[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. 7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. [8 They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.] —Psalm 20:6-7 [8])
The Psalter occupies a unique place in the Holy Scriptures. it is God’s Word and, with a few exceptions, the prayer of men as well. (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, p. 45)
As Bonhoeffer explains, we feel this tension as we pray through this book—some prayers are by Messiah and we pray them for ourselves only as we are in him. And then some prayers are about Messiah. It’s here when we jump into the voice of the psalmist and pray with a self-forgetful confidence, worshiping by the Spirit, glorying in Messiah, and putting no confidence in our flesh, nor in chariots or horses.
Psalm 20 is One of Those Psalms
The Fighter Verse focuses on verses 6-8. Here is where we put the stake in the ground, by grace—we will trust in the name of the LORD our God. And this trust is grounded in the LORD’s committment to his Messiah. That is what verses 1-5 are about. The psalmist is looking at Jesus and he is praying: May the LORD answer you! May God protect you! May he send you help!
And then in verse 4:
May he grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans!
Now, we’ve heard something like this before. Going back to Psalm 2 we remember God saying to his Annointed, to his Son, to his King:
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
This is supremacy. The Messiah King will own the entire earth if he would but ask. He is that exalted. He is that glorious. Whatever he wants—the nations, the ends of the earth—let him only ask.
Psalm 20 is saying “Amen!” to Psalm 2. And that’s how we pray these verses that lead up to our confidence in verse 6. We look to Jesus and we say, “Yes, Lord! May the Father grant you your heart’s desire! Whatever it is that you want do today, in my life and in this world, may it be fulfilled! Yes, Lord! You are the King of the universe, and you are my refuge. For in you I trust! Have what you want and do what you will!”