Paraphrase Upon the Books of the Psalms, Book 1 · Psalm 20
The Twentieth Psalm.
TO the ‖Prefect of his Musick.chief Musitian, a Psalm of David.
Paraphrase. The Twentieth Psal. is a form of Prayer to be used by the congregation for their Prince, in all times of danger, that God will protect and assist him. It was indited by David himself, and committed to the Prefect of his Musick, to be used as occasion requited.
1. The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble, the name of the God of Jacob *Secure thee, or, set thee up on high, foreigndefend thee;
Whensoever any distress or danger befalls the King, we beseech the Lord of heaven to interpose his hand for him, to hearken to all his petitions, and perform them gratiously, and by his own almighty power to preserve him safe, as in an impregnable tower or fortress.
2. Send†thy help foreign thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion;
Whatsoever aid or assistance he shall at any time want, that holy Majesty that exhibites himself in the ark of the tabernacle, which is now placed in Sion, and hath promised to grant those prayers which are duly addrest to him there, be gratiously pleased from his heavenly throne to send it down to him;
3. Remember all thy offerings, and‖or burn to ashes thy a.accept thy burnt sacrifice. Selah.
Receive and answer all the requests that he hath at any time made to God, accept and reward all his oblations of piety, as signally, as when by fire sent from heaven to consume a sacrifice, he evidenceth his acceptation of it.
4. Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel.
Whatsoever he doth now want and wish for, whatsoever designe he hath in his heart to accomplish, the Lord of Heaven by his power and wisdome gratiously dispose, and perform it for him.
b.5. We will rejoyce in thy salvation, and in the name of our God will we set up our banners. The Lord fulfil all thy petitions.
It is thy strength and guidance and prospering hand, thou Lord of hosts, on which only we depend for success and victory: to thee therefore alone will we give the praise of it, when either we go out to battel, or return with conquest; it shall be only in confidence of thy aid, and with acknowledgement of thy mercy. And therefore now that our King goes out to battel, we have nothing to do, but to invoke thy assistance, that thou wilt be present with him in all his wants, prosper him whatsoever he undertakes.
6. Now know I that the Lord saveth his annointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven, with the saving strength of his right hand.
And of this are we confident, that he which hath advanced him to be King over his own people, will interpose his hand for his rescue and deliverance, the God of heaven is of abundant strength to secure him, whatsoever the distress be; and he will certainly do it, as illustriously, as if by his own right hand from heaven, his holy seat of mansion, he should reach out deliverance to him.
7. Some‖recount their chariots, and some their horses, but we will recount— c.trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
Let others talk of their military preparations, that they have so many chariots and horses, are so strongly provided for the approach of their enemies, and therein place their confidence; that is not our method, but only to make claim of Gods protection, that through him we go out to battel, and on him depend for the victory, and on no strength or preparations of our own.
8. They are brought down and fallen, but we are risen and stand upright.
And as they that thus go out, talking of their own strength, are sure to miscarry by that confidence, so shall not we fail of victory, through this far surer dependance, the strength of our God of Heaven.
9. †Lord save the King. He will hear us in the day of our calling.Save, Lord,d. let the King hear us when we call.
O Lord of Heaven, preserve and deliver the King out of all his streights, and let all the congregation resound Amen, confidently beseech God to grant this their devout petition, which they believe to be most acceptable to him, their duty to offer, and such as he will not fail to grant to their importunate and fervent prayers.
Annotations on Psalm XX.
V. 3. Accept] The Hebrew foreign foreignsignifies pinguis fuit, was fat, or, was made fat, and so 'tis rendred here by the Lxxii. foreign let thy holocaust be made fat, i. e. (as fat and good sacrifices are wont to be) accepted: so the Latine, pingue fiat. But the word hath yet a farther notion: for foreign signifies ashes, Lev. i. 16. Jer. xxxi. 40. and from thence the verb foreign incineravit to turn to ashes; which for God to do to a sacrifice, (to send fire from heaven, and burn it to ashes, 1 Kings xviii. 38.) is a sure token of his accepting the sacrifice, and him that offers it, as there he did Elijah: and accordingly in Arabick foreign hath the notion of receiving or accepting, as is to be seen in Alkamus. And thus, I suppose, it is taken in this place; the Lord consume to ashes thy burnt offerings in token of accepting them. Thus foreign remembring] in the beginning of the verse, being, as here, applied to sacrifices, is taken in a peculiar notion, so as to include acceptance.
