Psalms 20
Psalms 20:1-9 (NLT)
1 For the choir director: A psalm of David. In times of trouble, may the LORD answer your cry. May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.
2 May he send you help from his sanctuary and strengthen you from Jerusalem.
3 May he remember all your gifts and look favorably on your burnt offerings. Interlude
4 May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed.
5 May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory and raise a victory banner in the name of our God. May the LORD answer all your prayers.
6 Now I know that the LORD rescues his anointed king. He will answer him from his holy heaven and rescue him by his great power.
7 Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the LORD our God.
8 Those nations will fall down and collapse, but we will rise up and stand firm.
9 Give victory to our king, O LORD! Answer our cry for help.
It’s not in greater advanced weaponry and strategies that confidence should lie. For David, the one with countless examples of battle superiority, there is one thing that he considers to be the essential element in all his victories. It’s not his chariots or horses but simply a Name, representing the Presence he obsesses with as his overwhelming ally. The name of the Lord for him is not something he just mentions from time to time from religious obligation, but it is a refuge that he lives in continually as a defense he will never let down. His experience in war has not elevated his confidence and arrogance in his own capabilities, but it has rather been continually proving that it was God alone that caused him to triumph against overwhelming odds. When advancing against a foe it was with an open mouth praising and calling on the One who would cause Him to prevail. Though God was there all along to be his protection and defense, this only helped David as he ran into the care of the Name by acknowledging and praising Him.
It cannot be our nation’s nuclear arsenal, superior navy or air force, or advanced technical resources and strategies that bring us a sense of security. Confidence cannot even be established in accumulated resources, personal abilities, or spiritual knowledge. The only way to ensure standing until victory and beyond is the very presence and empowerment only found in the name of the Lord. All the time, energy, and resources expended on the physical and mental preparations will be useless if there is no Presence. Even with all our superior everything, our nation’s only hope is the Presence of the Victor, influencing and keeping us safe through the praises of those who live there in His Name as a constant refuge. It is from Him alone that the implementation of everything is rendered effective. Though we dominate the world with our big stick, it isn’t the big stick that causes us to triumph, but rather the voices of our saints calling on the Name of the Lord night and day.