For the next several weeks, we're gonna be considering various Psalms. I'm thinking maybe five or six weeks that we'll be looking at some Psalms since we just finished Acts last week. I like to do a number of Psalms in between before we move to whatever the next book is we're gonna do. So today we're looking at Psalm number 20, which was read at the beginning of our service. This is a Psalm that was written by David. And it's specifically a prayer given to believers to pray for others with a specific focus on praying for kings and those in authority. And at first you might think this is kind of a self-centered thing maybe that David is doing. I mean, you're writing a prayer for other people to pray for him. But there's a couple of things to consider in regard to that. First, David was writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. So this psalm is not written by David as a self-centered psalm. Instead, it's written as a prayer that glorifies God first and foremost. But another thing to note is that it's not a self-centered thing to ask someone to pray for you. In fact, it's an act of humility. We are admitting that we need help when we ask for a prayer. We're admitting that we need guidance. We're admitting that we need provision in some sense. So because we're in such a great need, it is right to desire the prayers of others. So this quote by Isaac Ambrose, who was a 17th century minister, he said this. He said, I would be glad of the prayers of all the churches of Christ. Oh, that there were not a saint on earth, but that I were by name in his morning and evening prayer. And then in parenthesis he says, whosoever there art that reads this, I beseech thee, pray for me. So David writing a prayer for people to pray for him, a prayer that would be included in the worship time of these believers, is not a prideful or arrogant thing at all. Instead, it's a birth out of the recognition of great need. It's a recognition that what we need is God's help. It's also the belief that prayer makes a difference. That God really does hear the prayers of his people and responds to those prayers. Another thing that we need to be very much aware of as we work our way through this Psalm is this. Of course, God promised to David by covenant that he would have a descendant who would sit on his throne and reign eternally. That is a prophecy that finds its fulfillment, of course, in the coming of Jesus Christ. So David is a type of the coming messianic king. And this psalm could be considered a royal psalm because it's especially related to David as king. Therefore, there are going to be applications all through this psalm that pertain not only to David, but also to the Lord Jesus Christ. So with those things in mind, let's read Psalm 20, verse 1 to 9. May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble. May the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high. May He send you help from the sanctuary and support you from Zion. May He remember all your meal offerings and find your burnt offering acceptable. May He grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your counsel. We will sing for joy over your victory. And in the name of our God, we will set up our banners. May the Lord fulfill all your petitions. Now, I know that the Lord saves his anointed. He will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand. Some boast in chariots and some in horses, but we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God. They have bowed down and fallen, but we have risen and stood upright. Save, oh Lord, may the King answer us in the day that we call. Here's a couple things that we see here. First, we see that David gives very specific guidance on how he would like people to pray for him. So we're gonna consider that. And then second, we do need to see several ways that this prayer of David is really ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ. So, first main point. David humbly gives guidance from the Lord on praying for others, especially those in authority. Guidance from the Lord on praying for others, especially those in authority. So David lays out a number of specific prayer requests that he would like people to pray for him. And they're as helpful for us today as they were when he wrote it. As the king, David is especially thinking of the challenges he faces in that role. And we can use these prayers to guide us in praying for those in authority in our day as well, because many of those challenges are the same. But I think these requests would be helpful for us to pray for anyone. So there's a lot of ways that we can use them. I mean, I would love for people to use this prayer in praying for me, and you probably would too as we go through it and see what he's encouraging us to ask for each other. The first request David makes is this, pray that the Lord would answer the prayers that are prayed in times of trouble to the glory of his name. Great Lord would answer the prayers that are prayed in times of trouble to the glory of his name. So David says this, may the Lord answer you in the day of trouble. I mean, that's a great prayer. It assumes several things. First, there's going to be days of trouble. Even the greatest of men like David had days of trouble. And we know because we know a lot about