Psalm 20: "To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob defend you; may He send you help from the sanctuary, and strengthen you out of Zion; may He remember all your offerings, and accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah. May He grant you according to your heart's [desire], and fulfill all your purpose. We will rejoice in your salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up [our] banners! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions. Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand. Some [trust] in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. They have bowed down and fallen; but we have risen and stand upright. Save, LORD! May the King answer us when we call.”
This is Part 2 of our study. Last episode we looked at Verses 1-3. Today we’re going to look at Verses 4-6. In Part 3, we’ll wrap up with verses 7-9. So, let’s review what Verses 4-6 say:
“May He grant you according to your heart's [desire], and fulfill all your purpose. We will rejoice in your salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up [our] banners! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions. Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand.”
The concept of God, as a Deliverer and Helper, is a commonly known principle. But, people don’t always understand HOW God delivers and helps His people. It’s important, not only to know that God hears our cries when we need Him, but we need to know HOW He will respond to those cries for help. The Bible is the way that we learn this information.
God’s wisdom and power are difficult to understand. He’s transcendent. The scriptures are filled with information that explains the patterns of God’s work though. Even though God is hard to understand, it IS possible to know how God will respond to our prayers, and how He might address our needs, when we humbly seek Him for help. Many people try to seek the LORD and end up discouraged. It’s common for people to feel like God is silent to respond. Is He? The truth is, that understanding scripture helps us recognize God’s REAL responses. We don’t have to go through life feeling uncertain and discouraged all the time. We need to know what the Bible says.
The Bible teaches that God responds to our prayers, according to His name. What does that mean exactly?
Well, the scriptures show that God has A LOT of names. Those names are descriptions of His eternally unique and unchanging attributes. The testimony of Psalm 20 uses the phrase “name of God” three times to identify who God is, and how He works. Psalm 20 deals with the work God does to save and deliver His people. So, it’s important to consider “the name of God.” That’s how we’ll know HOW God helped His people in the past, to understand how we can expect Him to help us today. Remember – He doesn’t change.
Psalm 20:4-6 offers some interesting language, that if taken out of context, can confuse our understanding of God’s work. Listen to the desire that King David expressed in Verse 4, where the Bible says:
“May He grant you according to your heart's [desire], and fulfill all your purpose.”
Now, it’s verses like this, that have caused a lot of people a LOT of confusion. People take verses like these, out of context often. It can seem like God is like a “genie in a bottle,” ready to respond to our demands and wishes if we look at ONLY this verse. When people pray to God with that flawed expectation, realizing that God DOESN’T work that way AT ALL, people get frustrated, bitter, or discouraged about God. Even though David wrote that God MIGHT be willing to grant our heart’s desires, and fulfill our purposes, the context of Psalm 20 teaches that God is only willing to do so, ACCORDING TO HIS NAME. God will NOT grant desires contrary to His nature, eternal purposes, and promises. Let’s get that straight.
The reason that a lot of people cry out to God, and feel ignored, is because of the ways we often approach God. Since our human nature is corrupt and carnal, we tend to approach God “in the flesh,” seeking things focused on personal ambitions. These things are often contrary to God, who is eternally holy and righteous. A lot of times, our heart’s desires, and PERSONAL purpose doesn’t line up with who God is, and what HIS purposes are. So, sometimes it seems like His “No,” to our requests, contradicts the promise of scripture. Hopefully, you can see the problem here. People are the problem, not God or His Word…
The truth is, Psalm 20:4-6 reflects David’s desire to see God fulfill HIS purposes and promises in Israel. When David wrote that God could grant the desire of the people’s hearts, the people he was referring to were Israel. When you read the entirety of Psalm 20, it’s pretty obvious. For example, when David referred to the name of God in Verse 1, he referred to God as “the God of Jacob,” which is a VERY specific reference to Israel and God’s promises to them. In Verse 2, David referred to the place of God’s strength, and origin of His salvation, as coming out of Zion. Zion refers to Israel’s Messiah, and the fulfillment of the Father’s eternally unconditional promises through the Messiah, from Jerusalem.
