Psalm 20

This is a congregational prayer with a job. Before a campaign, Israel's king offered sacrifice and sought the Lord — Saul's ruin began when he refused to wait for Samuel and offered it himself. Verse 3 refers directly to the ceremony: "remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice." The word behind "accept" means to find it fat, that is, to receive it as choice.

"We will set up our banners" refers to the standards carried at the head of a formation. Ancient armies moved behind poles bearing an emblem, both to identify a unit and to give troops something to rally to in the dust and noise. Israel's camp in the wilderness had been organized by standards, tribe by tribe.

"Some trust in chariots, and some in horses" names the decisive weapon of the age. A chariot was a light two-wheeled platform pulled by a trained pair, carrying a driver and an archer — fast, expensive, and murderous on flat ground. Egypt bred and exported the horses; a chariot corps was a national investment. Israel's law had told her kings not to multiply horses, and for most of this era Israel fought as infantry in hill country where chariots bogged down.

"The Lord fulfil all thy petitions" and "save, Lord: let the king hear us when we call" show the two directions of the liturgy — the people praying for the king, and the king praying for the people, both aimed at the same throne.