WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.980 To the choir master, Psalm of David. 00:00:04.900 --> 00:00:07.200 May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble. 00:00:08.300 --> 00:00:11.099 ! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you. 00:00:12.460 --> 00:00:16.080 ! May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion. 00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:22.160 May he remember all your offerings and regard with favor your burnt offerings. 00:00:23.420 --> 00:00:23.820 Selah. 00:00:23.820 --> 00:00:30.380 May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans. 00:00:30.839 --> 00:00:36.859 May we shout for joy over your salvation and in the name of our God set up our banners. 00:00:37.679 --> 00:00:40.060 May the Lord fulfill all your petitions. 00:00:41.519 --> 00:00:44.480 Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed. 00:00:45.560 --> 00:00:50.240 He will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand. 00:00:50.240 --> 00:00:56.840 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. 00:00:58.219 --> 00:01:03.920 They collapse and fall, but we rise, stand upright. 00:01:05.379 --> 00:01:06.939 O Lord, save the King. 00:01:08.299 --> 00:01:10.780 May he answer us when we call. 00:01:11.820 --> 00:01:12.219 Amen. 00:01:12.219 --> 00:01:18.859 Well, Julie and I are 13 years into our parenting career. 00:01:20.200 --> 00:01:21.599 And there's some things we've learned. 00:01:22.280 --> 00:01:23.299 Here's one of the big ones. 00:01:23.340 --> 00:01:23.700 Are you ready? 00:01:23.959 --> 00:01:25.480 Big lesson, parenting lesson. 00:01:25.780 --> 00:01:28.819 For all of you that maybe are a little bit behind us and those of you who are ahead of us 00:01:28.819 --> 00:01:31.519 will be able to affirm that with us. 00:01:31.739 --> 00:01:32.659 Here's what it is. 00:01:32.659 --> 00:01:42.640 Your kids and my kids are prone to forget the things that you want them to remember. 00:01:44.259 --> 00:01:50.579 They're professionals at remembering the things that you wish they'd forget. 00:01:51.199 --> 00:01:51.379 Right? 00:01:52.379 --> 00:01:53.479 Big lesson. 00:01:53.480 --> 00:01:57.780 I sat downstairs Friday morning. 00:01:57.920 --> 00:02:01.380 I was doing some study in the kitchen, trying to get out of office. 00:02:01.500 --> 00:02:04.280 Sometimes I just need to be around windows where there's lots of light coming in. 00:02:04.320 --> 00:02:05.219 And it was one of those days. 00:02:05.280 --> 00:02:10.319 I was sitting down at the dining room table with all my books spread out and was thinking 00:02:10.319 --> 00:02:11.300 and writing and studying. 00:02:12.039 --> 00:02:17.120 And I heard upstairs, Julie had set up a baby gate at the top of the step so that Charlie 00:02:17.120 --> 00:02:18.080 could just kind of roam around. 00:02:18.080 --> 00:02:25.600 And I heard upstairs, Julie tell Harper and Ashlyn to make sure when they walk through that 00:02:25.600 --> 00:02:31.180 gate from their bedroom that they shut it so that Charlie doesn't walk through and fall 00:02:31.180 --> 00:02:32.260 down the steps. 00:02:32.439 --> 00:02:34.220 And then I heard her say it again. 00:02:35.260 --> 00:02:36.660 And then I heard her say it again. 00:02:37.100 --> 00:02:43.080 And each time with increasing intensity again and again and again, it's just a matter of just 00:02:43.080 --> 00:02:47.340 a few minutes, something very important that she just desperately needs them to remember. 00:02:47.340 --> 00:02:51.140 And yet they just kept forgetting, forgetting. 00:02:52.939 --> 00:02:59.580 But then it's amazing how they can remember how I vaguely mentioned I would take them to 00:02:59.580 --> 00:03:03.680 the pool on a random Tuesday at 2.37 six weeks ago. 00:03:07.599 --> 00:03:11.620 We're inclined to remember the promises that have been made to us. 00:03:11.620 --> 00:03:17.840 We're even more inclined to remember the ones that have been broken to us. 00:03:19.640 --> 00:03:23.420 Hope in a promise has a way of capturing our focus, doesn't it? 00:03:23.560 --> 00:03:25.939 It influences everything about our lives. 00:03:26.080 --> 00:03:30.980 When we have something that really has grabbed our hope, it's a promise. 00:03:31.099 --> 00:03:34.599 It's something that we're hoping for that we're maybe even confident in. 00:03:34.719 --> 00:03:35.719 It grabs us. 00:03:35.840 --> 00:03:37.300 We long for it. 00:03:37.620 --> 00:03:38.420 The girls are that way. 00:03:38.419 --> 00:03:40.819 We can tell them, hey, we're thinking about going to the pool today. 00:03:40.919 --> 00:03:42.959 We're thinking about going to the pool tomorrow, whatever it is. 00:03:43.059 --> 00:03:46.259 And they get so excited, it builds up the hope, doesn't it, Harper? 00:03:46.519 --> 00:03:48.599 And they long for it. 00:03:48.599 --> 00:03:49.919 I just can't wait to get to the pool. 00:03:50.139 --> 00:03:56.060 And Harper will come two, three, 11 times throughout the day. 00:03:56.139 --> 00:03:57.219 Are we still going to the pool? 00:03:57.319 --> 00:03:58.319 Are we going to go to the pool tonight? 00:03:58.439 --> 00:03:59.639 They want to ask about it. 00:03:59.659 --> 00:04:04.119 They want to continue to pray for it if we could use that language to mom and dad. 00:04:04.120 --> 00:04:06.840 Don't forget that you promised that you would take us to the pool. 00:04:06.920 --> 00:04:11.159 Sometimes they'll get so excited in anticipation of going to the pool. 00:04:11.240 --> 00:04:13.640 They'll put on their swimsuits and they'll do their school. 00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:14.599 They homeschool at the moment. 