Bible Study : Psalms 9

Due to the fact that none of the versions of the ESV that I have found online have the postscripts for the Psalms as a part of the translation I will be using the HCSB instead for the rest of the study.

Psalms 9 HCSB

Celebration of God's Justice

For the choir director: according to Muth-labben. A Davidic psalm.

1 I will thank the Lord with all my heart; I will declare all Your wonderful works.
2 I will rejoice and boast about You; I will sing about Your name, Most High.  
3 When my enemies retreat, they stumble and perish before You.  
4 For You have upheld my just cause; You are seated on Your throne as a righteous judge.
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; You have uprooted the cities, 
and the very memory of them has perished.  
7 But the Lord sits enthroned forever; He has established His throne for judgment.
8 He judges the world with righteousness; He executes judgment on the peoples with fairness. 
9 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.  
10 Those who know Your name trust in You
because You have not abandoned those who seek You, Lord.  
11 Sing to the Lord, who dwells in Zion; proclaim His deeds among the peoples.  
12 For the One who seeks an accounting for bloodshed remembers them; 
He does not forget the cry of the afflicted.  
13 Be gracious to me, Lord; consider my affliction at the hands of those who hate me.
Lift me up from the gates of death,  
14 so that I may declare all Your praises. 
I will rejoice in Your salvation within the gates of Daughter Zion.  
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they made; 
their foot is caught in the net they have concealed. 
16 The Lord has revealed Himself; He has executed justice, 
striking down the wicked by the work of their hands. 
Higgaion.
Selah  
17 The wicked will return to Sheol- all the nations that forget God. 
18 For the oppressed will not always be forgotten;
the hope of the afflicted will not perish forever.  
19 Rise up, Lord! Do not let man prevail; 
let the nations be judged in Your presence.
20 Put terror in them, Lord; let the nations know they are only men.
Selah

      Muth-labben means "the death of the son." Some translate this as meaning this was written on the occasion of the death of a man name Labban, but it is more likely that Muth-labben was the name of the piece of music the song was meant to accompany. God is presented here as the righteous judge of nations. This is a song of praise to the Lord, though one with a more solemn and reflective tone than some of the other psalms that we have studied to this point. Higgaion means "to pause for solemn reflection", and is meant more as a directors note than a part of the text.