The Theology in the Name Lord Jesus Christ (Psalm 20 and the Perfect King)
1. Psalm 20 and the Cry for the King
Psalm 20 ends with a striking petition: “O LORD, save the king! May he answer us when we call” (Psalm 20:9). On the surface, this is a prayer for Israel’s monarch—a plea that God would preserve the Davidic ruler in battle and respond to the nation’s needs.
But when read Christologically, as the New Testament teaches us to read the Psalms, the verse takes on deeper layers of meaning. The cry for God to save the king foreshadows Jesus, the true Son of David. The strangeness arises when we realize that Christ is simultaneously the one prayed for and the one to whom the prayer is directed.
This duality points to the incarnation. The King who saves His people is also the LORD who hears their cry.
2. The Name Lord Jesus Christ
The New Testament uses the full phrase Lord Jesus Christ sixty-three times. Each word carries immense theological significance:
Lord – identifies Jesus with Yahweh, the covenant God of Israel. Paul writes, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). To call Him Lord is to confess His divinity.
Jesus – His human name, given at birth, rooted in the Hebrew Yehoshua/Yeshua, meaning “Yahweh saves.” The angel explained, “You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
Christ – His title, meaning “Anointed One” or “Messiah.” This declares Jesus as the King of God’s kingdom, fulfilling the promises made to David: “I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom” (2 Samuel 7:12).
Together, the phrase Lord Jesus Christ compresses the entire Gospel into three words: the eternal God, who became man, anointed as the perfect King, saving His people and ruling forever.
3. The Oddness of Psalm 20:9 in Christ
If we read Psalm 20:9 in light of this, it sounds unusual: “O LORD Jesus, save King Jesus.” How can Jesus both pray as the King who needs saving and act as the LORD who saves?
This paradox teaches two central truths of the incarnation:
Jesus is Yahweh – He is the LORD who saves His people, the divine Son.
Jesus submits to Yahweh – He becomes man, living under the Father’s will, even praying for deliverance in His humanity.
At the cross, this paradox is most vivid. Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1; Matthew 27:46), submitting to the Father’s plan. Yet in that very moment, as the divine Son, He is accomplishing the salvation that no human king could achieve.
4. Kingship and Human Failure
The theology of Psalm 20 resonates with Israel’s history of failed kings. Even David, the man after God’s heart, fell into sin. Solomon’s wisdom gave way to idolatry. The divided monarchy proved that no human ruler could bring lasting peace.
This pattern highlights the need for a perfect King. Psalm 146 reminds us: “Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation” (Psalm 146:3). All human kings fail, but God does not.
The incarnation resolves this tension. The perfect King is God Himself, come in the flesh. He is not merely another ruler who might stumble but the eternal Lord who reigns in righteousness.
5. Theology in the Name and Title
The name Lord Jesus Christ holds together the whole doctrine of salvation and kingship.
As Lord – He is the eternal God who commands worship.
As Jesus – He is the human Savior, taking our place in obedience and death.
As Christ – He is the anointed King, enthroned at the Father’s right hand.
This explains why Paul can write: “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Colossians 2:9). The fullness of God is present in the man Jesus. He is both the one prayed to and the one prayed for, the one who saves and the one who is saved through resurrection.
6. Incarnation and Eschatology
The incarnation is not only a doctrine of the past but also of the future. Eschatology—our doctrine of last things—depends on the truth that the King who reigns is God Himself.
At His first coming, Jesus came as the suffering servant, the human King who submitted to death.
At His second coming, He will be revealed as the exalted Lord, enthroned in glory, judging the nations.
Revelation gives the final picture: “On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 19:16). The paradox of Psalm 20:9 resolves into the perfection of the kingdom: the LORD who saves and the King who reigns are one and the same.
Conclusion
Psalm 20:9, when read Christologically, presents us with a striking paradox: the prayer “O LORD, save the king” points to Jesus as both the King in need of saving and the LORD who saves. The name Lord Jesus Christ encapsulates this paradox, uniting divinity, humanity, and kingship.
This is no theological oddity but the very heart of the Gospel. Because all human kings fail, God Himself came as man, bore our sins, died, and rose again. In Him, Yahweh is Savior, and the King is Lord. The theology packed into His name proclaims the bigger Gospel: salvation for His people and the eternal reign of Christ over all creation.
Bible Verses about the Lord Jesus Christ
“O LORD, save the king! May he answer us when we call.” (Psalm 20:9)
“You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
“For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” (Colossians 2:9)
“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name.” (Philippians 2:9)
“So that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.” (Philippians 2:10)
“Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.” (Psalm 146:3)
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)
“On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.” (Revelation 19:16)
