PRAYING PSALM 20 (part two)
Last week we covered the first three verses where we saw that God answers us in our distress, he protects us, sends us help and support, and he remembers our sacrifices and accepts our offerings when they are done with the right motives. In these verses we see a lot of encouragement.
With the difficult times we've been facing as a people along with the individual battles we've been enduring, to understand that the all knowing, all loving, all powerful God is watching out for us and providing for us is of the utmost importance for our peace and serenity. There are many things we could be worried about but knowing God is right there when we need him alleviates all of our anxiety and fears about tomorrow. Today we conclude our brief journey through Psalm 20 as we pick it up with verse four.
1) God blesses (4-5).
Psalm 20:4, "May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed."
Here we have the people praying that God would give the king the desires of his heart and make his plans succeed. This shows the confidence the people had in their king that the desires of his heart and his plans were good. You wouldn't pray this for someone you thought didn't have pure desires or plans. Likewise, one shouldn't expect that the Lord would answer this type of prayer unless they had the righteous character he would be looking for. So, the Lord giving us the desires of our heart comes with a condition.
Psalm 37:4, "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart."
We all have desires but are they formed in the delight of the Lord? If we're not receiving what we're praying for this may be why. In the Hebrew, to delight ourselves in the Lord means to find joy in him. When Jesus is our source of joy, the desires of our heart will be consistent with that joy. Our desires won't simply be about what makes us happy, they will be in line with what pleases the Lord.
What about Matt. 21:22, "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
There aren't any conditions given here; just believe and you will receive. Jesus' point here was about having faith and not doubting when we pray. Just because we don't see a qualifier here doesn't mean Jesus is saying God's going to give us everything we ask for. It wouldn't be wise, discerning or loving if God allowed us to have something that wasn't good for us simply because we asked it. If our kids asked for a bowl of candy for dinner would we give it to them?
Besides, if Matt. 21:22 meant anything goes, Jesus would be going against all the other verses that clearly give qualifiers like Psalm 37:4. We have to be careful to not take a verse and run with it without reading it in its context and comparing it with other verses like
1st John 5:14, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us."
Here we see the truth of what Jesus said in Matt. about having faith when we pray; with the added condition of it being in accordance with God's will. Sometimes our desires and plans don't happen because they're not in accordance with God's will.
But it's a good thing when God doesn't answer our prayers. We might bristle at that but think about it: if our desires and plans are not in line with God's will then it's in our best interest for God to not give us what we're praying for.
Our prayers should include the statement, "if it be your will". When Jesus was in agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, he prayed for the cup of suffering to be removed from him. Jesus wanted to see if there was any other way mankind could be saved; he was asking for a plan B. But he finished with, "yet not my will, but yours be done".
Did God give him what he asked for? No. There could be no plan B. God's will was for Jesus to die for our sins because he's the only one who was without sin; the only perfect sacrifice. Jesus didn't like it, the Father didn't like it, but that's how it needed to be. We don't like it when God says, 'no'. But when he doesn't give us the desire of our hearts there's a good reason and I need to accept it and move on.
In Ps. 20:4 the people also prayed that God would make all the king's plans succeed. A desire can be something we're thinking about but a plan is something we've thought out. We've thought of the way we want to do it and the steps we need to take to achieve it. Even though a plan is different than a desire, it still comes with the same condition.
Prov. 16:3, "Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed."
But wait, plenty of people have plans that aren't committed to the Lord and they succeed. Yes, sometimes people's plans, even the sinister ones are successful; but only in the sense of accomplished something; but that something wasn't godly. That's the difference. When people make worldly plans they will achieve worldly success.
But if our plans are committed to the Lord then they are done with the Lord's purposes in mind and that results in godly success. When we commit our plans to the Lord we are considering whether or not our plan would please God. We're evaluating what purpose it serves. We are looking to see who benefits from this plan. And if our plans are composed with a godly purpose and not for selfish gain then godly success will be ours.
