Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2458 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.
In today’s Wisdom Nugget, we will complete our journey through Psalm 20 by focusing on verses 6 through 9. This section of the psalm is a declaration of confidence in God’s deliverance and power. It’s a powerful conclusion to a psalm that began as a prayer for the king before battle. In these last few verses, the psalmist expresses faith that God will give victory to His anointed one. Together, we’ll explore the meaning of these verses and consider how they apply to us in our daily lives as followers of Christ.
Let’s begin by reading Psalm 20:6-9 from the New Living Translation:
Psalm 20:6-9 (NLT):
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.
Confidence in God’s Rescue:
In verse 6, we see a decisive shift in tone. The psalm began as a prayer for deliverance and protection for the king, but now the psalmist declares confidently, “Now I know that the Lord rescues his anointed king.” There’s no longer a sense of uncertainty or pleading—there is assurance. The psalmist is confident that God will rescue His anointed one, King David, and grant him victory.
This declaration of confidence is rooted in the understanding of God’s covenant relationship with His chosen people. In the Old Testament, the term “anointed” referred to someone chosen by God for a specific purpose, often a king or a priest. In this case, the anointed king is David, and the psalmist expresses faith that God will protect and deliver him because of the special relationship that God has established with him.
For us today, this verse holds great meaning as well. As believers, we are “anointed” through our relationship with Jesus Christ, who is the ultimate Anointed One. Jesus is our King, and God has promised to rescue and deliver all who belong to Him. This confidence that the psalmist speaks of can be our confidence as well. We can know that the Lord rescues His people—He hears our cries and answers us from His holy heaven.
When we face challenges and battles in life, we can rest assured that God is with us. His great power is at work to deliver us from our troubles, just as it was for King David. Whether our struggles are spiritual, emotional, or physical, God is faithful to intervene and rescue us according to His will.
The True Source of Strength:
In verse 7, we see one of the most well-known and profound statements in this psalm: “Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the Lord our God.”
This verse draws a sharp contrast between two sources of strength. On the one hand, there are...
