Psalm 20:1, 6-8 "Pray First"

Psalm 20:1, 6-8

May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!
    May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! ...

Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed;

    he will answer him from his holy heaven

    with the saving might of his right hand.

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
    but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
They collapse and fall,
    but we rise and stand upright.

Comments:

This psalm is a seven-fold prayer delivered as a blessing directly to the person being prayed for (v.1-5) presumably the king. The psalmist is asking that God would hear the request [of the king] and bring deliverance. It is implied that those who sing this psalm strongly desire their king/leaders to actually make prayerful a request of the Lord before the day of battle comes.

These early verses culminate in a statement of trust (v.5) as the psalmist stands in solidarity with the afflicted as evidenced by his use of the plural pronoun “we”. Then in the familiar verses 7-8 he reveals where he puts his own trust. The psalmist is neither unprepared nor is he ill-equipped. He is realistically trusting in something/someone beyond the military might of the day.

In all of this that is being prayed, the psalmist reiterates how he could pray such things. He states emphatically, “Now I know that the Lord saves…he will answer.” Not only will God answer but it is how he will answer that we should not forget, “with the saving might of his right hand.”  The imagery is that of the Lord using his right hand to wield his sword in defense of the people in need. The “right hand” of the Lord was a very common and confident image in Psalms as the following verses indicate.

• Psalm 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
• Psalm 17:7 Wondrously show your steadfast love, O Savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand.
• Psalm 18:35 You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great.
• Psalm 20:6 Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand.
• Psalm 44:3 for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm save them, but your right hand and your arm, and the light of your face, for you delighted in them.
• Psalm 45:4 In your majesty ride out victoriously for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!
• Psalm 48:10 As your name, O God, so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with righteousness.
• Psalm 60:5 That your beloved ones may be delivered, give salvation by your right hand and answer us!
• Psalm 63:8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
• Psalm 73:23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.
• Psalm 74:11 Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Take it from the fold of your garment and destroy them!
• Psalm 77:10 Then I said, “I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
• Psalm 78:54 And he brought them to his holy land, to the mountain which his right hand had won.
• Psalm 80:15, 17 “…have regard for this vine, the stock that your right hand planted, and for the son whom you made strong for yourself…But let your hand be on the man of your right hand, the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!
• Psalm 89:13 You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand, high your right hand.
• Psalm 98:1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.
• Psalm 108:6 That your beloved ones may be delivered, give salvation by your right hand and answer me!
• Psalm 110:1, 5 The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool…The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
• Psalm 118:15-16 Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the Lord does valiantly, the right hand of the Lord exalts, the right hand of the Lord does valiantly!”
• Psalm 138:7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me.
• Psalm 139:9-10 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. 

The sheer number of times the psalmists wrote of this divine deliverance is evidence that it was a message that needed to be repeated, for it was always ancient Israel’s temptation to put their trust in the number of horses, chariots, and soldiers in their army, and to be alarmed at the size of the enemy’s army. Both reactions would result in disaster unless they first took the time to ask for God’s direction and to place their ultimate trust in the Lord. This psalm stands against that trend and asks the king to pray and the Lord to answer. The late Peter C. Craigie wrote,

On the one hand, the necessities of historical existence imposed certain requirements upon the chosen people: the presence of enemies made warfare a necessity. On the one hand, human action which involved no divine participation was doomed from the beginning; at the heart of Hebrew theology lay the conviction that God was involved in their historical experience. So the preparation for war was twofold. First, there must be practical and military preparation, for it would be impossible to sit back and wait for a miracle to happen. Second, there must be religious preparation, which is here reflected in Psalm 20, for it would be equally irresponsible to hope that anything lasting could be achieved merely in human strength. (Peter C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50, 187-188)

It is a rare time when the world has not been faced with wars and rumors of wars. It is not uncommon for a nation to have to defend its people as it is its responsibility to do. But leaders can rush into battle without good planning (2 Kings 3) or without asking God if it is a good idea.

 

Leaders can make bad decisions that cost many lives. waste gains made previously, and even have to fight the battle over again. I personally agree with the appeal of this psalm and would prefer that my leaders would seek the Lord before they do what they do. When I see the raw evil of mankind towards each other I also cry out for the Lord to be our deliverer!

I recently wrote to my deployed son using the words of this psalm,

“I know you are well prepared and have great equipment—for which I am thankful, yet that is not where my final trust lies. It is the Lord who will answer you in the day of trouble! “Some trust in Helicopters and MRAPs…” but they can be shot down, blown up, and crashed. Snipers ambush, SAMs hunt and seek, IEDs lurk, but the Lord is the one who picks us up after the attack.”

This lesson doesn’t just apply to the physical battles we read about in the media. If we are to survive the spiritual battle that rages around us every day, and finish well, then we must trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and the spiritual armor he provides (Eph. 6:10-20). And when we do place our trust in Christ, he says, "Fear not".

“When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, ‘Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.’” (Revelation 1:17-18)