Psalms 9:1

I will praise [thee], O Lord, with my whole, heart,.... This is what is called in the New Testament making melody in the heart, or singing with grace in the heart, Ephesians 5:19; and yet does not

I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. Title. - To the chief Musician upon Muth-labben.

Psalms 9 Muth-labben also seems to be another title of some song, or tune, or instrument; of which we must and may be content to be ignorant, as the Jewish doctors also are. Some render it, upon the death of his son, to wit, Absalom, or of one called Labben; or, of the middle man, or the man that stood between the two armies, to wit, Goliath, who is so called in the Hebrew text, . But none of these suit with the design and matter of the Psalm, which is more general, and relates to his former manifold dangers, and the deliverance which God had graciously given him out of them. And that of Goliath agrees not with , where there is mention of praising God in Zion, which then and long after was in the hands of the Jebusites. David resolveth to praise God, ,2, for executing judgment upon his enemies, . God is a refuge to the oppressed, ,10. David calls the people of Israel to praise the Lord, ,12. He prayeth him to consider his trouble, , that he might have cause to praise him, . The heathen, by God’ s judgment, fall into the snare they made for others, ,16. The portion of the wicked that forget God, . A promise of mercy to the needy and poor, ; and a prayer for judgment on the ungodly, ,20. With my whole heart, i.e. with a sincere, and affectionate, and united heart. I will discourse in the general of thy manifold wonders wrought for me, and for thy church and people formerly. The particle all is here, as it is oft elsewhere, taken in a restrained sense.

Psalms 9:1 « To the chief Musician upon Muthlabben, A Psalm of David. » I will praise [thee], O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.Upon Muth-labben] This was the name of a certain instrument, say some; the beginning of a song, say others, to the tune whereof this psalm was to be sung. Montanus and many more hold it to be an anagrammatism, and render it, For the death of Nabal, viz. by a covert intimation, and inversion of the letters. So in the title of Psa 7:1, Cush Beniemini for Kish the Benjamite. That is, Parcere nominibus, dicere de vitiis. Ver. 1. I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart This is a gratulatory psalm, wherein David shows his thankfulness, which a very heathen calleth Maximam imo matrem omnium virtutmn reliquarum, the mother of all the rest of the virtues (Cicero). True thankfulness, as one well observeth, is here and in the next verse described, 1. By the matter of it. 2. By the manner. First, for matter, the psalmist delivereth it in four parts. 1. The acknowledging of God in all. 2. A ciphering and summing up of special mercies (of ñôø seems to come Cipher). 3. An expression of spiritual joy in God, as well as in his gifts. 4. A dedication of our songs and selves to his name. Secondly, for the manner, he presseth, 1. Integrity for the subject and object, Psalms 9:12. Sincerity for affection and end, Psalms 9:2.

(1) The alphabetic arrangement is begun in its completest form. Every clause of the first stanza begins with Aleph.

PSALM IX David praises God for the benefits which he has granted to Israel in general, and to himself in particular, 1-4. He encourages himself in the Lord, knowing that he will ever judge righteously, and be a refuge for the distressed, 7-10. He exhorts the people to praise God for his judgments, 11, 12; prays for mercy and support; and thanks God for his judgments executed upon the heathen, 13-16. He foretells the destruction of the ungodly, 17; prays for the poor and needy, and against their oppressors, 18-20. NOTES ON PSALM IX The inscription to this Psalm in the HEBREW text is, To the chief Musician upon Muth-lab-ben, A Psalm of David. The CHALDEE has, "A Song of David, to be sung concerning the Death of the Strong Man, (or champion, דגברא degabra,) who went out between the Camps;" that is, Goliath, on account of whose defeat this Psalm has been supposed by many to have been composed. The date in the margin is several years posterior to the death of Goliath. See the introduction. The VULGATE: A Psalm of David, for the end; concerning the secrets of the Son." The SEPTUAGINT and AETHIOPIC are the same with the Vulgate. The SYRIAC: "A Psalm of David concerning Christ's receiving the throne and the kingdom, and defeating his enemies. The ARABIC: "Concerning the mysteries of the Son, as to the glory of Christ, his resurrection, and kingdom, and the destruction of all the disobedient." Houbigant causes the Hebrew title to agree with the Vulgate, Septuagint, and AEthiopic, by uniting על מות al muth, "concerning the death," into the word עלמות alamoth, which signifies secrets or hidden things. "To the chief musician, or conqueror; secrets concerning the Son: A Psalm of David. About a hundred MSS. and printed editions unite the words as above. Some translate עלמות alamoth, "concerning the youth or infancy; the infancy of the Son." Several of the fathers have on this ground interpreted it, "concerning the incarnation of our Lord." Indeed the title and the Psalm have been so variously understood, that it would be as painful as it would be useless to follow the different commentators, both ancient and modern, through all their conjectures. Verse 1. I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart] And it is only when the whole heart is employed in the work that God can look upon it with acceptance. I will show forth] אספרה asapperah, "I will number out, or reckon up;" a very difficult task, נפלאותיך niphleotheycha, "thy miracles;" supernatural interventions of thy power and goodness. He whose eye is attentive to the operation of God's hand will find many of these. In the Vulgate this Psalm begins with Confitebor tibi, Domine, "I will confess unto thee, O Lord," which my old MS. above quoted translates thus: I sal schrife Lard, til the, in al my hert, I sal tel al twi wonders.

1–4. The Psalmist’s purpose to praise Jehovah for the recent manifestation of His righteous judgement in the defeat of His enemies. Each of the four lines in Psalms 9:1-2 begins with Aleph, the first letter of the alphabet.

I will praise thee, O Lord - That is, in view of the merciful interpositions referred to in the psalm Psalms 9:3-5, and in view of the attributes of God’s character which had been displayed on that occasion Psalms 9:7-12.

1, 2. I will praise—Each of the four lines in these two verses begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, but beyond this the alphabetical arrangement is imperfect.