Okay, so we are reading from Psalm 20, starting at verse 1, all the way through to the end of Psalm 21.
To the choir master, a psalm of David.
May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble.
May the name of the Lord, sorry, the name of God, of Jacob, protect you.
May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion.
May he remember all your offerings and regard with favour your burnt sacrifices.
May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfil all your plans.
May we shout for joy over your salvation.
And in the name of our God, set up our banners.
May the Lord fulfil all your petitions.
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.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.
O Lord, save the King.
May he answer us when we call.
To the choir master, a psalm of David.
O Lord, in your strength the King rejoices, and in your salvation how greatly he exalts.
You have given him his heart's desire and have not withheld the request of his lips.
For you met him with rich blessings.
You set a crown of fine gold upon his head.
He asked life of you.
You gave it to him, length of days, forever and ever.
His glory is great through your salvation, splendor and majesty you bestow on him.
For you make him most blessed forever.
You make him glad with the joy of your presence.
For the King trusts in the Lord, and through the steadfast love of the Most High, he shall not be moved.
Your hand will find out all your enemies.
Your right hand will find out those who hate you.
You will make them as a blazing oven when you appear.
The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath, and fire will consume them.
You will destroy their descendants from the earth, and their offspring from among the children of men.
Though they plan evil against you, though they devise mischief, they will not succeed.
For you will put them to flight.
You will aim at their faces with your bows.
Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength.
We sing and praise your power.
Thanks, Alex.
Just try the mic first.
Is that clear enough for those at the back?
Good.
Yep.
Because two weeks ago, I didn't know that it wasn't that clear.
And I thank Simon Brown for adjusting it for me.
And that's good.
And good to see you all as well, and visitors too.
My name is Bo, one of the elders in the church.
So today we are, we have come to Psalms 20 and 21.
While Psalm 20 is actually pretty, I suppose we find it a bit easier to read and maybe follow.
And 21, maybe a bit harder.
But overall, I find that it's actually not that easy to pray according to those Psalms.
I'm thinking of why that is the case.
I think the two reasons.
One is that we don't actually pray very much in general to start with.
Second is that in those Psalms, the king is the center of everything.
That is the focus.
And if we don't have similar focus in our life, then we will find it hard actually to follow those two Psalms.
Well, let us pray first before we continue.
Father, we thank you for your goodness to us that we can gather again this morning.
As we want to ponder on Psalms 20 and 21, we ask your help that we might be teachable and also we might be lifted up to see your glory.
Thank you, Lord.
We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
About 40 years ago, when I was a very young Christian in Melbourne, I was given this book by Christian friends in the uni.
I'm not sure whether some of us have read this book.
My Upmove for His Highest by Oslo Chambers.
During that time, in the Christian fellowship in the uni, we were encouraged to read many books.
And I did read many Christian books.
And this was one of those books that is different to other books.
This book was first published in 1927.
So it was about 100 years ago.
And it's still in print today.
So it can appreciate how this book has been read by many people in different languages as well.
It's a daily devotional book with a message for every day of the year.
Why is it so different to me?
It's just because the author, also Chambers, the focus of his woe is the Lord Jesus Christ.
And I was so stirred by this book in terms of somebody can actually give themselves up so much that in his right hand I could see that.
His focus for his focus for his woe is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Oslo Chambers lived only up to 43 years of age.
He died from the complication of appendix operation.
While he was a chaplain to the army in Egypt during World War I.
So he died in about 1917.
He became a Christian at the age of 15.
And he was gifted.
He was very gifted in music and art.
And he thought that he would serve the Lord through art.
But somehow the Lord called him to go to Bible school.
And then he started his preaching and teaching ministries.
And also thought that he would remain single.
He didn't think about marriage.
But one day during his trip in a ship to the USA, he met a young girl on board.
The girl, the nickname was BD.
And eventually they got married.
He got married at age 36.
Then he got married at age 36 and he died in 43.
So the marriage lasted for about seven years.
He didn't publish any book during his lifetime.
This book was published ten years after his death.
And that's very amazing.
After that, there were about 40 books published under his name.
How did this happen?
Because BD was an excellent shorthand writer.
I suppose many young people don't know what a shorthand writer is nowadays.
I remember one of my older sisters was learning how to do shorthand.
It took a lot of effort, as you can see, for many years.
She learned to write shorthand very quick.
But nowadays we don't need that anymore because of the recording and typing.
But because she was a shorthand writer, she was able to record everything that Oslo Chamber was teaching and preaching.
And then there's how all these 40 books came about after his death.
And this is amazing.
