Psalm chapter 20. We got through 19. Felt like we were in 18 for a while, but now we're in 20. 18, now 19, now 20. As we look at this Psalm, I want you to think about, actually you don't have to think back that far. The last time you saw a hurricane building up on the weather channel or on your phone, and you see the tropical depression, near the Southern Caribbean and you go, oh boy, here we go again. And you see it past the Yucatan as a tropical storm, Yucatan Peninsula, and you see it hit the Gulf of Mexico, the hottest large body of water in the world, and you know there's a hurricane heading somewhere. You see the storm building. Maybe you anxiously are tracking it, if you are some sort of farmer or related to farmers, and you're wondering where is it going, where is it going? And you see it's coming. The storm is building. and you're worried. That's a bit of the situation that this psalm is addressing. We'll talk a little bit more about that, but the question comes, what do we do when the storm is coming? So this is the word of the Lord, Psalm 20. May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble. May the name of the 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 favor your burnt sacrifices. May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill 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 fulfill 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. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. Let's ask for his blessing on it this evening. Heavenly Father, I pray that we would see your truth, that you would reveal it to us and you would sanctify us in it. Lord, sanctify us in your truth as Jesus prayed, for your word is truth. Lord, it can build us up and break us down where we need to be broken and rebuild us. I pray that you would do just that. Let the words in my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight. Oh Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen. When the storm is coming, look to the king. And when the storm hits, look to the king. We need to look to him for two things. We look to the King for strengthening, and we look to the King for assurance. As this psalm was written by David, no doubt the people were looking to David for leadership. And we look to the greater David. We look to Jesus Christ, the Messianic Davidic King reigning forever and ever. So before the storm hits, look to the King. Now, when I say storm, they're not dealing with a real storm here, but they are about, you could say the context is showing us that they are on the eve of battle. You could, instead of watching the Weather Channel, imagine you're in Fortress Jerusalem. There's a marauding army out there causing problems. You've run in. The army is mobilized in Jerusalem and maybe mobilized outside Jerusalem. There's a call to come worship with King David at the temple, and so you go. And when they are worshiping, when David's offering sacrifices and praying for the people on the eve of battle, the psalm is sung. And it's a psalm that's not sung in fear, but in confidence, faith in God's purposes and faith in his anointed one, his King. That's the situation we're most likely looking at in a psalm like this. But in this psalm, we also see some different voices. In verses one through five, we see the voices of the choir, perhaps, but definitely representing the voices collectively of the people. And then verses six through eight, the voice of the anointed one, of the king, speaking back to the people to assure them. And then nine, the people's response. But in that kind of setting, we're looking still for two things. First, for strengthening as we look to the King with these people. We're looking for strength through our trials. Verse one says, may the Lord answer you in the day of trouble. May the name of the God of Jacob protect you. Why would there be trouble or protection if there was not something brewing, as it were? May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support. from Zion. These people, though they may be afraid, they are worshiping. And they actually are very confident. They say, may the Lord do this, may the Lord protect, may he answer, may he help us, may he give us support. There's not a tone of fear here, though they may be afraid. Now deceased pastor that was in our denomination, Harry Reader, one of the, probably actually the greatest preacher I've ever heard personally preach, and fabulous preacher he was. But he would have these, he has these great lines. He says, never take counsel from your fears. Never take counsel from your fears. And I would add to it, if it's possible, don't let them lead your worship service either. Never take counsel from your fears and don't let them lead your worship and try not to worship with fear at all. And that is exactly what we see these first voices doing. We are worshiping. We are confident that God will do all that he has promised, that he'll protect, save, and bear us through these trials. Verse 3, see, may he remember all your offerings, regard with favor your burnt sacrifices. Common thing, as you recall, when Saul was forced, Saul would go out to battle, at least in his final battle, which he died, he tried offering sacrifices to get God's favor, and God did not answer him. But we can see this was not an abnormal thing to do, to sacrifice. But if we fast forward away from David and the Old Testament, perhaps the New Testament, the King, the Messiah, Jesus, on the eve of his greatest