Psalm 20: “To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob defend you; may He send you help from the sanctuary, and strengthen you out of Zion; may He remember all your offerings, and accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah. May He grant you according to your heart's [desire], and fulfill all your purpose. We will rejoice in your salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up [our] banners! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions. 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. Some [trust] in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. They have bowed down and fallen; but we have risen and stand upright. Save, LORD! May the King answer us when we call.”
Alright, this is Part 3 of our study here, and we’re looking at Verses 7-9 to wrap things up in this Psalm. So, let’s look at these particular verses to see what we’re working with. Again, here’s what Verses 7-9 say:
“Some [trust] in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. They have bowed down and fallen; but we have risen and stand upright. Save, LORD! May the King answer us when we call.”
The Bible shows a BIG difference between those who REALLY trust in the LORD and those who trust in themselves and the things of this world. The problem between the two is that both types of people are ultimately looking for the same results, but going about different ways to see those results. The Bible shows how people seek prosperity, preservation, safety, and security. We all want to be safe. We all want to be successful. We all want to be richly blessed and satisfied. Right? Whether people admit they want those blessings to come from God or not, is a different subject. We all want to live according to standards that are good and right, generally speaking.
Yet, the Bible teaches that God is the only One who can produce a quality of life that is safe, successful, blessed, and satisfying. Also, the Bible teaches that God’s nature is eternal and spiritual. This means that the essence of God’s provision, protection, and blessing, are also “eternal and spiritual.” The emphasis of God’s work isn’t focused on the factors of this life.
Instead, God’s focus is on eternal life. For a lot of people, that’s the rub. God’s purposes and promises transcend this life. He can bless us beyond our comprehension in ETERNAL life. The quality of life we live now doesn’t hinder God’s ability to do so. If we want to share in the good things God does, we need to come to terms with THIS reality first.
The good news is that, when we seek the LORD by faith, we CAN gain access to the benefits of God’s provision and protection. While the FULL benefits of God’s blessings are only available in eternity, God can STILL provide peace and satisfaction in this life to certain degrees. People who trust in themselves and in the things of this world, where they are focused ONLY on the factors of this life, will never get the peace and satisfaction that comes from God. Those who trust in themselves and this world, chiefly focused on the factors of this life, are looking to gain something by impossible means.
Look, everything reproduces of its own kind. Peace and satisfaction are ultimately benefits that settle the soul. Material prosperity and success will never be enough to bring true contentment because material success doesn’t affect the soul. People who chase the things of this world to settle their souls, won’t ever find what they are looking for. According to the Bible, the people who seek material and physical means, to accomplish spiritual and eternal results, will end up broken, ashamed, and fallen. Talk about counter-productive? On the other hand, the people who trust in THE NAME OF THE LORD will be exalted, and upright in satisfaction. What a contrast!
This principle is clearly communicated in Psalm 20:7-9. The testimony of Psalm 20 teaches us NOT to trust in the things of this world. We learn that factors of “the flesh,” won’t help us gain benefits that have spiritual results. Things like prosperity, preservation, safety, and security for the soul can only be fulfilled by God. The Bible teaches us to put ALL our trust in “the name of the LORD.” The phrase “name of the LORD,” describes God’s identity, character, and nature. People seeking prosperity, preservation, safety, and security, are supposed to trust in who God is as YAHWEH – the eternally self-existing and self-sustaining Creator of all things in heaven and earth. Since God is YAHWEH, He is eternally transcendent. He is exalted above all things in power, wisdom, majesty, and glory. He is the source of all things that are good and right. How could anyone receive anything TRULY “good and right,” apart from God, if He’s the source? Think about that…
The truth of the matter is, that a lot of people are confused about the true nature of prosperity, preservation, safety, and security. So, many people venture down all kinds of false avenues, to gain those things. The Bible teaches that true prosperity is NOT material in nature. True prosperity comes from the LORD, through the fulfillment of His eternally unconditional promises by the Messiah – Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches that TRUE prosperity can only come from Him because of His promise to judge the world of sin and darkness. How does that work?
