Thursday, August 11, 2022

Psalm 20 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

 1May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble;

May the name of the God of Jacob defend you;

2May He send you help from the sanctuary,

And strengthen you out of Zion;

3May He remember all your offerings,

And accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah

4May He grant you according to your heart’s desire,

And fulfill all your purpose.

5We will rejoice in your salvation,

And in the name of our God we will set up our banners!

May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.

6Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed;

He will answer him from His holy heaven

With the saving strength of His right hand.

7Some trust in chariots, and some in horses;

But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.

8They have bowed down and fallen;

But we have risen and stand upright.

9Save, Lord!

May the King answer us when we call.

Preamble: This Psalm is much like the priestly prayer that God gave to Moses in the wilderness that Aaron and his sons were to pray over the people (see Num. 6:22-27), it has then that most noble air about it.  

Commentary

Vs. 1May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble;

May the name of the God of Jacob defend you

It is then a prayer that one certainly could pray over the congregation, or anyone in their time of need. Now as to it, it must be the Lord whom we seek in day of our trouble; for truly the help of man is useless apart from Him (Psalm 60:11; 108:12). Therefore, it is by God’s Name, His Name first given and known to Jacob (i.e., Israel the nation) and now known to us all through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ that we are to call upon in the day of our trouble. Therefore, praying in the Lord Jesus Christ’s Name is foundational to having the God of Jacob hear and defend us.

 Vs. 2May He send you help from the sanctuary,

And strengthen you out of Zion”

The help that we seek then is not mans, but the Lord’s Divine Intervention. Therefore, we pray that He may send help to us from His Heavenly Sanctuary, and that He may strengthen us out of Zion (i.e., His dwelling place here amongst us on earth). Thus, by His Divine Intervention and Power we seek only His Help and Deliverance!

Vs. 3May He remember all your offerings,

And accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah

Truly Lord we pray that You will accept all of our offerings, all of our offerings of worship and praise and thanksgivings, as well as all of our monetary offerings given freely and joyfully to You!

Vs. 4May He grant you according to your heart’s desire,

And fulfill all your purpose.

In concluding our prayer, we ask Lord that You grant us according to our hearts desires and that You fulfill all of our purposes in us when these align with Yours, so that You may fulfill all our purpose. For You have done all our works in us (Isaiah 26:2).

Vs. 5We will rejoice in your salvation,

And in the name of our God we will set up our banners!

Having made our prayer and supplications to the Lord we will rejoice forever in His Salvation which He has so freely and graciously given us! Therefore, in the Name of our God, (and not in any other nation, any other name), we will set up our banners!

Vs. 6Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed;

He will answer him from His holy heaven

With the saving strength of His right hand.

Having then received His salvation I know that the Lord saves His anointed; that he will answer us from His holy heaven, and that by the saving strength of His right hand He will deliver us from the wrath to come (Luke 3:7; 1 Thess. 1:10).

Vs. 7 “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses;

But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.

Truly some trust in chariots, and some in horses (in their military might), but we will remember the name of the Lord our God, for it is by His Name that we are saved!

Vs. 8They have bowed down and fallen;

But we have risen and stand upright.

Indeed, at the consummation of all things, when the Lord Jesus Christ returns and makes war with His enemies, they will all bow down and fall, never to rise again, (Rev. 19:11-20:15), but we who believe in Him will rise and stand upright with Him forever (Rev. 21:1-22:5)!

Vs. 9Save, Lord!

May the King answer us when we call.

Therefore, in full assurance of our future we can all pray to the Lord to save us, to answer us when we call to Him! 

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982):Thomas Nelson. 


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