“To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion! May he remember all your offerings and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah May he grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans! May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions! Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright. O Lord, save the king! May he answer us when we call.” -Psalm 20:title–9
This is a royal Psalm composed by David, himself. Further, it is a battle invocation (vs. 7), “the day of trouble” referring to the impending conflict awaiting the armies of Israel. We might imagine them standing in a military formation preparing to march out of the city or on to the battlefield.
Verses 1-5 is the congregation’s “Godspeed to the king.”
“May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion! May he remember all your offerings and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah May he grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans! May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!” (vss. 1–5)
Verses 6-8 is the king’s humble and confident reply.
“Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.” (vss. 6-8)
Verse 9 is the concluding (and earnest) invocation of the congregation on behalf of their king. [The NIV and RSV seem to be the most literal in their translations, but both the ESV and the KJV similarly render the same sense of the verse.]
“O Lord, save the king! May he answer us when we call.” (vs. 9)