To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm [or] Song of Asaph. The Targum is,"by the hand of Asaph:''concerning "neginoth", see the title of Ps 4:1, this psalm is generally thought to be written on account of some great appearance of God for the Jews, or victory obtained by them over their enemies, either the Ammonites in the times of David; so the first part of the Syriac inscription is,"when Rabbah of the children of Ammon was destroyed;''see 2Sa 12:26 or in the time of Jehoshaphat, when they came up against him, and were in a wonderful manner defeated, which occasioned great joy and thankfulness, 2Ch 20:1.
The Septuagint version entitles the psalm "an ode against the Assyrian", in which it is followed by the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions: and it is the opinion of many that it was written on account of the defeat of Sennacherib, and his army, which came up against Jerusalem in the times of Hezekiah, and was destroyed by an angel in one night, and so slept their sleep, and a dead one, with which agree Ps 76:5, so Arama and Theodoret; Jarchi gives this reason for such an interpretation, because we do not find that any enemy fell at or near Jerusalem but he, as is said Ps 76:3, "there brake he the arrows of the bow", &c.
nor was one arrow suffered to be thrown into the city, 2Ki 19:32. Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it of the war of Gog and Magog, yet to come; and the latter part of the Syriac inscription is,"moreover it shows the vengeance of the judgment of Christ against the ungodly;''and indeed it seems to point out the latter day, when Christ shalt destroy the antichristian kings and states, and save his own people, and shall be feared and praised; as the former part of it may respect his incarnation, appearance, and dwelling in the land of Judea, and so the whole is of the same argument with the preceding psalm.
Ver. 1. In Judah is God known,....