In The Day Of Trouble

Psalm 20

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

1In times of trouble, may the LORD respond to your cry.

May the God of Israel keep you safe from all harm.

2May he send you help from his sanctuary

and strengthen you from Jerusalem.

3May he remember all your gifts

and look favorably on your burnt offerings.

Interlude

4May he grant your heart’s desire

and fulfill all your plans.

5May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory,

flying banners to honor our God.

May the LORD answer all your prayers.

6Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed king.

He will answer him from his holy heaven

and rescue him by his great power.

7Some nations boast of their armies and weapons,

but we boast in the LORD our God.

8Those nations will fall down and collapse,

but we will rise up and stand firm.

9Give victory to our king, O LORD!

Respond to our cry for help.

On March 8, 1839, the sides of a coal mine in Musselburg, Scotland, collapsed. The coal shaft quickly filled with dirt, imprisoning thirteen miners. They desperately tried to escape. At first they thought an abandoned shaft might be an exit route, but as the avalanche of dirt and coal dust continued to cascade upon them, they found themselves trapped in an 18-by-24-foot area that was only 3 feet high.

In this space they prepared for what seemed inevitable—meeting their Maker. They prayed together, and then they sang Psalm 20 as they had memorized it from the Scottish Psalter.

This psalm speaks of hope, but what was its application to the miners in this seemingly hopeless situation? People on the surface were frantically digging, but how would they ever find the tiny space where these men were trapped? Would God grant them their hearts’ desire (verse 4)? Would he rescue them by his great power (verse 6)? And when everything was falling down and collapsing all around them (verse 8), would they be able to rise up? The miners’ oxygen supply was rapidly diminishing, but still they prayed and sang psalms.

Miraculously, rescuers managed to find the area in which the miners were buried, and all thirteen were brought out alive with Psalm 20 still on their lips. The last verse in the psalter reads:

Now save us, Lord, from slavish fear;

Now let our hope be firm and strong,

Till thy salvation shall appear

And joy and triumph raise the song.

OLD SCOTTISH PSALTER

Fascinating Fact

In Old Testament times, horses were used mainly for warfare. Thus, the words translated “armies and weapons” in verse 7 are literally “chariots and horses.”

Bible Networking

See how banners (verse 5) were used elsewhere in Scripture (Numbers 2:2; Psalm 60:4; Isaiah 11:10; and Song of Songs 6:4, 10).