00:04:14.740 --> 00:04:18.019 They'll do their school in their swimsuits in their bedroom because they're just so excited. 00:04:18.220 --> 00:04:23.139 They're anticipating the fulfillment of a wonderful promise that has brought them incredible hope. 00:04:23.139 --> 00:04:38.579 That being said, trusting in a promise has everything to do with whether or not you believe the promise maker to be trustworthy. 00:04:40.860 --> 00:04:46.500 Now, I can walk into the house this afternoon and I can say, 00:04:46.680 --> 00:04:47.659 Girls, you want to go to the pool? 00:04:48.519 --> 00:04:50.779 And if it's me saying it, you know what they'll do? 00:04:50.779 --> 00:04:53.779 They'll roll their eyes and say, Stop trying to trick us, Dad. 00:04:55.419 --> 00:04:57.799 If it's Julie that says this, it's the complete opposite. 00:04:58.759 --> 00:05:02.639 When it comes to the pool trips, they know that Julie's promises are more trustworthy. 00:05:03.379 --> 00:05:04.559 And they'll get excited. 00:05:04.679 --> 00:05:05.619 If I say it, they don't. 00:05:05.719 --> 00:05:09.039 I've broken that promise a few times, they would tell you. 00:05:09.199 --> 00:05:12.019 And, of course, that leads to skepticism. 00:05:14.639 --> 00:05:15.079 Uncertainty. 00:05:15.079 --> 00:05:23.740 Now, in Psalm 20, David again assumes the role of the lead worshiper in Israel. 00:05:24.219 --> 00:05:31.860 And he's directing all of God's people to remember and trust God's promises. 00:05:31.860 --> 00:05:41.460 The first section of the song, David leads this prayer that is rooted in the covenant promise of God. 00:05:42.199 --> 00:05:47.240 Just as a promise to go swimming dominates Harper's attention, 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:53.840 so does the recognition of God's promises dominate the focus of the faithful. 00:05:54.840 --> 00:05:56.259 They long for it. 00:05:56.259 --> 00:05:58.800 They pray for it. 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:03.439 They live in anticipation of it. 00:06:03.519 --> 00:06:05.819 And that was certainly true of David. 00:06:06.759 --> 00:06:08.659 And he led Israel to do the same. 00:06:10.579 --> 00:06:14.319 How often he must have meditated on the wonders of God's covenant. 00:06:14.500 --> 00:06:18.019 And God's covenant with David was a massive one, wasn't it? 00:06:18.019 --> 00:06:23.399 Coming on the heels of all the other wonderful promises that God had made to his people. 00:06:23.560 --> 00:06:26.519 We get to, what is it, 2 Samuel 7. 00:06:26.699 --> 00:06:33.419 And we see this amazing covenant that God makes with David about a future king that would come from his line. 00:06:33.500 --> 00:06:36.359 A savior king who would sit on the throne. 00:06:36.479 --> 00:06:39.159 And David buys in wholeheartedly. 00:06:40.459 --> 00:06:45.500 So much so that you can tell in reading through his psalms that it dominated his attention. 00:06:45.500 --> 00:06:55.339 Imagine how often he must have meditated on the promise of God so as to so often direct our focus to it in his psalms. 00:06:57.240 --> 00:06:58.899 That's a challenge to us, isn't it? 00:06:59.480 --> 00:07:06.540 If we were to take the entire corpus of David's writings and just kind of lay them out and thematically try to break them down, 00:07:06.660 --> 00:07:09.060 what's the thing that's going to be at the very top? 00:07:10.279 --> 00:07:11.199 God's covenant. 00:07:11.819 --> 00:07:12.680 He's going to be at the very top. 00:07:12.779 --> 00:07:13.899 It's what was on his mind. 00:07:14.279 --> 00:07:15.420 It's what was on his heart. 00:07:16.019 --> 00:07:17.360 So it comes out in his words. 00:07:18.759 --> 00:07:27.279 Now what if we were to take the entire corpus of our lives, the things that we've written and the things that we've said and the conversations that we've had and we've done, 00:07:27.519 --> 00:07:31.120 just kind of lay them out and just thematically see where is our meditation? 00:07:32.300 --> 00:07:37.500 Would we be able to say like David that really, you know what we spend a lot of time thinking about is the promise of God. 00:07:37.500 --> 00:07:41.439 And the covenant of God and his king. 00:07:41.839 --> 00:07:45.959 That was true for David and he was leading his people to do the same. 00:07:46.420 --> 00:07:47.620 That's what Psalm 20 is about. 00:07:47.620 --> 00:07:56.959 In the second part of the Psalm, David calls on the people to trust in the name of the Lord for he always fulfills his promises. 00:07:57.759 --> 00:08:00.819 He's not like the dad who says we'll go to the pool and then breaks the promise. 00:08:00.819 --> 00:08:02.540 No, he always does it. 00:08:03.620 --> 00:08:08.579 In studying the scriptures we find that God often doesn't deal in explanations, does he? 00:08:08.639 --> 00:08:11.159 He doesn't tell us everything that he's doing. 00:08:11.300 --> 00:08:14.139 He rarely tells us why. 00:08:14.139 --> 00:08:16.099 What does he do? 00:08:17.439 --> 00:08:18.719 He gives us promises. 00:08:20.939 --> 00:08:22.419 He says to trust me. 00:08:23.579 --> 00:08:33.100 So it's no surprise then we get to a passage like in Hebrews 4 where the author says without faith it's impossible to please him. 00:08:34.039 --> 00:08:35.259 You must believe him. 00:08:35.399 --> 00:08:42.039 He's a promise making God and he calls us to believe him, to trust him. 00:08:42.039 --> 00:08:48.459 This Psalm was given to the choir master to teach the people to hope in God's covenant. 00:08:49.459 --> 00:08:55.079 Or as the old hymn put it, to stand on the promises of God. 00:08:56.579 --> 00:09:01.939 It's a prayer for God to work through his anointed king so that those who trust in him will be saved. 