Here Comes Trouble

C.S. Lewis in The Problem of Pain:

“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world....No doubt pain as God's megaphone is a terrible instrument; it may lead to final and unrepented rebellion. But it gives the only opportunity the bad man can have for amendment. it removes the veil; it plants the flag of truth within the fortress of the rebel soul” (3).

Lewis called it pain, but we might rightly generalize the concept to “trouble.”

That’s what we are talking about today. The title is “Here comes Trouble”

That’s the context of Psalm 20. David wrote it, but it was actually written to send David out (and other Kings in future generations) as they went to battle.

This group of men were striking out to defend their nation and to fight for their very lives.

This is not a Psalm that was read at parties. Today, we might read it at an airport, or an ordination or a commissioning service.

This is a Psalm for a somber time. The people reciting this passage would have done so with tears in their eyes. Their husbands, fathers, uncles, cousins lined up in regiments, dressed for battle, uncertain of return.

And as they embarked, the soldiers would hear this Call:

Psalm 20:1–3 ESV

1 May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! 2 May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion! 3 May he remember all your offerings and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah

Psalm 20:4–5 ESV

4 May he grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans! 5 May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!

Then the King would give this Response to the nation:

Psalm 20:6–8 ESV

6 Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand. 7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. 8 They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.

Finally, the people would close out the ceremony with this Benediction:

Psalm 20:9 ESV

9 O Lord, save the king! May he answer us when we call.

So, it is a kind of Call and Response, or a responsive reading. We’ll look at each piece individually.

First, the Call in verses 1-5:

Call (vv.1-5)

Day of Trouble Has Become the Day of Prayer

Before we dive into the verse-by-verse discussion of the first section here, I want to point out one general comment:

These people facing trouble are not all in their homes dealing with it themselves. They are all coming together and speaking with one voice.

There is something to this, I think. Some days, you come to church and share the individual struggles of what you’ve been facing in your house that week.

But sometimes, you bring your troubles, stand up as part of the body of Christ, and sing the songs alongside your brothers and sisters. And sometimes all you can do is just listen. Doing something in unison with others doesn’t have to mean it’s not authentic. Sometimes it’s just good medicine.

You are allowed to struggle. Maybe you struggle with your doubts, struggle with your questions about God’s goodness. But Jesus’ church exists so that you don’t have to struggle alone.

Two things can be true at the same time: you can have some unfinished stories in your life, and still sing, “Christ our Hope in Life and Death” Because whether you are “feeling it” today or not, He really is our only hope in life and death.

With that said, let’s look at the particulars of what the people are saying.

The first line is what clues us into the fact that trouble is coming.

But the day of Trouble has turned into the day of prayer here. They begin prayerfully speaking to the King.

They are talking to the King, but they are asking for God’s Help.

This is Christian reflex; Christian instinct:

You tap a person’s knee, their leg twitches.

You step on a dog’s tail, they yelp.

You put a Christian in a dicey situation, they pray.

Of course we can get better and more consistent and persistent with prayer. But on another level, it’s natural; it’s reflex.

But notice, when they pray, they use God’s name, Yahweh, here (cf. LORD in English Bibles).

Name of the God of Jacob (v.1b)

Name illustration: “I wonder if you know Timmy Burnette...”

Or you introduce yourself to someone and they say, “Your reputation precedes you”

This is the biblical idea of God’s name. It is his reputation. Another word for Reputation is worth, or glory. God’s name is like His glory. It’s that air that surrounds Him. But God’s Reputation-His name is actually said to do things in Scripture:

v. 1: the Name protects those going out.

v. 5: we set up banners in the Name of our God.

v. 7: the Name is that in which we trust.

So here in Psalm 20, God’s name goes further than just being like his reputation or his glory.

That’s what’s going on in these verses. In verse 1 it’s not simply the Name of God. It’s the Name of the God of Jacob. This is a reference to the fact that God gave His name, in a special way, to His people.

Think about the blessing that Aaron was to say to the people in Numbers:

Numbers 6:24–27 ESV

24 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. 27 “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”

So God put his name on his people in this way. That was the whole point of the Aaronic blessing.

The church today has God’s name in even another way: we have been given the name of Jesus: very God of very God who became man.

We are instructed to pray in Jesus’ name (Jn 14:14, 17:6).

We saw a couple weeks ago the Peter healed in Jesus’ name (Acts 3:6).

