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1 I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. 2 I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High. 3 When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence. 4 For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right. 5 Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever. 6 O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them. 7 But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment. 8 And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness. 9 The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. 10 And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee. 11 Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings. 12 When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble. 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: 14 That I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation. 15 The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken. 16 The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah. 17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. 18 For the needy shall not alway be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever. 19 Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight. 20 Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.
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[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Psalms 9:1
"I will confess unto You, O Lord, with my whole heart" [Psalm 9:1]. He does not, with a whole heart, confess unto God, who doubts of His Providence in any particular: but he who sees already the hidden things of the wisdom of God, how great is His invisible reward, who says, "We rejoice in tribulations;" [Romans 5:3] and how all torments, which are inflicted on the body, are either for the exercising of those that are converted to God, or for warning that they be converted, or for just preparation of the obdurate unto their last damnation: and so now all things are referred to the governance of Divine Providence, which fools think done as it were by chance and at random, and without any Divine ordering. "I will tell all Your marvels." He tells all God's marvels, who sees them performed not only openly on the body, but invisibly indeed too in the soul, but far more sublimely and excellently. For men earthly, and led wholly by the eye, marvel more that the dead Lazarus rose again in the body, than that Paul the persecutor rose again in soul. But since the visible miracle calls the soul to the light, but the invisible enlightens the soul that comes when called, he tells all God's marvels, who, by believing the visible, passes on to the understanding of the invisible.

Source: Exposition on Psalm 9
[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Psalms 9:1
It is characteristic of the perfect to dedicate their whole heart to God and to consecrate their whole mind to him. “You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart,” Scripture says, “with your whole soul, with your whole strength and with your whole mind.” Those who divide their thoughts between mammon and God, between Christ and gold, between the present and the future life, cannot truthfully say, “I shall confess to you, O Lord, with all my heart.”

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 9:2
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Psalms 9:2
This … is pleasure properly speaking; at least as far as all other things are concerned, they are pleasure in name only, bereft of substance. This lifts human beings above this world, this liberates the soul from the body, this gives it wings in heaven’s direction, this elevates it above worldly things, this gives freedom from evil, and rightly so.… After all, people loving those other things are quickly if unwillingly brought to a point of oblivion since what they love perishes and wastes away. By contrast, this love is infinite, everlasting, possessing the greater pleasure and the greater gain; furthermore, the lover is encouraged by the fact that this will never be destroyed.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 9:2
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Psalms 9:2
This is a particular habit of a lover. Those in love, you know, sing songs to their beloved; even if they are not in sight, they comfort themselves with the song. That is just what the inspired author does. Since it is not possible to see God, he composes songs to him, holding converse with him in song, stirring up desire and gaining the impression of seeing him—or, rather, stirring up the desire of many people through the singing of hymns and songs. In other words, just as lovers recite the praises of their beloved and bandy their names about, exactly so does he.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 9:2
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Psalms 9:2
"I will be glad and exult in You" [Psalm 9:2]. Not any more in this world, not in pleasure of bodily dalliance, not in relish of palate and tongue, not in sweetness of perfumes, not in joyousness of passing sounds, not in the variously coloured forms of figure, not in vanities of men's praise, not in wedlock and perishable offspring, not in superfluity of temporal wealth, not in this world's getting, whether it extend over place and space, or be prolonged in time's succession: but, "I will be glad and exult in You," namely, in the hidden things of the Son, where "the light of Your countenance has been stamped on us, O Lord:" for, "You will hide them," says he, "in the hiding place of Your countenance." He then will be glad and exult in You, who tells all Your marvels. And He will tell all Your marvels (since it is now spoken of prophetically), "who came not to do His own will, but the will of Him who sent Him." [John 6:38]

Source: Exposition on Psalm 9
[AD 339] Eusebius of Caesarea on Psalms 9:3
These things, he said, I will assuredly do “when my enemies are turned back.” But who is such an enemy unless it is death, the enemy of life about which it is said, “You knew the enemy death will be destroyed.” Destruction will be Death’s end when he is turned back. But “back” where, unless the return into the pristine condition when he did not exist? “For God did not make death, but through the envy of the devil, death entered into the world.” When, therefore, as death is turned back, it will no longer be, then all the rest of the enemies will be enfeebled and the enemies of your Word will be destroyed before your face.

Source: COMMENTARY ON PSALMS 9:3-4
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Psalms 9:3
Now, notice how he proclaims God’s strength: “They will lose heart and perish before your face.” Once more, on hearing “face,” do not form an impression of anything bodily. At this point, in fact, he is suggesting God’s power, his manifestation, the facility of his strength. Just as he says elsewhere, “He gazes on the earth and makes it tremble,” so here too he says the same thing. His gaze, you see, is sufficient to destroy his enemies.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 9:3
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Psalms 9:3
"They will be weakened, and perish from Your face" [Psalm 9:3]. Who will be weakened and perish, but the unrighteous and ungodly? "They will be weakened," while they shall avail nothing; "and they shall perish," because the ungodly will not be; "from the face" of God, that is, from the knowledge of God, as he perished who said, "But now I live not, but Christ lives in me." [Galatians 2:20] But why will the ungodly "be weakened and perish from your face?" "Because," he says, "You have made my judgment, and my cause:" that is, the judgment in which I seemed to be judged, You have made mine; and the cause in which men condemned me just and innocent, You have made mine. For such things served Him for our deliverance: as sailors too call the wind theirs, which they take advantage of for prosperous sailing.