00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:05.759 It mirrors Psalm 18 that we studied just a couple of weeks ago. 00:09:05.879 --> 00:09:07.079 It's a song of salvation. 00:09:07.080 --> 00:09:17.540 But we find here that the benefits of this salvation that comes through the king apply only to those who will trust in the name of the Lord our God. 00:09:18.200 --> 00:09:20.920 Just two major sections that we want to see here. 00:09:21.240 --> 00:09:23.700 First thing I want you to see is the people's prayer. 00:09:24.639 --> 00:09:25.480 The people's prayer. 00:09:25.960 --> 00:09:27.720 Let's just read the first five verses again. 00:09:27.720 --> 00:09:30.360 May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble. 00:09:30.840 --> 00:09:33.340 May the name of the God of Jacob protect you. 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:37.600 May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion. 00:09:38.340 --> 00:09:42.779 May he remember all your offerings and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices. 00:09:43.800 --> 00:09:46.879 May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans. 00:09:47.019 --> 00:09:49.480 May we shout for joy over your salvation. 00:09:50.259 --> 00:09:52.420 And in the name of our God set up our banners. 00:09:53.560 --> 00:09:56.300 May the Lord fulfill all your petitions. 00:09:56.299 --> 00:09:57.279 It's a prayer, isn't it? 00:09:57.519 --> 00:09:59.039 A prayer that David is praying. 00:09:59.139 --> 00:10:00.779 He's leading the people to pray. 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:04.139 And we know that he wants the people to pray it because he takes his prayer and he says, 00:10:04.139 --> 00:10:07.579 Here, choir master, take it and lead the people in it. 00:10:07.679 --> 00:10:10.059 He desires for them to pray the prayer as well. 00:10:10.959 --> 00:10:12.740 It reads like a benediction, doesn't it? 00:10:13.439 --> 00:10:14.519 Like a prayer of blessing. 00:10:15.740 --> 00:10:21.099 Every sentence in these first five verses, seven times total here, begins with this word may. 00:10:21.559 --> 00:10:23.339 May the Lord do this. 00:10:23.799 --> 00:10:25.699 It's an indirect prayer, isn't it? 00:10:26.299 --> 00:10:32.079 The audience is this person or people or whomever it is that he may be speaking to. 00:10:32.299 --> 00:10:36.620 That's the audience that is the direct focus of the prayer. 00:10:36.779 --> 00:10:39.539 But indirectly, he's praying for God to do these things. 00:10:40.039 --> 00:10:41.599 May the Lord protect you. 00:10:42.099 --> 00:10:46.579 May the God of Jacob answer you in the day of trouble. 00:10:46.580 --> 00:10:54.320 Now, the question is, for whom is David and the people of Israel praying this blessing? 00:10:56.420 --> 00:11:04.720 Who is it that they desire so intently for God to answer and protect and to remember? 00:11:04.720 --> 00:11:14.560 Now, if we're being a bit careless, we may come to a passage like this and we may adopt it as if this was written for us to share with one another. 00:11:15.600 --> 00:11:20.160 As if this is a prayer of blessing that we're meant to pray on one another. 00:11:20.580 --> 00:11:21.940 And, of course, it's not bad to do that. 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:26.160 It wouldn't be bad to come to Ashland and say, may the Lord bless you. 00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:29.079 We find those benedictions all the time in the scriptures. 00:11:29.219 --> 00:11:30.740 But is that what's happening in Psalm 20? 00:11:31.059 --> 00:11:33.480 Is this meant to be something that we pray over one another? 00:11:33.719 --> 00:11:34.579 I don't think so. 00:11:35.039 --> 00:11:35.779 I don't think so. 00:11:37.039 --> 00:11:45.679 Another option is that David has written this in the third person so that the people of Israel might pray for him, their king. 00:11:45.679 --> 00:11:56.419 Some have suggested that perhaps later kings even use this as a hymn that would be led right before going into battle. 00:11:57.699 --> 00:11:59.279 Because that's just conjecture. 00:11:59.399 --> 00:12:00.779 We don't know that that actually happened. 00:12:00.859 --> 00:12:02.579 We don't actually know the setting at all. 00:12:02.659 --> 00:12:04.059 All we have is the words themselves. 00:12:05.059 --> 00:12:06.199 That's another option. 00:12:08.979 --> 00:12:13.799 While David sometimes did write Psalms from his own experience, I don't think that's what he's doing in this case. 00:12:13.799 --> 00:12:28.219 Here, he and the people are focused on God's covenant promise to raise up a greater king, the anointed son of Psalm 2, through whom God's people will be saved. 00:12:28.779 --> 00:12:33.139 We see all of the second person pronouns in this Psalm are singular. 00:12:34.079 --> 00:12:38.500 When he says, may the Lord answer you, he's not speaking to people in general. 00:12:38.579 --> 00:12:39.659 He's speaking to a person. 00:12:39.919 --> 00:12:41.740 There's an individual he has in mind. 00:12:41.740 --> 00:12:46.580 When he says, may the name of the God objective protect you, he's speaking to an individual. 00:12:47.019 --> 00:12:48.019 But I don't think it's him. 00:12:50.360 --> 00:12:53.299 Later, he will talk about God's anointed. 00:12:54.500 --> 00:13:06.639 Do you remember at the very end of Psalm 18 and verse 50, great salvation he brings to his king and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever. 00:13:06.759 --> 00:13:08.440 I think that's who David is focused on. 00:13:08.500 --> 00:13:10.240 I think that's who the people are focused on. 00:13:10.240 --> 00:13:10.960 It's not David. 