Psalm Meditation 627
Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time
June 24, 2012

Psalm 20
1 The Lord answer you in the day of trouble! The name of the God of Jacob protect you!
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary, and give you support from Zion.
3 May he remember all your offerings, and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices. (Selah)
4 May he grant you your heart's desire, and fulfill all your plans.
5 May we shout for joy over your victory, and in the name of our God set up our banners. May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.
6 Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with mighty victories by his right hand.
7 Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God.
8 They will collapse and fall, but we shall rise and stand upright.
9 Give victory to the king, O Lord; answer us when we call.
(NRSV)

A royal psalm is addressed to the king as a hope and reminder that he is the agent of God on earth and that as he is faithful to God, God will be faithfully present in times of need. While kings are no longer the norm for us we do need the reminder that God is with us at all times, especially in times of need. The ancients were of the mind that God was extremely sensitive to their actions; helping them when they were faithful and turning away from them when they were not. The view was based on the experience folks had with their kings in which it was important to curry favor with the king in order to receive the outcome one desired.

The current tendency is to see God as one who loves us beyond measure, who is with us in all times and places. When we feel distant from and abandoned by God it is most often because we have failed to see God at work in our lives. God is with us. As we are faithful we are better able to identify and see the presence of God in our lives even though God is with us in all times and places.

Psalms like this one continue to be meaningful as we offer it up to God with a particular person or group in mind. As we lift up family members who are going through various trial and difficulties this psalm serves as a word of hope and comfort for us, as well as for the person in whose name we lift it up. Verses 4 and 5, “May he grant you your heart's desire, and fulfill all your plans. May we shout for joy over your victory, and in the name of our God set up our banners. May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.” are a pretty powerful prayer for those who are going through a trial of any kind. It could be a battle between our loved one and an outside force, or a battle with the inner demons that touch so many lives. Since ‘the king’ is only mentioned in the last verse it will be easy enough to substitute the name of the person or group for whom you are concerned and use this psalm as a reminder of God’s presence in your life an in theirs.

June 18, 2012