Source: Exposition on Psalm 9
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Psalms 9:4
He speaks in rather human terms by mentioning throne and seat, whereas the phrase “giving right judgment” is customary with God and expresses something remarkable of his essence. I mean, it is not something you can say in connection with human beings. They do not consistently give right judgments, you see, even if they are righteous over and over, ignorant as they are of what is righteous, sometimes from incompetence, sometimes from laziness. God, on the contrary, is free of all these impediments; knowing and willing a righteous verdict, he delivers it. So the phrase “you have sat on your throne” means God has judged, prosecuted, taken vengeance.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 9:3
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Psalms 9:4
"You sat on the throne Who judgest equity" [Psalm 9:4]. Whether the Son say this to the Father, who said also, "You could have no power against Me, except it were given you from above," [John 19:11] referring this very thing, that the Judge of men was judged for men's advantage, to the Father's equity and His own hidden things: or whether man say to God, "You sat on the throne Who judgest equity," giving the name of God's throne to his soul, so that his body may perhaps be the earth, which is called God's "footstool:" [Isaiah 66:1] for "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself:" [2 Corinthians 5:19] or whether the soul of the Church, perfect now and without spot and wrinkle, [Ephesians 5:27] worthy, that is, of the hidden things of the Son, in that "the King has brought her into His chamber," [Song of Songs 1:4] say to her spouse, "You sat upon the throne Who judgest equity," in that You have risen from the dead, and ascended up into heaven, and sittest at the right hand of the Father: whichsoever, I say, of those opinions, whereunto this verse may be referred, is preferred, it transgresses not the rule of faith.

Source: Exposition on Psalm 9
[AD 500] Salvian the Presbyter on Psalms 9:4
The same prophet showed elsewhere the difference between the present and future judgment of God. What did he say to the Lord about the verdict of the immediate trial? You have sat on the throne, you who judge justice. And what of God’s future and everlasting judgment? “He shall judge the people in justice.” By these words, he distinguished the time element between the present and the future judgments of God. To point to our present judgment, he wrote, “You judge,” and to distinguish the future from the present he later added, “He shall judge.”

Source: THE GOVERNANCE OF GOD 2:6
[AD 253] Origen of Alexandria on Psalms 9:5
The expression “you have rebuked” indicates correction: “You have blotted out his name.” God blotted out the name Abram, making it Abraham, and Sarai, calling her Sarah, and Simon, naming him Peter. And thus it follows, the name of those are blotted out whom he has rebuked.… Observe, however, that it is not said, You have blotted out their names from the book of the living … but from the pledges that had been signed in the book of debtors or in the book of the dead among the household of the wicked; thus he inscribes the dead, and he registers their names on the earth. The Savior will inscribe the names of his disciples in the heavens.

Source: SELECTIONS FROM THE PSALMS 9:6
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Psalms 9:5
You see how he has no need of weapons—sword, bows, arrows; rather, those things are mentioned in more human fashion. After all, God has only to censure, and those destined for punishment perish.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 9:3
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Psalms 9:5
"You have rebuked the heathen, and the ungodly has perished" [Psalm 9:5]. We take this to be more suitably said to the Lord Jesus Christ, than said by Him. For who else has rebuked the heathen, and the ungodly perished, save He, who after that He ascended up into heaven, sent the Holy Ghost, that, filled by Him, the Apostles should preach the word of God with boldness, and freely reprove men's sins? At which rebuke the ungodly perished; because the ungodly was justified and was made godly. You have effaced their name for the world, and for the world's world. The name of the ungodly has been effaced. For they are not called ungodly who believe in the true God. Now their name is effaced "for the world," that is, as long as the course of the temporal world endures. "And for the world's world." What is "the world's world," but that whose image and shadow, as it were, this world possesses? For the change of seasons succeeding one another, while the moon is on the wane, and again on the increase, while the sun each year returns to his quarter, while spring, or summer, or autumn, or winter passes away only to return, is in some sort an imitation of eternity. But this world's world is that which abides in immutable eternity. As a verse in the mind, and a verse in the voice, the former is understood, the latter heard; and the former fashions the latter; and hence the former works in art and abides, the latter sounds in the air and passes away. So the fashion of this changeable world is defined by that world unchangeable which is called the world's world. And hence the one abides in the art, that is, in the Wisdom and Power of God: but the other is made to pass in the governance of creation. If after all it be not a repetition, so that after it was said "for the world," lest it should be understood of this world that passes away, it were added "for the world's world." For in the Greek copies it is thus, εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος Which the Latins have for the most rendered, not, "for the world, and for the world's world;" but, "for ever, and for the world's world," that in the words "for the world's world." the, words "for ever," should be explained. "The name," then, "of the ungodly You have effaced for ever," for from henceforth the ungodly shall never be. And if their name be not prolonged unto this world, much less unto the world's world.

Source: Exposition on Psalm 9
[AD 585] Cassiodorus on Psalms 9:5
From here on, the most sacred second advent of the Lord is explained, when unbelieving nations will be rebuked and the devil with his schemes will perish forever. For when the Lord is present, all things will be peaceful, and the devil’s feisty depravity will no longer remain.… The word forever indicates the Lord’s coming kingdom which will not end in any age or time.… Therefore let the heretics stop saying that at some point the devil and his followers can be summoned back to grace, since they hear so clearly that they will be condemned “forever and ever” so that not even a trace of their name is able to remain.

