Psalm 19 - Saturday, Prime No 3

Ceiling of St. Michael's Church, Hildesheim

Psalm 19 (20) : Exaudiet te Dominus in die tribulationis 

Vulgate (numbering follows psalter)	Douay-Rheims (numbering follows Bible)
In finem. Psalmus David.	1 Unto the end. A psalm for David.
1 Exáudiat te Dóminus in die tribulatiónis: * prótegat te nomen Dei Jacob.	2 May the Lord hear you in the day of tribulation: may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
2  Mittat tibi auxílium de sancto: * et de Sion tueátur te.	3 May he send you help from the sanctuary: and defend you out of Sion.
3  Memor sit omnis sacrifícii tui: * et holocáustum tuum pingue fiat.	4 May he be mindful of all your sacrifices: and may your whole burnt offering be made fat.
4  Tríbuat tibi secúndum cor tuum: * et omne consílium tuum confírmet.	5 May he give you according to your own heart; and confirm all your counsels.
5  Lætábimur in salutári tuo: * et in nómine Dei nostri magnificábimur.	6 We will rejoice in your salvation; and in the name of our God we shall be exalted.
6  Impleat Dóminus omnes petitiónes tuas: * nunc cognóvi quóniam salvum fecit Dóminus Christum suum.	7 The Lord fulfil all your petitions: now have I known that the Lord has saved his anointed.
7  Exáudiet illum de cælo sancto suo: * in potentátibus salus déxteræ ejus	He will hear him from his holy heaven: the salvation of his right hand is in powers.
8  Hi in cúrribus, et hi in equis: * nos autem in nómine Dómini, Dei nostri invocábimus.	8 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will call upon the name of the Lord, our God.
9  Ipsi obligáti sunt, et cecidérunt: * nos autem surréximus et erécti sumus.	9 They are bound, and have fallen: but we are risen, and are set upright.
10  Dómine salvum fac regem: * et exáudi nos in die, qua invocavérimus te.	10 O Lord, save the king: and hear us in the day that we shall call upon you.

In its historic setting this psalm is a call by the people for God to grant David victory in battle, and therefore could be used before any battle in wartime.  It can also of course, be read as a plea for help before the spiritual battles that face us everyday.

The Fathers and theologians, however, have consistently interpreted it as also looking forward to the coming celebration of the Resurrection, thus it provides a fitting conclusion to the Holy Saturday theme of Prime.  St Augustine, for example, says in his commentary on the opening verses:  “And turn the cross, whereon You were wholly offered up to God, into the joy of the resurrection.”  Verses 6-7 and 9 contain the most explicit prophesies of the Resurrection, saying, for example, “now have I known that the Lord has saved his anointed…”

St Augustine:

It is not Christ who speaks; but the prophet speaks to Christ, under the form of wishing, foretelling things to come.

Cassiodorus:

The most holy prophet has taught us with what devotedness we must serve Christ the Lord.  He seeks for Him the blessings which he knew would come to pass, for it is the habit of believers to pray for what we long to happen.  So in the Lord's prayer we are likewise forewarned Thy kingdom come,...So let us be oppressed at his passion, and rejoice at His resurrection, for we can be called His if we deserve to be associated with His dispensation. 

St Alphonsus Liguori:

This psalm is a prayer which the people address to God for the success of the arms of David. But Bellarmine and Rotigni think that this psalm and the two following psalms, that is, the XX. and the XXI. Of the psalter, refer to the victories of Jesus Christ over the devil and the persecutors of the Church.

Fr Pasch:

This Psalm is a plea to the Father before the day's battle, the week's conflict, of the kingdom of God―a plea which expresses at the same time great confidence of victory.