David, he had lots of days of trouble. Some have suggested that the specific occasion of this prayer may have been a particular battle that David was about to face. That certainly would be a day of trouble. I mean, kings and those in authority have to deal with other nations who are not friendly to them. There are times when there are battles and wars that are fought. Some of those battles have more to do with various negotiations and diplomatic relations, all that's tied in. Kings and those in authority have to deal with economic issues, relationship challenges, challenges of crime, laws made, laws broken, enforced. So there's many categories to consider here. Our civil authorities need the Lord to answer them in the day of trouble. By the way, this assumes also that the authority is asking God for help. They are recognizing their own inadequacy and their need for help, and they have submitted themselves to the one true God. So if they are not praying for help, this would be a prayer that they would see their need of help from the Lord. But it isn't just authorities who have days of trouble. We all have them. I mean, it can be serious, like physical issues, sickness, pain, injury. It can be an issue with your job. It can be relational challenges within your family. It can be big financial needs. It can be concern for the salvation of others. It can be the fact that several things, issues, are happening all at once and you're feeling pretty hopeless and overwhelmed and inadequate because of all the stuff that's on your plate. We all need prayer that the Lord would answer us in the day of trouble. I mean, you can look around the room and even be aware of those who aren't here, who are in a day of trouble because they're sick. But you, those who are regulars here, you are aware of some of the troubles, at least, that individuals and families in this church are dealing with. Pray for those. David adds a second request that I think is probably connected with this first one here. He says, may the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high. He may mention the God of Jacob because we know that Jacob had a major time of trouble, which was conflict with his brother Esau. He was in fear of his life. He wrestled with God in the midst of that trial and God gave him the help he needed in that day of trouble. David, of course, had his army, he had his mighty men to help him, but he recognizes what he needs, first and foremost, is the God of Jacob to defend and protect him. If that doesn't happen, he knows he's sunk. The name of the God of Jacob focuses on the character of God. This will show up again later in the psalm. But the name speaks of the character, the attributes, And this helps us to know who we are praying to. He is the sovereign God. He's the creator. He's the sustainer of all things. He's the father. He's our shepherd. He's the one who is perfectly holy and righteous. He's the one who is perfectly wise and just and good. Can a God like that be trusted to help us in the day of trouble? Yes, he can. So our prayer is that when God answers in the day of trouble, he's the one who gets the glory from that prayer. It's not the king. It's not the president who gets the glory. It's not the governor. It's not the political party. It's not the mayor. It's God who gets the glory. It's not you or me that gets the glory. It's God. So David calls on us to pray that the Lord would answer the prayers that are prayed in the day of trouble to the glory of His name. Second, David tells us to pray that the Lord would especially make His presence known, especially make His presence known in the person's life and grant them His strength. Verse 2 says, May He send you help from the sanctuary and support you from Zion. The sanctuary would be the temple, which was in Mount Zion in Jerusalem. It was in the Holy of Holies within the temple that God manifested himself to the people. David says, that's the help I need. It's holy help from our holy God. That's what I need. He's not asking for better weapons. He's not asking for more soldiers. He's not asking for the army of an ally to come alongside to help. I mean, those things are important and God often uses those things to win victories. But David says, really asked that the Lord would make his presence especially known to me. I need the Lord to give his support. I need the Lord to give his strength in this day of trouble. So when we pray for those in authority, we can make this same request. What they really need is to know the presence of the one true God, to be more interested in pleasing Him than in anything else. That may not be what the authorities want. If so, we're asking God to deal with their hearts, that they need to be humbled, to want the presence of God in their lives more than any other kind of help. But once again, that's what we all need. Oftentimes in the day of trouble, it's hard to focus on anything but the trouble. I mean, the details of the situation that we're dealing with seem to kind of go around and around and around in our minds. And as that happens, we have a tendency to become more and more confused, more and more concerned, maybe more and more fearful. The day of trouble is real. We can't just wish hard things away. But we need the Lord to be very present with us. Now, of