Psalm 9: Tides of Prayer & Praise

Psalm 9:

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:

vs.13

"Psalms 9 and 10 taken together, form the first of the acrostic psalms, though the 38 verses are a very irregular representation of the Hebrew alphabet of 22 letters. “Marvelous” (verse 1), is an adjective used in the Old Testament to describe the supernatural.
David thus looks on God’s deliverance and praises Him for it (verses 1-10). After inviting the believing community to join in his praise (verses 11-18), David prays for God’s ethical rule to be established over wicked men (verses 19-20).



In the first part (verses 1-12), praise is prominent, and in the second part (verses 13-20), prayer is prominent.
David’s hymn in Psalm 9 ebbs and flows through two respective tides of prayer and praise.

(1) First Tide: Divine Justice and Praise (9:1-12).

A.  Individual Praise and Divine Justice (9:1-4);

I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; vs.1

B.   Divine Justice and Corporate Praise (9:5-12).

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

(2) Second Tide: Divine Justice and Prayer (9:13-20).

A. Individual Prayer and Divine Justice (9:13-16);

Have mercy upon me, O LORD; vs.13

B. Divine Justice and Corporate Prayer (9:17-20).

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

“Psalm 9: The new element of this title literally reads “Death to the Son”.

BooksOfTheBible

The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made:

 in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.

vs.15