Psalm 20 – Preparing for Service

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119:105)

Psalm 20 (NIV)

For the director of music. A psalm of David

1 May the LORD answer you when you are in distress;
 	may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
 	and grant you support from Zion.
3 May he remember all your sacrifices
 	and accept your burnt offerings.	Selah
4 May he give you the desire of your heart
 	and make all your plans succeed.
5 We will shout for joy when you are victorious
 	and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
  May the LORD grant all your requests.

6 Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed;
 	he answers him from his holy heaven
 	with the saving power of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
 	but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
8 They are brought to their knees and fall,
 	but we rise up and stand firm.

9 O LORD, save the king!
 	Answer us when we call!

Notes

1. The above is Psalm 20 as it is laid out in NIV but as usual I will replace LORD with Yahweh and with the inclusion of headings to the NIV stanzas the psalm comes alive!

Psalm 20

Preparing for Battle

Stanza 1 – the people’s blessing
1 May Yahweh answer you when you are in distress;
 	may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
 	and grant you support from Zion.
3 May he remember all your sacrifices
 	and accept your burnt offerings. Selah
4 May he give you the desire of your heart
 	and make all your plans succeed.
5 We will shout for joy when you are victorious
 	and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
  May Yahweh grant all your requests.

Stanza 2 – the king’s response
6 Now I know that Yahweh saves his anointed;
 	he answers him from his holy heaven
 	with the saving power of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
 	but we trust in the name of Yahweh our God.
8 They are brought to their knees and fall,
 	but we rise up and stand firm.

Stanza 3 – The people’s prayer
9 O Yahweh, save the king!
 	Answer us when we call!

2. This psalm is a responsive blessing with the people and the king participating.

3. The people call down a blessing on the king as he prepares to go into battle, for ‘you’ in verses 1-5 is singular and it seems the same person is addressed as king in verse 9.

4. That suggests the blessing is spoken by the people of the nation for they have a vested interest in the king’s success.

5. The king responds in verse 6, speaking about himself, then includes his companion warrior soldiers in 7-8.

6. The people conclude with a request to Yahweh to hear their prayer on behalf of the king (9).

7. All commentators I have read concur that the psalm is set to be sung/prayed as the king is preparing for a battle.

8. Vaux reviews the Bible’s accounts about warfare and comments that most of Israel’s wars were defensive and not aggressive. Wars of conquest were only conducted by King David. Spring was the season for wars according to 2 Samuel 11:1 and that is confirmed in records relating to neighbouring nations.[1] This supports the idea that this Psalm refers to King David’s campaigns.

9. The psalm is set in the latter part of David’s reign as it refers to the sanctuary in Zion (2). Zion was a synonym for Jerusalem that had been a stronghold of the Jebusites before David captured it (2 Samuel 5:6-8) and moved the sanctuary there (2 Samuel 6:12-19).

10. It is headed ‘A Psalm of David’ but commentators generally accept that this means ‘on behalf of David,’ rather than ‘by David.’[2] It certainly appears to be about David rather than any other king.

11. In Joshua and Judges all able-bodied men would fight (see Judges 7:23-24, for example), as also in Saul’s early years as king (1 Samuel 17:18-19). Later a professional army developed (2 Chronicles 26:11-15) though David had the beginnings of one (1 Samuel 22:2). Even so, other men were still called up when needed (2 Kings 3:5-6). Presumably it would be this professional army, or representatives at least, who joined the king for the commissioning service.

12. Help from Yahweh was expected from ‘his holy heaven’ (6) but that was conflated with the earthly representation of Yahweh’s presence in ‘the sanctuary’ (2), which was the Temple, or its precursor in David’s time, and from ‘Zion’ (2) that was an alternative name for Jerusalem. All three place names are poetic metaphors for Yahweh, the real source of relief in distress(1) providing protection (1), support (2) and salvation from enemies (6).

13. Reference to being in the sanctuary and mentioning sacrifices and offerings implies that a priest, and probably a number of priests, were involved, though they are not mentioned. If so, they would doubtless, take a lead in the commissioning.[3]

14. The mention of chariots and horses (7) may link the origin of this psalm to the defeat of the Arameans (2 Samuel 10.18)[4] when David only used foot soldiers. David kept a few chariots (2 Samuel 8:4) but it was Solomon who developed them as a fighting force (1 Kings 10:26).[5]

15. It seems quite possible therefore that this psalm was written and used in the time of David’s reign and was preserved in the Hebrew ‘hymnbook’ for use in future generations.

