Since God had proved faithful to uphold the afflicted righteous in the past, David called on Him to deliver him from his present evil enemies.
9:13-14 The psalmist appealed for God's grace in defense from the attacks of those who hated him. God could save him from death. If He would do so, David promised to praise the Lord publicly among His people in Jerusalem.
9:15-16 These verses are probably an expression of David's confidence that the Lord would deliver him in anticipation of that deliverance. The psalmist had already seen the wicked snared in their own traps many times, and he was sure this would happen again (cf. 7:15).
"Higgaion"is probably a musical notation specifying quieter music.42
9:17-18 The psalmist contrasted the ends of the wicked and the oppressed needy. He set those who forget God opposite those who remember Him. In Old Testament thinking remembering God is a term that describes continuing faith in God. Forgetting God pictures the opposite, namely turning away from God. The Lord will not forget those who remember God (trust in Him), but those who forget Him have no hope of escaping death when they need deliverance from it.
9:19-20 David concluded this psalm with a request for God to remind the nations of their frail mortality by judging them. Hopefully this would mean they would stop opposing the godly. Again (cf. 8:4) David used the word enos("man"and "men") to emphasize man in his frail mortality (cf. Gen. 3:19; Ps. 39:11; 144:4).
God's people should remember God's past acts of deliverance and praise Him for these as we face the opposition of wicked enemies of righteousness. On the basis of God's past faithfulness we can have confidence in His protection in our present and future distresses.
