Psalms 145:19(v4)He will fulfill the desire of those who fear him. He also will hear their cry, and will save them.
Psalms 37:4(v4)Also delight yourself in Yahweh, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Matthew 21:22(v4)All things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
Psalms 21:2(v4)You have given him his heart’s desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips.
Proverbs 18:10(v1)Yahweh’s name is a strong tower: the righteous run to him, and are safe.
Show all 49 cross-references
Psalms 138:7(v1)Though I walk in the middle of trouble, you will revive me. You will stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies. Your right hand…
John 16:23(v4)“In that day you will ask me no questions. Most certainly I tell you, whatever you may ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.
Psalms 91:14-15(v1)“Because he has set his love on me, therefore I will deliver him. I will set him on high, because he has known my name. He will call on me,…
Romans 8:27-28(v4)He who searches the hearts knows what is on the Spirit’s mind, because he makes intercession for the saints according to God. We know that…
Proverbs 11:23(v4)The desire of the righteous is only good. The expectation of the wicked is wrath.
Psalms 46:11(v1)Yahweh of Armies is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge.
1 John 5:14-15(v4)This is the boldness which we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he listens to us. And if we know that he…
Psalms 46:1(v1)God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Isaiah 50:10(v1)Who among you fears Yahweh and obeys the voice of his servant? He who walks in darkness and has no light, let him trust in Yahweh’s name,…
Matthew 26:38-39(v1)Then he said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here, and watch with me.” He went forward a little, fell on…
Hebrews 5:7(v1)He, in the days of his flesh, having offered up prayers and petitions with strong crying and tears to him who was able to save him from…
Psalms 83:18(v1)that they may know that you alone, whose name is Yahweh, are the Most High over all the earth.
John 11:42(v4)I know that you always listen to me, but because of the multitude standing around I said this, that they may believe that you sent me.”
Jeremiah 30:7(v1)Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it. It is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he will be saved out of it.
Psalms 60:11(v1)Give us help against the adversary, for the help of man is vain.
Exodus 34:5-7(v1)Yahweh descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed Yahweh’s name. Yahweh passed by before him, and proclaimed,…
Psalms 9:10(v1)Those who know your name will put their trust in you, for you, Yahweh, have not forsaken those who seek you.
Psalms 46:7(v1)Yahweh of Armies is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge.
Psalms 114:2(v1)Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his dominion.
Exodus 3:13-15(v1)Moses said to God, “Behold, when I come to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they…
Psalms 18:2(v1)Yahweh is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high…
Psalms 50:5(v1)“Gather my saints together to me, those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
Genesis 32:27-29(v1)He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob”. He said, “Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have fought…
1 Kings 8:44-45(v2)“If your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to Yahweh toward the city which…
2 Chronicles 7:1(v3)Now when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and Yahweh’s glory…
Psalms 51:19(v3)Then you will delight in the sacrifices of righteousness, in burnt offerings and in whole burnt offerings. Then they will offer bulls on…
Genesis 48:15-16(v1)He blessed Joseph, and said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day,…
1 Kings 6:16(v2)He built twenty cubits on the back part of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the ceiling. He built them for it within, for…
2 Chronicles 20:8-9(v2)They lived in it, and have built you a sanctuary in it for your name, saying, ‘If evil comes on us—the sword, judgment, pestilence, or…
Psalms 41:1(v1)Blessed is he who considers the poor. Yahweh will deliver him in the day of evil.
Isaiah 12:6(v2)Cry aloud and shout, you inhabitant of Zion; for the Holy One of Israel is great among you!”
Isaiah 14:32(v2)What will they answer the messengers of the nation? That Yahweh has founded Zion, and in her the afflicted of his people will take refuge.
Acts 10:4(v3)He, fastening his eyes on him, and being frightened, said, “What is it, Lord?” He said to him, “Your prayers and your gifts to the needy…
Genesis 4:4(v3)Abel also brought some of the firstborn of his flock and of its fat. Yahweh respected Abel and his offering,
1 Chronicles 21:26(v3)David built an altar to Yahweh there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called on Yahweh; and he answered him from the…
Psalms 3:4(v2)I cry to Yahweh with my voice, and he answers me out of his holy hill.
Ephesians 5:2(v3)Walk in love, even as Christ also loved us and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling fragrance.
Leviticus 9:24(v3)Fire came out from before Yahweh, and consumed the burnt offering and the fat upon the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted, and…
2 Samuel 5:7(v2)Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion. This is David’s city.
2 Samuel 6:17(v2)They brought in Yahweh’s ark, and set it in its place, in the middle of the tent that David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt…
Psalms 73:17(v2)until I entered God’s sanctuary, and considered their latter end.
Isaiah 60:7(v3)All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered together to you. The rams of Nebaioth will serve you. They will be accepted as offerings on my…
1 Peter 2:5(v3)You also, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God…
Isaiah 37:34-35(v2)He will return the way that he came, and he won’t come to this city,’ says Yahweh. ‘For I will defend this city to save it, for my own…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (28 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
John Calvin1540 · Public DomainOn vv1–3The inscription shows that the psalm was composed by…
The inscription shows that the psalm was composed by David; but though he was its author, there is no absurdity in his speaking of himself in the person of others. The office of a prophet having been committed to him, he with great propriety prepared this as a form of prayer for the use of the faithful. In doing this, his object was not so much to commend his own person, by authoritatively issuing a royal ordinance enjoining upon the people the use of this prayer, as to show, in the exercise of his office as a teacher, that it belonged to the whole Church to concern itself, and to use its endeavors that the kingdom which God had erected might continue safe and prosperous. Many interpreters view this prayer as offered up only on one particular occasion; but in this I cannot agree. The occasion of its composition at first may have arisen from some particular battle which was about to be fought, either against the Ammonites, or against some other enemies of Israel. But the design of the Holy Spirit, in my judgment, was to deliver to the Church a common form of prayer, which, as we may gather from the words, was to be used whenever she was threatened with any danger. God commands his people, in general, to pray for kings, but there was a special reason, and one which did not apply to any other kingdom, why prayer was to be made in behalf of this kingdom; for it was only by the hand of David and his seed that God had determined to govern and maintain his people. It is particularly to be noticed, that under the figure of this temporal kingdom, there was described a government far more excellent, on which the whole joy and felicity of the Church depended. The object, therefore, which David had expressly in view was, to exhort all the children of God to cherish such a holy solicitude about the kingdom of Christ, as would stir them up to continual prayer in its behalf.
1. May Jehovah hear thee, etc. The Holy Spirit, by introducing the people as praying that God would answer the prayers of the king, is to be viewed as at the same time admonishing kings that it is their duty to implore the protection of God in all their affairs. When he says, In the day of trouble, he shows that they will not be exempted from troubles, and he does this that they may not become discouraged, if at any time they should happen to be in circumstances of danger. In short, the faithful, that the body may not be separated from the head, further the king’s prayers by their common and united supplications. The name of God is here put for God himself and not without good reason; for the essence of God being incomprehensible to us, it behoves us to trust in him, in so far as his grace and power are made known to us. From his name, therefore, proceeds confidence in calling upon him. The faithful desire that the king may be protected and aided by God, whose name was called upon among the sons of Jacob. I cannot agree with those who think that mention is here made of that patriarch, because God exercised him with various afflictions, not unlike those with which he tried his servant David. I am rather of opinion that, as is usual in Scripture, the chosen people are denoted by the term Jacob. And from this name, the God of Jacob, the faithful encourage themselves to pray for the defense of their king; because it was one of the privileges of their adoption to live under the conduct and protection of a king set over them by God himself. Hence we may conclude, as I have said before, that under the figure of a temporal kingdom there is described to us a government much more excellent. “Et de le il nous convient recueiller, ce que jay dit, que sous a figure d’un regne temporel nous est descrie un gouvernement bien plus excellent.” — Fr.
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As the people of Israel here unite in prayer with and for the monarch of Israel, whom we may picture to our minds as repairing to the tabernacle to offer sacrifices, where this animated ode was sung by the priests and people.
“Si non qu’il marche derant, et nous conduise a Dieu.” — Fr.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv1, 3Hereby kings are also admonished to call to God…
Hereby kings are also admonished to call to God in their affairs.
The virtue, power and grace of God.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv1–4Psa 20:1 « To the chief Musician, A Psalm…
Psa 20:1 « To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. » The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;
A Psalm of David] Or, concerning David; so Kimchi. Or, for and on the behalf of David; so Aben Ezra. David, as a prophet, dictated this form of prayer to be made by the people for himself, their king; when he went forth to fight their battles, probably, against the Ammonites and Syrians; or, when he fled from Absalom, and was to help them from the city by his prayers, 2Sa 18:3, as Aben Ezra thinketh.
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Ver. 1. The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble] Great men, though gracious, as David, have their distresses, and must pray for themselves then; not trusting to the prayers of others for them; as did that profane Earl of Westmoreland, who said he had no need to pray, since he had tenants enough to pray for him (Camden).
The name of the God of Jacob defend thee] Heb. set thee in a high place, such as God’s name is, Pro 18:10, the righteous run thereto and are safe, as in a tower of brass or town of war. By the name of God is meant, Deus nominatissimus, the most renowned God, saith Junius, and worthy to be praised, as Psa 18:3. And he is called the God of Jacob here, saith another; first, because Jacob was once in the like distress, Gen 32:6-7; secondly, because he prayed to the like purpose, Gen 35:3; thirdly, because he prevailed with God as a prince; and there God spake with us, Hos 12:5; fourthly, because God of Jacob is the same with God of Israel; and so the covenant is pleaded.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv1–4In the day of trouble; in this time of…
In the day of trouble; in this time of war and danger.
Name of the God of Jacob, i.e. God himself; for names are oft put for persons, as Num 26:53; Act 1:15; 4:12; and the name of God for God, as Deu 28:58; Neh 9:5; Psa 44:8,20; Pr 18:10, and oft elsewhere. He calls him the
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God of Jacob, or Israel, partly to distinguish him from false gods; and partly as an argument to enforce the prayer, because God had made a league or covenant with Jacob and his posterity, who are called by the name of
Jacob, Psa 147:19,20; Isa 44:2, and whose cause David was now pleading against their enemies.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry1710 · Public DomainOn v1This prayer for David is entitled a psalm of…
This prayer for David is entitled a psalm of David; nor was it any absurdity at all for him who was divinely inspired to draw up a directory, or form of prayer, to be used in the congregation for himself and those in authority under him; nay it is very proper for those who desire the prayers of their friends to tell them particularly what they would have to be asked of God for them. Note, Even great and good men, and those that know ever so well how to pray for themselves, must not despise, but earnestly desire, the prayers of others for them, even those that are their inferiors in all respects. Paul often begged of his friends to pray for him. Magistrates and those in power ought to esteem and encourage praying people, to reckon them their strength (Zac 12:5, Zac 12:10), and to do what they can for them, that they may have an interest in their prayers and may do nothing to forfeit it. Now observe here,
I. What it is that they are taught to ask of God for the king.
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1. That God would answer his prayers: The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble (Psa 20:1), and the Lord fulfil all thy petitions, Psa 20:5. Note, (1.) Even the greatest of men may be much in trouble. It was often a day of trouble with David himself, of disappointment and distress, of treading down and of perplexity. Neither the crown on his head nor the grace in his heart would exempt him from the trouble. (2.) Even the greatest of men must be much in prayer. David, though a man of business, a man of war, was constant to his devotions; though he had prophets, and priests, and many good people among his subjects, to pray for him, he did not think that excused him from praying for himself. Let none expect benefit by the prayers of the church, or of their ministers or friends for them, who are capable of praying for themselves, and yet neglect it. The prayers of others for us must be desired, not to supersede, but to second, our own for ourselves. Happy the people that have praying princes, to whose prayers they may thus say, Amen.
2. That God would protect his person, and preserve his life, in the perils of war: "The name of the God of Jacob defend thee, and set thee out of the reach of thy enemies." (1.) "Let God by his providence keep thee safe, even the God who preserved Jacob in the days of his trouble." David had mighty men for his guards, but he commits himself, and his people commit him, to the care of the almighty God. (2.) "Let God by his grace keep thee easy from the fear of evil. - Pro 18:10, The name of the Lord is a strong tower, into which the righteous run by faith, and are safe; let David be enabled to shelter himself in that strong tower, as he has done many a time."
3. That God would enable him to go on in his undertakings for the public good - that, in the day of battle, he would send him help out of the sanctuary, and strength out of Zion, not from common providence, but from the ark of the covenant and the peculiar favour God bears to his chosen people Israel. That he would help him, in performance of the promises and in answer to the prayers made in the sanctuary. Mercies out of the sanctuary are the sweetest mercies, such as are the tokens of God's peculiar love, the blessing of God, even our own God. Strength out of Zion is spiritual strength, strength in the soul, in the inward man, and that is what we should most desire both for ourselves and others in services and sufferings.
4. That God would testify his gracious acceptance of the sacrifices he offered with his prayers, according to the law of that time, before he went out on a dangerous expedition: The Lord remember all thy offerings and accept thy burnt-sacrifices (Psa 20:3), or turn them to ashes; that is, "The Lord give thee the victory and success which thou didst by prayer with sacrifices ask of him, and thereby give as full proof of his acceptance of the sacrifice as ever he did by kindling it with fire from heaven." By this we may now know that God accepts our spiritual sacrifices, if by his Spirit he kindles in our souls a holy fire of pious and divine affection and with that makes our hearts burn within us.
5. That God would crown all his enterprises and noble designs for the public welfare with the desired success (Psa 20:4): The Lord grant thee according to thy own heart. This they might in faith pray for, because they knew David was a man after God's own heart, and would design nothing but what was pleasing to him. Those who make it their business to glorify God may expect that God will, in one way or other, gratify them: and those who walk in his counsel may promise themselves that he will fulfil theirs. Thou shalt devise a thing and it shall be established unto thee.
II. What confidence they had of an answer of peace to these petitions for themselves and their good king (Psa 20:5): "We will rejoice in thy salvation. We that are subjects will rejoice in the preservation and prosperity of our prince;" or, rather, "In thy salvation, O God! in thy power and promise to save, will we rejoice; that is it which we depend upon now, and which, in the issue, we shall have occasion greatly to rejoice in." Those that have their eye still upon the salvation of the Lord shall have their hearts filled with the joy of that salvation: In the name of our God will we set up our banners. 1. "We will wage war in his name; we will see that our cause be good and make his glory our end in every expedition; we will ask counsel at his mouth, and take him along with us; we will follow his direction, implore his aid and depend upon it, and refer the issue to him." David went against Goliath in the name of the Lord of hosts, Sa1 17:45. (2.) "We will celebrate our victories in his name. When we lift up our banners in triumph, and set up our trophies, it shall be in the name of our God; he shall have all the glory of our success, and no instrument shall have any part of the honour that is due to him."
In singing this we ought to offer up to God our hearty good wishes to the good government we are under and to the prosperity of it. But we may look further; these prayers for David are prophecies concerning Christ the Son of David, and in him they were abundantly answered; he undertook the work of our redemption, and made war upon the powers of darkness. In the day of trouble, when his soul was exceedingly sorrowful, the Lord heard him, heard him in that he feared (Heb 5:7), sent him help out of the sanctuary, sent an angel from heaven to strengthen him, took cognizance of his offering when he made his soul an offering for sin, and accepted his burnt-sacrifice, turned it to ashes, the fire that should have fastened upon the sinner fastening upon the sacrifice, with which God was well pleased. And he granted him according to his own heart, made him to see of the travail of his soul, to his satisfaction, prospered his good pleasure in his hand, fulfilled all his petitions for himself and us; for him the Father heareth always and his intercession is ever prevailing.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv1–4The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble,....…
The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble,.... All the days of Christ were days of trouble; he was a brother born for adversity; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with griefs; he had his own sorrows, and he bore the griefs of others; he was persecuted by Herod in his infancy; he was tempted by Satan in the wilderness; he was harassed by the Scribes and Pharisees continually; he was grieved at the hardness, impenitence, and unbelief, of that perverse and faithless generation of men, and was sometimes made uneasy by his own disciples: at some particular seasons his soul or spirit is said to be troubled, as at the grave of Lazarus, and when in a view of his own death, and when he was about to acquaint his disciples that one of them should betray him, Joh 11:33; but more particularly it was a day of trouble with him, when he was in the garden, heavy, and sore amazed, and his sweat was, as it were, drops of blood falling on the ground, and his soul was exceeding sorrowful, even unto death; but more especially this was his case when he hung upon the cross, and is what seems to be principally respected here; when he was in great torture of body through the rack of the cross; when he endured the cruel mockings of men, of the common people, of the chief priests, and even of the thieves that suffered with him; when he had Satan, and all his principalities and powers, let loose upon him, and he was grappling with them; when he bore all the sins of his people, endured the wrath of his Father, and was forsaken by him: now in this day of trouble, both when in the garden and on the cross, he prayed unto his Father, as he had been used to do in other cases, and at other times; and the church here prays, that God would hear and answer him, as he did: he always heard him; he heard him at the grave of Lazarus; he heard him in the garden, and filled his human soul with courage and intrepidity, of which there were immediate instances; he heard him on the cross, and helped him as man and Mediator, Isa 49:8;
the name of the God of Jacob defend thee; that is, God himself, who is named the God of Jacob, whom Jacob called upon, and trusted in as his God, and who answered him in the day of his distress: Jacob was exercised with many troubles, but the Lord delivered him out of them all; and which may be the reason why the Lord is addressed under this character here; besides, Israel is one of the names of the Messiah, Isa 49:3; on whose account the petition is put to which may be added, that Jacob may design people of God, the spiritual sons of Jacob, the church of the living God, whose God the Lord is; and the phrase may be here used by the church, to encourage her faith in prayer: the petition, on account of the Messiah, is, that God would "defend" him, or "set" him on "an high place" (n); or "exalt" him: he was brought very low in his state of humiliation; he was in the form of a servant; he was in a very low and mean condition throughout the whole of his life; through the suffering of death he was made lower than the angels, and he was laid in the lower parts of the earth: the church, in this petition, prays for his resurrection from the dead; for his ascension into the highest heavens; for his exaltation at the right hand of God; for the more visible setting him on his throne in his kingdom; in all which she has been answered.
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(n) "elevet te", Pagninus, Montanus; "exaltet te", Vatablus, Museulus, Michaelis; "in edito collocet te", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; so Ainsworth.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv1–2A prayer for the king, ver. 1-4. The king…
A prayer for the king, ver. 1-4. The king and the people rejoice in God, and pray for his help, ver. 5-9. To the chief musician, A psalm of David.
God of Jacob - God had made a covenant with Jacob and his posterity.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv1–4A prayer for the king in his enterprises, that…
PSALM XX
A prayer for the king in his enterprises, that his prayers may
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be heard, his offerings accepted, and his wishes fulfilled,
1-4.
Confidence of victory expressed, 5, 6.
Vain hopes exposed; and supplication made for the king. 7-9.
NOTES ON PSALM XX
It is most likely that this Psalm was penned on the occasion of David's going to war, and most probably with the Ammonites and Syrians, who came with great numbers of horses and chariots to fight with him. See 2Sa 10:6-8; 1Ch 19:7. It is one of the Dialogue Psalms, and appears to be thus divided: Previously to his undertaking the war, David comes to the tabernacle to offer sacrifice. This being done, the people, in the king's behalf, offer up their prayers; these are included in the three first verses: the fourth was probably spoken by the high priest; the fifth, by David and his attendants; the last clause, by the high priest; the sixth, by the high priest, after the victim was consumed; the seventh and eighth, by David and his men; and the ninth, as a chorus by all the congregation.
Verse 1. The Lord hear thee] David had already offered the sacrifice and prayed. The people implore God to succour him in the day of trouble; of both personal and national danger.
The name of the God of Jacob] This refers to Jacob's wrestling with the Angel; Ge 32:24, &c. And who was this Angel? Evidently none other than the Angel of the Covenant, the Lord Jesus, in whom was the name of God, the fulness of the Godhead bodily. He was the God of Jacob, who blessed Jacob, and gave him a new name and a new nature. See the notes on the above place in Genesis.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv1–2Psa 20:1. The Lord hear thee in the day…
Psa 20:1. The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble — It was often a day of trouble with David. “Neither the crown on his head,” says Henry, “nor the grace in his heart, would exempt him from trouble.” But in his trouble he had recourse to God; and in this all, even the greatest of men, ought to imitate him. “Though he was a man of business, and a man of war, yet he was constant to his devotions. Though he had prophets, and priests, and many good people among his subjects to pray for him, yet he did not think that excused him from praying for himself. None must expect benefit by the prayers of the church, or of their ministers or friends for them, who are capable of praying for themselves, and yet neglect it. The prayers of others for us must be desired, not to supersede, but to second our own for ourselves.” The name of the God of Jacob — That is, God himself, for names are often put for persons. He calls him the God of Jacob, or Israel, not only to distinguish him from false gods, but as an argument to enforce the prayer, because God had made a covenant with Jacob and his posterity. Let God by his providence keep thee safe, and secure from the reach of evil, even the God who preserved Jacob in the days of his trouble; and let God by his grace keep thee easy and happy from the fear of evil.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv1–4The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble…
The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble - According to the view expressed in the introduction to the psalm, this is the language of the people praying for their king, or expressing the hope that he would be delivered from trouble, and would be successful in what he had undertaken, in the prosecution of a war apparently of defense. The word” trouble” here used would seem to imply that he was beset with difficulties and dangers; perhaps, that he was surrounded by foes. It seems that he was going forth to war to deliver his country from trouble, having offered sacrifices and prayers Psa 20:3 for the purpose of securing the divine favor on the expedition. The point or the moment of the psalm is when those sacrifices had been offered, and when he was about to embark on his enterprise. At that moment the people lift up the voice of sympathy and of encouragement, and pray that those sacrifices might be accepted, and that he might find the deliverance which he had desired.
The name of the God of Jacob - The word name is often put in the Scriptures for the person himself; and hence, this is equivalent to saying, “May the God of Jacob defend thee.” See Psa 5:11; Psa 9:10; Psa 44:5; Psa 54:1; Exo 23:21. Jacob was the one of the patriarchs from whom, after his other name, the Hebrew people derived their name Israel, and the word seems here to be used with reference to the people rather than to the ancestor. Compare Isa 44:2. The God of Jacob, or the God of Israel, would be synonymous terms, and either would denote that he was the Protector of the nation. As such he is invoked here; and the prayer is, that the Great Protector of the Hebrew people would now defend the king in the dangers which beset him, and in the enterprise which he had undertaken.
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Defend thee - Margin, as in Hebrew, set thee on a high place. The word means the same as defend him, for the idea is that of being set on a high place, a tower, a mountain, a lofty rock, where his enemies could not reach or assail him.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures1864 · Public DomainOn v1Psalms 20
Psalms 20
To the chief musician, a Psalm of David
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1 The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble;
The name of the God of Jacob defend thee;
2 Send thee help from the sanctuary,
And strengthen thee out of Zion;
3 Remember all thy offerings,
And accept thy burnt sacrifice; Selah.
4 Grant thee according to thine own heart,
And fulfil all thy counsel.
5 We will rejoice in thy salvation,
And in the name of our God we will set up our banners:
The Lord fulfil all thy petitions.
6 Now know I that the Lord saveth his anointed;
He will hear him from his holy heaven
With the saving strength of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses:
But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
8 They are brought down and fallen:
But we are risen, and stand upright.
9 Save, Lord:
Let the king hear us when we call.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Its Contents and Composition. The assistance of God is implored for a king, with reference to a war with foreign enemies, and indeed, as it seems, not in general at his entering upon his government (Hupf.); or without any reference to a special case as a formula of a prayer for authorities in general (Calv., Luth., Geier); or in a direct Messianic sense pointing to Christ and the Church militant (J. H. Mich., et al.); or embracing the two last references (Hengst.); but on his going forth to war, and with the sacrifices usual upon such occasions (1Sa_13:9-12, most interpreters). On account of the mention of Zion in connection with the sanctuary (Psa_20:2), this king cannot be Saul, to whom and of whom David might speak, but rather David himself, who in the second expedition against the Syrians marched forth himself personally (2Sa_10:17), and knew how to vanquish his enemies who were provided with chariots (2Sa_8:4). The speaker is then, naturally, not David, but either the congregation assembled at the sacrifice (most interpreters), or some one speaking in their name. The supposition of a responsive song between the choir and a single voice (Psa_20:6), either a Levite (Ewald, Delitzsch), or the king (Knapp et al.), makes the Psalm more vivid, but is not plainly given by the text.
The transparent language and the simple arrangement, the smooth symmetry and the quiet advance in thought, are not in favor of a poetical effusion of the feelings of the moment, but of its being a hymn previously composed for Divine service on a special occasion. It is more natural to suppose that the author was David, than an unknown poet, as there are some things that remind us of his style. Hitzig, with reference to the next psalm as one closely connected with the present, considers the king here addressed as Uzziah who at the beginning of his government had to contend with the Philistines (2Ch_26:6), and the prophet Zechariah (who exerted some influence upon Uzziah, who was then sixteen years old, 2Ch_26:5), as the speaker. But the threads of this hypothesis are finer than a spider’s web (comp. Psalms 21).
The first half of the psalm expresses the desire for the success of the king through the assistance of Jehovah, in such a way that its fulfilment is not only formally presupposed, but forms the real foundation for the victorious shouts of the congregation (Psa_20:5). The imperfects have from the earliest times been constantly regarded as optatives, only by Hitzig and Sachs as futures in the sense of comforting and encouraging exhortation, as an expression of a hope, which is said to form the prelude to the conviction expressed in Psa_20:6. But the certainty of Divine help which appears in Psa_20:6, with “now,” which does not at all lead to a later composition of this section (Maurer), but to a confirmation of the faith in Divine help, as it has been declared in sacrifices and prayers, agrees better with the supposition that the preceding verbs are optatives. Only from this foundation of certainty does the language rise (Psa_20:6 b) to the expression of the hope of the victory (which is described in Psa_20:7-8, in dramatic antithesis) and close with prayer corresponding with this course of thought (Psa_20:9). The perfects in Psa_20:6; Psa_20:8, express the sure future.
Str. I. [Psa_20:1. The name of the God of Jacob.—Barnes: “The word name is often put in the Scriptures for the person himself; and hence this is equivalent to saying ‘may the God of Jacob defend thee.’ See Psa_5:11; Psa_9:10; Psa_44:5; Psa_54:1; Exo_23:21. Jacob was one of the patriarchs from whom, after his other name, the Hebrew people derived their name Israel, and the word seems here to be used with reference to the people rather than to the ancestor. Comp. Isa_44:2. The God of Jacob, or the God of Israel, would be synonymous terms, and either would denote that he was the Protector of the nation. As such He is invoked here; and the prayer is, that the Great Protector of the Hebrew people would now defend the king in the dangers which beset him, and in the enterprise which he had undertaken.”—Defend thee, literally as the margin of A. V. “set thee on a high place.” Perowne: “ ‘set thee upon high’ that is, as in a fortress where no enemy can do thee harm, or on a rock at the foot of which the waves fret and dash themselves in impotent fury.”
Psa_20:2. From the sanctuary, parallel with out of Zion, as the earthly abode of God among His people whither they are to go up as to His palace, and from whence as from His throne they are to receive help and strength, vid. Psa_14:7; Psa_3:5.—C. A. B.]
Psa_20:3. Remember all thy meat-offerings. [A. V. offerings].—This expression naturally refers to the evidence of his piety previously given by the king, but it is not opposed (Hupf.) to the reference to an offering now being made, but rather leads to this, as it is thus even now presented in the burnt offerings of the king. The bloodless meat offerings of meal with oil and incense (Leviticus 2), with few exceptions, accompanied the burnt offerings which were entirely consumed on the altar, or whole burnt offerings (Leviticus 1); hence both expressions properly complement one another, and their separate mention has only a rhetorical significance. May God remember the previous offerings of the king, let Him be pleased with the present offerings. The latter sense is contained in the expression: may He find fat, [A. V. accept] literally; may He make fat (Psa_23:5); but the piel includes likewise the meaning of declare. It was not commanded that the animals offered should be fat (Lev_22:18 sq.), it was so much the more an evidence of the willingness and gladness of the offerer. The translation of some of the more ancient interpreters after Aben Ezra: turn to ashes [A. V. margin] regards the words as a denominative of דֶּשֶן, but leads to the expectation of its being kindled by heavenly fire as a sign of its gracious acceptance, as Lev_9:24; 1Ki_18:37; 1Ch_21:26, which is not at all justified by the text. With this derivation, moreover, the sense would properly be “may He cleanse from ashes.”
[Psa_20:4. Counsel.—Perowne: “All thy plans and measures in the war”—C. A. B.]
Str. II. Psa_20:5. [Thy salvation.—Hupfeld. “Help, or appointed victory (Psa_33:17), corresponds with the contents of Psa_20:1-2.”—C. A. B.]29Wave banners, that is, as an expression of joy on account of victory. The translation of more ancient interpreters: set up banners as a memorial of victory [A. V.] does not correspond with the form of the Hebrew word. It is questionable, likewise, whether the translation of the Sept. Vulg. as well as the Pesch. μεγαλυνθησόμεθα, magnificabimus, exultabimus, can be derived from the same word, as after the Arabic, or whether we are to accept another reading נְגַרֵּל instead נִדְגֹל—[Fulfil all thy petitions, repeats the contents of Psa_20:4.—C. A. B.]
[Str. III. Psa_20:6. Perowne: “The hope suddenly changes into certainty. Now know I that Jehovah hath saved, hath given victory. The singer speaks in the full assurance of faith, that the prayer is heard, and as if he already saw the victory gained. The prayer had been (Psa_20:1-2) that God would hear and send help from the earthly sanctuary or Zion. Now the answer is said to come from His holy heaven. For if God then condescended to dwell in visible glory among men, yet He would teach His people that He is not limited by the bounds of time and space. He is not like the gods of the heathen, the god of one city or country. He sends help out of Zion, but the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him (see the recognition of this truth in Solomon’s prayer, 1Ki_8:27, etc.). Calvin sees expressed in the earthly sanctuary made by hands the grace and condescension of God to His people; in the heavenly, His infinite power, greatness, and majesty.”—Mighty deeds [A. V. strength].—Delitzsch “גְּבוּרוֹת means here not the fullness of strength (comp. Psalms 90), but the exhibition of strength (Psa_106:2; Psa_145:4; Psa_150:2; Isa_63:15), by which His right hand works salvation, that is, victory, for them who are battling.”
Psa_20:7. Some of chariots and some of horses, but we make mention of the name of Jehovah our God.—Delitzsch: “According to the law Israel should have no standing army; the law for the king, Deu_17:16, denounces the keeping of many horses. So was it likewise under the judges and still under David; under Solomon already it changed, he procured for himself a great number of horses and chariots. 1Ki_10:26-29. Psa_20:7 gives a very decisive confession of the time of David, that Israel’s boast against his enemies, especially the Syrians, is the firm defence and arms of the name of his God. David speaks similarly to Goliath, 1Sa_17:45.”—The A. V. does not give the force and beauty of the original. Trust should not be inserted in the first clause, and remember does not give the idea of the second clause.