battle, which he would offer himself up, when would this be except Gethsemane and the Garden of Eden? While he's praying for the cup to be taken away from him, but not my will, but your will be done. Is it, do we not read that he was being ministered to, that he's being helped for this final battle? In this case, the final battle, him being, offering himself up as the offering and the sacrifice. Christopher Ashe says this. He says, under the new covenant, remember that our king has offered himself as the perfect sacrifice for sinners. We express our desire that God the Father will accept this sacrifice as he has promised to do, and we know he has done. Remember, Christ, the Psalms, ultimately spoken by the Spirit, but as the King, he takes them upon his lips. So as Jesus, on the eve of the great battle of his life, about to offer himself up, the disciples, when they should have been praying for him, they could have prayed, this psalm with him, but they were asleep. But we see in all these things, we see the people praying for Christ's will, for God's will to be done. Verse four, may he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill 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 fulfill all your petitions. We're looking for the strengthening in our trials, but also strengthening of our hope. That the desires of the king, the desires of God's anointed one, the leader of God's people would be fulfilled. The desire for victory in this case, for the salvation that he will receive. Looking forward again to the New Testament, we're seeing that what Christ desired on his last night of his life. We can read it in John 17, for all of his people to be sanctified by the truth, for them to be one, that his sacrifice should be counted acceptable to God for them. All of these things that Christ desires and Christ prays for us, Christ continues to pray for us at the Father's right hand. Yes, Lord, may all that Christ prays for us come to pass. Again, we are still praying, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. As Christ prays for us there, may all these things come to pass for us in all of our trials for which we need strengthening. And you know, if Christ prays for you, you know, when we pray a prayer request, if we don't know what God's will is, but we're gonna pray it because that's what we ought to do, you know, we're in the back of our mind, we're wondering what God is going to do. But if Christ is praying for us, that's about as sure as you can ever get that you will receive a favorable answer. And he is praying good things for us, beloved. So we'll shout for joy for his salvation and we'll set up our banners in his name. Even if we don't know where those banners are going and what battles they're going to fight, we'll follow with joy knowing that the Christ has won the victory. May the Lord fulfill all of his requests. And so we see in these first five verses, we see a sense in which God's anointed one, Christ particularly, Christ most fully representing both representing us as king and as priest, two of his three offices, that we would, our fate being united to him, that he would have the victory. and that by being joined with him in faith, that that victory of Christ would be ours. Colossians 1.18 says, and he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. In Christ's work on the cross, in his rising from the dead as king, everything in which he is preeminent, which is everything, We, as the body, as I prayed this morning, where the head is, the body is sure to follow what the head does, the body is sure to do. All benefits that Christ has accrued for us in the heavenly places fall upon our heads. And him, we, I mean, Paul uses language like that. We sit with him spiritually in the heavenly places where we're sitting right here. What do you mean? I don't know exactly what Paul meant when he said that, but we are joined with him in such a way where we have all of those benefits. We have all that is Christ's he gives to us. He is our king. We're also united to him as priests. Hebrews 9.12 says he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves, but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. Once and for all, the battle was fought on the cross on the bloodiest day. Not that by volume, but by what is most precious, the most precious blood that was ever pumped through any veins by any person ever shed for us. Once for all, securing an eternal redemption. All that Christ has done for us comes to us and cleanses us all of sin. From Christ's kingship and his priesthood, we receive everything good and he excises, takes away from us everything wicked. We can say with David, may the Lord fulfill all your petitions, Christ. May the God grant all of your heart, Lord Jesus, for us. A rising tide raises all ships, but a risen Christ raises all believers with him. So we look to the King for strengthening before that storm hits. We're also gonna look to him for assurance or to look to him for assurance. And this is where the voice shifts to the singular in verse six. The king is speaking. He says, 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. So as we say, as for the voices before saying, may the Lord do this, may the Lord do that. And now the King speaks and says, now I know that the Lord saves his anointed. You are hoping these things for me, but now see them come to pass. We can be certain of them. We can take joy in that. St. Augustine, Church, early