Psalm 20:4-6 may promote a nice idea about God giving us stuff, but it’s important to pay attention to the pronouns in the verse and keep those pronouns in context. David desired that God would grant “you,” certain desires, specifically referring to His people in Israel. He was speaking about the desires of Jewish people, dealing with THEIR purpose in the LORD, according to God’s covenants with them as we see documented in scripture.
Now we know the people that the context refers to. The next point to address deals with the desire and purpose that David wrote about. Since God’s work is done based on His own name, then the “desire and purpose” of Israel, must be in alignment with God’s name. God’s name refers to God’s identity, especially as it deals with His promises to Israel. The focus of those promises centers on the covenants that God made to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David. God promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that they would dwell safely within specific boundaries that He identified in Genesis Chapter 15. God would give Israel that land so they could be a great nation, blessing all families of the earth by the administration and provision of the Messiah – Jesus Christ. God promised David, that the Messiah would sit on David’s throne, at a later generation, as the King of Israel, ruling from Jerusalem. That’s the promise concerning Zion.
So, God’s promises to Israel are centered on the manifestation and unveiling of the Messiah, as the King of Israel; ruling and reigning from Jerusalem, to keep the people established safely in the land that He promised, as a great nation, to distribute eternal blessings to all the families of the earth, through Israel, which ultimately brings glory to God.
The Bible explains that THIS promise was supposed to be the “desire” of Israel. Listen to these words from the prophet Malachi, in Malachi 3:1:
“‘Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,’ Says the LORD of hosts.”
This excerpt refers to the coming of two “messengers.” The first messenger refers to two different men: John the Baptist, and the return of Elijah the prophet. Both “messengers” would be sent by the LORD of hosts, to prepare the way before the arrival of God Himself – God Himself being the second Messenger. John the Baptist paved the way for Jesus – as the Son of God – God in flesh. The Book of Revelation teaches that Elijah the prophet will come back during the 7-Year Tribulation period, to be one of two witnesses, to proclaim the return of the Christ – Jesus of Nazareth. The second Messenger that Malachi wrote about is Jesus, the Son of God (God in flesh), the Messiah of Israel. Jesus is the One that God the Father sent to fulfill ALL of His eternally unconditional promises – especially to Israel.
Notice that Malachi called the second Messenger, “the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight.”
Malachi wrote that Israel “delights” in the second Messenger. Why? The second Messenger is the Fulfillment and Administrator of “the covenant.” The covenant in question here refers to God’s covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The “delight,” or “desire” of Israel, is the covenant God made with Israel through Abraham: The covenant concerning the Promised Land, the greatness of the nation, and the Blessing itself, which is Jesus the Messiah.
Since the Messiah is the second Messenger, and Jesus is the Messiah, the desire of Israel is SUPPOSED TO BE centered on the appearing of, and the arrival of the Messiah – again, referring to Jesus. The rest of Malachi Chapter 3 describes the work that the Messiah will do to restore Israel, physically and spiritually, by purging Israel of opposition, and corruption in every sense. Malachi wrote that the Messiah would restore the sacrifices in Israel, making them righteous and pure, by saving Israel from their enemies and purifying their sins.
This is the same concept that David was writing about in Psalm 20:3. So, the full context of scripture shows that the desire and purpose that David wrote about in Psalm 20, is based on God’s desire to fulfill His promises to Israel, through Jesus, to provoke pure and perfect worship, which comes as a result of the spiritual cleansing that Jesus provides after He judges Israel and the world.
THIS is the desire and purpose God wants to fulfill. THIS is the desire and purpose that is consistent with His “name.” This is why Jesus instructed His people to pray, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).”
Psalm 20:4-6 reflects the same principles Jesus taught later in the Gospel accounts. This is how Jesus taught His people how to pray. This is how the Holy Spirit motivated David to pray 1,000 years prior! This is why David wrote about his joy over the fulfillment of the desires of his people. Verse 5 says…
“We will rejoice in your salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up [our] banners! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.”
Again, it’s important to pay attention to the pronouns. When David wrote “we” in the text, he referred to his companions and himself. He was writing about the people with him, likely his household, servants, and fellow soldiers. Those men and women would rejoice over the salvation that God brought, and David used the pronoun “we,” to describe that group. Since David previously referred to Israel, he was writing about the joy he and his people would have over the salvation that comes to all of Israel.