So It’s not just that God’s name is high and holy—it is! But here is the scandal: He has put it on us. We belong to Him.

Sanctuary: Source of Help (v.2)

In verse 2, we see where the people expect the help to come from. Of all the land of the earth, there was only one place that God would be fully present: that was the Tabernacle in David’s day, and later the Temple in Jerusalem.

Sacrifice: Means of Help (v.3)

In verse 3 we see the means that would be used.

They would have made sacrifices to ask God for help.

But pay attention to language here: It is not the sacrifice itself that pushes the cosmic vending machine buttons. It is God Himself who “regards them with favor.”

It’s not about going through the motions; you gotta know somebody. You can kill bulls all day long, but it is God who blesses, not the priests or the bulls.

We often can get the idea that all our actions for God put him in our debt. We think he owes us something and that is why he blesses us. Nothing could be further from the truth, either in the Old Testament or the New Testament. The faith of God’s people has never been works-based.

Plans fulfilled (v.4)

They are asking for God to fulfill all their plans.

Now, as soon as we read a verse like this, our theological emergency brakes kick in. We want to say, “well, all our plans that are within God’s will.” Or, “We have to be willing to submit to God’s plans and not be too tied to our own.”

These things are true. They are right guardrails. But they are not the point here.

Here’s a question: Is God on your team? Is he working for you?

Maybe we can say it that way. But I think that’s the wrong question.

Rather, we should ask, are you on God’s team? And if so, you’ll find that your plans and desires are being fulfilled and granted. That’s because they are His desires and Plans.

The plans here are likely battle plans.

If you were serving in the military and you are about to go out on a mission and you have a briefing with your commander and he says something like, “well, we have not made any plans. This battle is going to come out the way God wants anyway, so we are just going to go out there and see what happens. We’ll just trust the Lord and it will all work out.”

Would you go out into battle?

It is right and good to make plans to accomplish what God has called us to.

William Carey, a Baptist missionary from London and considered the father of the modern missions movement, preached a sermon just before leaving for India entitled: “Expect Great Things from God; Attempt Great Things for God.” So it is not simply that we sit back and watch God’s providence unroll in our lives; we align our desires with his, and then go after them!

Proverbs 16:9 ESV

9 The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

But this does not mean that we don’t plan our way.

And as these verses show, it is perfectly alright to ask for the things that we desire, and the things that we think are good.

2 Thessalonians 1:11 ESV

11 To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power,

Community Response (v.5)

These people have some skin in the game. They are invested in the outcome.

They wait to hear of God’s answer to their prayer.

And when they hear of the victory, they will shout for joy and set up banners.

We often say this at Covenant: if you are doing community right, then, when someone leaves, even if it’s for a good reason, it hurts.

You care for them and verse 5 becomes true to your own experience.

You will rejoice over their salvation (or, victory).

Because of it, you will have a celebration in the name of God.

We have seen this with you already. When Cambodians come to Christ, you all rejoice with us.

When the church grows and people are discipled here, we rejoice with you.

So that is the Commission that the people give the King as he and the soldiers head out.

Now we turn to the King’s response to the people.

Response (vv.6-8)

Confidence in the LORD

The King’s response to the people is filled with absolute confidence in God.

Look at verse 6: “Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed”

And the help, here, does not just come from the sanctuary in Jerusalem, but God “will answer from his holy heaven”

So, there is great confidence, but is it misplaced confidence? Did God actually save His anointed?

Well, we don’t have to look far to see the outcome. In fact, the very next Psalm gives the answer.

Look with me at the first few lines of Psalm 21:

Psalm 21:1–7 ESV

1 O Lord, in your strength the king rejoices, and in your salvation how greatly he exults! 2 You have given him his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah 3 For you meet him with rich blessings; you set a crown of fine gold upon his head. 4 He asked life of you; you gave it to him, length of days forever and ever. 5 His glory is great through your salvation; splendor and majesty you bestow on him. 6 For you make him most blessed forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence. 7 For the king trusts in the Lord, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.

The Messiah (v.6)

The word here that is translated as, “anointed” is the word Messiah.

This was the title given to the King of Israel, beginning with David.

And throughout the generations of Israel’s kings, the king would be known as the Messiah, the Anointed One.

