WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.899 So, Psalm 20 is what we'll be going through tonight. 00:00:10.939 --> 00:00:13.380 May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble. 00:00:14.200 --> 00:00:16.780 May the name of the God of Jacob protect you. 00:00:17.699 --> 00:00:21.699 May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion. 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:26.839 May he remember all your offerings in regard with favor your burnt sacrifices. 00:00:26.839 --> 00:00:31.759 May he grant your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans. 00:00:32.600 --> 00:00:35.079 May we shout for joy over your salvation. 00:00:35.759 --> 00:00:37.840 And in the name of our God set up our banners. 00:00:38.600 --> 00:00:40.740 May the Lord fulfill all your petitions. 00:00:42.500 --> 00:00:45.060 Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed. 00:00:46.120 --> 00:00:50.379 He will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand. 00:00:52.079 --> 00:00:54.579 Some trust in chariots and some in horses. 00:00:54.579 --> 00:00:57.820 But we trust in the name of the Lord our God. 00:00:58.699 --> 00:01:00.280 They collapse and fall. 00:01:00.600 --> 00:01:02.500 But we rise and stand upright. 00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:05.459 O Lord, save the king. 00:01:06.039 --> 00:01:07.480 May he answer us when we call. 00:01:11.500 --> 00:01:16.219 So, this psalm, I think, has a lot to do with security. 00:01:16.379 --> 00:01:18.400 As we conceive of it, maybe in modern terms. 00:01:18.879 --> 00:01:20.039 It's kind of tough to interpret. 00:01:20.040 --> 00:01:24.340 I don't think any of us here have gone off to war before. 00:01:25.240 --> 00:01:27.460 I don't know anyone well enough to know for sure. 00:01:27.780 --> 00:01:30.740 But I don't think any of us have any military experience I'm looking at. 00:01:31.260 --> 00:01:39.040 So, just kind of in terms of that, this is, you know, asking God for assurance as they go forth into battle, basically. 00:01:39.040 --> 00:01:46.320 And so, I think, like, our more peacefully minded security for us might be something like a retirement account, actually. 00:01:46.920 --> 00:01:50.980 And that's something that's drummed into our heads, particularly as some of us here are millennials. 00:01:50.980 --> 00:01:59.480 I've read that we should be saving 20% of our income if we want to retire successfully at 65 or whatever. 00:01:59.840 --> 00:02:01.380 Which, yeah, everyone laughs at that, obviously. 00:02:02.760 --> 00:02:09.400 And so, like, there's a lot of, like, all of financial, like, responsibility training is all about, like, building security for yourself, basically. 00:02:09.460 --> 00:02:11.939 And the way that you invest your own resources. 00:02:11.939 --> 00:02:16.979 And so, that emphasis is on building security through amassing numbers, basically. 00:02:17.659 --> 00:02:20.620 And I think that, so that's kind of the feel that we get of security. 00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:22.840 That feeling of, like, oh, I have a full retirement account. 00:02:22.900 --> 00:02:24.840 Or, oh, I don't have a full retirement account. 00:02:25.120 --> 00:02:26.460 I'll never be secure like that. 00:02:26.939 --> 00:02:32.919 And I think this psalm takes us, and it says, God redefines and achieves security for his people. 00:02:35.139 --> 00:02:39.680 And so, just again, that's God redefines and achieves security for his people. 00:02:39.680 --> 00:02:48.040 And so, kind of stepping back a little bit, maybe working a little more to jump that gap between war and where we are. 00:02:49.040 --> 00:02:52.020 This psalm is combined with Psalm 21, the psalm afterwards. 00:02:52.219 --> 00:02:55.560 And this psalm is before Israel goes to war, and the next one's after they go to war. 00:02:55.980 --> 00:02:57.460 And spoilers, the Israelites win. 00:02:57.560 --> 00:02:58.560 You'll figure that out next week. 00:02:59.260 --> 00:02:59.659 Sorry. 00:03:00.700 --> 00:03:02.219 I don't have to come next week now. 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:06.480 And this psalm is kind of ritualistic feeling. 00:03:06.479 --> 00:03:10.819 And you notice, like, it's we, and it's something the congregation is all saying together. 00:03:12.519 --> 00:03:14.479 And so, it's kind of broken down into three parts. 00:03:14.659 --> 00:03:16.819 It's, you know, people praying for the king. 00:03:16.979 --> 00:03:18.259 Kind of these may we statements. 