EasyEnglish Bible Commentaries
Psalms 20:1-9
Gordon Churchyard
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War
Psalms 20
Gordon Churchyard
Jesus said, "We are going to Jerusalem. There they will kill the son of man. But 3 days later he will come to life again". (Matthew 20: 18,19) The son of man was a name that Jesus used for himself.
Psalms 20
(This is) a Psalm of David for the music leader
v1 - v3 We are praying that:
• the LORD will answer you when trouble comes
• the name of the God of Jacob will make you safe
• God will send you help from his holy place
• he will make you strong from Zion
• God will remember all your gifts
• he will like all your *burnt offerings SELAH
v4 We want God to give you all that you really want
to make all your plans work well
v5 We will shout for joy when you win the war.
We will lift up our *banners in the name of our God.
We want the LORD to answer all that you pray.
v6 Now I know that the LORD will save his king.
God will answer him from his holy heaven.
The right hand of God will save the king.
v7 Some people *rely on *chariots. Others *rely on horses.
But we will trust in the name of the LORD our God.
v8 They will *falter and fall.
But we will get up and remain strong.
v9 Lord, save the king!
Answer us when we pray.
The story of Psalms 20 and 21
In Psalms 20, the king and his army are going to war. In verses 1-5, the people pray for them. In verses 6-8, the king says that he believes that he will win as God will give him help. Then the people will say, 'LORD, save the king'. This probably happened in Jerusalem every time that there was a war. It started with David, but other kings after him did it. In Psalms 21, the king and his army come back. They have won the war, so they thanked God. Psalms 21:8-12 is what God will do to his enemies.What Psalms 20 and 21 mean
Psalms 20:1–5: "Trouble" here means "war". "Jacob" means the "Jews". God is everywhere, in heaven and earth. The Jews prayed to him on a hill in Jerusalem. They called it Zion. Later they built their temple there. "He will make you strong from Zion", means "God will give you the help that you ask for". They also gave God their offerings on the hill Zion
Psalms 20:6–9: The right hand of God here means what God does on earth. Modern armies use guns and planes, not chariots and horses. Christians are like David: they trust in the LORD. "Move the king" (verse 7) means "make the king trust another god". Psalms 21:1–7: The king came back to Jerusalem. He had won the war. So the King and the people are happy. They can now live in peace.
Psalms 21:8–13: War is very bad for everyone. This is one picture of it. There are many more in the Bible. It says: that God will find all his enemies. He will also punish them (Punish means hurt). There is no peace for these people. People think of God as being high above them.
Something to do
You will often hear about wars. Pray about them. Ask God to give help to the people that believe in him. If both armies believe in God, ask God:• to speak to both groups
• to make peace happen
• to save people so that he does not punish them
burnt offerings ~ animals that they killed and burned: this is how they offered them to God
banners ~ a long piece of material with words or pictures on it
rely ~ another word for trust
chariot ~ a car that soldiers used to use; horses pulled it
falter ~ walk badly and perhaps fall over