 Liturgical uses of the psalm

NT references	-
RB cursus	Saturday Prime
Monastic/(Roman) feasts etc	Corpus Christi
Roman pre 1911	Sunday Matins
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Monday Matins . 1970:
Mass propers (EF)	Lent 4 Tues CO (5)

Psalm 17 (pt 1) - Friday Prime No 3

Psalm 17/1: Diligam te Domine 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem. Puero Domini David, qui locutus est Domino verba cantici hujus, in die qua eripuit eum Dominus de manu omnium inimicorum ejus, et de manu Saul, et dixit:	Unto the end, for David, the servant of the Lord, who spoke to the Lord the words of this canticle, in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: and he said
Díligam te, Dómine, fortitúdo mea: * Dóminus firmaméntum meum, et refúgium meum, et liberátor meus.	I will love you, O Lord, my strength: The Lord is my firmament, my refuge, and my deliverer.
2 Deus meus adjútor meus, * et sperábo in eum.	My God is my helper, and in him will I put my trust.
3 Protéctor meus, et cornu salútis meæ, * et suscéptor meus.	My protector, and the horn of my salvation, and my support.
4  Laudans invocábo Dóminum: * et ab inimícis meis salvus ero.	Praising, I will call upon the Lord: and I shall be saved from my enemies.
5  Circumdedérunt me dolóres mortis: * et torréntes iniquitátis conturbavérunt me.	The sorrows of death surrounded me: and the torrents of iniquity troubled me.
6  Dolóres inférni circumdedérunt me: * præoccupavérunt me láquei mortis.	The sorrows of hell encompassed me: and the snares of death prevented me
7  In tribulatióne mea invocávi Dóminum, * et ad Deum meum clamávi.	In my affliction I called upon the Lord, and I cried to my God:
8  Et exaudívit de templo sancto suo vocem meam: * et clamor meus in conspéctu ejus, introívit in aures ejus.	And he heard my voice from his holy temple: and my cry before him came into his ears.
9  Commóta est, et contrémuit terra: * fundaménta móntium conturbáta sunt, et commóta sunt, quóniam irátus est eis.	The earth shook and trembled: the foundations of the mountains were troubled and were moved, because he was angry with them.
10  Ascéndit fumus in ira ejus: et ignis a fácie ejus exársit: * carbónes succénsi sunt ab eo.	There went up a smoke in his wrath: and a fire flamed from his face: coals were kindled by it.
11  Inclinávit cælos, et descéndit: * et calígo sub pédibus ejus.	He bowed the heavens, and came down, and darkness was under his feet.
12  Et ascéndit super Chérubim, et volávit: * volávit super pennas ventórum.	And he ascended upon the cherubim, and he flew; he flew upon the wings of the winds.
13  Et pósuit ténebras latíbulum suum, in circúitu ejus tabernáculum ejus: * tenebrósa aqua in núbibus áëris.	And he made darkness his covert, his pavilion round about him: dark waters in the clouds of the air.
14  Præ fulgóre in conspéctu ejus nubes transiérunt, * grando et carbónes ignis.	At the brightness that was before him the clouds passed, hail and coals of fire.
15  Et intónuit de cælo Dóminus, et Altíssimus dedit vocem suam: * grando et carbónes ignis.	And the Lord thundered from heaven, and the Highest gave his voice: hail and coals of fire.
16  Et misit sagíttas suas, et dissipávit eos: * fúlgura multiplicávit, et conturbávit eos.	And he sent forth his arrows, and he scattered them: he multiplied lightnings, and troubled them
17  Et apparuérunt fontes aquárum, * et reveláta sunt fundaménta orbis terrárum:	Then the fountains of waters appeared, and the foundations of the world were discovered:
18  Ab increpatióne tua, Dómine, * ab inspiratióne spíritus iræ tuæ.	At your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the spirit of your wrath.
19  Misit de summo, et accépit me: * et assúmpsit me de aquis multis.	He sent from on high, and took me: and received me out of many waters.
20  Erípuit me de inimícis meis fortíssimis, et ab his qui odérunt me: * quóniam confortáti sunt super me.	He delivered me from my strongest enemies, and from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me.
21  Prævenérunt me in die afflictiónis meæ: * et factus est Dóminus protéctor meus.	They prevented me in the day of my affliction: and the Lord became my protector.
22  Et edúxit me in latitúdinem: * salvum me fecit, quóniam vóluit me.	And he brought me forth into a large place: he saved me, because he was well pleased with me.
23 Et retríbuet mihi Dóminus secúndum justítiam meam: * et secúndum puritátem mánuum meárum retríbuet mihi :	And the Lord will reward me according to my justice; and will repay me according to the cleanness of my hands:
24  Quia custodívi vias Dómini, * nec ímpie gessi a Deo meo.	Because I have kept the ways of the Lord; and have not done wickedly against my God.
25 Quóniam ómnia judícia ejus in conspéctu meo: * et justítias ejus non répuli a me.	For all his judgments are in my sight: and his justices I have not put away from me.
26  Et ero immaculátus cum eo: * et observábo ab iniquitáte mea.	And I shall be spotless with him: and shall keep myself from my iniquity.
27 Et retríbuet mihi Dóminus secúndum justítiam meam: * et secúndum puritátem mánuum meárum in conspéctu oculórum ejus.	And the Lord will reward me according to my justice: and according to the cleanness of my hands before his eyes.

