I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.
Title. - To the chief Musician upon Muth-labben. The Septuagint and Vulgate read, 'concerning the mysteries of the Son.' The Hebrew may be `al (H5921) `ªlaamowt (H5959), as the Septuagint read, but with a different pointing. 'Upon Alemoth' (as in the title of Psalms 46:1-11), an instrument which young virgins used to play, 'upon a virginal,' or else a melody. 1 Chronicles 15:20 agrees with this - "with psalteries on Alamoth." Then "Labben" is contracted for libneey (H1121) Qorach (H7141)], 'for the sons of Korah' (since the full title appears in the same, Psalms 46:1-11); or else means. 'For Ben,' the musician of the second order, mentioned in the same context (1 Chronicles 15:18); or, best, laben is an anagram (in reverse order) for naabaal (H5036), i:e., a fool: 'Upon the dying of the fool,' then, is the sense of the title: cf. Psalms 9:5-6;12:17; 1 Samuel 25:26; 1 Samuel 25:38; 2 Samuel 3:33. In the Septuagint rendering, the psalm prophetically refers to the Divine Son's death, the earnest of His final triumph over the enemy. So Psalms 14:1.
Vv.1-20.-Thanksgiving for God's vindication of His people's cause (Psalms 9:1-5); the extinction of enemy, the eternity of the Lord (Psalms 9:6-7); being about to judge in righteousness, He will be a refuge to His people (Psalms 9:8-10); David, representing the humble, praises God for what He hath done, and will do, in destroying the wicked, and in fulfilling His poor people's expectation (Psalms 9:11-12); praise gives confidence to the closing prayer (Psalms 9:13-20).
I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart - not as hypocrites, with a divided heart. The "heart" is the true instrument of praise, the mouth is only the organ.
I will show forth thy marvelous works. Full appreciation of God's marvelous working in grace is the secret spring of whole-heartednees in praise.