Psalm 20

Psalm 20

To the leader. A Psalm of David.

¹ The Lord answer you in the day of trouble!
    The name of the God of Jacob protect you!
² May he send you help from the sanctuary,
    and give you support from Zion.
³ May he remember all your offerings,
    and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices. Selah

⁴ May he grant you your heart’s desire,
    and fulfill all your plans.
⁵ May we shout for joy over your victory,
    and in the name of our God set up our banners.
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.

⁶ Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed;
    he will answer him from his holy heaven
    with mighty victories by his right hand.
⁷ Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses,
    but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God.
⁸ They will collapse and fall,
    but we shall rise and stand upright.

⁹ Give victory to the king, O Lord;
    answer us when we call.

Psalm 20 has affinity with Psalm 18 and is a royal psalm. The psalm was part of the feast celebrated at the New Year's Day and the enthronement of the king. Its superscription, common to many of the psalms, is to the leader. It describes itself as A Psalm of David.

Psalm 20:1-5 addresses the king directly. It has the quality of indirect intercession, a type of well wishing from the congregation. ¹ The Lord answer you (the king) in the day of trouble!  Significantly, the parallel phrase is that the name of the God of Jacob protect you! ² May the Lord send you, the king, help from the sanctuary, and give you support from Zion. ³ May the Lord remember all your offerings, and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices. Selah. Someone recited the psalm after the burnt offering of the king. We learn here that the offering of the king and the offering of the people have a close relation. ⁴ May the Lord grant you your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your plans. The desire of our hearts is important to the Lord. We may not always find them fulfilled, of course. However, we ought never to be shy about knowing the desires of the heart and asking that they become reality. ⁵ May we, the people gathered as a congregation, shout for joy over your victory as king, and in the name of our God set up our banners. May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.

Verses 6-8 are a confession of confidence. The king may have spoken it. Yet, it seems more likely that the priest made this affirmation in the context of a cultic act rather than as an oracle. ⁶ Now I know, suggesting that something has happened in worship to stimulate this expression of confidence, that the Lord will help the anointed one, the king; the Lord will answer him from the holy heaven of the God of Jacob with mighty victories by the right hand of the Lord. It refers to the mystery of God in public worship and of the divine dispensation of salvation. It may be the expression of concern given by the congregation, or even a prophetic oracle. It suggests an expectation of what will come, merging them into a single event. Famously, the poet says that ⁷ some take pride in chariots, and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God. The people affirm their own faithfulness and bond with God.  The greater military might of other nations was cause for alarm, but the people seek God's decision as final.  Those doomed to failure are those who boast in armaments while not trusting in God. God revealed this decision in the saving history, as in the story of Gideon and Goliath. ⁸ They, the enemy, will collapse and fall, but we, Israel, shall rise and stand upright. The psalm concludes with a prayer intercession for the salvation or victory of the king: ⁹ Give victory to the king, O Lord; answer us when we call.