00:13:10.960 --> 00:13:13.220 It's not something that they're praying over one another. 00:13:13.419 --> 00:13:16.960 It's something they're praying in relationship to God's covenant. 00:13:17.620 --> 00:13:18.840 God's covenant with David. 00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:21.680 An offspring who will come and save his people. 00:13:21.679 --> 00:13:34.819 He's causing the people to remember God's promise so that they might learn to long for it and pray for it and live in anticipation of it. 00:13:34.820 --> 00:13:44.940 Now, I think sometimes we forget that the people of Israel had a clear understanding and expectation for a promised Messiah. 00:13:44.940 --> 00:13:52.320 But sometimes we get the idea that when Jesus shows up that all the people are, they're just kind of surprised. 00:13:52.440 --> 00:13:54.320 Oh, there's this messianic figure. 00:13:54.420 --> 00:13:56.000 That's the first time they're really thinking about it. 00:13:56.200 --> 00:13:57.120 And that just isn't true. 00:13:57.120 --> 00:14:02.919 They would have immediately grasped what this song was about in David's day. 00:14:02.919 --> 00:14:12.219 They didn't have all the pieces to the puzzle, but they had enough to know for certain that God would raise up a savior king to deliver them. 00:14:12.620 --> 00:14:14.139 And that is where their hope rested. 00:14:14.539 --> 00:14:17.399 It rested on the promises of God. 00:14:17.759 --> 00:14:19.519 They knew about the promise in Genesis. 00:14:20.039 --> 00:14:22.019 They knew about Abraham's covenant. 00:14:22.439 --> 00:14:24.360 They knew about Moses' covenant. 00:14:24.719 --> 00:14:26.219 They knew about David's covenant. 00:14:26.379 --> 00:14:27.279 It was not hidden. 00:14:27.639 --> 00:14:28.360 It was public. 00:14:28.360 --> 00:14:29.560 They were aware. 00:14:29.980 --> 00:14:31.240 And they were longing for it. 00:14:32.360 --> 00:14:37.300 And as the people are praying this and singing this in worship, they know what is to be in mind. 00:14:37.379 --> 00:14:38.759 They know they're not praying about David. 00:14:39.060 --> 00:14:41.379 They know they're praying about a greater David. 00:14:41.659 --> 00:14:44.919 Now, I want to point out a passage to you that would probably be helpful for you to set your eyes on. 00:14:45.139 --> 00:14:47.440 Just flip over to 1 Peter 1. 00:14:48.860 --> 00:14:49.980 1 Peter 1. 00:14:49.980 --> 00:14:50.980 1 Peter 1. 00:14:54.440 --> 00:15:02.159 And in case you may be confused on this point that I'm trying to make, I want to show it to you here in reflection on this fact. 00:15:02.960 --> 00:15:04.019 Peter helps us. 00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:06.759 1 Peter 1. 00:15:07.620 --> 00:15:09.019 Look at verse 10. 00:15:11.320 --> 00:15:19.620 Concerning this salvation, this gospel, which is centered entirely on the person of Christ, right? 00:15:19.980 --> 00:15:22.279 So Peter's got the same thing in mind that David has in mind. 00:15:22.700 --> 00:15:32.180 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about that grace was to be yours, searched, and inquired carefully. 00:15:32.360 --> 00:15:46.740 They were aware of the promise, and they were trying to sort out the promise, inquiring what person or what time the spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted, look at this, 00:15:46.740 --> 00:15:52.159 the sufferings of Christ, and the subsequent glories of Christ. 00:15:53.580 --> 00:15:55.799 Now, I want you to recognize what Peter's saying. 00:15:56.820 --> 00:16:02.779 He's saying the people back here in David's day, Israel, these prophets, the people that are listening to them, 00:16:02.779 --> 00:16:12.759 they're searching and inquiring about how all of this is going to unfold, about who this Christ will be, and when he will come. 00:16:12.759 --> 00:16:21.259 And they're even wondering and inquiring about his sufferings and his subsequent glories. 00:16:21.259 --> 00:16:25.259 Peter continues, 00:16:25.259 --> 00:16:30.379 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you. 00:16:31.819 --> 00:16:38.460 In the things that have now been announced to you, through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, 00:16:38.879 --> 00:16:42.360 things into which angels long to look. 00:16:43.080 --> 00:16:47.600 What is it that the people in David's day would have understood, the things that they would have known? 00:16:47.600 --> 00:16:52.560 Well, they didn't know who the person would be, and they didn't know when he would come. 00:16:53.340 --> 00:16:56.259 And they didn't know a lot of detail about how things would happen. 00:16:56.540 --> 00:16:57.700 But here's what they knew. 00:16:58.700 --> 00:17:01.420 They knew that this Messiah would suffer. 00:17:02.800 --> 00:17:06.420 They knew that he would be saved by God's power. 00:17:07.140 --> 00:17:12.980 And they knew that they would receive salvation and an eternal kingdom through him. 00:17:13.200 --> 00:17:13.799 They knew that. 00:17:13.799 --> 00:17:19.000 All of these truths were revealed through God's various covenants with the people. 00:17:19.440 --> 00:17:22.299 All three of them are featured in this prayer of blessing. 00:17:23.460 --> 00:17:27.259 The people are recognizing God's promise of a Messiah. 00:17:27.659 --> 00:17:30.879 And they're praying for the promise to be fulfilled. 00:17:31.180 --> 00:17:34.200 They're living and worshiping in anticipation of it. 00:17:35.460 --> 00:17:37.720 Now, I just want to point out two parts to this blessing. 00:17:38.339 --> 00:17:40.879 First, notice the king's suffering. 