The sheer length of this psalm might appear sufficient in itself to explain why St Benedict splits it between Saturday and Sunday.  

There is though, an important thematic reason for this as well: the first half of this psalm is very much a psalm of Good Friday, for it can be read as describing the events from Christ’s trial, to the earthquake at his death and descent into hell.

Today’s section of the psalm focuses on the idea, following on directly from the previous psalm, that God has heard the psalmist’s prayer because he is blameless – as Christ became the perfect sacrifice for our sins. 

And the centrepiece of this part of the psalm is a dramatic theophany, a storm that shakes the earth with God’s anger, echoing the ‘terra tremuit’ verse in Psalm 75 at Lauds for Friday, and serving as a reminder of the earthquake that split the Temple in two at the moment of Our Lord’s death.  

St Augustine:

That is, for the strong of hand, Christ in His Manhood. The words of this song which he spoke to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him out of the hands of his enemies, and of the hand of Saul; and he said, On the day when the Lord delivered him out of the hands of his enemies and of the hand of Saul: namely, the king of the Jews, whom they had demanded for themselves. For as David is said to be by interpretation, strong of hand; so Saul is said to be demanding. Now it is well known, how that People demanded for themselves a king, and received him for their king, not according to the will of God, but according to their own will.

St Thomas Aquinas:

In the preceding psalm, the psalmist sought in prayer to be liberated from his enemies; here he has been liberated and is giving thanks. And first he gives thanks for the benefit of liberation. Second, he burst into praise of the liberator, where he says, "The heavens tell the glory of God. The title. To the end, for the boy of the Lord, David. And he spoke the words of this song on the day when the Lord rescued him from the hands of his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. And this psalm, word for word, is to be found in 2 Kings 22. The story is, as in 1 Kings 19, how Saul sought to kill him: and when Saul had died, 2 Kings 2: Again Abner and his son were against him In the end David was victorious over them. And on this account he made this psalm. And since Christ is signified by David, all these things can be referred to Christ, either according to the head, or according to the body, namely the Church, which is liberated from Saul, that is, from death: the name "Saul" is translated as "petition", because he was given, or rather extorted (from God) because the people asked for him, and he was not given so that he would remain for any length of time. Thus Christ first bore death, then there was a time of quiet, according to the gloss. He was also liberated from all his enemies, the Jews and demons, and with respect to his body, that is, the Church. In the first part he recalls the benefit of liberation in general terms. 

St Alphonse Liguori:

David gives thanks to God for having delivered him from the hands of his enemies, and especially from the hands of Saul. This psalm is applicable to the Christian soul that sees itself delivered, with God s help, from every grave persecution or every temptation of the devil.

Fr Pasch

David's hymn of thanks and victory: At the end of his life, David sings this Psalm as a sort of swan song, one of the most beautiful compositions in the Psalter.  He looks back over the battles of his life and his final victory over all his enemies―a note of courage for the coming conflicts of the week. God's Kingdom, too, must battle in Church and soul―but under God's sure guidance, it will be victorious.  Note particularly the magnificent description of God's apparition, in the figure of a thunder storm.

