Psalm 20 Written by David, probably before a battle.
1. In times of trouble, may the LORD answer your cry. May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.
2 May he send you help from his sanctuary and strengthen you from Jerusalem.
3 May he remember all your gifts and look favorably on your burnt offerings.
4 May he grant your heart’s desires nd make all your plans succeed.
5 May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory and raise a victory banner in the name of our God. May the Lord answer all your prayers.
6 Now I know that the Lord rescues his anointed king. He will answer him from his holy heaven and rescue him by his great power.
7 Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the LORD our God.
8 Those nations will fall down and collapse, but we will rise up and stand firm.
9 Give victory to our king, O LORD! Answer our cry for help.
SECTIONS:
I. An Offering of Their Prayers (20:1-5);
II. A Confirmation of Their Confidence (20:6-8);
III. A Reaffirmation of Their Dependence (20:9).
QUESTIONS:
What is Daving hoping for from God?
What does David boast of?
What do the nations boast of?
What do you boast of?
What happens to the nations and what happens to David?
What is wrong with trusting in the power of horses and chariots?
THEME: dependance and confidence in God for our victories
ADDITONAL VERSES;
Deuteromonomy 20:1-4 When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt…Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’
Isaiah 31:1-3 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the Lord….”
Jeremiah 9:23-24 “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight,’ declares the LORD.”
blueletterbible.org
With the eye of faith, we see that this also speaks to the great battle fought by one greater than King David – by Jesus, the King of Kings. We can see this prayer being offered prophetically for Jesus as He went to the cross, where He would fight the greatest battle against sin, death, and Satan’s power.
Because King David was about the lead thr troops of Israel into battle, there are references appealing to the Lord as the God of Israel. Sacrifices were made at important moments, such as on the eve of battle. This is a prayer that God would see and receive the sacrifices David would make before war.
“And fulfill all your purpose”: Since David’s purpose was victory for the people of God, this was a good prayer. This also be seen as purpose of Jesus as He went to battle to accomplish our salvation. The key to a life of fulfilled desire and a purpose is to find our place in His great plan, instead of hoping to make God work out our plans.
In a sense, every king of Israel received a literal anointing of oil poured upon their head when they entered office. This was a picture of the spiritual anointing with the Holy Spirit needed for their duty of leading the people of God as king. In saying “His anointed,” David refers to himself as king. At the same time, it’s understood that there would come an ultimate Anointed One, the perfect King of Israel – the Messiah.
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: David knew what kings and the people usually trusted in – human strength or in chariots and in horses. If writing today, David might say, “Some trust in nuclear weapons and some trust in tanks.” It is part of human nature to put trust in such things. Part of the reason David refused to trust in chariots and horses was because of God command not to. The Kings of Israel were commanded not to multiply horses for themselves, either for use in cavalry or to pull war-chariots. (Deuteromonomy 17:16)
Pharaoh had many chariots and horses, but they were of no help when he followed the Israelites into the Red Sea. When Pharaoh came against God’s people, his horses and chariots were drowned, along with his mighty warriors. Exodus 14:13-14 “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord which he will show to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever.” “The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.”
heraldofhope.org.au
The most successful soldier in the Bible was David. Philistines, Moabites, Syrians, Ammonites, Amalekites, all fell before David’s army and we never hear of him riding a horse. His evil son, Absalom, fled on a horse and perished. David’s army were footmen. Chariots were handy if you decided the battle was going against you; it gave you the means of a quick get-away but foot soldiers had to stand and fight. God never intended Israel should flee.
There are important lessons to learn from God’s prohibition on horses in Israel. Horses were a way to escape the battle. When an army was on foot there could be no retreat and Israel had to believe God for the promised victory. If Israel was walking with God, victory was assured. No need to flee. Israel never lost a battle while they obeyed the Lord. They had God’s promise. It is when Christians compromise and trust in the flesh or become friends with the world, that we are most vulnerable.
Theblazingcenter.com ( Mark Altrogge 11/10/15)
God loves us so much he’ll put us in impossible situations so we have no other hope but to trust him. Like when he told Gideon to whittle his army down from 32,000 to 300. Why? Because:“The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ (Judges 7:2) God puts us in impossible situations so we’ll rely completely on him. Are you facing an impossible situation? Whatever it is, keep trusting God. Keep crying out to him. Nothing is too hard for God. His arm is not too short to save.
Retreat2restorehealth.org
Horses and Chariots in Bible times were not only a literal way of transportation and effective warfare, they characterized worldly security. In battle the army with the most chariots felt more secure. Take a moment and make a mental list of the things in this world that you feel, or have felt in the past, give you security? Is it your job, business, education or profession? Is it your business associates and friends? Is it your insurance, your house, your car, your lawyer? Even closer to home is it your health? While most of the things on your list are likely not bad in and of themselves, the Scripture is very clear about what will happen to those that trust in worldly security:
my reflections On Psalm 20
My husband and I used do prayer minsitry. Sometimes we would also pray after service by the prayer rail. I always thought this psalm was a beautiful prayer of blessing to use. And that it would be perfect to say to people after we prayed with them. So I memorized a portion:” May the Lord answer you in your distress. May the Name of God protect you. May he grant you your desires and may all your plans succeed. We trust in the Name of the Lord our God.” I would have loved to have someone pray that prayer over me. It reminds me of how God is our protecor. He gives us better things than we can ever ask. He knows when we ask for wrong things that might bring us harm or cause us to go in the wrong direction.
I remember once when my husband and I had just bought a home. We had waited 6 years before we could finally affored our first home. It was a scary but an exciting venture. We were overjoyed to finally be able to afford a home. Shortly after we moved, he was offered a job at a very prestigious company. Everyone who had worked there for any length of time were coming into large amounts of money since the company was so profitable.
We both took a trip to the location of the company so my husband could be interviewed. We weren’t sure he’d be offered a job, yet he was, and it was a joyous occasion. But then we thought more about it. We had just purchased a house. If we moved to the new state, the housing prices were higher, and we wouldn’t be able to afford a house for years. We talked long into the night about whether to accept it or not. Finally the decsion was made to turn down the offer.
Years later we met someone who had worked for that company and now lived near us, but in a multi-million dollar house. They had begun working for the same company just about the same time my husband would have started. Look where they were now! But were we envious? Amazingly not a bit. We didn’t look back in regret saying “If only we had decided differently.” Why? Because we saw what God had done in our lives. He had brought my husband to faith. And even though I was baptized when I was a baby, I also was baptized as an adult because now it was my own decision to follow Jesus. We had both become students of the bible and taught bible studies. We were in prayer ministry. We had witnessed miracles! Nothing on earth and no amount of money could compare to the blessings that were given to us.
The move into our first house and the job offer at a prestigous company at the same time was not a mere coincidence. It was God teaching us something. It was a hard decsion to make and we struggled trying to know if we were making the right choice back then. But God helped us make the right one for us. He knew when we looked back we would see his leading us down “paths of righteous” like the Good Shepherd he is. We know if had taken the job he would have had to work very long hours as most employees did. There would have been little time for us to have spent together. Many people landed up divorced for just that reason. Also many of the people who lived in that area and worked for that company were not strong Christians. Where we lived we were surrounded by mature Christians with strong Christian values. God led us to the right decision. We had received more than we could have asked for imagined.
SONG: Guide us now Oh Great Jehovah, What the Lord Has Done in Me