Psa_20:8. Hupfeld: “The contrast of the previous verse is continued with reference to the consequences which both have derived from their confidences.” Delitzsch: “The præterites are præt. confidentiæ—‘a triumphal ode before the victory’ as Luther remarks,—‘a cry of joy before the help.’ ”—They have bowed down and fallen (not as A. V.: They are brought down).—The idea is that they first sink down upon their knees and then fall to the ground.—But we have risen and stood firm (A. V. stood upright).—Delitzsch: “Since קוּם does not mean stand, but stand up, קַמְנוּ presupposes that the enemies then had the upper hand. But the condition of affairs changes. Those who are standing fall, those who are lying rise up; the former remain lying, the latter keep the field.”—C. A. B.]
Str. IV. Psa_20:9. Help the king.—This is the basis of the hymn: domine salvum fac regem, and the national hymns which have been derived from it in accordance with the Sept., Vulg. According to the Masoretic accentuation, which is advocated by Hengst. and Delitzsch,30 it would be translated, Jehovah help: May the king hear us. Thus the Pesch. [and A. V.]. The king would then be Jehovah, since the hearing of prayer is a predicate of Jehovah; according to ancient interpreters, Christ. Since, however, the psalm has already spoken of another king, the supposition of such a transition to Jehovah is the more objectionable, since it is true He is called a great king (Psa_48:2) yet never merely, the king. This objection would be partly set aside, if with the Chald. we might translate, O king! especially as the call of prayer, help is used Psa_12:1; Psa_118:25, without an accusative. But the third person of the verb does not suit the vocative, which the Vulg. arbitrarily changes into the second person. The whole manifestly stands in manifest relation to Psa_20:6, so that Psa_20:9 is distinguished from Psa_20:1, by the fact that the closing petition is based upon the intervening promise, Since the words in Psa_20:9; Psa_20:6 correspond in other respects entirely with one another, it is certain that the anointed has the same meaning as king. [Delitzsch: The New Testament cry of Hosanna is a particularizing of this Davidic, ‘God save the king mediated by Psa_118:25. The closing line is a developed Amen.”—C. A. B.]
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. It is an evidence of great grace and a source of rich blessing in a land, if prince and people meet in the presence of God, with common desires and bring the same cares in united prayer before the throne of the Eternal. For prince and people belong so closely together, that the need of the one is likewise the calamity of the other, but the common good is essentially advanced by concord, and concord is best confirmed and advanced by union in common devotion to God.
2. A king shows that he is an anointed of the Lord, and a king by God’s grace, especially by not only surrounding the actions of his government with prayer and Divine service, but by personally participating therein as a shining example for the whole congregation. A people proves itself to be a people of the Lord and a congregation of God by not only huzzahing such a ruler and wishing him success and victory, salvation and blessings, but likewise by praying with him and for him. Thus this psalm may “serve as a devout and holy watchword.” (Luther.)
3. Joyfulness in prayer and confidence of being heard are nourished and strengthened by the remembrance of the exhibitions of help, with which God has already previously declared and magnified His name, and particularly by those with which He has glorified it in our predecessors and ancestors who are the models of our faith. It arises moreover from the assurance that we are in the same covenant of grace with our fathers and that we prove ourselves to be members of it. It is true, we call upon God with a deeper, richer and mightier name than the Israelites could, but the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is the same God as the God of Jacob, whose name the Israelites brought to remembrance (Gen_35:3) when they prayed to Jehovah on Zion. The difference is merely in the stages of His revelation, and accordingly in the depth and fulness of the knowledge of Him. The places, forms and methods of Divine service have been altered in a corresponding way. But the change in them has taken place through the spirit of the new Covenant in order to fulfil the old; the God who is enthroned in the sanctuary of heaven, still ever meets with His people in sanctuaries on earth, and lets His gracious help flow forth from thence upon His congregation, whilst He comes to help them from heaven with the mighty deeds of salvation.
4. The congregation of God is distinguished from the world by the fact that in the day of trouble it does not rely upon earthly means of help, even when it makes use of them in a proper manner and according to the commandment of God. But it puts its confidence in the assistance of God, and for this reason before and afterwards gives His name the glory (comp. 1Sa_17:45; Isa_31:3; Psa_33:17). For this, however, a strong and living faith is necessary. “But the faith which relies upon God, can sing the triumphant ode before the victory, and make a cry of joy before the help ensues; whereas everything is allowed to faith. For he believes in God and thus truly has, what he believes, because faith does not deceive; as he has faith, so will it happen unto him.” (Luther).
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
A king does well if, before he leads his people to battle against the enemy, he leads them into the house of God to prayer.—It is well for a land whose king is the model of piety, whose people have this motto: Jehovah help the king!—He chooses the best portion in war who does not rely upon earthly means of power, but puts his confidence in the assistance of God.—Natural courage is not to be despised; but the confidence of trust in God surpasses it, in worth, duration and strength.—The communion of faith unites stronger than the same danger and need, more intimately than the same hope and joy.—Happy the land whose king cares for the good of the people and whose people rejoice in the salvation of the king.—Divine service has the precedence of the service of kings.—The confidence of trust in God and the assurance of the hearing of prayer do not constitute the beginning of communion with God, but are a consequence and fruit of it.—We should not only pray with one another, but likewise for one another.—God has His dwelling-place not only in heaven, but likewise on the earth, and from both places He sends forth blessing, consolation and help to His people.—Man’s drawing near to God has for its reason as well as its consequence God’s drawing near to man.
Starke: Although the Christian Church is weak and weaponless, it has a strong tower in the name of God.—The sacrifices of the Christian are a broken and a contrite heart, a holy life and an earnest praise of God.—The Lord does what those who fear God desire; but they desire nothing that is opposed to God.—If the world reckons to its honor what it has accomplished alone with its own power, on the other hand it is a strange thing of which believers boast, of the help which has come from God.—Just as Israel could lift up its banner with joy in the name of God, so every believing Christian can now likewise in his office, station and calling venture upon it. confident in God, and can assure himself of His gracious assistance.—What is heard in heaven must be powerfully executed on earth.—Carnal plans are generally of poor success and turn out badly; on the other hand what is begun with God, lasts.—Our best arsenal is in heaven and in the right hand of God.—The ungodly have never yet been able to sing a true triumphant ode over the downfall of the pious, their boasting is false; but believers can here and in heaven forever sing the glorious victory of the Lord (1Co_15:57; Rev_12:10).
Luther: God must help and advise; our plans and actions are otherwise of no value.—Osiander: Great, exalted titles do not make a king invincible, but God’s help, which is gained by the prayer of faith. The victory is a gift of God, and is not accomplished by great preparation or a great host.—Selnekker: What is begun with God issues favorably; but the greater part of the world transact all things without God’s advice, without fearing Him and calling upon Him.—Taube: Faith and prayer always join hands in the Christian heart and cannot live apart. Prayer supports faith and faith strengthens prayer.—Diedrich: The God of Israel, who is in our midst and in us, is He who is enthroned above all heavens and rules all things from thence.—All depends upon our belonging to God’s followers and our daily stationing ourselves by His banner, that is, His word, and from it deriving chastisement and consolation, warning and confidence.
[Matth. Henry: The prayer of others for us must be desired, not to supersede, but to second our own for ourselves.—Those who make it their business to glorify God may expect that God will, one way or other, gratify them; they who walk in His counsel may promise themselves that He will fulfil theirs.—In singing these verses, we should encourage ourselves to trust in God, and stir up ourselves to pray earnestly, as we are in duty bound, for those who are in authority over us, that under them we may lead quiet and peaceable lives, in all godliness and honesty.—Barnes: Never should we look for success unless our undertaking has been preceded by prayer; and when our best preparations have been made, our hope of success is not primarily and mainly in them, but only in God.—Spurgeon: Chariots and horses make an imposing show, and with their rattling, and dust, and fine caparisons, make so great a figure that vain man is much taken with them; yet the discerning eye of faith sees more in an invisible God than in all these. The most dreaded war-engine of David’s day was the war-chariot, armed with scythes, which mowed down men like grass: this was the boast and glory of the neighboring nations; but the saints considered the name of Jehovah to be a far better defence.—C. A. B.]
Footnotes:
[29][Perowne: “This may mean ‘the help and victory vouchsafed by God to the king;’ but Thrupp observes: ‘The almost instinctive dependence of the Israelites upon their king, as the man who should save them (comp. 1Sa_10:27), fully justifies us in interpreting the expression, thy salvation Psa_20:5, in its most natural sense, not as the salvation bestowed by God upon the king, but as that wrought by the king for his people.’ ” Alexander thinks that “both ideas are included.” The explanation of Hupfeld is the most proper.—C. A. B.]
[30][Delitzsch, however, agrees with the author in the translation “save the king.” Vid. closing remarks.—C. A. B.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv2–4strengthen thee--sustain in conflict; even physical benefits may be…
strengthen thee--sustain in conflict; even physical benefits may be included, as courage for war, &c., as such may proceed from a sense of divine favor, secured in the use of spiritual privileges.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv1–41. The Lord hear thee, etc.—Literally, Jehovah shall answer…
1. The Lord hear thee, etc.—Literally, Jehovah shall answer thee in the day of distress. A prayer for the king as he enters the battle. See introduction.
The name of the God— “Name,” here, may be considered as having the force of a reciprocal pronoun, equal to God himself. The name of Jehovah was a terror to the heathen nations and a shield of protection to Israel. Exo_15:14; Deu_2:25; Jos_2:9-10
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv1–41. hear thee] R.V., answer thee, and so in…
1. hear thee] R.V., answer thee, and so in Psa_20:6; Psa_20:9.
the day of trouble] Or distress, when adversaries (a cognate word) press him hard. The impending campaign is specially, though not exclusively, meant. Cp. Psa_46:1; Num_10:9.
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The name &c.] May the God of Jacob prove Himself to be all that His Name implies (see on Psa_5:11): may He Who is a tower of refuge (Psa_9:9, Psa_18:2) set thee up on high in safety from thy enemies. Cp. Pro_18:10. God of Jacob is often synonymous with God of Israel (Psa_46:7; Psa_46:11); yet the choice of this name cannot but suggest the thought of Jehovah’s providential care for the great ancestor of the nation. Cp. the exactly similar language of Gen_35:3 : “God, who answered me in the day of my distress;” and the references to Jacob’s history in Hos_12:4-5.
1–5. The people’s prayer for their king’s success.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv1, 3(1) Day of trouble . . . God of…
(1) Day of trouble . . . God of Jacob.—This certainly recalls the patriarch’s words (Gen_35:3), “I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress.” The “name” alone of the God of Jacob was a safeguard to the people, called after their great forefather “Israel. So even under the shadow of the greatness of human monarchs and heroes whole peoples have often felt secure and strong, using no other weapon but his name.
Defend thee.—Better, set thee up on high (comp. Psa_69:29; Psa_91:14) as in a fortress, out of the reach of foes.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv1–4THIS psalm seems to have been composed for a…
THIS psalm seems to have been composed for a special occasion, when David was about to proceed on an expedition against a foreign enemy. It is liturgical, and written to be recited in the court of the tabernacle by the high priest and people. The date of its composition is after the transfer of the ark from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David, (2Sa_6:12-19) as appears from ver. 2. The conjecture which attaches it to the Syrian War described in 2Sa_10:17-19, is probable. There is no reason to doubt the authorship of David, asserted in the title, and admitted by most critics.
The psalm divides into two portions the first of five, and the second of four verses. In the first part, the people chant the whole. In the second, the high priest takes the word, and initiates the strain (ver. 6), while the people join in afterwards (vers. 7-9).
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The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble. The people intercede for their king in a "clay of trouble" or "distress," when danger impends, and he is about to affront it. They are made to ask, first of all, that God will hear the king"s prayers, which are no doubt being silently offered while they pray aloud. The Name of the God of Jacob defend thee. (On the force of the expression, "the Name of God," see the comment upon Psa_7:17) "Jacob"s God a favourite expression with David is the God who made him the promise, "I will be with thee, and I will keep thee in all places whither thou goest". (Gen_28:15) "Defend thee" is scarcely a correct rendering. Translate, exalt thee.
HOMILIES BY C. CLEMANCE Vers. 1-9. Prayer for Israel"s king when going forth to battle: a national sermon.
In this psalm, as indeed in the rest, there are most suggestive verses, which might be elaborated into useful discourses. But in this division of the Commentary we refrain from dealing with isolated texts. We desire rather to show how the whole psalm may be used by the expositor of Scripture as the basis of a national sermon in a time of impending war. No doubt, as Mr. Spurgeon remarks, it has been used by court preachers and pressed into the service of unctuous and fulsome flattery. There is, however, another kind of abuse to which it has been subjected, even that of an extreme spiritualizing, in which the words are made to convey a meaning which there is no indication that they were ever intended to bear. No commentator seems to have set forth the bearing of the psalm more clearly and accurately than that prince of expositors, John Calvin. We have no clue, indeed, to the precise occasion on which the psalm was written; but we can scarcely be wrong in regarding it as a prayer to be said or sung in the sanctuary on behalf of the king when he was called forth to defend himself in battle against his enemies. And inasmuch as the kingship of David was a type of that of the Lord Jesus Christ, the psalm may doubtless be regarded as the prayer of the Church of God for the triumph of the Saviour over all his foes. It is said, "Prayer also shall be made for him continually," and those words are being fulfilled in the ceaseless offering of the petition, "Thy kingdom come." At the same time, there is such deep and rich significance in the psalm when set on the strictly historical basis, that to develop it from that point of view will occupy all the space at our command. The scenes here brought before us are these: Israel"s king is summoned to go forth to war; sanctuary service is being held on his behalf; a prayer is composed, is set to music, and delivered to the precentor, to be said or sung on the occasion; after sacrifices have been offered, and the signs of Divine acceptance have been vouchsafed, the Levites, the singers, and the congregation join in these words of supplication. Obviously, there is here assumed a Divine revelations; the aid of Jehovah, the covenant God of Israel, is invoked; he is called, "Jehovah our God." The disclosures of God"s grace in the wondrous history of their father Jacob are brought to mind. They, as a people, have been raised above reliance on chariots and horses alone. The Name of their God has lifted them up on high, "as in a fortress where no enemy can do harm, or on a rock at the foot of which the waves fret and dash themselves in impotent fury." They know of two sanctuaries one in Zion (ver. 2), the other "the heaven of God"s holiness" (ver. 6); they know that God hears from the latter, when his people gather in the former. Hence the prayer is sent up from the sanctuary below to that above. We, as Christians, have all Israel"s knowledge, and more. The revelation the Hebrews had through Moses is surpassed by that in Christ. And although, as a "geographical expression," no nation now has the pre-eminence over any other as before God, yet any praying people can get as near to God now as ever Israel did. All devout souls have boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. Hence, when any trouble-especially that of war befalls them, they may betake themselves to their God, and plead with him on behalf of their emperor, their king, their president, their state. And the psalm before us is truly a grand one for preachers to use at such emergencies, that they may cheer a people"s heart, quicken the people"s prayers. The abuse of the psalm by some courtiers, who feared man rather than God, is no reason why the preachers of any day should leave such a psalm unused, still less is it a reason why they should refuse to preach national sermons at all. For a long time, Nonconformists were so treated, that some of their preachers almost lost the national esprit de corps. But it is to be hoped that that is passing away; for on the basis of a psalm like this, some lines of thought may be so expounded and applied from the pulpit as to cause times of national peril and anxiety to be most fruitful in spiritual elevation and power.
I IT IS AN ANXIOUS TIME FOR ANY PEOPLE WHEN THE HEAD OF THEIR STATE IS CALLED FORTH TO BATTLE. (See 2Ch_20:1-3) The interests at stake in the conflict itself, and for the promotion of which it is entered upon, must press heavily on the nation"s heart. The fearful bloodshed and unspeakable suffering and distress in private life, which any battle involves, must bring anguish to many mothers, wives, and children; many a home will be darkened, and many a heart crushed, through the war, however large the success in which it may ultimately result.
II WHEN WARS ARE ENTERED UPON PERFORCE, FOR A RIGHT OBJECT, THE PEOPLE MAY LAY BEFORE THEIR GOD THE BURDEN THAT IS ON THEIR HEARTS. (2Ch_20:5-15) There is a God. He is our God. He has a heart, tender as a father"s, and a hand gentle as a mother"s; while, with all such pitying love, he has a strength that can speed worlds in their course. Nothing is too large for him to control; nought too minute for him to observe. And never can one be more sure of a gracious response than when, with large interests at stake, a people are united as one in spreading before the throne of God their case with all its care. If "the very hairs of our head" are all numbered, how much more the petitions of the heart!
III AT SUCH TIMES THE INTENSEST SYMPATHIES OF THE PEOPLE GATHER BOUND THEIR ARMY AND THEIR THRONE. (Ver. 5) We will rejoice in thy deliverance," etc. Whatever may have been the sentiment in bygone times, we now know that the king is for the people, not the people for the king. Hence his victory or defeat is theirs. The soldiers, too, who go forth loyally and obediently to the struggle, with their lives in their hands, leaving at home their dear ones weeping as they leave them lest they should see the loved face no more, how can it but be that a nation"s warmest, strongest sympathies should gather round them as they go to the war?
IV THE NAME OF GOD IS A STRONGER DEFENCE TO SUCH A PEOPLE THAN ALL MATERIAL FORCES CAN COMMAND. (Vers. 6, 7) This is so in many senses.
1. God himself can so order events as to ensure the victory to a praying people, however strong and numerous the foes.
2. An army sent out with a people"s prayers, knowing that it is so sustained, will fight the more bravely.
3. To the generals in command, God can give, in answer to prayer, a wisdom that secures a triumphant issue.
4. All chariots and horsemen are at his absolute disposal, and he can cause them all to vanish in an hour. The army of Sennacherib, The Spanish Armada. History is laden with illustrations of Divine interposition. (Psa_107:43)
V WHEN THE PEOPLE TRUSTINGLY LAY THE WHOLE MATTER BEFORE GOD, THEY MAY PEACEFULLY LEAVE IT TO HIM AND CALMLY AWAIT THE RESULT. (cf. ver. 8) When once their affairs are rolled over on God, they are on his heart, and will be controlled by his hand on their behalf. Hence the wonderfully timely word of Jahaziel, (2Ch_20:15) "The battle is not yours, but God"s." Such a thought may well inspire the people with the calmness of a holy courage, and may well lead them patiently to wait and see "the end of the Lord." Note: By such devotional use of national crises, they may become to a nation a holy and blessed means of grace; whereby the people at large may learn more of the value and power of prayer than in many a year of calm, and may be drawn more closely together for ever through a fellowship in trouble and in prayer. C.
HOMILIES BY W. FORSYTH Ver. 1. "The day of trouble.
Such a day comes sooner or later to all. Nations have their "day of trouble," when they are visited with pestilence, famine, or war, or torn by internal strifes. Individuals also have their "day of trouble". (Job_5:6, Job_5:7) Trouble is a test. It shows what manner of persons we are. Happy are we, if, like the king and people of this psalm, trouble brings us nearer to God and to one another in love and service! The day of trouble should
I DRIVE THE SOUL TO GOD. In prosperity there are many helps, but in adversity there is but one. God is the true Refuge. His ear is ever open, and can "hear." His hand is ever stretched out, and can "defend." His resources are infinite, and he can "strengthen us out of Zion." The name here given to God, "the God of Jacob," is richly suggestive. It holds out hope to the sinful; for God was very merciful to Jacob. It assures comfort to the distressed; for God was with Jacob, to keep him during all his wanderings. It encourages trust, for God had a gracious purpose with Jacob, and made all the trials of his life contribute to his moral advancement. "Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God!". (Psa_146:5)
II BRING ALL THE GOOD TOGETHER IN HOLY SERVICE. In face of a common danger, there is a tendency to unite. So "Pilate and Herod were made friends". (Luk_23:12) So Jehoshaphat and the King of Israel entered into alliance. (1Ki_22:2) So, in a nobler way, God"s people come together for mutual edification and comfort, and to call upon the Name of the Lord. (Mal_3:16) The Jews had the temple and the sacrifices, and the high priest to plead for them. But we have greater privileges. For us our great High Priest, "having offered one sacrifice for sin for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool". (Heb_10:12, Heb_10:13) We have common dangers and needs, and can do much to help one another. When David was in trouble in the wood of Ziph, Jonathan went down to him, and strengthened his hands in God. When Peter was in prison, and in peril of death, "prayer was made without ceasing of the Church unto God for him". (Act_12:5) When the Jerusalem Christians were in sore straits, the sympathies of their fellow-Christians in happier circumstances were called forth in their behalf. (Rom_15:26) So when the truth is assailed, and the interests of the kingdom are endangered, it is the duty of all true lovers of Christ to band together, and by prayer and holy effort to "contend for the faith once delivered to the saints.
III STRENGTHEN OUR ATTACHMENT TO THE SUPREME PRINCIPLES OF RIGHT. There are many things dear to us which we may have to defend, but we must make a difference. "The day of trouble" is a searching and a sifting time. In drawing near to God, and by mutual warnings, we find out what is really of the highest value; what we may let go, and what we should keep; what we may safely relinquish, and what we should fight for to the last gasp; what is only of temporary or of secondary importance, and what is essential and more to be valued than all worldly and personal advantages, or even life itself. (Dan_3:16-18 Act_4:18-20)
IV PREPARE FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE COMING VICTORY OF GOOD OVER EVIL. Waiting upon God gives hope. Praying and working inspire confidence. Imagination, kindled by the thought of God"s Name, portrays in glowing colours the near deliverance. There is something very inspiriting in the "I know" of the psalmist. Job says, "I know"; (Job_19:25) Paul says, "I know"; (2Ti_1:12) and so we may join with the psalmist in saying, "Now know I that the Lord sayeth his anointed." We are too apt to think only of our troubles; but let us rather "remember the Name of the Lord." We are too ready to wish the defeat of our opponents, but let us rather seek the vindication of truth and the triumph of right, and, if God will, the transformation of foes into friends, so that they, as well as we, may share in the joys of the great day. W.F.
HOMILIES BY C. SHORT Vers. 1-9. Help from the sanctuary for the battle of life.
A liturgical psalm, which was sung on behalf of the king, who was about to go forth to battle. It was chanted in alternate voices by the congregation and the priest or Levite who led the choir. As the king stands within the sanctuary, offering his sacrifice, the crowd of worshippers in the spacious courts lift up their voices in the prayer of the first five verses; then the answering chant of the priest or leader from vers. 6 to 8; then all join in the prayer of the ninth verse, "God save the king!" Help from the sanctuary for the battle of life. Influences to be gathered there.
I A SENSE OF GOD"S HELPFUL RELATIONS TO US. (Vers. 1, 2) He hears in trouble, defends us in danger, and strengthens us for conflict; and thus helps us by means of the worship of the sanctuary. It is thus he remembers our offerings and accepts our worship.
II GOD GRANTS THE DESIRES AND FULFILS THE COUNSELS WHICH ARE INSPIRED IN HIS SERVICE. (Ver. 4) "If we ask anything according to his will, we know that he heareth us.
III WE CAN WIN THE BATTLE ONLY SO FAR AS WE REALIZE THAT IT IS GOD"S BATTLE. (Ver. 5) "In the Name of our God must we set up our banners." He is the Captain of our salvation, and if we are loyal to him we shall rejoice in a victorious cause.
IV TRUE FAITH IN GOD IS ASSURED OF VICTORY BEFORE THE BATTLE IS FOUGHT. (Ver. 6) "I know whom I have believed, and... that he is able to keep that," etc.; "Thanks be unto God, who giveth us the victory!" "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
V "RIGHT IS MIGHT" TO ALL WHO HAVE BEEN TAUGHT OF GOD. (Vers. 7, 8) They do not trust in material strength, but in the justice of their cause, i.e. in the power of God, and not in chariots and horses. God, therefore, is not, in any historical war, on the side of the strongest battalions. "They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.
VI THE PERSISTENT AND FINAL CRY OF THE TRUE WORSHIPPER IS FOB THE SALVATION OF GOD. (Ver. 9) S.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon1885 · Public DomainOn vv1–4We have before us a National Anthem, fitted to…
We have before us a National Anthem, fitted to be sung at the outbreak of war, when the monarch was girding on his sword for the fight. If David had not been vexed with wars, we might never have been favoured with such psalms as this. There is a needs be for the trials of one saint, that he may yield consolation to others. A happy people here plead for a beloved sovereign, and with loving hearts cry to Jehovah, "God save the King." We gather that this song was intended to be sung in public, not only from the matter of the song, but also from its dedication "To the Chief Musician." We know its author to have been Israel's sweet singer, from the short title, "A Psalm of David." The particular occasion which suggested it, it would be mere folly to conjecture, for Israel was almost always at war in David's day. His sword may have been hacked, but it was never rusted. Kimchi reads the title, concerning David, or, for David, and it is clear that the king is the subject as well as the composer of the song. It needs but a moment's reflection to perceive that this hymn of prayer is prophetical of our Lord Jesus, and is the cry of the ancient church on behalf of her Lord, as she sees him in vision enduring a great fight of afflictions on her behalf. The militant people of God, with the great Captain of salvation at their head, may still in earnest plead that the pleasure of the Lord may prosper in his hand. We shall endeavour to keep to this view of the subject in our brief exposition, but we cannot entirely restrict out remarks to it.
(Ps 20:1-4) are a prayer for the success of the king. (Ps 20:5-7) express unwavering confidence in God and his Anointed; (Ps 20:8) declares the defeat of the foe, and (Ps 20:9) is a concluding appeal to Jehovah.
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Ver. 1. The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble. All loyal subjects pray for their king, and most certainly citizens of Zion have good cause to pray for the Prince of Peace. In times of conflict loving subjects redouble their pleas, and surely in the sorrows of our Lord his church could not but be in earnest. All the Saviour's days were days of trouble, and he also made them days of prayer; the church joins her intercession with her Lord's, and pleads that he may be heard in his cries and tears. The agony in the garden was especially a gloomy hour, but he was heard in that he feared. He knew that his Father heard him always, yet in that troublous hour no reply came until thrice he had fallen on his face in the garden; then sufficient strength was given in answer to prayer, and he rose a victor from the conflict. On the cross also his prayer was not unheard, for in the twenty-second Psalm he tells us, "thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns." The church in this verse implies that her Lord would be himself much given to prayer; in this he is our example, teaching us that if we are to receive any advantage from the prayers of others, we must first pray for ourselves. What a mercy that we may pray in the day of trouble, and what a still more blessed privilege that no trouble can prevent the Lord from hearing us! Troubles roar like thunder, but the believer's voice will be heard above the storm. O Jesus, when you plead for us in our hour of trouble, the Lord Jehovah will hear thee. This is a most refreshing confidence, and it may be indulged in without fear.
The name of the God of Jacob defend thee; or, as some read it, "set thee in a high place." By
the name is meant the revealed character and Word of God; we are not to worship "the unknown God, "but we should seek to know the covenant God of Jacob, who has been pleased to reveal his name and attributes to his people. There may be much in a royal name, or a learned name, or a venerable name, but it will be a theme for heavenly scholarship to discover all that is contained in the divine name. The glorious power of God defended and preserved the Lord Jesus through the battle of his life and death, and exalted him above all his enemies. His warfare is now accomplished in his own proper person, but in his mystical body, the church, he is still beset with dangers, and only the eternal arm of our God in covenant can defend the soldiers of the cross, and set them on high out of the reach of their foes. The day of trouble is not over, the pleading Saviour is not silent, and the name of the God of Israel is still the defence of the faithful. The name,
God of Jacob, is suggestive; Jacob had his day of trouble, he wrestled, was heard, was defended, and in due time was set on high, and his God is our God still, the same God to all his wrestling Jacobs. The whole verse is a very fitting benediction to be pronounced by a gracious heart over a child, a friend, or a minister, in prospect of trial; it includes both temporal and spiritual protection, and directs the mind to the great source of all good. How delightful to believe that our heavenly Father has pronounced it upon our favoured heads!
Whole Psalm. This Psalm is the prayer which the church might be supposed offering up, had all the redeemed stood by the cross, or in Gethsemane, in full consciousness of what was doing there. Messiah, in reading these words, would know that he had elsewhere the sympathy he longed for, when he said to the three disciples, "Tarry ye here, and watch with me." Mt 26:38. It is thus a pleasant song, of the sacred singer of Israel, to set forth the feelings of the redeemed in their Head, whether in his sufferings or in the glory that was to follow. Andrew A. Bonar.
Whole Psalm. There are traces of liturgical arrangement in many of the Psalms. There is frequently an adaptation to the circumstances of public worship. Thus, when the Jewish church wished to celebrate the great act of Messiah the High Priest making a sacrifice for the people on the day of atonement, as represented in the twenty-second Psalm, a subject so solemn, grand, and affecting, was not commenced suddenly and unpreparedly, but first a suitable occasion was sought, proper characters were introduced, and a scene in some degree appropriate to the great event was fitted for its reception. The priests and Levites endeavour to excite in the minds of the worshippers an exalted tone of reverent faith. The majesty and power of God, all the attributes which elevate the thoughts, are called in to fill the souls of the worshippers with the most intense emotion; and when the feelings are strung to the highest pitch, an awful, astounding impression succeeds, when the words are slowly chanted, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" We are to suppose, then, that the series of Psalms, from the twentieth to the twenty-fourth inclusive, was used as a service or office in the public worship of the Jewish church. (1) R.H. Ryland, M.A., in "The Psalms Restored to Messiah, "1853. (1) This is a purely gratuitous statement, but is less unlikely than many other assertions of annotators who have a cause to plead. C.H.S.
Whole Psalm. Really good wishes are good things, and should be expressed in words and deeds. The whole Psalm thus teaches. Christian sympathy is a great branch of Christian duty. There may be a great deal of obliging kindness in that which costs us little. William S. Plumer.
Ver. 1. The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble. All the days of Christ were days of trouble. He was a brother born for adversity, a man of sorrows and acquainted with griefs... But more particularly it was a "day of trouble" with him when he was in the garden, heavy and sore amazed, and his sweat was, as it were, drops of blood falling on the ground, and his soul was exceeding sorrowful, even unto death; but more especially this was his case when he hung upon the cross... when he bore all the sins of his people, endured the wrath of his Father, and was forsaken by him. Now, in this "day of trouble, " both when in the garden and on the cross, he prayed unto his Father, as he had been used to do in other cases, and at other times; and the church here prays that God would hear and answer him, as he did. Condensed from John Gill.