But then, centuries later, after all the dynasties of Israel’s kings had been washed away by their enemies, John records an a story about a Jewish man from Nazareth standing as a criminal before the military leader of a foreign, occupying force, a man named Pilate. And he asks him:

English Standard Version Chapter 18

What have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” 37 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king

Now, you know how that story ended. And Jesus Himself says he is not willing to fight Pilate or the Jews.

Jesus claimed to be God’s anointed one— the Messiah.

He did not resist, but submitted to death. And all creation holds its breath. Did God let down His Anointed?

Not at all. That day in Jerusalem, Jesus won the war. And in doing so, He defeated more than the Roman Empire.

Jesus, our warrior King went to battle at the Cross and defeated Death itself. God brought Him the victory by raising Him from the dead.

So, in your struggle against the powers of death, sin, and Satan, you can be certain of victory if you stand with the LORD’s King.

But none of us start out on His side. We don’t start out in the Lord’s Service.

In this Psalm, you’re the enemy first. So hear these words from the Apostle Paul:

Acts 17:30–31 ESV

30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

You have to turncoat on your old master and serve a new one. You have to sabotage your sin and betray the Evil One. You have to repent.

You can’t put your confidence in the things you used to.

Look at verses 7-8 now.

A Boast, or a Catechism (vv.7-8)

The word translated “trust” here is literally the word “to make mention”

This is not simply a statement of fact: it’s a boast.

A boast is not just something vain people do. It’s not exactly bragging.

In the movie Braveheart, what William Wallace does just before the charge to fight the English is a boast:

Aye. Fight and you may die. Run, and you’ll live...at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days, from this day to that, for one chance – just one chance – to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives but they’ll never take our freedom! [Braveheart]

Or, in D2: The Mighty Ducks, just before Team USA heads out to face Team Iceland:

We’re gonna stick together, you know why? Because we are Ducks. And Ducks fly together.

And just when you think they’re about to break apart—Ducks fly together.

And when the wind blows hard and the sky is black—Ducks fly together.

And when the roosters are crowing and the cows are spinning circles in the pasture—Ducks fly together!

And when everyone says it can’t be done—Ducks fly together!

One is a little more distinguished than the other, but these are boasts.

A boast is how you get yourself ready to charge into battle.

It’s a declaration of where your confidence is.

Verse 7 talks about chariots and horses. This is a description of the implements of war in their day.

Allude to 2 Sam. 24 and David’s Census.

By the end, King David, the man who wrote these words, struggled with hoping in Chariots and horses and the implements of war instead of the Lord!

That’s why we need a better King from a better Kingdom.

Here is the point: it was Israel that was tempted to fear (and therefore trust in) chariots and horses.

Verse 7 is there, not to mock some other people who trust in chariots and horses. It’s to remind Israel that they don’t trust in those things.

Every hour, this is the decision to make.

How do you get yourself ready to charge into battle? What do you tell yourself as you head into trouble?

We might update verse 7 and say:

“Some trust in pastors, and some in famous preachers”

or, “Some trust in Fox News, and some in CNN”

or, “Some trust in Presidents, and some in Elections”

or, “Some trust in parents, and some in children”

or, “Some trust in 401(k)’s, and some in a good job”

Paul says it this way in Galatians 6:

Galatians 6:14 ESV

14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

A boast is like a Catechism.

A Catechism is a set of specific questions and answers that are meant to be memorized and repeated.

So that answer is in there when the question comes up.

I can’t tell you how many times this past year Brittany has asked me, in a moment of feeling anxious, the first question from the New City Catechism. It’s a newer Catechism based on the Westminster and Heidelberg Catechisms. It’s the one that last song we sang is based on:

Q: “What is our only hope in life and death?

A: That we are not our own but belong, body and soul, both in life and in death, to God and to our Savior Jesus Christ.

Benediction (v. 9)

In verse 9, we have the benediction: a kind of “amen” to send the King on His mission.

There is a shift here. The people ask God for favor from the King.

They ask God that the Messiah would hear them.

We have a leg up on the first people who spoke these words: We know the name of God’s Messiah!

And we know that our Anointed King, Jesus, will indeed answer us when we call!

So, friend, call on Him in the day of trouble.

Call on Him to save you.

If you’ve never done that, you can do that for the first time.

Beloved, If you’ve been following Jesus for a while, you know that you don’t just get saved once and then leave it behind. Salvation is also a present-tense reality.

You need Jesus to keep sanctifying you.

Call on Him to give you victory.

He will answer you when you call.

Benediction Reading:

Ephesians 3:20–21 ESV

20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.