Psalm 10

Psalm 9:1-20, Psalm 10:1-18


Teach me Thy Way, O Lord

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" O Lord, praise to You! You are the ligh...
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Psalm 9

1I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.

2I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.

3When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.

4For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right.

5Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.

6O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them.

7But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.

8And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.

9The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.

10And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.

11Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.

12When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.

13Have 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:

14That I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation.

15The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.

16The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.

17The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.

19Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight.

20Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.

Psalm 10

1Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?

2The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.

3For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.

4The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

5His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.

6He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.

7His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.

8He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor.

9He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net.

10He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones.

11He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.

12Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.

13Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.

14Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.

15Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.

16The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.

17LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:

18To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.

Jesus said, ‘I did not come to judge the world. I came to save the world’. (John 12:47) (Judge here means say who is wrong.)

The stories of Psalms 9 and 10

David probably wrote Psalms 9 and 10 as one psalm. The Jews thought that he wrote it after he killed Goliath. The first part says that God beat the foreign enemy (Psalm 9). The second part says that wicked men in Israel are making the helpless into oppressed people. (Psalm 10)

The reasons for thinking that it was one psalm are:

·    Psalm 10 has no words at the top about David or music. This is not usual in a psalm by David.

·    Hebrew words that David did not often use are in Psalms 9 and 10.

·    Psalms 9 and 10 make one acrostic.

Acrostic psalms use the Hebrew alphabet. The first bit starts with the first letter. The second bit starts with the second letter. This happens until the alphabet finishes. Look at Psalm 9 below. Then you will understand. We have used English letters. These are not the same as Hebrew ones. After a time some of the letters became lost or mixed up! Also, the Jews decided to make them into 2 psalms. Some Christians have put them back together as one psalm, for example, some Roman Catholics.

It is difficult to write an acrostic psalm. The words sometimes go in a strange order. This makes them hard to understand. It may give you help if you change the order of the words. In verse 3 you could say “My enemies went back” instead of “Back my enemies went”. It means the same.

Psalm 9

       The leader (must use the music) ‘Death to the son’.
(This is) a song of David

v1     All my heart sings ‘thank you’ to the LORD.
I will tell (people) of all your wonderful work.

v2     I will be very happy with you, (LORD). I will rejoice in you.
I will sing praises to your name, Most High God.

v3     Back my enemies went,
they fell down. They died in front of you,

v4       because you judged that what I did was right .
You sat on your throne. You made a righteous judgment.

v5     Clearly you judged the nations and destroyed the wicked.
People will never remember their names.

v6      You caught the enemy. You killed them.
You knocked down their cities. People will just forget them.

v7     Evermore the LORD will rule.
He has built his throne. On it he will make his judgments.

v8      He will make righteous judgments for the world.
His government will give justice to the people.

v9      For the LORD is a place where the oppressed can hide.
He will be a fortress in times of trouble.

v10    Everyone that knows your name (LORD) will put their trust in you.
LORD, you will never turn away from anyone that looks for you.

v11    Go to the LORD with praises. His throne is in Zion.
Tell all the nations all that he has done.

v12    (God) will remember the people that somebody murdered.
He will not forget the oppressed people that cry to him.

v13    Have mercy on me, LORD.
See how my enemies make my life very difficult.
Make me safe from the gates of death.

v14    Then I will tell your praises in the gates of Jerusalem.
I will rejoice that I am safe with you.

v15    Into the hole that they dug the nations fell.
They caught their own feet in the net that they hid.

v16    You will recognise the LORD by his justice.
The enemies of God will catch themselves in their own nets.
HIGGAION   SELAH

v17    Just as the enemies of God go to Sheol,
so will all the nations that forget him.

v18    Know this: God will not always forget the poor.
The oppressed will not have to hope for evermore.

v19    LORD, stand up! Do not let men become too powerful.
Let the nations find justice before you.

v20    LORD, make them afraid.
Make the nations know that they are only human.
SELAH

Word list

evermore ~ another word for always

oppressed ~ helpless people that wicked people hurt

HIGGAION ~ a place for happy music

fatherless ~ someone that has no father, usually a child

Other Acrostic Psalms

The psalms are Hebrew poetry. Poetry is when people write the words in a special way. They sound very beautiful. The Jews had a lot of rules for writing poetry. One was to make the ends of the words sound like each other. We call this “rhyming”. Another rule was to make the ideas sound like each other. Look at Psalm 9: 8. The 2 parts of the verse mean the same. This often gives us help to understand and to translate a psalm.

