Psalm 20

Some psalms are cries for help, others are songs of praise to God. Psalm 20 is a prayer of King David asking God to help those in trouble, especially in times of war.

The first section, verses 1 to 3, is a prayer for help, sung in the sanctuary of the tabernacle. The day of trouble can refer to any affliction, problem in life, or persecution. God has promised to answer and deliver His children, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me“(Ps. 50:15). Though God is present everywhere, in the Old Testament God promised to dwell with Israel in His sanctuary in Jerusalem. The sanctuary is the center of Old Testament faith in God and His Messiah. God will remember the offerings of His faithful people, for every offering given in faith trusts in the Messiah’s sacrificial death for sin.

Verses 4 and 5 form the next section. It is a prayer that God will grant what we desire. However, our desires have been cleansed by the blood of God’s lamb, so that our desires also come from God. Our greatest desire is that God gives us the salvation that Jesus won on the cross. The banners depicting the cross are signs of the victory Jesus won over death, when He rose from the dead on the last day.

A single believer speaks in verses 6 and 7, declaring his faith that the Lord’s anointed, namely, King David, one will be safe from all trouble. God will answer his prayers for help with the “saving strength of His right hand.” This confidence is based on the means of grace, that is God’s promise to forgive sins through the sacrifice of His Son, the Anointed Son of God and son of David. The Psalms use the idea of God’s “right hand” as a picture of His almighty power, since the right hand is usually the strongest.

In warfare, many a general may trust in their chariots to defeat the enemy. Others will trust in their cavalry with charging horses to win the victory. During the time of the judges, the Children of Israel could not defeat the Canaanites with their large chariots. But God delivered the Israelites by sending rain to bog down the wheels of the chariots. See the account in Judges 4. Believers are to trust in God’s help and call upon His name. He can make the enemy who trusts in his own power to bow down in defeat and raise up the weak in victory.

In the final verse, the whole chorus of Levites join the soloist in humble pleading for deliverance and confident prayer for God to save, as He has promised.

The kingdom of David prospered as the people trusted in God’s promise to send a Redeemer, the son of David. God’s people today also prosper spiritually as they trust in Jesus, God’s Son and the son of David, to save them from sin through His keeping the Law and His willing sacrifice on the cross to pay the punishment of all sin.