“Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.”
My Notes
What Does Psalms 20:6 Mean?
"Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand." The psalm shifts from petition to confidence: NOW I know. The knowing isn't abstract theological belief — it's experiential certainty that arrives during or after prayer. The LORD saves His anointed. The prayer has produced conviction.
The phrase "from his holy heaven" (mishmei qodsho — from the heavens of His holiness) locates God's response: the salvation comes FROM heaven. The distance between God's throne and David's crisis is irrelevant — God hears from His holy heaven and answers with earthly intervention. The heavenly hearing produces earthly saving.
The "saving strength of his right hand" (gevurot yesha yemino — the mighty acts of salvation of His right hand) combines power with salvation: God's right hand — His dominant hand, His hand of authority — executes salvation. The power isn't generic. It's saving power. The might isn't destructive toward the anointed. It's protective, rescuing, delivering.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Do you know — with experiential certainty — that God saves His anointed?
- 2.What does salvation coming 'from his holy heaven' teach about the reach of God's intervention?
- 3.How does the 'right hand' combining strength with salvation shape your view of God's power?
- 4.Do you count yourself among God's 'anointed' — and what does that guarantee about His protection?
Devotional
NOW I know. Not 'I believe' or 'I hope' — I KNOW. The LORD saves His anointed. The confidence arrives not from argument but from encounter. Something shifted during the prayer, and David emerged knowing what he previously only asked for.
The 'from his holy heaven' means the answer travels the entire distance between God's throne and your crisis: God doesn't step outside heaven to help you. He reaches FROM heaven — from the highest, holiest, most authoritative place in existence — and His reach is long enough. The distance between where God sits and where you suffer doesn't reduce the effectiveness of His intervention.
The 'saving strength of his right hand' combines what we often separate: strength AND salvation. God's power isn't neutral. It's directional — it saves. The right hand that could crush instead rescues. The might that could destroy instead delivers. The strength is deployed specifically for salvation. God's power is always aimed at rescue for His anointed.
The 'his anointed' is both David specifically and every person God has set apart: you are anointed for something. God has designated you. And the one God designates, God saves. The anointing isn't just assignment. It's guarantee — the one God calls, God protects. The one God sends, God sustains.
Do you KNOW — with David's experiential certainty — that the LORD saves His anointed? And do you count yourself among them?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Now know I that the Lord saveth his Anointed,.... Not David, though he was the anointed of the God of Jacob, and was…
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Here is, I. Holy David himself triumphing in the interest he had in the prayers of good people (Psa 20:6): "Now know I…
The sacrifice has been offered. Faith regards it as accepted, and in its acceptance sees the pledge of victory. The…
Cross References
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