Commentaries

Mizmor 020, Verse 002

יַֽעַנְךָ֣ יְ֭הֹוָה בְּי֣וֹם צָרָ֑ה יְ֝שַׂגֶּבְךָ֗ שֵׁ֤ם ׀ אֱלֹהֵ֬י יַעֲקֹֽב

yaʿancho ʾadoonoy beyom tzoro yesaggevcho sheym ʾelohey yaʿakov

May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob raise you up on high;

RASHI

1.
...the name of the God of Jacob...
Who promised him [Jacob] when he went to Haran and kept His promise; therefore, it is stated: “the God of Jacob.”

Rabbi HIRSCH

1.
...in the day of trouble...
According to the sages, this is the time of dire need, when all circumstances seem to point to inevitable disaster.
They illustrate this by citing the parable of a child on a long journey with his father. The child is tired and anxious to know when they will reach their destination, and asks his father, “When shall we arrive at the city?" And the father replies, “Remember it well, my son, you will not see the city until you will have first beheld the cemetery; only when you will see graves before your eyes will you be near the city.”
2.
[יְ֝שַׂגֶּבְךָ֗] (yesaggevcho)
[NOTE:
Derived from - sagav
See Mizmor 9:10
]
The Lord will give you help once your distress has become urgent . But it is the [SHEM] (NAME), the recognition, awareness of and trust in God as revealed to Jacob in his trials and tribulations which will give you the inner exaltation that you must have in order to persevere until help will come at last.

WORDS