Source: EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 9:6
[AD 356] Anthony the Great on Psalms 9:6
Once someone knocked at the door of my cell. And when I went out, I saw someone who seemed massive and tall. When I asked, “Who are you?” he said, “I am Satan.” I said, “What are you doing here?” And he asked, “Why do the monks and all the other Christians censure me without cause? Why do they curse me every hour?” When I replied, “Why do you torment them?” he said, “I am not the one tormenting them, but they disturb themselves, for I have become weak. Haven’t they read that ‘the swords of the enemy have failed utterly, and that you have destroyed their cities’? I no longer have a place—no weapon, no city. There are Christians everywhere, and even the desert has filled with monks. Let them watch after themselves and stop censuring me for no reason!” Marveling then at the grace of the Lord, I said to him, “Even though you are always a liar and never tell the truth, nevertheless this time, even if you did not intend to, you have spoken truly. For Christ in his coming reduced you to weakness, and after throwing you down he left you defenseless.” On hearing the Savior’s name, and being unable to endure the scorching from it, he became invisible. Now if even the devil confesses that he is able to do nothing, then we ought to treat him and his demons with utter contempt. For his part, the enemy with his dogs has treacheries of the sort I have described, but we are able to scorn them, having learned of their weakness. Therefore let us not be plunged into despair in this way, or contemplate horrors in the soul or invent fears for ourselves.… Let us consider in our soul that the Lord is with us, he who routed them and reduced them to idleness. Let us likewise always understand and take it to heart that while the Lord is with us, the enemies will do nothing to us.

Source: LIFE OF ANTHONY 41-42
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Psalms 9:6
God’s anger is like that, you see: it razes and destroys everything. Or what another translator teaches us in saying “deserts,” implying that he razed not only their inhabited places but also their uninhabited places, and laid waste their cities. Such, in fact, is the way the righteous person waged war, such the way he put down his foes, not employing light and heavy weapons but enjoying grace from God. Hence for him the war was glorious and famous, and his victory overwhelming.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 9:3
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Psalms 9:6
"The swords of the enemy have failed at the end" [Psalm 9:6]. Not enemies in the plural, but this enemy in the singular. Now what enemy's swords have failed but the devil's? Now these are understood to be various erroneous opinions, whereby as with swords he destroys souls. In overcoming these swords, and in bringing them to failure, that sword is employed, of which it is said in the seventh Psalm, "If you be not converted, He will brandish His sword." And perhaps this is the end, against which the swords of the enemy fail; since up to it they are of some avail. Now it works secretly, but in the last judgment it will be brandished openly. By it the cities are destroyed. For so it follows, "The swords of the enemy have failed at the end: and You have destroyed the cities." Cities indeed wherein the devil rules, where crafty and deceitful counsels hold, as it were, the place of a court, on which supremacy attend as officers and ministers the services of all the members, the eyes for curiosity, the ears for lasciviousness, or for whatsoever else is gladly listened to that bears on evil, the hands for rapine or any other violence or pollution soever, and all the other members after this manner serving the tyrannical supremacy, that is, perverse counsels. Of this city the commonalty, as it were, are all soft affections and disturbing emotions of the mind, stirring up daily seditions in a man. So then where a king, where a court, where ministers, where commonalty are found, there is a city. Now again would such things be in bad cities, unless they were first in individual men, who are, as it were, the elements and seeds of cities. These cities He destroys, when on the prince being shut out thence, of whom it was said, "The prince of this world" has been "cast out," [John 12:31] these kingdoms are wasted by the word of truth, evil counsels are laid to sleep, vile affections tamed, the ministries of the members and senses taken captive, and transferred to the service of righteousness and good works: that as the Apostle says, "Sin should no more reign in" our "mortal body," [Romans 6:12] and so forth. Then is the soul at peace, and the man is disposed to receive rest and blessedness. "Their memorial has perished with uproar:" with the uproar, that is, of the ungodly. But it is said, "with uproar," either because when ungodliness is overturned, there is uproar made: for none passes to the highest place, where there is the deepest silence, but he who with much uproar shall first have warred with his own vices: or "with uproar," is said, that the memory of the ungodly should perish in the perishing even of the very uproar, in which ungodliness riots.

Source: Exposition on Psalm 9
[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Psalms 9:6
[The godless one] was stripped of his own weapons, having no supporters of his godlessness; instead, those who appointed themselves his instruments have now changed sides and taken up the fight against him. With the overthrow of godlessness practiced in them in former times, the cities took on the building up of true religion; it would have been impossible for them to develop true religion had not they overthrown godlessness first.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 9:5
[AD 749] John Damascene on Psalms 9:6
From there by his grace [the apostles] were scattered abroad among all nations and preached the orthodox faith, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all the commandments of the Savior. So they gave light to the people that wandered in darkness and abolished the superstitious error of idolatry. Though the enemy chafes under his defeat and even now stirs up war against us, the faithful, persuading the fools and unwise to cling to the worship of idols, yet is his power grown feeble, and his swords have at last failed him by the power of Christ.

Source: BARLAAM AND JOSEPH 7:55
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Psalms 9:7-8
"And the Lord abides for ever" [Psalm 9:7]. "Wherefore" then "have the heathen raged, and the people imagined vain things against the Lord, and against His anointed:" for "the Lord abides for ever. He has prepared His seat in judgment, and He shall judge the world in equity." He prepared His seat when He was judged. For by that patience Man purchased heaven, and God in Man profited believers. And this is the Son's hidden judgment. But seeing He is also to come openly and in the sight of all to judge the quick and the dead, He has prepared His seat in the hidden judgment: and He shall also openly "judge the world in equity:" that is, He shall distribute gifts proportioned to desert, setting the sheep on His right hand, and the goats on His left. [Matthew 25:33] "He shall judge the people with justice" [Psalm 9:8]. This is the same as was said above, "He shall judge the world in equity." Not as men judge who see not the heart, by whom very often worse men are acquitted than are condemned: but "in equity" and "with justice" shall the Lord judge, "conscience bearing witness, and thoughts accusing, or else excusing." [Romans 2:15]

Source: Exposition on Psalm 9
[AD 398] Didymus the Blind on Psalms 9:8
These words warn that we must withdraw from evil and impiety and pursue excellence and righteousness. For who being prudent, if he believes this, would not fear that he might fall into the hands of judgment and rightly and properly so on account of his own blameworthy conduct and wicked thoughts? Indeed, under such judgment he will not avoid the curse.