Jesus said in Matt. 6:33 that if we seek first the kingdom of God then he will give the things we need. Why do we need to put God first in order to get the desires of our heart and have our plans succeed? Because then we will know how to correctly appreciate the things we have and operate in our successes.
We know non-Christians have prosperity, we looked at that reality last week with Asaph in psalm 73. But there's a problem when those who don't know Jesus are successful.
Ps. 140:7-8, "O Sovereign LORD, my strong deliverer, who shields my head in the day of battle—do not grant the wicked their desires, O LORD; do not let their plans succeed, or they will become proud."
When the ungodly receive their desires or have their plans succeed they're not going to give the credit to God; they don't believe what they acquired came from his gracious hand. They might thank the ones who helped make their plans a success, but God won't be on that list. The spotlight will be on themselves.
And since they'll conclude that their own efforts got them where they are they will be proud. They'll consider how smart they are to come up with such a wonderful plan. They congratulate themselves on the keen execution of the plan. Their success will go to their head.
Not so the godly. When their plans succeed they will address the Lord and humbly say, 'thank you'. The godly know where the plan originated from. And even if there were other people involved in implementing the plan, the godly one knows God was behind the whole thing from start to finish. And they will communicate their godly praise to those around them.
The people in Psalm 20 wanted David's plans to succeed because they knew David would honor God and the success of God's people would become known throughout the land; bringing glory to God. We should want the same things-to honor God with our successes, to have God known throughout the land and to glorify his name.
Psalm 20:5, "We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the LORD grant all your requests."
Here the people are saying they will be elated when the king is victorious. We need to be happy when others are successful. Are we happy when someone gets blessed? You might say, "no wonder the people want the king to be victorious; if he is then that means good things for them!" True, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be happy for someone else when they get blessed.
For that matter, there are ways God does bless us when we're happy about him blessing others. When we are selfless enough to be genuinely happy that God blessed someone else God will respond by blessing us. Like what I talked about earlier, if we delight ourselves in the Lord, if we seek first the kingdom of God, which includes loving others, that will open the door for the Lord to bless us.
I mentioned Asaph a few minutes ago. He was indignant over the prosperity of the wicked. We can relate to that. But what about when we're upset over the prosperity of the righteous? We see someone in the church who is financially better off than we are. Then one day, in their delight, they share how the Lord just blessed them. How do we react to that? What goes through our mind?
"Why's he keep blessing you? Haven't you got enough already? I'm the one who really needs it; not you." Although this might be an understandable response, it's not an acceptable one. When this attitude invades our hearts it drives a wedge between me and you and between me and God.
Instead of resenting how God blesses others, maybe we should ask God if we're missing something. When we make comparisons we'll see things disproportionately. We will get to where we think everyone else is getting blessed but me. There may be some who are blessed more than me, but the fact is, I'm being blessed too.
But that can be part of the reason why I'm not being blessed like those around me. It's not because God loves them more than he does me, it's because my attitude about it is wrong. Maybe I've been demanding or expectant with God. Maybe I haven't appreciated the ways he has blessed me. Maybe I haven't learned how to be content. Maybe I haven't been giving.
If I can get these principles down I can start experiencing the blessings I've been missing out on. There are blessings we won't receive until we're ready to receive them. We need to be able to handle the blessing before we'll get the blessing. When the desires of my heart and the plans in my mind are in accordance with God's will we will receive them. And when we can be joyous over the blessing God gives to others, we will be blessed too. God blesses.
2) We trust (6-9).
Psalm 20:6-9, "Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm. O Lord, save the king! Answer us when we call!"
Here we see a shift in the dialog. In vs. 1-5 the people were speaking and now, in vs. 6, we have the first person pronoun, 'I', then it shifts back to 'we' for the remainder of the psalm. Opinions differ as to who the speaker is in vs. six. Some think it's a collective cry of the people. Some believe it was a priest, and some think it was David himself.