00:03:19.259 --> 00:03:21.500 May God support him, essentially, in the battle. 00:03:21.699 --> 00:03:23.659 The king's representing his people in battle. 00:03:24.819 --> 00:03:28.699 In verse 6, there's a declaration of victory that's going to happen because they've appealed to this. 00:03:28.699 --> 00:03:35.199 And then the rest of it is trusting in the security of the victory that they know that they're going to get at this point. 00:03:36.979 --> 00:03:44.099 And so, kind of brief thoughts on God having, like, his people engage in war, which is sometimes, like, a tense topic. 00:03:44.619 --> 00:03:46.579 And this is, like, the really, really quick rundown. 00:03:46.679 --> 00:03:51.000 But basically, in the Old Testament, God's people were a nation. 00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:55.979 They were an actual physical, like, sovereign nation within the nations surrounding them. 00:03:56.599 --> 00:03:59.719 And so, part of that is national security and caring for their people. 00:04:00.699 --> 00:04:06.580 And in that time, nations fought regularly for territory as they were more nomadic and able to move around more easily. 00:04:07.699 --> 00:04:10.780 So, war is not, I mean, that's not a full explanation. 00:04:10.939 --> 00:04:15.580 That's just, like, a brief overview of, like, it's not like God was bloodthirsty in the Old Testament. 00:04:15.699 --> 00:04:18.920 It was part of living as a nation in that time. 00:04:18.920 --> 00:04:21.000 They needed to be ready to defend themselves. 00:04:22.580 --> 00:04:28.420 And I think that, kind of, us now, we're, the church is entirely different in a sense. 00:04:28.600 --> 00:04:33.780 That, you know, we're not a sovereign nation, but a multi-ethnic, like, multi-national family. 00:04:34.600 --> 00:04:40.740 And we have precedence for peace now because we are the church all across all of the nations. 00:04:40.740 --> 00:04:48.660 And so, when we think about Psalms, so, like, you know, I don't pray this before I go out and fight somebody in the morning. 00:04:49.259 --> 00:04:54.560 What I think about in Psalms is, you know, God promises us things that are necessary to live. 00:04:54.980 --> 00:04:58.340 In the same sense, it's necessary to achieve victory in this war. 00:04:58.339 --> 00:05:00.339 Or the things we can pray this over. 00:05:00.459 --> 00:05:01.919 Or for the church to be able to thrive. 00:05:02.019 --> 00:05:03.139 Or things we could pray this over. 00:05:03.239 --> 00:05:05.899 You know, fellowship or evangelism or prayer or whatever it might be. 00:05:06.299 --> 00:05:10.679 These are the kind of things we come to God with in these kind of war terms. 00:05:12.599 --> 00:05:14.839 So, going back kind of to the theme of the psalm then. 00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:17.299 You know, God, first God redefines security. 00:05:17.300 --> 00:05:23.000 And one part of that is that he takes action to secure his people. 00:05:23.439 --> 00:05:24.840 They're not the ones doing it. 00:05:26.439 --> 00:05:29.420 I think when we think security, we think of us being proactive. 00:05:29.759 --> 00:05:31.180 Like, I go out and I research. 00:05:32.160 --> 00:05:36.800 Like, we replaced the locks in our house because someone literally, like, walked into our house the other month. 00:05:37.120 --> 00:05:41.460 And, like, they must have picked the lock or something when they thought we were asleep or gone. 00:05:41.459 --> 00:05:47.620 And so, like, that was an act of me, like, going out and buying new locks and then putting them in the door and installing them. 00:05:48.639 --> 00:05:50.519 So, it feels like I'm responsible for that security. 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:52.120 Like, I've bettered myself. 00:05:52.399 --> 00:05:58.939 But in this psalm, we see that God's entirely the active one in bringing his people security. 00:05:59.639 --> 00:06:03.060 And so, this is the full list of things that God does in this psalm. 00:06:03.179 --> 00:06:05.579 And I think I moved from, like, the top verse to the bottom. 00:06:06.339 --> 00:06:07.620 But, you know, it says God answers. 00:06:07.919 --> 00:06:08.479 God protects. 00:06:08.939 --> 00:06:09.479 God helps. 00:06:09.799 --> 00:06:10.459 God supports. 00:06:10.459 --> 00:06:11.659 God remembers. 00:06:12.139 --> 00:06:13.139 He regards with favor. 00:06:13.719 --> 00:06:16.159 He grants your heart's desire, talking to the people. 00:06:16.599 --> 00:06:17.579 Fulfills your plans. 