Ver. 1. The name. Whereas they say, The name of the God of Jacob, thereby they mean God himself; but they thus speak of God because all the knowledge that we have of God ariseth from the knowledge of his name, and as to that end he hath given himself in the Scriptures sundry names, that thereby we might know not only what he is in himself, so far as it is meet for us to know, but especially what he is to us, so by them, and them principally, we know him to be, as he is, not only in himself, but unto us... From this knowledge of the name of God ariseth confidence in prayer! as when they know him, and here call him "the God of Jacob, "that is, he that hath made a covenant of mercy with him and with his posterity, that he will be their God and they shall be his people, that they may be bold to flee to him for succour, and confidently call upon him in the day of their trouble to hear them, and to help them, as they do. And the more that they know of his name, that is, of his goodness, mercy, truth, power, wisdom, justice, etc., so may they the more boldly pray unto him, not doubting but that he will be answerable unto his name... For as among men, according to the good name that they have for liberality and pity, so will men be ready to come unto them in their need, and the poor will say, "I will go to such an house, for they have a good name, and are counted good to the poor, and merciful, all men speak well of them for their liberality; "and this name of theirs giveth the encouragement to come boldly and often. So when we know God thus by his name, it will make us bold to come unto him in prayer... Or, if a man be never so merciful, and others know it not, and so they are ignorant of his good name that he hath, and that he is worthy of, they cannot, with any good hope, come unto him, for they know not what he is; they have heard nothing of him at all. So when, by unbelief, we hardly conceive of God and of his goodness, or for want of knowledge are ignorant of his good name, even of all his mercy, and of his truth, pity, and compassion that is in him, and so know not his great and glorious name, we can have little or no heart at all to come unto him in trouble, and seek unto him for help by prayer, as these did here; and this maketh some so forward unto prayer, they are so well acquainted with the name of God, that they doubt not of speeding, and others again are so backward unto it, they are so wholly ignorant of his name. Nicholas Bownd, 1604.
Ver. 1. The name of the God of Jacob defend thee. This is a beautiful allusion to the history of the patriarch Jacob. Jehovah had appeared for him, when he fled from his brother Esau, at Bethel, and Jacob said to his household, "Let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went." Ge 35:3. John Morison.
Ver. 1. The name of the God of Jacob defend thee. Hebrew, "set thee in an high place, "such as God's name is. Pr 18:10. "The righteous runneth into it and is safe, "as in a tower of brass, or town of war. By the name of God is meant, Deus nominatissimus, the most renowned God, saith Junias, and "worthy to be praised, "as Psalm 18:3; and he is called the God of Jacob here, saith another, first, because Jacob was once in the like distress (Ge 32:6-7); secondly, because he prayed to the like purpose (Ge 35:3); thirdly, because he prevailed with God as a prince; "and there God spake with us" (Ho 12:4); fourthly, because God of Jacob is the same with "God of Israel, "and so the covenant is pleaded. John Trapp.
Ver. 1. The name of the God of Jacob defend thee. There is an assurance of thy protection, of thy safety, in the midst of ten thousand foes, and of thy perseverance to the end. But you will say, how will the name of the God of Jacob defend me? Try it. I have, over and over again; therefore I speak what I do know, and testify what I have seen. "The name of the God of Jacob defend thee." I was once goaded by a poor silly Irish papist to try it, who told me, in his consummate ignorance and bigotry, that if a priest would but give him a drop of holy water, and make a circle with it around a field full of wild beasts, they would not hurt him. I retired in disgust at the abominable trickery of such villains, reflecting, what a fool I am that I cannot put such trust in my God as this poor deluded man puts in his priest and a drop of holy water! And I resolved to try what "the name of the God of Jacob" would do, having the Father's fixed decrees, the Son's unalterable responsibility, and the Spirit's invincible grace and operation around me. I tried it and felt my confidence brighten. O brethren, get encircled with covenant engagements, and covenant blood, and covenant grace, and covenant promises, and covenant securities; then will "the Lord hear you in the time of trouble, and the name of the God of Jacob will defend you." Joseph Irons.
Ver. 1. A sweeter wish, or a more consolatory prayer for a child of sorrow was never uttered by man, The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee. And who is there of the sons of men to whom a "day of trouble" does not come, whose path is not darkened at times, or with whom is it unclouded sunshine from the cradle to the grave? "Few plants, "says old Jacomb, "have both the morning and the evening sun; "and one far older than he said, "Man is born to trouble." A "day of trouble, "then, is the heritage of every child of Adam. How sweet, as I have said, how sweet the wish, "The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble." It is the prayer of another in behalf of some troubled one, and yet it implies that the troubled one himself had also prayed, "The Lord hear thee" hear and answer thine own prayer! Barton Bouchier.
Ver. 1-2. The scene presented in this place to the eye of faith is deeply affecting. Here is the Messiah pouring out his heart in prayer in the day of his trouble; his spouse overhears his agonizing groans; she is moved with the most tender sympathy towards him; she mingles her prayers with his; she entreats that he may be supported and defended... It may now, perhaps, be said, he is out of the reach of trouble, he is highly exalted, he does not want our sympathies or our prayers. True; yet still we may pray for himsee Mt 25:40 "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." We can pray for him in his members. And thus is fulfilled what is written in Ps 72:15, "And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba; prayer also shall be made for him continually (that is, in his suffering members); and daily shall he be praised" (that is, in his own admirable person). Hamilton Verschoyle, 1843.
Ver. 1-5. These are the words of the people, which they spake unto God in the behalf of their king; and so they did as David desired them, namely, pray for him. If they did thus pray for him, being desired thereunto, and it was their bound duty so to do, and they knew it to be so, and therefore did make conscience of it, and it had been a great fault for them to have failed in it; then by consequence it followeth of necessity, that whensoever any of our brethren or sisters in Christ shall desire this duty at our hands, we must be careful to perform it; and it were a fault not to be excused in us, both against God and them, to fail in it. Therefore we must not think that when godly men and women at their parting or otherwise, desire our prayers, and say, "I pray you pray for me, "or, "remember me in your prayers, "that these are words of course (though I do not deny, but that many do so use them, and so doing they take the name of God in vain); but we should be persuaded, that out of the abundance of their feeling of their own wants they speak unto us, and so be willing by our prayers to help to supply them. And especially we should do it when they shall make known their estate unto us, as here David did to the people, giving them to understand that he should or might be in great danger of his enemies, and so it was a time of trouble unto him, as he called it... Most of all, this duty of prayer ought to be carefully performed when we have promised it unto any upon such notice of their estate. For as all promises ought to be kept, yea, though it be to our own hindrance, so those most of all that so nearly concern them. And as if when any should desire us to speak to some great man for them, and we promise to do it, and they trust to it, hoping that we will be as good as our words; it were a great deceit in us to fail them, and so to frustrate their expectation; so when any have desired us to speak to God for them, and upon our promise they would comfort themselves over it, if we should by negligence deceive them, it were a great fault in us, and that which the Lord would require at our hands, though they should never know of it. Therefore, as we ought daily to pray one for another unasked, as our Saviour Christ hath taught us, "O our Father which art in heaven, "etc., so more especially and by name should we do it for them that have desired it of us. And so parents especially should not forget their children in their prayers, which daily ask their blessing, and hope to be blessed of God by their prayers. Secondarily, if we should neglect to pray for them that have desired it at our hands, how could we have any hope that others whom we have desired to pray for us should perform that duty unto us? Nay, might not we justly fear that they would altogether neglect it, seeing we do neglect them? and should it not be just with God so to punish us? according to the saying of our Saviour Christ, "With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." Mt 7:2. And I remember that this was the saying of a reverend father in the church, who is now fallen asleep in the Lord, when any desired him to pray for them (as many did, and more than any that I have known), he would say unto them, "I pray you, pray for me, and pray that I may remember you, and then I hope I shall not forget you." Therefore if we would have others pray for us, let us pray for them. Nicholas Bownd.
Ver. 1,5. In Ps 20:1 verse the psalmist says, The Lord hear thee in the day if trouble; and in Ps 20:5 he says, The Lord perform all thy petitions. Does he in both these cases refer to one and the same time? The prayers mentioned in Ps 20:1 verse are offered in "the day of trouble, "in the days of his flesh; are the petitions to which he refers in the fourth verse also offered in the days of his flesh? Many think not. Before our blessed Saviour departed out of this world, he prayed to the Father for those whom he had given him, that he would keep them from the evil of the world, that they might be one, even as he was one with the Father. He prayed too for his murderers. After his ascension into heaven, he sat down at the right hand of the Father, where he "maketh intercession for us." "If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous." It is to this, as many think, that the prophet refers when he says, "The Lord perform all thy petitions; "to the intercession which he is continually making for us. F. H. Dunwell.
This Psalm has been much used for coronation, thanksgiving, and fast sermons, and no end of nonsense and sickening flattery has been tacked thereto by the trencher chaplains of the world's church. If kings had been devils, some of these gentry would have praised their horns and hoofs; for although some of their royal highnesses have been very obedient servants of the prince of darkness, these false prophets have dubbed them "most gracious sovereigns, "and have been as much dazzled in their presence as if they had beheld the beatific vision. C.H.S.
Whole Psalm. A loyal song and prayer for subjects of King Jesus.
Ver. 1. Two great mercies in great troublehearing at the throne, and defence from the throne.
Ver. 1-2.
1. The Lord's trouble in its nature and its cause.
2. How the Lord exercised himself in his trouble.
3. We ought not to be unmoved spectators of the trouble of Jesus.
Hamilton Verschoyle.
Ver. 1-3. A model of good wishes for our friends.
1. They include personal piety. The person who is spoken of prays, goes to the sanctuary, and offers sacrifice. We must wish our friend grace.
2. They point upward. The blessings are distinctly recognised as divine.
3. They do not exclude trouble.
4. They are eminently spiritual. Acceptance, etc.
"Medicines for the plague; that is, Godly and Fruitful Sermons upon part of the Twentieth Psalme, full of instructions and comfort; very fit generally for all times of affliction, but more particularly applied to this late visitation of the Plague. Preached at the same time at Norton in Suffolke, by NICHOLAS BOWND, Doctor of Divinite... 1604." (Twenty-one Sermons on Ps 20:1-6. 4to.)
Psalms 20:2*
Ver. 1-2. See Psalms on "Ps 20:1" for further information.
Ver. 1-5. See Psalms on "Ps 20:1" for further information.
Ver. 1-2.
1. The Lord's trouble in its nature and its cause.
2. How the Lord exercised himself in his trouble.
3. We ought not to be unmoved spectators of the trouble of Jesus.
Hamilton Verschoyle.
Ver. 1-3. A model of good wishes for our friends. See Psalms on "Ps 20:1" for further information.
Ver. 1-5. See Psalms on "Ps 20:1" for further information.
Ver. 1-3. A model of good wishes for our friends.
1. They include personal piety. The person who is spoken of prays, goes to the sanctuary, and offers sacrifice. We must wish our friend grace.
2. They point upward. The blessings are distinctly recognised as divine.
3. They do not exclude trouble.
4. They are eminently spiritual. Acceptance, etc.
Ver. 1-5. See Psalms on "Ps 20:1" for further information.
Ver. 1-5. See Psalms on "Ps 20:1" for further information.
Ver. 1,5. See Psalms on "Ps 20:1" for further information.
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn vv1–3The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble.
Psa_20:1-9
The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble.
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A battle prayer
This, it is believed, is the battle prayer or litany which was solemnly chanted in the sanctuary on the eve of the great expedition to crush the formidable rebellion of the Ammonites and their Syrian allies (2Sa_10:1-19), and which was also used in after times upon similar undertakings.
1. To enter into its spirit we must transport ourselves in imagination to the old temple at Jerusalem while the special service invoking the blessing of Jehovah upon the intended enterprise is in progress. The courts are thronged with enthusiastic patriots, each eager to strengthen with his own voice the chorus of supplication for Israels success. The king in his robes of royalty is standing by the altar in the sanctuary. He has just presented his gifts and offered his sacrifice; and now the choir and the whole congregation break out into this mighty hymn on his behalf, assuring him that in this day of trouble, occasioned by the revolt of his subjects or the invasion of strangers, the Lord will hear him, will defend him, will send him help from the sanctuary, and uphold him out of Zion. These his offerings shall be remembered, this his sacrifice shall be accepted; the desire, too, of his heart--the overthrow of the enemy--shall be granted.
2. They cease. The vast multitude stands hushed, while one voice alone is heard; it is that of the king, or of some Levite deputed to speak as his representative. In a strain of fullest confidence he declares the petitions on his behalf have been heard.
3. As the king ceases the choir and people again break out into chorus. (Henry Housman.)
The day of trouble
Have we heard of that day? Is it a day in some exhausted calendar? Is this an ancient phrase that needs to be interpreted to us by men cunning in the use of language and in the history of terms? It might have been spoken in our own tongue: we might ourselves have spoken it. So criticism has no place here; only sympathy has a fight to utter these words; they would perish under a process of etymological vivisection; they bring with them healing, comfort, release, and contentment when spoken by the voice of sympathy. Is the day of trouble a whole day--twelve hours long? Is it a day that cannot be distinguished from night? and does it run through the whole circle of the twenty-four hours? Is it a day of that kind at all? In some instances is it not a life day, beginning with the first cry of infancy, concluding with the last sigh of old age? Is it a day all darkness, without any rent in the cloud, without any hint of light beyond the infinite burden of gloom? Whatever it is, it is provided for; it is recognised as a solemn fact in human life, and it is provided for by the grace and love of the eternal God. He knows every hour of the day--precisely how the day is made up; He knows the pulse beat of every moment; He is a God nigh at hand; so that we have no sorrow to tell Him by way of information, but only sorrow to relate that with it we may sing some hymn to His grace. The whole world is made kin by this opening expression. There is no human face, rightly read, that has not in it lines of sorrow--peculiar, mystic writing of long endurance, keen disappointment, hope deferred, mortification of soul unuttered in speech, but graved as with an iron tool upon the soul and the countenance. (Joseph Parker, D. D.)
Defence in the day of trouble
Commentators have positively perverted this whole Psalm. They have put it all down to David; but it is a beautiful dialogue between Christ and His Church,--He addressing her as her Advocate and Intercessor amid all her troubles.
I. Christs recognition of His people in the day of trouble. All have to bear trouble, but the believer has a God to go to. His troubles arise from his inflexible enemies, the world and its children, the devil, the flesh. And from his spiritual conflicts when first brought to conversion. The thunders of Sinai, the Slough of Despond--these are some of his troubles at such time. And when he is pardoned and hugs his pardon in his bosom, there are some troubles yet, through miserable backslidings.
II. The excitement which our intercessor gives us to prayer. The Lord hear thee; this intimates that we are already excited to earnest prayer. For our encouragement let us remember Christs constant intercession on our behalf in heaven.
III. The appeal which the intercessor makes to our covenant head. The name of the God of Jacob defend thee. Who is the God of Jacob? The God that gave him the blessing of the birthright, though he was the junior; the God that delivered him from the murderous hand of his brother in the day of his trouble; the God that enriched him with Labans spoil, and gave him the desire of his heart; the God that protected him, and manifested Himself to him--his covenant God. How I have been delighted with the thought that Jehovah should recognise the unregenerate name!--for Jacob was the name of the patriarch in his unregeneracy.
IV. The demand for our defence. The name of the God of, etc. But you say, how will the name of the God of Jacob defend me? Try it: I have over and over again; therefore I speak what I do know, and testify what I have seen. The name of the God of Jacob defend thee. Get encircled with covenant engagements and covenant grace, and covenant promises, and covenant securities; then will the Lord hear you in the time of trouble, and the name of the God of Jacob will defend you. (Joseph Irons.)
The war spirit of the Old Testament
I. The probable time and occasion of its composition. They are related in 2Sa_10:1-19.
II. Its construction. It begins with an address to the monarch under the peculiar circumstances of the exigency. Then, with the words, We will rejoice in Thy salvation, the speakers turn from prayer to the avowal of their confidence and of the spirit in which they would go to the war. Then the high priest might add the next clause, The Lord fulfil all thy petitions. And now there appears to be a pause, and the sacrifices are offered, and the priest, catching sight of the auspicious omen, exclaims, Now know I (from what I observe of the indications of the Divine acceptance of the sacrifices--now know I) that the Lord sayeth His anointed, etc. Then comes a response from the people, encouraged by what they have heard. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses--the very preparations that had been made against them, but we will, etc. The whole closes by the acclamations of the people. The Lord save the king! God will hear us. Save, Lord; let the king hear us when we call: we will pray for the king, we will call upon the Lord, we who remain at home when the army advances to the field. This reminds us of and illustrates a passage from R. Hall, entitled Sentiments Proper to the Present Crisis, a warlike, though at first sight it appears not a very Christian, address, written about forty-four years ago, at the time of the threatened invasion. Addressing a company of volunteers, he introduces a sentiment very similar to that which concludes this Psalm. Go, then, ye defenders of your country, accompanied with every auspicious omen; advance with alacrity into the field, where God Himself musters the hosts to war. Religion is too much interested in your success not to lend you her aid; she will shed over this enterprise her selected influence. While you are engaged in the field, many will repair to the closet, many to the sanctuary; the faithful of every name will employ that prayer which has power with God; the feeble hands which are unequal to any other weapon will grasp the sword of the spirit; and from myriads of humble, contrite hearts the voice of intercession, supplication, and weeping will mingle with the shouts of battle and the shock of arms.
III. Suggestions from this review of the Psalm.
1. Although all this is very imposing and grand, yet it is not the ideal of humanity. We do not wish such scenes to be permanent or universal. It was all very well for the time, but it is not well now. This is not the way in which God should be worshipped, nor the feelings which we should carry away from His altar. The New Testament tells us again and again that its aim is something altogether different from this mustering of the hosts to war--this Go, ye defenders of your country--this murdering and slaughtering. War may be brilliant, but it is not a good thing for the world, for humanity.
2. In proportion as the spirit of the Old Testament has been imbibed by nations, they have been retarded in the development of national character, and in the realisation of the Christian ideal. Ceremonies, hierarchies, ritual, a national priesthood, a vicarious religion, an ecclesiastical eastern special class of men being set apart to spend their nights and days in praying for the people--all these come from Judaisers. And so again with the national war spirit, the military art regarded as a profession, the consecration of colours, and the rest,--these are Jewish, not Christian. We laugh at the Covenanter and the Roundhead, but where they were wrong was in imbibing the Old Testament spirit.
3. War is not always without justification, but we ought to shrink from it as an abhorred thing.
4. Let the Psalm remind you of King Jesus, and of His victory and our own through Him. (Thomas Binney.)
Help in trouble
A sentinel posted on the walls, when he sees a party of the enemy advancing, does not attempt to make head against them himself, but at once informs his commanding officer of the enemys approach, and awaits his word as to how the foe is to be met. So the Christian does not attempt to resist temptation in his own strength, but in prayer calls upon his Captain for aid, and in His might and His Word goes forth to meet it.
The name of the God of Jacob defend thee.
The name of Jehovah
I. The name of Jehovah a consolation in trouble. No character is exempt from the ills of life. The highest dignity cannot guard off trouble; and crowns especially are often lined with thorns. Few plants, says an old writer, have both the morning and the evening sun; and an older than he has said, Man is born to trouble. But in the deepest, darkest, wildest distress, Jehovah is the refuge of His people; and His name soothes the keenest anguish and lifts up the most despairing.
II. The name of Jehovah an inspiring battle cry. In the name of our God will we set up our banners (Psa_20:5). Banners are a part of our military equipage, borne in times of war to assemble, direct, distinguish, and inspirit the soldiers. They have been often used in religious ceremonies. It is the practice of some people to erect a banner in honour of their deity. In a certain part of Thibet it is customary for a priest to ascend a hill every month to set up a white flag and perform some religions ceremonies to conciliate the favour of a dewta, or invisible being, who is the presiding genius of the place. The Hindus describe Siva the Supreme as having a banner in the celestial world. The militant Church goes to war with the name of the Lord of Hosts on her banner.
III. The name of Jehovah is the strength of the militant Church. We will remember the name of the Lord our God (Psa_20:7). The world trusts in the material--in rifles, mitrailleuse, turret ships, and torpedoes; but the Church is taught to trust in the spiritual--the mysterious, invisible, but almighty power of Jehovah. The material fails, the spiritual never. When the saint relies fully on Jehovah, and is absorbed in His holy cause, he is surrounded with an impenetrable defence. (W. L. Watkinson.)
The God of Jacob
I. Its history. The character of Jacob is one of the standing difficulties of the Old Testament, because of the interest and love God cherished for him. David offers to us much the same difficulty: the man after Gods own heart, and yet so base and vile in his great sin. But it is the Bible which tells us what these men were. Its frankness is conspicuous. But David, after all, does not puzzle us as Jacob does. There is a vein of pure nobility and of splendid genius through Davids character and life, which helps us to understand the relation of God to him. But Jacobs character fails to kindle a corresponding enthusiasm. He does not stand out before us a man of genius, as a hearty lover, a faithful friend, or even as a noble and gallant foe. A vein of trickery and treachery runs through his nature, so unlike Davids frank and self-forgetful generosity. Stratagems are his delight; the easy refuge of his weakness. And when we find through life the same tendency to underhand tricks prevailing, we begin to wonder what God could see in the man to make him a prince in the heavenly order, and why throughout the Scripture the name God of Jacob, God of Israel is the name in which He especially delights. It seems to them the purest exercise of the Divine sovereignty on record. But it is sovereignty of the same order as that which moves Him to elect to be the Redeemer of the world. The spring of that redeeming love lies within His own nature. It arose out of the depths of the Divine nature, and must be based, we may be sure, on essential reason. God chose Jacob, and chooses to be called the God of Jacob, just because he was a man so full of human infirmity and littleness, mingled with those higher and nobler qualities without which the spiritual culture of mankind becomes impossible. Had God chosen only to be called the God of Abraham or Moses, and to take supreme interest in such lofty lives alone, alas! for you and for me and for mankind. Jacob is more within our sphere. What God was to him, we can believe that He may be, He will be, to us; thus the name God of Jacob has a sound hill of comfort, full of assurance to our ears. That it might be so, we may be sure. He chose it. Now, see this when developed in history. God, as the God of Jacob, did make Himself a glorious name in the earth (Deu_2:25; Jos_2:4-11). Their internal organisation under the constitution which God had ordained marked them out as a favoured people. There was nothing like them in the wide world, until the German races appeared and brought the same love of freedom, the same domestic affections, the same noble womanhood, the same essential manliness, to build on the foundation of Christian society. Again, Israel was the only nation of freemen, in the largest sense, in the Old World. The people were knit into a brotherhood of liberty, with special safeguards in their constitution as a nation against the lapse of any Jewish freeman into serfdom, or even into penury (Deu_15:1-23; Lev_25:23-31). They were facile princeps among nations, witnessing to the heathen around them of the blessedness of obedience to God. And what men they produced! The Greeks are their only rivals. But while Greece produced the heroes of the schools, the Jews produced the heroes of the common human world. Every man and every people is conscious of a relation to them, such as he sustains to no other race which has played its part in history. The lives of the great Hebrews belong to us as no Greek belongs to us. They are literally part of our history. How few know Greek; who knows not the histories of the Bible? They are our fathers whose lives we read there, our history, our hymns. Mans history is the elucidation of this title; the God of Jacob has written for Himself a glorious name in the records of the world.
II. Its work--the functions which this name fulfils in the culture of our personal spiritual life.
1. The God of Jacob tells us, by the very name, that He is a God who is not deterred by a great transgression, or by great proneness to transgression, from constituting Himself the guide of our pilgrim life. If ever your heart dies down within you under the consciousness of an inbred sinfulness, which you think must alienate you from Gods love and care, let the name of the God of Jacob reassure you. Long suffering is the quality which the name of the God of Jacob seems specially to suggest to us. Jacob was a man of many and grave infirmities. And the God who came to Adam with a promise which implied a pardon came also to Jacob, and comes to us all. God undertook the guidance of that mans pilgrimage, because he was a sinful man, a man full of infirmities and treacheries, but with a nobler nature beneath and behind which He made it His work to educate by suffering, until Jacob the supplanter became Israel the prince. Jacob was as full of folly, falsity, and selfish ambition as most of us; but he had an instinct and a yearning for deliverance. Gods promise rang full sweetly on his ear. The worm Jacob, trained to be a prince, is full of precious suggestions to us all.
2. The God of Jacob must be a God who can bear to inflict very stern chastisement on His children, and to train His pilgrims in a very hard, sharp school of discipline, without forfeiting the name of their merciful and loving God. Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, said the aged patriarch, reviewing his life course before Pharaoh. Why? Because through life he had been under the hard, stern discipline of the hand of God. And so, as his life was spent in learning, it was spent in suffering. God did not shrink from wielding the scourge to the very close. Then, he witnessed a sad confession before Pharaoh, such as Abraham and Isaac would have had no occasion for; for they lived better and happier lives than Jacob. But it is this very discipline which makes Jacobs life so instructive. It teaches us--
(1) The thoroughness of the Divine method, that we have to do with One who will sanctify us wholly; will search out the very real fibres of evil within us, and scathe them, whatever may be the cost.
(2) Let the name of the God of Jacob assure you that there is no extremity in which you have a right to cry, The Lord hath forsaken me, my God hath forgotten me. Jacobs life is surely the witness that the veriest exile cannot wander beyond the shelter of the Fathers home; the most utter outcast cannot stray beyond the shield of the Fathers love. There is no condition of darkness, of straits, of anguish, inconsistent with your standing as a son and Gods tenderness as a Father. For--
(3) The God of Jacob is the God who will bring the pilgrims home. He is not ashamed to be called their God, for He hath prepared for them a city. Led by the God of Jacob, your bones can never whiten the sands of the desert; your choking cry can ever be heard from the waves of Jordan. Mark the splendid and joyous picture of the end of all our pilgrim wanderings, toils, and pains, which is painted there. The Angel which redeemed him from all evil is redeeming us through pain as sharp, through patience as long, through discipline as stern. And He has caused all this to be written for our learning, that the hope of a final and eternal triumph over evil might sustain us through the conflict, through the wanderings, and assure us that in His good time the God of the pilgrim Jacob will bring us into His rest. Weary, worn, with shattered armour and dinted shield, we may struggle on to the shore of the dark river. A moment, a gasp--and there is a white-robed conqueror, with the dew of immortal youth upon his brow, led by the angels before the Throne of God and of the Lamb. (J. Baldwin Brown, B. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible1887 · Public DomainOn v1Psalms 20
Psalms 20
THIS is a battle song followed by a chant of victory. They are connected in subject and probably in occasion, but fight and triumph have fallen dim to us, though we can still feel how hotly the fire once glowed. The passion of loyalty and love for the king, expressed in these psalms, fits no reign in Judah so well as the bright noonday of Davids, when "whatever the king did pleased all the people." Cheyne, indeed, would bring them down to the Maccabean period, and suggests Simon Maccabaeus as the ruler referred to. He has to put a little gentle pressure on "king" to contract it to fit the man of his choice, and appeals to the "good old Semitic sense" of "consul." But would not an appeal to Hebrew usage have been more satisfactory? If "king" means "king," great or small, the psalm is not post-exilic, and the Davidic date will not seem impossible. It does not seem impossible that a poet-king should have composed a national hymn praying for his own victory, which was the nations also.
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The psalm has traces of the alternation of chorus and solo. The nation or army first pours out its united prayer for victor in Psa_20:1-5, and is succeeded by a single voice (possibly that of the officiating priest or the king himself) in Psa_20:6, expressing confidence that the prayer is answered, which, again, is followed by the closing chorus of many voices throbbing with the assurance of victory before a blow is struck, and sending one more long-drawn cry to God ere battle is joined.
The prayer in Psa_20:1-5 breathes self-distrust and confidence in Jehovah, the temper which brings victory, not only to Israel, but to all fighters for God. Here is no boasting of former victories, nor of mans bravery and strength, nor of a captains skill. One name is invoked. It alone rouses courage and pledges triumph. "The name of the God of Jacob set thee on high." That name is almost regarded as a person, as is often the case. Attributes and acts are ascribed to it which properly belong to the Unnameable whom it names, as if with some dim inkling that the agent of revealing a person must be a person. The name is the revealed character, which is contemplated as having existence in some sense apart from Him whose character it is. Possibly there is a reference to Gen_35:3, where Jacob speaks of "the God who answered me in the day of my distress." That ancient instance of His power to hear and help may have floated before the singers mind as heartening faith for this day of battle. To "set on high" is a familiar natural figure for deliverance. The earthly sanctuary is Jehovahs throne: and all real help must come thence, of which help His dwelling there is a pledge. So in these two verses the extremity of need, the history of past revelation, and the special relation of Jehovah to Israel are woven into the peoples prayer for their king. In Psa_20:3-4, they add the incense of their intercession to his sacrifices. The background of the psalm is probably the altar on which the accustomed offerings before a battle were being presented. {1Sa_13:9} The prayer for acceptance of the burnt offering is very graphic, since the word rendered "accept" is literally "esteem fat."
One wish moved the sacrificing king and the praying people. Their common desire was victory, but the people are content to be obscure, and their loyal love so clings to their monarch and leader that they only wish the fulfilment of his wishes. This unit of feeling culminates in the closing petitions in Psa_20:6, where self-oblivion wishes "May we exult in thy salvation." arrogating none of the glory of victory to themselves, but ascribing all to him, and vows "In the name of our God we will wave our standards," ascribing victory to Him. its ultimate cause. An army that prays, "Jehovah fulfil all thy petitions, will be ready to obey all its captains commands and to move in obedience to his impulse as if it were part of himself." The enthusiastic community of purpose with its chief and absolute reliance on Jehovah. with which this prayer throbs, would go far towards securing victory anywhere. They should find their highest exemplification in that union between Christ and us in which all human relationships find theirs, since, in the deepest sense, they are all Messianic prophecies, and point to Him who is all the good that other men and women have partially been, and satisfies all the cravings and necessities which human relationships, however blessed, but incompletely supply.
The sacrifice has been offered; the choral prayer has gone up. Silence follows, the worshippers watching the curling smoke as it rises; and then a single voice breaks out into a burst of glad assurance that sacrifice and prayer are answered. Who speaks? The most natural answer is, "The king"; and the fact that he speaks of himself as Jehovahs anointed in the third person does not present a difficulty. What is the reference in that now at the beginning of Psa_20:6. May we venture to suppose that the kings heart swelled at the exhibition of his subjects devotion and hailed it as a pledge of victory? The future is brought into the present by the outstretched hand of faith, for this single speaker knows that "Jehovah has saved," though no blow has yet been struck. The prayer had asked for help from Zion; the anticipation of answer looks higher; to the holier sanctuary, where Jehovah indeed dwells. The answer now waited for in sure confidence is "the mighty deeds of salvation of His right hand," some signal forthputting of Divine power scattering the foe. A whisper may start an avalanche. The prayer of the people has set Omnipotence in motion. Such assurance that petitions are heard is wont to spring in the heart that truly prays, and comes as a forerunner of fulfilment, shedding on the soul the dawn of the yet unrisen sun. He has but half prayed who does not wait in silence, watching the flight of his arrow and not content to cease till the calm certainty that it has reached its aim fills his heart.