Another way the Jews wrote poetry was to use an acrostic. This often made the words come in the wrong order, like Psalm 9: 3. Not many of the psalms are acrostics. The most famous one is Psalm 119. The others are 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, and 145. We do not usually translate them into English as acrostics, because there are 26 letters in the English alphabet. There are only 22 in the Hebrew alphabet. We have done it with psalms 9 and 10 because some of the letters are missing. This makes it easier for us!

Psalm 10

v1      LORD, why are you standing so far away?
Why do you hide when there is trouble?

v2      In his pride the wicked man tries to catch helpless people.
I hope that wicked people catch themselves with their bad plans!

v3      The wicked boasts about what he wants.
He says good things about those that want more than is fair.
He says very bad things about the LORD.

v4      In his pride, the wicked does not look for God.
He will not even think of God.

v5      Everything that the wicked does always works well.
He puts the rules of God far from him.
He laughs at the people that do not like him.

v6      He says to himself, “There will be no trouble for me.
Nothing bad will ever happen to me or to my children”.

v7      His mouth makes bad promises.
It is full of words that are not true.
He says that he will do very bad things to people.
There is evil on his tongue.

v8      He hides behind the bushes near the villages.
He watches in secret for people to hurt.
He jumps out and murders people that have done nothing wrong.

v9      He lies like a lion under the cover of a bush.
He waits to catch someone that is helpless.
He does catch him and takes him away in his net.

v10    He beats the helpless man.
The helpless man fails and falls under the stronger man.

v11    He says to himself, “God forgot.
He hid his face. He never saw what happened”.

v12    Rise up, O God! Lift up your hand.
Do not forget the helpless people.

v13    Why does the wicked man say such bad things about God?
Why does he think, ‘God will not do anything about it’?

v14    See it all, God, all the trouble,
all the oppressed people.
Decide what to do about it.
The helpless puts his trust in you.
You give help to the fatherless.

v15    The arm of the wicked and evil man . . . break it (LORD)!
Tell him to explain what he has done.
He thought that you would not discover it!

v16    The LORD will always be king.
The nations will not remain in his land for evermore.

v17    You hear, LORD, what oppressed people want.
You listen when they pray. You give them something to hope for.

v18    You care for the fatherless and the oppressed.
People from the earth will not frighten the poor again.

What Psalm 9 Means

Not all the letters of the acrostic are here! D is not here. Perhaps somebody changed some words into other words that meant the same.

If you find the acrostic difficult, here is some help.

·    Psalm 9:3 – my enemies went back

·    Psalm 9:5 – you judged the nations clearly

·    Psalm 9:7 – the LORD will rule evermore (or always)

·    Psalm 9:15 – the nations fell into the hole that they dug

Psalm 9: 1 – 6: David is very happy. He says, “thank you” to the LORD. Why? Because David beat his enemies. David knew that God gave him help. It was God that really beat the enemies, not David on his own! God judged that David was right and the enemies wrong. The enemies were probably the Philistines. Goliath was a Philistine.

Psalm 9: 7 – 10: God is always ruling the world. Sometimes it is hard to believe this, but it is true. Sometimes we must wait a long time for his righteous judgments. Righteous here means this: the judgments of God are the best judgments. While we wait for his judgments, what can we do? Psalm 9:9-10 tells us! We can:

·    look for the LORD: if we do this, the LORD will find us!

·    trust in the LORD: if we do this the LORD will give us help

·    hide in the LORD: if we do this, the LORD will make us safe

Psalm 9: 11 – 14: When God finds us, gives us help and makes us safe, that is not the end. We must:

·    always give praises to the LORD: on our own, and in Church

·    tell people about God: our family, our friends, those we work with

Many people will not like this! As they made life difficult for David, so they will for us. So we must pray, ‘Have mercy on me, LORD’. These are the words that some Churches still pray in Greek: KYRIE ELEISON. God’s mercy is when he is loving and kind to us, and not angry.

Psalm 9: 15 – 20: In Psalm 9:6 we read, ‘You killed them’. In Psalm 9:15-16 we read how God does this. Often, people kill themselves, or each other! The plan that they made to kill their enemies kills them. They go to Sheol. The Jews thought that Sheol was a dark place. It was under the ground. The psalm finishes by telling us 2 things:

·    God will remember the oppressed, even if they have to wait a long time

·    God will teach men and women that they are only human. It is only God that is really powerful

Something to do

When there is trouble in your country, pray to God about it. Your country may fight another country. Pray to God about it. Pray for your government and your soldiers. Some of them may be Christians. Pray for justice. It may not matter which country wins. What matters is that God still rules the world. When you pray, talk to God in your own words.