It’s impossible to gain prosperity as a victim of God’s judgments. Nothing prosperous is coming to people who are condemned as enemies of God. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist or theologian to figure that one out. Since God WILL destroy all things AND people, that are contrary to Him and His eternal purposes, ANY form of prosperity that comes from a source different than Him, is fake. Why? Because He’s going to destroy EVERYTHING contrary to Him. God will purge everything fake and contradictory to His nature as “the truth.”
This means that we need to be spiritually preserved from and separated from God’s wrath to be heirs of GENUINE prosperity, that only comes from Jesus.
Why Jesus?
He’s the Judge. Jesus is the One destroying everything fake and contrary to the nature of the Father. The Bible teaches that God the Father made it that way. So, we need to be safe from His judgment and secure in His spiritual protection. The unique protection that Jesus provides ensures the integrity of our souls. Jesus preserves our souls so He can bless us AFTER He destroys the things that corrupt His blessings. Psalm 20:7-9 explains that “the name of the LORD” is the ONLY way that anyone can be saved from God’s coming judgment; and therefore, the ONLY way that anyone can REALLY prosper. Again, Verses 7 and 8 say:
“Some [trust] in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. They have bowed down and fallen; but we have risen and stand upright.”
God reveals the truth in scripture about where we should put our trust. Still, there are many people who “trust in chariots.” Many attempt to use material, temporary, finite, and flawed instruments, to achieve an eternal and spiritual result. Is it possible to get fresh water from a saltwater source? If everything reproduces of its own kind, how can something finite, produce something infinite? How can a horse provide spiritual preservation of the soul? How can a chariot take a person into the eternal kingdom of God? A Tesla won’t get you into the kingdom of heaven, no matter how efficient it might be.
It just doesn’t make any sense, to put any value into things that can’t produce something valuable. This is why it’s important to remember the name of the LORD as YAHWEH, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God’s name teaches us how He is eternally self-existing and self-sustaining. His name teaches us how He is faithful to do everything He says in the scriptures. God made a lot of important promises and covenants with the children of Israel, that have yet to be fulfilled entirely. Still, King David (The man who penned Psalm 20) was confident that God would fulfill every promise – totally and fully.
Knowing that God WILL DO what He said, it’s important to remember that the world has to be judged first. This is the part that many people don’t like, but this is what the Bible teaches.
God must remove all of Israel’s enemies from the land BEFORE He sets up His dwelling place in Jerusalem. God must purify the hearts of His people BEFORE they serve Him the right way. God must spiritually equip His people to distribute His blessings through Israel as written in the scriptures.
All of these things describe Jesus’ work that He does when He comes back. Yep, at the 2nd Coming. Not the Rapture, that’s different. At Jesus’ “2nd Coming” He will not only destroy the armies that oppose Him and His people, but also bind up the anti-Christ, the false prophet, and Satan himself! Even though Jesus’ initial judgments will have physical results in this world, the root of His work is spiritual. The Book of Revelation makes that VERY clear. As a result, the things that are contrary to God, physically and spiritually, WILL BE destroyed by Jesus, in time.
Since this IS TRUE, the people who trust in the holy name of the LORD, need to remember that God will purge ALL of the things of this world, that are contrary to Him. So, those who trust in the name of the LORD, should NOT value the things that God will ultimately destroy. When the world gathers together to oppose Jesus at the Battle of Armageddon, He WILL show the futility of trusting in worldly and human resources. This is why Psalm 20:7-9 says that those who trust in worldly human resources will be broken down, and fall in the end. And by the way, the full testimony of scripture shows that these folks won’t get up when Jesus knocks them down. True story…
David wrote that he and his people will remember “the name of the LORD.” Previously in Psalm 20, David wrote that “the name of the LORD” was YAHWEH. He also referred to God’s identity as Jehovah Nissi, a Hebrew title meaning, “the LORD Our Banner.” Remember that the title Jehovah Nissi describes the victory of God’s salvation from sin, death, and hell. As the eternally self-existing and self-sustaining Creator and Sustainer of all things in heaven and earth, God provides salvation to His people – the ones who trust in who He is, rather than themselves. God’s salvation is preservation from His judgments.