Again the many voices take up the song, responding to the confidence of the single speaker and, like him, treating the victory as already won. Looking across the field to the masses of the enemys cavalry and chariots, forces forbidden to Israel, though employed by them in later days, the song grandly opposes to these "the name of Jehovah our God." There is a world of contempt and confidence in the juxtaposition. Chariots and horses are very terrible, especially to raw soldiers unaccustomed to their whirling onset: but the Name is mightier, as Pharaoh and his array proved by the Red Sea. This reference to the army of Israel as unequipped with cavalry and chariots is in favour of an early date, since the importation and use of both began as soon as Solomons time. The certain issue of the fight is given in Psa_20:8 in a picturesque fashion, made more vigorous by the tenses which describe completed acts. When the brief struggle is over, this is what will be seen-the enemy prone, Israel risen from subjection and standing firm. Then comes a closing cry for help, which, according to the traditional division of the verse, has one very short clause and one long, drawn out, like the blast of the trumpet sounding the charge. The intensity of appeal is condensed in the former clause into the one word "save" and the renewed utterance of the name, thrice referred to in this short psalm as the source at once of strength and confidence. The latter clause, as in the A.V. and R.V. transfers the title of King from the earthly shadow to the true Monarch in the heavens, and thereby suggests yet another plea for help. The other division of the verse, adopted in the LXX and by some moderns, equalises the clauses by transferring "the king" to the former ("O Lord save the king, and answer us," etc.). But this involves a violent change from the second person imperfect in the first clause to the third person imperfect in the second. It would be intolerably clumsy to say, "Do Thou save; may He hear," and therefore the LXX has had recourse to inserting "and" at the beginning of the second clause, which somewhat breaks the jolt, but is not in the Hebrew. The text, as it stands, yields a striking meaning, beautifully suggesting the subordinate office of the earthly monarch and appealing to the true King to defend His own army and go forth with it to the battle which is waged for His name. When we are sure that we are serving Jehovah and fighting for Him, we may be sure that we go not a warfare at our own charges nor alone.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary1892 · Public DomainOn v1“This is evidently a liturgical psalm, and was intended…
INTRODUCTION
“This is evidently a liturgical psalm, and was intended originally, it would seem, to be sung on behalf of a king who was about to go forth to war against his enemies. As the king stands within the sanctuary offering his sacrifice, the whole assembled crowd of worshippers in the spacious courts lift up their voices in the prayer, that Jehovah would graciously accept those sacrifices, and send him help and victory in the battle. The psalm has no doubt a prophetical aspect, from the fact that the Jewish king was, by virtue of his office, a type of Christ. Calvin is right in saying that inasmuch as this kingdom differed from all other kingdoms, because God had determined to govern and defend His people by the hand of David and of his seed, therefore we ought to recognise, under the type of the temporal kingdom, that better rule on which the joy and happiness of the Church depend.”—Perowne.
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THE NAME OF JEHOVAH
(Psa_20:1; Psa_20:5; Psa_20:7.)
I. The name of Jehovah a consolation in trouble. “The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee” (Psa_20:1). No character or rank is exempt from the ills of life. The highest dignity cannot guard off troubles; and crowns especially are often lined with thorns. The history of David records many a dark day and sorrowful night. It was a day of distress with Jacob when he fled from his brother Esau, and arrived at Bethel a distracted wanderer (Gen_35:3). Few plants, says an old writer, have both the morning and the evening sun; and an older than he has said—Man is born to trouble. But in the deepest, darkest, wildest distress Jehovah is the refuge of His people; and His name soothes the keenest anguish, and lifts up the most despairing.
“Thy mighty name salvation is,
And keeps my happy soul above;
Comfort it brings, and power, and peace,
And joy, and everlasting love.”
II. The name of Jehovah an inspiring battle-cry. “In the name of our God we will set up our banners” (Psa_20:5). Banners are a part of military equipage, borne in times of war to assemble, direct, distinguish, and inspirit, the soldiers. They have been often used in religious ceremonies. It is the practice of some people to erect a banner in honour of their deity. In a certain part of Thibet it is customary for a priest to ascend a hill every month, to set up a white flag, and perform some religious ceremonies to conciliate the favour of a dewta, or invisible being, who is the presiding genius of the place. The Hindoos describe Siva the Supreme as having a banner in the celestial world. Every nation has its own expressive battle-cry. “For hearth and home” was the cry that found a deep and warm response in the breast of the ancient Roman; and, in modern times, the Germans roused the enthusiasm and bravery of every soldier by the cry of “Fatherland!” But the militant Church goes to war with the name of the Lord of Hosts on her banners—a battle-cry which inspires every heart with holy courage, and binds it with the cincture of a firm, unalterable purpose. It was this that nerved the youthful David with a giant’s prowess in his victorious combat with Goliath (1Sa_17:45).
III. The name of Jehovah the strength of the Militant Church. “We will remember the name of the Lord our God” (Psa_20:7). The world trusts in the material—in rifles, mitraileuse, turret-ships, and torpedoes; but the Church is taught to trust in the spiritual—the mysterious, invisible, but almighty power of Jehovah. The material fails; but the spiritual never. Many a formidable and rarely-equipped army has
“Melted like snow in the glance of the Lord,”
while the feeble and despised champions of the Church have stood forth in all the honour and lustre of victory. When the saint relies fully on Jehovah, and is absorbed in His holy cause, he is surrounded with an impenetrable defence. Numa, being told that his enemies were coming upon him as he was offering sacrifice, thought it was sufficient for his safety that he could say, I am about the service of my God; and yet how slow men are to put their trust in that Name where alone all true comfort, the holiest courage, and the mightiest strength are found! It is easy, says Arnot, to persuade papists to lean on priests and saints, on old rags and painted pictures, on any idol; but it is hard to get a Protestant to trust in the living God.
PRAYER A PREPARATION FOR CONFLICT
(Psa_20:1-5; Psa_20:9.)
I. Prayer should have reference to future emergencies. “The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble” (Psa_20:1). War is a time of trouble, both to king and people; and considering the vicissitudes and sufferings of the battlefield, it is wise to implore the aid of Heaven for seasons when earthly resources may be exhausted. Prayer has a prevenient power. To-day’s prayers can help tomorrow’s; the congregation’s present prayers, the king’s future prayers. Prayer may bring present power that shall put the man’s heart right, and keep it right, so that when the hour of need shall come, the prayer of his heart may be right prayer, and be both heard and answered. “Troubles roar like thunder; but the believer’s voice will be heard above the storm.”
II. Prayer invokes the invincible protection of Jehovah. “The name of the God of Jacob defend thee” (Psa_20:1). By the name is signified the whole revealed character of Jehovah. He is called the God of Jacob, because He manifested Himself as such, in a fulness of deeds, to Jacob and to his posterity. A heavenlier light is needed to explain all the mystery and glory of the Divine name. There is power in the historical associations of the name to help faith, as the pleading soul recalls the scenes of Bethel, Peniel, Padan-aram, Shechem, and Egypt. The name of Jehovah is an inviolable protection. “Defend thee”—exalt thee—“to be upraised to a high and fortified place, made safe.”—Bythner. “Set thee up on high,” i.e., “as in a fortress where no enemy can do thee harm, or on a rock at the foot of which the waves fret and dash themselves in impotent fury.”—Perowne. The name of God is a more secure retreat than the spot defended by parks of artillery.
III. Prayer should be accompanied with sacrifice. “Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice” (Psa_20:3). It was customary in ancient times for warriors to offer sacrifice before going into battle; and this was often done with most imposing ceremony, and with lavish liberality. “Thy burnt sacrifice”—thy holocaust, “a sacrifice of quadrupeds and birds, which are raised altogether upon the altar and burned: the Greek hecatomb seems borrowed from this.”—Bythner. “Accept”—graciously accept—literally, make fat; in a declarative sense “regard as fat,” and so “receive as fat,” i.e., “as worthy to be offered, the fattest of the flock being chosen for sacrifice.”—Perowne. “At the present day others as well as David may use this psalm in prayer, for as the person, the circumstances, the time and place, are all different in the new law, so likewise is the sacrifice; but one faith and one spirit abide through all ages, and amid all diversities of places, works, persons. The external varies, the internal remains ever the same.”—Luther. The individual relation to God is recognised by personal offerings. The separate application of the one sacrifice answers to the separate sacrifices of old. The one sacrifice must have its separate acceptance for the separate individual. Prayer to be efficacious must ever be offered in the spirit of sacrifice.
IV. Prayer is urgent to secure a specific answer to its petitions.
1. As they relate to special blessings. “Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel: the Lord fulfil all thy petitions” (Psa_20:4-5). Prayer is offered for protection in time of danger, for wisdom to adopt and execute the best measures in the emergencies of war, and for victory over the enemy. Our desires and counsels are completely dependent upon God for their attainment, and ought to be prayers. The more clearly we see our peril, and the more pungently we feel our need, the more fervently do we wrestle for an answer to our petitions. “Sometimes God doth not only grant a man’s prayer, but fulfilleth his counsel; that is, in that very way, by that very means, which his judgment pitched upon his thoughts.”—Trapp.
2. As they relate to their immediate subject. “Save, Lord; let the king hear us when we call” (Psa_20:9). Rendered by the LXX., “O Lord, save the king, and hear us when we call upon Thee.” The king is the subject of prayer, that he may be blessed with victory, and that he may be a blessing to others. The ninth verse is a summary of the whole psalm. The wellbeing of a people is suspended on the character and doings of the monarch. Prayer should be offered for him continually that he may be guarded from evil, that he may be wise, equitable, and prosperous. Prayer must not be intermitted even when confidence of Divine help has been inspired. Prayer will still be necessary to sustain that confidence in its trials, for the very confidence is a contingent virtue, and, perhaps, the more subject to risks of deterioration, because it is an inspired thing and not a thing of earth.
V. Answer to prayer is found wherever the presence of Jehovah is manifested. “Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion” (Psa_20:2). The Jews, whose weakness found it so difficult a task to look up to the Invisible God, were favoured with a visible sanctuary on Zion; thither the devout Israelite directed his prayer; thence he expected help in the day of trouble. Christ is now the sanctuary of His people; and in their worshipping assemblies He is wont to manifest His presence and power. The greatest distress is experienced when God is absent. His return banishes our fears, and nerves us with superhuman bravery. “Men of the world despise sanctuary help; but our hearts have learned to prize it beyond all material aid. They seek help out of the armoury, or the treasury, or the buttery; but we turn to the sanctuary. Certain advertisers recommend a strengthening plaster; but nothing can give such strength to the loins of a saint as waiting upon God in the assemblies of His people.”—Spurgeon. God always puts honour upon His appointed services. His help, when it comes, will come by the way of the sanctuary and out of Zion. The faith to which that help is a response, wherever exercised, was first begotten amid the holy things of the sanctuary. The help has the same stamp as the faith that commands it, the stamp of the sanctuary.
CONFIDENCE IN JEHOVAH THE PLEDGE OF VICTORY
(Psa_20:5-8.)
I. Confidence in Jehovah fills the heart with gladness. “We will rejoice in Thy salvation” (Psa_20:5). The people are so assured of the help of God as to break out in a song of anticipatory triumph. Praise raises the moral tone of an army, and it is on this that its success largely depends. Jehoshaphat, before entering into battle with the vast armies of the Moabites and Ammonites, appointed singers to praise the Lord. He obtained an easy victory (2Ch_20:20-22). When Louis XIII. of France had invested with his army a city of the Huguenots, the besieged assembled one evening on the city wall and sang, with great sweetness and solemnity, one of their favourite psalms. The king was so impressed with the whole scene and with the spirit of the singers, that he turned to Mazarin, his favourite general, who was by his side, and quietly observed, “We can do nothing with this people.” The siege was raised; and the persecuted Huguenots triumphed in their Lord. God ought to be remembered in our triumph as well as in our need. We are sometimes so much elated by the triumph as to forget the help by which it has come.
II. Confidence in Jehovah inspires with courage for the conflict. “In the name of our God will we set up”—wave—”our banners” (Psa_20:5). When the army has confidence in its General it unfurls its standard with resolute defiance, enters upon the contest with a stout, brave heart, and already anticipates the shouts of victory and the triumphant procession, with banners displayed. “Great certainly is the faith which hath such courage by remembering the name of the Lord. Soldiers in our day are wont, when they go into battle, to recall to mind the brave exploits of their fathers, or former victories, and the like, wherewith to warm and stir their hearts. But let our princes remember the name of God, wherein all salvation and victory do stand.”—Luther. “Confession of Christ, as the only name whereby we can be saved, is the banner which distinguishes His faithful people. Oh, that this confession were more distinct, more pure, more zealous, then would His followers be more united, more bold, more successful—terrible as an army with banners.”—W. Wilson.
III. Confidence in Jehovah secures the exercise of His Almighty power. “Now know I that the Lord saveth His anointed: He will hear him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand” (Psa_20:6). Prayer ought never to stop before it has brought a present sense of help. It is possible to have an inspoken answer to our prayers before the outward crisis to which we are looking has come. “The hope suddenly changes into certainty. Now know I that Jehovah hath saved, hath given the victory. The singer speaks in the full assurance of faith that the prayer is heard, and as if he already saw the victory gained. The prayer had been that God would hear and send help from the earthly sanctuary or Zion. Now, the answer is to come from His holy heaven. For if God then condescended to dwell in visible glory among men, yet He would teach His people that He is not limited by the bounds of time and space. He is not like the gods of the heathen, the god of one city or country. He sends help out of Zion, but the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him. Calvin sees expressed in the earthly sanctuary made by hands, the grace and condescension of God to His people; in the heavenly, His infinite power, greatness, and majesty.”—Perowne. Faith, says Quesnel, seems to put the Almighty power of God into the hands of man; whereas unbelief seems to tie up even the hands of the Almighty.
IV. Confidence in Jehovah exposes the inadequacy of the best human contrivances. “Some trust in chariots and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God” (Psa_20:7). The remark of a great warrior, that Providence is always on the side of the strongest battalion, may be applauded as an evidence of military penetration, but the sceptical sneer is none the less apparent in the sentiment. According to the law, Israel was forbidden to maintain a standing army. They were taught to trust in God, both for defence and victory (Deu_20:2-4; Deu_32:30). Some of the conquests of the chosen people were gained by means which contradicted and defied the ordinary rules of warfare, and seemed absurd to the believer in military skill and prowess. Moral power was pitted against the material, and won the day, as it ever will. When the Israelites depended more upon their armies than their God, they suffered the most humiliating defeats. “The most dreaded war-engine of David’s day was the war-chariot, armed with scythes which mowed men down like grass: this was the boast and glory of the neighbouring nations; but the saints considered the name of Jehovah to be a far better defence.”
V. Confidence in Jehovah turns apparent defeat into victory. “They are brought down and fallen; but we are risen and stand upright” (Psa_20:8). The prophetic vision of faith already sees the issue of the conflict. The ranks of those who trust in chariots and horses, who rely on material aid, seem firm, impenetrable, defiant, and the onset irresistible. But the people of God, whose trust is in the unseen, and who seem overwhelmed and put to the worse, rise up triumphant, while their enemies are brought down and crushed—the instruments of war in which they trusted helping to make their ruin more complete. Faith has surer wheels than pride; and prayer will carry us where power must fall. “Faith alone, which commits itself to God, can sing the song of triumph before the victory, and raise the shout of joy before help has been obtained; for to faith all is permitted. It trusts in God, and so really has what it believes, because faith deceives not; as it believes, so is it done.”—Luther.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible1900 · Public DomainOn v1I. The God of Jacob tells us, by the…
Psa 20:1
I. The God of Jacob tells us, by the very name, that He is a God who is not deterred by a great transgression, or by great proneness to transgression, from constituting Himself the Guide to our pilgrim life.
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II. The God of Jacob must be a God who can bear to inflict very stern chastisement on His children, and to train His pilgrims in a very hard, sharp school of discipline, without forfeiting the name of their merciful and loving God. This thought has two suggestions. (1) It expounds the thoroughness of the Divine method. (2) Let the name of the God of Jacob assure you that there is no extremity in which you have a right to cry, "The Lord hath forsaken me; my God has forgotten me."
III. The God of Jacob is the God who will bring the pilgrims home.
J. Baldwin Brown, The Sunday Afternoon, p. 45 (see also p. 35).
References: Psa 20:1—J. Irons, Thursday Penny Pulpit, vol. vii., p. 1; J. M. Neale, Sermons on Passages from the Psalms, p. 9. Psa 20:1, Psa 20:2.—Preacher’s Monthly, vol. ii., p. 414. Psa 20:2.—W. M. Taylor, Old Testament Outlines, p. 102. Psa 20:5.—Homiletic Magazine, vol. vi., p. 16; D. Burns, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xiii., p. 81.
Psa 20:7
The Psalmist remembers the name of the Lord his God, not any one property or attribute of God, but the whole combination of Divine perfections. And he remembers this name, the expression implying, not a transient thought, but meditation, consideration; and yet the result of the recollection is gladness and confidence.
I. When the mind gives itself to the contemplation of the Divine perfections, it launches on an ocean unfathomable and without a shore. But we may certify ourselves of truths which we cannot fathom or scan. And the Divine perfections, while we readily confess that they transcend all our powers, may be objects of our faith, of our study, of our adoration. Wheresoever there is the simple desire and the earnest endeavour to obey the Divine precepts, the properties of our Maker have only to be made the subject of careful remembrance, and they must furnish the materials of comfort.
II. We go on to admit that there are properties or attributes of God which, because they seem arrayed against sinful beings, can hardly be supposed to be the subjects of encouraging remembrance. The name of the Lord our God includes justice and holiness; and these are qualities from which we seem instinctively to shrink, as though we felt that they must necessarily be opposed to rebellious and polluted creatures. But the attributes of Deity meet and harmonise in the plan of our redemption. It is the Christian alone who can view God in every character and yet view Him without dread. The Christian, when he would remember the name of the Lord, may place himself beneath the shadow of the tree on which the Lord Jesus died.
III. The Psalmist’s reference would seem to be specially to seasons of fear and anxiety. In times of sorrow Christians call to remembrance their grief rather than God, the blow rather than the hand whence it comes; but let them call to mind the Divine attributes, the evidences which they have already had of God’s love, and the reasons which they have for being persuaded that all things are ordered by Him so as to work together for good, and come trouble, come death, they may still exclaim, "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but enough for us that we can remember the name of the Lord our God."
H. Melvill, Penny Pulpit, No. 1593.
References: Psa 20:7.—G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 177. Psalm 20—A. Maclaren, Life of David, p. 203; I. Williams, The Psalms Interpreted of Christ, p. 371. Psa 21:1.—J. Irons, Thursday Penny Pulpit, vol. vii., p. 409. Psa 21:2.—Homiletic Magazine, vol. vi., p. 17; M. G. Pearse, Sunday Magazine, 1884, p. 605.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
F. W. Grant1903 · Public DomainOn v1Christ and His salvation.
Christ and His salvation.
To the chief musician: a psalm of David,
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With the last word of the nineteenth psalm is struck the key-note of that which follows. This is truly a blessed psalm, and its beauty will be seen the more, the more we contemplate it. Not that there is much wonder about that: the lustre of all God’s jewels is only dimmed by our indifference.
The two psalms now before us are Jewish, no doubt: and the lack of the apprehension of this causes much of the difficulty of discerning their true character. We have to distinguish between the form and the essence, -or rather, to give frankly to the ancient people of God all that belongs to them; and by so doing we shall surely find what is our own, and of how little we have deprived ourselves by this mere justice. The Gentile’s Christ is also Israel’s Messiah; and wherever we find Him we have our inalienable title to and interest in Him. On His head are many crowns; but these can surely not obscure the features with which we are familiar.
The twentieth psalm speaks of Christ and His salvation, objectively given, as contemplated by the people, and not, as in the twenty-second, subjectively, as the language and experience of the Lord Himself. This, as has been said before, is the manner of the middle three of the nine psalms of which this is the central one, and which show us faith’s reception of the Messiah. The prophecy is here as direct as Isaiah’s picture of Jehovah’s Servant, (Isa 52:13-15,) and should be given as direct announcement, and not, as in our common version, as a prayer. The nine verses are, as usual with this number, 3 x 3, the symbol of divine fullness and manifestation intensified by repetition: from which the importance of its contents may be anticipated.
1. The first section declares God to be for "His Anointed," who is seen in the day of His "strait," which is that of His "offering." This Anointed is the King of Israel, whose deliverance is in some way the salvation of His people, and seems to bring their hearts back to the remembrance of Jehovah their God; and thus they "rise and stand upright." There is no difficulty in seeing that, however else the psalm may have had partial fulfillment, Christ alone is the complete one. And this interpretation it is that gives it its place in the series of psalms that we are considering. The partial ones, taken as the whole, if they could be satisfactorily and not merely conjecturally made out, would break up the unity of the book, as well as lower immeasurably the character of the fragments remaining. How insignificant these "offerings" and this "burnt sacrifice" of a king in his "strait," were it Uzziah or Asa or David himself, compared with that one sacrifice of the glorious King, who is always the great subject of the Spirit’s testimony.
Looked at in this way, a flood of light is thrown upon the psalm which transfigures it completely. In the very first verse thus, where the king is seen in his strait, it is the name of the God of Jacob" that sets him on high. This is then only another reading of the New Testament text that "Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father." (Rom 6:4.) God’s "name" is His glory: it is the display of Himself. It is this that is the blessedness of the gospel, that God is displayed in it in His grace. Here, too, the God of Jacob, when we realize the meaning of this name, Jacob, and remember the history in connection with it, which the book of Genesis so dwells upon, may well stand for -indeed can stand for nothing else but -the God of grace. Grace alone could take up the "supplanter" to make of him an Israel, a "prince of God." Thus it is for the declaration of God’s grace, -of the gospel in its essence, -that the One seen here is delivered from His strait, -is set on high. The resurrection and ascension of Christ give to this its full and blessed significance. The story is that of God’s grace, whether it be in the going forth of the gospel in its fullness now, or in the deliverance of Israel in days to come. It is still the work of Christ that is the foundation of all blessing, and by which the glory of God is displayed in abounding grace.
In the second verse there is a twofold answer implied; for the sanctuary and Zion are in different lines of thought. The one is the place of priesthood; the other the seat of royal power. Christ is both Priest and King; but then, in connection with Him, the sanctuary in the midst of Israel can be no more than "the figure of the true:" and this is plainly declared in the sixth verse, where the answer of God is "from His holy heaven." This is the answer with which we are now, blessed be His name, familiar. But we have taken it in such a way as to discredit the other, and to make a difficulty where there is absolute simplicity. Christ is yet to be answered out of Zion, -the kingly power in Israel put into His hand. Indeed in that day the two answers will be brought into fullest agreement: the "priest after the order of Melchizedek" will be a "priest upon His throne." The grace implied in priesthood will be manifested in Him who reigns with absolute power; and this will be full blessing for the people of His choice.
The third verse, Leviticus-like, shows us the basis of all this in sacrifice. The whole range of offerings here comes in; for what less could show the various perfection of the one offering that has once for all put away sin for every soul that trusts it? but yet the burnt-offering holds before God its special place. No wonder! It is that which tells of the perfectly tried obedience found perfect, all of its sweet savor brought out by the fierceness of the flame consuming it.
How blessed a picture is given us then in these three verses! how impossible for it to be the picture of any other than the One whom it so admirably portrays!
2. We have now the effect of this interposition of God for Him in the deliverance and blessing of His people. This is not, however, what we shall find, when His work is fully told out -forgiveness and salvation from sin. He is their King, and His being raised up naturally connects itself with their deliverance. That this is, and must be, in grace, we have already seen; but this is, as yet, more national than individual, and the depths of their need are not as yet explored.
We find at once, however, that there are counsels of His heart, though what these are is left to be inferred by what follows. They are worthy of that work which lays the ground of their accomplishment; and the people, rejoicing in. His deliverance, set up their banners in that Name which has been declared to them, -the name of Jacob’s God, the God of grace. There is certainly here a national movement, in the face of enemies, but with confidence; and evidently in His advocacy with whose requests their hearts go out in sympathy. Faith in them has linked itself with Him, and that faith expresses itself in joyful certainty, in the voice of a believing nation in the latter day. These are now receiving the testimony with which the psalm began, and the faith of the prophet in the first part of it is answered at last by that of a generation to be new born to God in days yet to come. The transition here will be no difficulty to those who have noted the similar style of prophecy elsewhere.* Thus Israel will yet awake to the acceptance with God of Him whom as the Crucified they have refused and scorned. They have heard as yet but the Voice which cried, Thou hearest not," and to that which presently said, "Thou hast heard Me," they have been deaf and unbelieving. At last the "Ephphatha" will be uttered which will give ears and tongue alike their office, and they will say, "Now I know that Jehovah saveth His Anointed! He answereth Him from His holy heaven, with the saving strength of His right hand."
{*Thus in Isa 52:13-15; Isa 53:1-3 there is a similar transition from the future and the personating by the prophet of the unbelief (as here the faith) of a generation to come.}
3. The third section must be characterized as the resurrection of Israel. We see them in fact brought back to God, as through faith in Christ they will be, with the necessary effect of this, that they find God for them. The last verse, if we are to read it according to the common punctuation, goes on to the further discovery, full indeed of blessing, that Messiah, their King, and Jehovah are the same: a truth certainly not beyond the Psalms to give, and which we shall find fully before us in the fourth book.
The name of God is once more uttered by them here. Well may they be glad to remember it now, after so long a time of forgetfulness. Now no earthly confidence will they boast in, but only in Jehovah. The sure result follows: while other hopes deceive, Jehovah manifests Himself for them. Their enemies (these boasters) are brought down and fallen. Israel rises from her sorrow and degradation and not temporarily merely: they rise and stand upright.
The psalm ends with a prayer, in which Jehovah is invoked still to deliver, a prayer which the "King" is besought to hear. Jehovah and the King are one!
F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible (4th ed., 1903) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow1909 · Public DomainOn v1This and the following Ps. form a closely connected…
This and the following Ps. form a closely connected pair. The one is a prayer for a king going out to battle, and the other is a thanksgiving for his triumphant return. Both have the same title. There is nothing against the early date of the Pss., and David may be their subject, but it is hardly natural to regard him as their author. In Psalms 20, Psa_20:1-5 are the prayer of the people, Psa_20:6 is the confident utterance of an individual (perhaps a priest or the king himself), and in Psa_20:7-9 the people again take up the strain.
1. The name] is equivalent to the God to whom it belongs. It expresses all that is known about Him. Defend thee] RV 'set thee up on high,' over all enemies.
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2. The sanctuary] God's dwelling-place on Mt. Zion is here meant, as the next clause shows. But see Psa_20:6.
3. Remember.. accept] The words refer to the sacrifices both of the past and of the present. Sacrifices were usual before going out to war: see 1Sa_7:9-10; 1Sa_13:9, 1Sa_13:12.
4. According to thine own heart] RV 'thy heart's desire,' i.e. victory. Counsel] plan of campaign: see 2 Samuel 17.
5. Thy salvation] the deliverance to be wrought by the king's success. Set up our banners] lift them up and wave them in triumph.
6. Now] A single person here takes up the song after the sacrifice has been offered. Faith is assured that the offering has been accepted and the king's prayers heard. His anointed] the king: see Psa_2:2; From his holy heaven] God's real dwelling, of which Zion is but the type.
7. Some] refers to heathen enemies, like the Egyptians (Exodus 14 Isa_31:1). Remember] RV 'make mention of,' as a watchword.
8. Brought down] RV 'bowed down.'
9. Read with LXX 'O Lord, save the king: and answer us when we call.'
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield1917 · Public DomainOn vv1–2Heb. "set thee on an high place."
defend
Heb. "set thee on an high place."
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein1922 · Public DomainOn v1Psalm 20
Psalm 20
Christ and His Salvation as Contemplated by His People
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1. What God has done for Christ (Psa 20:1-4)
2. The salvation His people enjoy (Psa 20:5-9)
Psa 20:1-4. “My Redeemer” was the last word of the previous Psalm. Christ the Redeemer of His people is revealed in this Psalm. His death and sacrificial work, revealed in Psa 22:1-31, are here anticipated. He who humbled Himself has been heard by Jehovah, He has set Him upon high (marginal reading), He has sent Him help, He has accepted His great offering, the whole burnt offering which typifies the death of the cross. All the desires of His heart are given to Him and all His counsels will be fulfilled. The believing remnant is contemplating the Redeemer and His salvation. Because He has been heard, because His offering is accepted, because He is set on high, they possess salvation.
Psa 20:5-9. This salvation is now celebrated in inspired song. It is anticipatory of that coming salvation. They will rejoice in His salvation, His heavenly people, now rejoice in it. Banners, the symbol of victory won, will be set up. The intercessions of His Anointed (Christ) will be answered, all enemies are bowed down and fallen. “But we are risen and stand upright” refers to the day of Israel’s national and spiritual resurrection. In anticipation of the trouble of the last days we read the prayer of this godly remnant. “Save LORD! Let the King hear us when we call.”
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann1924 · Public DomainOn v1Prayer in Time of War.
Prayer in Time of War.
To the chief musician, a psalm of David, evidently composed to be sung by the Tabernacle chorus while the king and his army were in the field, the purpose being to implore Jehovah to grant victory to the arms of Israel. The chorus as such opens the hymn.
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v. 1. The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble, graciously and attentively listening to the king’s call when he would find himself in a difficult and dangerous position; the name of the God of Jacob, the mighty God of Jacob, the great Protector of Israel Himself, defend thee, setting him up on high, on a stronghold where no enemy could harm him;
v. 2. send thee help, that for which he called, from the Sanctuary, from His dwelling-place on Zion, where this prayer was made, and strengthen, support and assist, thee out of Zion, the place of His habitation among men;
v. 3. remember all thy offerings, such as were always made before opening a battle, and accept thy burnt sacrifice, finding it fat and therefore acceptable; Selah. Cf Psa 3:2. V4. Grant thee according to thine own heart, exactly as the king desired it, and fulfill all thy counsel, permitting all his plans and measures in the war to be successful.
v. 5. We will rejoice in thy salvation, over the victory which would be sure to come to the king’s arms, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners, letting them wave in token of the victory gained; the Lord fulfill all thy petitions, granting the king all that he desired to bring the campaign to a successful conclusion. This section of the psalm was probably sung while the offerings of the day were lighted. A solo voice now continues:
v. 6. Now know I that the Lord saveth His anointed, letting him experience His gracious assistance, as the singer states in the confidence of faith; He will hear him from His holy heaven, the throne of His majesty, with the saving strength of His right hand, with the wonderful deeds of His almighty power. This confidence is based on the means of grace, on the sacrifice and the word which accompanied it.
v. 7. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, making flesh their arm, depending upon their own strength and resources; but we will remember the name of the Lord, our God, making mention of Jehovah, their confidence being founded in Him alone.
v. 8. They, the enemies who so foolishly trust in their own power, are brought down and fallen, first bowing down, sinking to the knees, and then lying prostrate; but we are risen and stand upright, firm and secure, holding the field with ease, without the slightest distress and fear. The Levitical soloist having finished his air, the entire chorus takes up the theme in a triumphant conclusion.
v. 9. Save, Lord! Let the King hear us when we call, or, "Save the king, O Jehovah, hear us in the day of our calling"; just the right proportion of humble pleading and confident requesting, as it behooves believers in stepping before the throne of God. The sentiments here expressed have a permanent value, for, as one commentator has it, the prosperity of the kingdom of Christ is not merely typified, but also involved, in that of Israel and its king.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv1, 3General Information:
General Information:
This Psalm begins with a group of people speaking to the king of Israel.