Both of these couples, their whole focus in life is to serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
And they seem to live to a different world than many other people.
But if you read his books, I think our imagination will stir to seek this, to live like them, to live for something or someone that is greater.
I hope that Psalms 20 and 21 will also help us to see the same.
When we read these two Psalms, we should bear in mind that those people, their whole focus is on their king or the Psalms on the king.
And Psalm 20 is more a petition for the king.
And Psalm 21 is more a thanksgiving Psalm for what God has done for the king.
Now the problem I suppose we also have would be saying, would these Psalms be written by David, King David himself?
So if it's written by King David, would it be sort of self-promoting writing about him?
It could be written by King David himself or it could be written by someone else for King David.
Either way, I don't think it is, even if it's written by King David, I don't think it is self-promoting.
Because King David's focus is on the office of his kingship.
Not about himself, but about the king of God's people.
And we know that the Psalms ultimately fulfilled in King David's greatest son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so whether it's written by King David or not, I don't think it's a big problem.
It's a focus on the kingship and also on the greater king that is to come, that is to fulfill the Psalms.
So I will go through some part of the Psalms just so that we can help us to appreciate it.
But I won't be able to cover the whole two Psalms.
So the first part is to see what people pray for the king and how there is answer in Psalm 21.
So Psalm 20 verse 1, may the Lord answer you in the day of trouble.
And Psalm 21 verse 1, O Lord, in your strength the king rejoices and in your salvation how greatly he exalts.
So from this prayer in Psalm 20, we know that for those people who pray for their king,
is that they ask God to protect the king in the day of trouble.
Do you see that they did not ask God to protect us in the day of trouble?
They said protect the king.
We can think why that is the case.
Because these people, their focus is on the king.
They know that if the king stands, then they will stand.
If the king falls, then they will fall.
And so they pray for the king to be protected.
And did God protect King David?
We could see from history that King David was a very successful military king.
And through him, Israel became a very strong nation, the superpower of that time.
However, King David before, after he yielded to temptation,
and he committed adultery and murder.
So the nation of Israel likewise fell apart a generation later.
When we apply that to the Lord Jesus Christ, we know that he stood firm
in the face of temptation and opposition.
In fact, Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tempted in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights.
And he did not yield to temptation.
But then, did God protect Jesus, the Lord Jesus, from the pain or suffering or opposition?
We read in the Garden of Testimony that he was praying God would take away the cup,
this bitter cup from him.
But he said that it is still like he wants to do God's will in this.
And so Jesus went through the horror of the cross.
But because the Lord Jesus endured the suffering of the cross,
we can now stand before God as forgiven sinners.
So, in a way, God answered the prayer of the people.
The people's prayer is that the king to be protected,
so that they themselves will be protected.
But the king Jesus actually went through the suffering,
so that we ultimately can be protected from God's wrath.
So that is the first prayer.
The second one is about the king's offering be accepted.
In Psalm 20, verse 3,
And Psalm 21, verse 4,
He asked life of you, you gave it to him, length of days, forever and ever.
So the people of God also understood that the king represented them in offering burnt sacrifices.
They could only approach God if the king's offering for remission of sin was acceptable to God.
They did not presume that God would listen to their petitions if their sins had not been atoned for.
So God's acceptance of the offering was reflected in the king's long life.
King David offered up sacrifices year after year.
But King Jesus offered himself as the perfect sacrifice once and for all.
King David died.
King Jesus was resurrected and lived forever and ever.
And so the Psalms ultimately fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Because he is the only one who can offer the perfect sacrifice.
The third thing they were praying for is that the king's plan be fulfilled.
Psalm 20, verse 4,
May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans.
And Psalm 21, verse 2,
You have given him his heart's desire and have not withheld the request of his lips.
So they pray that God might fulfill the king's plan.
And this was in a way a dangerous request.
As a fulfillment of the king's plan may be in conflict with their own plans.
Like in a war, the king would need to get people to fight as soldiers.
And so to fulfill the king's plan,
those people would need to be part of the soldiers.
Or when the king wants to build something, they need to be in the labor.
And so to see that their focus is on the king,
so they basically trusted the king to do the best for the nation.
Not so much necessarily according to their own will or their own desire,
but they just want the king's plan to be fulfilled.
And they are ready to submit their own plans to the king's plan.
While many of King David's plans were fulfilled,
one thing he really wanted to achieve was to build a temple for God.
But he didn't get that done because God said that it wasn't King David who would build this temple.
And his descendant is going to build this temple,
and King Jesus is the only king who would perfectly build this temple.
Jesus said, I mean, King David's son Solomon did build a temple.