course, He's always with us. He makes us a promise that He will never leave us or forsake us. But you know as well as I do, it's easy to forget that. So we're praying that the Lord would make His presence especially real to us, that He would show Himself strong in our time of weakness. Once again, this is a prayer that we can pray for each other. Every one of us would be glad if we knew others were praying that the Lord would make himself known in their life and grant his strength to us. Next, David exhorts us to pray that the Lord would find the person acceptable to him, but only by faith in the sacrifice of Christ. Find the person acceptable, but only by faith in the sacrifice of Christ. Verse three says this, may we remember, may he remember all your meal offerings and find your burnt offering acceptable. One of the things that's being prayed for here is that the person would have a true heart of worship. This is not just somebody who claims to be religious, but just goes through the motions. So as we pray this prayer for those in authority, we are praying that they would not be hypocritical in that regard. If that's the case, then we're asking the Lord would hold them accountable for their unbelief. Of course, in David's case, genuine worship was one of the main characteristics of his life. I mean, he's the primary person to write the book of Psalms, which is the prayer and worship book that his people would use in their worship. And he wanted the Lord to keep his heart right before God. The meal offerings and burnt offerings were, of course, prescribed in the book of the law for worship in the temple. All of the offerings and sacrifices offered, of course, were meant to point to the Messiah, to the coming Christ. Those offerings made it clear that for man's sin to be dealt with before God, there had to be a blood sacrifice. The blood of bulls and goats could never purchase forgiveness for human sins. But they pointed to what the Messiah must do to provide salvation. He must come as a man, a man who can be killed, whose blood could be spilt. He had to be fully holy and righteous, just like the animals had to be without blemish. He had to be able to endure the wrath of God for sinners in his sacrificial death, which meant that not only was he a man whose blood could be shed, but he was a God who could endure that wrath. No man could endure the holy wrath of God like Christ did. All of those things took place in the Lord Jesus Christ. We no longer come to the Lord through meal offerings and burnt offerings. We come to the Lord through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. So this prayer is a prayer for the conversion of the person that you're praying for if they are not a believer. The only way that they can ever be acceptable to the Lord is through faith in Christ. No amount of good works will make them acceptable to God. They must receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. Now, if the person we're praying for is already a Christian, we are praying that they would live consistent with their confession of faith. In fact, that they would offer themselves up to the Lord as a living and holy sacrifice like Paul exhorts us to do in Romans chapter 12, because that offering ourself as the living and holy sacrifice is acceptable to the Lord. Notice that at the end of this request in verse three, David adds that musical pause known as Selah. One of the reasons that those musical pauses show out throughout the Psalms is to encourage the person singing or the person praying the prayer to take a few moments and pause and consider the weight of what's been said. Especially when we see the connection here with the sacrificial death of Christ, it's a pause for us to thank the Lord for what He has done for us in Christ. It's a pause to acknowledge that our whole relationship to God is focused in and through Jesus Christ. So we pray that the Lord would find the person that we are praying for to be acceptable to Him by faith in Christ. Fourth, David tells us, pray that the Lord would grant the person success when they are truly seeking to honor Him with their plans, that He would grant success. Verse four, may He grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your counsel. So David asked his people to pray that God would grant his desires, that God would accomplish the purposes David has in mind. Once again, this assumes that the heart's desire and the purposes envisioned are consistent with what most glorifies God. David, we know, was a man after God's own heart, that's how he's described, so he very much wanted to please the Lord with the things that he did. He didn't always succeed, but that was his heart's desire. Of course we want to pray this prayer. I mean, any time a person is truly seeking to honor the Lord in the things that they are doing, we ask the Lord would grant them success in those godly endeavors. We also recognize that God's definition of success is not always the same as ours. So we leave the answer up to Him on what success looks like and related to those endeavors. This is an important prayer, again, to pray for those in authority. When we have civil magistrates who are genuinely seeking to honor the Lord in ways that are consistent with what His word says, It's our obligation