Twin Warfare Events - Psalm 20 & 21

I've taught children for years but I had the opportunity recently to teach four psalms - 18, 19, 20, and 21, to my ladies Bible study.  It was a great experience and I look forward to future opportunities. The next several posts will be the highlights of my notes from Psalm 20 and 21.  So, here you go Orange, as promised!

David was a warrior king.  In Psalm 18, David gives glory to God for delivering him from all his enemies.  David attributed his successes to the Lord’s strength.  We need to back up a bit with Psalm 20 and 21.  What we see in Psalm 20 and 21 are twin warfare events.  The king is about to go to war in Psalm 20.  The Israelites approached God prior to battle.  Psalm 20 is a ceremony before the warfare and Psalm 21 is the celebration afterwards. 

Israel was considered a theocracy.  Israel was governed by God.  David fought what we could call true holy wars.  Spurgeon called Psalm 20 the "National Anthem, fitted to be sung at the outbreak of war, when the monarch was girding on his sword for the fight."  He suggested that if David had not been plagued with so many wars, we may have never been favored with this psalm.  Spurgeon called the people of God "happy people" who were pleading before a beloved sovereign..."God save the King."

From 1 Samuel 13:8-14 we know that offerings were made prior to battle.  Saul lost the kingdom for not waiting for Samuel to make the offerings before going to battle with the Philistines.  Instead of confessing his sin, Saul tried to justify himself.  But we can also see that making an offering to procure the Lord's blessing was an important thing.   And part of that approaching God, many scholars think, involved a ceremony like that of Psalm 20.

As can be seen by looking at the pronouns, the first section, verses 1-5, was recited by the people.  The second section, verses 6-8, was recited by the priest or perhaps even the king himself.  And the third section, verse 9, was recited by everyone, including the king.

Section One:

The word "may" is used six times.  The people in David's kingdom make six requests.

• "May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble!"  v. 1

The congregation is praying that the Lord will remember their king when he is in battle - when he needs it.

• "May the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high!"  v. 1

The idea behind the concept of "set you securely on high" is that of protection.  Protection is accomplished by removing one from the sphere of danger.   David's people were asking that God would protect David by making him inaccessible. 

• "May He send you help from the sanctuary and support you from Zion!"  v. 2

The request is that when the king goes go out from the temple, the presence of God would go with him.

• "May He remember all your meal offerings and find your burnt offerings acceptable!"  v. 3

The request is that the offerings made by the king will be sweetly remembered while the king is in battle.

• "May He grant you your hearts desire and fulfill all your counsel!"

The request was that the king's battle plans be fulfilled.

After the first five requests comes a short interlude where the people promise praise to God for the action He is sure to take in providing victory in battle and safety for the king.  They will praise God by shouting for joy and setting up banners that proclaim the name of God.  v. 5

The last request is at the end of verse 5 and is similar to the first request.

• "May the LORD fulfill all your petitions."

The prayer is for the LORD to lead the king in battle and provide him victory.

In my next post I'll cover Section Two where we see a shift in grammatical person.  We go from the people to the king (or priest) who makes an affirmation of trust.