00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:42.879 The king's suffering. 00:17:42.880 --> 00:17:45.200 We see this in verses 1 to 3. 00:17:46.500 --> 00:17:52.920 When we read the Gospels, we find that many of the people in Jesus' day were not interested in a suffering Messiah. 00:17:54.360 --> 00:17:59.640 Their hearts, we're thinking in Jesus' day, their hearts were hardened to that. 00:18:00.640 --> 00:18:06.180 However, all of God's covenants in the Old Testament make it plain that the Christ would suffer. 00:18:06.180 --> 00:18:09.560 Think about Genesis 3.15. 00:18:09.660 --> 00:18:11.160 We call it the Proto-Evangelium. 00:18:11.380 --> 00:18:13.840 The very first preaching pronouncement of a gospel. 00:18:14.779 --> 00:18:15.900 Genesis 3.15. 00:18:16.660 --> 00:18:18.860 As God is judging Adam and Eve and the serpent. 00:18:19.680 --> 00:18:21.220 What does he say to Eve? 00:18:22.180 --> 00:18:24.680 That there will come an offspring, the seed of the woman. 00:18:25.680 --> 00:18:26.640 And what will he do? 00:18:27.380 --> 00:18:29.220 He will crush the head of the serpent. 00:18:29.220 --> 00:18:32.019 But then what will happen to him? 00:18:33.380 --> 00:18:35.420 He will be bruised in the process. 00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:42.759 The very first pronouncement of the gospel tells us that this Messiah will be victorious, but that he will suffer in the process. 00:18:44.339 --> 00:18:45.440 We've passed forward a little. 00:18:45.440 --> 00:18:47.180 We could go so many different places, couldn't we? 00:18:47.320 --> 00:18:50.380 We could point to the type of Joseph in the Old Testament. 00:18:51.920 --> 00:18:53.759 Joseph saves so many people. 00:18:53.860 --> 00:18:56.519 God uses him to do that, but he does it through great suffering, doesn't he? 00:18:57.860 --> 00:18:59.360 How about the Mosaic Covenant? 00:19:00.900 --> 00:19:03.100 At the center of the Mosaic Covenant is what? 00:19:04.100 --> 00:19:05.440 A lamb that is slaughtered. 00:19:09.799 --> 00:19:13.360 We get to places like in the prophets in Isaiah 53 in particular. 00:19:13.360 --> 00:19:14.900 And what is it that Isaiah does? 00:19:14.900 --> 00:19:18.680 He explicitly describes the sufferings of the servant of the Lord. 00:19:19.720 --> 00:19:25.380 The Old Testament is full of promises and pictures and prophecies of a Messiah who would suffer. 00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:30.640 The greatest Bible study to ever take place is found in Luke 24, 00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:37.280 when Jesus opened up all the scriptures to show how they pointed to his suffering in particular. 00:19:38.820 --> 00:19:42.000 Now, while the Jews in Jesus' day rejected that, 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:44.700 the Israelites of David's day, the faithful ones, 00:19:44.779 --> 00:19:47.400 they would have knew well that this coming king was suffering. 00:19:47.559 --> 00:19:50.640 When they sang this prayer, when they prayed this prayer, 00:19:50.859 --> 00:19:53.779 they're praying for God to save the suffering servant, 00:19:54.480 --> 00:19:57.619 to deliver the suffering king. 00:19:57.619 --> 00:20:01.979 And the acknowledgement of that suffering is plain in the text. 00:20:01.979 --> 00:20:06.119 They asked God to answer the king in the day of trouble, verse 1. 00:20:06.839 --> 00:20:10.639 They plead for the God of Jacob, a reference to God's covenant with Israel, 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:13.039 to protect the king in verse 1. 00:20:13.279 --> 00:20:17.699 They asked the Lord to help him and to support him. 00:20:17.939 --> 00:20:20.759 All of this, recognizing that the king will suffer. 00:20:20.759 --> 00:20:24.640 But the most striking statement is verse 3. 00:20:26.220 --> 00:20:27.000 Read it again. 00:20:28.319 --> 00:20:33.559 May he remember all your offerings and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices. 00:20:35.420 --> 00:20:37.839 There's echoes here of Cain and Abel, isn't there? 00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:41.799 Remember, Cain and Abel, they both bring their offerings to the Lord. 00:20:43.700 --> 00:20:45.099 Abel's is pleasing to the Lord. 00:20:45.259 --> 00:20:45.799 It satisfies. 00:20:47.440 --> 00:20:48.379 Cain's does not. 00:20:48.460 --> 00:20:49.059 It's rejected. 00:20:49.059 --> 00:20:51.419 And the people pray. 00:20:52.619 --> 00:20:55.200 Receive the king's sacrifice. 00:20:55.980 --> 00:20:58.740 Be pleased by his offerings. 00:21:00.339 --> 00:21:04.779 The prayer seeks for God to find the offerings of the king to be favorable. 00:21:06.059 --> 00:21:10.399 The New Testament word for this is propitiation. 00:21:11.700 --> 00:21:14.819 The full appeasement of God's wrath. 00:21:14.819 --> 00:21:26.619 What David and the Israelites wouldn't have fully comprehended was that the propitiating sacrifice that would be offered was the Messiah himself. 00:21:26.619 --> 00:21:27.619 Jesus is the suffering king. 00:21:27.619 --> 00:21:39.119 Jesus is the suffering king who laid down his life as a sacrifice acceptable to God. 00:21:39.119 --> 00:21:43.879 And he did so on behalf of sinners. 00:21:44.679 --> 00:21:45.599 Romans 3. 00:21:46.679 --> 00:22:01.059 We are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith. 00:22:01.059 --> 00:22:05.679 Now David probably wouldn't have been able to put all those pieces together. 00:22:05.679 --> 00:22:08.139 He's looking at this in shadowy form, isn't he? 00:22:08.419 --> 00:22:10.639 But we can look back and we can fill in the gaps. 00:22:12.159 --> 00:22:13.799 What is this prayer really about? 