V. 5. Set up our banners] The word foreign foreignis questionless from foreign to lift up a banner, (so foreign signifies) and this as a token of military courage, going out alacriously to battel. Thus the Chaldee renders it, we will display our banners; but the Lxxii. foreign, we shall be magnified, and so the Latine, Syriack, Arabick, and Aethiopick. This is generally thought to proceed from their mis-reading the word, inverting or transposing the letters, and reading foreign from foreign magnus fuit, was great. But it may also well be, that they thus thought fit to paraphrase the word in the true reading; for so displaying or setting up of banners is a mode of triumph and military magnificence, and so seems to be used here.
V. 7. Trust] It is not certain what the verb is, that is to be supplied in the former part of this v. 7. That there is an ellipsis is manifest, yet none of the antient interpreters have supplied it, but read just as the Hebrew doth, some in chariots, and some in horses, but we—Our English, as being directed by the sense, putteth in [trust,] some trust in chariots— But the surest way will be to let the beginning of the verse depend on that verb which follows in the end of it, for so certainly it lies: some do recount, or make mention of their preparations for the war, their chariots or horses, how strong or well provided they are in these; but we will recount the name of the Lord, as depending only on his blessing, or prospering hand. And if the preposition [בב in] seem to resist this, the account is obvious, that the same is also prefixt before foreign name, and indeed seems to be superfluous (as oft it is) in both places; and then being left out in the rendring the latter part of the verse, we will remember the name—there is little reason it should be conceived to have any weight in the former part of it, (but either be rendred in all the three places, or equally be omitted in all the three.) And then the sense will be clear; some make mention of their chariots, and some of their horses; but we will make mention of the name of the Lord our God: or, some recount their chariots—but we will recount the name of the Lord our God, and thus the Jewish Arabick translator interprets it. For foreign foreignwe will recount, or remember, the Lxxii. read foreign, we will be magnified, or we will triumph, the same word that they had used v. 6. instead of lifting up banners; which makes it the more probable, that in both places they chose to paraphrase, rather than render the Hebrew, and did not mis-read the Hebrew, as there it is thought, but here it is not pretended. The Latine use the like liberty, and from foreign (another reading of the Lxxii.) read invocabimus, we will call upon the name of the Lord. But the Syriack, Aethiopick, and Arabick follow the Lxxii. in their former reading.
V. 9. Save Lord] The rendring of this last verse is very uncertain among interpreters. The Chaldee, free from all ambiguity, render it, Lord, save us, O strong King, receive our prayer: and so the Syriack, The Lord shall save us and our King shall hear us: but both these adde the Pronoun foreign us, above what we read in the Hebrew. The Lxxii. on the other side render, foreign, O Lord, save the King, and hear us —and the Latine, Arabick, and Aethiopick follow these, and so Apollinarius,
foreign— O eternal God, save the King, and hear when—Here the Lxxii. adhere exactly to the Hebrew in the first part,foreign foreign Lord save the King; but in the second render it, as if it were foreign in the second person, which they render foreign hear us; whereas the Hebrew reads foreign foreignin the third person, let him hear us. This Joseph Scaliger will have understood of King David himself, by way of foreign, taking it for granted, that as the people prayed to God for the King in the five first verses of the Psalm, so the King answers them v. 6, 7, 8. and then that the people again in the beginning of the last verse wish, or pray, that the King may answer them as he had done in those three verses, i. e. that he might be victorious, and so be able to answer them in that Eucharistical manner. But there is neither need nor ground for this phansie. For 1. the whole Psalm is equally sung by the people, some part of it by way of prayer for the King particularly, the rest for themselves going out to battel with him, and so imbarkt in one common concernment. And 2. if the former part be a prayer to God for the King, (as the whole precedent Psalm will inforce, especially v. 1. The Lord hear thee—) then certainly the latter part must also concern God, as the hearer of prayers, (his known peculiar stile;) and setting it, as the Hebrew doth, in the third person, 'tis most formally a prayer to God, and as much so, as if it were in the second, as v. 1. The Lord hear thee, in the third person, is certainly a prayer to God to hear. And for the transition from the second to the third person, 'tis very ordinary in Hebrew; and the account of it may here be very reasonable, that having prayed solemnly for David, Lord, save the King, (which sure our Liturgy hath from hence) the whole congregation joyns in the foreign, of confidence, that their prayer shall be heard, as in an Amen, (of which that is the full importance) the Lord shall hear us when we call upon him. And so this seems to be the undoubted meaning and rendring of the verse; a prayer for the King in both parts, in the one by name, in the other comprehensively. And that makes it more probable, that the Lxxii. should by way of explication put both in the second person, (as fittest for the petitionary address) than that they mis-read the Hebrew, the sense of which they retain'd so perfectly. From this form of acclamation to, and prayer for the King, and the like, Psalm cxviii. 25. is the Hosannah taken, Mat. xxi. 9. being but a corruption of the Hebrew, foreign, Save] heer, or foreign save now, or, save I pray] in that other Psalm. See note a. on Mat. xxi.