Psalm 20

January 16, 2024

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David

1 The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble: the name of the God of Jacob defend thee:

2 Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion:

3 Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice: Selah.

4 Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel.

5 We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the LORD fulfil all thy petitions.

6 Now know I that the LORD saveth His anointed: He will hear him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand.

7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.

8 They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.

9 Save, LORD: let the King hear us when we call.

The Point:

We trust in God to accept us, answer our prayers, and grant us salvation and strength in the day of trouble.

How do we feel in the recitation of this psalm?

When somebody pours out a blessing on you and prays for God’s richest rewards on you, your heart swells with joy and appreciation. This prayer of blessing comes in the day of trouble and it should take us from a state of fear and anxiety to faith and joy in God. There is no sense of hesitation in this song of faith. We know God is pouring out His saving grace on us! We know certainly that He will help us in the day of battle and we declare it. As we make out the form of almighty God riding on the clouds to save us in the thick of the battle, we shout a victory shout, and raise triumphal banners on the hills overlooking the battle. In short, we rejoice in God. Even the powerful military force of the chariots, tanks, and fighter jets that make up the American armed forces seems puny and insignificant in comparison with the power and sovereign might of our covenant-keeping God.

What does this psalm teach us?

This is a prayer of faith. But it is an unusual psalm because we pray a blessing on our King and His people—Jesus Christ and His church. The prayer is set for the day of trouble. It is set in a context where God’s people face trouble and Jesus must lead His people through it.

Verses 1–4. The first four verses in this beautiful psalm yield a prayer of blessing. But who is the object of our prayers here? Verse 5 indicates that it is One who provides salvation, and verse 6 refers to Him as “God’s Anointed.” Undoubtedly David is referring to One who will come in his kingly line. In scriptural terminology, David speaks of the One who is in his loins, not yet born. It is David’s own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us read the first four verses again, replacing the word “you” or “thee” with “the Lord Jesus.” Evidently, the psalm begins with Jesus in trouble. If you picture our Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane, you know the trouble that He faces. Indeed, He took on the trouble of our sin, the pain and the agony, the enemies of the world and the Devil, and divine justice. He is our Captain in the great battle of the millenniums, and as we pray for our King, we are praying for the entire army of His church whom He represents.

From verse 3, we find that this King is also a Priest and He provides a sacrifice to God. We pray that Yahweh would accept this great sacrifice, which is, of course, Christ’s own life offered on the Mount Calvary.

Verse 4 is similar to the second petition of the Lord’s prayer, “Thy will be done.” Indeed, it is our heart’s desire to see the sovereign will of our King accomplished. Everything intended by His death and resurrection and His rule in heaven must be done on earth, and we are willing to be a part in accomplishing those purposes.

Verses 5–6. Thus far in the psalm, we are blessing One who is both a King and a Priest. Now we discover that this is a King and a Priest who will bring salvation to His people. What sort of a salvation do you think He would bring? A salvation from enemies like the Philistines and the Amorites, or a salvation from enemies like the Devil and sin? We rejoice in this salvation. The reference to banners undoubtedly refers to a battle campaign against deadly enemies. With confidence we set up our banners in this gigantic war we wage against the world, the flesh, and the Devil, knowing that our salvation is sure. God will give us the victory because Yahweh will fulfill the petitions of our King and Priest. You might remember one particular prayer offered by Christ in Scripture for His people, “I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil” (John 17:15). May Yahweh fulfill all of His petitions!

Then, we read, “Yahweh saves His Christ.” Now, we know that God saves us from sin, death, and hell, and we rejoice in His salvation. But what does it mean when the Word tells us that God will save the Lord Jesus Christ? This speaks first to the resurrection power by which God the Father raised His Son from the dead. But it also speaks to our connection with Christ. It is by way of our unity with Christ that we are saved from sin, death, and hell. God saves us because He saves Christ, our Leader, our Captain, and our Head. Remember, it is Jesus that took our sins upon Himself and then gave His life for us. It is God that vindicates His Son and raises Him to the right hand of His throne on high (Is. 50:8: Eph. 1:20).

Verses 7–9. How do you know that you will be saved at the end? How do you know that Christ’s sacrifice is accepted by God? How do you know that when you die, you will be raised to eternal life? Whether you are on the battlefield or in your bed, how do you know that you will live eternally? Will your chariots and tanks save you from the prospects of eternal death? Impossible! It is only by faith in God that we are saved. Others may trust in their earthly empires and powerful militaries but we will remember the name of Yahweh our God! For the greatest empires always topple and fall when they begin to trust in themselves and forget the sovereign Ruler of the universe.

Finally, the psalm ends with a cry to God to save us in the day of trouble. This is true faith, expressed in corporate worship. The last line identifies our King with God Himself: “Let the King hear us when we call.” Speaking prophetically, David identifies his kingly seed with a saving King—the Messiah of God who is God Himself.

How do we apply this psalm?

You will always look to somebody or something for your comfort and salvation when trouble comes your way. As those who look to God for salvation, our security comes from God. We must trust in the Lord in the day of trouble—not in our money, our military might, or our civil government.

How does this psalm teach us to worship God?

1. A song of faith is a statement of dependence upon God. We cry out with confidence, “We will trust in You, Lord!”

2. Our worship must include a corporate expression of faith. In modern Christianity it is common to ask the Lord to “save me.” But here, in this psalm, we have a congregation crying out together to God, “Save us Lord!” From the psalms we learn that our relationship with God is both individual and corporate and we ought to be careful not to limit worship to merely individualistic expressions of faith.

3. The Christian faith is a Trinitarian faith, so we worship the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Although this may be confusing to some who are new to the Christian faith, we speak of one God and yet we also speak of three individual persons. As in the psalm before us, we may even pray that the Father accept the sacrifice of His own Son and advance the cause of His own Son’s kingdom throughout the world.

Questions:

1. Give two examples of Faith psalms.

2. Give two examples of Deliverance psalms.

3. Give two examples of Messianic psalms.

4. Who is David referring to here in this psalm when he speaks of God’s Anointed?

5. What does it mean when the text tells us that Yahweh will save His Anointed or His Christ?

6. What is the difference between corporate expressions of worship and individual expressions?

7. From which psalm do we find this well-known verse, “For Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell: neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption”?

Family Discussion Questions:

1. What do we trust in as a family? If we were to lose all of our wealth and our security in earthly things would we panic or could we accept it in stride because we were trusting in God?

2. Do we rejoice in the salvation of our God? Do you ever think of what it would be like if you were not saved? What sorts of things would people who are rejoicing in God’s salvation do? How would you know if somebody was rejoicing in His salvation? Let us be sure that we do not take this salvation for granted.