Source: FRAGMENTS ON THE PSALMS 9:8
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Psalms 9:8
While the general judgment is reserved for that time, the particular is for this; after all, he puts many things into effect here and now lest the heedless form the impression that present realities do not fall under his providence. If, on the contrary, not everyone receives their crown in this life, do not be surprised. “He has prepared a day,” remember, “on which he intends to judge the world,” whereas for the present there is an arena, contest, struggles. Hence not everyone receives their just desserts; instead, rewards are reserved there for those who do well and punishments for those who fail.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 9:4
[AD 339] Eusebius of Caesarea on Psalms 9:9
The righteous who now seek you know that you are not going to abandon them in the time of judgment. Let them hope strongly in you, having patience in everything awaiting the prepared retribution.

Source: COMMENTARY ON PSALMS 9:10, 11
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Psalms 9:9
He did not say, note, “My armies have proved your refuge, or money or ramparts”; instead, “the Lord has proved a refuge for the poor.” He personally established me in safety, he is saying; nothing, in fact, is equal to that refuge on the score of ease and security. The other refuges may be subject to scheming and cannot be found promptly and readily, but they are obstructed by time and place and countless circumstances; this, by contrast, you find close at hand, provided only you search for it diligently. “Even while I am talking to you, lo, I am at hand,” remember; and “I am a God close by, not a God far off.” Consequently, there is no need of running around or traveling about; rather, those sitting at home can gain this refuge.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 9:5
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Psalms 9:9
"And the Lord has become a refuge to the poor" [Psalm 9:9]. Whatsoever be the persecutions of that enemy, who has been turned behind, what harm shall he do to them whose refuge the Lord has become? But this will be, if in this world, in which that one has an office of power, they shall choose to be poor, by loving nothing which either here leaves a man while he lives and loves, or is left by him when he dies. For to such a poor man has the Lord become a refuge, "an Helper in due season, in tribulation." Lo, He makes poor, for "He scourges every son whom He receives." [Hebrews 12:6] For what "an Helper in due season" is, he explained by adding "in tribulation." For the soul is not turned to God, save when it is turned away from this world: nor is it more seasonably turned away from this world, except toils and pains be mingled with its trifling and hurtful and destructive pleasures.

Source: Exposition on Psalm 9
[AD 398] Didymus the Blind on Psalms 9:10
Those who have a perfect knowledge of your name trust in no other thing. They are not abandoned by God. This word must be understood with wisdom and reverence, considering that one should not think that the person who lives rightly in his daily affairs is abandoned by God. One who thinks thus is deceived. Indeed, several of the impious have thus believed. Some say that Abel, who was killed, was abandoned, as also the prophets and apostles, for these individuals were afflicted continuously, and many of them even murdered by people. With this distinction made, we say that the person who is with God up to his last breath is not abandoned, even if he suffers innumerable wounds from his enemies.

Source: FRAGMENTS ON THE PSALMS 9:11
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Psalms 9:10
Those who know you, he is saying, your support and assistance, have hope in you as sufficient anchor, sufficient assistance, impregnable tower, the one who not only promises relief from problems but also does not permit us to be alarmed by the problems even when present.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 9:5
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Psalms 9:10
So how can we seek God? When we earnestly direct our mind in that direction, when we free it from worldly interests. The seeker who drives out everything from the soul moves toward what is being sought. We must not simply seek but seek out. Those who seek out do not only take it on themselves to conduct the search but also enlist other aids to finding what is sought. But in the case of worldly things, we often do not find what we have sought for, whereas in the case of spiritual things this is impossible, as it is inevitable that the searcher makes the discovery. In fact, if we merely make the effort toward searching, God will not permit us to be rebuffed; hence he says, “Everyone who seeks finds.”

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 9:6
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Psalms 9:10
"And let them who know Your Name, hope in You" [Psalm 9:10], when they shall have ceased hoping in wealth, and in the other enticements of this world. For the soul indeed that seeks where to fix her hope, when she is torn away from this world, the knowledge of God's Name seasonably receives. For the mere Name of God has now been published everywhere: but the knowledge of the name is, when He is known whose name it is. For the name is not a name for its own sake, but for that which it signifies. Now it has been said, "The Lord is His Name." [Jeremiah 33:2] Wherefore whoso willingly submits himself to God as His servant, has known this name. "And let them who know Your Name hope in You" [Psalm 9:10]. Again, the Lord says to Moses, "I am That I am; and You shall say to the children of Israel, I Am, has sent me." [Exodus 3:14] "Let them" then "who know Your Name, hope in You;" that they may not hope in those things which flow by in time's quick revolution, having nothing but "will be" and "has been." For what in them is future, when it arrives, straightway becomes the past; it is awaited with eagerness, it is lost with pain. But in the nature of God nothing will be, as if it were not yet; or has been, as if it were no longer: but there is only that which is, and this is eternity. Let them cease then to hope in and love things temporal, and let them apply themselves to hope eternal, who know His name who said, "I am That I am;" and of whom it was said, " I Am has sent me." [Exodus 3:14] "For You have not forsaken them that seek You, O Lord." Whoso seek Him, seek no more things transient and perishable; "For no man can serve two masters." [Matthew 6:24]

Source: Exposition on Psalm 9
[AD 215] Clement of Alexandria on Psalms 9:11
Those who are wild in respect of faith and polluted in life, not purified by the righteousness that is according to the law, are called wild beasts. But changed from wild beasts by the faith of the Lord, they become people of God, advancing from the wish to change to the fact. For some the Lord exhorts, and to those who have already made the attempt he stretches forth his hand and draws them up. “For the Lord dreads not the face of anyone, nor will he regard greatness; for he has made small and great and cares alike for all.” And David says, “For the heathen are fixed in the destruction they have caused; their foot is taken in the snare that they hid.” “But the Lord was a refuge to the poor, a help in season also in affliction.” Those, then, who were in affliction had the gospel seasonably proclaimed. And therefore it said, “Declare among the heathen his pursuits,” that they may not be judged unjustly.

