Introduction: The Day of Trouble
There is not a soul in this sanctuary today who is a stranger to trouble. The Bible calls it, in the beautiful and stark language of the King James, "the day of trouble." It is that day when the doctor's report is not what you had hoped. It is that day when the notice of termination arrives. It is that day when a relationship you cherished lies in ruins. It is that day when fear for your children's future grips your heart, when the finances do not add up, when the weight of the world seems to press down upon your shoulders until you can scarcely breathe. In that day of trouble, the human heart scrambles for a solution. It looks for a defense, a source of help, a strategy for victory. We live in an age of sophisticated solutions. We have our plans, our insurance policies, our savings accounts, our influential contacts, our own intellect and cunning. These are our modern-day chariots and horses.
But the Psalmist, King David, inspired by the Holy Ghost, gives us a divine pattern for how the people of God are to face the day of trouble. Psalm 20 is not a psalm of quiet reflection; it is a battle cry. It is a corporate prayer of the congregation for their king as he goes out to war. But today, it is our prayer for one another, and it is a declaration of where our ultimate trust must lie. Let us walk through this mighty Psalm together.
I. The Prayer for Divine Assistance (Verses 1-4)
The Psalm opens not with the king's own voice, but with the voice of the people praying for him. This is our first lesson: we are to bear one another's burdens and lift each other up in prayer before the battle begins. Look at verse 1:
"The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;"
The first plea is for God's attention: "The LORD hear thee." In a world of noise and distraction, the greatest comfort is to know that the Sovereign of the universe inclines His ear to our cry. But it is more than just hearing; it is that the very name of God would be our defense. Why the "God of Jacob"? Remember Jacob. He was a struggler, a supplanter, a man who wrestled with God and man and prevailed. The "God of Jacob" is the God who meets us in our weakness, in our struggle, and defends us not because we are perfect, but because He is faithful. Your defense is not in your strength, but in His name. Verse 2 continues this plea for supernatural aid:
"Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion."
Where does real help come from? Not from the armory, not from the treasury, but from "the sanctuary," from Zion. The sanctuary was the place of God's holy presence, the place of sacrifice and atonement. For us, the children of the New Covenant, our help comes from the true sanctuary, Heaven itself, where our Lord Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, ever lives to make intercession for us. Our strength comes from the spiritual reality of God's kingdom, not the material resources of this world. And then, a beautiful reminder in verses 3 and 4:
"Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice; Selah. Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel."
The people pray that God would remember the king's devotion. This is not about earning God's favor. You cannot buy a miracle. This is about God honoring a life of faithfulness. God sees your secret prayers, your quiet acts of service, the sacrifices you make that no one else notices. He does not forget. And because the king's heart is aligned with God's, the people can pray, "Grant thee according to thine own heart." When your heart delights in the Lord, its desires begin to mirror His desires. God is not afraid to fulfill the counsel of a man or woman whose counsel is first submitted to Him.
II. The Declaration of Confident Trust (Verses 5-7)
The tone shifts in verse 5 from petition to proclamation. Faith begins to declare the victory before the battle is even won.
"We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the LORD fulfil all thy petitions."
Notice the confidence! "We will rejoice." "We will set up our banners." Banners were flags flown in victory, declaring allegiance. They are saying, "When this is over, the flag we fly will not be the flag of our own strength or our nation's might, but the banner of the name of our God!" They are pre-deciding to give God all the glory.
Verse 6 is a personal testimony rising from the corporate prayer:
"Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand."
Faith has moved from hope to knowledge. "Now know I." This is the assurance that settles in the soul when you have laid your case before the throne of grace. God saves His "anointed." In the Old Testament, this was the king. But in the New, Peter tells us we are a "royal priesthood," a "holy nation" (1 Peter 2:9). If you are in Christ Jesus, you are God's anointed. He will hear you from His holy heaven, and He will answer with the "saving strength of his right hand."
And this brings us to the thunderous climax of the Psalm, the verse upon which the entire sermon turns. Verse 7:
"Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God."
Here is the great divide of all humanity. Here is the choice that confronts every single person in their day of trouble.
The world trusts in chariots and horses. In David's time, these were the pinnacle of military technology. A chariot was like a tank-a symbol of power, speed, and invincibility. Horses represented strength and might. To trust in them was to trust in the very best that human ingenuity and power could produce. What are our chariots and horses today?
It is the chariot of our bank account, believing that enough money can solve any problem.
It is the horse of our career and connections, believing the right title or the right friend can open any door.
It is the chariot of modern medicine, trusting the diagnosis and the prescription more than the Great Physician.
It is the horse of our own intellect and plans, meticulously mapping out every contingency, leaving no room for God to work.
It is the chariot of political power, believing that if we just get the right party or person in charge, all will be well.
These things are not inherently evil. God may use them. But they make for terrible gods. They are unreliable foundations upon which to build a life. But David says, "we will remember the name of the LORD our God." To remember His name is to remember His character. It is to remember that He is Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord who provides. It is to remember He is Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord who heals. It is to remember He is El Shaddai, God Almighty, for whom nothing is too hard. It is to remember the God who parted the Red Sea, who made the sun stand still, who brought down the walls of Jericho with a shout, and who raised His own Son from the dead! To remember His name is to consciously shift your trust from the visible, tangible, and temporary to the invisible, eternal, and all-powerful God.
III. The Assurance of Final Victory (Verses 8-9)
What is the result of this choice? Verse 8 gives the stark contrast:
"They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright."
Those who trust in chariots are "brought down and fallen." Their source of strength inevitably collapses, and they collapse with it. Wealth vanishes, health fails, power shifts, friends betray. The chariots of this world will always end up in the ditch. But look at the posture of the believer: "we are risen, and stand upright." In the face of the same troubles that fell others, the one who trusts in the Lord is not just saved from falling-they are raised up. They stand firm, secure, and victorious, not in their own power, but because their foundation is the Rock of Ages.
The Psalm concludes with a final cry, a summary of its entire message, directed now to the ultimate King.
"Save, LORD: let the king hear us when we call."
This is a prayer for salvation. "Save, LORD!" or as it is in the Hebrew, Hosanna! It is a cry for deliverance. And it is a plea that the King would hear us. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, our King is not a man on an earthly throne. Our King is the risen Christ, seated at the right hand of the Father. And we have His promise: "whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do" (John 14:13). Our King always hears us when we call.
Conclusion: Where is Your Trust?
So I ask you plainly this morning, as you face your own "day of trouble": Where is your trust? Look at the stable of your heart. Is it filled with the world's chariots and horses? Are you polishing your résumé, counting your money, dialing your contacts, and putting all your faith in those things to see you through? They will fail you. They are already failing you. They are brought down and fallen.
Or will you, today, make a conscious decision to "remember the name of the LORD our God"? Will you trade the rattling chariot of anxiety for the solid rock of His faithfulness? Will you trade the failing horse of your own strength for the saving strength of His right hand?
The choice is yours. Some trust in chariots. Some in horses. But as for me and my house, as for this church, let our declaration be, "we will remember the name of the LORD our God." For in His name, and His name alone, we are not brought down, but we are risen, and we stand upright.