Liturgical and Scriptural uses of the psalm

NT references	Lk 1:69 (vs 3); Lk 1:71 (20)
RB cursus	Friday Prime
Monastic/(Roman) feasts etc	-
Roman pre 1911	Sunday Matins
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Monday Matins . 1970:
Mass propers (EF)	Passion Wed IN (1-2); Pentecost Monday, IN (14-16), PP2 IN (2, 3, 14, 20); PP4 CO (3);

Psalm 14 (Prime, Thursday No 3)

Ravenna, c6th

Psalm 14 (15): Domine quis habitabit 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Psalmus David.	A psalm for David
Dómine, quis habitábit in tabernáculo tuo? * aut quis requiéscet in monte sancto tuo?	Lord, who shall dwell in your tabernacle? Or who shall rest in your holy hill?
2  Qui ingréditur sine mácula, * et operátur justítiam	He that walks without blemish, and works justice
3  Qui lóquitur veritátem in corde suo, * qui non egit dolum in lingua sua :	He that speaks truth in his heart, who has not used deceit in his tongue
4  Nec fecit próximo suo malum, * et oppróbrium non accépit advérsus próximos suos.	Nor has done evil to his neighbour: nor taken up a reproach against his neighbours.
5  Ad níhilum dedúctus est in conspéctu ejus malígnus: * timéntes autem Dóminum gloríficat	In his sight the malignant is brought to nothing: but he glorifies them that fear the Lord.
6  Qui jurat próximo suo, et non décipit, + qui pecúniam suam non dedit ad usúram, *et múnera super innocéntem non accépit.	He that swears to his neighbour, and deceives not; he that has not put out his money to usury, nor taken bribes against the innocent:
7  Qui facit hæc: * non movébitur in ætérnum.	He that does these things, shall not be moved for ever

St Augustine:

Tabernacle is taken in its proper meaning, it is a thing of war. Hence soldiers are called tent-fellows, as having their tents together. For we war with the devil for a time, and then we need a tabernacle wherein we may refresh ourselves. Holy mountain signifies the eternal habitation itself, the super-eminence of the love of Christ in life eternal. 

St Benedict (Prologue to the Rule):

Let us, therefore, gird our loins with faith and the performance of good works, and following the guidance of the Gospel walk in his paths, so that we may merit to see him who has called us unto his kingdom. And, if we wish to dwell in the tabernacle of his kingdom, except we run thither with good deeds we shall not arrive. But let us ask the Lord with the prophet: Lord, who shall dwell in thy tabernacle, or who shall rest upon thy holy hill? Then, brethren, let us hear the Lord answering and showing us the way to that tabernacle and saying: He that walketh without blemish and doth that which is right; he that speaketh truth in his heart, who hath used no deceit in his tongue, nor done evil to his neighbour, nor believed ill of his neighbour. He that taketh the evil spirit that tempteth him, and casteth him and his temptation from the sight of his heart, and bringeth him to naught; who graspeth his evil suggestions as they arise and dasheth them to pieces on the rock that is Christ. Such men as these, fearing the Lord, are not puffed up on account of their good works, but judging that they can do no good of themselves and that all cometh from God, they magnify the Lord's work in them, using the word of the prophet: Not unto us, 0 Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give the glory. So the apostle Paul imputed nothing of his preaching to himself, but said: By the grace of God I am what I am. And again he saith: He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

 St Thomas Aquinas:

Here, he treats of proper justice. He consults with God, like a priest standing in God's presence, he first poses a question, and then offers an explanation, at, He who enters without blemish. So, he puts forth two questions because of the two-fold status of the Church, that is, in the here and now, and in the future. The first refers to the Church as it struggles on this earth, the Church Militant. By the tabernacle is designated the Church as it struggles on this earth, and by the temple on the mount, the state of its future life.

St Alphonsus Liguori:

This psalm presents the portrait of a worthy minister of the altar, and at the same time that of the predestined soul, who also will have the happiness of being admitted for all eternity into the heavenly country.