16. Imagine the service that would be led by a priest in the presence of the king, his army and the people. The priest starts by speaking to the king:

 		1 May Yahweh answer you when you are in distress;
 			may the name of the God of Jacob protect you,

as he recognises that life is not easy. Going into battle is risky to life and limb. There is no guarantee of success. He pleads for God’s help and parallels that request with an appeal to ‘the name of the God of Jacob’ which, of course, is Yahweh! This may be a reminder of the time Yahweh revealed himself to Jacob as he fled from Laban. Yahweh promised Jacob:

‘I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’ (Genesis 28:15)

What a promise for the king and his army to appreciate!

17. The priest continues, or can you imagine a chorus of voices joining together?

 		2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
 			and grant you support from Zion.
 		3 May he remember all your sacrifices
 			and accept your burnt offerings. Selah

18. I suspect the sacrifices would have already been made though White thinks there may have been a pause at this point for that to take place.[6] Perhaps another voice continues:

 		4 May he give you the desire of your heart
 		 	and make all your plans succeed.

19. I imagine that then a resounding chorus from people and priests bursts out:

 		5a We will shout for joy when you are victorious
 			and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.

Banners were the flag or standard each tribe and clan had to mark their territory or position (Numbers 1:52, 2:2-34). So maybe that is the origin of the custom in UK and Commonwealth to wave flags when royalty visit!

20. Verse 5b:

 		     May Yahweh grant all your requests,

brings the series of prayer requests, to an end. It is unusual as this line has only one part.

21. In Stanza 2 the king and his army reply. The king first speaks alone:

 		6 Now I know that Yahweh saves his anointed;
 			he answers him from his holy heaven
 			with the saving power of his right hand.

He acknowledges Yahweh, he agrees with the prayer requests and, in the turmoil of the battlefield recognises that Yahweh will be his hope of salvation and victory. It is not that he has earned this or deserved it but he is ‘anointed.’ Yahweh has chosen him (1 Samuel 16:12-13) and set him apart for special service in leading God’s army (2 Samuel 2:4, 5:1-3).

22. The ‘I’ changes to ‘we’ in verses 7-8 so it seems the army join in chorus with the king:

 		7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
 			but we trust in the name of Yahweh our God.
 		8 They are brought to their knees and fall,
 			but we rise up and stand firm.

Together they proclaim that better than trusting chariots, the latest development in military equipment,[7] their security is in Yahweh, their God, who always was, is and will be forever, the eternal one, the ‘always I am,’ who has revealed his name, Yahweh, to his people as the God who is named and known. He is not distant and remote but close by, approachable and takes a vital interest in their affairs. What better security can there possibly be?

23. After that ringing testimony imagine the roar of the people and priests in reply in the one line of stanza 3:

 		9 O Yahweh, save the king!
 			Answer us when we call!

That would doubtless be accompanied by laughter, cheers, best wishes and celebrations as the king led the army into battle and the people went home.

24. One can imagine this psalm being used as described a time or two each year but might it have a wider significance?

25. In such a short and simple psalm one might expect there to be no further poetic structure included but it is possible to identify a chiastic structure with parallelism between individual lines. That brings new insights that have a wider significance.

26. As usual this is based on parallelism between ideas and may have had a role as a memory aid.

Psalm 20

Preparing for Service

27. In strophes A-A1 Yahweh is requested to answer and supply protection and salvation.

28. The ‘help’ requested in strophe B parallels the absence of help in strophe B1 for the enemy who do not trust in Yahweh. Such support (strophe B) would enable the recipient to ‘rise up’ in victory while non-recipients ‘fall’ defeated (strophe B1).

29. There is a common misconception in Christian circles that sacrifices and burnt offerings (strophe C) of the old dispensation were required to achieve salvation – as if salvation was based on ‘works.’ However, strophe C1 parallels such offerings with ‘trust in the name of Yahweh our God.’ The point is that sacrifices were made as a demonstration that they already were God’s people. That status was not something they had to earn. Hebrews 11 makes it clear that faith is the only ground for pleasing God from Abel onwards. The Mosaic Law did not change that. As Hebrews 10:10-14 says:

… we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest [Jesus] had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

30. ‘For all time’ refers to the past as well as the future. We look back to Christ’s sacrifice for our salvation and are reminded of it in baptism and communion. The Old Testament saints also were saved by the sacrifice of Christ and they anticipated this in the regularly repeated sacrifices and offerings, though they clearly had no understanding of what was to come.[8]

31. Hebrews concludes its observations about the role of faith with:

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect (Hebrews 11:39-40).

