Psalm 9: How does it apply to the church (Matthew Henry)?

Matthew Henry views Psalm 9 as deeply applicable to the kingdom of the 
Messiah, understanding the psalm’s celebration of God’s judgment and 
protection of the oppressed as foreshadowing Christ’s ultimate victory 
over all enemies.[1] His application to the church centers on three 
interconnected themes.

First, Henry identifies the church of Christ as the antitype of 
Jerusalem, noting that the church is “a holy nation, a peculiar people” 
and that Jerusalem itself “typified the gospel church.”[1] He emphasizes 
that because God has made clear discoveries of his greatness to the 
church, believers should “abound in his praises,”[1] recognizing that 
worship flows naturally from understanding God’s character.

Second, Henry encourages believers to wait patiently for God’s 
salvation, assuring them that “God’s people, God’s elect, shall not 
always be forgotten, nor shall they be disappointed of their hopes from 
the promise” and that God will ultimately “make it to appear that he 
never did forget them.”[1] This patience amid delay becomes a mark of faith.

Third, Henry calls the church to pray that God would “humble the pride, 
break the power, and blast the projects, of all the wicked enemies of 
his church,” asking God to “restrain them, and set bounds to their 
malice.”[1] The church’s singing of this psalm becomes an act of giving 
glory to God’s justice and encouragement to “wait for the year of the 
redeemed and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion, even 
the final destruction of all anti-christian powers and factions.”[1]

The search was constrained to works authored by Matthew Henry. Would you 
like me to search your entire library instead?

[1] Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: 
Complete and Unabridged in One Volume (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994), 
755–756, 811.



-- 
Good News †

By dying on the cross, Christ canceled the legal debt of our sins 
against God (Colossians 2:14), and God validated this victory by raising 
Him from the grave (Romans 1:4). God is now able to justly declare 
sinners righteous (Romans 3:26) and spare them from His future wrath (1 
Thessalonians 1:10). This grace is freely given to all who place their 
trust in Him (Romans 6:23). Put your faith in the Lord and call on His 
name to be saved (Romans 10:9-13):

How to be saved: christrose.news/salvation