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General Information:
Parallelism is common in Hebrew poetry. (See: Poetry and Parallelism)
For the chief musician
"This is for the director of music to use in worship"
A psalm of David
Possible meanings are 1) David wrote the psalm or 2) the psalm is about David or 3) the psalm is in the style of David's psalms.
help you
The word "you" in this Psalm is singular and refers to the king.
in the day of trouble
"in times of trouble" or "when you are in trouble"
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you
Possible meanings are 1) here "name" is a metonym for God's power. AT: "may the power of the God of Jacob protect you" or "may the God of Jacob protect you by his power" or 2) here "name" is a metonym for God himself. AT: "may the God of Jacob protect you" (See: Metonymy)
send help from the holy place
God helping from his holy place is spoken of as if God were sending help. AT: "may Yahweh help you from his holy place" (See: Metaphor)
holy place ... Zion
Both of these refer to God's temple in Jerusalem. (See: Doublet)
Tyndale Open Study Notes2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv1, 3, 4Pss 20–24 This sequence of psalms expresses the experience…
Pss 20–24 This sequence of psalms expresses the experience of moving from confidence and commitment (Pss 20–21), through anguish and abandonment (Ps 22), and finally to comfort, insight, and hope (Pss 23–24).
Ps 20 This royal prayer for God’s victory (20:1-5) leads to confidence in God’s rescue (20:6-8) and a communal request for God’s response (20:9).
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20:1-5 The community prays for the king’s protection and victory.
20:1 The title God of Jacob affectionately expresses God’s ancient relationship with his people (see 46:7, 11; 75:9; 76:6; 81:1, 4; 84:8; 94:7; 114:7; 146:5). • keep you safe from all harm: See 59:1-2.
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv1–3 The inscription shows that the psalm was composed by…
The inscription shows that the psalm was composed by David; but though he was its author, there is no absurdity in his speaking of himself in the person of others. The office of a prophet having been committed to him, he with great propriety prepared this as a form of prayer for the use of the faithful. In doing this, his object was not so much to commend his own person, by authoritatively issuing a royal ordinance enjoining upon the people the use of this prayer, as to show, in the exercise of his office as a teacher, that it belonged to the whole Church to concern itself, and to use its endeavors that the kingdom which God had erected might continue safe and prosperous. Many interpreters view this prayer as offered up only on one particular occasion; but in this I cannot agree. The occasion of its composition at first may have arisen from some particular battle which was about to be fought, either against the Ammonites, or against some other enemies of Israel. But the design of the Holy Spirit, in my judgment, was to deliver to the Church a common form of prayer, which, as we may gather from the words, was to be used whenever she was threatened with any danger. God commands his people, in general, to pray for kings, but there was a special reason, and one which did not apply to any other kingdom, why prayer was to be made in behalf of this kingdom; for it was only by the hand of David and his seed that God had determined to govern and maintain his people. It is particularly to be noticed, that under the figure of this temporal kingdom, there was described a government far more excellent, on which the whole joy and felicity of the Church depended. The object, therefore, which David had expressly in view was, to exhort all the children of God to cherish such a holy solicitude about the kingdom of Christ, as would stir them up to continual prayer in its behalf.
1. May Jehovah hear thee, etc. The Holy Spirit, by introducing the people as praying that God would answer the prayers of the king, is to be viewed as at the same time admonishing kings that it is their duty to implore the protection of God in all their affairs. When he says, In the day of trouble, he shows that they will not be exempted from troubles, and he does this that they may not become discouraged, if at any time they should happen to be in circumstances of danger. In short, the faithful, that the body may not be separated from the head, further the king’s prayers by their common and united supplications. The name of God is here put for God himself and not without good reason; for the essence of God being incomprehensible to us, it behoves us to trust in him, in so far as his grace and power are made known to us. From his name, therefore, proceeds confidence in calling upon him. The faithful desire that the king may be protected and aided by God, whose name was called upon among the sons of Jacob. I cannot agree with those who think that mention is here made of that patriarch, because God exercised him with various afflictions, not unlike those with which he tried his servant David. I am rather of opinion that, as is usual in Scripture, the chosen people are denoted by the term Jacob. And from this name, the God of Jacob, the faithful encourage themselves to pray for the defense of their king; because it was one of the privileges of their adoption to live under the conduct and protection of a king set over them by God himself. Hence we may conclude, as I have said before, that under the figure of a temporal kingdom there is described to us a government much more excellent. “Et de le il nous convient recueiller, ce que jay dit, que sous a figure d’un regne temporel nous est descrie un gouvernement bien plus excellent.” — Fr.
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As the people of Israel here unite in prayer with and for the monarch of Israel, whom we may picture to our minds as repairing to the tabernacle to offer sacrifices, where this animated ode was sung by the priests and people.
“Si non qu’il marche derant, et nous conduise a Dieu.” — Fr.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1, 3 Hereby kings are also admonished to call to God…
Hereby kings are also admonished to call to God in their affairs.
The virtue, power and grace of God.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–4 Psa 20:1 « To the chief Musician, A Psalm…
Psa 20:1 « To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. » The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;
A Psalm of David] Or, concerning David; so Kimchi. Or, for and on the behalf of David; so Aben Ezra. David, as a prophet, dictated this form of prayer to be made by the people for himself, their king; when he went forth to fight their battles, probably, against the Ammonites and Syrians; or, when he fled from Absalom, and was to help them from the city by his prayers, 2Sa 18:3, as Aben Ezra thinketh.
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Ver. 1. The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble] Great men, though gracious, as David, have their distresses, and must pray for themselves then; not trusting to the prayers of others for them; as did that profane Earl of Westmoreland, who said he had no need to pray, since he had tenants enough to pray for him (Camden).
The name of the God of Jacob defend thee] Heb. set thee in a high place, such as God’s name is, Pro 18:10, the righteous run thereto and are safe, as in a tower of brass or town of war. By the name of God is meant, Deus nominatissimus, the most renowned God, saith Junius, and worthy to be praised, as Psa 18:3. And he is called the God of Jacob here, saith another; first, because Jacob was once in the like distress, Gen 32:6-7; secondly, because he prayed to the like purpose, Gen 35:3; thirdly, because he prevailed with God as a prince; and there God spake with us, Hos 12:5; fourthly, because God of Jacob is the same with God of Israel; and so the covenant is pleaded.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1–4 In the day of trouble; in this time of…
In the day of trouble; in this time of war and danger.
Name of the God of Jacob, i.e. God himself; for names are oft put for persons, as Num 26:53; Act 1:15; 4:12; and the name of God for God, as Deu 28:58; Neh 9:5; Psa 44:8,20; Pr 18:10, and oft elsewhere. He calls him the
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God of Jacob, or Israel, partly to distinguish him from false gods; and partly as an argument to enforce the prayer, because God had made a league or covenant with Jacob and his posterity, who are called by the name of
Jacob, Psa 147:19,20; Isa 44:2, and whose cause David was now pleading against their enemies.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v1 This prayer for David is entitled a psalm of…
This prayer for David is entitled a psalm of David; nor was it any absurdity at all for him who was divinely inspired to draw up a directory, or form of prayer, to be used in the congregation for himself and those in authority under him; nay it is very proper for those who desire the prayers of their friends to tell them particularly what they would have to be asked of God for them. Note, Even great and good men, and those that know ever so well how to pray for themselves, must not despise, but earnestly desire, the prayers of others for them, even those that are their inferiors in all respects. Paul often begged of his friends to pray for him. Magistrates and those in power ought to esteem and encourage praying people, to reckon them their strength (Zac 12:5, Zac 12:10), and to do what they can for them, that they may have an interest in their prayers and may do nothing to forfeit it. Now observe here,
I. What it is that they are taught to ask of God for the king.
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1. That God would answer his prayers: The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble (Psa 20:1), and the Lord fulfil all thy petitions, Psa 20:5. Note, (1.) Even the greatest of men may be much in trouble. It was often a day of trouble with David himself, of disappointment and distress, of treading down and of perplexity. Neither the crown on his head nor the grace in his heart would exempt him from the trouble. (2.) Even the greatest of men must be much in prayer. David, though a man of business, a man of war, was constant to his devotions; though he had prophets, and priests, and many good people among his subjects, to pray for him, he did not think that excused him from praying for himself. Let none expect benefit by the prayers of the church, or of their ministers or friends for them, who are capable of praying for themselves, and yet neglect it. The prayers of others for us must be desired, not to supersede, but to second, our own for ourselves. Happy the people that have praying princes, to whose prayers they may thus say, Amen.
2. That God would protect his person, and preserve his life, in the perils of war: "The name of the God of Jacob defend thee, and set thee out of the reach of thy enemies." (1.) "Let God by his providence keep thee safe, even the God who preserved Jacob in the days of his trouble." David had mighty men for his guards, but he commits himself, and his people commit him, to the care of the almighty God. (2.) "Let God by his grace keep thee easy from the fear of evil. - Pro 18:10, The name of the Lord is a strong tower, into which the righteous run by faith, and are safe; let David be enabled to shelter himself in that strong tower, as he has done many a time."
3. That God would enable him to go on in his undertakings for the public good - that, in the day of battle, he would send him help out of the sanctuary, and strength out of Zion, not from common providence, but from the ark of the covenant and the peculiar favour God bears to his chosen people Israel. That he would help him, in performance of the promises and in answer to the prayers made in the sanctuary. Mercies out of the sanctuary are the sweetest mercies, such as are the tokens of God's peculiar love, the blessing of God, even our own God. Strength out of Zion is spiritual strength, strength in the soul, in the inward man, and that is what we should most desire both for ourselves and others in services and sufferings.
4. That God would testify his gracious acceptance of the sacrifices he offered with his prayers, according to the law of that time, before he went out on a dangerous expedition: The Lord remember all thy offerings and accept thy burnt-sacrifices (Psa 20:3), or turn them to ashes; that is, "The Lord give thee the victory and success which thou didst by prayer with sacrifices ask of him, and thereby give as full proof of his acceptance of the sacrifice as ever he did by kindling it with fire from heaven." By this we may now know that God accepts our spiritual sacrifices, if by his Spirit he kindles in our souls a holy fire of pious and divine affection and with that makes our hearts burn within us.
5. That God would crown all his enterprises and noble designs for the public welfare with the desired success (Psa 20:4): The Lord grant thee according to thy own heart. This they might in faith pray for, because they knew David was a man after God's own heart, and would design nothing but what was pleasing to him. Those who make it their business to glorify God may expect that God will, in one way or other, gratify them: and those who walk in his counsel may promise themselves that he will fulfil theirs. Thou shalt devise a thing and it shall be established unto thee.
II. What confidence they had of an answer of peace to these petitions for themselves and their good king (Psa 20:5): "We will rejoice in thy salvation. We that are subjects will rejoice in the preservation and prosperity of our prince;" or, rather, "In thy salvation, O God! in thy power and promise to save, will we rejoice; that is it which we depend upon now, and which, in the issue, we shall have occasion greatly to rejoice in." Those that have their eye still upon the salvation of the Lord shall have their hearts filled with the joy of that salvation: In the name of our God will we set up our banners. 1. "We will wage war in his name; we will see that our cause be good and make his glory our end in every expedition; we will ask counsel at his mouth, and take him along with us; we will follow his direction, implore his aid and depend upon it, and refer the issue to him." David went against Goliath in the name of the Lord of hosts, Sa1 17:45. (2.) "We will celebrate our victories in his name. When we lift up our banners in triumph, and set up our trophies, it shall be in the name of our God; he shall have all the glory of our success, and no instrument shall have any part of the honour that is due to him."
In singing this we ought to offer up to God our hearty good wishes to the good government we are under and to the prosperity of it. But we may look further; these prayers for David are prophecies concerning Christ the Son of David, and in him they were abundantly answered; he undertook the work of our redemption, and made war upon the powers of darkness. In the day of trouble, when his soul was exceedingly sorrowful, the Lord heard him, heard him in that he feared (Heb 5:7), sent him help out of the sanctuary, sent an angel from heaven to strengthen him, took cognizance of his offering when he made his soul an offering for sin, and accepted his burnt-sacrifice, turned it to ashes, the fire that should have fastened upon the sinner fastening upon the sacrifice, with which God was well pleased. And he granted him according to his own heart, made him to see of the travail of his soul, to his satisfaction, prospered his good pleasure in his hand, fulfilled all his petitions for himself and us; for him the Father heareth always and his intercession is ever prevailing.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–4 The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble,....…
The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble,.... All the days of Christ were days of trouble; he was a brother born for adversity; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with griefs; he had his own sorrows, and he bore the griefs of others; he was persecuted by Herod in his infancy; he was tempted by Satan in the wilderness; he was harassed by the Scribes and Pharisees continually; he was grieved at the hardness, impenitence, and unbelief, of that perverse and faithless generation of men, and was sometimes made uneasy by his own disciples: at some particular seasons his soul or spirit is said to be troubled, as at the grave of Lazarus, and when in a view of his own death, and when he was about to acquaint his disciples that one of them should betray him, Joh 11:33; but more particularly it was a day of trouble with him, when he was in the garden, heavy, and sore amazed, and his sweat was, as it were, drops of blood falling on the ground, and his soul was exceeding sorrowful, even unto death; but more especially this was his case when he hung upon the cross, and is what seems to be principally respected here; when he was in great torture of body through the rack of the cross; when he endured the cruel mockings of men, of the common people, of the chief priests, and even of the thieves that suffered with him; when he had Satan, and all his principalities and powers, let loose upon him, and he was grappling with them; when he bore all the sins of his people, endured the wrath of his Father, and was forsaken by him: now in this day of trouble, both when in the garden and on the cross, he prayed unto his Father, as he had been used to do in other cases, and at other times; and the church here prays, that God would hear and answer him, as he did: he always heard him; he heard him at the grave of Lazarus; he heard him in the garden, and filled his human soul with courage and intrepidity, of which there were immediate instances; he heard him on the cross, and helped him as man and Mediator, Isa 49:8;
the name of the God of Jacob defend thee; that is, God himself, who is named the God of Jacob, whom Jacob called upon, and trusted in as his God, and who answered him in the day of his distress: Jacob was exercised with many troubles, but the Lord delivered him out of them all; and which may be the reason why the Lord is addressed under this character here; besides, Israel is one of the names of the Messiah, Isa 49:3; on whose account the petition is put to which may be added, that Jacob may design people of God, the spiritual sons of Jacob, the church of the living God, whose God the Lord is; and the phrase may be here used by the church, to encourage her faith in prayer: the petition, on account of the Messiah, is, that God would "defend" him, or "set" him on "an high place" (n); or "exalt" him: he was brought very low in his state of humiliation; he was in the form of a servant; he was in a very low and mean condition throughout the whole of his life; through the suffering of death he was made lower than the angels, and he was laid in the lower parts of the earth: the church, in this petition, prays for his resurrection from the dead; for his ascension into the highest heavens; for his exaltation at the right hand of God; for the more visible setting him on his throne in his kingdom; in all which she has been answered.
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(n) "elevet te", Pagninus, Montanus; "exaltet te", Vatablus, Museulus, Michaelis; "in edito collocet te", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; so Ainsworth.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1–2 A prayer for the king, ver. 1-4. The king…
A prayer for the king, ver. 1-4. The king and the people rejoice in God, and pray for his help, ver. 5-9. To the chief musician, A psalm of David.
God of Jacob - God had made a covenant with Jacob and his posterity.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1–4 A prayer for the king in his enterprises, that…
PSALM XX
A prayer for the king in his enterprises, that his prayers may
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be heard, his offerings accepted, and his wishes fulfilled,
1-4.
Confidence of victory expressed, 5, 6.
Vain hopes exposed; and supplication made for the king. 7-9.
NOTES ON PSALM XX
It is most likely that this Psalm was penned on the occasion of David's going to war, and most probably with the Ammonites and Syrians, who came with great numbers of horses and chariots to fight with him. See 2Sa 10:6-8; 1Ch 19:7. It is one of the Dialogue Psalms, and appears to be thus divided: Previously to his undertaking the war, David comes to the tabernacle to offer sacrifice. This being done, the people, in the king's behalf, offer up their prayers; these are included in the three first verses: the fourth was probably spoken by the high priest; the fifth, by David and his attendants; the last clause, by the high priest; the sixth, by the high priest, after the victim was consumed; the seventh and eighth, by David and his men; and the ninth, as a chorus by all the congregation.
Verse 1. The Lord hear thee] David had already offered the sacrifice and prayed. The people implore God to succour him in the day of trouble; of both personal and national danger.
The name of the God of Jacob] This refers to Jacob's wrestling with the Angel; Ge 32:24, &c. And who was this Angel? Evidently none other than the Angel of the Covenant, the Lord Jesus, in whom was the name of God, the fulness of the Godhead bodily. He was the God of Jacob, who blessed Jacob, and gave him a new name and a new nature. See the notes on the above place in Genesis.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1–2 Psa 20:1. The Lord hear thee in the day…
Psa 20:1. The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble — It was often a day of trouble with David. “Neither the crown on his head,” says Henry, “nor the grace in his heart, would exempt him from trouble.” But in his trouble he had recourse to God; and in this all, even the greatest of men, ought to imitate him. “Though he was a man of business, and a man of war, yet he was constant to his devotions. Though he had prophets, and priests, and many good people among his subjects to pray for him, yet he did not think that excused him from praying for himself. None must expect benefit by the prayers of the church, or of their ministers or friends for them, who are capable of praying for themselves, and yet neglect it. The prayers of others for us must be desired, not to supersede, but to second our own for ourselves.” The name of the God of Jacob — That is, God himself, for names are often put for persons. He calls him the God of Jacob, or Israel, not only to distinguish him from false gods, but as an argument to enforce the prayer, because God had made a covenant with Jacob and his posterity. Let God by his providence keep thee safe, and secure from the reach of evil, even the God who preserved Jacob in the days of his trouble; and let God by his grace keep thee easy and happy from the fear of evil.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1–4 The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble…
The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble - According to the view expressed in the introduction to the psalm, this is the language of the people praying for their king, or expressing the hope that he would be delivered from trouble, and would be successful in what he had undertaken, in the prosecution of a war apparently of defense. The word” trouble” here used would seem to imply that he was beset with difficulties and dangers; perhaps, that he was surrounded by foes. It seems that he was going forth to war to deliver his country from trouble, having offered sacrifices and prayers Psa 20:3 for the purpose of securing the divine favor on the expedition. The point or the moment of the psalm is when those sacrifices had been offered, and when he was about to embark on his enterprise. At that moment the people lift up the voice of sympathy and of encouragement, and pray that those sacrifices might be accepted, and that he might find the deliverance which he had desired.
The name of the God of Jacob - The word name is often put in the Scriptures for the person himself; and hence, this is equivalent to saying, “May the God of Jacob defend thee.” See Psa 5:11; Psa 9:10; Psa 44:5; Psa 54:1; Exo 23:21. Jacob was the one of the patriarchs from whom, after his other name, the Hebrew people derived their name Israel, and the word seems here to be used with reference to the people rather than to the ancestor. Compare Isa 44:2. The God of Jacob, or the God of Israel, would be synonymous terms, and either would denote that he was the Protector of the nation. As such he is invoked here; and the prayer is, that the Great Protector of the Hebrew people would now defend the king in the dangers which beset him, and in the enterprise which he had undertaken.
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Defend thee - Margin, as in Hebrew, set thee on a high place. The word means the same as defend him, for the idea is that of being set on a high place, a tower, a mountain, a lofty rock, where his enemies could not reach or assail him.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v1 Psalms 20
Psalms 20
To the chief musician, a Psalm of David
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1 The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble;
The name of the God of Jacob defend thee;
2 Send thee help from the sanctuary,
And strengthen thee out of Zion;
3 Remember all thy offerings,
And accept thy burnt sacrifice; Selah.
4 Grant thee according to thine own heart,
And fulfil all thy counsel.
5 We will rejoice in thy salvation,
And in the name of our God we will set up our banners:
The Lord fulfil all thy petitions.
6 Now know I that the Lord saveth his anointed;
He will hear him from his holy heaven
With the saving strength of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses:
But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
8 They are brought down and fallen:
But we are risen, and stand upright.
9 Save, Lord:
Let the king hear us when we call.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Its Contents and Composition. The assistance of God is implored for a king, with reference to a war with foreign enemies, and indeed, as it seems, not in general at his entering upon his government (Hupf.); or without any reference to a special case as a formula of a prayer for authorities in general (Calv., Luth., Geier); or in a direct Messianic sense pointing to Christ and the Church militant (J. H. Mich., et al.); or embracing the two last references (Hengst.); but on his going forth to war, and with the sacrifices usual upon such occasions (1Sa_13:9-12, most interpreters). On account of the mention of Zion in connection with the sanctuary (Psa_20:2), this king cannot be Saul, to whom and of whom David might speak, but rather David himself, who in the second expedition against the Syrians marched forth himself personally (2Sa_10:17), and knew how to vanquish his enemies who were provided with chariots (2Sa_8:4). The speaker is then, naturally, not David, but either the congregation assembled at the sacrifice (most interpreters), or some one speaking in their name. The supposition of a responsive song between the choir and a single voice (Psa_20:6), either a Levite (Ewald, Delitzsch), or the king (Knapp et al.), makes the Psalm more vivid, but is not plainly given by the text.
The transparent language and the simple arrangement, the smooth symmetry and the quiet advance in thought, are not in favor of a poetical effusion of the feelings of the moment, but of its being a hymn previously composed for Divine service on a special occasion. It is more natural to suppose that the author was David, than an unknown poet, as there are some things that remind us of his style. Hitzig, with reference to the next psalm as one closely connected with the present, considers the king here addressed as Uzziah who at the beginning of his government had to contend with the Philistines (2Ch_26:6), and the prophet Zechariah (who exerted some influence upon Uzziah, who was then sixteen years old, 2Ch_26:5), as the speaker. But the threads of this hypothesis are finer than a spider’s web (comp. Psalms 21).
The first half of the psalm expresses the desire for the success of the king through the assistance of Jehovah, in such a way that its fulfilment is not only formally presupposed, but forms the real foundation for the victorious shouts of the congregation (Psa_20:5). The imperfects have from the earliest times been constantly regarded as optatives, only by Hitzig and Sachs as futures in the sense of comforting and encouraging exhortation, as an expression of a hope, which is said to form the prelude to the conviction expressed in Psa_20:6. But the certainty of Divine help which appears in Psa_20:6, with “now,” which does not at all lead to a later composition of this section (Maurer), but to a confirmation of the faith in Divine help, as it has been declared in sacrifices and prayers, agrees better with the supposition that the preceding verbs are optatives. Only from this foundation of certainty does the language rise (Psa_20:6 b) to the expression of the hope of the victory (which is described in Psa_20:7-8, in dramatic antithesis) and close with prayer corresponding with this course of thought (Psa_20:9). The perfects in Psa_20:6; Psa_20:8, express the sure future.
Str. I. [Psa_20:1. The name of the God of Jacob.—Barnes: “The word name is often put in the Scriptures for the person himself; and hence this is equivalent to saying ‘may the God of Jacob defend thee.’ See Psa_5:11; Psa_9:10; Psa_44:5; Psa_54:1; Exo_23:21. Jacob was one of the patriarchs from whom, after his other name, the Hebrew people derived their name Israel, and the word seems here to be used with reference to the people rather than to the ancestor. Comp. Isa_44:2. The God of Jacob, or the God of Israel, would be synonymous terms, and either would denote that he was the Protector of the nation. As such He is invoked here; and the prayer is, that the Great Protector of the Hebrew people would now defend the king in the dangers which beset him, and in the enterprise which he had undertaken.”—Defend thee, literally as the margin of A. V. “set thee on a high place.” Perowne: “ ‘set thee upon high’ that is, as in a fortress where no enemy can do thee harm, or on a rock at the foot of which the waves fret and dash themselves in impotent fury.”
Psa_20:2. From the sanctuary, parallel with out of Zion, as the earthly abode of God among His people whither they are to go up as to His palace, and from whence as from His throne they are to receive help and strength, vid. Psa_14:7; Psa_3:5.—C. A. B.]
Psa_20:3. Remember all thy meat-offerings. [A. V. offerings].—This expression naturally refers to the evidence of his piety previously given by the king, but it is not opposed (Hupf.) to the reference to an offering now being made, but rather leads to this, as it is thus even now presented in the burnt offerings of the king. The bloodless meat offerings of meal with oil and incense (Leviticus 2), with few exceptions, accompanied the burnt offerings which were entirely consumed on the altar, or whole burnt offerings (Leviticus 1); hence both expressions properly complement one another, and their separate mention has only a rhetorical significance. May God remember the previous offerings of the king, let Him be pleased with the present offerings. The latter sense is contained in the expression: may He find fat, [A. V. accept] literally; may He make fat (Psa_23:5); but the piel includes likewise the meaning of declare. It was not commanded that the animals offered should be fat (Lev_22:18 sq.), it was so much the more an evidence of the willingness and gladness of the offerer. The translation of some of the more ancient interpreters after Aben Ezra: turn to ashes [A. V. margin] regards the words as a denominative of דֶּשֶן, but leads to the expectation of its being kindled by heavenly fire as a sign of its gracious acceptance, as Lev_9:24; 1Ki_18:37; 1Ch_21:26, which is not at all justified by the text. With this derivation, moreover, the sense would properly be “may He cleanse from ashes.”
[Psa_20:4. Counsel.—Perowne: “All thy plans and measures in the war”—C. A. B.]
Str. II. Psa_20:5. [Thy salvation.—Hupfeld. “Help, or appointed victory (Psa_33:17), corresponds with the contents of Psa_20:1-2.”—C. A. B.]29Wave banners, that is, as an expression of joy on account of victory. The translation of more ancient interpreters: set up banners as a memorial of victory [A. V.] does not correspond with the form of the Hebrew word. It is questionable, likewise, whether the translation of the Sept. Vulg. as well as the Pesch. μεγαλυνθησόμεθα, magnificabimus, exultabimus, can be derived from the same word, as after the Arabic, or whether we are to accept another reading נְגַרֵּל instead נִדְגֹל—[Fulfil all thy petitions, repeats the contents of Psa_20:4.—C. A. B.]
[Str. III. Psa_20:6. Perowne: “The hope suddenly changes into certainty. Now know I that Jehovah hath saved, hath given victory. The singer speaks in the full assurance of faith, that the prayer is heard, and as if he already saw the victory gained. The prayer had been (Psa_20:1-2) that God would hear and send help from the earthly sanctuary or Zion. Now the answer is said to come from His holy heaven. For if God then condescended to dwell in visible glory among men, yet He would teach His people that He is not limited by the bounds of time and space. He is not like the gods of the heathen, the god of one city or country. He sends help out of Zion, but the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him (see the recognition of this truth in Solomon’s prayer, 1Ki_8:27, etc.). Calvin sees expressed in the earthly sanctuary made by hands the grace and condescension of God to His people; in the heavenly, His infinite power, greatness, and majesty.”—Mighty deeds [A. V. strength].—Delitzsch “גְּבוּרוֹת means here not the fullness of strength (comp. Psalms 90), but the exhibition of strength (Psa_106:2; Psa_145:4; Psa_150:2; Isa_63:15), by which His right hand works salvation, that is, victory, for them who are battling.”
Psa_20:7. Some of chariots and some of horses, but we make mention of the name of Jehovah our God.—Delitzsch: “According to the law Israel should have no standing army; the law for the king, Deu_17:16, denounces the keeping of many horses. So was it likewise under the judges and still under David; under Solomon already it changed, he procured for himself a great number of horses and chariots. 1Ki_10:26-29. Psa_20:7 gives a very decisive confession of the time of David, that Israel’s boast against his enemies, especially the Syrians, is the firm defence and arms of the name of his God. David speaks similarly to Goliath, 1Sa_17:45.”—The A. V. does not give the force and beauty of the original. Trust should not be inserted in the first clause, and remember does not give the idea of the second clause.
Psa_20:8. Hupfeld: “The contrast of the previous verse is continued with reference to the consequences which both have derived from their confidences.” Delitzsch: “The præterites are præt. confidentiæ—‘a triumphal ode before the victory’ as Luther remarks,—‘a cry of joy before the help.’ ”—They have bowed down and fallen (not as A. V.: They are brought down).—The idea is that they first sink down upon their knees and then fall to the ground.—But we have risen and stood firm (A. V. stood upright).—Delitzsch: “Since קוּם does not mean stand, but stand up, קַמְנוּ presupposes that the enemies then had the upper hand. But the condition of affairs changes. Those who are standing fall, those who are lying rise up; the former remain lying, the latter keep the field.”—C. A. B.]
Str. IV. Psa_20:9. Help the king.—This is the basis of the hymn: domine salvum fac regem, and the national hymns which have been derived from it in accordance with the Sept., Vulg. According to the Masoretic accentuation, which is advocated by Hengst. and Delitzsch,30 it would be translated, Jehovah help: May the king hear us. Thus the Pesch. [and A. V.]. The king would then be Jehovah, since the hearing of prayer is a predicate of Jehovah; according to ancient interpreters, Christ. Since, however, the psalm has already spoken of another king, the supposition of such a transition to Jehovah is the more objectionable, since it is true He is called a great king (Psa_48:2) yet never merely, the king. This objection would be partly set aside, if with the Chald. we might translate, O king! especially as the call of prayer, help is used Psa_12:1; Psa_118:25, without an accusative. But the third person of the verb does not suit the vocative, which the Vulg. arbitrarily changes into the second person. The whole manifestly stands in manifest relation to Psa_20:6, so that Psa_20:9 is distinguished from Psa_20:1, by the fact that the closing petition is based upon the intervening promise, Since the words in Psa_20:9; Psa_20:6 correspond in other respects entirely with one another, it is certain that the anointed has the same meaning as king. [Delitzsch: The New Testament cry of Hosanna is a particularizing of this Davidic, ‘God save the king mediated by Psa_118:25. The closing line is a developed Amen.”—C. A. B.]
