Psalm 20

May he grant you your heart’s desire,
and fulfil all your plans.
May we shout for joy over your victory,
and in the name of our God set up our banners.
May the Lord fulfil all your petitions.

And from Psalm 21:

In your strength the king rejoices, O Lord,
and in your help how greatly he exults!
You have given him his heart’s desire,
and have not withheld the request of his lips.

From Psalm 110:

The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind,
‘You are a priest for ever according to the order of Melchizedek.’
The Lord is at your right hand;
he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.

From Psalm 116:

I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and my supplications.

The theme persists across other psalm assigned for today, in many other psalms, and in how most are in relationship with God.

We want God to give us what we want.

I do too. I am annoyed that God has delayed so long in awarding the lottery to me.

The genius of the psalms is how well they articulate our persistent humanness, the echoes resonate over 3000 years.

In the self-serving, struggling, even savage psalmist I often see myself.

But the psalms can also surprise, especially on close examination.

"May he grant you your heart’s desire, and fulfil all your plans."

In the original Hebrew this is:

יִתֶּן-לְךָ כִלְבָבֶךָ; וְכָל-עֲצָתְךָ יְמַלֵּא.

Nathan: grant, devote, consecrate, dedicate, sell, exchange, lend, commit, entrust, give over, deliver up, produce

Lebab: inner man, mind, will, heart, soul, understanding, seat of courage.

O God, consecrate my heart, soul and mind.

That is a very different supplication.

Psalm 20