But Jesus said, destroy this temple, and I will raise it up again in three days.
So the temple that was built by King Solomon was not,
it wasn't the real or the actual temple.
It was only a picture of what is to come.
Because the temple is where the people can meet with God.
And only the Lord Jesus Christ would be the place or the person whom we can meet God.
And so Jesus is the one who built the perfect temple.
And this is the ultimate fulfillment of the king's plan.
So King Jesus' plan is to be the temple,
to be the meeting place between God and man.
And that is the most important thing that he came to do.
So the fourth thing that they pray for is that the king's faith may be vindicated.
Psalm 20, verses 7 to 8,
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.
Psalm 21, verses 11 to 20,
Though they plan evil against you,
though they devise mischief,
they will not succeed.
For you will put them to fight.
You will aim at their faces with your bowels.
So the prayer here is that God will show the world
that God himself was trustworthy and in control of everything.
And also that their king's faith in God was not futile.
They knew that even if they were defeated by their enemies,
the defeat was only transient.
God will raise them up and make them stand upright.
Some nations, or most nations,
could only trust in their chariots and horses.
But the people of God had God to rely on.
In our this day and age,
besides horses and chariots,
we trust in many things else.
We trust in technologies in particular
for achievement of what we want to do.
We can see the world progressing,
advancing in technology in many areas.
But we can also see the world regressing in many areas.
In particular, in terms of relationship between people,
in terms of mental health,
within the people.
it's just when the world trusts in technologies,
even if they achieve something,
eventually they lost more than what they achieved.
And people of God
know that,
know to rely on God.
And God's timing may be slow
in terms of what you want to achieve.
But God's timing is never wrong.
But it doesn't mean that King David and his people
did not have chariots and horses,
or they did not have strategies for war.
They had all those things.
But ultimately,
they did not trust
in their own strength.
And also,
it also means that they could sleep well
before each battle.
sleeping well is very difficult
in our day and age.
Most people have trouble sleeping.
It's just because we don't,
many times,
because we are uncertain
about our future,
about tomorrow.
And people who
can trust in the Lord,
one thing,
I mean,
it's not necessary
they can't necessarily sleep well,
but usually they would
because they have rest
in their hearts.
Because they,
it does,
they know that it doesn't matter
whether
tomorrow turns out
well or not.
For the Israelites,
also for them,
even if they are defeated,
even if they die,
that is not the end
of them
because they trust in God.
And so,
they can see things
much further
than people
who can only trust
on horses
and chariots.
When Jesus was
on the cross,
his enemies
ridiculed him,
asking him
to show
his power
as a son of God
and free himself
from the nails
of the cross.
Jesus did not
put his trust
on his own strength.
to fulfill
God's plan.
He trusted God
and he died,
but then he was
resurrected.
So,
now all authority
in heaven and on earth
has been given
to King Jesus.
So,
the first time
he came,
he came as a lamb
to take away
the sins of the world.
And then the second time
he will come as a lion
to trust the world
that will fulfill
the second part
of Psalm 21
when that happens.
Now,
we,
after mentioning
the Psalms,
we will consider
it is actually
not easy
for us
to pray
these Psalms.
There are
many reasons.
I will only
mention two
today.
One is,
the first reason
is that we live
in a different world
to that of
King David.
in King David's
world,
actually,
or in,
to say,
in our world first,
in our world,
we live
in two different
kingdoms
if we are
Christians.
The kingdom
of God
where
Jesus Christ
is the king,
that is a
spiritual kingdom.
And the
kingdom of the world,
that is the
political
kingdom
that
ruled by
prime ministers,
kings,
or presidents.
So,
first of all,
we are living
in these two
different kingdoms
in our
world in this time.
But in King David's
world,
King David
was the
representative
of their
spiritual world
because he is
the spiritual
king as well.
He is a
political king.
So,
for the
people of
Israel,
they did
not have that
conflict between
the two kingdoms.
Their kingdoms
were merged
into one.
And so,
they can
pray
for this
king and
that this
king's
plan could
be fulfilled
by God
under God's
help.
For us,
we cannot
easily pray
that King
Charles'
plan will
be fulfilled
because we
do not.
We know
that we
will not
trust
King
Charles
or our
prime minister
or president
that their
plans
would be
a godly
plan.
And that's
why we
can't pray
as those
Samis
would do
because we
live in
two different
kingdoms
and those
two kingdoms
are often
in conflict.
And the
kingdoms
will
perfectly
merge
again,
those two
kingdoms,
when the
Lord Jesus
comes again.
will be the
only king
that we
look up
to.