Notice that David referred to the “name of God” again and in the context of “banners of victory.” In Exodus Chapter 17, Moses and the children of Israel were forced to fight against the Amalekites. The scriptures testify that Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to a mountaintop to seek the LORD, while Joshua led the soldiers into battle. According to the Bible, whenever Moses’ hands were lifted to the LORD to exalt Him, Joshua and his men succeeded in their fighting. They ultimately won the battle, and because of the favor they received when Moses’ hands were raised to the LORD, Israel agreed that the LORD gave them the victory. Moses then called the LORD, Jehovah Nissi – The LORD Our Banner.
When seeing David refer to the banner of victory through God’s salvation, on account of His name, we can’t forget the testimony of Exodus Chapter 17. David expected God to fulfill His promise:
Israel receiving the benefits of the Messiah, unto the praises of His holy name.
David anticipated victory in Israel. David expected victory from physical conflicts unto the fulfillment of God’s covenants. This means God would also address spiritual conflicts.
Israel WOULD BE victorious, and raise their banners of victory. Since this benefit would come because of the name of Israel’s God – Jehovah Nissi – then the LORD is the way salvation would come. God’s nature is eternal and spiritual. So, the victory for Israel would also be eternal and spiritual, even though there would be physical and material effects at certain points in time.
The LORD does fulfill the petitions of His people, BUT only when those petitions are centered on His purposes – ESPECIALLY concerning the fulfillment of His promises for Israel through the 2nd Coming of Jesus the Messiah. Listen to how David concluded this part of Psalm 20:
“Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand.”
According to the Bible, the LORD saves “His anointed.” This is a two-fold reference. First, it generally refers to the people He calls to be His people. This primarily describes Israel but also refers to Gentile believers. The second part of the reference describes the LORD’s Anointed Messiah King of Israel. The salvation that the Father delivered through Jesus is evidence of the salvation He brings to the rest of His people who are “anointed.” Jesus’ glorious resurrection and ascension is the prototype for the salvation that comes to God’s people. Both Jewish and Gentile believers will be resurrected in glory, preserved from the enemies of this life and the next, to be exalted as one, with our Savior, forever and ever!
David wrote that the source of strength that empowers victory through God’s name comes from His “holy heaven,” and by “His right hand.” God’s “holy heaven” refers to the “sanctuary” of God, mentioned in Verse 2. The sanctuary of God described in Verse 2, referred to God’s holiness. God’s holiness explains His supremely pure and glorious position as YAHWEH. Since God is YAHWEH, He can be Jehovah Nissi – the LORD Our Banner. Still, the physical manifestation of His holy strength is physically manifested by His “right hand.” This doesn’t mean that God is right-handed. This concept teaches the superiority of God’s Messiah – Jesus Christ, God-in-flesh.
Remember that the resurrection of Jesus identifies the standard of victory and salvation that God will bring as Jehovah Nissi. We’re talking about victory over sin, death, and hell! The victory God wants to give is to enable His people to overcome whatever physical and spiritual opposition that keeps us from serving His eternal and spiritual purposes.
Jesus died and went to Hades, but His soul did not see corruption. Jesus was resurrected on the third day as written in the scriptures. Fifty days later He ascended to “the right hand” of the Father; where He currently sits, to intercede on behalf of His anointed, until His purposes and promises are fulfilled. When Jesus returns, He will rise from “the right hand” of the Father. When Jesus judges the world, He will do so from “the right hand” of the Father. This idea of “the right hand” communicates the approval and authority of Jesus, being equal to God the Father. God’s “Anointed” is Himself, in the flesh. We call Him Jesus.
This is why David was so sure about God’s salvation, and the inevitably of it. This is why David was so focused on the name of God: It’s the name of God – the name above all names – that will appear in flesh AGAIN, to save His people in Israel, and exalt EVERYONE ELSE who believe in “His name,” through the glory He brings and distributes through Jerusalem!
And, THAT’S what the Bible teaches about the One, WE know, as God.
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