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The True Faith Max A Forsythe Christ
Covenant
REFORMED
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God Save The King
Psalm 20: 1-9
By all accounts, this is a war psalm reserved for use in days of trouble. Worldly commentators may decry the subject as well as the psalm itself in our day and time. By the late sixties the protesters and politicians had so undermined the confidence of our military that by 1972 we were as a nation incapable of waging any kind of war, small or large. It took almost twenty years for dedicated career soldiers like General Swartzkopf to turn things around. But even after the proven success of Desert Storm strategy and tactics, there were very powerful detractors, who felt that the real problem with the whole Middle East conflict lay in the fact that there were not enough Allied casualties! Yes, you heard me right, not enough American dead and wounded to suit some of our leaders grim viewpoint of war. How can that be you may well ask? If we can begin to appreciate this jaded concern, then we are well on track to comprehend our theme for today.
And our theme is concerned with a Christian's view of, and dedication to the fundamentals of our faith. Just as mankind can regularly misunderstand the providential guidance of history by our God in heaven, so can many just as well miss the essential points of Scripture. With this thought in mind, let us turn to our twentieth psalm for inspiration in what God is able to do in the midst of His faithful people.
Spurgeon divides this psalm into four sections. The first four verses are a prayer for the success of the king. The second three verses express the congregation's confidence in God and His anointed. Verse eight declares the defeat of the foul foe and verse nine is a concluding petition to the God of Israel.
The opening verses are the people's prayers for David the King. He was by all accounts well loved by the common folk and soldiers in Israel and Judah. This love of the people time and again frustrated the palace coupes of David's unworthy sons and their followers. Here we see that love set to music to be sung just before the King would go forth to do battle. This is no prideful Marine's hymn! A Literature teacher in college once brought the house down with a fifteen minute dissertation on the idea of any Marines guarding the streets of heaven. This is also no allusion to the mighty cassions of the Army, the steel war birds of the wild blue yonder, or even the long gray battle line of the Navy.
No the focus here is proper: in time of trouble, David and his subjects remember the real power behind the throne of Judah and Israel. And that power is our God in heaven. The petitions of the people are sixfold in these five verses. Let us consider these in sequence.
The first petition reads: "May the Lord answer you when you are in the day of trouble;" One of the unusual things that has come down in oral tradition about David's troops was the nature of their team chatter in the midst of conflict. You know what team chatter is from sports don't you? I well remember a series of Charlie Brown comics about the subject a few years ago. As the team captain he thought a little more positive interplay amongst the team might give them more success. Even as some modern sports teams demonstrate their team spirit in the way they interact, so too have soldiers of various nationalities demonstrated their approach to battle in the way they talk to each other. The British Imperial Army long noted the ethnic differences between Irish, Scot, Welch and English battalions in this sense. And these national characteristics were accounted for in the heat of battle. In this century, the German troops have perhaps been the noisiest and most cheerful in the heat of combat, while American's have usually been the strong silent type. In David's case, his soldiers shouted their prayers in the life and death struggles of their ancient battle lines. "Lord, give me strength or I die", "Lord, help me with this ungainly giant opposing me", Lord, God, guide my arrow". In the earnest prayer of this petition, may the Lord God hear the troops and their king in the heat of battle. In the same sense, the Lord hear our prayers and the intercessions of our King Jesus even in the midst of all our troubles.
The second petition asks that "the name of the God of Jacob defend you." Here is an allusion to the strong Name of our God. The petition is not for the name of a famous regiment, nor for the cavalry to come. No, may the Name above all names, our creator God whose earthly children included the less than perfect Jacob, my His strong Name protect the king's men. There is a hymn line that sums up this idea: "Take the Name of Jesus with you." Wherever you go, whatever you do, take the Divine Name with you as your protection.
The third petition is twofold: "May he send you help from the sanctuary and strengthen you out of Zion." Today's world rarely turns to the sanctuary or the church. Instead, our politicians look to the Armory, the Treasury or as Spurgeon has it, the Buttery, to solve all of our national problems. Well do we understand the well developed industrial-military complex which has dominated our era. Equally well do we comprehend the extra hand of Uncle Sam in our pockets to fill the national treasury. Equally well should we appreciate the American capacity to raise enough food to feed a world at war in 1917 and 1941. Yet, all of these sources are not the focus of God's people in this psalm. Even our own Congress and Supreme Court still allow petitions to be made to the God of heaven for the success of their endeavors.
The fourth petition urges the Lord to remember the King's own faithfulness: "May He remember all your offerings and accept your burnt sacrifice." In the sense of this petition I would think that many of our national leaders today have fallen short. Whenever our politicians have had to make known the state of their finances, very many of our leaders have no comprehension of what the word "tithe" really means. David's heart and pocket book by all accounts were both converted. In this century, if the church people had been doing what they really ought to be doing in this matter, we would not be taxed three times more than the tithe which was instituted to do what social programs now pretend to accomplish.
The fifth petition concerns the proper desires of David's heart and requests that his war plans might succeed. If the heart of the King is right before his God, then we may safely assume that he will make no unwarranted personal requests. Here we may consider one of my personal admonitions to all of you regarding your regular prayers. Since we have began here, I have urged you not to pray for your selfish wants, but to encourage your friends and families to pray for your spiritual needs. In this psalm, we see the people praying for their king and petitioning the God of heaven for the success of their troops. And I thank you all for your heartfelt prayers on my and my family's behalf.
In verse five the people make a promise to their king. That promise is that in their celebration of victory they will raise their banners in the name of our God. To Him alone will credit be given for the victories won on the field of battle. For centuries, European when battle standards were retired from service they were hung in the heights of Cathedrals.
The last petition in this section requests the Lord's overwatch of their king in battle. Too often in our times and in others as well, we have maintained the illusion but not the practice of these heartfelt petitions contained in this twentieth psalm. As I remember the public prayers which are now banned in most cases, I can really appreciate the shallow formula nature of most. Okay gang, we have to do this as a matter of decorum, lets get it over and done with, with as little pain as possible. Perhaps this common shiftless and inattentive attitude in this century is what has prompted our Father in heaven to take His precious Name and holy prayers out of our secular institutions?
How long has it been since sincere public petitions were a matter of reality instead of mere formality? How long has it been since we have had a leader of David's stature who would publicly declare what David says in verses six through eight? And how much longer has it been since the American public could faithfully give the petition in verse nine? Is it any wonder that God appears to be silent and inactive in our day?
There have been few presidents in my lifetime that I could honestly work up enough emotion to publicly say "God save the President!". Even if I can't say that with feeling, at the very least I must pray for the man. Unlike a prominent pastor who declared that he will not longer pray for our leaders, let us intensify our prayers all men and especially for those whom God has allowed to be appointed over us.
Even those who would still lament the great dictator of the War Between the States, as they call him, they must admit that had his charitable policies at the end of the war been established - the recovery of national unity would have come much sooner and much easier. That "charity for all", Abraham Lincoln learned from the Holy Scriptures which through the work of the Holy Spirit converted him while he was still in office. Even the well known womanize Henry Clay was born again. It is amazing what the Lord can do with "great" men when He lays hands upon them. So in a specific theological sense -we would all do well to pray earnestly: "God save the President!" May our great King answer us when we call. Amen.
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RESOURCES USED |
PLACES PREACHED |
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Kidner,
Derek.. |
Christ Covenant
Reformed (PCA) |
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Spurgeon,
C.H. |
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psm020a.htm |
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