So in
our imperfect
world,
we do not
pray the
same way
for our
political
kings.
At the
same time,
unlike the
Israelites,
we also do
not need to
pray for our
spiritual king
because we
know that the
Lord Jesus
is perfect
in every
way.
And he's
a son of
God and
he's absolutely
wise and
absolutely able
to do anything
he wants to
do.
And so
because of
that, we
do not
pray like
the
psalms.
What do we
pray for?
We still
pray for our
spiritual and
political leaders.
we do not
pray that
God will
fulfill their
plans, but
we pray that
God's plan may
be fulfilled
through them
or in them.
And so we
still can apply
that in this
way.
Ultimately,
it is God's
plan that we
want to be
fulfilled.
And so
we pray,
we can pray
in this way.
So this is
first reason
is that we
are living in
two different
kingdoms.
Second reason
is that our
world view
has changed
over the
last 50
years or
so.
Before
then,
most people
lived for
the good
of others,
but now
most people
live for
their own
good.
That is
the difference
in the
world view.
I remember
about 40
years ago
when an
older sister
migrated with
her family
to Melbourne.
She
found a
job in
the clothing
factory.
And she
was happily
working there.
It's a
boring job.
Maybe they
were just
sewing clothes.
She was
happy that
she could
supplement
the husband's
income for
the family.
But if
you have
such
factories
nowadays,
I suspect
that not
many people
want to
do such
jobs.
even the
food factories
that we
still have,
the chicken
factories,
most of
the workers
inside will
be from
overseas.
Because we
want fulfillment
in jobs,
so we
could not
take up
jobs that
are boring
and no
sense that
there's no
enjoyment
in it.
Just because
our world
will change,
and so we
are so
focused on
each person's
own
happiness,
and that
has become
the most
important thing.
And so,
in our
prayers,
we would
usually pray
for our own
leaders,
what will
make us
happy,
or pray for
our leaders,
what they
do will
make us
happy,
so we
will become
the focus.
Or even if
we pray for
other people,
like people
who are
unwell,
and we
will pray
that they
will get
better.
I mean,
it's not
wrong to
say that
that's what
we want,
but that
is all we
pray for
usually.
But then,
God
usually
helps us
to grow
through
suffering,
and if
God's plan
is that
we should
grow through
suffering,
and our
prayer is
that God
should take
away our
suffering,
then it
might be
in conflict
with God's
plan,
if we
want to
pray that
God's plan
will fulfill
in us.
And so,
we need
to learn
to see
things in
a bigger
perspective,
in a bigger
vision,
and not
just focus
on personal
happiness,
or the
lack of
suffering,
but that
God will
do something
through the
suffering to
help us to
grow as
his people,
and we
don't just
stop at
praying that
God will
take away
suffering,
and not
seeing something
even bigger,
as these
people in
Psalm 20
and 21
could see
that they
want the
king's plan
to be
fulfilled,
and that
might
involve
suffering
to those
people as
well.
So,
we can
just have
a thing
over the
past 12
months,
first of
all,
who was
our king,
who do
we focus
our life
in?
Many times
this is
ourselves.
Like,
I was
40 years
ago,
I was
reading that
book.
I mean,
I was
amazed by
the book,
but I
was still
doing my
own things.
I was
sort of
the king.
So,
we can
think what
we have
been praying
for,
and we
will know
who the
king,
who our
king is,
and I
hope that
through these
two psalms,
we can
have a
bigger vision
and pray
for greater
things in
the coming
year.
Upon
his death
in 1917
in Egypt,
Oslo's
wife,
B.D.
sent a
telegram
to his
family back
in England
with the
message,
Oslo,
in his
presence.
very
simple,
but very
profound.
Death is
not the
end at
all,
also in
his
presence.
And I
hope that
we all
will have
this hope
in us
that when
we die,
we are
in his
presence.
And also
when we,
as we
live,
I hope
that we
can live
in his
presence as
well,
that we
will see
greater
things and
want to
do
greater
things for
the Lord
Jesus
Christ as
well.
All right,
let's pray.
Almighty God,
we thank
you for
fulfilling the
King's plan
that the
Lord Jesus
Christ
become
our
Savior
and our
Lord,
and through
him we
could come
before you.
Father,
we know
that it's
also the
Lord's
plan for
us to
be sanctified,
to be
made more
like him.
I pray
that you
might help
us in
the coming
year to
be a year
that we
would grow
in our
knowledge of
you and
become more
like the
Lord Jesus
Christ.
Thank you,
Lord, we
pray in
Jesus'
name.
Amen.