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. It is an evidence of great grace and a source of rich blessing in a land, if prince and people meet in the presence of God, with common desires and bring the same cares in united prayer before the throne of the Eternal. For prince and people belong so closely together, that the need of the one is likewise the calamity of the other, but the common good is essentially advanced by concord, and concord is best confirmed and advanced by union in common devotion to God.
2. A king shows that he is an anointed of the Lord, and a king by God’s grace, especially by not only surrounding the actions of his government with prayer and Divine service, but by personally participating therein as a shining example for the whole congregation. A people proves itself to be a people of the Lord and a congregation of God by not only huzzahing such a ruler and wishing him success and victory, salvation and blessings, but likewise by praying with him and for him. Thus this psalm may “serve as a devout and holy watchword.” (Luther.)
3. Joyfulness in prayer and confidence of being heard are nourished and strengthened by the remembrance of the exhibitions of help, with which God has already previously declared and magnified His name, and particularly by those with which He has glorified it in our predecessors and ancestors who are the models of our faith. It arises moreover from the assurance that we are in the same covenant of grace with our fathers and that we prove ourselves to be members of it. It is true, we call upon God with a deeper, richer and mightier name than the Israelites could, but the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is the same God as the God of Jacob, whose name the Israelites brought to remembrance (Gen_35:3) when they prayed to Jehovah on Zion. The difference is merely in the stages of His revelation, and accordingly in the depth and fulness of the knowledge of Him. The places, forms and methods of Divine service have been altered in a corresponding way. But the change in them has taken place through the spirit of the new Covenant in order to fulfil the old; the God who is enthroned in the sanctuary of heaven, still ever meets with His people in sanctuaries on earth, and lets His gracious help flow forth from thence upon His congregation, whilst He comes to help them from heaven with the mighty deeds of salvation.
4. The congregation of God is distinguished from the world by the fact that in the day of trouble it does not rely upon earthly means of help, even when it makes use of them in a proper manner and according to the commandment of God. But it puts its confidence in the assistance of God, and for this reason before and afterwards gives His name the glory (comp. 1Sa_17:45; Isa_31:3; Psa_33:17). For this, however, a strong and living faith is necessary. “But the faith which relies upon God, can sing the triumphant ode before the victory, and make a cry of joy before the help ensues; whereas everything is allowed to faith. For he believes in God and thus truly has, what he believes, because faith does not deceive; as he has faith, so will it happen unto him.” (Luther).
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
A king does well if, before he leads his people to battle against the enemy, he leads them into the house of God to prayer.—It is well for a land whose king is the model of piety, whose people have this motto: Jehovah help the king!—He chooses the best portion in war who does not rely upon earthly means of power, but puts his confidence in the assistance of God.—Natural courage is not to be despised; but the confidence of trust in God surpasses it, in worth, duration and strength.—The communion of faith unites stronger than the same danger and need, more intimately than the same hope and joy.—Happy the land whose king cares for the good of the people and whose people rejoice in the salvation of the king.—Divine service has the precedence of the service of kings.—The confidence of trust in God and the assurance of the hearing of prayer do not constitute the beginning of communion with God, but are a consequence and fruit of it.—We should not only pray with one another, but likewise for one another.—God has His dwelling-place not only in heaven, but likewise on the earth, and from both places He sends forth blessing, consolation and help to His people.—Man’s drawing near to God has for its reason as well as its consequence God’s drawing near to man.
Starke: Although the Christian Church is weak and weaponless, it has a strong tower in the name of God.—The sacrifices of the Christian are a broken and a contrite heart, a holy life and an earnest praise of God.—The Lord does what those who fear God desire; but they desire nothing that is opposed to God.—If the world reckons to its honor what it has accomplished alone with its own power, on the other hand it is a strange thing of which believers boast, of the help which has come from God.—Just as Israel could lift up its banner with joy in the name of God, so every believing Christian can now likewise in his office, station and calling venture upon it. confident in God, and can assure himself of His gracious assistance.—What is heard in heaven must be powerfully executed on earth.—Carnal plans are generally of poor success and turn out badly; on the other hand what is begun with God, lasts.—Our best arsenal is in heaven and in the right hand of God.—The ungodly have never yet been able to sing a true triumphant ode over the downfall of the pious, their boasting is false; but believers can here and in heaven forever sing the glorious victory of the Lord (1Co_15:57; Rev_12:10).
Luther: God must help and advise; our plans and actions are otherwise of no value.—Osiander: Great, exalted titles do not make a king invincible, but God’s help, which is gained by the prayer of faith. The victory is a gift of God, and is not accomplished by great preparation or a great host.—Selnekker: What is begun with God issues favorably; but the greater part of the world transact all things without God’s advice, without fearing Him and calling upon Him.—Taube: Faith and prayer always join hands in the Christian heart and cannot live apart. Prayer supports faith and faith strengthens prayer.—Diedrich: The God of Israel, who is in our midst and in us, is He who is enthroned above all heavens and rules all things from thence.—All depends upon our belonging to God’s followers and our daily stationing ourselves by His banner, that is, His word, and from it deriving chastisement and consolation, warning and confidence.
[Matth. Henry: The prayer of others for us must be desired, not to supersede, but to second our own for ourselves.—Those who make it their business to glorify God may expect that God will, one way or other, gratify them; they who walk in His counsel may promise themselves that He will fulfil theirs.—In singing these verses, we should encourage ourselves to trust in God, and stir up ourselves to pray earnestly, as we are in duty bound, for those who are in authority over us, that under them we may lead quiet and peaceable lives, in all godliness and honesty.—Barnes: Never should we look for success unless our undertaking has been preceded by prayer; and when our best preparations have been made, our hope of success is not primarily and mainly in them, but only in God.—Spurgeon: Chariots and horses make an imposing show, and with their rattling, and dust, and fine caparisons, make so great a figure that vain man is much taken with them; yet the discerning eye of faith sees more in an invisible God than in all these. The most dreaded war-engine of David’s day was the war-chariot, armed with scythes, which mowed down men like grass: this was the boast and glory of the neighboring nations; but the saints considered the name of Jehovah to be a far better defence.—C. A. B.]
Footnotes:
[29][Perowne: “This may mean ‘the help and victory vouchsafed by God to the king;’ but Thrupp observes: ‘The almost instinctive dependence of the Israelites upon their king, as the man who should save them (comp. 1Sa_10:27), fully justifies us in interpreting the expression, thy salvation Psa_20:5, in its most natural sense, not as the salvation bestowed by God upon the king, but as that wrought by the king for his people.’ ” Alexander thinks that “both ideas are included.” The explanation of Hupfeld is the most proper.—C. A. B.]
[30][Delitzsch, however, agrees with the author in the translation “save the king.” Vid. closing remarks.—C. A. B.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2–4 strengthen thee--sustain in conflict; even physical benefits may be…
strengthen thee--sustain in conflict; even physical benefits may be included, as courage for war, &c., as such may proceed from a sense of divine favor, secured in the use of spiritual privileges.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1–4 1. The Lord hear thee, etc.—Literally, Jehovah shall answer…
1. The Lord hear thee, etc.—Literally, Jehovah shall answer thee in the day of distress. A prayer for the king as he enters the battle. See introduction.
The name of the God— “Name,” here, may be considered as having the force of a reciprocal pronoun, equal to God himself. The name of Jehovah was a terror to the heathen nations and a shield of protection to Israel. Exo_15:14; Deu_2:25; Jos_2:9-10
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1–4 1. hear thee] R.V., answer thee, and so in…
1. hear thee] R.V., answer thee, and so in Psa_20:6; Psa_20:9.
the day of trouble] Or distress, when adversaries (a cognate word) press him hard. The impending campaign is specially, though not exclusively, meant. Cp. Psa_46:1; Num_10:9.
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The name &c.] May the God of Jacob prove Himself to be all that His Name implies (see on Psa_5:11): may He Who is a tower of refuge (Psa_9:9, Psa_18:2) set thee up on high in safety from thy enemies. Cp. Pro_18:10. God of Jacob is often synonymous with God of Israel (Psa_46:7; Psa_46:11); yet the choice of this name cannot but suggest the thought of Jehovah’s providential care for the great ancestor of the nation. Cp. the exactly similar language of Gen_35:3 : “God, who answered me in the day of my distress;” and the references to Jacob’s history in Hos_12:4-5.
1–5. The people’s prayer for their king’s success.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 3 (1) Day of trouble . . . God of…
(1) Day of trouble . . . God of Jacob.—This certainly recalls the patriarch’s words (Gen_35:3), “I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress.” The “name” alone of the God of Jacob was a safeguard to the people, called after their great forefather “Israel. So even under the shadow of the greatness of human monarchs and heroes whole peoples have often felt secure and strong, using no other weapon but his name.
Defend thee.—Better, set thee up on high (comp. Psa_69:29; Psa_91:14) as in a fortress, out of the reach of foes.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1–4 THIS psalm seems to have been composed for a…
THIS psalm seems to have been composed for a special occasion, when David was about to proceed on an expedition against a foreign enemy. It is liturgical, and written to be recited in the court of the tabernacle by the high priest and people. The date of its composition is after the transfer of the ark from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David, (2Sa_6:12-19) as appears from ver. 2. The conjecture which attaches it to the Syrian War described in 2Sa_10:17-19, is probable. There is no reason to doubt the authorship of David, asserted in the title, and admitted by most critics.
The psalm divides into two portions the first of five, and the second of four verses. In the first part, the people chant the whole. In the second, the high priest takes the word, and initiates the strain (ver. 6), while the people join in afterwards (vers. 7-9).
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The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble. The people intercede for their king in a "clay of trouble" or "distress," when danger impends, and he is about to affront it. They are made to ask, first of all, that God will hear the king"s prayers, which are no doubt being silently offered while they pray aloud. The Name of the God of Jacob defend thee. (On the force of the expression, "the Name of God," see the comment upon Psa_7:17) "Jacob"s God a favourite expression with David is the God who made him the promise, "I will be with thee, and I will keep thee in all places whither thou goest". (Gen_28:15) "Defend thee" is scarcely a correct rendering. Translate, exalt thee.
HOMILIES BY C. CLEMANCE Vers. 1-9. Prayer for Israel"s king when going forth to battle: a national sermon.
In this psalm, as indeed in the rest, there are most suggestive verses, which might be elaborated into useful discourses. But in this division of the Commentary we refrain from dealing with isolated texts. We desire rather to show how the whole psalm may be used by the expositor of Scripture as the basis of a national sermon in a time of impending war. No doubt, as Mr. Spurgeon remarks, it has been used by court preachers and pressed into the service of unctuous and fulsome flattery. There is, however, another kind of abuse to which it has been subjected, even that of an extreme spiritualizing, in which the words are made to convey a meaning which there is no indication that they were ever intended to bear. No commentator seems to have set forth the bearing of the psalm more clearly and accurately than that prince of expositors, John Calvin. We have no clue, indeed, to the precise occasion on which the psalm was written; but we can scarcely be wrong in regarding it as a prayer to be said or sung in the sanctuary on behalf of the king when he was called forth to defend himself in battle against his enemies. And inasmuch as the kingship of David was a type of that of the Lord Jesus Christ, the psalm may doubtless be regarded as the prayer of the Church of God for the triumph of the Saviour over all his foes. It is said, "Prayer also shall be made for him continually," and those words are being fulfilled in the ceaseless offering of the petition, "Thy kingdom come." At the same time, there is such deep and rich significance in the psalm when set on the strictly historical basis, that to develop it from that point of view will occupy all the space at our command. The scenes here brought before us are these: Israel"s king is summoned to go forth to war; sanctuary service is being held on his behalf; a prayer is composed, is set to music, and delivered to the precentor, to be said or sung on the occasion; after sacrifices have been offered, and the signs of Divine acceptance have been vouchsafed, the Levites, the singers, and the congregation join in these words of supplication. Obviously, there is here assumed a Divine revelations; the aid of Jehovah, the covenant God of Israel, is invoked; he is called, "Jehovah our God." The disclosures of God"s grace in the wondrous history of their father Jacob are brought to mind. They, as a people, have been raised above reliance on chariots and horses alone. The Name of their God has lifted them up on high, "as in a fortress where no enemy can do harm, or on a rock at the foot of which the waves fret and dash themselves in impotent fury." They know of two sanctuaries one in Zion (ver. 2), the other "the heaven of God"s holiness" (ver. 6); they know that God hears from the latter, when his people gather in the former. Hence the prayer is sent up from the sanctuary below to that above. We, as Christians, have all Israel"s knowledge, and more. The revelation the Hebrews had through Moses is surpassed by that in Christ. And although, as a "geographical expression," no nation now has the pre-eminence over any other as before God, yet any praying people can get as near to God now as ever Israel did. All devout souls have boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. Hence, when any trouble-especially that of war befalls them, they may betake themselves to their God, and plead with him on behalf of their emperor, their king, their president, their state. And the psalm before us is truly a grand one for preachers to use at such emergencies, that they may cheer a people"s heart, quicken the people"s prayers. The abuse of the psalm by some courtiers, who feared man rather than God, is no reason why the preachers of any day should leave such a psalm unused, still less is it a reason why they should refuse to preach national sermons at all. For a long time, Nonconformists were so treated, that some of their preachers almost lost the national esprit de corps. But it is to be hoped that that is passing away; for on the basis of a psalm like this, some lines of thought may be so expounded and applied from the pulpit as to cause times of national peril and anxiety to be most fruitful in spiritual elevation and power.
I IT IS AN ANXIOUS TIME FOR ANY PEOPLE WHEN THE HEAD OF THEIR STATE IS CALLED FORTH TO BATTLE. (See 2Ch_20:1-3) The interests at stake in the conflict itself, and for the promotion of which it is entered upon, must press heavily on the nation"s heart. The fearful bloodshed and unspeakable suffering and distress in private life, which any battle involves, must bring anguish to many mothers, wives, and children; many a home will be darkened, and many a heart crushed, through the war, however large the success in which it may ultimately result.
II WHEN WARS ARE ENTERED UPON PERFORCE, FOR A RIGHT OBJECT, THE PEOPLE MAY LAY BEFORE THEIR GOD THE BURDEN THAT IS ON THEIR HEARTS. (2Ch_20:5-15) There is a God. He is our God. He has a heart, tender as a father"s, and a hand gentle as a mother"s; while, with all such pitying love, he has a strength that can speed worlds in their course. Nothing is too large for him to control; nought too minute for him to observe. And never can one be more sure of a gracious response than when, with large interests at stake, a people are united as one in spreading before the throne of God their case with all its care. If "the very hairs of our head" are all numbered, how much more the petitions of the heart!
III AT SUCH TIMES THE INTENSEST SYMPATHIES OF THE PEOPLE GATHER BOUND THEIR ARMY AND THEIR THRONE. (Ver. 5) We will rejoice in thy deliverance," etc. Whatever may have been the sentiment in bygone times, we now know that the king is for the people, not the people for the king. Hence his victory or defeat is theirs. The soldiers, too, who go forth loyally and obediently to the struggle, with their lives in their hands, leaving at home their dear ones weeping as they leave them lest they should see the loved face no more, how can it but be that a nation"s warmest, strongest sympathies should gather round them as they go to the war?
IV THE NAME OF GOD IS A STRONGER DEFENCE TO SUCH A PEOPLE THAN ALL MATERIAL FORCES CAN COMMAND. (Vers. 6, 7) This is so in many senses.
1. God himself can so order events as to ensure the victory to a praying people, however strong and numerous the foes.
2. An army sent out with a people"s prayers, knowing that it is so sustained, will fight the more bravely.
3. To the generals in command, God can give, in answer to prayer, a wisdom that secures a triumphant issue.
4. All chariots and horsemen are at his absolute disposal, and he can cause them all to vanish in an hour. The army of Sennacherib, The Spanish Armada. History is laden with illustrations of Divine interposition. (Psa_107:43)
V WHEN THE PEOPLE TRUSTINGLY LAY THE WHOLE MATTER BEFORE GOD, THEY MAY PEACEFULLY LEAVE IT TO HIM AND CALMLY AWAIT THE RESULT. (cf. ver. 8) When once their affairs are rolled over on God, they are on his heart, and will be controlled by his hand on their behalf. Hence the wonderfully timely word of Jahaziel, (2Ch_20:15) "The battle is not yours, but God"s." Such a thought may well inspire the people with the calmness of a holy courage, and may well lead them patiently to wait and see "the end of the Lord." Note: By such devotional use of national crises, they may become to a nation a holy and blessed means of grace; whereby the people at large may learn more of the value and power of prayer than in many a year of calm, and may be drawn more closely together for ever through a fellowship in trouble and in prayer. C.
HOMILIES BY W. FORSYTH Ver. 1. "The day of trouble.
Such a day comes sooner or later to all. Nations have their "day of trouble," when they are visited with pestilence, famine, or war, or torn by internal strifes. Individuals also have their "day of trouble". (Job_5:6, Job_5:7) Trouble is a test. It shows what manner of persons we are. Happy are we, if, like the king and people of this psalm, trouble brings us nearer to God and to one another in love and service! The day of trouble should
I DRIVE THE SOUL TO GOD. In prosperity there are many helps, but in adversity there is but one. God is the true Refuge. His ear is ever open, and can "hear." His hand is ever stretched out, and can "defend." His resources are infinite, and he can "strengthen us out of Zion." The name here given to God, "the God of Jacob," is richly suggestive. It holds out hope to the sinful; for God was very merciful to Jacob. It assures comfort to the distressed; for God was with Jacob, to keep him during all his wanderings. It encourages trust, for God had a gracious purpose with Jacob, and made all the trials of his life contribute to his moral advancement. "Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God!". (Psa_146:5)
II BRING ALL THE GOOD TOGETHER IN HOLY SERVICE. In face of a common danger, there is a tendency to unite. So "Pilate and Herod were made friends". (Luk_23:12) So Jehoshaphat and the King of Israel entered into alliance. (1Ki_22:2) So, in a nobler way, God"s people come together for mutual edification and comfort, and to call upon the Name of the Lord. (Mal_3:16) The Jews had the temple and the sacrifices, and the high priest to plead for them. But we have greater privileges. For us our great High Priest, "having offered one sacrifice for sin for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool". (Heb_10:12, Heb_10:13) We have common dangers and needs, and can do much to help one another. When David was in trouble in the wood of Ziph, Jonathan went down to him, and strengthened his hands in God. When Peter was in prison, and in peril of death, "prayer was made without ceasing of the Church unto God for him". (Act_12:5) When the Jerusalem Christians were in sore straits, the sympathies of their fellow-Christians in happier circumstances were called forth in their behalf. (Rom_15:26) So when the truth is assailed, and the interests of the kingdom are endangered, it is the duty of all true lovers of Christ to band together, and by prayer and holy effort to "contend for the faith once delivered to the saints.
III STRENGTHEN OUR ATTACHMENT TO THE SUPREME PRINCIPLES OF RIGHT. There are many things dear to us which we may have to defend, but we must make a difference. "The day of trouble" is a searching and a sifting time. In drawing near to God, and by mutual warnings, we find out what is really of the highest value; what we may let go, and what we should keep; what we may safely relinquish, and what we should fight for to the last gasp; what is only of temporary or of secondary importance, and what is essential and more to be valued than all worldly and personal advantages, or even life itself. (Dan_3:16-18 Act_4:18-20)
IV PREPARE FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE COMING VICTORY OF GOOD OVER EVIL. Waiting upon God gives hope. Praying and working inspire confidence. Imagination, kindled by the thought of God"s Name, portrays in glowing colours the near deliverance. There is something very inspiriting in the "I know" of the psalmist. Job says, "I know"; (Job_19:25) Paul says, "I know"; (2Ti_1:12) and so we may join with the psalmist in saying, "Now know I that the Lord sayeth his anointed." We are too apt to think only of our troubles; but let us rather "remember the Name of the Lord." We are too ready to wish the defeat of our opponents, but let us rather seek the vindication of truth and the triumph of right, and, if God will, the transformation of foes into friends, so that they, as well as we, may share in the joys of the great day. W.F.
HOMILIES BY C. SHORT Vers. 1-9. Help from the sanctuary for the battle of life.
A liturgical psalm, which was sung on behalf of the king, who was about to go forth to battle. It was chanted in alternate voices by the congregation and the priest or Levite who led the choir. As the king stands within the sanctuary, offering his sacrifice, the crowd of worshippers in the spacious courts lift up their voices in the prayer of the first five verses; then the answering chant of the priest or leader from vers. 6 to 8; then all join in the prayer of the ninth verse, "God save the king!" Help from the sanctuary for the battle of life. Influences to be gathered there.
I A SENSE OF GOD"S HELPFUL RELATIONS TO US. (Vers. 1, 2) He hears in trouble, defends us in danger, and strengthens us for conflict; and thus helps us by means of the worship of the sanctuary. It is thus he remembers our offerings and accepts our worship.
II GOD GRANTS THE DESIRES AND FULFILS THE COUNSELS WHICH ARE INSPIRED IN HIS SERVICE. (Ver. 4) "If we ask anything according to his will, we know that he heareth us.
III WE CAN WIN THE BATTLE ONLY SO FAR AS WE REALIZE THAT IT IS GOD"S BATTLE. (Ver. 5) "In the Name of our God must we set up our banners." He is the Captain of our salvation, and if we are loyal to him we shall rejoice in a victorious cause.
IV TRUE FAITH IN GOD IS ASSURED OF VICTORY BEFORE THE BATTLE IS FOUGHT. (Ver. 6) "I know whom I have believed, and... that he is able to keep that," etc.; "Thanks be unto God, who giveth us the victory!" "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
V "RIGHT IS MIGHT" TO ALL WHO HAVE BEEN TAUGHT OF GOD. (Vers. 7, 8) They do not trust in material strength, but in the justice of their cause, i.e. in the power of God, and not in chariots and horses. God, therefore, is not, in any historical war, on the side of the strongest battalions. "They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.
VI THE PERSISTENT AND FINAL CRY OF THE TRUE WORSHIPPER IS FOB THE SALVATION OF GOD. (Ver. 9) S.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain On vv1–4 We have before us a National Anthem, fitted to…
We have before us a National Anthem, fitted to be sung at the outbreak of war, when the monarch was girding on his sword for the fight. If David had not been vexed with wars, we might never have been favoured with such psalms as this. There is a needs be for the trials of one saint, that he may yield consolation to others. A happy people here plead for a beloved sovereign, and with loving hearts cry to Jehovah, "God save the King." We gather that this song was intended to be sung in public, not only from the matter of the song, but also from its dedication "To the Chief Musician." We know its author to have been Israel's sweet singer, from the short title, "A Psalm of David." The particular occasion which suggested it, it would be mere folly to conjecture, for Israel was almost always at war in David's day. His sword may have been hacked, but it was never rusted. Kimchi reads the title, concerning David, or, for David, and it is clear that the king is the subject as well as the composer of the song. It needs but a moment's reflection to perceive that this hymn of prayer is prophetical of our Lord Jesus, and is the cry of the ancient church on behalf of her Lord, as she sees him in vision enduring a great fight of afflictions on her behalf. The militant people of God, with the great Captain of salvation at their head, may still in earnest plead that the pleasure of the Lord may prosper in his hand. We shall endeavour to keep to this view of the subject in our brief exposition, but we cannot entirely restrict out remarks to it.
(Ps 20:1-4) are a prayer for the success of the king. (Ps 20:5-7) express unwavering confidence in God and his Anointed; (Ps 20:8) declares the defeat of the foe, and (Ps 20:9) is a concluding appeal to Jehovah.
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Ver. 1. The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble. All loyal subjects pray for their king, and most certainly citizens of Zion have good cause to pray for the Prince of Peace. In times of conflict loving subjects redouble their pleas, and surely in the sorrows of our Lord his church could not but be in earnest. All the Saviour's days were days of trouble, and he also made them days of prayer; the church joins her intercession with her Lord's, and pleads that he may be heard in his cries and tears. The agony in the garden was especially a gloomy hour, but he was heard in that he feared. He knew that his Father heard him always, yet in that troublous hour no reply came until thrice he had fallen on his face in the garden; then sufficient strength was given in answer to prayer, and he rose a victor from the conflict. On the cross also his prayer was not unheard, for in the twenty-second Psalm he tells us, "thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns." The church in this verse implies that her Lord would be himself much given to prayer; in this he is our example, teaching us that if we are to receive any advantage from the prayers of others, we must first pray for ourselves. What a mercy that we may pray in the day of trouble, and what a still more blessed privilege that no trouble can prevent the Lord from hearing us! Troubles roar like thunder, but the believer's voice will be heard above the storm. O Jesus, when you plead for us in our hour of trouble, the Lord Jehovah will hear thee. This is a most refreshing confidence, and it may be indulged in without fear.
The name of the God of Jacob defend thee; or, as some read it, "set thee in a high place." By
the name is meant the revealed character and Word of God; we are not to worship "the unknown God, "but we should seek to know the covenant God of Jacob, who has been pleased to reveal his name and attributes to his people. There may be much in a royal name, or a learned name, or a venerable name, but it will be a theme for heavenly scholarship to discover all that is contained in the divine name. The glorious power of God defended and preserved the Lord Jesus through the battle of his life and death, and exalted him above all his enemies. His warfare is now accomplished in his own proper person, but in his mystical body, the church, he is still beset with dangers, and only the eternal arm of our God in covenant can defend the soldiers of the cross, and set them on high out of the reach of their foes. The day of trouble is not over, the pleading Saviour is not silent, and the name of the God of Israel is still the defence of the faithful. The name,
God of Jacob, is suggestive; Jacob had his day of trouble, he wrestled, was heard, was defended, and in due time was set on high, and his God is our God still, the same God to all his wrestling Jacobs. The whole verse is a very fitting benediction to be pronounced by a gracious heart over a child, a friend, or a minister, in prospect of trial; it includes both temporal and spiritual protection, and directs the mind to the great source of all good. How delightful to believe that our heavenly Father has pronounced it upon our favoured heads!
Whole Psalm. This Psalm is the prayer which the church might be supposed offering up, had all the redeemed stood by the cross, or in Gethsemane, in full consciousness of what was doing there. Messiah, in reading these words, would know that he had elsewhere the sympathy he longed for, when he said to the three disciples, "Tarry ye here, and watch with me." Mt 26:38. It is thus a pleasant song, of the sacred singer of Israel, to set forth the feelings of the redeemed in their Head, whether in his sufferings or in the glory that was to follow. Andrew A. Bonar.
Whole Psalm. There are traces of liturgical arrangement in many of the Psalms. There is frequently an adaptation to the circumstances of public worship. Thus, when the Jewish church wished to celebrate the great act of Messiah the High Priest making a sacrifice for the people on the day of atonement, as represented in the twenty-second Psalm, a subject so solemn, grand, and affecting, was not commenced suddenly and unpreparedly, but first a suitable occasion was sought, proper characters were introduced, and a scene in some degree appropriate to the great event was fitted for its reception. The priests and Levites endeavour to excite in the minds of the worshippers an exalted tone of reverent faith. The majesty and power of God, all the attributes which elevate the thoughts, are called in to fill the souls of the worshippers with the most intense emotion; and when the feelings are strung to the highest pitch, an awful, astounding impression succeeds, when the words are slowly chanted, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" We are to suppose, then, that the series of Psalms, from the twentieth to the twenty-fourth inclusive, was used as a service or office in the public worship of the Jewish church. (1) R.H. Ryland, M.A., in "The Psalms Restored to Messiah, "1853. (1) This is a purely gratuitous statement, but is less unlikely than many other assertions of annotators who have a cause to plead. C.H.S.
Whole Psalm. Really good wishes are good things, and should be expressed in words and deeds. The whole Psalm thus teaches. Christian sympathy is a great branch of Christian duty. There may be a great deal of obliging kindness in that which costs us little. William S. Plumer.
Ver. 1. The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble. All the days of Christ were days of trouble. He was a brother born for adversity, a man of sorrows and acquainted with griefs... But more particularly it was a "day of trouble" with him when he was in the garden, heavy and sore amazed, and his sweat was, as it were, drops of blood falling on the ground, and his soul was exceeding sorrowful, even unto death; but more especially this was his case when he hung upon the cross... when he bore all the sins of his people, endured the wrath of his Father, and was forsaken by him. Now, in this "day of trouble, " both when in the garden and on the cross, he prayed unto his Father, as he had been used to do in other cases, and at other times; and the church here prays that God would hear and answer him, as he did. Condensed from John Gill.
Ver. 1. The name. Whereas they say, The name of the God of Jacob, thereby they mean God himself; but they thus speak of God because all the knowledge that we have of God ariseth from the knowledge of his name, and as to that end he hath given himself in the Scriptures sundry names, that thereby we might know not only what he is in himself, so far as it is meet for us to know, but especially what he is to us, so by them, and them principally, we know him to be, as he is, not only in himself, but unto us... From this knowledge of the name of God ariseth confidence in prayer! as when they know him, and here call him "the God of Jacob, "that is, he that hath made a covenant of mercy with him and with his posterity, that he will be their God and they shall be his people, that they may be bold to flee to him for succour, and confidently call upon him in the day of their trouble to hear them, and to help them, as they do. And the more that they know of his name, that is, of his goodness, mercy, truth, power, wisdom, justice, etc., so may they the more boldly pray unto him, not doubting but that he will be answerable unto his name... For as among men, according to the good name that they have for liberality and pity, so will men be ready to come unto them in their need, and the poor will say, "I will go to such an house, for they have a good name, and are counted good to the poor, and merciful, all men speak well of them for their liberality; "and this name of theirs giveth the encouragement to come boldly and often. So when we know God thus by his name, it will make us bold to come unto him in prayer... Or, if a man be never so merciful, and others know it not, and so they are ignorant of his good name that he hath, and that he is worthy of, they cannot, with any good hope, come unto him, for they know not what he is; they have heard nothing of him at all. So when, by unbelief, we hardly conceive of God and of his goodness, or for want of knowledge are ignorant of his good name, even of all his mercy, and of his truth, pity, and compassion that is in him, and so know not his great and glorious name, we can have little or no heart at all to come unto him in trouble, and seek unto him for help by prayer, as these did here; and this maketh some so forward unto prayer, they are so well acquainted with the name of God, that they doubt not of speeding, and others again are so backward unto it, they are so wholly ignorant of his name. Nicholas Bownd, 1604.
Ver. 1. The name of the God of Jacob defend thee. This is a beautiful allusion to the history of the patriarch Jacob. Jehovah had appeared for him, when he fled from his brother Esau, at Bethel, and Jacob said to his household, "Let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went." Ge 35:3. John Morison.
Ver. 1. The name of the God of Jacob defend thee. Hebrew, "set thee in an high place, "such as God's name is. Pr 18:10. "The righteous runneth into it and is safe, "as in a tower of brass, or town of war. By the name of God is meant, Deus nominatissimus, the most renowned God, saith Junias, and "worthy to be praised, "as Psalm 18:3; and he is called the God of Jacob here, saith another, first, because Jacob was once in the like distress (Ge 32:6-7); secondly, because he prayed to the like purpose (Ge 35:3); thirdly, because he prevailed with God as a prince; "and there God spake with us" (Ho 12:4); fourthly, because God of Jacob is the same with "God of Israel, "and so the covenant is pleaded. John Trapp.