Psalm 11 - Wednesday Prime No 3

Saltiri anglocatalà (Biblioteca Nacional de França, Lat. 8846),
detall del foli 117, c12th

Wednesday – Psalm 11 (12): Salvum me fac, Dómine

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem, pro octava. Psalmus David.	Unto the end: for the octave, a psalm for David
Salvum me fac, Dómine, quóniam defécit sanctus: * quóniam diminútæ sunt veritátes a fíliis hóminum.	Save me, O Lord, for there is now no saint: truths are decayed from among the children of men.
2  Vana locúti sunt unusquísque ad próximum suum : * lábia dolósa, in corde et corde locúti sunt.	They have spoken vain things, every one to his neighbour: with deceitful lips, and with a double heart have they spoken
3  Dispérdat Dóminus univérsa lábia dolósa, * et linguam magníloquam.	May the Lord destroy all deceitful lips, and the tongue that speaks proud things.
4  Qui dixérunt : Linguam nostram magnificábimus, lábia nostra a nobis sunt, * quis noster Dóminus est?	Who have said: We will magnify our tongue: our lips are our own: who is Lord over us?
5 Propter misériam ínopum, et gémitum páuperum, * nunc exsúrgam, dicit Dóminus.	By reason of the misery of the needy, and the groans of the poor, now will I arise, says the Lord
6  Ponam in salutári : * fiduciáliter agam in eo.	I will set him in safety: I will deal confidently in his regard.
7  Elóquia Dómini, elóquia casta : * argéntum igne examinátum, probátum terræ purgátum séptuplum.	The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried by the fire, purged from the earth, refined seven times.
8 Tu, Dómine, servábis nos : et custódies nos * a generatióne hac in ætérnum.	You, O Lord, will preserve us: and keep us from this generation for ever.
9  In circúitu ímpii ámbulant : * secúndum altitúdinem tuam multiplicásti fílios hóminum.	The wicked walk round about: according to your highness, you have multiplied the children of men.

St Augustine:

It has been said on the sixth Psalm, that the eighth may be taken as the day of judgment. For the eighth may also be taken for the eternal age; for that after the time present, which is a cycle of seven days, it shall be given to the Saints.

Cassiodorus:

After the psalmist has condemned those who proposed shedding the Lord's blood, he comes to the second section in which he promises the Lord Saviour's resurrection in the prophetic voice of the Father...

St Thomas Aquinas:

In the first decade the Psalmist treats of the beating that he suffered from his son Absalom, by which the persecution which Christ was to suffer from Juda was figured; but, in the second decade, just as is apparent from the title of some of its Psalms, he speaks of the persecution that he suffered from Saul, by which the persecution that Christ was to suffer by the High Priests was figured.

And that decade is divided into two parts. In the first, he asks to be freed from enemies. In the second, now freed, he prays that he be raised up (at Psalm 19: May the Lord hear thee), which fits with the history of David, on the one hand, because upon the death of Saul he was promoted to king, and on the other hand, to the mystery through Christ, whose kingdom was confirmed through his death - Philipians 2: For which cause, namely because he was made obedient to the Father even unto death, God also hath exalted him.

St Alphonsus Liguori:

The confidence that we should have in the mercy of God and the fear that we should always have of his justice form the twofold subject of this psalm.

Fr Pasch:

A Godless generation.  This Psalm is like a mighty cry of the higher man against the consequences of original sin.  In the soul and in the world there is nothing but sin, deceit and self-seeking.  The psalmist looks for refuge in the Word of God, the only truth and purity and nobility that he can ever find. Verses1-2 - Man's ways are corruption; 3-4 - Man's overbearing pride; 5-7 - Divine assistance; 8-9 - Prayer for protection

Other Scriptural and liturgical uses of the psalm

NT references	Rom 16:18 (v2);
RB cursus	Wednesday Prime
Monastic/(Roman) feasts etc	-
Roman pre 1911	Sunday Matins
Maurist	Thurs Compline
Thesauris schemas	A: ; B: ; C: ; D:
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Tues Compline . 1970:
Mass propers (EF)	Lent 2 Friday, CO (8);