Such is Yahweh’s stunning plan of salvation for all people of all times!

32. The phrase ‘make all your plans succeed’ in strophe D parallels ‘answers him’ and ‘the saving power of his right hand’ in strophe D1.

33. Strophes X-X1, the crux of the psalm contain the key message of the psalm. It is all about Yahweh! The nation’s belief in their army’s success was not based on their abilities or the king’s leadership but in Yahweh. With that confidence they anticipated a joyful celebration in due course.

34. The basic unit of Hebrew poetry is the strophe that has one or more lines, each of which have two or three parts – shown here with the second and third parts indented as occurs in most Bible translations. However, strophe X1 has only one part. That is a curious anomaly for which I can offer no confident explanation. It happens with, ‘Praise the Lord’ as a first or final line in some psalms, such as in Psalms 146-150, but that is understandable as a cry or shout to start or end a psalm of praise.

35. However, it is not uncommon to have unexpected breaks in poetic parallelism and this could be one such. I surmise that these breaks could well be memory aids. But that was not just to help with the recitation. The break in poetic structure takes our focus off the skill of the writer and directs us to the words used. They promote faith in Yahweh – Yahweh is the one we pray to and he is our strength and security.

36. Psalms are worship songs expressing a limited range of spiritual truths in a particular setting. They are not theological treatises so do not contribute much to a discussion about the role of war or any other form of physical combat. So can Psalm 20 have a role in 20^th century Christian belief and practice?

37. Though undoubtedly intended to be used in a dedicatory service before going to war, it is possible to see this psalm as a model for a commendatory blessing on any venture that Yahweh calls his people to undertake whether in evangelism, missions or another form of Christian service.

38. On those occasions too, careful preparations need to be made, appropriate training undertaken, prayerful support of the ‘home brigade’ arranged, etc, but ultimately everyone needs to know and be committed to Yahweh. Yahweh inspires, guides, equips and directs. Hence, I propose that we should see the theme of Psalm 20 as ‘Preparing for Service.’

39. As the hymn says:

 		We trust in you, our shield and our defender;
 		we do not fight alone against the foe:
 		strong in your strength, safe in your keeping tender,
 		we trust in you, and in your name we go.

 		We trust in you, O Captain of salvation!
 		in your dear name, all other names above:
 		Jesus our righteousness, our sure foundation,
 		our prince of glory and our king of love.

 		We go in faith, our own great weakness feeling,
 		and needing more each day your grace to know;
 		yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing,
 		'We trust in you, and in your name we go.'

 		We trust in you, our shield and our defender:
 		yours is the battle, yours shall be the praise!
 		When passing through the gates of dazzling splendour,
 		victors, we rest in you through endless days.
Jubilate Hymns version of We rest on thee, our shield and our defender. Edith Cherry (1872-1897).   © Jubilate Hymns Ltd.

40. The British poet Edith G. Cherry, who penned these stirring words is said to have based them on Asa’s prayer in 2 Chronicles 14:11 but read it in KJV to see the link most clearly. I wonder, however, if Psalm 20 was also in her mind.

Endnotes

[1] Roland De Vaux, Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions, trans by John McHugh, (Trowbridge, Wilts: Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd., 1973), pp. 250-251.

[2] Rev. Dr. A. Cohen, The Psalms: Hebrew Text, English Translation and Commentary, (Chesham: The Soncino Press, 1945), p. 56.

[3] 1 Samuel 7:9-10, 13:8-10 describe two incidents when sacrifices were made before battles.  

[4] Cohen, The Psalms, p. 56.

[5] T. C. Mitchell, ‘Chariot,’ in The Illustrated Bible Dictionary ed. By J. D. Douglas and others, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1980), p. 261.

[6] R. E. O. White, A Christian Handbook to the Psalms, (Exeter: The Paternoster Press, 1884), p. 47.

[7] Vaux, Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions, p. 222.

[8] Michael B. Thompson, The New Perspective on Paul, (Cambridge, Grove Books Limited, 2002) provides a useful introduction to this subject.

Written: 9 September 2021

Published: 18 March 2023

Updated: 25 February 2024