Ps 19:1

“This entire psalm voices a prayer as spoken by holy people to the person of Christ. For since for our sakes and on our behalf he received insult when he became man, we are taught to join our prayers with his as he prays and supplicates the Father on our behalf, as one who repels both visible and invisible attacks against us.”

“In the preceding Psalms he treated of liberation from persecution and gave thanks for the liberation; here, however, having been liberated, or standing in hope of liberation, he asks to be promoted to greater things. This Psalm, therefore, is divided into two parts. In the first part, a petition for exaltation is set forth. In the second, a promise is proposed, at "O Lord, in your strength," etc. Concerning the first, he does three things. First the petition is set forth. Second, the hope of being heard is set forth, at "Now I know." Third, the conclusion of the Psalm is set forth, at "O Lord, save," etc. Concerning the first, he does two things. First, a petition concerning evils is set forth. Second, concerning promotion to good, at "May he repay you." This Psalm proceeds in a different way from the preceding ones. In the other Psalms David is introduced praying for himself as one who asks; here he is introduced as though it were the prayer of others for him: and although according to the literal sense the things said here are in some way referred to David, yet they properly and truly pertain to Christ. According to the mystical sense, however, they pertain to the Church and to the just man: and in whatever way they are understood, concerning this part the Psalm does two things. First, the hearing of the one who prays is set forth. Second, the reason for the hearing is set forth, at "May he protect you." He says, therefore: O David, or O Christ, "may the Lord hear you"; 1 Mac. 1: "May he hear your prayers," etc. "May the Lord hear you." David suffered tribulations, and Christ likewise in his Passion: and therefore he says, "in the day of tribulation and rebuke": Is. 37: "This is a day of tribulation and rebuke and blasphemy." And in this, Christ was heard for himself and for others: Heb. 5: "In the days of his flesh, offering up with a strong cry and tears, he was heard." And the just man says: "When I was in trouble, I cried out, and he heard me." There is, therefore, a threefold cause that makes prayer worthy of being heard. The first is divine goodness. The second is the intercession of the saints. The third is one's own merit; because, as is said in Jn. 9, "God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God, him he hears." The reason for the hearing is set forth when he says, "May the name of the God of Jacob protect you." The first cause: that is, on account of his name, that is, on account of his goodness. "May he protect you," if it is referred to Christ. But if it pertains to others, it is set forth thus: "May the name of the God of Jacob protect you" who pray. The God whom he himself worshiped when he appeared to him at Bethel: Gen. 28: the God of Jacob, who leads earthly ones to heaven, and from heaven assists the earthly. He, therefore, "may he protect you": Prov. 18: "The name of the Lord is a most strong tower": Ps. 30: "You shall protect them in your tabernacle," etc. This name is "Almighty": Ex. 15: "Who is able to save," etc. It is also a name of mercy: Lk. 1: "Holy," that is, merciful, "is his name": Song 1: "Your name is oil poured out." Thus, therefore, by the power and mercy of God we are protected: Is. 49: "In the shadow of his hand he has protected me": Ps. 16: "Under the shadow of your wings protect me."”

“David. This psalm was to be sung when he or his successors went to battle. In a higher sense, it may allude to the victories of Christ, and of his Church. (Berthier) — Christian must offer up this prayer for their governors. (Worthington) — It was probably composed when the Ammonites and Syrians made such great preparations for war, ver. 8., and 2 Kings x. 6, 18. (Calmet)”

