Psalm 20 - overcomer - The Lord answer you in the day of adversity

The 12th Psalm to the overcomer. This Psalm is different than any of the preceding ones in that it is not prayer for the one praying, but for the one listening. I like to sing this Psalm as a prayer for other Christians. It hits the spot.

For example:

Lord answer Dan in the

day of adversity.

The name of the God of Jacob

on a high place set him.

....

I think the 1st 4 verses of this Psalm are Christ's interceding for us. Verses 5-9 are our response.

v1 - "Answer" indicates that in the day of adversity, we need to ask God for help.

"Day" indicates that the adversity will last a short time.

All the you's and your's in this Psalm are singular. Christ intercedes for each one of us individually.

The God of Jacob is the God of transformation, transforming Jacob from a heel-holder to prince of God through many troubles. The high place that He sets us upon is our transformation (Heb 12:11; Rev 2:17).

v2 - "Send help" is literally "Send your help".

The sanctuary and Zion are the church. The Lord sends your help from the church. It is your individual help, but it comes from the church. The Lord also supports you from falling and fainting through the church. The Christian life is both corporate and individual.

v3 - "Your offerings" are plural, but "your burnt offering" is singular. In our Christian life we give multiple offerings to the Lord of our time, money, love, strength, prayer, labor and thought (Heb 6:10; 13:15-16; Phil 4:18). Also our whole life is a single burnt offering to the Lord (Rom 12:1; 15:16). This is our consecration. The Lord should consume to ashes our burnt offering. This was the life of the Lord, John the Baptist and Paul (Phil 2:17; 2 Tim 4:6).

v 4 - I enjoy to pray this for Christians. The Father will give to us according to what is in our heart. He wants us to earnestly desire what He desires.

v5 - In verses 1-4 Christ is praying for you individually (v6). Now, in v5, the subject changes to we sing in God's salvation and raise up our banners. Who is the we? The we could be the speaker plus the one being spoken to in the previous verses. Thus the we could be Christ and you. Christ sings together with us in our singing (Heb 2:12; Ps 18:49-50; 22:22) especially when we sing of the Lord's salvation which He Himself wrought.

Or the "we" could be our response to Christ's intercession for us.

"Our banners" are our proclaiming of the gospel. The Lord and you preach the gospel together.

v6 - "heaven's holiness" is literally "His heaven's holiness".

Now I know for myself that the Father saves by answering His Christ's intercessory prayer for me. The Father saves me because of Christ. The result of Christ's intercessory prayer is that I know Him and God's salvation.

This is a good reason that we should lift up our prayers to the Father God in the name of His Christ.

v7 - The Hebrew verb for "we remember" is causative (hiphil), so I translated as "we remind ourselves".

The we in verses 7-9 is all the you's that the Lord prayed for in verses 1-4.

The "these" and the "they" are those who trust in physical things rather than in the name of the Lord our God (Ps 147:10). We may be born-again Christians, but may trust in other things.

-minor update 5/18/2013

-last update 10/4/2010