Ver. 1. The name of the God of Jacob defend thee. There is an assurance of thy protection, of thy safety, in the midst of ten thousand foes, and of thy perseverance to the end. But you will say, how will the name of the God of Jacob defend me? Try it. I have, over and over again; therefore I speak what I do know, and testify what I have seen. "The name of the God of Jacob defend thee." I was once goaded by a poor silly Irish papist to try it, who told me, in his consummate ignorance and bigotry, that if a priest would but give him a drop of holy water, and make a circle with it around a field full of wild beasts, they would not hurt him. I retired in disgust at the abominable trickery of such villains, reflecting, what a fool I am that I cannot put such trust in my God as this poor deluded man puts in his priest and a drop of holy water! And I resolved to try what "the name of the God of Jacob" would do, having the Father's fixed decrees, the Son's unalterable responsibility, and the Spirit's invincible grace and operation around me. I tried it and felt my confidence brighten. O brethren, get encircled with covenant engagements, and covenant blood, and covenant grace, and covenant promises, and covenant securities; then will "the Lord hear you in the time of trouble, and the name of the God of Jacob will defend you." Joseph Irons.
Ver. 1. A sweeter wish, or a more consolatory prayer for a child of sorrow was never uttered by man, The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee. And who is there of the sons of men to whom a "day of trouble" does not come, whose path is not darkened at times, or with whom is it unclouded sunshine from the cradle to the grave? "Few plants, "says old Jacomb, "have both the morning and the evening sun; "and one far older than he said, "Man is born to trouble." A "day of trouble, "then, is the heritage of every child of Adam. How sweet, as I have said, how sweet the wish, "The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble." It is the prayer of another in behalf of some troubled one, and yet it implies that the troubled one himself had also prayed, "The Lord hear thee" hear and answer thine own prayer! Barton Bouchier.
Ver. 1-2. The scene presented in this place to the eye of faith is deeply affecting. Here is the Messiah pouring out his heart in prayer in the day of his trouble; his spouse overhears his agonizing groans; she is moved with the most tender sympathy towards him; she mingles her prayers with his; she entreats that he may be supported and defended... It may now, perhaps, be said, he is out of the reach of trouble, he is highly exalted, he does not want our sympathies or our prayers. True; yet still we may pray for himsee Mt 25:40 "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." We can pray for him in his members. And thus is fulfilled what is written in Ps 72:15, "And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba; prayer also shall be made for him continually (that is, in his suffering members); and daily shall he be praised" (that is, in his own admirable person). Hamilton Verschoyle, 1843.
Ver. 1-5. These are the words of the people, which they spake unto God in the behalf of their king; and so they did as David desired them, namely, pray for him. If they did thus pray for him, being desired thereunto, and it was their bound duty so to do, and they knew it to be so, and therefore did make conscience of it, and it had been a great fault for them to have failed in it; then by consequence it followeth of necessity, that whensoever any of our brethren or sisters in Christ shall desire this duty at our hands, we must be careful to perform it; and it were a fault not to be excused in us, both against God and them, to fail in it. Therefore we must not think that when godly men and women at their parting or otherwise, desire our prayers, and say, "I pray you pray for me, "or, "remember me in your prayers, "that these are words of course (though I do not deny, but that many do so use them, and so doing they take the name of God in vain); but we should be persuaded, that out of the abundance of their feeling of their own wants they speak unto us, and so be willing by our prayers to help to supply them. And especially we should do it when they shall make known their estate unto us, as here David did to the people, giving them to understand that he should or might be in great danger of his enemies, and so it was a time of trouble unto him, as he called it... Most of all, this duty of prayer ought to be carefully performed when we have promised it unto any upon such notice of their estate. For as all promises ought to be kept, yea, though it be to our own hindrance, so those most of all that so nearly concern them. And as if when any should desire us to speak to some great man for them, and we promise to do it, and they trust to it, hoping that we will be as good as our words; it were a great deceit in us to fail them, and so to frustrate their expectation; so when any have desired us to speak to God for them, and upon our promise they would comfort themselves over it, if we should by negligence deceive them, it were a great fault in us, and that which the Lord would require at our hands, though they should never know of it. Therefore, as we ought daily to pray one for another unasked, as our Saviour Christ hath taught us, "O our Father which art in heaven, "etc., so more especially and by name should we do it for them that have desired it of us. And so parents especially should not forget their children in their prayers, which daily ask their blessing, and hope to be blessed of God by their prayers. Secondarily, if we should neglect to pray for them that have desired it at our hands, how could we have any hope that others whom we have desired to pray for us should perform that duty unto us? Nay, might not we justly fear that they would altogether neglect it, seeing we do neglect them? and should it not be just with God so to punish us? according to the saying of our Saviour Christ, "With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." Mt 7:2. And I remember that this was the saying of a reverend father in the church, who is now fallen asleep in the Lord, when any desired him to pray for them (as many did, and more than any that I have known), he would say unto them, "I pray you, pray for me, and pray that I may remember you, and then I hope I shall not forget you." Therefore if we would have others pray for us, let us pray for them. Nicholas Bownd.
Ver. 1,5. In Ps 20:1 verse the psalmist says, The Lord hear thee in the day if trouble; and in Ps 20:5 he says, The Lord perform all thy petitions. Does he in both these cases refer to one and the same time? The prayers mentioned in Ps 20:1 verse are offered in "the day of trouble, "in the days of his flesh; are the petitions to which he refers in the fourth verse also offered in the days of his flesh? Many think not. Before our blessed Saviour departed out of this world, he prayed to the Father for those whom he had given him, that he would keep them from the evil of the world, that they might be one, even as he was one with the Father. He prayed too for his murderers. After his ascension into heaven, he sat down at the right hand of the Father, where he "maketh intercession for us." "If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous." It is to this, as many think, that the prophet refers when he says, "The Lord perform all thy petitions; "to the intercession which he is continually making for us. F. H. Dunwell.
This Psalm has been much used for coronation, thanksgiving, and fast sermons, and no end of nonsense and sickening flattery has been tacked thereto by the trencher chaplains of the world's church. If kings had been devils, some of these gentry would have praised their horns and hoofs; for although some of their royal highnesses have been very obedient servants of the prince of darkness, these false prophets have dubbed them "most gracious sovereigns, "and have been as much dazzled in their presence as if they had beheld the beatific vision. C.H.S.
Whole Psalm. A loyal song and prayer for subjects of King Jesus.
Ver. 1. Two great mercies in great troublehearing at the throne, and defence from the throne.
Ver. 1-2.
1. The Lord's trouble in its nature and its cause.
2. How the Lord exercised himself in his trouble.
3. We ought not to be unmoved spectators of the trouble of Jesus.
Hamilton Verschoyle.
Ver. 1-3. A model of good wishes for our friends.
1. They include personal piety. The person who is spoken of prays, goes to the sanctuary, and offers sacrifice. We must wish our friend grace.
2. They point upward. The blessings are distinctly recognised as divine.
3. They do not exclude trouble.
4. They are eminently spiritual. Acceptance, etc.
"Medicines for the plague; that is, Godly and Fruitful Sermons upon part of the Twentieth Psalme, full of instructions and comfort; very fit generally for all times of affliction, but more particularly applied to this late visitation of the Plague. Preached at the same time at Norton in Suffolke, by NICHOLAS BOWND, Doctor of Divinite... 1604." (Twenty-one Sermons on Ps 20:1-6. 4to.)
Psalms 20:2*
Ver. 1-2. See Psalms on "Ps 20:1" for further information.
Ver. 1-5. See Psalms on "Ps 20:1" for further information.
Ver. 1-2.
1. The Lord's trouble in its nature and its cause.
2. How the Lord exercised himself in his trouble.
3. We ought not to be unmoved spectators of the trouble of Jesus.
Hamilton Verschoyle.
Ver. 1-3. A model of good wishes for our friends. See Psalms on "Ps 20:1" for further information.
Ver. 1-5. See Psalms on "Ps 20:1" for further information.
Ver. 1-3. A model of good wishes for our friends.
1. They include personal piety. The person who is spoken of prays, goes to the sanctuary, and offers sacrifice. We must wish our friend grace.
2. They point upward. The blessings are distinctly recognised as divine.
3. They do not exclude trouble.
4. They are eminently spiritual. Acceptance, etc.
Ver. 1-5. See Psalms on "Ps 20:1" for further information.
Ver. 1-5. See Psalms on "Ps 20:1" for further information.
Ver. 1,5. See Psalms on "Ps 20:1" for further information.
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv1–3 The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble.
Psa_20:1-9
The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble.
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A battle prayer
This, it is believed, is the battle prayer or litany which was solemnly chanted in the sanctuary on the eve of the great expedition to crush the formidable rebellion of the Ammonites and their Syrian allies (2Sa_10:1-19), and which was also used in after times upon similar undertakings.
1. To enter into its spirit we must transport ourselves in imagination to the old temple at Jerusalem while the special service invoking the blessing of Jehovah upon the intended enterprise is in progress. The courts are thronged with enthusiastic patriots, each eager to strengthen with his own voice the chorus of supplication for Israels success. The king in his robes of royalty is standing by the altar in the sanctuary. He has just presented his gifts and offered his sacrifice; and now the choir and the whole congregation break out into this mighty hymn on his behalf, assuring him that in this day of trouble, occasioned by the revolt of his subjects or the invasion of strangers, the Lord will hear him, will defend him, will send him help from the sanctuary, and uphold him out of Zion. These his offerings shall be remembered, this his sacrifice shall be accepted; the desire, too, of his heart--the overthrow of the enemy--shall be granted.
2. They cease. The vast multitude stands hushed, while one voice alone is heard; it is that of the king, or of some Levite deputed to speak as his representative. In a strain of fullest confidence he declares the petitions on his behalf have been heard.
3. As the king ceases the choir and people again break out into chorus. (Henry Housman.)
The day of trouble
Have we heard of that day? Is it a day in some exhausted calendar? Is this an ancient phrase that needs to be interpreted to us by men cunning in the use of language and in the history of terms? It might have been spoken in our own tongue: we might ourselves have spoken it. So criticism has no place here; only sympathy has a fight to utter these words; they would perish under a process of etymological vivisection; they bring with them healing, comfort, release, and contentment when spoken by the voice of sympathy. Is the day of trouble a whole day--twelve hours long? Is it a day that cannot be distinguished from night? and does it run through the whole circle of the twenty-four hours? Is it a day of that kind at all? In some instances is it not a life day, beginning with the first cry of infancy, concluding with the last sigh of old age? Is it a day all darkness, without any rent in the cloud, without any hint of light beyond the infinite burden of gloom? Whatever it is, it is provided for; it is recognised as a solemn fact in human life, and it is provided for by the grace and love of the eternal God. He knows every hour of the day--precisely how the day is made up; He knows the pulse beat of every moment; He is a God nigh at hand; so that we have no sorrow to tell Him by way of information, but only sorrow to relate that with it we may sing some hymn to His grace. The whole world is made kin by this opening expression. There is no human face, rightly read, that has not in it lines of sorrow--peculiar, mystic writing of long endurance, keen disappointment, hope deferred, mortification of soul unuttered in speech, but graved as with an iron tool upon the soul and the countenance. (Joseph Parker, D. D.)
Defence in the day of trouble
Commentators have positively perverted this whole Psalm. They have put it all down to David; but it is a beautiful dialogue between Christ and His Church,--He addressing her as her Advocate and Intercessor amid all her troubles.
I. Christs recognition of His people in the day of trouble. All have to bear trouble, but the believer has a God to go to. His troubles arise from his inflexible enemies, the world and its children, the devil, the flesh. And from his spiritual conflicts when first brought to conversion. The thunders of Sinai, the Slough of Despond--these are some of his troubles at such time. And when he is pardoned and hugs his pardon in his bosom, there are some troubles yet, through miserable backslidings.
II. The excitement which our intercessor gives us to prayer. The Lord hear thee; this intimates that we are already excited to earnest prayer. For our encouragement let us remember Christs constant intercession on our behalf in heaven.
III. The appeal which the intercessor makes to our covenant head. The name of the God of Jacob defend thee. Who is the God of Jacob? The God that gave him the blessing of the birthright, though he was the junior; the God that delivered him from the murderous hand of his brother in the day of his trouble; the God that enriched him with Labans spoil, and gave him the desire of his heart; the God that protected him, and manifested Himself to him--his covenant God. How I have been delighted with the thought that Jehovah should recognise the unregenerate name!--for Jacob was the name of the patriarch in his unregeneracy.
IV. The demand for our defence. The name of the God of, etc. But you say, how will the name of the God of Jacob defend me? Try it: I have over and over again; therefore I speak what I do know, and testify what I have seen. The name of the God of Jacob defend thee. Get encircled with covenant engagements and covenant grace, and covenant promises, and covenant securities; then will the Lord hear you in the time of trouble, and the name of the God of Jacob will defend you. (Joseph Irons.)
The war spirit of the Old Testament
I. The probable time and occasion of its composition. They are related in 2Sa_10:1-19.
II. Its construction. It begins with an address to the monarch under the peculiar circumstances of the exigency. Then, with the words, We will rejoice in Thy salvation, the speakers turn from prayer to the avowal of their confidence and of the spirit in which they would go to the war. Then the high priest might add the next clause, The Lord fulfil all thy petitions. And now there appears to be a pause, and the sacrifices are offered, and the priest, catching sight of the auspicious omen, exclaims, Now know I (from what I observe of the indications of the Divine acceptance of the sacrifices--now know I) that the Lord sayeth His anointed, etc. Then comes a response from the people, encouraged by what they have heard. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses--the very preparations that had been made against them, but we will, etc. The whole closes by the acclamations of the people. The Lord save the king! God will hear us. Save, Lord; let the king hear us when we call: we will pray for the king, we will call upon the Lord, we who remain at home when the army advances to the field. This reminds us of and illustrates a passage from R. Hall, entitled Sentiments Proper to the Present Crisis, a warlike, though at first sight it appears not a very Christian, address, written about forty-four years ago, at the time of the threatened invasion. Addressing a company of volunteers, he introduces a sentiment very similar to that which concludes this Psalm. Go, then, ye defenders of your country, accompanied with every auspicious omen; advance with alacrity into the field, where God Himself musters the hosts to war. Religion is too much interested in your success not to lend you her aid; she will shed over this enterprise her selected influence. While you are engaged in the field, many will repair to the closet, many to the sanctuary; the faithful of every name will employ that prayer which has power with God; the feeble hands which are unequal to any other weapon will grasp the sword of the spirit; and from myriads of humble, contrite hearts the voice of intercession, supplication, and weeping will mingle with the shouts of battle and the shock of arms.
III. Suggestions from this review of the Psalm.
1. Although all this is very imposing and grand, yet it is not the ideal of humanity. We do not wish such scenes to be permanent or universal. It was all very well for the time, but it is not well now. This is not the way in which God should be worshipped, nor the feelings which we should carry away from His altar. The New Testament tells us again and again that its aim is something altogether different from this mustering of the hosts to war--this Go, ye defenders of your country--this murdering and slaughtering. War may be brilliant, but it is not a good thing for the world, for humanity.
2. In proportion as the spirit of the Old Testament has been imbibed by nations, they have been retarded in the development of national character, and in the realisation of the Christian ideal. Ceremonies, hierarchies, ritual, a national priesthood, a vicarious religion, an ecclesiastical eastern special class of men being set apart to spend their nights and days in praying for the people--all these come from Judaisers. And so again with the national war spirit, the military art regarded as a profession, the consecration of colours, and the rest,--these are Jewish, not Christian. We laugh at the Covenanter and the Roundhead, but where they were wrong was in imbibing the Old Testament spirit.
3. War is not always without justification, but we ought to shrink from it as an abhorred thing.
4. Let the Psalm remind you of King Jesus, and of His victory and our own through Him. (Thomas Binney.)
Help in trouble
A sentinel posted on the walls, when he sees a party of the enemy advancing, does not attempt to make head against them himself, but at once informs his commanding officer of the enemys approach, and awaits his word as to how the foe is to be met. So the Christian does not attempt to resist temptation in his own strength, but in prayer calls upon his Captain for aid, and in His might and His Word goes forth to meet it.
The name of the God of Jacob defend thee.
The name of Jehovah
I. The name of Jehovah a consolation in trouble. No character is exempt from the ills of life. The highest dignity cannot guard off trouble; and crowns especially are often lined with thorns. Few plants, says an old writer, have both the morning and the evening sun; and an older than he has said, Man is born to trouble. But in the deepest, darkest, wildest distress, Jehovah is the refuge of His people; and His name soothes the keenest anguish and lifts up the most despairing.
II. The name of Jehovah an inspiring battle cry. In the name of our God will we set up our banners (Psa_20:5). Banners are a part of our military equipage, borne in times of war to assemble, direct, distinguish, and inspirit the soldiers. They have been often used in religious ceremonies. It is the practice of some people to erect a banner in honour of their deity. In a certain part of Thibet it is customary for a priest to ascend a hill every month to set up a white flag and perform some religions ceremonies to conciliate the favour of a dewta, or invisible being, who is the presiding genius of the place. The Hindus describe Siva the Supreme as having a banner in the celestial world. The militant Church goes to war with the name of the Lord of Hosts on her banner.
III. The name of Jehovah is the strength of the militant Church. We will remember the name of the Lord our God (Psa_20:7). The world trusts in the material--in rifles, mitrailleuse, turret ships, and torpedoes; but the Church is taught to trust in the spiritual--the mysterious, invisible, but almighty power of Jehovah. The material fails, the spiritual never. When the saint relies fully on Jehovah, and is absorbed in His holy cause, he is surrounded with an impenetrable defence. (W. L. Watkinson.)
The God of Jacob
I. Its history. The character of Jacob is one of the standing difficulties of the Old Testament, because of the interest and love God cherished for him. David offers to us much the same difficulty: the man after Gods own heart, and yet so base and vile in his great sin. But it is the Bible which tells us what these men were. Its frankness is conspicuous. But David, after all, does not puzzle us as Jacob does. There is a vein of pure nobility and of splendid genius through Davids character and life, which helps us to understand the relation of God to him. But Jacobs character fails to kindle a corresponding enthusiasm. He does not stand out before us a man of genius, as a hearty lover, a faithful friend, or even as a noble and gallant foe. A vein of trickery and treachery runs through his nature, so unlike Davids frank and self-forgetful generosity. Stratagems are his delight; the easy refuge of his weakness. And when we find through life the same tendency to underhand tricks prevailing, we begin to wonder what God could see in the man to make him a prince in the heavenly order, and why throughout the Scripture the name God of Jacob, God of Israel is the name in which He especially delights. It seems to them the purest exercise of the Divine sovereignty on record. But it is sovereignty of the same order as that which moves Him to elect to be the Redeemer of the world. The spring of that redeeming love lies within His own nature. It arose out of the depths of the Divine nature, and must be based, we may be sure, on essential reason. God chose Jacob, and chooses to be called the God of Jacob, just because he was a man so full of human infirmity and littleness, mingled with those higher and nobler qualities without which the spiritual culture of mankind becomes impossible. Had God chosen only to be called the God of Abraham or Moses, and to take supreme interest in such lofty lives alone, alas! for you and for me and for mankind. Jacob is more within our sphere. What God was to him, we can believe that He may be, He will be, to us; thus the name God of Jacob has a sound hill of comfort, full of assurance to our ears. That it might be so, we may be sure. He chose it. Now, see this when developed in history. God, as the God of Jacob, did make Himself a glorious name in the earth (Deu_2:25; Jos_2:4-11). Their internal organisation under the constitution which God had ordained marked them out as a favoured people. There was nothing like them in the wide world, until the German races appeared and brought the same love of freedom, the same domestic affections, the same noble womanhood, the same essential manliness, to build on the foundation of Christian society. Again, Israel was the only nation of freemen, in the largest sense, in the Old World. The people were knit into a brotherhood of liberty, with special safeguards in their constitution as a nation against the lapse of any Jewish freeman into serfdom, or even into penury (Deu_15:1-23; Lev_25:23-31). They were facile princeps among nations, witnessing to the heathen around them of the blessedness of obedience to God. And what men they produced! The Greeks are their only rivals. But while Greece produced the heroes of the schools, the Jews produced the heroes of the common human world. Every man and every people is conscious of a relation to them, such as he sustains to no other race which has played its part in history. The lives of the great Hebrews belong to us as no Greek belongs to us. They are literally part of our history. How few know Greek; who knows not the histories of the Bible? They are our fathers whose lives we read there, our history, our hymns. Mans history is the elucidation of this title; the God of Jacob has written for Himself a glorious name in the records of the world.
II. Its work--the functions which this name fulfils in the culture of our personal spiritual life.
1. The God of Jacob tells us, by the very name, that He is a God who is not deterred by a great transgression, or by great proneness to transgression, from constituting Himself the guide of our pilgrim life. If ever your heart dies down within you under the consciousness of an inbred sinfulness, which you think must alienate you from Gods love and care, let the name of the God of Jacob reassure you. Long suffering is the quality which the name of the God of Jacob seems specially to suggest to us. Jacob was a man of many and grave infirmities. And the God who came to Adam with a promise which implied a pardon came also to Jacob, and comes to us all. God undertook the guidance of that mans pilgrimage, because he was a sinful man, a man full of infirmities and treacheries, but with a nobler nature beneath and behind which He made it His work to educate by suffering, until Jacob the supplanter became Israel the prince. Jacob was as full of folly, falsity, and selfish ambition as most of us; but he had an instinct and a yearning for deliverance. Gods promise rang full sweetly on his ear. The worm Jacob, trained to be a prince, is full of precious suggestions to us all.
2. The God of Jacob must be a God who can bear to inflict very stern chastisement on His children, and to train His pilgrims in a very hard, sharp school of discipline, without forfeiting the name of their merciful and loving God. Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, said the aged patriarch, reviewing his life course before Pharaoh. Why? Because through life he had been under the hard, stern discipline of the hand of God. And so, as his life was spent in learning, it was spent in suffering. God did not shrink from wielding the scourge to the very close. Then, he witnessed a sad confession before Pharaoh, such as Abraham and Isaac would have had no occasion for; for they lived better and happier lives than Jacob. But it is this very discipline which makes Jacobs life so instructive. It teaches us--
(1) The thoroughness of the Divine method, that we have to do with One who will sanctify us wholly; will search out the very real fibres of evil within us, and scathe them, whatever may be the cost.
(2) Let the name of the God of Jacob assure you that there is no extremity in which you have a right to cry, The Lord hath forsaken me, my God hath forgotten me. Jacobs life is surely the witness that the veriest exile cannot wander beyond the shelter of the Fathers home; the most utter outcast cannot stray beyond the shield of the Fathers love. There is no condition of darkness, of straits, of anguish, inconsistent with your standing as a son and Gods tenderness as a Father. For--
(3) The God of Jacob is the God who will bring the pilgrims home. He is not ashamed to be called their God, for He hath prepared for them a city. Led by the God of Jacob, your bones can never whiten the sands of the desert; your choking cry can ever be heard from the waves of Jordan. Mark the splendid and joyous picture of the end of all our pilgrim wanderings, toils, and pains, which is painted there. The Angel which redeemed him from all evil is redeeming us through pain as sharp, through patience as long, through discipline as stern. And He has caused all this to be written for our learning, that the hope of a final and eternal triumph over evil might sustain us through the conflict, through the wanderings, and assure us that in His good time the God of the pilgrim Jacob will bring us into His rest. Weary, worn, with shattered armour and dinted shield, we may struggle on to the shore of the dark river. A moment, a gasp--and there is a white-robed conqueror, with the dew of immortal youth upon his brow, led by the angels before the Throne of God and of the Lamb. (J. Baldwin Brown, B. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v1 Psalms 20
Psalms 20
THIS is a battle song followed by a chant of victory. They are connected in subject and probably in occasion, but fight and triumph have fallen dim to us, though we can still feel how hotly the fire once glowed. The passion of loyalty and love for the king, expressed in these psalms, fits no reign in Judah so well as the bright noonday of Davids, when "whatever the king did pleased all the people." Cheyne, indeed, would bring them down to the Maccabean period, and suggests Simon Maccabaeus as the ruler referred to. He has to put a little gentle pressure on "king" to contract it to fit the man of his choice, and appeals to the "good old Semitic sense" of "consul." But would not an appeal to Hebrew usage have been more satisfactory? If "king" means "king," great or small, the psalm is not post-exilic, and the Davidic date will not seem impossible. It does not seem impossible that a poet-king should have composed a national hymn praying for his own victory, which was the nations also.
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The psalm has traces of the alternation of chorus and solo. The nation or army first pours out its united prayer for victor in Psa_20:1-5, and is succeeded by a single voice (possibly that of the officiating priest or the king himself) in Psa_20:6, expressing confidence that the prayer is answered, which, again, is followed by the closing chorus of many voices throbbing with the assurance of victory before a blow is struck, and sending one more long-drawn cry to God ere battle is joined.
The prayer in Psa_20:1-5 breathes self-distrust and confidence in Jehovah, the temper which brings victory, not only to Israel, but to all fighters for God. Here is no boasting of former victories, nor of mans bravery and strength, nor of a captains skill. One name is invoked. It alone rouses courage and pledges triumph. "The name of the God of Jacob set thee on high." That name is almost regarded as a person, as is often the case. Attributes and acts are ascribed to it which properly belong to the Unnameable whom it names, as if with some dim inkling that the agent of revealing a person must be a person. The name is the revealed character, which is contemplated as having existence in some sense apart from Him whose character it is. Possibly there is a reference to Gen_35:3, where Jacob speaks of "the God who answered me in the day of my distress." That ancient instance of His power to hear and help may have floated before the singers mind as heartening faith for this day of battle. To "set on high" is a familiar natural figure for deliverance. The earthly sanctuary is Jehovahs throne: and all real help must come thence, of which help His dwelling there is a pledge. So in these two verses the extremity of need, the history of past revelation, and the special relation of Jehovah to Israel are woven into the peoples prayer for their king. In Psa_20:3-4, they add the incense of their intercession to his sacrifices. The background of the psalm is probably the altar on which the accustomed offerings before a battle were being presented. {1Sa_13:9} The prayer for acceptance of the burnt offering is very graphic, since the word rendered "accept" is literally "esteem fat."
One wish moved the sacrificing king and the praying people. Their common desire was victory, but the people are content to be obscure, and their loyal love so clings to their monarch and leader that they only wish the fulfilment of his wishes. This unit of feeling culminates in the closing petitions in Psa_20:6, where self-oblivion wishes "May we exult in thy salvation." arrogating none of the glory of victory to themselves, but ascribing all to him, and vows "In the name of our God we will wave our standards," ascribing victory to Him. its ultimate cause. An army that prays, "Jehovah fulfil all thy petitions, will be ready to obey all its captains commands and to move in obedience to his impulse as if it were part of himself." The enthusiastic community of purpose with its chief and absolute reliance on Jehovah. with which this prayer throbs, would go far towards securing victory anywhere. They should find their highest exemplification in that union between Christ and us in which all human relationships find theirs, since, in the deepest sense, they are all Messianic prophecies, and point to Him who is all the good that other men and women have partially been, and satisfies all the cravings and necessities which human relationships, however blessed, but incompletely supply.
The sacrifice has been offered; the choral prayer has gone up. Silence follows, the worshippers watching the curling smoke as it rises; and then a single voice breaks out into a burst of glad assurance that sacrifice and prayer are answered. Who speaks? The most natural answer is, "The king"; and the fact that he speaks of himself as Jehovahs anointed in the third person does not present a difficulty. What is the reference in that now at the beginning of Psa_20:6. May we venture to suppose that the kings heart swelled at the exhibition of his subjects devotion and hailed it as a pledge of victory? The future is brought into the present by the outstretched hand of faith, for this single speaker knows that "Jehovah has saved," though no blow has yet been struck. The prayer had asked for help from Zion; the anticipation of answer looks higher; to the holier sanctuary, where Jehovah indeed dwells. The answer now waited for in sure confidence is "the mighty deeds of salvation of His right hand," some signal forthputting of Divine power scattering the foe. A whisper may start an avalanche. The prayer of the people has set Omnipotence in motion. Such assurance that petitions are heard is wont to spring in the heart that truly prays, and comes as a forerunner of fulfilment, shedding on the soul the dawn of the yet unrisen sun. He has but half prayed who does not wait in silence, watching the flight of his arrow and not content to cease till the calm certainty that it has reached its aim fills his heart.
Again the many voices take up the song, responding to the confidence of the single speaker and, like him, treating the victory as already won. Looking across the field to the masses of the enemys cavalry and chariots, forces forbidden to Israel, though employed by them in later days, the song grandly opposes to these "the name of Jehovah our God." There is a world of contempt and confidence in the juxtaposition. Chariots and horses are very terrible, especially to raw soldiers unaccustomed to their whirling onset: but the Name is mightier, as Pharaoh and his array proved by the Red Sea. This reference to the army of Israel as unequipped with cavalry and chariots is in favour of an early date, since the importation and use of both began as soon as Solomons time. The certain issue of the fight is given in Psa_20:8 in a picturesque fashion, made more vigorous by the tenses which describe completed acts. When the brief struggle is over, this is what will be seen-the enemy prone, Israel risen from subjection and standing firm. Then comes a closing cry for help, which, according to the traditional division of the verse, has one very short clause and one long, drawn out, like the blast of the trumpet sounding the charge. The intensity of appeal is condensed in the former clause into the one word "save" and the renewed utterance of the name, thrice referred to in this short psalm as the source at once of strength and confidence. The latter clause, as in the A.V. and R.V. transfers the title of King from the earthly shadow to the true Monarch in the heavens, and thereby suggests yet another plea for help. The other division of the verse, adopted in the LXX and by some moderns, equalises the clauses by transferring "the king" to the former ("O Lord save the king, and answer us," etc.). But this involves a violent change from the second person imperfect in the first clause to the third person imperfect in the second. It would be intolerably clumsy to say, "Do Thou save; may He hear," and therefore the LXX has had recourse to inserting "and" at the beginning of the second clause, which somewhat breaks the jolt, but is not in the Hebrew. The text, as it stands, yields a striking meaning, beautifully suggesting the subordinate office of the earthly monarch and appealing to the true King to defend His own army and go forth with it to the battle which is waged for His name. When we are sure that we are serving Jehovah and fighting for Him, we may be sure that we go not a warfare at our own charges nor alone.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 “This is evidently a liturgical psalm, and was intended…
INTRODUCTION
“This is evidently a liturgical psalm, and was intended originally, it would seem, to be sung on behalf of a king who was about to go forth to war against his enemies. As the king stands within the sanctuary offering his sacrifice, the whole assembled crowd of worshippers in the spacious courts lift up their voices in the prayer, that Jehovah would graciously accept those sacrifices, and send him help and victory in the battle. The psalm has no doubt a prophetical aspect, from the fact that the Jewish king was, by virtue of his office, a type of Christ. Calvin is right in saying that inasmuch as this kingdom differed from all other kingdoms, because God had determined to govern and defend His people by the hand of David and of his seed, therefore we ought to recognise, under the type of the temporal kingdom, that better rule on which the joy and happiness of the Church depend.”—Perowne.
