Embrace the Word for Wednesday, February 4, 2026
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Psalm 20, which as the superscription states, is a Psalm of David. Psalm 20 is closely connected to Psalm 21, as they each share a focus on the king amid his military battles. Psalm 20 asks the Lord to give victory to the king, while Psalm 21 thanks the Lord for answering the request. However, the opening interpretive question of Psalm 20 is determining who is praying. Is Psalm 20 a prayer by the people for David as the king goes into battle? Or is the prayer not for David, but actually by David? While it is hard to be absolutely sure, I want to offer the suggestion that it is actually David praying. But if David is the one praying, then who is the king that he is praying for? At the end of Psalm 18, David prays: “Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever” (See Psalm 18:50). The One whom David is praying for is the promised offspring, the future king from his line. David knows that a seed from his line will reign as king forever, establishing an everlasting kingdom: “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (See 2 Samuel 7:12-13). David understands that his offspring is the promised seed of the woman (See Genesis 3:15), the seed of Abraham (See Genesis 12:1-3), from the line of Judah (See Genesis 49:8-12). Thus, the particulars of David’s prayer are what he wants God to do for his descendant.
There are multiple links between Psalm 18 and Psalm 20 that perhaps further strengthens the notion that David is praying for his future offspring. Psalm 18 is David’s grateful praise for how God rescued him from all his enemies and exalted him as king. Many of the things that David thanks God for in Psalm 18, he prays for concerning the future king. Each Psalm speaks of distress (18;6; 20:2), from which the king needs salvation (18:50; 20:5). Both Psalms describe the support from the Lord (18:35; 20:2), and the right hand of the Lord (18:35, 20:6). The two Psalms reference the name of the Lord (18:49; 20:1). As the Lord delivered David in the past, so he now prays that He will deliver his offspring in the future.
Most likely, the very things that David prayed for concerning himself, and/or others prayed for him on his behalf, David now prays. The opening verses of Psalm 20 express ten blessings that he wishes for the king: “May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion! May he remember all your offerings and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah May he grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans! 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!” (20:1-5). One item of intrigue is David calling on “the name of the God of Jacob,” in “the day of trouble” (18:1). The reference to the Lord as “the God of Jacob” looks back upon Israel’s history linking the Lord answering Jacob in his day of trouble (See Genesis 35:3), with the day of trouble that his seed would face. David’s wish is that the way the Lord has always delivered His people, the way that the Lord had delivered him, is the same way that the Lord would deliver his descendant. David acknowledged that the Lord has heard his cry from His temple (18:6), so now his plea is that the Lord will hear again from Zion (20:2; See also Psalm 2:6). David prays, not only for his seed to be protected by the Lord, he also prays for his seed’s heart posture toward the Lord. David prays that his offspring, the future king, faithfully worships the Lord, has the kind of desires that the Lord would purpose to grant, and that he would lead in such a manner that his subjects would be happy and boast of his rule over them. David prays that his offspring would be ever dependent upon the Lord by ever calling upon the Lord for all his needs.
David has a strong sense of assurance that all that he wished for concerning the future king would come to pass: “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” (20:6). In fact, what David literally says is not, “Now I know that the Lord will save his anointed,” but using the past tense, David declares, “Now I know that the Lord saved his anointed.” How can David pray for something in the future and use a past tense verb? Does David’s bad grammar need correction? Not at all! David is so convinced that God will deliver his future offspring that he depicts it as already having occurred. Questionable grammar but beautiful theology! It is like the Apostle Paul’s grammatical flub is Romans 8:30 when he described that those in Christ,“are glorified.” Glorification hasn’t happened yet; it’s still future; but since God has determined to do it, it is so certain that it can be spoken of as already having occurred. The certainty of Psalm 2 has shaped how David thinks his prayer will turn out: “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill” (See Psalm 2:6). David knows that his offspring will be none other than the Lord’s Anointed, that is the promised Messiah.
David’s confidence is as certain as the One whom he is depending upon for his prayers to come to pass: “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God” (20:7). Israel’s kings were not to trust in chariots and horses (See Deuteronomy 17:16). David’s confidence in the victorious outcome of his offspring is rooted in his confidence in the Lord. It would not be the most advanced and sophisticated weapons systems that would bring about a victory, it would be the hand of the Lord. Mere human devices will come up short: “They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright” (20:8; see also Isaiah 31:1-3). Those who lean on human counsel rather than Scripture will fail (See Psalm 1:1); and will be like chaff (See Psalm 1:4-5). David has witnessed in his life that his enemies were consumed, unable to rise (See Psalm 18:38-39). As David was raised and stood upright (See Psalm 18), so will his seed.
David collapses his prayer for his offspring into one plea: “O LORD, save the king!” (20:9a). Then, having offered 10 prayer wishes for his offspring (20:1-5), and just now having summarized the main significance of those wishes; David offers one prayer wish for himself as well as the people that his offspring will lead: “May he answer us when we call (20:9b). David knows that the safety and blessing for the people is tethered to the success and exaltation of the king. David opened with a plea for the future king: “May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble!” (20:1a); now he closes with a plea of his own: “May he answer us when we call (20:9b). A blessed king spells out a blessed people. David’s hopes reside in the victorious conquest of his offspring. Therefore, David has prayed for the future king knowing the king’s deliverance is the means for the deliverance of the king’s people. It is a touch of irony in saying that a blessed king means a blessed people. For Jesus, the One who truly does bless His people with all blessings (See Ephesians 1:3), is actually the One who gave us blessings by taking upon Himself our curses (See Galatians 3:13-14). We can call upon the One who for a moment upon the Cross had no one to call upon (See Matthew 27:46). But God raised Jesus from the dead, and whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved (See Romans 10:13).
As we reflect on Psalm 20 with the assumption that this prayer of David is for Jesus, perhaps Jesus was strengthened through the reading of this Psalm, as He faced the Cross. Reading of David’s confidence in the faithfulness of the Lord, was used by the Spirit to give Him a joy-filled confidence: “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (See Hebrews 12:2b). Jesus was confident of the outcome of His sufferings and crucifixion. The writer of Hebrews directs us to keep our eyes on Jesus so that we might live in the same confidence: “let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith” (See Hebrews 12:1b-2a).
That’s all for Embrace the Word for Wednesday, February 4, 2026. I look forward to being back with you for the Friday, February 6, 2026 episode of Embrace the Word as we take a look at Psalm 21.