Praise for the destroyer's destruction.
The title of this psalm is obscure. Its archaisms cannot now be satisfactorily explained. And even a reference to the most learned expositors may possibly only increase the confusion. £ The title, indeed, is very suggestive. It reads, "Upon the death of Labben." Walford regards "Muth-labben" as the name of a musical instrument. For this we can find no warrant. The word muth, which is equivalent to "death," seems to put us on a line of thought which is, at any rate, in harmony with the entire psalm. If we grant (as appears from the whole tenor of the verses) that the reference is to the death of some enemy, by whose plots and snares the people of God were imperilled, the whole song reads naturally enough. Whether we read "Labben" as a proper name, or read it "of the Son," or regard the psalm as referring to the death of Goliath of Gath, is of no consequence as regards its general meaning or spiritual significance. Delitzsch, indeed, says, "This psalm is a thoroughly national song of thanksgiving for victory by David, belonging to the time when Jahve was already enthroned on Zion (Psalms 9:14), and therefore to the time after the ark was brought home." He asks," Was it composed after the triumphant extermination of the Syro-Ammonitish War?" Hengstenberg remarks, "The relation which David had in view when he composed this psalm for public use was that of the Church of God to its external enemies." Note: It is a fitting occasion for sanctuary-song when God's people are delivered from threatening perils. Many English hearts would send up such a shout of praise as we find here, over England's deliverance from the Spanish Armada. The joy, however, was not in its destruction, but in Britain's safety. For a pulpit exposition of the psalm, we have five lines of thought presented to us.
I. WE HAVE HERE SHOWN US IN WHAT PERIL GOD'S PEOPLE HAD BEEN PLACED. Although we cannot be sure to what specific events this psalm refers, yet several phrases therein show us the kind of peril to which the writer alludes, and thus put both expositor and preacher on the line for usefully and helpfully dealing therewith on any special occasion when unusual perils beset the Church of God. E.g.:
1. Enemies (Psalms 9:3).
2. Oppression (Psalms 9:12).
3. Murder (Psalms 9:12).
4. Deceit (Psalms 9:15).
Four formidable terms, surely—sufficiently typical of perils which have had to be confronted again and again in the history of God's Church, whether from paganism, or from the papacy, or from mere worldly hostility to goodness and truth.
II. GOD HAD WROUGHT A GREAT DELIVERANCE FOR HIS PEOPLE. The psalm is, owing to this deliverance, one of triumph and joy.
1. It was so illustrious as to be altogether marvellous, yea, miraculous (Psalms 9:1).
2. God had manifested his judgments (Psalms 9:7).
3. He had rebuked the nations (Psalms 9:5).
4. Had brought guilty cities low, and even blotted them out (Psalms 9:6).
5. Had shown himself as the Goel, the Avenger of innocent blood (Psalms 9:12).
6. Had manifested his remembrance of the poor and of the oppressed (Psalms 9:12).
7. Had made the devices of the wicked to recoil upon themselves.
These are but so many illustrative forms of the way in which God's providence is ever working in the world, even now, under the administration of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is Head over all things to his Church.
III. SUCH DELIVERANCES HAD THROWN GREAT LIGHT ON GOD'S CHARACTER, WORKS, AND WAYS. They had shown:
1. How truly there is a throne high above all the scheming and plotting of men (Psalms 9:7)!
2. That under the sway of that throne judgment is administered for all who are oppressed.
3. That this judgment is manifested in vindicating right and putting wrong to shame (Psalms 9:7, Psalms 9:8).
4. That such glorious and gracious government reveals the lustre of God's everlasting Name. All providential dealings are disclosers of God. "Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord."
IV. A SONG OF GRATITUDE, TRIUMPH, AND TRUST IS HEREBY AWAKENED. The very beginning of the psalm is an outburst of thankfulness (Psalms 9:1). The psalmist gathers from deliverances already effected, a ground of trust in God for future days (Psalms 9:9, Psalms 9:10). Judgments already brought to pass prove that God will not let evil deeds slumber in everlasting forgetfulness, and that he will not let the cry of the humble and downtrodden remain for ever unheard (Psalms 9:12). Yea, more. They prove the glorious truth which is triumphantly proclaimed in Psalms 9:17, "The wicked shall return to Sheol, and all the nations that forget God." Few verses, indeed, have been more violently twisted than this to make it suit the exigencies of mediaeval theology. It has been repeatedly dealt with as if it were a sentence on the wicked of everlasting woe. The question of future punishment is dealt with clearly enough in other parts of the Word of God. But it is not that which is intended here. The verse means—God will not suffer wicked people or nations perpetually to oppress the Church. In a little, in his own good time, they shall return to the dust whence they came, and enter the invisible realm of the dead. £ That this is the meaning intended is shown by the verse which follows (Psalms 9:18; cf. also Psalms 37:10). Cheer up, ye poor, despised, and oppressed people of God! Your Vindicator liveth. He will bring you forth to the light when your foes shall have vanished from the scene.
