“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!” -Psalm 20:1–5
The phrase, May the Lord, or some variation of it, appears no less than seven times in these five verses. It is likely that the prayer of the congregation is set in this way to reflect what is, in numerology, the symbol of perfection or completion. This is a full and perfect petition for their king.
The verbs that accompany the various renderings of petition are further enlightening as they are presented in chiastic fashion
- answer you
- protect you
- send you help
- give you support
- remember all your offerings
- regard with favor your burnt offerings
- grant your heart’s desire
- give you support
- fulfill all your plans
- send you help
- save you victoriously
- protect you
- fulfill all your petitions
The center focal point is covenant language. That God would “remember and regard” his offerings, particularly, his offerings of consecration, is not a description of God’s character or attributes (he doesn’t forget as a man forgets), but of his active covenant with David and his people, Israel.
At the very center of David’s success in battle is his covenant relationship with God. It is just as true for us today. May the Lord grant us our petitions and victory in the battle he has commissioned us to, just as he did David because of our covenant with him in Christ.