If David is the one speaking here, it's interesting that he would be saying, "now I know". The Lord had shown him plenty of times before now that He saves. He saved him from the mouth of the bear or lion that attacked his sheep, he saved him from the giant Goliath, he saved him from the hand of his predecessor, Saul when he tried to kill him many times. So why would he not be convinced until now?
The English language is interesting. If you add a comma after 'now' you introduce a new meaning. So, this could either mean, "I just became convinced the Lord saves" or, "now listen, I know the Lord saves". Since the translators didn't place a comma after 'now' it appears the first rendering is the accurate one.
But when you look at the Hebrew word for 'now' here, it means, surely, now then, therefore, furthermore. So, in that regard, it's reasonable to see why the second rendering is more accurate. And that would go with the confidence stated in vs. 5-we will shout for joy when you are victorious, not if, but when. And when you look at vs. 7-8 you see that the people are convinced the Lord can be trusted. Many times in battle the Isrealites were outnumbered.
Not only that, in Deut. 17, God was giving instructions for when they entered the Promised Land. Some of the instructions had to do with when they appointed a king. Vs. 17 says that the king must not acquire a large number of horses. The reason for this was because it would mean going back to Egypt. At the time the Egyptians were the foremost suppliers of horses so it would force them into an alliance with Egypt, and God didn't want his people doing that.
So that would mean a no horse and chariot based army; just foot soldiers. Talk about feeling like you were at a disadvantage! That must've seemed daunting to face an enemy with horses and chariots and you have neither. Why would God do that? To show that his army had something better.
Duet. 20:1, "When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you."
There's the difference maker. God tells his people not to be afraid because he knows they will be. Who could blame them? To trust in the unseen God rather than fear the visible opposition. This would be a big test for the Israelite army. But David would remind them of all the times the Lord had rescued him and gave him the victory despite it looking like sure defeat.
The Treasury of David commentary: "The most dreaded war engine of David's day was the war chariot, armed with scythes, which mowed down men like grass: this was the boast and glory of the neighboring nations; but the saints considered the name of Jehovah to be a far better defense. As the Israelites might not keep horses, it was natural for them to regard the enemy's cavalry with more than usual dread. It is, therefore, all the greater evidence of faith that the bold songster can here disdain even the horse of Egypt in comparison with the Lord of hosts".
This is a lesson for us. Whatever "great army" we face, no matter what "weapons" our opposition has, we are able to not be afraid and instead trust the Lord. And not only did God tell his people to not be afraid of the army coming against them with horses and chariots, he warned those who trusted in them instead of God.
Isaiah 31:1, "Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord."
God wanted his people to know that although they may be tempted to give in to their fears and trust what the world trusts in, they will be held responsible if they do. They had something that the worldly people didn't have-God. The foreign armies had to rely on horses and chariots and such because that's all they had. But the Israelites had something much better-God. So if they questioned the trustworthiness of God and compromised, it wouldn't be good.
This pronouncement is given to us too. Whatever it is we would be tempted to trust in over God, whether it's money, a person, a plan, a vaccine, if we trust in things and people over God then shame on us. Nothing this world produces or has comes anywhere close to the ability God has to save, rescue, provide, equip, etc. God is the one we trust; he gives us the victory.
I'm not saying if I break my arm I should just trust the Lord will heal me and not go to the hospital and get a cast. I can have the faith and trust that he could do that, but I need to be smart about it. So obviously God uses things and people to help us but he's the one behind it all; our trust is in him.
But God knows we are human and may need some help building up our trust. That's where the experience of a victory comes into play. When the victory came, the Israelites realized all the more that the enemy's size or weapons didn't matter when the Lord was with them.
Likewise, we can have faith and trust in the Lord but also have some concerns when the "army" we're facing is bigger than we are or has more weapons than we do. But when we're victorious God confirms to us that he is bigger than any army we face and the weapons he gives us are greater than the ones our enemy has. When we experience a victory we gain godly confidence. Then our faith and trust is stronger for the next battle.