00:22:13.799 --> 00:22:22.980 Lord, when he lays down his life, may it be favorable for the salvation of the king and the salvation of his people. 00:22:25.559 --> 00:22:27.259 Second, notice the king's salvation. 00:22:27.440 --> 00:22:29.099 This is verses 4 and 5. 00:22:30.379 --> 00:22:36.559 The prayer now acknowledges that beyond the suffering of the king is his salvation, his victory. 00:22:36.559 --> 00:22:44.000 His heart's desire will be granted, his plans and petitions will be fulfilled. 00:22:45.440 --> 00:22:48.059 Those statements form an inclusio here. 00:22:48.299 --> 00:22:57.039 They're bracketing out the things that make the prayer possible and the assurance of the prayer possible, which is the king's salvation. 00:22:57.440 --> 00:22:58.359 Look in verse 5. 00:22:58.619 --> 00:22:59.619 This is at the heart of it. 00:22:59.960 --> 00:23:04.980 May we shout for joy over your salvation, the king's salvation. 00:23:04.980 --> 00:23:08.900 This Messiah's deliverance. 00:23:10.279 --> 00:23:13.180 The desire, plans and petitions of the king. 00:23:13.319 --> 00:23:14.019 What are they about? 00:23:14.120 --> 00:23:16.079 What is he petitioning God to do? 00:23:16.259 --> 00:23:18.180 What is he desiring for God to do? 00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:21.299 What is he planning for God to do through him? 00:23:23.559 --> 00:23:26.039 He's not praying for health, wealth and prosperity. 00:23:27.799 --> 00:23:30.140 No, he's praying for the salvation of his people. 00:23:31.319 --> 00:23:34.000 He's praying that God's will be accomplished in his life. 00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:40.960 We get hints here, shadowy form of a dark garden just before an arrest. 00:23:42.640 --> 00:23:47.200 As this king prays, not my will but thy will be done. 00:23:48.160 --> 00:23:51.599 And we say, Lord, answer those petitions. 00:23:52.640 --> 00:23:56.400 When he prays for us, hear his prayer. 00:23:56.400 --> 00:24:01.080 May his plans be fulfilled. 00:24:01.960 --> 00:24:03.140 What was Jesus' plans? 00:24:03.780 --> 00:24:05.860 He said, my bread is to do the will of the Father. 00:24:06.900 --> 00:24:08.720 To do everything that he sent me to do. 00:24:09.300 --> 00:24:10.480 What did he send me to do? 00:24:11.280 --> 00:24:13.660 To die and rise. 00:24:14.740 --> 00:24:15.140 Victory. 00:24:15.940 --> 00:24:16.460 Salvation. 00:24:16.460 --> 00:24:17.100 Salvation. 00:24:17.100 --> 00:24:19.420 The king represents the people. 00:24:20.440 --> 00:24:23.259 And their life is bound up in his. 00:24:24.519 --> 00:24:27.579 His salvation means their salvation. 00:24:28.660 --> 00:24:36.059 When God delivers the king, those who trust in him will shout for joy and raise the banners of the name of our God. 00:24:36.180 --> 00:24:36.460 Why? 00:24:36.600 --> 00:24:39.600 Because his victory means our victory. 00:24:39.599 --> 00:24:44.279 This is the theme of all of God's promises. 00:24:45.399 --> 00:24:48.619 Though the Savior will suffer, he will bring salvation. 00:24:49.659 --> 00:24:54.019 Though his heel will be bruised, the serpent's head will be crushed. 00:24:54.579 --> 00:24:57.459 Though the lamb is slaughtered, the people are forgiven. 00:24:58.480 --> 00:25:05.799 After Isaiah describes with great detail the servant's atoning death, he speaks of him being raised to life. 00:25:05.799 --> 00:25:11.599 The king's salvation is an act of resurrection. 00:25:12.700 --> 00:25:17.639 And because he lives, so will all who trust in him. 00:25:19.099 --> 00:25:23.799 Says Peter again, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:25:24.139 --> 00:25:32.980 According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 00:25:32.980 --> 00:25:42.539 To an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, unfading, kept in heaven for you. 00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:52.259 Who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 00:25:52.500 --> 00:25:53.460 What is Peter saying? 00:25:53.779 --> 00:26:00.160 The salvation of the king, his resurrection, is what brings salvation for the people. 00:26:00.160 --> 00:26:10.220 An inheritance that's incorruptible and undefiled, waiting for us in the last time, all those who will believe. 00:26:11.680 --> 00:26:15.420 Again, though they could not have comprehended everything that the Messiah would do, 00:26:15.759 --> 00:26:19.460 they recognized God's promises and prayed in accordance with those promises. 00:26:20.759 --> 00:26:23.340 They longed for God to work this salvation. 00:26:23.540 --> 00:26:25.940 They anticipated that he would. 00:26:26.140 --> 00:26:27.720 It gripped their focus. 00:26:27.720 --> 00:26:29.620 It informed their worship. 00:26:30.660 --> 00:26:32.100 As it should ours. 00:26:33.180 --> 00:26:35.339 What greater thing could grab our attention? 00:26:36.680 --> 00:26:41.420 What greater thing could be at the heart of our worship Sunday by Sunday? 00:26:42.279 --> 00:26:45.240 Than the promise of God fulfilled in the person of Christ. 00:26:46.700 --> 00:26:49.960 Which requires us to answer an important question. 00:26:49.960 --> 00:26:56.559 Is your life dominated by God's promise in Christ? 00:26:57.900 --> 00:26:59.420 Is it dominated by it? 00:27:01.920 --> 00:27:06.700 The way that a promise to go to the pool dominates Harper like you wouldn't believe. 00:27:06.700 --> 00:27:16.259 Are we as God's people day by day dominated by the fact of Christ's love? 00:27:17.259 --> 00:27:18.400 Of what he has done? 00:27:20.160 --> 00:27:24.480 That it was settled in heaven that he would do it on your behalf before you were ever created. 