... in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen. Through the prayers of our
holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen. Glory
to You, our God, Glory to You.
O Heavenly King,
the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things,
Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us
from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy
Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).
To the Chief Musician, A Psalm of David.
The Lord hear you in
the day of trouble. The name of the God
of Jacob defend you, send you help from the sanctuary, strengthen you from Zion,
remember all your offerings, and accept your burnt sacrifice. Consider.
Grant according to your own heart, and fulfill all your advice. We will rejoice in your salvation, and in the
name of our God we will set up [our]
banners. The Lord fulfill all your petitions.
Now I know that the Lord saves His Christ. He will
hear Him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand.
Some [trust] in chariots, and some in
horses: but we will remember the Name of the Lord our God. They are brought down and fallen: but we are raised,
and stand upright.
Save, Lord! Let the King hear us when we call.
________
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[1]
Psalm 20 opens with a litany of requests.
Some translators introduce many of these sentences with “let” or “may”
to emphasize the point that these are prayer requests. The gist of these requests is that we need
defending, helping, and strengthening from God’s palace (Zion), and God’s
throne room (sanctuary). These have
always been in heaven; but in David’s day, their physical visible icons were
located in Jerusalem. We also need to
have our gifts (offerings and sacrifices), our desires (heart), and our plans
(advice) accepted by God. We must not
take for granted, just because we give, that God accepts and approves. We are always bound by “Your will be
done.” So, we rejoice in whatever
salvation God provides; we accept the leadership He gives (banners are emblems
that mark the way to follow). David
concludes with the prayer that all our requests would be answered: both for
deliverance and for progress in worship.
David immediately applies these requests to the office of
God’s anointing, to the Christ, and in Christ to the Chrismated.
We, together with David, are surrounded by great armies of
enemies: flashing chariots with their charioteers shooting arrows; mighty
storming battle horses with their riders slashing with swords. We cannot defeat these. We appear to be doomed to die. Nevertheless, these are all defeated by the
Name of Yahweh. The Name of Yahweh is
not a talisman that we can wave around: for that would be an empty use of the
name. Nay, the Name indicates that God
Himself has taken the field of battle as our Champion. “At the Name of Jesus every knee shall bow
(Philippians 2:9-11).” The outcome is
that the undefeatable are defeated, while the weak and helpless are saved. The cross appears to be the defeat of Jesus;
in reality, it is the defeat of Satan, death, and the grave. The resurrection is the victory that
overcomes the world (1 John 5:4-5).”
Hosanna! “Let the King hear us when we call.”
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