“(Heb.: 20:2-6) Litany for the king in distress, who offers sacrifices for himself in the sanctuary. The futures in Psa 20:2, standing five times at the head of the climactic members of the parallelism, are optatives. ימלּא, Psa 20:6, also continues the chain of wishes, of which even נרננה (cf. Psa 69:15) forms one of the links. The wishes of the people accompany both the prayer and the sacrifice. "The Name of the God of Jacob" is the self-manifesting power and grace of the God of Israel. יעקב is used in poetry interchangeably with ישראל, just like אלהים with יהוה. Alshךch refers to Gen 35:3; and it is not improbable that the desire moulds itself after the fashion of the record of the fact there handed down to us. May Jahve, who, as the history of Jacob shows, hears (and answers) in the day of distress, hear the king; may the Name of the God of Jacob bear him away from his foes to a triumphant height. שׂגּב alternates with רומם (Psa 18:49) in this sense. This intercession on the behalf of the praying one is made in the sanctuary on the heights of Zion, where Jahve sits enthroned. May He send him succour from thence, like auxiliary troops that decide the victory. The king offers sacrifice. He offers sacrifice according to custom before the commencement of the battle (Sa1 13:9., and cf. the phrase קדּשׁ מלחמה), a whole burnt-offering and at the same time a meat or rather meal offering also, מנחות; (Note: This, though not occurring in the Old Testament, is the principal form of the plural, which, as even David Kimchi recognises in his Lexicon, points to a verb מנח (just as שׂמלות, גּבעות, שׁפחות point to שׂמל, גּבע, שׂפח); whereas other old grammarians supposed נחה to be the root, and were puzzled with the traditional pronunciation menachôth, but without reason.) for every whole offering and every shelamim - or peace-offering had a meat-offering and a drink-offering as its indispensable accompaniment. The word זכר is perfectly familiar in the ritual of the meal-offering. That portion of the meal-offering, only a part of which was placed upon the altar (to which, however, according to traditional practice, does not belong the accompanying meal-offering of the מנחת נסכים, which was entirely devoted to the altar), which ascended with the altar fire is called אזכּרה, μνημόσυνον (cf. Act 10:4), that which brings to remembrance with God him for whom it is offered up (not "incense," as Hupfeld renders it); for the designation of the offering of jealousy, Num 5:15, as "bringing iniquity to remembrance before God" shows, that in the meal-offering ritual זכר retains the very same meaning that it has in other instances. Every meal-offering is in a certain sense a מנחת זכּרון a esnes . Hence here the prayer that Jahve would graciously remember them is combined with the meal-offerings. As regards the ‛olah, the wish "let fire from heaven (Lev 9:24; Kg1 18:38; Ch1 21:26) turn it to ashes," would not be vain. But the language does not refer to anything extraordinary; and in itself the consumption of the offering to ashes (Bttcher) is no mark of gracious acceptance. Moreover, as a denominative from דּשׁן, fat ashes, דּשּׁן means "to clean from ashes," and not: to turn into ashes. On the other hand, דּשּׁן also signifies "to make fat," Psa 23:5, and this effective signification is applied declaratively in this instance: may He find thy burnt-offering fat, which is equivalent to: may it be to Him a ריח ניחח [an odour of satisfaction, a sweet-smelling savour]. The voluntative ah only occurs here and in Job 11:17 (which see) and Isa 5:19, in the 3 pers.; and in this instance, just as with the cohortative in Sa1 28:15, we have a change of the lengthening into a sharpening of the sound (cf. the exactly similar change of forms in Sa1 28:15; Isa 59:5; Zac 5:4; Pro 24:14; Eze 25:13) as is very frequently the case in מה for מה. The alteration to ידשּׁנה or ידשׁנהּ (Hitzig) is a felicitous but needless way of getting rid of the rare form. The explanation of the intensifying of the music here is, that the intercessory song of the choir is to be simultaneous with the presentation upon the altar (הקטרה). עצה is the resolution formed in the present wartime. "Because of thy salvation," i.e., thy success in war, is, as all the language is here, addressed to the king, cf. Psa 21:2, where it is addressed to Jahve, and intended of the victory accorded to him. It is needless to read נגדּל instead of נדגּל, after the rendering of the lxx megaluntheeso'metha. נדגּל is a denominative from דּגל: to wave a banner. In the closing line, the rejoicing of hope goes back again to the present and again assumes the form of an intercessory desire.”