Psalm 20

₀₆          Now I know

that the Lord saves His anointed;

 He will answer him from His holy heaven

                                    with the saving strength of His right hand.

⁰⁷          Some boast of chariots,

and some of horses;

But we boast of the Name of the Lord our God.

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Now I Know

For the Lord’s Day:  the 15^th of August 2004

Introduction:  The militant tone of this Battle Hymn of Israel is little respected  in our time both for its theme and its content.  The pagans would be offended by the very thought of any battle in the Name of God that might be waged for the betterment of His people.  And the average premillennial churchman might suppose it presumptuous to announce any type of victory before the actual second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to install an earthly kingdom.  It has also been a long, long time since the term: “the church militant” was welcomed amidst the joyous choral verses of “Onward Christian Soldiers,” that song and tune being as similar to this patriotic psalm as the older “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”

 

However, as we have observed in the process of unfolding the verses, implications and meanings of this delightful patriotic piece – there ought not to be any shame associated with loving that place and country wherein we may dwell during our brief sojourn here on earth.  I had read earlier in the week that the million or so Iraqi Christians were respected during the years of Saddam’s dictatorship for hard work and a basic loyal respect for the offices of government.  That does not mean that they loved the former dictator, but even as Paul encouraged – a certain respect was maintained for any God ordained governing process.

 

In this particular psalm, the love and affection of the people of God for David goes beyond the nominal and ritual prayers offered up in many places today.  As we work towards the stirring conclusion in this poetic work – one thing we must realize is that these are not merely words written on paper, but in fact the stirring of men’s hearts to petition the Almighty towards saving and guiding their king.

 

Development:  “Now I know” the psalmist begins this section even as Calvin allows: “here there follows grateful rejoicing, in which the faithful declare that they have experienced the goodness of God in the preservation of the king.”  Personally, I felt very much the same when President Reagan survived the assignation attempt on his life some years ago.  I would guess that in every American citizen’s lifetime – there is certain affection for at least one of the presidents that they have known for which they knew an uncommon affection and even love.  Personally I respected Gerald Ford, loved Ronald Reagan and was exceptionally thankful for Bush the Elder who was instrumental in the lowering of interest rates at a time when I was floundering financially.

 

Since this is an election year and conservative pastors are being persecuted for any declaration however mild in support, I must refrain from any specific comment on the current resident in the White House.

 

But, there is in the totality of this psalm a firm foundation for regular prayers for the leaders of any nation, by the churches within that nation’s borders.  Peace and prosperity are always welcome and even amidst any necessary wars – the fortitude and well being of those guiding and directing our forces necessitate regular and whole hearted prayer that things may go well not only for our leaders and armed forces, but for the country as a whole.

 

“Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed,” the patriotic psalmist here declares in anticipation of the earnest prayers here being answered in the affirmative!  The Lord’s anointed here was David, but of course – there is always the prophetic element being focused in the future greater Son of David: Jesus Christ.  Calvin writes that “the faithful ascribe to the grace of God the deliverance which had been wrought for David from the greatest dangers, and at the same time, particularly mention the cause of this to be, that God had determined to protect and defend him who, by his commandment, had been anointed king over his people.”

 

In the second couplet in this sixth verse, the main emphasis is certainly repeated and even enhanced.  The fact that God is in heaven is forcibly noted and that it is from that awesome throne that the saving work of God may be given and accomplished.  “He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand.”

 

Now there is something exceptionally important in this echo ringing higher and firmer in the grand scale of redemptive action on the part of our heavenly Father.  The psalmist brings forth the grand argument that God must answer from heaven because it is there that He is enthroned, and it is there from which He guides and directs the multitudes of earth born creatures of every and several kinds.

 

The very fact that the Lord God rules over all from the heavenlies is announcement enough that no enemy can ever ascend up to heaven, but must be limited to the earthly precincts here below.  Here is the great dividing theme between Judaism and the great majority of the ancient religions.  The idols of mankind were earthly objects, limited by the poverty of human imagination.  God’s greatness is known in the very obvious differences from the pagan myths.  In the Greco-Roman world the so called “king of the gods,” one: Zeus - did not so much rule from another worldly presence, but contended with all the lesser gods and goddesses for the privilege of guiding this old world towards a worthy end.