as citizens to pray that God would grant them their heart's desire, because they're seeking to do the right and godly thing. But this is also an important prayer to pray for anyone. As far as a Christian in particular, because we're praying, when we pray for fellow Christians, we're praying that we would grow in our salvation. As Christians, we want that. That's a good desire. We are praying that we would grow in our understanding of the word. As Christians, we want that. That's a good plan, that's a good desire. We are praying that we would grow in our love for others. We are praying the Lord would help us to be a more effective witness for him. We want that because we're Christians. Those are good desires. We're praying that our worship would truly honor the Lord. We're praying that the ministries that we're involved in would be Christ-exalting and truly helpful to other people. So we are to pray that the Lord would grant the person we are praying for success when they are truly seeking to honor the Lord with their plans. Finally, in this section of the psalm, David tells us that believers can have a joyful confidence in the Lord that He will answer God-honoring petitions. Verse 5 says this, we will sing for joy over your victory. And in the name of our God, we will set up our banners. May the Lord fulfill all your petitions. This is a God-given confidence that the biblical prayers that were prayed would in fact be answered. Notice it says, we will sing for joy over your victory. We WILL set up our banners. This is confidence that the Lord Jehovah, the covenant-making, covenant-keeping God, will answer prayer. David Dixon says this, he says, There's a joy when we see the Lord answer the prayers of fellow Christians. We have a genuine concern for them. We also have a joy with them when the Lord answers their prayers. Again, Paul points this out in Romans 12, 15. He tells us to rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. The weeping especially is realizing you're in a day of trouble, you need help. The rejoicing is God's answered your prayer, praise Him. Now in the case of prayer for civil magistrates, we greatly rejoice when godly people are elected, when godly policies are put in place, when believers are legally allowed to live out godly lives without fear of retribution from the government because they are doing what is right. Proverbs 11, 10, which says, Well, in verse 5, we see that David says, Setting up banners was especially associated with the military and probably especially with the context of a conflict of sort, a battle. Banners were used to assemble the troops, to direct the troops, to distinguish between different brigades of troops with different assignments in battle and so forth. Banners were also used to encourage the troops to celebrate victories. So this is David expressing confidence that as people pray for him, as the king engaged in an important battle, that he trusted the Lord to give them victory. Now as we think about applying these verses to ourselves as Christians praying for fellow Christians within our church, a couple of applications I think to consider. One is that the victories that we're praying for are not necessarily military victories. The main victories we are praying for really are spiritual ones. We know that our battle is not against flesh and blood, although it's easy to forget that. Instead, our battle is with the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Satan is real. There are people who are truly committed to doing things that are absolutely AGAINST the will of God. That's one reality we have to consider in our prayers. But more importantly is the sin within our own hearts. Every one of us deal with temptations on a regular basis to sin against the Lord, to go against what His Word says. The culture around us is always seeking to conform us to its mold. That's reality. When we pray for one another, we can be confident of the Lord's help. We can be confident that he will come to our aid. And it's interesting to note in verse five, David says, we will sing for joy. So this is believers together share in this joy when there is victory over sin. In that sense, John Calvin sees this answer to prayer going far beyond the prayer request of one man who was in a time of trouble. Quote on your outline says, it is not for the preservation and welfare of one man that we are solicitous. It is for the safety and wellbeing of the whole church. Many of our prayers are focused on individual people, and there's nothing wrong with that. David is, in fact, asking prayer for himself. But Calvin is pointing out that the answers to those prayers really affect not just the one believer. They affect more than that. They especially affect those within the local church of which you're a part, which is a reminder of the fact that the church is a body. We all have an important part to play. In the church, just like each part of our body is important to the function of the whole, but one of the ways that we can function as a body is to pray for one another. Every one of us need those prayers. When the Lord then answers those prayers, it's something that affects the joy of the whole body, the whole church. So as the scripture says, may the Lord fulfill all your petitions. And when he does, we sing for joy. Every one of those prayer requests that are just mentioned there are important for us to consider, applying the way we pray for those in authority over us and the way we pray for each other. But we also need to consider some of the things that this psalm has to say about the king who would come to us in the line of David. What does that have to say to us about the Christ, about Lord Jesus Christ? So in our second main point, we see that this prayer of David is ultimately fulfilled in the anointed one, in the anointed one, the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse six, we read this. Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed. He will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand. So as to the application to David, this speaks of the Lord answering the prayers of the people, sparing his life, giving him victory over his enemies. But when David says the Lord saves his anointed under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, David was anointed as king, but ultimately this is pointing to the anointed one, the Messiah. And so there's a number of applications here as we look and see some applications here related to the ultimate anointed one, the Messiah. One is that these prayer requests in the first five verses can be seen as being prayed by the anointed one and even asking prayer for himself. Prayers that were prayed by Lord Jesus Christ in His own day of trouble. Prayers that He prayed when enemies were lined up against Him and He needed strength from the Lord to endure. Prayers when He needed to be encouraged that all He was doing was fully acceptable to the Father. When His heart's desire for the salvation of His people would be fully realized. and when he would know that the banners would be displayed in victory over his enemies. The most obvious application of that in the life of Jesus Christ was when he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. This prayer of David the anointed king foreshadows the prayer of the one who would sit on his throne eternally. But there was a battle with eternal implications that had to be won. Jesus asked for his disciples to watch and pray with him in the garden, but that didn't happen. They could not even keep watch with him for one hour. Jesus agonizes in prayer over what's about to happen. He struggles, but he finally prays in victory, your will be done. And when he finds them sleeping again, Jesus tells him that the one who would betray him is at hand, and as a result, he would be given over into the hands of sinners. And of course, that's exactly what happened. He endured awful suffering in every possible way. He was lied about. He was rejected by his closest friends even. He was considered to be a guilty criminal. He was scourged. He was mocked. He was ridiculed. He was crucified between two criminals. He died one of the most painful deaths that people can even imagine dying. It was a publicly shameful death. Then after he died, the Son of God was buried. But He rose from the dead in victory over sin and condemnation. He earned salvation for all who would believe. And as a result, we sing for joy over His victory. We did that this morning, as a matter of fact. Singing for joy over His victory. So these are most definitely prayers that we are exhorted to pray for one another and for those in authority to us, but they also serve as something of a prophecy or of a foreshadowing of what would take place when the anointed one came to earth as a man. And because those things are true, this next point in your outline is true. As the anointed prophet, priest, and king of his people, the exalted Christ always intercedes for his church. So our Savior King is seated at the right hand of God the Father. As our prophet, he proclaims and leads us into truth. As our eternal priest, he is the one who is always praying for his church. He is our advocate before the throne. As we noted before, the prayers of other people for us are greatly desired. We desperately want and need one another's prayers. But we also have to recognize that no one's prayers are more important to you in your day of trouble than the prayers of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 7.25 tells us he's able to save forever those who draw near to God through him since he always lives to make intercession for them. Jesus Christ is able to save forever or save completely. He has accomplished the complete salvation of everyone who believes. And part of the assurance we have as believers is that He is always, always praying for us. And the Lord fulfills all His petitions. He answers them all. We have some idea of the trouble that others are facing. But no one knows that trouble more thoroughly than Jesus Christ. He knows your trouble better than anybody else does. Robert Murray McShane was a Scottish minister in the 1800s. He said this about Christ as our intercessor. He says this, if I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He's praying for me. Our exalted savior is always interceding for his church. Next, David tells us that believers are regularly in great need, but their anointed king will deliver them by his saving strength. we often feel quite vulnerable. Sometimes because we're dealing with sickness or pain, injury, especially when