Works Volume 4, Book · Psalm 20
The Twentieth PSALM.
TO the ‖Prefect of his Muſick.chief Muſitian, a Pſalm of David.
Paraphrase. The Twentieth Pſalm 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 required.
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.
Paraphrase. 1. 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 foreignthee help from the Sanctuary, and ſtrengthen thee out of Zion;
Paraphrase. 2. 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 Zion, 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 thyaccept thy burnt ſacrifice. Selah.
Paraphrase. 3. 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.
Paraphrase. 4. Whatſoever he doth now want and wiſh for, whatſoever deſign he hath in his heart to accompliſh, the Lord of heaven by his power and wiſdom gratiouſly diſpoſe, and perform it for him.
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.
Paraphrase. 5. 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 acknowledgment 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 anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven, with the ſaving ſtrength of his right hand.
Paraphrase. 6. And of this we are 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—truſt in chariots, and ſome in horſes; but we will remember the Name of the Lord our God.
Paraphrase. 7. 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.
Paraphrase. 8. 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, let the King hear us when we call.
Paraphrase. 9. 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 their importunate and fervent prayers.
Annotations on Pſalm XX.
foreignV. 3. Accept] The Hebrew foreign ſignifies pinguis fuit, was fat, or, was made fat, and ſo 'tis rendred here by the LXII. 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. 1.16. Jer. 31.40. 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 18.38.) 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. foreignSet up our banners] The word foreign is 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 [foreign in] ſeem to reſiſt this,foreign 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, foreignand thus the Jewiſh Arabick tranſlator interprets it. For foreign we 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. in ſtead 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 add 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,—
foreign—
O eternal God, ſave the King, and hear when— Here the LXXII. adhere exactly to the Hebrew in the firſt part, foreign Lord ſave the King;foreign but in the ſecond render it, as if it were foreign in the ſecond perſon, which they render foreign, hear us;foreign whereas the Hebrew reads foreign in 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 th… 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 118.25. is the Hoſannah taken, Mat. 21.9. being but a corruption of the Hebrew, foreign, Save] hear, or foreign ſave now, or, ſave I pray] in that other Pſalm. See note a. on Mat. 21.