Some Trust In Chariots Series

In Psalm 20:7, we read, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God” (NIV). This verse sounds like the motto for a country, like what we find written on our money, which says, “In God We Trust.” But I want to ask you this morning, “Do the people of our country really trust in God?” It appears that more and more, the people of America are going astray from a strong belief and commitment to the Lord. For example, the Barna Research Group shows that only “four out of every ten adults attend a church service on a typical Sunday. That figure is a significant decline from the early Nineties, when close to half of all adults were found in churches on Sunday.”(1)

If people today are failing to place their trust in God, then what exactly do they trust in? Well, we just read that “some trust in chariots and some in horses.” This verse isn’t saying that people are actually worshipping chariots and horses. It’s telling us that people trust in the inventions of man more than they trust in God. They put more stock in man than the Lord. Paul warns us in Colossians 2:8, “Beware lest anyone cheat you through empty philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men.”

In our society people are basing their life decisions on human reasoning. People today don’t accept Christ as “the way, the truth, and the life,” because human philosophy says there is no one truth, and that truth is subjective. People today feel they can reach a state of self-deity because mankind is supposedly evolving: we owe this reasoning to Darwin. Also, life to some people is all about what we can get for ourselves, no matter who we have to step on, because according to Freud we must serve the ego and our basic aggressions. Our country is losing its trust in God because, against Paul’s warning, people are being cheated through the empty philosophy, reasoning, and deception of mankind.

The message that’s found at the center of the Bible – not the central message, for the central message is one of salvation, but the message at the center – is that we must place our trust in God in everything we do. Let me illustrate with some questions and answers. What’s the shortest chapter found in the Bible? It’s Psalm 117. What’s the longest chapter found in the Bible? It’s Psalm 119. Which chapter is the very center of the Bible? The answer is Psalm 118. Fact: There are 594 chapters before Psalm 118; and there are 594 chapters after Psalm 118. When you add these two numbers together you arrive at 1188. What is the center verse in the Bible? Psalm 118:8. So, what does this verse say about trusting in God? It says, “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.”(2)

This morning we’re going to look at the reason why it’s important to put our confidence in the Lord instead of man. We’re going to look at two passages that are related to Psalm 20:7. Remember, that Psalm 20:7 says, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God” (NIV). The two passages that we’re going to view today are from Psalm chapter 33 and Isaiah chapter 31. We’re going to see that we should trust in God because He holds the power to make things happen; while people, on the other hand, are weak and helpless when they attempt to become independent of the Lord.

Trust the Lord for He Is Supernatural (Psalm 33:16-21)

16 No king is saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is not delivered by great strength. 17 A horse is a vain hope for safety; neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. 18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, 19 to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. 20 Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name.

Psalm chapter 33 was written to Israel to remind her that a country will only be blessed if it puts its trust in God alone. If we go back just a few verses to Psalm 33:12, we read this: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” This verse doesn’t say blessed is the nation whose god is the strength of man, or whose god is human devices for war. We read in Deuteronomy 17:16, where God commanded how a king of Israel “shall not multiply horses for himself,” and the reason being that a king with a large army, having many horses and a large arsenal, will be tempted to trust in his own strength instead of in God’s.