church, Father says, we shall rejoice that death will not harm you, speaking to Christ, for so you will show us that it will not harm us either. If we can know with Christ that his victory is assured, we can rejoice that because he has been raised, we will be raised as well. Paul says in Romans 6, 5, for if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. Paul is saying with Jesus, I know because he has lived, so shall I. We can be assured and be assured with Christ. Jesus knew as he was dying that his sacrifice was acceptable. Isaiah 53 says that out of the anguish of his soul, he saw and was satisfied. He saw that his sacrifice was making the many righteous and bringing many sons to God. So we can be assured. Christ was sure even as he gave up his life. And he said, father into your hands, I commit my spirit. And he said, it is finished. He didn't say maybe it was finished or I hope it's finished. I hope we're done here. He said, it is finished. Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed. He will answer him from his holy heaven, the saving might of his right hand. And sure enough, Peter tells us at the Pentecost sermon, God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. As sure as the sun shines and the day comes, Christ rose from the dead. And that is the basis of our confidence. In verse seven, it says some trust, or you could say some of your versions may have boast, Some trust or boast in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord, our God. We do not trust in human strength and human ingenuity. Do not trust in trust funds. We do not trust in having the biggest military, the biggest economy, the best healthcare system, the best technology, stealth technology, nuclear technology, having, you know, Mars Link or whatever Elon Musk is working on. We don't trust in those things. We trust in the name of the Lord, our God. We see Christ. We see him cool, calm, and collected, as it were, as he suffers, even as he suffers hard. And it gives us the strength and the assurance that we too can suffer with him. In military situations, when you're in combat, I've never been in combat, but this is my understanding. is that when you're a private, you're new to the army, relatively new, and you go into combat, the bullets start flying, you get shot at, your heart races like crazy, you never know how you're going to react, no matter how tough you are, how big you are, how strong you are. But in the midst of that initial freak out, that is inevitable for a brand new soldier, if they can find and see their commander calm, cool, collected, giving orders, they're likely to follow him and do it. So though we come under fire in various ways, various trials, we see Christ standing, knowing that he suffered and with us by his spirit, we too can be calm, cool, and collected and go forward. There's a great story from World War I of, I think it was, I can't remember if he was a brigadier, major general, but General Lejeune of Camp Lejeune fame, Marine General, he was interviewing a man after the armistice had been signed, the wounded man in the hospital tent. And he found out that this man, he was wounded on the eve of the armistice. And General Lejeune asked him, well, why were you guys fighting right before we're about to, you know, right before hostility cease? Like, what's going on? And the soldier told General Lejeune the story. He said that his captain, right before the armistice, still had orders to take a bridge. And this is what the man calmly, coolly, and collectively told his men. He said, men, I am going across that river, and I expect you to go with me. And apparently, the consensus was they loved him so much they could not let him go alone. And they decided to attack that bridge and take it, even right before the guns were about to stop. They just couldn't let him go by himself. They loved him too much because he was going and where he was going, they were going to go with him. They looked to him, to their commanding officer for strength and for assurance. They saw that he was determined to succeed and they were going to go with him. Some trust in chariots, some in horses, but we will trust in the name of the Lord, our God, the Lord who has never let us down once. the Lord who swears upon his own name to uphold all of his promises. That is the name in which we trust. And we see the outcome is guaranteed. Verse eight, they collapse and they fall, but we rise and stand upright. There's resurrection language here, this idea of in the end, we will rise and stand upright, but they will fall. The wicked will not stand in the judgment, David tells us in Psalm 2. but we will rise again. Though we fall, Christ will raise us up. We can be absolutely certain of that. And as we have the scriptures, and they teach us that we will be raised with Christ, it is Christ speaking to you that truth, that Christ is saying, I'm going to die, I have Let's say we're back and reading this gospel. Christ is saying, I'm going to die, but actually in Matthew 20, I'm going to die, but then I'm going to be raised. He was deadly certain of it and trying to assure us of the same. We have the benefit of reading the whole thing in print. Disciples did not. They were afraid. They didn't know what was going to happen. And even so in our lives and our situations, our cancers, our illnesses, our injuries, we can be afraid. But be assured, beloved, that because he has risen, you will rise too. You can be absolutely assured of