those things go on for a while, we can feel weak and vulnerable. Sometimes it's because of relationship challenges. It could be within the family. It could be challenges among friends. It could be a hard situation in the neighborhood or in the workplace. And those kinds of things can really get us down and cause us to be discouraged. Sometimes the problem is our relationship with the Lord. There is sin and temptation issues that are tripping us up regularly. It may be a lack of consistency in our prayer life. It may be church issues that have us concerned. Whatever the situation may be, we often feel weak and we often feel vulnerable. But David has encouragement for us. At the end of verse 6, he affirms that the Lord will answer us from heaven with the saving strength of His right hand. Our Lord has true saving strength, and every aspect of your salvation has been accomplished by the Anointed One. The right hand, as you know, is the position of strength and authority, power, So it's by the saving strength of His right hand that we are delivered. There's nothing stronger than that. I don't care how overwhelming your situation may appear to be, the saving strength of our Lord, our Lord and Savior is put forth on your behalf. That really should give us a lot of encouragement. And then to further encourage us, we see these words from verses 7 and 8. Some boast in chariots, some in horses, but we will boast in the name of the Lord our God. They have bowed down and fallen, but we have risen and stood upright." So from these verses we see this final point. Answers to prayer give opportunity to boast, opportunity to boast in the name of the Lord our God in contrast to those who boast in themselves. In the immediate context here of David's prayer, the enemies of Israel are in mind when he said this. He's saying that regardless of any superiority in chariots or horses that the enemy might have, his confidence is in the saving strength of the Lord. But that confidence, of course, goes far beyond David's immediate situation. It's a biblical and spiritual principle that is always true. It's so easy to put our confidence in what we can see. to put our confidence in a strong army, an adequate bank account, a good job, or good doctors, or a good hospital, politicians we think we can trust. None of those are bad things, and God often uses these things and others to accomplish His purposes. But our confidence must be in the name of the Lord." Well, what is that name? He's using the idea of name here again. That's his character. That's his attributes. He's Jehovah, the sovereign, self-existing, covenant-keeping God. He is all-powerful. He is everywhere present. He's full of goodness. He's full of truth. He's perfectly wise. He's full of mercy, love, and grace. So when we are delivered from the day of trouble, we must make sure that our boast is in the name of the Lord. Because if we get sidetracked on this, then we are much more vulnerable to fear and worry and discouragement when the next thing comes around. Because we're boasting in the wrong thing. Those who boast in themselves or in stuff are described as those who are bowed down and fallen. We all need the Lord. When we deny that, we're in trouble. Verse 9 is really David's summary of his whole psalm. So, in prayer, we come to the sovereign Lord. We come to the reigning King. who is Christ, who is our reigning King. And because of Christ, we know He will answer us when we call on Him. Lord, again, we thank You for Your Word. I want to thank You for using a man like David, who felt his own weakness and his own need, was very much aware of his own trouble, and very much aware that he needed the prayers of other people. Lord, thank you for that example of humility. Every one of us know that we have lots of weakness. We are vulnerable in so many ways. So many situations comes up that we think, I don't know what to do about this. I don't know how best to address this. It feels beyond me. Lord, those things are reality, but thank you that you are the God who hears our prayers. Thank you so much for even directing us how to pray and then encouraging us by saying, I'm going to hear all your petitions. I'm going to hear and answer all your petitions. Lord, we want to pray those things for each other and ask that you would help us as we pray for each other and then that we would rejoice Whenever we see those answers and we're boasting in you because of what you do and what you will do. Thank you for being the God that we can trust no matter what our circumstances might be. If you're one who's never put your faith in Jesus Christ, then you don't have that confidence. You just don't. Because your confidence really has to be in yourself. But you need to have your faith in Christ. A prayer like this will be a way to start. Lord, I realize that I'm weak. And I'm not just weak, but I'm sinful. and I need a Savior. I thank you that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners like me and I want to receive Him as the Savior that I need. I want to submit my life to Him as my Lord. If you want to talk in more detail about that prayer of faith, you can make a note in your tear-off from your bulletin or those who are watching online can reach out to us through the website. It is in the name of Christ that