Psalm 9 (Pt 1) - Prime, Tuesday, No 3

Ms. Codex 1058 Glossed psalter, folio 5v,
circa 1100, Laon, France
University of Pennsylvania Libraries

Psalm 9 part 1: Confitebor tibi Domine

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem, pro occultis filii. Psalmus David.	Unto the end, for the hidden things of the Son. A psalm for David.
1 Confitébor tibi, Dómine, in toto corde meo: * narrábo ómnia mirabília tua.	I will give praise to thee, O Lord, with my whole heart: I will relate all thy wonders.
2  Lætábor et exsultábo in te: * psallam nómini tuo, Altíssime.	I will be glad, and rejoice in thee: I will sing to thy name, O thou most high.
3  In converténdo inimícum meum retrórsum: * infirmabúntur, et períbunt a fácie tua.	When my enemy shall be turned back: they shall be weakened, and perish before thy face.
4  Quóniam fecísti judícium meum et causam meam: * sedísti super thronum, qui júdicas justítiam.	For thou hast maintained my judgment and my cause: thou hast sat on the throne, who judgest justice.
5  Increpásti Gentes, et périit ímpius: * nomen eórum delésti in ætérnum, et in sæculum sæculi.	Thou hast rebuked the Gentiles, and the wicked one hath perished; thou hast blotted out their name for ever and ever.
6  Inimíci defecérunt frámeæ in finem: * et civitátes eórum destruxísti.	The swords of the enemy have failed unto the end: and their cities thou hast destroyed
7  Périit memória eórum cum sónitu: * et Dóminus in ætérnum pérmanet.	Their memory hath perished with a noise: But the Lord remaineth for ever.
8  Parávit in judício thronum suum: * et ipse judicábit orbem terræ in æquitáte, judicábit pópulos in justítia.	He hath prepared his throne in judgment: And he shall judge the world in equity he shall judge the people in justice.
9  Et factus est Dóminus refúgium páuperi: * adjútor in opportunitátibus, in tribulatióne.	And the Lord is become a refuge for the poor: a helper in due time in tribulation.
10  Et sperent in te qui novérunt nomen tuum: * quóniam non dereliquísti quæréntes te, Dómine.	And let them trust in thee who know thy name: for thou hast not forsaken them that seek thee, O Lord.
11  Psállite Dómino, qui hábitat in Sion: * annuntiáte inter Gentes stúdia ejus:	Sing ye to the Lord, who dwelleth in Sion: declare his ways among the Gentiles:
12  Quóniam requírens sánguinem eórum recordátus est: * non est oblítus clamórem páuperum.	For requiring their blood, he hath remembered them: he hath not forgotten the cry of the poor.
13  Miserére mei, Dómine: * vide humilitátem meam de inimícis meis.	Have mercy on me, O Lord: see my humiliation which I suffer from my enemies.
14  Qui exáltas me de portis mortis, * ut annúntiem omnes laudatiónes tuas in portis fíliæ Sion.	You that lift me up from the gates of death, that I may declare all your praises in the gates of the daughter of Sion.
15  Exsultábo in salutári tuo: * infíxæ sunt Gentes in intéritu, quem fecérunt.	I will rejoice in your salvation: the Gentiles have stuck fast in the destruction which they prepared.
16  In láqueo isto, quem abscondérunt, * comprehénsus est pes eórum.	Their foot has been taken in the very snare which they hid.
17  Cognoscétur Dóminus judícia fáciens: * in opéribus mánuum suárum comprehénsus est peccátor.	The Lord shall be known when he executes judgments: the sinner has been caught in the works of his own hands.
18  Convertántur peccatóres in inférnum, * omnes Gentes quæ obliviscúntur Deum.	The wicked shall be turned into hell, all the nations that forget God.
19  Quóniam non in finem oblívio erit páuperis: * patiéntia páuperum non períbit in finem	For the poor man shall not be forgotten to the end: the patience of the poor shall not perish for ever.

