Chapter 20

And the above-mentioned friends of the Tsarev sing this psalm to the Tsar, as exalted by the fact that from his seed the salvation of the world was born. For he spiritually desired this and prayed for this. Therefore, this was given to him as a kind of “crown from an honorable stone” (Ps. 20:4), glorifying the head. For David is glorified among all nations, together with the Lord and his Son according to the flesh. This salvation was not only a crown for him, but also life, and longevity, and glory, and splendor, and joy, and joy, and hope, and unshakable mercy. Ps.20:2. Lord, in Your power the king will rejoice. Ps.20:7. Yako give him a blessing forever and ever. He who has received such boldness from You will be glorified and have many names throughout all generations. Instead of the words: “with Your face,” Symmachus put: “before Your face.” So, he will rejoice, and will have unceasing joy, having been worthy of Your face, that is, Your favor. And the reason for this was that he trusted in You. Make him glad with Your face. In the Person of the Father there is the Son; “seeing Me,” it is said, “seeing the Father” (John 14:9). We will rejoice with Him in heaven, like other grooms with the groom. Ps.20:8. For the king trusts in the Lord, and by mercy and so on. Using Your grace, he is stronger than his enemies; He uses it because he does not rely on any other person, but places his hope in You alone. Ps.20:9. Let Thy hand be found upon all Thy enemies. This word is addressed as if to the Lord himself because of what was done against Him by the Jewish people. He says that he will find sinners. For if the love of God is perfected in him who keeps the commandments, then it is clear that he who does not keep him hates God, and such is called lost. Ps.20:10. Thou shalt lay them down like a fiery furnace at Thy face, - that is, you will show that some of them are on fire. For they have prepared fire for themselves on the day of Your second coming, when You will reward each one according to his deeds. The Lord will crush me with his wrath, and destroy them with fire. He calls wrath the punishment that will be given to them for mocking Him. Ps.20:11. Destroy their fruit from the ground, - that is, evil words and thoughts. And these are their evil intentions, which are destroyed by the resurrection, as well as teachings and godless definitions, which, after their death, God, as good, will consign to destruction. And their seed is from the sons of men. It is also beneficial to free yourself from sins and evil thoughts. For an evil thought is the seed of sin. Ps.20:13. As if I had laid a backbone. Symmachus translated it like this: put them facing their backs, that is, something that is behind the pagans and follows them. You will make the Jews disbelievers. And from whom God turns away, he “lays the backbone” because they cannot stand facing, and watching the back, they cannot come to such a state that the creatures will again raise them to the Creator. For those who are unable to see the face, because they do not have a pure heart, are allowed to see His back, that is, the creatures standing below Him, so that, looking at creation, they acquire an understanding of Him, and, falling to their God, they see the face of God. The “abundance” of God is higher than sensory creatures. Thou shalt prepare their face for Thy abundance. He left them time to convert, to repent. This is their calling and conversion according to the “fulfillment of tongues” (Rom. 11:25). Ps.20:14. Be exalted, O Lord, by Thy power. This is similar to what was said: “Thy kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10). Clearly he is praying for the second coming to come after this. Let us sing and praise Your strength. For then every righteous soul brought into the heavenly abodes will perform spiritual services. You might be interested in: