Grosey's Messages

 

Psalm 20 The Battle Hymn of Israel

Trust in the Name of the LORD Our God

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

 1 May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble!

May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!
 2 May he send you help from the sanctuary

and give you support from Zion!
 3 May he remember all your offerings

and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! — Selah

 4 May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans!
 5 May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners!

May the LORD fulfill all your petitions!

 6 Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven

with the saving might of his right hand.
 7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,  but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
 8 They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.

9 O LORD, save the king! May he answer us when we call.

 

One commentator calls it, "an underappreciated little psalm."

But the subject of the psalm is about "May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble!" the psalm begins; makes the congregation sing. Well, who is the "you" there? Verse 6 says it is the Lord's anointed! And verse 9 tells us that the people are speaking to the king himself. The "you" there, "May the Lord answer you," the "you" there is not the people, but the king. The people are praying for the king, that the Lord may answer the king. Written by King David, possibly for use in a worship service prior to some great battle in which he would go out to lead his people into war, the focal point of Psalm 20 is not directly on God's blessing for every believer, but, rather on God's blessing upon His anointed king who leads them. There's actually an ancient rabbinic tradition, Jewish tradition, of interpreting this Psalm specifically as a reference, as a prophecy of a coming Messiah. The great King descended from David whom David prefigured. Verse 6 can even legitimately be translated, "Now I know that the Lord saves his Messiah." Anointed one is, "Messiah." The Lord saves His Messiah! Psalm 20, you see, is not just a song by David about David; it's a song for a future King. A song of God's Old Testament people looking forward to the coming of Christ, their Messiah, praying for God's blessing upon Him in the day of His trouble.

Psalm 20 and 21 go together. Both are Battle songs. The 20th psalm precedes the battle and the 21st follows the battle. Psalm 20 is a Psalm of Prayer for the Battle, while Psalm 21 is praise for the victory of the battle. Psalm 20 Anticipates victory, Psalm 21 reflects on the victory. This Psalm was written by David probably during the period of his many wars recorded in II Samuel chapter 8-10. David was the warring King. His sword may have been worn, but at least it was not rusty.

The picture here is this: the king is going out into battle against the enemy, and the people pray corporately for the king. They ask for God's protection over him (Ps 20:1-2). They also ask that God remember the king's worship practices, his submission and humility before God (Ps 20:3). And they ask that God grant the desire of the king's heart (Ps 20:4-5). If God will do these things, they promise rejoicing and worship in response.

This isn't a psalm that deals with our personal, individual prayers, although there are many prayers and psalms that broach that subject. Rather, this psalm reminds us of something. It reminds us that we are but small parts of the greater body of Christ.

A Song For The Day Of Trouble

1 May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble!  May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!

LORD-the covenant keeping God--because of his self-revelation, David, Israel, and his people of any age can call on the One who is ready to work. What does the "name of" mean? The reputation of…"the God of Jacob" who promised to deliver Jacob--He keeps his promises.

Genesis 28:13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, "I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. 14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

The Lord delivered Jacob's descendants from Egypt. His name is Yahweh-the LORD. He will protect you. Same word as in "The LORD is my rock and my fortress literally my high fortress.

2 May he send you help from the sanctuary  and give you support from Zion!

The presence of God is symbolized in the sanctuary on Mt. Zion. The presence of God is all that is needed in the day of trouble.

Spurgeon "The sanctuary to us is the person of our blessed Lord, who was typified by the temple, and is the true sanctuary which God has pitched, and not man: let us fly to the cross for shelter in all times of need, and help will be sent to us"

3 May he remember all your offerings  and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah

The Israelite practice of presenting sacrifices and offerings before a military campaign was an active devotion and submission to the Lord. Their purpose was not primarily to atone for sin but to see God's favor and to consecrate oneself from war. (Longman, 226)

What is the sacrifice that the anointed one will offer? Himself

What did Jesus do prior to the Cross? He prayed in gethsemane… compare to v. 4

4 May he grant you your heart's desire  and fulfill all your plans!

The psalm turns from the general call for answer to a specific type of answer: protection. It also establishes the immediate context; it is a "day of trouble," a day of "distress" or "pressure."4

Everyone has their days of trouble. Everyone has times in their life when they want protection.

"May Yahweh answer you in a day of trouble; may the name of Jacob's God protect you." (Psalm 20:1, HCSB)

 

There are days of trouble  Luke 8

There are natural disasters  Jesus Stills the storm

There are spiritual disasters  Jesus Heals the demon possessed

There are chronic illness disasters Jesus Healing the woman with the flow of blood

There are final disasters Jesus Raising Jairus' daughter

"So, unlike the prayers in , we do not pray for Jesus to be victorious; we pray because He has been victorious. That has altered everything" (Davis, 126). "We still celebrate His victory (cf. v. 5), but we do not pray for it. We pray He would manifest, display, make open and public His victory, that He would impose it on those who flatter themselves that they can resist it, that He would indeed allow His people to see the days of the Son of Man (cf. ). We pray, but on the basis of the victory already achieved" (Davis, 126).