St Augustine:

...This Psalm is then sung for the hidden things of the only-begotten Son of God. For the Lord Himself too, when, without addition, He uses the word Son, would have Himself, the Only-begotten to be understood; as where He says, If the Son shall make you free, then shall you be free indeed...we must first understand that there are some things of the Son manifest, from which those are distinguished which are called hidden. 

Wherefore since we believe two advents of the Lord, one past, which the Jews understood not: the other future, which we both hope for; and since the one which the Jews understood not, profited the Gentiles...The hidden one is passing now, of which the Apostle Peter says, The time has come that judgment should begin from the house of the Lord. The hidden judgment accordingly is the pain, by which now each man is either exercised to purification, or warned to conversion, or if he despise the calling and discipline of God, is blinded unto damnation. But the manifest judgment is that in which the Lord, at His coming, will judge the quick and the dead, all men confessing that it is He by whom both rewards shall be assigned to the good, and punishments to the evil. 

St Thomas Aquinas:

In Psalm 8 the psalmist rendered thanks to God for granting divine blessings to the entire human race. Here in Psalm 9, thanks is especially rendered to God for blessings to the psalmist… 

Mystically the title for Psalm 9 can refer to Christ (Son of God). For, Christ is called a "Son," as of God, the Father...So, hidden things of a son are as mysteries concerning Christ. For such hidden things of Christ are twofold, Christ's first coming on earth is hidden in reference to his divinity and glory,…Christ's second coming upon this earth will be evident… 

Christ's judgment is also twofold. One is hidden within the very condition of this present world. Another judgment is from God, the Father, allowing good persons to suffer from evil persons…So, in Psalm 9 there is exposed a hidden judgment that good persons suffer from evil persons...Thus, the entire Psalm 9 is exposed along the above consideration of thanks, and freedom from enemies…considers actions from divine blessings. 

Divine blessings are threefold: from the mouth, the heart, and the deed. The blessings from the mouth are twofold: from praising and preaching. By praising when it says: "I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart" (Verse 1). And by preaching, from three ideas: faith, sinners, and praise. Regards faith is said: "For man believes with his heart, and is so justified. He professes with his lips and so is saved." …Regards sinners: "Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed". Regards praise: "Then the angel called the two of them private, and said to them: "Praise God and give thanks to him in the presence for what he has done for us". 

St Alphonsus Liguori:

Among the interpreters there are some that see in this psalm, when taken in the literal sense, David thanking God for having given him the victory over his enemy; and when taken in the spiritual sense, Jesus Christ accomplishing the work of the Redemption, and thus subduing the devil, the great enemy of the human race. Others, whose opinion does not lack probability, regard this psalm as the portrait of the unhappy end of the wicked, who have lived in prosperity, and of the glorious end of the just, who have been living in tribulation.

Fr Pasch:

Thanksgiving for victory - Christ is victorious in his Resurrection and in the Church. By his dying, Christ has overcome the devil and given us a pledge of the victory.  He will win in the Church and in our soul.  The enemies spoken of are not the forces of earth, but those of hell.  Nor must we think of an earthly victory.  Rather, our victory as Christians will be like that of Christ, who seemed to be defeated in the eyes of men. 

The opening phrase of today's psalm, Confitebor tibi Domine, recurs in several other places on Tuesdays (indeed it can be found in all of the variable psalms/canticles at Lauds), and can perhaps be applied firstly to Christ during his time on earth, and his preaching of the Gospel to the world in the face of intense opposition.

It seems to refer to the preaching of the kingdom: the references to Sion in this psalm are echoed in numerous other references to heaven (especially the holy mountain and tabernacle of Psalm 42 at Lauds; the dedication of the temple, a microcosm of the heaven at Vespers in Psalm 131; and the several songs of Sion sung at Matins).

This last psalm of Prime is also, of course, a call for us to imitate Christ in his preaching and ascent: it reminds us of the joy of heaven; of the grace God provides to aid us in our struggles; and of the reason we must do it, in the form of Christ's second coming to judge.