In Psalm 20, as King of Israel David could have said to his people: “I am your protector, your provider, and am due your praise.” Instead he points the people to God’s protection (v.1), God’s provision (v.4), and God’s praise (v.5). In verses 6 and 9, David humbles himself, saying that he himself (the Lord’s anointed, the king) was in need of God’s salvation, like everybody else.
Lord, we thank you for David’s humility, that he sought not his own glory among the people, but sought to bring glory to your holy name. We pray for our leaders in the church, our pastors and elders, and pray that you would keep them in this same humility, ever promoting your glory and not their own. We pray also for ourselves, as we serve as leaders among our families, our peers, our colleagues. May we follow David's example and humbly point past ourselves to the God who saves, and may you, O Lord, be magnified and glorified in us.
Lord, there are many false hopes in this world. David reflects: “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 forever” (v.7-8). Let us not place our trust in things that will disappoint us: not fame or fortune, not popularity or power, not success or sex, not even family or friends. Only you are the firm foundation that can bear the full weight of our lives and enable us to stand upright forever. Be our foundation, our joy, our life, and the one we praise; we pray, amen.