it. So as we conclude, I want you all to be the people, church. I want you to be the people who can sing this psalm with the king, not just with your lips as you are going to in a short time, but with your heart. That as the storms are rising, the winds are beginning to pick up that you will sing with confidence that all of Christ's will will be done not only for yourself, but for your family and for all the church. Three additional things I want you to think about. So as we want to be a people who sing with the king, who look to him when the storms come, I want you to discern what is the voice, what is the providence perhaps of Christ? Sometimes it looks like the victories, actually, sometimes God uses the chariots and the horses to win the victories. And sometimes he uses completely miraculous means. And sometimes it looks like we have the chariots and horses on our side, as it were, and we can use them. Maybe the great amount of money, maybe the power influence really is going to come through. Maybe so. It's tough to discern What is trusting? What is not trusting in God or trusting in those things? And of course, the call ultimately is not to trust in those things, even though they're being used, but to trust in the God who gives them. But I want you to be careful as you parse that out. Am I trusting these things? Am I trusting the Lord who gives them? And that's, it's actually easier in some ways when you don't have those great things to just say, well, I only have one choice and that's to trust God that he can take care of the, the issue, that He can be our guard and He can save with the powerful might of His right hand in an amazing way in this situation. But just keep that in mind. We're trusting in Him no matter what the situation looks like, but especially when we have those things at our disposal. David had great armies. David was an awesome warrior. David still trusted God for strength. And at the very end, David's last battle, David was facing down another giant, and this guy had his number. David was toast. David cries out to God for rescue, and one of his spec ops, you know, Delta Force type soldiers, comes in and saves his bacon. David, from start to finish, from Goliath to this other giant, trusted in the Lord. Did not trust his sword. He did not trust his sling. He trusted in the name of the Lord. When we have those good things, we tend to begin, the temptation to let go of that trust becomes a little bigger. So keep that in your back pocket. Also, secondly, pray fervently. Many of the commentators throughout the years and years of Christian history, when they looked at this psalm, they've seen this in Christ as a call to pray, to pray fervently. If we are asking that all of Christ's will would be done, we're praying. We're also praying as a team. So there's a call to enter into this process. It's a call to trust God, but also a call to pray with that trust, praying for God's will to be done in every aspect of our lives. So we discern Christ's voice and his trust. We're also praying fervently. That's actually in verse 9, O Lord, save the king. So we're counting on the Lord, and then may he answer us when we call. We're praying. But also I want you to see the joy in this psalm. The storm is coming, but these people are singing in the rain, as it were. Charles Spurgeon says this. He says, unbelief begins weeping for the funeral before the man is dead. Why should not faith commence piping before the dance of victory begins? They don't know the outcome. They're still going to praise. They're still going to dance in the rain, as it were. They're still trusting God, knowing that he has the final outcome in hand, no matter what. If we become a resurrection-minded people, knowing that no matter what happens to me or my bank accounts or my kids or my job or my life, if I know that my future is in glory with a glorified body, I can face down anything. no matter how terrible it is, no matter how long it takes, because Christ will uphold me, and by His name, by the power in it, by the love that it displays to us, I will be preserved, raised up on the last day. That's a cause for great joy. That's why we sing songs like this morning. Worship Christ, the risen King, because if He's risen, so will we, every time. So look to Him no matter what. you will have His joy, no matter what life throws at you. These Psalms are perfect for, I mean, collectively, they're perfect for every situation in the Christian life, but they're all perfect for our problems. Christ knows exactly what our heart needs to hear and to sing to Him, to be able to face those issues. Praise be to Him, We're thankful to Christ. He sings them with us as our great King. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we are thankful that we can sing with great joy, that we don't have to be subdued and we don't have to wonder. We may wonder about exact specific outcomes, but we do not have to wonder about the ultimate outcome. Or we don't even have to wonder about what you're doing with your church. You are growing it. You are expanding it. Kingdoms may rise and fall. Presidents may be elected. and to post, congresses will change over, you name it. Your church shall increase forever and ever. And our Christ grows greater and greater in glory because of it. Lord, I pray that we would see his glory as our ultimate good and that he will hold us up. Lord, we ask all these things in the name of the King to whom we look, Jesus Christ, amen.