What Psalm 10 means

You can see that the acrostic is incomplete. “Incomplete” means that it is not all there. The psalm is all there, though. A few words became changed. They still mean the same thing.

Psalm 10: 1 – 7: In Psalm 9 we read about the enemy of God. He was also the enemy of David. The enemy was probably a foreign country. In Psalm 10 we read about the wicked man, or the wicked. They were people that lived in David’s country. Perhaps some of them were women. They wanted more that it was fair for them to have. They made plans to take things from people that were helpless. Some of these helpless people were people of God. Sometimes they felt that God did not care any more.

Psalm 10: 8 – 11: The wicked man is like a wild animal called a lion. They kill for what they can get. In Psalm 10:11 we do not know if “he” is the bad man or the helpless man. The Hebrew Bible just says “he” . Both people felt that God was not looking.

Psalm 10: 12 – 18: David prays that God will do something. In verses 16-18 David tells his people that God will do something. God will frighten the wicked away. (Frighten means make afraid). David knew that after fighting foreign countries (look in Psalm 9) there was unrest in his own kingdom. (“Unrest” means people in the same country fighting each other). King David tried to stop it, but he knew that only God would really stop it. (A kingdom is a country that has a king or a queen.)

Something to do

When there is trouble pray to God about it. There may be unrest in your own country. Pray to God about it. You may feel frightened. You may not feel safe. Pray to God about it. Then read Psalm 10:16-18. Believe that one day it will be true. That is the promise of God to you.

Psalms 9

TO THE CHIEF MUSICIAN, UPON MUTH-LABEN. A PSALM OF DAVID or TO HE WHO GRANTS VICTORY, IMMORTALITY FOR THE SON, A PSALM OF DAVID.


<>: in Hebrew “al -mut laben”. We have translated
this phrase according to S. R. Hirsch but the translation is technically
difficult and somewhat forced.
The Psalm speaks in the name of all Israel. In the Bible the chosen king
(e.g. Solomon) is referred to by the Almighty as His “son” (2-Samuel 7:14,
cf Psalm 80:17). The people of Israel as a collective entity are also
referred to as the “son” of God, e.g. <ISRAEL IS MY
SON, EVEN MY FIRSTBORN>> [Exodus 4:22].

[Psalms 9:1] I WILL PRAISE THEE, O LORD,  WITH MY WHOLE HEART;  I WILL SHEW
FORTH ALL THY  MARVELLOUS WORKS.

<>:  In Hebrew “Odeh” meaning acknowledge.

[Psalms 9:2] I WILL BE GLAD AND REJOICE IN THEE:  I WILL SING PRAISE TO THY
NAME, O THOU MOST HIGH.

[Psalms 9:3] WHEN MINE ENEMIES ARE TURNED BACK, THEY SHALL FALL  AND PERISH
AT THY  PRESENCE.

[Psalms 9:4] FOR THOU HAST MAINTAINED MY RIGHT AND MY CAUSE; THOU SATEST IN
THE THRONE  JUDGING RIGHT.

[Psalms 9:5] THOU HAST REBUKED THE HEATHEN, THOU HAST DESTROYED THE
WICKED,  THOU HAST  PUT OUT THEIR NAME FOR EVER AND EVER.

This Psalm was written by David. It has some pertienence to the time of
David though it also is describing  what will happen after the Messiah son
of  David appears.   Some Commentators say the Psalm is seaking on behalf
of ALL ISRAEL in a collective sense.

[Psalms 9:6] O THOU ENEMY,  DESTRUCTIONS ARE COME TO A PERPETUAL END: AND
THOU HAST DESTROYED CITIES;  THEIR MEMORIAL IS PERISHED WITH THEM.

[Psalms 9:7] BUT THE LORD SHALL ENDURE FOR EVER:  HE HATH PREPARED HIS
THRONE FOR  JUDGMENT.

[Psalms 9:8] AND HE SHALL JUDGE THE WORLD IN RIGHTEOUSNESS,  HE SHALL
MINISTER JUDGMENT TO THE PEOPLE IN UPRIGHTNESS.

[Psalms 9:9] THE LORD ALSO WILL BE A REFUGE FOR THE OPPRESSED,  A REFUGE IN
TIMES OF  TROUBLE.

When you are in trouble and you pray to the Almighty He will help you.
Sometimes it is difficulty to pray for psychological reasons. In such cases
even reading the Bible or efficacious works can help the point is to
somehow direct oneself towards the Almighty.

