Please read Psalm 20 (9 verses)

May the Lord Jesus answer us when we call to him in our time of trouble. This is one of the themes in this Psalm. Some people trust in the things of this life and the supports this world offers but the Christian remembers the name of the Lord and trusts in that name. Consequently the Christian stands upright but those who trust in the wrong things are bowed down and fallen.

The Psalm begins with a kind of spoken blessing. The psalmist lists many ways in which the Lord bless us and helps us in our times of need. The Lord will answer us in our day of trouble. The name of the Lord will defend us and He will send help from His sanctuary. The Lord does not forget the sacrifices that we make for his sake and He will accept our sacrifices when He remembers our faithfulness to Him. The writer asks that our heart desire will be filled and that the purpose of our life will come to pass.

The greatest blessing that the Christian has is to be able to rejoice in their salvation. To have the full assurance of faith that you belong to God and that you are upheld by him is the greatest blessing of all. Because of this we can set up banners in the name of our God and we can ask him for anything and our petitions will be fulfilled. Assurance of faith is the one single blessing that gives us strength to face the day and hope for tomorrow. The enemy knows this and will do anything to undermine our faith and render us useless to God or other people. We resist him in the power of the Spirit.

The strength of the Christian comes straight from the Lord their God who dwells in the heavenly city of Zion. This is the eternal destiny of the people of God and we have so much to rejoice about both in this life and in the one to come. The final plea is that the Lord will save. We pray for those we love who are outside the kingdom and ask that they will find the Lord Jesus to be their king and that He will answer them when they call to Him.