This psalm likewise purports to be “A Psalm of David,” and there is no cause to doubt the correctness of the superscription which ascribes it to him. There is, however, no certain intimation at what time of his life, or on what occasion, it was composed, and it is impossible to determine these point... [ Continue Reading ]
THE KING SHALL JOY IN THY STRENGTH - King David, who had achieved the victory which he had desired and prayed for, Psalms 20:1. This is in the third person, but the reference is doubtless to David himself, and is to be understood as his own language. If it be understood, however, as the language of... [ Continue Reading ]
THOU HAST GIVEN HIM HIS HEART’S DESIRE - See the notes at Psalms 20:4. This had been the prayer of the people that God would “grant him according to his own heart, and fulfil all his counsel,” and this desire had now been granted. All that had been wished; all that had been prayed for by himself or... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THOU PREVENTEST HIM - Thou goest before him; thou dost anticipate him. See Psalms 17:13, margin. Our word “prevent” is now most commonly used in the sense of “hinder, stop, or intercept.” This is not the original meaning of the English word; and the word is never used in this sense in the Bible.... [ Continue Reading ]
HE ASKED LIFE OF THEE - An expression similar to this occurs in Psalms 61:5, “For thou, O God, hast heard my vows;...Thou wilt prolong the king’s life, and his years to many generations.” The expression in both cases implies that there had been a prayer for “life,” as if life were in danger. The exp... [ Continue Reading ]
HIS GLORY IS GREAT IN THY SALVATION - Not in himself; not in anything that he has done, but in what thou hast done. The fact that thou hast saved him, and the manner in which it has been done, has put upon him great honor. He felt indeed that his condition as king, and as to the prospects before him... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THOU HAST MADE HIM MOST BLESSED FOR EVER - Margin, as in Hebrew, “set him” to be “blessings.” The expression in our translation, as it is now commonly understood, would mean that God had made him “happy” or “prosperous.” This does not seem to be the sense of the original. The idea is, that he ha... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THE KING - David, the author of the psalm. TRUSTETH IN THE LORD - All these blessings have resulted from his confiding in God, and looking to him for his favor and protection. AND THROUGH THE MERCY OF THE MOST HIGH - The favor of Him who is exalted above all; the most exalted Being in the univ... [ Continue Reading ]
THINE HAND SHALL FIND OUT - That is, Thou wilt find out - the hand being that by which we execute our purposes. This verse commences a new division of the psalm (see the introduction) - in which the psalmist looks forward to the complete and final triumph of God over “all” his enemies. He looks to t... [ Continue Reading ]
THOU SHALT MAKE THEM AS A FIERY OVEN IN THE TIME OF THINE ANGER - Thou shalt consume or destroy them, “as if” they “were” burned in a heated oven. Or, they shall burn, as if they were a flaming oven; that is, they would be wholly consumed. The word rendered “oven” - תנור _tannûr_ - means either an... [ Continue Reading ]
THEIR FRUIT - Their offspring; their children; their posterity, for so the parallelism demands. The “fruit” is that which the tree produces; and hence, the word comes to be applied to children as the production of the parent. See this use of the word in Genesis 30:2; Exodus 21:22; Deuteronomy 28:4,... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THEY INTENDED EVIL AGAINST THEE - literally, “They stretched out evil.” The idea seems to be derived from “stretching out” or laying snares, nets, or gins, for the purpose of taking wild beasts. That is, they formed a plan or purpose to bring evil upon God and his cause: as the hunter or fowler... [ Continue Reading ]
THEREFORE SHALT THOU MAKE THEM TURN THEIR BACK - Margin, “Thou shalt set them as a butt.” The word back also is rendered in the margin “shoulder.” The word translated “therefore” means in this placer or, and the rendering “therefore” obscures the sense. The statement in this verse in connection with... [ Continue Reading ]
BE THOU EXALTED, LORD, IN THINE OWN STRENGTH - This is the concluding part of the psalm (see the introduction), expressing a desire that God “might” be exalted over all his foes; or that his own strength might he so manifestly put forth that he would be exalted as he ought to be. This is the ultimat... [ Continue Reading ]