Source: STROMATEIS 6:6
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Psalms 9:11
What do you mean? Does the one whose throne is heaven and his footstool earth, in whose hands are the bounds of the earth, dwell in Zion? Yes: he refers here to his dwelling, not for him to be circumscribed (his greatness, after all, is unbounded) but to indicate his affinity with the place and his feeling at home there with a view to winning the Jews over to him through this considerateness.… Now, in a spiritual sense Zion refers to the church: “You have approached Mount Zion,” remember, “and church of the firstborn.” Rightly is the church called a mountain on account of being firm, solid and unshakeable. You see, just as it is impossible to shake a mountain, so too the church of God.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 9:6
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Psalms 9:11
"Sing to the Lord, who dwells in Sion" [Psalm 9:11], is said to them, whom the Lord forsakes not as they seek Him. He dwells in Sion, which is interpreted watching, and which bears the likeness of the Church that now is; as Jerusalem bears the likeness of the Church that is to come, that is, the city of Saints already enjoying life angelical; for Jerusalem is by interpretation the vision of peace. Now watching goes before vision, as this Church goes before that one which is promised, the city immortal and eternal. But in time it goes before, not in dignity: because more honourable is that whither we are striving to arrive, than what we practise, that we may attain to arrive; now we practise watching, that we may arrive at vision. But again this same Church which now is, unless the Lord inhabit her, the most earnest watching might run into any sort of error. And to this Church it was said, "For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are:" [1 Corinthians 3:17] again, "that Christ may dwell in the inner man in your hearts by faith." [Ephesians 3:17] It is enjoined us then, that we sing to the Lord who dwells in Sion, that with one accord we praise the Lord, the Inhabitant of the Church. "Show forth His wonders among the heathen." It has both been done, and will not cease to be done.

Source: Exposition on Psalm 9
[AD 458] Theodoret of Cyrus on Psalms 9:11
A drastic alteration of circumstances took place in reality: ancient enemies became friends, those distant became close, slaves became sons, those ignorant became knowledgeable, those in darkness came to be in light, the dead in hope of life the poor became heirs of the kingdom of heaven, Jews came to be far away and Gentiles close at hand, sons became dogs, dogs sons. In short, the Savior’s devices took on a divine seemliness: the gift of immortality was given through mortality, life through death, honor through dishonor, blessing through curse, salvation through a cross—these are the devices, these the exploits of our God.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 9:8
[AD 202] Irenaeus on Psalms 9:12
Some … have proceeded to such a degree of temerity that they pour contempt on the martyrs and vituperate those who are slain on account of the confession of the Lord, and who suffer all things predicted by the Lord and who in this respect strive to follow the footprints of the Lord’s passion, having become martyrs of the suffering One; these we do also enroll with the martyrs themselves. For when inquisition shall be made for their blood and they shall attain to glory, then all shall be confounded by Christ, who have cast a slur on their martyrdom.

Source: AGAINST HERESIES 3:18.5
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Psalms 9:12
He also touches on an important truth here: there is no murder committed that goes unpunished and is not fully avenged. Moses indicates as much in Genesis in the words “I will avenge your blood.” This is proof of God’s boundless providence, of his intense care. Yet if he does not promptly take vengeance, do not be surprised: he gives the sinner the opportunity of repentance.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 9:6
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Psalms 9:12
"For requiring their blood He has remembered" [Psalm 9:12]. As if they, who were sent to preach the Gospel, should make answer to that injunction which has been mentioned, "Show forth His wonders among the heathen," and should say, "O Lord, who has believed our report?" [Isaiah 53:1] and again, "For Your sake we are killed all the day long;" the Psalmist suitably goes on to say, That Christians not without great reward of eternity will die in persecution, "for requiring their blood He has remembered." But why did he choose to say, "their blood"? Was it, as if one of imperfect knowledge and less faith should ask, How will they "show them forth," seeing that the infidelity of the heathen will rage against them; and he should be answered, "For requiring their blood He has remembered," that is, the last judgment will come, in which both the glory of the slain and the punishment of the slayers shall be made manifest? But let no one suppose "He has remembered" to be so used, as though forgetfulness can attach to God; but since the judgment will be after a long interval, it is used in accordance with the feeling of weak men, who think God has forgotten, because He does not act so speedily as they wish. To such is said what follows also, "He has not forgotten the cry of the poor:" that is, He has not, as you suppose, forgotten. As if they should on hearing, "He has remembered," say, Then He had forgotten; No, "He has not forgotten," says the Psalmist, "the cry of the poor."

Source: Exposition on Psalm 9
[AD 398] Didymus the Blind on Psalms 9:13
For one who lives in this type of death and in the lusts of the world, with a depressed spirit, if he will perceive a sense of his own wrongdoing and the nature of divine goodness, let him say in the manner of a prayer: “Have mercy on me and see my humility,” which I suffer from my enemies. They have humiliated me, drawing me down. You alone are able to lift me up from the gates of death because of your essential goodness.