[Psalms 9:10] AND THEY THAT KNOW THY NAME WILL PUT THEIR TRUST IN THEE: FOR
THOU, LORD, HAST NOT FORSAKEN THEM THAT SEEK THEE.

If you search you will find and be helped and be of help to others.

[Psalms 9:11] SING PRAISES TO THE LORD,  WHICH DWELLETH IN ZION:  DECLARE
AMONG THE  PEOPLE HIS DOINGS.

      <DWELLETH IN ZION>>: God makes His presence apparent though
Jerusalem and Israel.    The God of Israel is the Almighty Himself. There
is no other. Only through the God of Israel can salvation be found. All the
nations MUST acknowledge the God of Israel. Israel MUST be made aware of
their own Israelite ancestral sources. We have an obligation beyond
ourselves and our own survival and that of our family.

[Psalms 9:12] WHEN HE MAKETH INQUISITION FOR BLOOD,  HE REMEMBERETH THEM:
HE FORGETTETH  NOT THE CRY OF THE HUMBLE.

[Psalms 9:13] 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:

<>: in Hebrew “Chanani” which (S.R. Hirsch) can mean,
“give me the means”. Help me overcome if necessary by way of nature but
through your enabling me to realise my own potential.   The people of
Israel are capable of solving their own problems and also those of the
entire world but first they must turn their hearts back to the
Almighty.  They must be made aware of where they came from and the
corresponding duties laid upon them.
David was persecuted and in danger of his life several times.  So
too,  the future Messiah may initially suffer such tribulations. Also
Israel as  an historic entity has been indanger saeveral times and still
is. The Jews (Judah) have also survuived numerous and continuous attempts
to eliminate them by every means possible.  The enemy of Judah is the enemy
of  Israel and the enemy of Israel is the enemy of  Judah.  The enemy of
Judah and Israel is the enemy of the Almighty.

[Psalms 9:14] THAT I MAY SHEW FORTH ALL THY PRAISE IN THE GATES OF THE
DAUGHTER OF ZION:  I  WILL REJOICE IN THY SALVATION.

[Psalms 9:15] THE HEATHEN ARE SUNK DOWN IN THE PIT THAT THEY MADE: IN THE
NET WHICH THEY  HID IS THEIR OWN FOOT TAKEN.
Our enemies will fall in their own traps.

[Psalms 9:16] THE LORD IS KNOWN BY THE JUDGMENT WHICH HE EXECUTETH: THE
WICKED IS   SNARED IN THE WORK OF HIS OWN HANDS. HIGGAION.  SELAH.

<>: From the Hebrew “hegeh” meaning thought, contemplation.  The
English word “though” (Old English, “thoht”) is derived from the same
Hebrew root.
S.R. Hirsch explains “Higaion” to mean: “the truth that becomes
apparent”;  “the truth that reveals the hand of God in history”

[Psalms 9:17] THE WICKED SHALL BE TURNED INTO HELL, AND ALL THE NATIONS
THAT FORGET GOD.

<>:  In Hebrew “Sheolah”, i.e. to the grave,  to down below, to
destruction. “Sheolah” is from “Sheol” (grave, underworld) and perhaps
connected to the root “She-al”  to borrow. This coukld indicate either a
state of limbo or of eternal perdition.  The natural destiny of man
is  eternal life but through sin this can be forfeited.

[Psalms 9:18] FOR THE NEEDY SHALL NOT ALWAY BE FORGOTTEN:  THE EXPECTATION
OF THE POOR  SHALL NOT PERISH FOR EVER.

Everything has a purpose and reason. God hears you and looks after you. He
wants you to be with Him in both this world and the next.

[Psalms 9:19] ARISE, O LORD; LET NOT MAN PREVAIL: LET THE HEATHEN BE JUDGED IN THY SIGHT.

[Psalms 9:20] PUT THEM IN FEAR, O LORD: THAT THE NATIONS MAY KNOW
THEMSELVES TO BE  BUT MEN.  SELAH.

Psalms Index
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Psalms:

A collection of 150 psalms, whose Hebrew name is “The Book of Praise.” Authors of individual psalms include David, Solomon, Moses, Asaph, and others who are anonymous. The variety and unity of Psalms have given this book a unique place in the devotional life of the individual and the Church. Almost every aspect of man’s relation to God is depicted in these poems, simple trust, the sense of sin, appeal to a higher power in time of trouble, and the conviction that the world is in the hands of a loving God.

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