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THE NAME OF JEHOVAH
(Psa_20:1; Psa_20:5; Psa_20:7.)
I. The name of Jehovah a consolation in trouble. “The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee” (Psa_20:1). No character or rank is exempt from the ills of life. The highest dignity cannot guard off troubles; and crowns especially are often lined with thorns. The history of David records many a dark day and sorrowful night. It was a day of distress with Jacob when he fled from his brother Esau, and arrived at Bethel a distracted wanderer (Gen_35:3). Few plants, says an old writer, have both the morning and the evening sun; and an older than he has said—Man is born to trouble. But in the deepest, darkest, wildest distress Jehovah is the refuge of His people; and His name soothes the keenest anguish, and lifts up the most despairing.
“Thy mighty name salvation is,
And keeps my happy soul above;
Comfort it brings, and power, and peace,
And joy, and everlasting love.”
II. The name of Jehovah an inspiring battle-cry. “In the name of our God we will set up our banners” (Psa_20:5). Banners are a part of military equipage, borne in times of war to assemble, direct, distinguish, and inspirit, the soldiers. They have been often used in religious ceremonies. It is the practice of some people to erect a banner in honour of their deity. In a certain part of Thibet it is customary for a priest to ascend a hill every month, to set up a white flag, and perform some religious ceremonies to conciliate the favour of a dewta, or invisible being, who is the presiding genius of the place. The Hindoos describe Siva the Supreme as having a banner in the celestial world. Every nation has its own expressive battle-cry. “For hearth and home” was the cry that found a deep and warm response in the breast of the ancient Roman; and, in modern times, the Germans roused the enthusiasm and bravery of every soldier by the cry of “Fatherland!” But the militant Church goes to war with the name of the Lord of Hosts on her banners—a battle-cry which inspires every heart with holy courage, and binds it with the cincture of a firm, unalterable purpose. It was this that nerved the youthful David with a giant’s prowess in his victorious combat with Goliath (1Sa_17:45).
III. The name of Jehovah the strength of the Militant Church. “We will remember the name of the Lord our God” (Psa_20:7). The world trusts in the material—in rifles, mitraileuse, turret-ships, and torpedoes; but the Church is taught to trust in the spiritual—the mysterious, invisible, but almighty power of Jehovah. The material fails; but the spiritual never. Many a formidable and rarely-equipped army has
“Melted like snow in the glance of the Lord,”
while the feeble and despised champions of the Church have stood forth in all the honour and lustre of victory. When the saint relies fully on Jehovah, and is absorbed in His holy cause, he is surrounded with an impenetrable defence. Numa, being told that his enemies were coming upon him as he was offering sacrifice, thought it was sufficient for his safety that he could say, I am about the service of my God; and yet how slow men are to put their trust in that Name where alone all true comfort, the holiest courage, and the mightiest strength are found! It is easy, says Arnot, to persuade papists to lean on priests and saints, on old rags and painted pictures, on any idol; but it is hard to get a Protestant to trust in the living God.
PRAYER A PREPARATION FOR CONFLICT
(Psa_20:1-5; Psa_20:9.)
I. Prayer should have reference to future emergencies. “The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble” (Psa_20:1). War is a time of trouble, both to king and people; and considering the vicissitudes and sufferings of the battlefield, it is wise to implore the aid of Heaven for seasons when earthly resources may be exhausted. Prayer has a prevenient power. To-day’s prayers can help tomorrow’s; the congregation’s present prayers, the king’s future prayers. Prayer may bring present power that shall put the man’s heart right, and keep it right, so that when the hour of need shall come, the prayer of his heart may be right prayer, and be both heard and answered. “Troubles roar like thunder; but the believer’s voice will be heard above the storm.”
II. Prayer invokes the invincible protection of Jehovah. “The name of the God of Jacob defend thee” (Psa_20:1). By the name is signified the whole revealed character of Jehovah. He is called the God of Jacob, because He manifested Himself as such, in a fulness of deeds, to Jacob and to his posterity. A heavenlier light is needed to explain all the mystery and glory of the Divine name. There is power in the historical associations of the name to help faith, as the pleading soul recalls the scenes of Bethel, Peniel, Padan-aram, Shechem, and Egypt. The name of Jehovah is an inviolable protection. “Defend thee”—exalt thee—“to be upraised to a high and fortified place, made safe.”—Bythner. “Set thee up on high,” i.e., “as in a fortress where no enemy can do thee harm, or on a rock at the foot of which the waves fret and dash themselves in impotent fury.”—Perowne. The name of God is a more secure retreat than the spot defended by parks of artillery.
III. Prayer should be accompanied with sacrifice. “Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice” (Psa_20:3). It was customary in ancient times for warriors to offer sacrifice before going into battle; and this was often done with most imposing ceremony, and with lavish liberality. “Thy burnt sacrifice”—thy holocaust, “a sacrifice of quadrupeds and birds, which are raised altogether upon the altar and burned: the Greek hecatomb seems borrowed from this.”—Bythner. “Accept”—graciously accept—literally, make fat; in a declarative sense “regard as fat,” and so “receive as fat,” i.e., “as worthy to be offered, the fattest of the flock being chosen for sacrifice.”—Perowne. “At the present day others as well as David may use this psalm in prayer, for as the person, the circumstances, the time and place, are all different in the new law, so likewise is the sacrifice; but one faith and one spirit abide through all ages, and amid all diversities of places, works, persons. The external varies, the internal remains ever the same.”—Luther. The individual relation to God is recognised by personal offerings. The separate application of the one sacrifice answers to the separate sacrifices of old. The one sacrifice must have its separate acceptance for the separate individual. Prayer to be efficacious must ever be offered in the spirit of sacrifice.
IV. Prayer is urgent to secure a specific answer to its petitions.
1. As they relate to special blessings. “Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel: the Lord fulfil all thy petitions” (Psa_20:4-5). Prayer is offered for protection in time of danger, for wisdom to adopt and execute the best measures in the emergencies of war, and for victory over the enemy. Our desires and counsels are completely dependent upon God for their attainment, and ought to be prayers. The more clearly we see our peril, and the more pungently we feel our need, the more fervently do we wrestle for an answer to our petitions. “Sometimes God doth not only grant a man’s prayer, but fulfilleth his counsel; that is, in that very way, by that very means, which his judgment pitched upon his thoughts.”—Trapp.
2. As they relate to their immediate subject. “Save, Lord; let the king hear us when we call” (Psa_20:9). Rendered by the LXX., “O Lord, save the king, and hear us when we call upon Thee.” The king is the subject of prayer, that he may be blessed with victory, and that he may be a blessing to others. The ninth verse is a summary of the whole psalm. The wellbeing of a people is suspended on the character and doings of the monarch. Prayer should be offered for him continually that he may be guarded from evil, that he may be wise, equitable, and prosperous. Prayer must not be intermitted even when confidence of Divine help has been inspired. Prayer will still be necessary to sustain that confidence in its trials, for the very confidence is a contingent virtue, and, perhaps, the more subject to risks of deterioration, because it is an inspired thing and not a thing of earth.
V. Answer to prayer is found wherever the presence of Jehovah is manifested. “Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion” (Psa_20:2). The Jews, whose weakness found it so difficult a task to look up to the Invisible God, were favoured with a visible sanctuary on Zion; thither the devout Israelite directed his prayer; thence he expected help in the day of trouble. Christ is now the sanctuary of His people; and in their worshipping assemblies He is wont to manifest His presence and power. The greatest distress is experienced when God is absent. His return banishes our fears, and nerves us with superhuman bravery. “Men of the world despise sanctuary help; but our hearts have learned to prize it beyond all material aid. They seek help out of the armoury, or the treasury, or the buttery; but we turn to the sanctuary. Certain advertisers recommend a strengthening plaster; but nothing can give such strength to the loins of a saint as waiting upon God in the assemblies of His people.”—Spurgeon. God always puts honour upon His appointed services. His help, when it comes, will come by the way of the sanctuary and out of Zion. The faith to which that help is a response, wherever exercised, was first begotten amid the holy things of the sanctuary. The help has the same stamp as the faith that commands it, the stamp of the sanctuary.
CONFIDENCE IN JEHOVAH THE PLEDGE OF VICTORY
(Psa_20:5-8.)
I. Confidence in Jehovah fills the heart with gladness. “We will rejoice in Thy salvation” (Psa_20:5). The people are so assured of the help of God as to break out in a song of anticipatory triumph. Praise raises the moral tone of an army, and it is on this that its success largely depends. Jehoshaphat, before entering into battle with the vast armies of the Moabites and Ammonites, appointed singers to praise the Lord. He obtained an easy victory (2Ch_20:20-22). When Louis XIII. of France had invested with his army a city of the Huguenots, the besieged assembled one evening on the city wall and sang, with great sweetness and solemnity, one of their favourite psalms. The king was so impressed with the whole scene and with the spirit of the singers, that he turned to Mazarin, his favourite general, who was by his side, and quietly observed, “We can do nothing with this people.” The siege was raised; and the persecuted Huguenots triumphed in their Lord. God ought to be remembered in our triumph as well as in our need. We are sometimes so much elated by the triumph as to forget the help by which it has come.
II. Confidence in Jehovah inspires with courage for the conflict. “In the name of our God will we set up”—wave—”our banners” (Psa_20:5). When the army has confidence in its General it unfurls its standard with resolute defiance, enters upon the contest with a stout, brave heart, and already anticipates the shouts of victory and the triumphant procession, with banners displayed. “Great certainly is the faith which hath such courage by remembering the name of the Lord. Soldiers in our day are wont, when they go into battle, to recall to mind the brave exploits of their fathers, or former victories, and the like, wherewith to warm and stir their hearts. But let our princes remember the name of God, wherein all salvation and victory do stand.”—Luther. “Confession of Christ, as the only name whereby we can be saved, is the banner which distinguishes His faithful people. Oh, that this confession were more distinct, more pure, more zealous, then would His followers be more united, more bold, more successful—terrible as an army with banners.”—W. Wilson.
III. Confidence in Jehovah secures the exercise of His Almighty power. “Now know I that the Lord saveth His anointed: He will hear him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand” (Psa_20:6). Prayer ought never to stop before it has brought a present sense of help. It is possible to have an inspoken answer to our prayers before the outward crisis to which we are looking has come. “The hope suddenly changes into certainty. Now know I that Jehovah hath saved, hath given the victory. The singer speaks in the full assurance of faith that the prayer is heard, and as if he already saw the victory gained. The prayer had been that God would hear and send help from the earthly sanctuary or Zion. Now, the answer is to come from His holy heaven. For if God then condescended to dwell in visible glory among men, yet He would teach His people that He is not limited by the bounds of time and space. He is not like the gods of the heathen, the god of one city or country. He sends help out of Zion, but the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him. Calvin sees expressed in the earthly sanctuary made by hands, the grace and condescension of God to His people; in the heavenly, His infinite power, greatness, and majesty.”—Perowne. Faith, says Quesnel, seems to put the Almighty power of God into the hands of man; whereas unbelief seems to tie up even the hands of the Almighty.
IV. Confidence in Jehovah exposes the inadequacy of the best human contrivances. “Some trust in chariots and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God” (Psa_20:7). The remark of a great warrior, that Providence is always on the side of the strongest battalion, may be applauded as an evidence of military penetration, but the sceptical sneer is none the less apparent in the sentiment. According to the law, Israel was forbidden to maintain a standing army. They were taught to trust in God, both for defence and victory (Deu_20:2-4; Deu_32:30). Some of the conquests of the chosen people were gained by means which contradicted and defied the ordinary rules of warfare, and seemed absurd to the believer in military skill and prowess. Moral power was pitted against the material, and won the day, as it ever will. When the Israelites depended more upon their armies than their God, they suffered the most humiliating defeats. “The most dreaded war-engine of David’s day was the war-chariot, armed with scythes which mowed men down like grass: this was the boast and glory of the neighbouring nations; but the saints considered the name of Jehovah to be a far better defence.”
V. Confidence in Jehovah turns apparent defeat into victory. “They are brought down and fallen; but we are risen and stand upright” (Psa_20:8). The prophetic vision of faith already sees the issue of the conflict. The ranks of those who trust in chariots and horses, who rely on material aid, seem firm, impenetrable, defiant, and the onset irresistible. But the people of God, whose trust is in the unseen, and who seem overwhelmed and put to the worse, rise up triumphant, while their enemies are brought down and crushed—the instruments of war in which they trusted helping to make their ruin more complete. Faith has surer wheels than pride; and prayer will carry us where power must fall. “Faith alone, which commits itself to God, can sing the song of triumph before the victory, and raise the shout of joy before help has been obtained; for to faith all is permitted. It trusts in God, and so really has what it believes, because faith deceives not; as it believes, so is it done.”—Luther.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain On v1 I. The God of Jacob tells us, by the…
Psa 20:1
I. The God of Jacob tells us, by the very name, that He is a God who is not deterred by a great transgression, or by great proneness to transgression, from constituting Himself the Guide to our pilgrim life.
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II. The God of Jacob must be a God who can bear to inflict very stern chastisement on His children, and to train His pilgrims in a very hard, sharp school of discipline, without forfeiting the name of their merciful and loving God. This thought has two suggestions. (1) It expounds the thoroughness of the Divine method. (2) Let the name of the God of Jacob assure you that there is no extremity in which you have a right to cry, "The Lord hath forsaken me; my God has forgotten me."
III. The God of Jacob is the God who will bring the pilgrims home.
J. Baldwin Brown, The Sunday Afternoon, p. 45 (see also p. 35).
References: Psa 20:1—J. Irons, Thursday Penny Pulpit, vol. vii., p. 1; J. M. Neale, Sermons on Passages from the Psalms, p. 9. Psa 20:1, Psa 20:2.—Preacher’s Monthly, vol. ii., p. 414. Psa 20:2.—W. M. Taylor, Old Testament Outlines, p. 102. Psa 20:5.—Homiletic Magazine, vol. vi., p. 16; D. Burns, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xiii., p. 81.
Psa 20:7
The Psalmist remembers the name of the Lord his God, not any one property or attribute of God, but the whole combination of Divine perfections. And he remembers this name, the expression implying, not a transient thought, but meditation, consideration; and yet the result of the recollection is gladness and confidence.
I. When the mind gives itself to the contemplation of the Divine perfections, it launches on an ocean unfathomable and without a shore. But we may certify ourselves of truths which we cannot fathom or scan. And the Divine perfections, while we readily confess that they transcend all our powers, may be objects of our faith, of our study, of our adoration. Wheresoever there is the simple desire and the earnest endeavour to obey the Divine precepts, the properties of our Maker have only to be made the subject of careful remembrance, and they must furnish the materials of comfort.
II. We go on to admit that there are properties or attributes of God which, because they seem arrayed against sinful beings, can hardly be supposed to be the subjects of encouraging remembrance. The name of the Lord our God includes justice and holiness; and these are qualities from which we seem instinctively to shrink, as though we felt that they must necessarily be opposed to rebellious and polluted creatures. But the attributes of Deity meet and harmonise in the plan of our redemption. It is the Christian alone who can view God in every character and yet view Him without dread. The Christian, when he would remember the name of the Lord, may place himself beneath the shadow of the tree on which the Lord Jesus died.
III. The Psalmist’s reference would seem to be specially to seasons of fear and anxiety. In times of sorrow Christians call to remembrance their grief rather than God, the blow rather than the hand whence it comes; but let them call to mind the Divine attributes, the evidences which they have already had of God’s love, and the reasons which they have for being persuaded that all things are ordered by Him so as to work together for good, and come trouble, come death, they may still exclaim, "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but enough for us that we can remember the name of the Lord our God."
H. Melvill, Penny Pulpit, No. 1593.
References: Psa 20:7.—G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 177. Psalm 20—A. Maclaren, Life of David, p. 203; I. Williams, The Psalms Interpreted of Christ, p. 371. Psa 21:1.—J. Irons, Thursday Penny Pulpit, vol. vii., p. 409. Psa 21:2.—Homiletic Magazine, vol. vi., p. 17; M. G. Pearse, Sunday Magazine, 1884, p. 605.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
F. W. Grant 1903 · Public Domain On v1 Christ and His salvation.
Christ and His salvation.
To the chief musician: a psalm of David,
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With the last word of the nineteenth psalm is struck the key-note of that which follows. This is truly a blessed psalm, and its beauty will be seen the more, the more we contemplate it. Not that there is much wonder about that: the lustre of all God’s jewels is only dimmed by our indifference.
The two psalms now before us are Jewish, no doubt: and the lack of the apprehension of this causes much of the difficulty of discerning their true character. We have to distinguish between the form and the essence, -or rather, to give frankly to the ancient people of God all that belongs to them; and by so doing we shall surely find what is our own, and of how little we have deprived ourselves by this mere justice. The Gentile’s Christ is also Israel’s Messiah; and wherever we find Him we have our inalienable title to and interest in Him. On His head are many crowns; but these can surely not obscure the features with which we are familiar.
The twentieth psalm speaks of Christ and His salvation, objectively given, as contemplated by the people, and not, as in the twenty-second, subjectively, as the language and experience of the Lord Himself. This, as has been said before, is the manner of the middle three of the nine psalms of which this is the central one, and which show us faith’s reception of the Messiah. The prophecy is here as direct as Isaiah’s picture of Jehovah’s Servant, (Isa 52:13-15,) and should be given as direct announcement, and not, as in our common version, as a prayer. The nine verses are, as usual with this number, 3 x 3, the symbol of divine fullness and manifestation intensified by repetition: from which the importance of its contents may be anticipated.
1. The first section declares God to be for "His Anointed," who is seen in the day of His "strait," which is that of His "offering." This Anointed is the King of Israel, whose deliverance is in some way the salvation of His people, and seems to bring their hearts back to the remembrance of Jehovah their God; and thus they "rise and stand upright." There is no difficulty in seeing that, however else the psalm may have had partial fulfillment, Christ alone is the complete one. And this interpretation it is that gives it its place in the series of psalms that we are considering. The partial ones, taken as the whole, if they could be satisfactorily and not merely conjecturally made out, would break up the unity of the book, as well as lower immeasurably the character of the fragments remaining. How insignificant these "offerings" and this "burnt sacrifice" of a king in his "strait," were it Uzziah or Asa or David himself, compared with that one sacrifice of the glorious King, who is always the great subject of the Spirit’s testimony.
Looked at in this way, a flood of light is thrown upon the psalm which transfigures it completely. In the very first verse thus, where the king is seen in his strait, it is the name of the God of Jacob" that sets him on high. This is then only another reading of the New Testament text that "Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father." (Rom 6:4.) God’s "name" is His glory: it is the display of Himself. It is this that is the blessedness of the gospel, that God is displayed in it in His grace. Here, too, the God of Jacob, when we realize the meaning of this name, Jacob, and remember the history in connection with it, which the book of Genesis so dwells upon, may well stand for -indeed can stand for nothing else but -the God of grace. Grace alone could take up the "supplanter" to make of him an Israel, a "prince of God." Thus it is for the declaration of God’s grace, -of the gospel in its essence, -that the One seen here is delivered from His strait, -is set on high. The resurrection and ascension of Christ give to this its full and blessed significance. The story is that of God’s grace, whether it be in the going forth of the gospel in its fullness now, or in the deliverance of Israel in days to come. It is still the work of Christ that is the foundation of all blessing, and by which the glory of God is displayed in abounding grace.
In the second verse there is a twofold answer implied; for the sanctuary and Zion are in different lines of thought. The one is the place of priesthood; the other the seat of royal power. Christ is both Priest and King; but then, in connection with Him, the sanctuary in the midst of Israel can be no more than "the figure of the true:" and this is plainly declared in the sixth verse, where the answer of God is "from His holy heaven." This is the answer with which we are now, blessed be His name, familiar. But we have taken it in such a way as to discredit the other, and to make a difficulty where there is absolute simplicity. Christ is yet to be answered out of Zion, -the kingly power in Israel put into His hand. Indeed in that day the two answers will be brought into fullest agreement: the "priest after the order of Melchizedek" will be a "priest upon His throne." The grace implied in priesthood will be manifested in Him who reigns with absolute power; and this will be full blessing for the people of His choice.
The third verse, Leviticus-like, shows us the basis of all this in sacrifice. The whole range of offerings here comes in; for what less could show the various perfection of the one offering that has once for all put away sin for every soul that trusts it? but yet the burnt-offering holds before God its special place. No wonder! It is that which tells of the perfectly tried obedience found perfect, all of its sweet savor brought out by the fierceness of the flame consuming it.
How blessed a picture is given us then in these three verses! how impossible for it to be the picture of any other than the One whom it so admirably portrays!
2. We have now the effect of this interposition of God for Him in the deliverance and blessing of His people. This is not, however, what we shall find, when His work is fully told out -forgiveness and salvation from sin. He is their King, and His being raised up naturally connects itself with their deliverance. That this is, and must be, in grace, we have already seen; but this is, as yet, more national than individual, and the depths of their need are not as yet explored.
We find at once, however, that there are counsels of His heart, though what these are is left to be inferred by what follows. They are worthy of that work which lays the ground of their accomplishment; and the people, rejoicing in. His deliverance, set up their banners in that Name which has been declared to them, -the name of Jacob’s God, the God of grace. There is certainly here a national movement, in the face of enemies, but with confidence; and evidently in His advocacy with whose requests their hearts go out in sympathy. Faith in them has linked itself with Him, and that faith expresses itself in joyful certainty, in the voice of a believing nation in the latter day. These are now receiving the testimony with which the psalm began, and the faith of the prophet in the first part of it is answered at last by that of a generation to be new born to God in days yet to come. The transition here will be no difficulty to those who have noted the similar style of prophecy elsewhere.* Thus Israel will yet awake to the acceptance with God of Him whom as the Crucified they have refused and scorned. They have heard as yet but the Voice which cried, Thou hearest not," and to that which presently said, "Thou hast heard Me," they have been deaf and unbelieving. At last the "Ephphatha" will be uttered which will give ears and tongue alike their office, and they will say, "Now I know that Jehovah saveth His Anointed! He answereth Him from His holy heaven, with the saving strength of His right hand."
{*Thus in Isa 52:13-15; Isa 53:1-3 there is a similar transition from the future and the personating by the prophet of the unbelief (as here the faith) of a generation to come.}
3. The third section must be characterized as the resurrection of Israel. We see them in fact brought back to God, as through faith in Christ they will be, with the necessary effect of this, that they find God for them. The last verse, if we are to read it according to the common punctuation, goes on to the further discovery, full indeed of blessing, that Messiah, their King, and Jehovah are the same: a truth certainly not beyond the Psalms to give, and which we shall find fully before us in the fourth book.
The name of God is once more uttered by them here. Well may they be glad to remember it now, after so long a time of forgetfulness. Now no earthly confidence will they boast in, but only in Jehovah. The sure result follows: while other hopes deceive, Jehovah manifests Himself for them. Their enemies (these boasters) are brought down and fallen. Israel rises from her sorrow and degradation and not temporarily merely: they rise and stand upright.
The psalm ends with a prayer, in which Jehovah is invoked still to deliver, a prayer which the "King" is besought to hear. Jehovah and the King are one!
F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible (4th ed., 1903) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 This and the following Ps. form a closely connected…
This and the following Ps. form a closely connected pair. The one is a prayer for a king going out to battle, and the other is a thanksgiving for his triumphant return. Both have the same title. There is nothing against the early date of the Pss., and David may be their subject, but it is hardly natural to regard him as their author. In Psalms 20, Psa_20:1-5 are the prayer of the people, Psa_20:6 is the confident utterance of an individual (perhaps a priest or the king himself), and in Psa_20:7-9 the people again take up the strain.
1. The name] is equivalent to the God to whom it belongs. It expresses all that is known about Him. Defend thee] RV 'set thee up on high,' over all enemies.
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2. The sanctuary] God's dwelling-place on Mt. Zion is here meant, as the next clause shows. But see Psa_20:6.
3. Remember.. accept] The words refer to the sacrifices both of the past and of the present. Sacrifices were usual before going out to war: see 1Sa_7:9-10; 1Sa_13:9, 1Sa_13:12.
4. According to thine own heart] RV 'thy heart's desire,' i.e. victory. Counsel] plan of campaign: see 2 Samuel 17.
5. Thy salvation] the deliverance to be wrought by the king's success. Set up our banners] lift them up and wave them in triumph.
6. Now] A single person here takes up the song after the sacrifice has been offered. Faith is assured that the offering has been accepted and the king's prayers heard. His anointed] the king: see Psa_2:2; From his holy heaven] God's real dwelling, of which Zion is but the type.
7. Some] refers to heathen enemies, like the Egyptians (Exodus 14 Isa_31:1). Remember] RV 'make mention of,' as a watchword.
8. Brought down] RV 'bowed down.'
9. Read with LXX 'O Lord, save the king: and answer us when we call.'
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv1–2 Heb. "set thee on an high place."
defend
Heb. "set thee on an high place."
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 Psalm 20
Psalm 20
Christ and His Salvation as Contemplated by His People
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1. What God has done for Christ (Psa 20:1-4)
2. The salvation His people enjoy (Psa 20:5-9)
Psa 20:1-4. “My Redeemer” was the last word of the previous Psalm. Christ the Redeemer of His people is revealed in this Psalm. His death and sacrificial work, revealed in Psa 22:1-31, are here anticipated. He who humbled Himself has been heard by Jehovah, He has set Him upon high (marginal reading), He has sent Him help, He has accepted His great offering, the whole burnt offering which typifies the death of the cross. All the desires of His heart are given to Him and all His counsels will be fulfilled. The believing remnant is contemplating the Redeemer and His salvation. Because He has been heard, because His offering is accepted, because He is set on high, they possess salvation.
Psa 20:5-9. This salvation is now celebrated in inspired song. It is anticipatory of that coming salvation. They will rejoice in His salvation, His heavenly people, now rejoice in it. Banners, the symbol of victory won, will be set up. The intercessions of His Anointed (Christ) will be answered, all enemies are bowed down and fallen. “But we are risen and stand upright” refers to the day of Israel’s national and spiritual resurrection. In anticipation of the trouble of the last days we read the prayer of this godly remnant. “Save LORD! Let the King hear us when we call.”
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v1 Prayer in Time of War.
Prayer in Time of War.
To the chief musician, a psalm of David, evidently composed to be sung by the Tabernacle chorus while the king and his army were in the field, the purpose being to implore Jehovah to grant victory to the arms of Israel. The chorus as such opens the hymn.
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v. 1. The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble, graciously and attentively listening to the king’s call when he would find himself in a difficult and dangerous position; the name of the God of Jacob, the mighty God of Jacob, the great Protector of Israel Himself, defend thee, setting him up on high, on a stronghold where no enemy could harm him;
v. 2. send thee help, that for which he called, from the Sanctuary, from His dwelling-place on Zion, where this prayer was made, and strengthen, support and assist, thee out of Zion, the place of His habitation among men;
v. 3. remember all thy offerings, such as were always made before opening a battle, and accept thy burnt sacrifice, finding it fat and therefore acceptable; Selah. Cf Psa 3:2. V4. Grant thee according to thine own heart, exactly as the king desired it, and fulfill all thy counsel, permitting all his plans and measures in the war to be successful.
v. 5. We will rejoice in thy salvation, over the victory which would be sure to come to the king’s arms, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners, letting them wave in token of the victory gained; the Lord fulfill all thy petitions, granting the king all that he desired to bring the campaign to a successful conclusion. This section of the psalm was probably sung while the offerings of the day were lighted. A solo voice now continues:
v. 6. Now know I that the Lord saveth His anointed, letting him experience His gracious assistance, as the singer states in the confidence of faith; He will hear him from His holy heaven, the throne of His majesty, with the saving strength of His right hand, with the wonderful deeds of His almighty power. This confidence is based on the means of grace, on the sacrifice and the word which accompanied it.
v. 7. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, making flesh their arm, depending upon their own strength and resources; but we will remember the name of the Lord, our God, making mention of Jehovah, their confidence being founded in Him alone.
v. 8. They, the enemies who so foolishly trust in their own power, are brought down and fallen, first bowing down, sinking to the knees, and then lying prostrate; but we are risen and stand upright, firm and secure, holding the field with ease, without the slightest distress and fear. The Levitical soloist having finished his air, the entire chorus takes up the theme in a triumphant conclusion.
v. 9. Save, Lord! Let the King hear us when we call, or, "Save the king, O Jehovah, hear us in the day of our calling"; just the right proportion of humble pleading and confident requesting, as it behooves believers in stepping before the throne of God. The sentiments here expressed have a permanent value, for, as one commentator has it, the prosperity of the kingdom of Christ is not merely typified, but also involved, in that of Israel and its king.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3 General Information:
General Information:
This Psalm begins with a group of people speaking to the king of Israel.
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General Information:
Parallelism is common in Hebrew poetry. (See: Poetry and Parallelism)
For the chief musician
"This is for the director of music to use in worship"
A psalm of David
Possible meanings are 1) David wrote the psalm or 2) the psalm is about David or 3) the psalm is in the style of David's psalms.
help you
The word "you" in this Psalm is singular and refers to the king.
in the day of trouble
"in times of trouble" or "when you are in trouble"
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you
Possible meanings are 1) here "name" is a metonym for God's power. AT: "may the power of the God of Jacob protect you" or "may the God of Jacob protect you by his power" or 2) here "name" is a metonym for God himself. AT: "may the God of Jacob protect you" (See: Metonymy)
send help from the holy place
God helping from his holy place is spoken of as if God were sending help. AT: "may Yahweh help you from his holy place" (See: Metaphor)
holy place ... Zion
Both of these refer to God's temple in Jerusalem. (See: Doublet)
translationWords
psalm
David
Yahweh
trouble
name
God
Jacob
send
holy place
Zion
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3, 4 Pss 20–24 This sequence of psalms expresses the experience…
Pss 20–24 This sequence of psalms expresses the experience of moving from confidence and commitment (Pss 20–21), through anguish and abandonment (Ps 22), and finally to comfort, insight, and hope (Pss 23–24).
Ps 20 This royal prayer for God’s victory (20:1-5) leads to confidence in God’s rescue (20:6-8) and a communal request for God’s response (20:9).
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20:1-5 The community prays for the king’s protection and victory.
20:1 The title God of Jacob affectionately expresses God’s ancient relationship with his people (see 46:7, 11; 75:9; 76:6; 81:1, 4; 84:8; 94:7; 114:7; 146:5). • keep you safe from all harm: See 59:1-2.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.