Psalm 20 Continued…
Verses 4 and 5: Unless a leader listens to God, his strategies and decisions will be based on mere human reasoning. The people of Israel was definite about what they wanted in this regard: they wanted their king to be listening to God.
Psalms 20:4 May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.
The only way they could expect God to fulfill the war councils of their king were if those military plans were made in the presence of God.
How can a nation plan the battle properly if its leaders and lawmakers refuse to recognize any kind of dependence on God? The people of Israel told their king that they wanted him to be listening to God so that he could plan the battle properly and thus be victorious.
Psalms 20:5 We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the Lord grant all your requests.
“In the name of our God” here means to the honor of God, as the Conqueror.
The word for “banner” is one which occurs only in this psalm and in Song of Solomon 5:10, where it is translated “outstanding”: “My lover is . . . outstanding among ten thousand.” It really means: “The standard bearer among ten thousand.”
This psalm in its prophetic dimension has to do with the Messiah going forth to battle against His foes. Historically, this was the banner the leaders were to lift up, as they prepared the nation for war. The people were to rally around the Standard Bearer, outstanding among ten thousand, the living Lord himself. That’s how to go into battle properly. After the battle, raising the banners and waving them was a sign of victory, and “Yahweh Nissi” (The Lord our banner) was one of God’s special names (Exodus 17:15-16).
The Lord is our “banner” (Exodus 15:17) and we will succeed if we go forward in His name and for His glory. Verse 5 is the central verse in the psalm, a confident affirmation of victory even before the battle started.
PRAY
Father, we know that evil is real. We know that if we follow Yahweh Nissi we may die physically but we know that we will never lose. The war has been won. The victory parade is coming soon. Help us, O Lord to fly Your banner!