00:06:17.859 --> 00:06:21.299 And then in the last few verses, he repeats, saves a lot is what God does. 00:06:21.859 --> 00:06:27.039 And the only thing that I could find that we, the people, do is shout for joy over salvation. 00:06:29.419 --> 00:06:38.179 And so, particularly that first five verses is just showing that God is the one who is active in that sense of security for us. 00:06:38.180 --> 00:06:45.699 And then the second thing is, too, that God often redefines the terms of victory to, like, make it clear that he's the one that's at work, not us. 00:06:45.699 --> 00:06:54.800 And I think that that shows a lot in verse 7, which says, some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. 00:06:54.800 --> 00:06:58.860 And this is a big theme all through the Old Testament. 00:06:58.860 --> 00:07:04.439 And it clearly shows that it's God makes it clear that he's the one that saves. 00:07:04.439 --> 00:07:11.980 In this statement here, chariots and horses are kind of like the most, like, powerful weapons at the time. 00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:13.839 Like, they would overwhelm just people on foot. 00:07:14.459 --> 00:07:17.879 So you think of kind of what we think of now as, like, advanced military technology. 00:07:18.160 --> 00:07:19.980 Like, superior technology will win wars. 00:07:20.379 --> 00:07:22.879 And so lots of chariots and horses would win wars. 00:07:23.019 --> 00:07:24.540 And so that's why they say, you know, many. 00:07:24.779 --> 00:07:27.579 It could be many trust in chariots and many in horses. 00:07:27.839 --> 00:07:30.279 That's how nations based their military is on. 00:07:30.279 --> 00:07:37.439 And interestingly, in Deuteronomy, God prevents any kings of Israel from owning large amounts of horses. 00:07:37.699 --> 00:07:38.919 That's, like, an explicit command. 00:07:39.879 --> 00:07:46.759 So I think he's saying here, you know, we're not trusting as we go into battle on the size of our own might, but on the Lord's might. 00:07:48.699 --> 00:07:51.059 And so this happens again and again in the Old Testament. 00:07:51.219 --> 00:07:54.859 And I pulled out some, you know, Jericho and Moses parting the Red Sea. 00:07:54.959 --> 00:07:57.019 But there are other smaller ones, smaller ones. 00:07:57.019 --> 00:08:01.779 You know, Abraham routes four countries with 300 people to save his brother-in-law. 00:08:02.859 --> 00:08:07.699 Shamgar, the judge, kills 600 Philistines with an ox skull and judges. 00:08:08.259 --> 00:08:16.000 And Hezekiah, when Jerusalem is besieged by the Assyrians, like, which is one of the greatest nations at that time, 00:08:16.479 --> 00:08:19.919 rather than calling to another country for help, praise. 00:08:20.539 --> 00:08:24.120 And the angel of the Lord comes and decimates the entire Assyrian army. 00:08:24.120 --> 00:08:30.439 And it's really fascinating, actually, like, the seminary tidbit here. 00:08:30.899 --> 00:08:35.779 The history part of that, that the Assyrian nations rarely kept history when they lost battles. 00:08:35.940 --> 00:08:37.200 Like, Israel was unique for that. 00:08:37.740 --> 00:08:44.019 The Assyrians talk about, yes, we went up to the foot of Jerusalem and we surrounded the hills and we mock the people. 00:08:44.480 --> 00:08:46.179 And that's, like, where the history ends right there. 00:08:46.399 --> 00:08:48.340 It's like they don't talk about actually taking the city. 00:08:48.340 --> 00:08:57.360 And it's just, you know, God brings His people into these situations of infathomable odds and brings them out. 00:08:58.120 --> 00:08:59.899 And so that kind of leads into God's chief security. 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:02.940 He doesn't just redefine it, but He ultimately follows through on it. 00:09:04.220 --> 00:09:08.220 And that's one of the coolest parts of this passage is verse 6. 00:09:08.860 --> 00:09:09.139 And it says, 00:09:09.139 --> 00:09:19.299 And so this is before the battle that He says, I know this is going to happen. 00:09:20.100 --> 00:09:25.100 And this might be, it says, I, it might be the king, it might be a priest who's kind of leading the ceremony that's going on. 00:09:25.100 --> 00:09:32.940 But it's still a proclamation of all the people, clearly, after that, that they say, you know, we're going to stand upright after bowing to the Lord, essentially. 00:09:33.340 --> 00:09:34.580 And our enemies will fall. 00:09:36.440 --> 00:09:39.519 And I think this confidence is ultimately achieved for us in Jesus. 