Source: FRAGMENTS ON THE PSALMS 9:15
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Psalms 9:13
See him given constantly to prayer: though freed from troubles and made secure, he does not cease from praying again in the words “have pity on me” and implores God for future benefits. You see, we always stand in need of God’s providence, but especially at a time of freedom from troubles. I mean, another battle follows that is more difficult than the former, that against indifference and obtuseness; then it is that the devil comes panting more aggressively. And so it is especially after being freed from troubles that we have need of that grace so as to cope with good times more easily.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 9:6
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Psalms 9:13-14
But I ask, what is that cry of the poor, which God forgets not? Is it that cry, the words whereof are these, "Pity me, O Lord, see my humiliation at the hands of my enemies"? [Psalm 9:13]. Why then did he not say, Pity "us" O Lord, see our humiliation at the hands of "our" enemies, as if many poor were crying; but as if one, Pity "me," O Lord? Is it because One intercedes for the Saints, "who" first "for our sakes became poor, though He was rich;" [2 Corinthians 8:9] and it is He who says, "Who exaltest me from the gates of death [Psalm 9:14], that I may declare all Your praises in the gates of the daughter of Sion"? For man is exalted in Him, not that Man only which He bears, which is the Head of the Church; but whichsoever one of us also is among the other members, and is exalted from all depraved desires; which are the gates of death, for that through them is the road to death. But the joy in the fruition is at once death itself, when one gains what he has in abandoned wilfulness coveted: for "coveting is the root of all evil:" [1 Timothy 6:10] and therefore is the gate of death, for "the widow that lives in pleasures is dead." [1 Timothy 5:6] At which pleasures we arrive through desires as it were through the gates of death. But all highest purposes are the gates of the daughter of Sion, through which we come to the vision of peace in the Holy Church....Or haply are the gates of death the bodily senses and eyes, which were opened when the man tasted of the forbidden tree, [Genesis 3:7] ... and are the gates of the daughter of Sion the sacraments and beginnings of faith, which are opened to them that knock, that they may arrive at the hidden things of the Son?...

Source: Exposition on Psalm 9
[AD 9999] Pseudo-Athanasius on Psalms 9:13
The Lord does not forget the cry of the poor, and especially of those who in the spirit ask of him vengeance for wrongs brought against them by demons. Those who pray that there may arise a Savior for those on earth in order to repress the second tyrannical man who waxed strong against us and to impose on us the spiritual law of the gospel, from which people who are rational may learn, no more to imitate senseless animals. They are also hastening to his coming, hoping for salvation.

Source: EXPOSITION ON PSALM 9
[AD 253] Origen of Alexandria on Psalms 9:14
In the Psalms the prophet gives thanks saying, “He who lifts me up from the gates of death that I may declare all your praises in the gates of the daughter of Zion.” And from this we learn that it is never possible for anyone to be fit to declare the praises of God, unless he has been lifted up from the gates of death and has come to the gates of Zion.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 12:13
[AD 339] Eusebius of Caesarea on Psalms 9:14
David, … prophesying in the person of Christ, says somewhere of his resurrection after death: … “You who lift me up from the gates of death, that I may tell all your praises.” I consider that not even the most obtuse can look these things in the face [and disregard them].

Source: PROOF OF THE GOSPEL 3:2.101
[AD 398] Didymus the Blind on Psalms 9:14
The gates of the daughter of Zion, being opposed to the gates of death, are praiseworthy deeds and the contemplation on the works of God done according to excellence and wisdom.

Source: FRAGMENTS ON THE PSALMS 9:15
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Psalms 9:14
“I will rejoice in your salvation.” This is my crown, this my diadem, erecting a trophy thanks to you, enjoying salvation thanks to you. Let us too in this manner seek not to be saved at any price, not to be freed at any price and in any fashion but in God’s way.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 9:7
[AD 585] Cassiodorus on Psalms 9:14
The salvation of the Father is Christ the Lord, his Strength and Wisdom, who has granted us eternal rest and salvation. Therefore the prophet rightly says that he rejoices in him in whom there is no end of joy.

Source: EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 9:15
[AD 735] Bede on Psalms 9:14
We need to direct our whole intention, dearly beloved brothers, to learning the mysteries of the faith, and we need to show that our works accord with our faith. With all vigilance we need to beware of the multifarious and subtle snares of the gates of hell, so that, in accordance with the word of the psalmist, we may be worthy to be snatched from these [snares] by the Lord’s aid and to announce his praises at the gates of the daughter of Zion, that is, to enter into the joys of the heavenly city. And we should not think that it is sufficient for our salvation if either in our faith or our acts we [merely] come up to the level of the undiscerning and untaught crowd, for whom there is prescribed in the sacred literature only one rule of believing and of living. But as often as the examples of those who have gone astray are made known to us, let us immediately turn away the eyes of our mind so that they may not see vanity, and instead with attentive heart let us examine what truth itself discerns, following the example of blessed Peter. He rejected the false ideas of those who were in error, and with unhesitating words he delivered his confession of the hidden mystery of the faith he had come to recognize, and he kept [it] with unconquerable care in his heart.

Source: Homilies on the Gospels 1:20
[AD 339] Eusebius of Caesarea on Psalms 9:15
Whenever they desire to wipe out and abolish the race of the faithful, they themselves are lured into their own calamity; and in the very snares they have concealed for the people of God they are caught, and “their foot will fall.”

Source: COMMENTARY ON PSALMS 9:16-17
[AD 398] Didymus the Blind on Psalms 9:15
One is not held by the sin and unrighteousness of another; rather, each one will die in his own sin. The wicked, first harming themselves, strive deceitfully to drive others into the same curse. Secretly they build traps of deceit with their own plans and words, so they may seize someone unsuspecting. But by that very trap that they have hidden they are punished, for vindicators will keep those very ones they have caught. This punishment is done by the providence of God. For what other is the judgment of God than that the sinner is caught by his own deeds, because he holds the reason for his own condemnation for those who live unrighteously. This agrees with that which is said before: “He who has opened a pit for his neighbor will fall into it.”

