Introduction
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.
The tone of this psalm is triumphant, and the allusions clearly identify its occasion with some great military success. As it is unquestionably Davidic, it seems most probable that it belongs to the trials and triumphs of David’s second Syrian war, to which war the Syriac translator, followed by a large number of modern critics, has assigned it. Some regard it as a counterpart to Psalm ix, the latter belonging to the beginning, and the former to the conclusion, of the war. The lofty strains and highly spiritual sentiments of the psalm, blending with the sublime theocratic character of the speaker, lead us to give to the whole a prophetic import, and to seek in Messiah, his Church, and her triumphs, its ultimate fulfilment. As to its historic application, Luther says: “It seems to me as if David had composed this psalm that it might serve as a devout and pious battle-cry, whereby he might admonish himself and the people, and draw them to prayer.”
Psalms 20:1-5 contain a prayer of the people for their king in the straits of an impending battle; Psalms 20:6-8, a declaration of confidence in the saving power and presence of Jehovah; Psalms 20:9, a prayer for continued help.
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