To whom do you go for help? When you labour and are heavy laden, to whom will you go? When you are troubled by guilt and shame, when you are filled with fear, when you are anxious and worried, to whom will you go? When you discover the lump, when the pains run across your chest and down your arm, to whom will you cry for help? When you are filled with doubts, when you need guidance at the fork in the road, to the left or the right, to whom will you cry, "Help me!"? When you need strength, when you lose your job, and when there is no food
on the table to whom will you go? If your house should catch fire, if your car breaks down and fails its M.O.T. to whom will you cry for help? Go to him for the protection of everything that is yours. There was a man who once had borrowed an axe-head. It fell into a lake but when a prophet asked God for help the axe-head floated. The shoes of the Israelites did not wear out in the wilderness. God rules in the material things of our world; he will help you.  When the weakness of old age comes upon you or your husband, then where will you get help day by day? If your marriage is on the rocks, if your children start staying out late or don't come home at all, if they ask you how they should live, to whom will you go for help? When death is drawing near, then go for help to the one who said, "I am the resurrection and the life." He has taken away the sting of death; he has tasted its bitterness. He has warmed the bed of the dying by lying in the tomb before us. Go to him for help. Where will you look for help  – in the pub, or will you turn to alcohol or to drugs? Some go on the road, some think of emigrating, some join a cult. To whom will you go for help, in every crisis, in every need, material or spiritual? Jesus tells us, "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." Why do you refuse the help of God the Son? Go to him for forgiveness. He has come into the world to deal with its greatest problem, man's sinfulness, guilt and rebellion against its Creator. He has sent his Son to become the Lamb of God who will take away the sin of the world. Go to him for he has all the resources of heaven and earth at his command. What can other men do for you? Most of them are more helpless than you. The Lord Christ can help you in any need. By his power you can overcome any army, defeat any enemy, ford any river, climb any mountain, bear any burden. You can do anything he asks of you with the strength which he supplies. He can help you to forgive seventy times seven. He can help you to turn the other cheek. He can help you love your enemies. If it's hope you need, he can help you. If it's gentleness you need then go to the one who says, "I am meek and lowly of heart." His resources are never exhausted. If the whole world should go to him then he can cope with them all. Go to him in days of trouble. Here is a congregation and this is what they are praying for their leaders, "May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion" (v.2).

A Song to Inspire Trust

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm."

Three thousand years ago, King David looked at his world and the Holy Spirit helped him draw a very important conclusion. David saw what war could do and he was impressed. He saw what money could do and that impressed him. David also saw what God could do and that gave him confidence in the future. David's psalm represents the futility of man on his own, and the necessity of trusting God.

In the psalm the chariot represents man's military power, but the name of our God is Banner--our God fights for his people. The horse represents man's wealth, but the name of God is Provider--God provides for his people.

The name of the Lord our God is, in Hebrew, Yahweh--it means I AM. When God revealed his name as I AM, the Almighty implied his capability to accomplish anything (Exodus 3). God is and God can and God is all I need. History proves the truth of David's conclusion--we will trust in the name of our God.

The first part is the realization that trusting merely in human strength doesn't accomplish what we want it to accomplish. Psalm 127 "Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain." The very real temptation of human organizations, especially when they are led by capable and strong leaders like King David, is to trust in human capacities. We are strong and we have lots of skill and smarts, and nothing can defeat us, or so the thinking goes. But as soon as you start thinking that, you set yourself up for comeuppance.

7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,  but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

Israel's kings were prohibited to acquire great numbers of horses but were required to revere the Lord. Deuteronomy 17:14–20  lest they trust in them rather than in the Lord.

The model for this trust was demonstrated early in the life of Israel as a nation and of the young shepherd by David.

After national repentance at Mizpah 1 Samuel 7 tells us "7 Now when the Philistines heard that the people of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the people of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines. 8 And the people of Israel said to Samuel, "Do not cease to cry out to the LORD our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines." 9 So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. And Samuel cried out to the LORD for Israel, and the LORD answered him. 10 As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel. But the LORD thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were defeated before Israel. 11 And the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them, as far as below Beth-car."

Later David knew this same principle when he faced Goliath.

1 Samuel 17: 43 And the Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field." 45 Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into our hand."

 

2Chronicles shows this became normative in the  life of God's people at their best. At that time Jehoshaphat was the God-fearing king of Judah. The holy land was being invaded by a vast army of Moabites and Ammonites, and some men hurried to Jerusalem to tell the king. What did Jehoshaphat do? His instinctive reaction was to seek help from the Lord and also to urge the nation to fast and pray. The people came from all over the land and gathered in Jerusalem around the temple, men, women, children and even babes in arms. The king led them in prayer: "O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no-one can withstand you . . . We will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us. But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir . . . O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you" (2 Chronicles 20: 6, 9,10,12). Then, we are told, a Levite stood up and he spoke in God's name to the king and to the people, "Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you" (2 Chronicles 20:15-17).

Then look what happened:

18   Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshiping the LORD.

19   And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

20   And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed."

21   And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the LORD and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, "Give thanks to the LORD, for his steadfast love endures forever."

