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Salmos 20

VBL · Chapter 20/150

1Para el director del coro. Un salmo de David. Que el señor te responda cuando estés en problemas; que el nombre del Dios de Jacob te proteja.

2Que el Señor te envíe su ayuda desde el santuario, y que te sostenga desde Sión.

3Que el Señor recuerde todas tus ofrendas, y que acepte todos los holocaustos que elevaste desde tu altar. Selah.

4Que el Señor te conceda todos los deseos de tu corazón. Que haga que todos tus planes prosperen.

5Que todos gritemos de alegría por tu victoria, y despleguemos estandartes en nombre de nuestro Dios. Que el Señor responda todas tus peticiones.

6Ahora sé que el Señor salvó a aquél que había ungido. Le responderá desde su santo cielo, y salvará a su ungido con su diestra poderosa.

7Algunos creen en carruajes y otros en caballos de guerra, pero nosotros confiamos en quien es el Señor.

8Ellos se desmoronan y caen, pero nosotros nos levantamos y nos ponemos en pie.

9¡Que el Señor salve al rey! ¡Por favor respóndenos cuando clamemos por ayuda!

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The people pray for their king before a battle, asking God to protect him and grant victory, affirming that Israel's trust is in the name of the Lord, not in chariots or horses.

Explanation

This is a communal liturgical psalm, likely sung before the king went out to war, with the people interceding for him. The line 'some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord' contrasts the military might of neighboring nations (war chariots and cavalry were cutting-edge technology at the time) with Israel's trust in God Himself. The application for today: when facing challenges that seem to demand 'weaponry' (resources, connections, power), the Bible invites us to remember that true security comes from a source greater than any material advantage.

Fun facts

  • War chariots were the most advanced military technology in the ancient Near East — for a long time, Israel had no cavalry of its own comparable to Egypt's or Assyria's, making trust 'in the name of the Lord' a genuine contrast in military power.
  • This psalm is generally classified as a 'royal psalm' because, together with Psalm 21 (immediately following), it formed a pair used in ceremonies involving the king of Judah.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Salmos 20:1The psalm opens as a collective blessing over the king, asking that he be heard and protected precisely on the hardest day, before battle.
  2. Salmos 20:2It asks that help come specifically from the sanctuary, from Mount Zion, the place where the people understood God to be present in a special way.
  3. Salmos 20:3A burnt offering was a sacrifice burned entirely on the altar, with nothing left over to eat, the most complete kind of offering, a symbol of total surrender. The psalm asks that God accept this offering before a battle.
  4. Salmos 20:4The blessing continues, asking that the king's plans and desires be fulfilled, like someone genuinely rooting for another's success before a difficult mission.
  5. Salmos 20:5It anticipates the collective joy of when victory arrives, with banners raised in God's name — a way of already celebrating before the final outcome.
  6. Salmos 20:6The tone shifts, from request to certainty: someone in the middle of the psalm declares he already knows salvation will come, heard from heaven with the full strength of God's right hand.
  7. Salmos 20:7Chariots and horses were the most advanced military technology of the time, used mainly by larger neighboring armies like Egypt's. Saying he trusts in the name of the Lord rather than chariots and horses is a declaration that military strength is not the real source of security.
  8. Salmos 20:8It draws the same contrast as the previous verse, now in physical imagery: some collapse and fall, but those who trust in God remain standing, firm.
  9. Salmos 20:9The psalm closes by repeating its opening plea for help, but now calling God Himself King, the final authority even above the human king the psalm blessed.

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