the afflicted, Psalm 9 puts language around your hope: the Lord is your stronghold in times of trouble. He does not forget the cry of the afflicted. And wherever you are among the comfortable, Psalm 9 puts a mirror before you: do not forget God in your ease, for mortals are not able to fend for themselves.

Prayer

Lord Most High, you judge the nations in righteousness and are a refuge for the oppressed. Be our stronghold in times of trouble. Let the needy never be forgotten. And give us the praise of Psalm 9: all your wonderful deeds told with the whole heart. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

9
I Will Give Thanks to the LORD
For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A Psalm of David.* 9:0 Psalms 9 and 10 together follow an acrostic pattern, each stanza beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the LXX they form one psalm.
 
1 I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart;
I will recount all Your wonders.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.
 
3 When my enemies retreat,
they stumble and perish before You.
4 For You have upheld my just cause;
You sit on Your throne judging righteously.
5 You have rebuked the nations;
You have destroyed the wicked;
You have erased their name forever and ever.
6 The enemy has come to eternal ruin,
and You have uprooted their cities;
the very memory of them has vanished.
 
7 But the LORD abides forever;
He has established His throne for judgment.
8 He judges the world with justice;
He governs the people with equity.
9 The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 Those who know Your name trust in You,
for You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.
 
11 Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion;
proclaim His deeds among the nations.
12 For the Avenger of bloodshed remembers;
He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.
 
13 Be merciful to me, O LORD;
see how my enemies afflict me!
Lift me up from the gates of death,
14 that I may declare all Your praises—
that within the gates of Daughter Zion
I may rejoice in Your salvation.
 
15 The nations have fallen into a pit of their making;
their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
16 The LORD is known by the justice He brings;
the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.
Higgaion Selah † 9:16 Higgaion Selah or quiet interlude is probably a musical or liturgical term.
17 The wicked will return to Sheol—
all the nations who forget God.
18 For the needy will not always be forgotten;
nor the hope of the oppressed forever dashed.
 
19 Rise up, O LORD, do not let man prevail;
let the nations be judged in Your presence.
20 Lay terror upon them, O LORD;
let the nations know they are but men.
Selah

*^ 9:0 Psalms 9 and 10 together follow an acrostic pattern, each stanza beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the LXX they form one psalm.

†9:16 9:16 Higgaion Selah or quiet interlude is probably a musical or liturgical term.

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