00:27:24.640 --> 00:27:25.960 Before anything was ever created. 00:27:25.960 --> 00:27:29.860 And that God has fulfilled that promise. 00:27:30.480 --> 00:27:31.660 Does it dominate you? 00:27:32.180 --> 00:27:33.340 Does it dominate your mind? 00:27:34.120 --> 00:27:35.579 Does it dominate your actions? 00:27:36.259 --> 00:27:36.920 Your faith? 00:27:37.779 --> 00:27:38.920 The way you love your wife? 00:27:40.059 --> 00:27:41.539 The way you raise your kids? 00:27:43.240 --> 00:27:44.799 The way you worship on a Sunday? 00:27:44.920 --> 00:27:46.920 The way you study your Bible day by day? 00:27:47.000 --> 00:27:47.920 The way you pray? 00:27:48.039 --> 00:27:48.960 The way you rejoice? 00:27:48.960 --> 00:27:50.340 Do you rejoice? 00:27:50.339 --> 00:27:53.619 This is a psalm of celebration. 00:27:55.539 --> 00:27:59.339 How often we seem to lack celebration. 00:28:00.279 --> 00:28:00.559 Why? 00:28:01.159 --> 00:28:04.639 Because I don't know that we're often dominated by the promise. 00:28:06.019 --> 00:28:08.240 So many other things to distract us. 00:28:09.399 --> 00:28:10.480 Second section. 00:28:11.459 --> 00:28:12.319 The people's faith. 00:28:13.019 --> 00:28:14.759 We see their prayer in the first five verses. 00:28:15.379 --> 00:28:18.699 Quickly we see their faith in verses six to nine. 00:28:18.699 --> 00:28:19.919 Let's read the verses again. 00:28:20.959 --> 00:28:22.980 Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed. 00:28:24.259 --> 00:28:28.480 He will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand. 00:28:30.039 --> 00:28:31.500 Some trust in chariots. 00:28:32.399 --> 00:28:33.259 Some in horses. 00:28:34.579 --> 00:28:36.599 We will trust in the name of the Lord our God. 00:28:37.819 --> 00:28:38.980 They will collapse and fall. 00:28:39.059 --> 00:28:40.039 But we will rise. 00:28:40.879 --> 00:28:41.599 And stand upright. 00:28:43.279 --> 00:28:45.179 And there's the summary statement at the end. 00:28:45.259 --> 00:28:47.359 It kind of covers both sections of the prayer here. 00:28:47.359 --> 00:28:47.659 He says, 00:28:48.059 --> 00:28:49.459 Oh Lord save the king. 00:28:50.339 --> 00:28:52.279 May he answer us when we call. 00:28:53.980 --> 00:28:57.539 A noticeable shift takes place in verse six, doesn't it? 00:28:58.659 --> 00:29:05.699 The focus changes from a prayer for God to fulfill his promise to a declaration of assurance that he indeed will. 00:29:05.700 --> 00:29:12.319 David leads the people not merely to acknowledge God's promise, but to believe it. 00:29:13.100 --> 00:29:14.580 To trust in him. 00:29:16.160 --> 00:29:21.059 These final verses, they reveal to whom the king's salvation is applied. 00:29:21.059 --> 00:29:23.379 Who does he save? 00:29:25.379 --> 00:29:27.679 Those who do their best and try their hardest. 00:29:29.579 --> 00:29:30.639 No, of course not. 00:29:32.220 --> 00:29:34.519 Those who trust in the name of the Lord our God. 00:29:34.619 --> 00:29:35.440 That's who he saves. 00:29:35.440 --> 00:29:40.080 David's confidence in the Lord is very high here, isn't it? 00:29:40.080 --> 00:29:43.220 I know that the Lord saves his anointed, he declares. 00:29:43.980 --> 00:29:44.799 I know it. 00:29:47.519 --> 00:29:52.580 But it's important for us to note what it is that gives David such confidence. 00:29:53.299 --> 00:29:54.900 His is not a blind faith. 00:29:54.900 --> 00:29:59.780 So many people think that Christianity is just a blind faith, that it's a rational faith. 00:29:59.840 --> 00:30:00.340 It's not. 00:30:01.280 --> 00:30:03.700 Even David's prayer here, it's reasoned. 00:30:04.220 --> 00:30:04.940 It's rational. 00:30:05.580 --> 00:30:06.640 It has a foundation. 00:30:08.400 --> 00:30:11.040 He knows that God will save his anointed one. 00:30:11.580 --> 00:30:18.200 Because as an anointed king, David has experienced God's gracious salvation over and over again. 00:30:19.640 --> 00:30:22.840 It's almost an argument from the lesser to the greater. 00:30:22.839 --> 00:30:37.220 If God is faithful to me, David reasons, how much more can we be confident that he will be faithful to this greater king and Messiah that he's promised? 00:30:38.199 --> 00:30:40.079 He will not leave him in the grave. 00:30:41.959 --> 00:30:42.939 How could he? 00:30:44.439 --> 00:30:46.079 He's been so faithful to me. 00:30:47.339 --> 00:30:52.259 But David's confidence is primarily based on God's character. 00:30:52.839 --> 00:30:55.500 Verse 7. 00:30:55.579 --> 00:30:56.019 Notice it. 00:30:56.199 --> 00:31:01.519 It's the third time that David speaks of the name of the Lord. 00:31:01.659 --> 00:31:02.659 The name of the Lord. 00:31:02.740 --> 00:31:03.659 What is that all about? 00:31:05.539 --> 00:31:08.779 The name of the covenant God, according to Christopher Ashe. 00:31:08.980 --> 00:31:11.079 It means his revealed nature. 00:31:12.259 --> 00:31:14.399 His saving presence on earth. 00:31:14.400 --> 00:31:17.380 We thought about this last week, didn't we? 00:31:17.420 --> 00:31:18.660 In Psalm 19. 00:31:19.440 --> 00:31:23.740 This term, it's underscoring what God has revealed about himself. 00:31:23.740 --> 00:31:32.220 In the discussion last week of God's glory being the display of his holiness and his perfections. 00:31:32.559 --> 00:31:36.819 How is it that David said that God would reveal his glory? 00:31:37.880 --> 00:31:38.980 In creation. 00:31:39.380 --> 00:31:40.319 In the scriptures. 00:31:40.900 --> 00:31:41.579 In redemption. 00:31:41.579 --> 00:31:52.559 In other words, David declares his trust in God's promise because in every way possible, God has proven himself to be absolutely trustworthy. 