As I mentioned, let's turn over to Psalm 20. We'll read the whole Psalm, and our preaching passage will just be near the end, verses 7 and 8. So Psalm 20 is what we'll read, and verses 7 and 8 is what we'll zoom in on. So Psalm 20 is to the choir master, A Psalm of David. 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. So there is Psalm 20. Let's ask for God's blessing, shall we? Heavenly Father, we do thank you for your word. We thank You that we can sing it, and we thank You that we can hear it read, and we thank You, O God, that You have appointed the ministry of that Word to go forth, not only in the church, but among the nations as well. So as we sit under that ministry of Your Word, use a simple ministry to accomplish mighty things in each of our hearts and lives. And Father, may this be part of what You have put in place for our good, and most of all, for the glory of your name. So make it so, we ask, as you know is best, and as we look to you expectantly, with open hands and eager hearts, in Jesus' name, amen. Well, beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, here we are, right? another national day of prayer where we have a worship service and a congregational meeting to follow. And at this point in all of our lives, we're probably pretty familiar with both, right? So in one regard, maybe we're tempted to think, been there, done that. Check the box off on another year. But of course, if we had that sort of an attitude about either the service or the meeting, then we'd have the wrong attitude. And while maybe we might prioritize the one over the other, and there's a certain order to each of them, God uses both, and he works through both a worship service like this and a congregational meeting that will follow. After all, think about it like this. On the one hand, Here in a prayer day service, we humbly petition God, we heartily praise Him, and we expectantly rely upon Him. And that's true of prayers whenever and wherever they might be offered. And on the other hand, with a congregational meeting, we gather together in order to look ahead in connection with our church's life and ministry together. But our focus here and now is on Psalm 20, specifically verses 7 and 8 that we read and that I drew attention to. And as you can see, if you have your Bible open, Psalm 20 is written by David, and it's a psalm labeled as one to the choir master. So even in that superscription or those words that are before verse one, we're given just a somewhat short and a very generic introduction that doesn't really provide us with any contextual heads up like we sometimes get in those words prior to the start of the psalm. But check this out. An attentive reading of Psalm 20. reveals it in one regard to be a prayer for God's people for the church during a time of war. And it's not just David's words that we have here, because that title to the choir master reminds us that this is something public. This is something to be given and to be used for the people and by the people. It's something the whole assembly of the covenant community is able to commandeer and put in practice as a vehicle for our own prayers and as something fitting for an occasion like tonight and a public worship service. So let's keep some of that in mind as we come to look at verses 7 and 8 here in Psalm 20 and we'll keep the following theme and points in hand along the way. Let's offer our prayers. and keep our attention on God. Very simple. Let's offer our prayers and keep our attention on God. And by doing that, notice the title of the sermon, Prayer and the Antithesis. So by offering prayers and keeping attention on God, One, we'll display a different focus than the world. That's what verse seven gets at. And two, we'll have a different future than the world. That's what we'll look at and see in verse eight. So as things open up, we'll display a different focus than the world in verse seven. So a couple of things if you look at verse seven with me for a minute. First of all, the language at the beginning of the verse tells us that worldly trust is purely horizontal, isn't it? Worldly trust is purely horizontal. That's all that worldly trust ever can be. That's all that worldly trust ever will be. And worldly trust as something purely horizontal will never change. Some trust in chariots and some in horses. That's horizontal language of hope and trust. But in the second place, look how verse seven finishes. Our trust as God's people, as Christians, is ultimately vertical. It's not horizontal at all, but it's ultimately vertical. And that's the way our trust will always be, and that will never change. Because our King, Jesus Christ the Lord, is in heaven, and he does whatever he pleases, like Psalm 115 verse 3 says. All authority, boys and girls, has been given to the Lord Jesus, and we are now his church, called to go into all of the ends of the earth and to make disciples of the nations, remembering that he who reigns now is Lord. And that that day is coming when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory and praise of God the Father. So look at verse seven as it starts out. That phrase, some trust in chariots. and some in horses." That phrase is descriptive or characteristic of what an earthly-minded worldview says and looks like. Maybe some slogans in our own day that would approximate that from the ancient Near East would be this. Might makes right. That's trusting in chariots and horses. Somebody might say don't bring a knife to a gunfight. Somebody might say don't mess with Texas or even people fly the yellow flag with a snake on it that says don't tread on me. Those are all examples in our own culture where that worldly attitude of trusting in chariots and horses is still on display and maybe even An overemphasis and too much trust in making America great again could be trusting in chariots and horses, or on the other side of the coin, building back better. An overemphasis on that is trusting in chariots and horses. Either way, the idea here is that force, coercion, and government overreach, those are all the keys, the ways, and the techniques that the world uses to advance its horizontal agenda. Maybe we can sum it up by describing it this way. It's prejudicial strength. That's trusting in chariots and horses. So maybe a pause. We've all heard, I would think, the current events of the last several days, the leak of the draft that had been prepared by Supreme Court Justice Alito. That little draft prepared to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision from 1973 on the basis that that Supreme Court decision from 1973 was unconstitutional. The leaking of that report, not the report itself, but the leaking of that report, is