22   And when they began to sing and praise, the LORD set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed.

23   For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another.

 

 

The little army of Judah went out to the Pass and there they watched the invading army of Moabites and Ammonites destroying itself. They fell upon one another. No one escaped, and the result was that, "The fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel" (2 Chrons. 20:29).

 

The song the choir sang inspired them. And they trusted God!

The comparison the Holy Spirit sets forth is between the faithful, whose confidence is in God alone, and the rest of the world, whose trust is almost always in riches, power, and military strength. (Calvin, 110)

 In those battles,  do we trust in the defenses of this world - or do we trust in God. It is easy to look for solutions to our Physical and Spiritual battles in this world,  but we ought to look principally to God . John Calvin said:  "Many interpreters view this prayer as offered up only on one particular occasion; but in this I cannot agree. The occasion of its composition at first may have arisen from some particular battle which was about to be fought, either against the Ammonites, or against some other enemies of Israel. But the design of the Holy Spirit, in my judgment, was to deliver to the Church a common form of prayer, which, as we may gather from the words, was to be used whenever she was threatened with any danger.3"

 

The Song For The Day Of Triumph

 "Let us shout for joy at your victory and lift the banner in the name of our God. May Yahweh fulfill all your requests." (Psalm 20:5, HCSB)

Our songs can give us a sense of alignment

But I'm wondering if you have aligned yourself with all that is embodied in the most important banner. Are you prepared to align yourself unreservedly with the living God? Now there are many banners from which you may choose. There is the banner of power. There is the banner of wealth. There is the banner of prestige.

There is the banner of popularity. There are many banners under which you may become identified. In fact, in our text the psalmist says, "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses...." There are many banners, but I suggest only one - the banner of the cross. If I cannot be identified with Christ, let me remain unknown. If I cannot be aligned with Christ, I will not become aligned with anything else. We may commit ourselves to working together by setting up false and unworthy banners; by putting our faith in weak and worldly objects.

But we will do well "to rejoice in God's salvation, and in His name set up our banners."

Let us announce to the world that we are aligned with the cause of Jesus Christ and that we intend to march forth into victory under His banner and in His name. Let us never give the world reason to question our alignment or our affiliation. Let us hold our banner high so that all will know that we have identified ourselves with Jesus Christ and His church and His kingdom.

The Bible says that we must either be for or against Christ. We are identified with Him or against Him. Jesus said, "He that is not with me is against me. And he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad." So may our banner mark our alignment with Christ.

Our songs can give us a sense of allegiance

Once we align ourselves with Christ, nothing should be allowed to interfere with that alignment. Once the banner of the cross is set up, nothing should destroy what that banner represents. Our performance as a Christian must always match our profession. If this is true, then our banner represents our allegiance as well as our alignment. Allegiance speaks of our commitment. Allegiance speaks of our loyalty. Allegiance speaks of our faithfulness.

Spiritual progress in this church demands our allegiance. We must march in a cooperative spirit under the banner of the cross. It will involve sacrifice. It will involve a full measure of your devotion. It will involve using talents more effectively and perhaps uncovering some new ones. It will involve sharing, giving, cross-bearing. Many years ago the Spaniards were besieging the little town of St. Quinton on the frontiers of France. This little town was in ruins. Many of the people in this little town were sick with fever. There had been a famine and there were not very many supplies, not very much food. Thoughts of treason existed among many of the townspeople.

One day the Spanish army shot over the walls a shower of arrows. Attached to the arrows were little slips of parchment promising the inhabitants that if they would surrender their lives and property would be spared.

The governor of this town was one of the great leaders of the Huguenots. As his sole answer to all their inducements to surrender, he took a piece of parchment, tied it to a javelin and wrote on the parchment two words - regem habemus – "We have a king!" - and hurled it back into the camp of the enemy. This was his one answer to all of their threats and to all of their inducements.

Well, folks, we have a king and the church needs to be steadfast and unmovable in their commitment to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. So our banner needs to mark our alignment and it needs to mark our allegiance.

 

What is your alignment? Do you trust the Lord your God?

What is your allegiance? Will you stand with the Lord your God?

You don't know what will happen if you align and give allegiance to the lord your God!

Ira Sankey was traveling on a steamer in the Delaware River when he was recognized by some passengers who had seen his picture in the newspaper and knew he was associated with evangelist D. L. Moody. When they asked him to sing one of his own compositions, Sankey said he preferred the hymn by William Bradbury, "Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us." He suggested that everyone join in the singing. One of the stanzas begins, "We are thine, do thou befriend us; be the guardian of our way." When he finished, a man stepped out of the shadows and asked, "Were you in the army, Mr. Sankey?" "Yes, I joined up in 1860." "Did you do guard duty at night in Maryland, about 1862?" "Yes, I did." "I was in the Confederate Army," said the stranger. "I saw you one night at Sharpsburg. I had you in my gun sight as you stood in the light of the full moon. Then just as I was about to pull the trigger, you began to sing. It was the same hymn you sang tonight. I couldn't shoot you."

Just as well he gave his allegiance to the Lord his God that night! His singing stood out!

Will you give your allegiance to the Lord your God today?