00:31:54.159 --> 00:31:58.639 I can walk in the house and say, hey, let's go to the pool and the girls will roll their eyes. 00:31:58.640 --> 00:32:06.940 God says, I will send a king and he will establish a throne that will never end. 00:32:07.720 --> 00:32:11.500 And there is no reason to snicker or roll your eyes. 00:32:13.080 --> 00:32:14.660 He's absolutely trustworthy. 00:32:15.720 --> 00:32:18.320 His glory is revealed in the world he created. 00:32:18.460 --> 00:32:21.160 The word that he wrote, the worshipers, he redeems. 00:32:21.259 --> 00:32:24.640 And it proves that he is worthy of our faith. 00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:26.020 That's David's argument. 00:32:26.420 --> 00:32:27.560 God is trustworthy. 00:32:27.559 --> 00:32:31.579 That's why I know he will fulfill the promise. 00:32:32.899 --> 00:32:41.319 And he uses this image of a battlefield in which some are putting their faith and their hopes solely in the chariots and the horses to win the battle. 00:32:41.740 --> 00:32:45.619 But David declares that only those who trust in the name of the Lord will be victorious. 00:32:46.819 --> 00:32:48.839 Maybe he will use horses and chariots. 00:32:49.639 --> 00:32:51.659 Maybe he will not use horses and chariots. 00:32:51.720 --> 00:32:52.500 It doesn't matter. 00:32:52.599 --> 00:32:56.119 At the end of the day, the trust and hope is not in these lesser things. 00:32:56.119 --> 00:32:59.039 The hope, the trust, it's in the name of the Lord our God. 00:32:59.239 --> 00:33:03.659 It is in his perfect character and his trustworthiness. 00:33:03.660 --> 00:33:09.860 This issue of faith and God's promises is not only at the heart of this psalm. 00:33:10.720 --> 00:33:13.100 It's at the heart of the very Bible itself. 00:33:15.759 --> 00:33:17.800 There's two ways represented here. 00:33:18.840 --> 00:33:23.700 There's the way of death, which is followed by all who trust in their own way. 00:33:23.700 --> 00:33:32.680 There's also the way of life. 00:33:33.860 --> 00:33:41.840 Those who rise, those who stand upright do so because they have trusted in the Lord. 00:33:41.839 --> 00:33:47.819 The world boasts great things it can't actually deliver on. 00:33:48.659 --> 00:33:49.939 God will never fail. 00:33:51.079 --> 00:33:56.259 All who trust in him and his word will rejoice in the salvation of his king. 00:33:56.259 --> 00:34:04.059 How can you enjoy the saving benefits of God's king? 00:34:05.539 --> 00:34:10.539 The scriptures answer that through faith alone we are saved. 00:34:11.219 --> 00:34:12.179 Through faith alone. 00:34:12.960 --> 00:34:13.519 Faith in what? 00:34:14.199 --> 00:34:15.199 Trust in what? 00:34:16.300 --> 00:34:17.579 God's promised king. 00:34:18.420 --> 00:34:20.579 That he will fulfill his promise in a person. 00:34:20.579 --> 00:34:24.599 And that he has done so in Jesus. 00:34:26.299 --> 00:34:31.719 But to trust in him requires that you stop trusting in everything else. 00:34:32.679 --> 00:34:34.679 Is that not the contrast of verse 7? 00:34:36.659 --> 00:34:37.420 So many. 00:34:38.599 --> 00:34:40.739 So many are just trying to trust in their own way. 00:34:40.840 --> 00:34:42.219 They're just trying to figure it out, right? 00:34:44.699 --> 00:34:48.099 Maybe they hedge their bets with some type of religious observance. 00:34:48.219 --> 00:34:50.279 Whether that's Christianity or some other thing. 00:34:50.280 --> 00:34:54.340 But at the end of the day, they're really just trusting in themselves to reason it out and to figure it out. 00:34:55.500 --> 00:34:57.080 You can't trust in Jesus. 00:34:57.620 --> 00:34:58.960 You can't trust God's promise. 00:34:59.480 --> 00:35:01.240 And it's something else all at the same time. 00:35:01.280 --> 00:35:01.900 It doesn't work. 00:35:03.480 --> 00:35:05.060 It's either him or it's nothing. 00:35:06.560 --> 00:35:09.440 For by grace are you saved through faith. 00:35:09.980 --> 00:35:11.080 Nothing of yourself. 00:35:11.920 --> 00:35:13.260 It's a gift from God. 00:35:13.519 --> 00:35:14.640 It's not of works. 00:35:15.160 --> 00:35:16.460 Lest any man could boast. 00:35:17.860 --> 00:35:19.140 No, it's of grace. 00:35:20.280 --> 00:35:22.180 Do you trust him? 00:35:23.320 --> 00:35:24.420 Do you trust him? 00:35:25.800 --> 00:35:28.460 David and the Israelites, he led. 00:35:28.620 --> 00:35:34.660 They sang this song looking forward in anticipation of God's promise being fulfilled. 00:35:34.659 --> 00:35:38.039 We don't sing it quite the same way. 00:35:38.039 --> 00:35:43.599 We don't sing it in anticipation except in the sense that we are longing for Christ's return. 00:35:44.539 --> 00:35:51.440 We sing this song looking back on the fact that in Jesus Christ it has been fulfilled. 00:35:52.000 --> 00:35:54.039 The promise has been completed. 00:35:54.039 --> 00:36:05.860 But what's common between us and the Israelites who would have sang this song in David's day is the necessity of faith in God's promised king. 00:36:06.320 --> 00:36:08.019 That's the same for both of us. 00:36:08.980 --> 00:36:11.099 God's promise is so profound. 00:36:11.099 --> 00:36:14.779 It should dominate our lives. 00:36:15.659 --> 00:36:24.199 But God is so trustworthy that we'd be fools not to trust him and not to rest in him. 00:36:25.460 --> 00:36:27.119 And that's the beauty of Psalm 20. 00:36:28.279 --> 00:36:30.239 David is leading us in something here. 00:36:31.199 --> 00:36:32.339 He's leading us in worship. 00:36:33.380 --> 00:36:35.339 He's leading us to stand on the promises. 00:36:35.340 --> 00:36:37.600 Because the promises are sure. 00:36:38.880 --> 00:36:40.000 Because God is sure.