an example of worldly ways of trusting in chariots and horses. Because what has the outcome been in just the last few days since that's taken place? There's violent protests, there's riotous behavior. Maybe you've heard that there's a plan, I think it's on May 11th or 12th, for some of the left who are upset about the leak of this document to troll the houses of the Supreme Court justices and protest at their residence. Even already, a fence has been built around the Supreme Court, and some of the justices have had to cancel public appearances and speaking events. So the leak of that document, even in our own cultural context, that is trusting in chariots and horses, which is to say, it's aggressive, and it's coercive, and it's in line with the display of a spirit of worldly power and dominance that is destructive and maybe even quasi-treasonous. So how vain and empty is that philosophy to be purely earthly-minded when it comes to flexing one's muscle to get one's way? Not to mention it's extremely short-sighted, right? Like Qui-Gon Jinn said, there's always a bigger fish. And when the earthly powers that be, when they behave in that way and when they hold those viewpoints, the inevitable result, again, is something we have seen in just the last few days. The creation by the federal government of a misinformation governance board. Have you heard about that? That's trusting in chariots and horses. That's almost a dictionary definition of what it means for the military or for the powers that be to enforce their will and their ways upon the citizens they govern. I'll say it like this. The danger of living in a society or a culture where the kind of worldview at the beginning of verse 7 comes to play is this, especially with something like a misinformation governance board. Any viewpoint on any given issue that's not in line with the left or the liberal Biden agenda will be labeled eventually as extremist, as dangerous, and as possibly violent. And if that happens, those who trust in chariots and horses will not only want to silence those words, but they'll want to seek out the people who speak them and post them as well. So if a theme song for the world were to be written in the spirit of Psalm 20 verse 7 at the beginning, it would say this. Take the reins of power and seize them. Draw up the battle lines. Armageddon's just a matter of time. Tear down the walls of reason. Let the arrows fly. Your freedom is just a state of mind. But those who have their hope and their trust in man's strength, they will find out that that road of trusting in horses and chariots, it only leads to judgment. And it only leads to judgment in this life and in the life to come. And that judgment in the life to come will not be temporal, but it will be eternal. So as we heard when Lance was up here, we must always pray for our leaders. for the magistrate, for the military, for the law enforcement officers, and for others who lead and serve with some kind of authority from the state. But we must never adopt the world's ways of focusing on people or on things as those which have our trust. After all, congregation, our ultimate allegiance and commitment It belongs to the Lord our God, doesn't it? To the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. So trust in God the Father as the one who upholds you and who provides for you. Rely upon Jesus Christ who gives you a firm foundation for salvation and deliverance in this life and in the life to come. and then live through the power and working of the Holy Spirit as you render your life as a living sacrifice to the praise and glory of God. Because as we do that, we show, like the first point says, that we have a different focus than the world. And what it says next in verse 7 is the corresponding confession of faith that we have. And the last part of verse 7 is counter to the world's outlook on life. It's the other side of the coin. Some trust in chariots and some trust in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. That word in the middle of the verse, but. That indicates a strong contrast. Officially, it would be called a disjunctive. It divides the verse into two halves that are equally opposed and opposite to each other. And the word here that the ESV translates as trust, often it's translated as to remember, If you have this verse in your brain from the old King James or from the new King James, it uses that word remember instead of that word trust. The New American Standard uses that word boast, which maybe you noticed when we sang from Psalm 20 in the Trinity Psalter hymnal, it had that word boast in this part of the verse instead of that word trust. But either way, trust, remember, boast in the name of the Lord our God. It's all the same. It just shows the contour and the texture, the richness and the depth of what it means to have commitment and allegiance belonging to God alone. He's our refuge. He's our security. He's the one who provides us with temporal as well as eternal care and keeping. And the key is this, comparing these two parts of verse seven together. It's not any creaturely strength that we look to, but it's only the power and the might that's found for us in the name of the Lord our God that we focus on. And this trust, this boastful remembrance is well placed because congregation, when we trust, In the name of the Lord our God, think of what benefits and blessings God gives to us as a result of that, communicating that to us by His grace through that trust. He tempers our fears when we're threatened. He provides us with perspective as we journey through life. He gives us confidence as we look to the future. He fills us with a sure hope that's unshakable. He enabled us to endure suffering when others wrong us, and so much more. And ultimately, to say, our trust is in the name of the Lord our God, means this. It means that in, by, and through Jesus Christ our Lord, there's the promise of grace. There's the promise of mercy. There's the promise of love. There's the promise of forgiveness. There's the promise of patience. There's the promise of acceptance. And there's the promise of a full assurance, even if everything else around us collapses. If chariots are burned and if horses are killed, our trust remains in the name of the Lord, our God. So have your trust, congregation. in the name of the Lord. Have your remembrance, congregation, on His faithfulness to you and for you at all times, in all things, no matter what. Because then the promise over in Psalm 125 verse 1 belongs to you. And those who trust in the Lord, what's it say? Are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. And then we take that confidence in God's promise, and we press on in prayer. As we