Source: FRAGMENTS ON THE PSALMS 9:16
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Psalms 9:15
Nothing … is so destructive as vice. In fact, nothing is weaker than the wicked; they are undone by their own weapons, as iron is by rust and wool by a moth—so too is the wicked person by vice.

Source: COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 9:15
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Psalms 9:15
Then follows, "I will exult for Your salvation:" that is, with blessedness shall I be holden by Your salvation, which is our Lord Jesus Christ, the Power and Wisdom of God. Therefore says the Church, which is here in affliction and is saved by hope, as long as the hidden judgment of the Son is, in hope she says, "I will exult for Your salvation:" for now she is worn down either by the roar of violence around her, or by the errors of the heathen. "The heathen are fixed in the corruption, which they made" [Psalm 9:15]. Consider ye how punishment is reserved for the sinner, out of his own works; and how they that have wished to persecute the Church, have been fixed in that corruption, which they thought to inflict. For they were desiring to kill the body, while they themselves were dying in soul. "In that snare which they hid, has their foot been taken." The hidden snare is crafty devising. The foot of the soul is well understood to be its love: which, when depraved, is called coveting or lust; but when upright, love or charity....And the Apostle says, "That being rooted and grounded in love, you may be able to take in." [Ephesians 3:17-18] The foot then of sinners, that is, their love, is taken in the snare, which they hide: for when delight shall have followed on to deceitful dealing, when God shall have delivered them over to the lust of their heart; that delight at once binds them, that they dare not tear away their love thence and apply it to profitable objects; for when they shall make the attempt, they will be pained in heart, as if desiring to free their foot from a fetter: and giving way under this pain they refuse to withdraw from pernicious delights. "In the snare" then "which they have hid," that is, in deceitful counsel, "their foot has been taken," that is, their love, which through deceit attains to that vain joy whereby pain is purchased.

Source: Exposition on Psalm 9
[AD 585] Cassiodorus on Psalms 9:15
When he says that “the Gentiles got stuck,” he means not those who are held by the fear of the Lord, but those who are so pinned down by the nails of their sins that they are not able to cast them off; unyielding bands appear to restrain them.… For we describe as captured those who are entangled by an intricate deceit. “Foot” here refers to the mental steps and the depraved desire which cause men to pursue vice. This is what Solomon says in Proverbs: “Their feet rush into evil and are quick to pour out blood.”

Source: EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 9:16
[AD 398] Didymus the Blind on Psalms 9:16
For if the whole psalm is called a song because of its tone and force, then the term “song” would be placed at the beginning of [the psalm], as it is in a number of psalms. But here it is otherwise, and after the diapsalma he begins the song; the title is placed between the diapsalma and song. It is reasonable, therefore, that the following has the sense of a psalm.

Source: FRAGMENTS ON THE PSALMS 9:16
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Psalms 9:16
"The Lord is known executing judgments" [Psalm 9:16]. These are God's judgments. Not from that tranquillity of His blessedness, nor from the secret places of wisdom, wherein blessed souls are received, is the sword, or fire, or wild beast, or any such thing brought forth, whereby sinners may be tormented: but how are they tormented, and how does the Lord do judgment? "In the works," he says, "of his own hands has the sinner been caught."

Source: Exposition on Psalm 9
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Psalms 9:16-17
Here is interposed, "The song of the diapsalma" [Psalm 9:16]: as it were the hidden joy, as far as we can imagine, of the separation which is now made, not in place, but in the affections of the heart, between sinners and the righteous, as of the grain from the chaff, as yet on the floor. And then follows, "Let the sinners be turned into hell" [Psalm 9:17]: that is, let them be given into their own hands, when they are spared, and let them be ensnared in deadly delight. "All the nations that forget God." Because "when they did not think good to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind." [Romans 1:28]

Source: Exposition on Psalm 9
[AD 585] Cassiodorus on Psalms 9:16
The truth of this judgment will be fulfilled when the Lord at last executes his judgments in plain sight, when sinners are handed over to eternal torment. Because they have the freedom to commit offenses in this life, some may think that these acts will escape punishment. But when that day of his appearance arrives and the Lord Savior sits upon his majestic throne, then all will acknowledge that his judgments are in effect, when the human race is separated by his judgment either to his right or to his left. For in order to make fair judgments one must determine the merits of each person without partiality. A plain explanation of this thought follows next. For it shows how one can know that the Lord makes fair judgments. His justice can be observed when a sinner becomes caught in his own tangled deeds, and he receives a punishment commensurate with his actions.

Source: EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 9:16
[AD 215] Clement of Alexandria on Psalms 9:17
They forget, plainly, him whom they formerly remembered and dismiss him whom they knew previous to forgetting him. There was then a dim knowledge of God also among the nations.

Source: STROMATEIS 6:8
[AD 253] Origen of Alexandria on Psalms 9:17
They are shut off, he said, in that they, since they are turned in the opposite direction within, do not see the spirit of Jesus ascending and descending.

Source: SELECTIONS FROM THE PSALMS 9:18
[AD 348] Pachomius the Great on Psalms 9:17
O what a terrible disgrace! In the world you went about praised as one of the elect, and when you arrive in the valley of Josaphat, the place of judgement, you are found naked, and all see your sins and ugliness laid bare to God and people. Woe to you at that moment! Where will you turn your face? Will you open your mouth? To say what? Your sins are etched into your soul, which is as black as a hair shirt. What will you do at that moment? Weep? There will be no one to accept your tears. Pray? No one to accept your prayers, for those to whom you are handed over are pitiless. How awful the moment when you hear the terrible, cutting voice, “Sinners, go to hell,” and, “Depart from me, you damned, to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels,” and again, “I have detested those who transgress.” “I must wipe out of the city of the Lord all who commit iniquities.”