00:09:40.460 --> 00:09:43.620 That Jesus redefines victory as well. 00:09:43.899 --> 00:09:46.500 In dying, He vanquished death. 00:09:47.200 --> 00:09:51.000 You know, in being perfect, He was able to vanquish sin and evil. 00:09:51.000 --> 00:09:53.179 And in being humble. 00:09:54.600 --> 00:09:59.039 And so that's what enabled us to say, like, I know the Lord saves His anointed. 00:10:01.399 --> 00:10:05.620 And so God still, I think, calls us to this kind of trust and security today. 00:10:05.700 --> 00:10:08.120 And it's not always in as obvious of ways. 00:10:08.259 --> 00:10:11.639 But I think of, like, the commands, like, the command to take a Sabbath. 00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:14.100 Like, to take one day off a week. 00:10:15.580 --> 00:10:19.259 There's a, you can get into all kinds of debates over what exactly that means. 00:10:19.259 --> 00:10:25.000 But, you know, to take a day in a highly competitive society where you're pushed to work every minute to get ahead, basically. 00:10:25.139 --> 00:10:28.799 To say, I'm going to take a day off from doing that and rest in the Lord is a really big step. 00:10:30.419 --> 00:10:34.519 You know, the Bible encourages people to radical and even painful giving. 00:10:35.179 --> 00:10:40.519 Regardless of whether we're really rich or whether we're really struggling to get by. 00:10:41.639 --> 00:10:43.120 It pushes us to give. 00:10:43.120 --> 00:10:51.740 And our encouragement to do, like, whatever, you know, it's in Corinthians, it says, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God. 00:10:52.620 --> 00:10:56.080 That kind of jives with our culture that, like, glorifies entertainment. 00:10:56.759 --> 00:10:59.759 And just the idea that we can just waste away our life. 00:10:59.759 --> 00:11:08.659 And so, John Piper, his famous phrase, like, don't waste your life, that, like, spawned a book. 00:11:08.779 --> 00:11:13.460 And his whole spiel has been making the rounds again, basically. 00:11:14.179 --> 00:11:20.759 And I think that his, the story that he told then was really a story that kind of shows that achieving and redefining security. 00:11:20.759 --> 00:11:29.860 And so, what that came from was he was sharing, he was preaching and he was saying, basically, you know, sharing two different stories of retirement. 00:11:31.759 --> 00:11:37.120 And in one, there were two older women who were in their 80s and they were both nurses for their entire lives. 00:11:37.259 --> 00:11:40.519 I think one was a medical nurse who did missions for her entire life. 00:11:40.519 --> 00:11:49.840 And they died in a tragic accident in a Jeep driving off a cliff while they were in a poorer country serving people there. 00:11:51.399 --> 00:11:55.340 And John Piper was asking, you know, was that a tragic death or not? 00:11:55.439 --> 00:11:56.659 Like, is that a tragic end to life? 00:11:58.559 --> 00:12:01.480 And he said, no, like, that's not a tragic end to life. 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:02.919 Let me tell you a tragic end. 00:12:02.919 --> 00:12:09.899 And he shares a clip from Reader's Digest that basically, you know, just two people were tired when they were in their mid-50s. 00:12:09.959 --> 00:12:16.659 They got off a little early because they saved their money and they spend their days, you know, sailing on a boat and golfing and collecting seashells on the shore. 00:12:18.719 --> 00:12:20.779 And after sharing those stories, he says this. 00:12:21.679 --> 00:12:24.000 Picture them before Christ at the great day of judgment. 00:12:24.759 --> 00:12:26.319 Look, Lord, see my shells. 00:12:27.519 --> 00:12:28.799 That is the tragedy. 00:12:28.799 --> 00:12:35.259 And today, people today are spending billions of dollars to persuade you to embrace that tragic dream. 00:12:35.939 --> 00:12:37.939 Over against that, I put my protest. 00:12:38.419 --> 00:12:39.139 Don't buy it. 00:12:39.539 --> 00:12:40.639 Don't waste your life. 00:12:42.339 --> 00:12:48.500 And so I think that this, I bring up this story not because it's directly about security, 00:12:48.699 --> 00:12:56.299 but I think that this is what this psalm and this part of scripture teaches is what really grounds that and girds us for that, 00:12:56.299 --> 00:13:02.339 to know that we are safe in Christ, to be able to go and do great things for him. 00:13:02.339 --> 00:13:04.259 I know. 00:13:05.039 --> 00:13:05.240 All right. 00:13:05.919 --> 00:13:07.759 Thank you.