1 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;
2 May He send you help from the sanctuary, And strengthen
you out of Zion;
3 May He remember all your offerings, And accept your
burnt sacrifice. Selah
4 May He grant you according to your heart's desire, And
fulfill all your purpose.
5 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.
6 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.
7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will
remember the name of the LORD our God.
8 They have bowed down and fallen; But we have risen and
stand upright.
9 Save, LORD! May the King answer us when we call.
Psalm 20
(NKJV)
In David’s time, some people trusted in chariots to win the war, others trusted in horses. Our country seems at war today, with a virus wreaking havoc and deep divisions cracking our society. Many people are trusting in one political party or another to fix things; too many are seeking answers from worldly sources that provide no lasting help. But as followers of Christ, we trust in the Lord our God.
We are in a war today, a spiritual one and Jesus is the Captain of our army (see Hebrews 2:10). As David set up the banner in God's name, so we raise the cross of Calvary as our banner. As David exhorted the people, we too must "stand upright" (v. 8) in His mighty name because Jesus has won the victory.
This is a battle we must fight on our knees for it is a spiritual one (see Eph. 6:12). For this purpose, many Christian leaders and individuals are planning to gather in our nation’s capital on Saturday, September 26th to pray for our country and its leaders. I invite you to be in prayer also. "May the King answer us when we call" (v. 9).
Onward Christian Soldiers
Onward, Christian
soldiers, marching as to war;
With the cross of Jesus
going on before.
Christ the royal Master
leads against the foe;
Forward into battle,
see, His banners go!
(Sabine Baring-Gould,
1834-1924)