Source: INSTRUCTIONS 1:33
[AD 373] Athanasius of Alexandria on Psalms 9:17
When, by faith and knowledge, the Lord’s people have embraced true life, they surely receive the joy of heaven. The wicked, however, since they do not care about the Lord’s life, are rightly deprived of its blessings. For “let the wicked be taken away so that he shall not see the glory of the Lord.” In the end they, like everyone else, shall hear the universal proclamation of the promise, “Awake, sleeper, and rise up from the dead.” They shall rise and knock on the doors of heaven, saying, “Open to us.” The Lord, however, will rebuke them for rejecting knowledge of him and will tell them, “I do not know you.” And the Holy Spirit speaks against them, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all nations that forget God.”

Source: FESTAL LETTERS 7:2
[AD 339] Eusebius of Caesarea on Psalms 9:18
In this life the wicked are raised up, in no sense comprehending their own wicked wrongdoing. But there will be a time of the judgment of God in which the crime that they have admitted will be overturned [in hades, when they are about to receive punishments; LXX]. Every person of God, however humbled in this life, whenever poor in spirit and however much he is trampled by the wicked so that it seems that God denies him by his forgetfulness, through it all is never rejected. “For the poor shall not be forgotten forever,” and the patience that he brings to this life and his calm spirit will not follow the end without fruit.

Source: COMMENTARY ON PSALMS 9:18-19
[AD 390] Diodorus of Tarsus on Psalms 9:18
Even if by some permission his people suffered and were humbled, yet God will not forget his own forever. “The perseverance of the needy will not be lost forever”; instead, he trains his own in perseverance, and when he sees them persevering properly, the patience he produces in them is not without purpose.

Source: COMMENTARY ON PSALM 9
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Psalms 9:18
"For there shall not be forgetfulness of the poor man to the end" [Psalm 9:18]; who now seems to be in forgetfulness, when sinners are thought to flourish in this world's happiness, and the righteous to be in travail: but "the patience," says He, "of the poor shall not perish for ever." Wherefore there is need of patience now to bear with the evil, who are already separated in will, till they be also separated at the last judgment.

Source: Exposition on Psalm 9
[AD 461] Leo the Great on Psalms 9:18
Let Christian kindness overflow in you, dearly beloved. As you desire the recurring seasons of the year to be filled with fruit, so let your hearts be generous in feeding the poor. Assuredly, God … could produce the necessary materials for them, since all things are his. He could distribute so much goods to them that they would need nothing from your generosity. Much of the matter of virtue would be lacking to them and to you, if their want did not drive them to the crown of patience or your abundance lead you to the glory of compassion. Divine Providence has wonderfully arranged it that there should be in the church both holy poor and good rich people, who in turn benefit each other from their very diversity. In order for the eternal and incorruptible rewards to be gained, those receiving give thanks to God, and those distributing give thanks to God, for as it is written, … “the patience of the poor will not perish forever,” and “God loves a cheerful giver.”

Source: SERMON 89:6. 1
[AD 542] Caesarius of Arles on Psalms 9:18
All who are proud should realize that since the beginning of the world they have been, are and should be rebuked in all kinds of publications. However, in both the Old and New Testaments all the humble and mild have been, are and should be blessed, because God does not lie when he says, “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Source: SERMON 49:2
[AD 585] Cassiodorus on Psalms 9:18
If patience is lacking in any hardships, the soul is not able to be perfect. For patience is the act of giving thanks, maintained continuously in the fear of the Lord throughout the anxious trials of life to the point of death.

Source: EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 9:19
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Psalms 9:19-20
"Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail" [Psalm 9:19]. The future judgment is prayed for: but before it come, "Let the heathen," says he, "be judged in Your sight:" that is, in secret; which is called in God's sight, with the knowledge of a few holy and righteous ones. "Place a lawgiver over them, O Lord." [Psalm 9:20]. He seems to me to point out Antichrist: of whom the Apostle says, "When the man of sin shall be revealed." [2 Thessalonians 2:3] "Let the heathen know that they are men." That they who will be set free by the Son of God, and belong to the Son of Man, and be sons of men, that is, new men, may serve man, that is, the old man the sinner, "for that they are men."

Source: Exposition on Psalm 9
[AD 585] Cassiodorus on Psalms 9:19
When the prophet was discussing the end of the world, through the illumination of his heart he foresaw the coming of the Antichrist. Terrified by the magnitude of the danger, he shouted out with a loud voice, “Arise, O Lord, let not humankind prevail.” For the Antichrist is certainly the most wicked man and one which human nature is not able to withstand. He possess such great cunning and power that only the Lord’s might is able to overcome his wickedness.

Source: EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 9:20
[AD 339] Eusebius of Caesarea on Psalms 9:20
He urges God by his tolerance and the strength of his mercy and patience that he grant a time of trials of long duration to the people harassing him. Before he had prayed that the nations be judged in the sight of God; now he asks that a lawgiver be appointed for the nations before the future judgment, so that they might learn they are people and not brute animals, for the law was hardly given to brutish animals. This law is not from Moses, who once had carried it from the midst of people; it is not about the law given to the Jews alone, nor does he wish that another law be awaited, as the law of the New Testament stretches over the whole earth. Indeed, Christ is the Lawgiver, and the Gospel message applies to the nations.

Source: COMMENTARY ON PSALMS 9:20, 21