Why does God refer to His judgments so often? God’s judgments purify and perfect the world and God’s true people so that we can enjoy His blessings to maximum capacity, forever. God won’t give His good stuff in a jacked-up world. Before God pours out His goodness in the world, He will destroy corruption. The people who trust in the LORD will be saved from that judgment, separated from His destruction, and thereby able to share in the victory of the Messiah after He wins the war against sin and darkness.
In Psalm 20:7-9, David referred to God with a different “name.” David wrote that the LORD is “our God.” The Hebrew word used to describe “God,” is the word “Elohim.” The word Elohim is a word that describes God’s triune nature as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as well as His supreme majesty. God’s triune nature equips Him to fulfill His promise to bring His victory, producing REAL safety and satisfaction. God fulfills ALL of His promises, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each equally, and uniquely contributing to the same cause.
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit work together to express the supremacy of His majesty. Those who trust in YAHWEH AS Elohim share the benefits of God’s victory. The people who believe that the eternally self-existing and self-sustaining Creator of all things, manifests Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are those who gain the benefits of His promises. The people who trust in the power and wisdom of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as supremely majestic, are the ones who share in the victory He promises. While those who trust in themselves will fall broken, those who trust in the LORD as YAHWEH, and ALSO trust in the way that He makes Himself known - as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – THEY will be able to share His victory, by standing upright in His glory! According to the Bible, that’s what saving faith is all about.
David finished up Psalm 20 by saying: “Save, LORD! May the King answer us when we call.”
The salvation that David wrote about, was not just preservation from circumstantial trials. David wanted salvation of a greater kind. There is only one true form of salvation. There is salvation of the soul, from the eternal effects of sin, death, and hell. Those who ONLY seek safety from circumstances, don’t turn to YAHWEH to be safe. They turn to horses and chariots – temporary things of this world, focused on this life, ultimately, contrary to God.
On the other hand, those who look to the eternally self-existing and self-sustaining Creator, for mercy and preservation, seek a salvation of HIS quality and nature – eternal and spiritual. David knew the way that God would respond to his prayers for salvation. David knew God would answer humble and faithful prayers for salvation through “the King.” Here, it’s important to note that David identified “the name of the LORD” as “Elohim,” referring to His triune identity. He didn’t just call God a king, but specifically called God, the one-of-a-kind-triune-King.
The scriptures show that David knew that the Father’s response to the cries of His people would come from the Messiah – God-in-flesh. David was the king of Israel but anticipated God sending a GREATER King – the KING of kings. God anointed David to be Israel’s king for some time. Still, David looked to God to send His Anointed – the Messiah – to bring salvation, as he described in Verse 6. David might have had some strength to deal with the trials of his life but looked to the Right Hand of God for a greater quality of strength. David wanted strength from God to deal with spiritual and eternal things. That’s strength David knew he didn’t have within himself. David might have sat on a throne of authority in Jerusalem to deal with some issues in Israel, but looked for One greater than him, to rule from Zion, to make Israel righteous and holy, as stated in Verse 2. The King David referred to, was the promise of the Father’s Messiah King of Israel. The Messiah King of Israel is the One who fulfills ALL of the Father’s eternally unconditional promises. David might not have known that this King’s name was Jesus, but looked to Jesus as the manifestation of YAHWEH, as Elohim, to do the things the Father promised, which NO human being can do of their own ability.
And, THAT’S what the Bible teaches about the One, WE know, as God.
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