 

In the midst of the Trojan War, the greatest Greek poet guessed that if Zeus were really the prime mover of all things, then he should have tossed the lesser deities around like so many puppets on a string.  And in that skeptical analysis he sowed the seeds for the final overthrow of the Greco-Roman world’s religious system.  After all, if the so called gods and goddesses were in reality less than sovereign over creation and mankind – they were obviously not imagined out of whole cloth – but instead mere creatures of invention.  And so they proved at the end of the ancient era when the whole world looked with some anticipation upon the Jewish prophecies that David’s greater Son must reign well and good with all the right moves, so to speak and the divine power of His Father as well.

 

After all, the pagan Greek gods and goddesses could only rescue and save specific individuals given into their care, and in the case of Achilles – there was a sad but certain tragedy that he could and would be wounded unto death in the very heel from which his mother had suspended him on orders from a lesser deity!

 

David’s salvation was of a totally different sort from that of the Greek stories.  The God of the Hebrews was not only real and all powerful, but He was also the only God above and under the heavens.  Therefore David’s greater Son was guaranteed the final victory of which David’s lesser victories were only a sign and seal that God would win not only the last battle, but all of the important ones along the way as well.

 

Application:  It is our calling to align ourselves however best we are able with the final goals and purposes of our Father God in heaven.  Since David was a man after God’s own heart in a way that was grander than the common experience – here in the praise for the working out of God’s providence we see how David is blessed in seeking to do and know all that honors and serves the Creator God.

 

Of course, like all humans, David was flawed – but even in the midst of serious sins, God was working His greater purpose out according to the plans that He and the Son had agreed to before the world began.  Wherein was David’s greatness – not only in the Father’s plan and providence, but also reflected in David’s affirmation that the Lord God had enabled him in everything that was sung and done!

 

It is a well known fact that until the time of Solomon there was not a regular army in Israel.  The palace guard of three to six hundred who had followed David through thick and thin were just that.  Of course, in the midst of battle they would excite and encourage the lesser militia to greater feats in the Name of their righteous and holy God.  And in the experience of victory – the common theme of David’s reign is reflected in the last line of verse seven for today:  “Some boast of chariots and some of horses; but we boast of the Name of the Lord our God.”

 

In the mid-east today, early on it was the tanks, planes and smart weapons that drove our forces to victory.  But in the aftermath, those who must clear and posses the land of our enemies – they must do so face to face day after day.  Still, their weapons and spirits maintain the edge, but their victory must count finally upon the willingness of our population to support them in not only prayer, but also a certain hope that the cause they are engaged in is right and just.

 

We have already lost one war for a lack of that same resolve, and while the final battles of the current war have yet to be waged – it is the spirit and hope of those here at home that will ultimately decide the issue!  That is a fact that our enemies are counting on – and only time will tell if we have the necessary resolve to petition the only God of all the nations to guard and guide our forces in making the Middle East a safer and better place to live.

 

What it all comes down to in this country is the question raised in this very ancient psalm:  will we pray that God may grant a victory over the forces of darkness?  And there is one further question that needs to be settled, will we be willing to recognize the exceptionally multitudinous group of every kind that opposes the peace and prosperity that comes from the guiding biblical and foundational principles of Western Civilization?

 

That is the question before us today.  I am reminded of an edited version of the old “Battle Hymn of the Republic” in a well respected hymnal.  The last line reads there in the modern thinking:  “Christ died to make men holy, let us live to make men free.”

 

Some years ago, during the first “Desert Storm” I had prepared a war message for whatever week that fighting broke out.  I had chosen as my text the chapter in Isaiah that had inspired the American Battle Hymn, and I had to amend the printout that contained the verses of that “Battle Hymn” to the correct and original thinking:  “Christ died to make men holy, let us die to make men free.”

 

There is a world of difference in those two emphases.  Unless we as a nation, and the members of our armed forces are willing to pay the necessary and ongoing costs for freedom, these will not be long maintained.  And if we must wage war, we in the western tradition are obligated to do so in order that God’s will may be enlarged and the peoples set free from slavery and sinful men.  May we at the very least pray in the midst of the ongoing war:  that the Lord’s purpose may be accomplished in our time and place in history?  Amen.

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PREACHING RESOURCES

Calvin, John:  Commentary on Book of Psalms.

Delitzsch, F:  Commentary on the Old Testament – Psalms.

Spurgeon, C.H:  Treasury of David.

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Permission granted to redistribute unedited versions with this notice.

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