V. THE GRATEFUL SONG OVER MERCIES PAST IS FOLLOWED BY A PRAYER THAT MERCIES YET NEEDED MAY BE VOUCHSAFED.
1. Although there had been a marked deliverance, yet the affliction from which the psalmist had suffered still left its scars upon him. Hence the prayer in Psalms 9:13, Psalms 9:14. The oppression and the oppressor may be speedily removed, but the depression thereby caused lasts long after. And only the prolonged bestowal of grace to help in time of need will ever be sufficient to meet the case.
2. The future security of the world depends on the manifestation of the Divine presence and power; in counteracting the base designs of men, in asserting the right, and avenging the wrong (Psalms 9:19).
3. This can only be done, perhaps, by such judgments as will make the nations tremble, and so will cause them to feel their utter impotence in the grasp of the mighty God (Psalms 9:20).
Note: The remarks, applicable to so many psalms, should not be overlooked here.
1. That we have here, not words of God to man, but words of man to God. Hence they may or may not be models for our imitation. Anyway, no inspiration in prayer can rise above the level of the revelation which had been granted where and when such prayer was offered.
2. Although, in every country and age, prayer from the heart must be limited by the measure of light in the conscience, yet a gracious God will answer it, not according to its limitation or imperfection, but according to his infinite wisdom, his boundless love, and his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
3. The Divine answers to such prayers as we find in the psalm, although they bring deliverance to the righteous, will bring terror and confusion to the wicked. The destruction of Pharaoh's host is the salvation of the hosts of the Lord.—C.
HOMILIES BY W. FORSYTH
The gates of death and the gates of Zion.
I. THE GATES OF DEATH OPEN BUT ONCE; THE GATES OF ZION OPEN CONTINUALLY. (Hebrews 9:27; Isaiah 60:11.)
II. THE GATES OF DEATH OPEN TO ALL MEN WITHOUT DISTINCTION; THE GATES OF ZION OPEN ONLY TO THE GOOD. (Ecclesiastes 9:5; John 3:3.)
III. THE GATES OF DEATH OPEN WITHOUT OUR WILL; THE GATES OF ZION ONLY OPEN ACCORDING TO OUR CHOICE. (Ecclesiastes 8:8; Matthew 7:13.)
IV. THE GATES OF DEATH OPEN TO MEN' AS TRANGRESSORS; THE GATES OF ZION OPEN TO THE OBJECTS OF GRACE AND SALVATION. (Romans 5:12; Isaiah 26:1, Isaiah 26:2.)
V. THE GATES OF DEATH ARE DARK WITH TERRORS; THE GATES OF ZION ARE BRIGHT WITH HOPE. (Hebrews 2:15; Psalms 118:20.)
VI. THE GATES OF DEATH AND THE GATES OF ZION ARE ALIKE UNDER THE SUPREME CONTROL OF GOD. (Romans 14:8, Romans 14:9; Revelation 1:18.)
VII. IF WE HAVE ENTERED BY THE GATES OF ZION, AND DWELT THERE WITH GOD, WE NEED NOT FEAR WHEN CALLED TO PASS THROUGH THE GATES OF DEATH. Job asks (Job 38:17), "Have the gates of death been opened to thee?" They have to others. They will be by-and-by to us. We are always near them and in sight of them, but we have no power over them. We cannot hinder them from opening when it is God's will, nor can we return when once we have passed through them. It cannot be long before our turn comes. Every setting sun, every passing hour, every beat of the pulse, is bringing the time nearer. Happy are we if we are found ready, so that the gates of death may be to us the entering into the city, where we may have right to the tree of life and the endless joys of God (Revelation 22:14)!—W.F.