continue, we'll see that the sermon theme is true, not only because we'll display a different focus than the world, but also because we'll have a different future than the world as well. And that's what verse eight brings to us. And again, a couple of things to look at the verse, and then we'll go through it a little more carefully. But first of all, a worldly future, meaning of this worldly future. It does not and it cannot extend beyond this life for each one of us. It can't and it won't and it never will. Like it says, they, those who trust in chariots and horses, they collapse and fall. But our future as God's people, as Christians, includes this life, of course, but here's the key, our future. It transcends this earthly life. It rises above and it stretches beyond this earthly life. Because our future as God's people, it goes into the endless ages of eternity which awaits us at the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. Like it says, they collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright. Imagine. Imagine having hope. for this life only. Just imagine that. Imagine having hope for this life only. I'll say it like this, and hear me out. If this life is all there is, if this life is the best there is, if this life is how things ultimately are supposed to be, Well, then we've all been duped, we've all been cheated, we've all been ripped off, and we should all demand a refund from whoever's in charge. Because if this life is what things are supposed to be like, if this is the ideal, then whoever's in charge is incompetent. After all, the words, they collapse and fall. That's written, maybe not specifically, but that's written on every gravestone across the whole world. And since time is an ever rolling stream with seemingly no end in sight, since time is an ever rolling stream, it bears all of its sons away and they are never to be seen again. Think about that. To be forgotten. That's the best and only hope that the world has to offer anyone. What vanity, what hopelessness, what triviality, what languishing belongs to this age if this is how things are ultimately supposed to be and if they'll never be any different? Trusting in chariots plus trusting in horses equals death. They collapse and fall. Again, if this world had a theme song, it would go something like this. Time. A race will never win. Look back at where we've been and throw the towel in. Hope. A candle burning bright. A temporary light till we return to night. It's sad but true. So let the worldling strive after its emptiness, congregation, but may such a perishing pursuit never ever have a hold on any of our hearts. After all, as the old saying puts it, there's no trailer hitch on a hearse, is there? Whatever gets accumulated along the way stops at the grave and no one can take anything with them into the next life. And even though sometimes there might be what appear to be short-lived victories in life's battles, for those who are earthly-minded, which is what the beginning of the verse 8 reminds us of, the war is not only already lost, but it can never be won. And that would be true for each and every one of us who are here tonight if we didn't belong to Jesus Christ our Lord and find and have and receive in Him everything we could ever need now and forevermore. Like Ephesians chapter 2 verse 12 describes people in their natural state. We are without hope and without God in the world. But because of Jesus and because of the gospel promise, we are with hope. And we are with God in the world, and we look to the future when there is a day of glory and exaltation coming. So praise God, congregation, for His amazing grace so freely and fully given to you. He has delivered you from that darkness and translated you into the kingdom of His beloved Son. And then take something like Psalm 37, verse 5, and make that your daily prayer as you look to the future. Say, Lord, I commit my way into Your hands. I trust in you and I believe that you will act for me. Let's go back to the passage and look at the last part of verse 8. Verse 8 at the end uses Old Testament language, of course, but what a future it holds out to us as God's people because, again, it's drawn with the language of a contrast, right? They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright. So while some 20 might have that military victory that the Lord provided for his people in days gone by as its original context, the broader picture of redemptive history congregation teaches us to look to something higher and to look to something better. Because the words at the end of verse 8, we rise and stand upright, you know what they do? They anticipate. the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. And that should fuel our daily prayers as we are defined, not by the world's standards, but by the hope and promise that God gives us. This is promised to us. And this is the confession of faith that we have. We rise and stand upright. That's the language of victory, congregation. That's the language of certainty. That's the language of prosperity. We rise and stand upright. That's language that answers all of life's questions for us. That mends our brokenness. That fills our desires. We rise and stand upright. That comforts our hearts. That heals our wounds. That refreshes us when we're weary. We rise and stand upright. Those words bring us to find and to have and to rejoice in Jesus Christ our Lord. Because those words remind us that since he has risen, one day we will rise and stand upright too. So offer your prayers to God with that promise and with that sure hope in view, yes, Keep your attention on God with those words in your heart, yes, and maintain the courage and the conviction that God provides for you through these words as you look with eager expectancy, not just for the rest of your earthly days as you trust in the name of the Lord our God, but as you look for a future of an endless life when you rise and stand upright on the last day. May God grant for each of us to inherit that wonderful day. And may he be glorified and praised in the doing of it. Amen. Well, let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we are so very thankful for your promises. We're thankful, O God, that we have a different focus than the world and that you have given us a different future than the world. So let those things be a great source of encouragement as we labor and toil here below. May they serve us with strength as we press on each day, and may they fill our hearts with grace and with mercy as we look to you for daily renewal, asking all of these things and begging for you to be with us each step of the journey and all throughout the ages of eternity to come. In Jesus' name, amen.