Today's Featured Psalm
Psalm 20

Read this Psalm

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1 May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble!
   May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
   and give you support from Zion!
3 May he remember all your offerings
   and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah

4 May he grant you your heart’s desire
   and fulfill all your plans!
5 May we shout for joy over your salvation,
   and in the name of our God set up our banners!
May the LORD fulfill all your petitions!

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

9 O LORD, save the king!
   May he answer us when we call.

Scripture taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Psalm Devotional
God Save the King!

In the 1960s Barry McGuire wrote the song, “Eve of Destruction.” This song captured the pathos of that decade, when our national fabric was being torn apart by a variety of social issues. It seemed as though America was on the eve of destruction.

Psalm 20 deals with a similar theme. It records the pathos of Israel on the eve of war, a war that threatened to eliminate them. They were on the eve of destruction, and all their hope was pinned on their God and their king.

Psalm 20 is the most liturgical psalm we have encountered so far in the Psalter. When you read this psalm, you are walking in on a church service, a royal liturgy. In verses 1-5, we hear the prayers of a nation as they intercede with God on behalf of their king. The “you” in these opening verses is King David. The nation prays that God would protect David (v. I), go with him into battle’ (v. 2), accept his sacrifices (v. 3), and grant him success (vv. 4-5).

Listen to this Psalm

Deliverance album art The Lord Reply in Your Distress (Psalm 20A)
The Book of Psalms for Worship | Deliverance
Messiah album art The Lord Reply in Your Distress (Psalm 20B)
The Book of Psalms for Worship | Messiah