Psalm 9

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be sung to the tune “Death of the Son.”

¹I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;

I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.

²I will be filled with joy because of you.

I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.

³My enemies retreated;

they staggered and died when you appeared.

⁴For you have judged in my favor;

from your throne you have judged with fairness.

⁵You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;

you have erased their names forever.

⁶The enemy is finished, in endless ruins;

the cities you uprooted are now forgotten.

⁷But the Lord reigns forever,

executing judgment from his throne.

⁸He will judge the world with justice

and rule the nations with fairness.

⁹The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed,

a refuge in times of trouble.

¹⁰Those who know your name trust in you,

for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you.

¹¹Sing praises to the Lord who reigns in Jerusalem.^a

Tell the world about his unforgettable deeds.

¹²For he who avenges murder cares for the helpless.

He does not ignore the cries of those who suffer.

¹³Lord, have mercy on me.

See how my enemies torment me.

Snatch me back from the jaws of death.

¹⁴Save me so I can praise you publicly at Jerusalem’s gates,

so I can rejoice that you have rescued me.

¹⁵The nations have fallen into the pit they dug for others.

Their own feet have been caught in the trap they set.

¹⁶The Lord is known for his justice.

The wicked are trapped by their own deeds. Quiet Interlude^b

¹⁷The wicked will go down to the grave.^c

This is the fate of all the nations who ignore God.

¹⁸But the needy will not be ignored forever;

the hopes of the poor will not always be crushed.

¹⁹Arise, O Lord!

Do not let mere mortals defy you!

Judge the nations!

²⁰Make them tremble in fear, O Lord.

Let the nations know they are merely human. Interlude