Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Ps 20:1 and following. Indeed, God has given the world more than the testimonies mentioned in Ps 19:1-15: a living Witness, Jesus Christ. ForPs 16:1-3 has shown us the perfect man finding all his delights in believers, those “saints” and “excellents” of the earth. Conversely, in Ps. 20 we see Christ being the center of his interests and affections. To the one who will have to proclaim on the cross, “I cry out for the day, but you do not answer” (Ps 22:1-4) they say, “Let the Lord answer you!… May the Lord fulfill all your requests! Then the certainty of faith: “He will answer him,” to which corresponds the cry of deliverance in Ps 22:20-23: “You have answered me… ». Only then do the faithful intercede for themselves: “May the king answer us.” May we also better realize what jesus saw as his abandonment and then his deliverance and their glorious results for us. “These make glory of their chariots, and these of their horses, but we, in the name of the Lord, our God.” Modern man puts his vanity more than ever in his powerful and fast means of travel as well as in many other things. But the glory of the Christian is to belong to Christ and bear His beautiful name (Jam 2:5-7).
For we can read this psalm as the expression of the feelings of the faithful of the Jewish residue in the exercise of a living faith in their Messiah, the day when he will take care of all their distresses, and when he will go out to claim his rights to the kingdom against his enemies who are also theirs. Therefore, the faithful commend him to the care of Jehovah, anticipate his victory, and also announce that, although struggling with the true Amalec, they and their fathers will have Jehovah as their banner (Exodus 17:15). It was in this spirit that the people commended Joshua for the care of Jehovah when he went out for battle (Joshua 1:17-18). And according to God’s ordinance, when Israel went out to wage war, it was to encourage itself in God, and not to be afraid of the multitude of enemies, their chariots, or their horses (Deut. 20:1). It is in the same spirit that Jesus, in full submission to this ordinance, comes forward here for war. Verse 4, in all its scope, shows us our Lord leaving His priestly service in heaven, now that He is on the verge of undertaking another service as “God of Battles” and Redeemer of inheritance. This task, which he undertakes, going out at the time fixed against his enemies, was sworn upon to him from the moment he sat in heaven (Ps. 110:1), and he waited for the moment (Hebrews 10:13).
For the psalm was composed by David; but if he were the author, there is no problem in speaking of himself in the person of others: The office of prophet having been entrusted to him, he prepared it with great convenience as a form of prayer for the use of the faithful. In doing so, her object was not so much to congratulate herself, by authoritatively issuing a royal ordinance enjoining the people to use this prayer, but to show, in the exercise of her teaching function, that she belonged to the whole Church to concern herself and to use her efforts so that the kingdom that God had erected could remain safe and sound. Many interpreters consider this prayer to be offered only on a special occasion; but in this I cannot agree.
The occasion for its composition may have arisen at the beginning of a particular battle that was about to be fought, either against the Ammonites or against other enemies of Israel. But the purpose of the Holy Spirit, in my opinion, was to deliver to the Church a common form of prayer which, as we can deduce from the words, was to be used whenever she was threatened with danger. God commands His people, in general, to pray for kings, but there was a special reason, which did not apply to any other kingdom, why prayer had to be done in the name of that kingdom; for it was only by the hand of David and his seed that God had decided to rule and maintain His people. It is particularly noteworthy that under the figure of this temporal realm a much more excellent government was described, on which all the joy and bliss of the Church depended. The purpose, then, which David expressly had in mind, was to exhort all of God’s children to cherish such holy concern for the kingdom of Christ, which would incite them to continual prayer on his behalf.
‘May the Lord answer you.’ The Holy Spirit, in presenting the people as praying for God to answer the king’s prayers, must be seen as at the same time warning kings that it is their duty to implore God’s protection in all their affairs. When he says, ‘On the day of distress’, he shows that they will not be exempt from problems, and he does so so as not to be discouraged, if at any time they should be in conditions of danger. In short, the faithful, so that the body is not separated from the head, support the prayers of the king with their common and united supplications. The name of God is here put for God himself and not without reason; for the essence of God being incomprehensible to us, it is up to us to trust him, insofar as his grace and power are revealed to us. From his name therefore proceeds confidence by invoking it. The faithful desire for the king to be protected and helped by God, whose name was invoked among ‘the sons of Jacob’.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
Prayer for the King:
· Name of the Lord, powerful
Ps 113:3 From sunrise to sunset, May the name of the Lord be celebrated! Pr 18:10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous take refuge there, and is safe. Isaiah 50:10 Whoever among you fears the Lord, let him listen to the voice of his servant! Whoever walks in darkness and lacks light, let him trust in the name of Jehovah, and rely on his God! Ml 1:11 For from the dawn of the sun until its setting, My name is great among the nations, And in every place incense is burned in honor of my name And pure offerings are presented; For great is my name among the nations, said the Lord of hosts.
· Divine hand, on men to bless them
2 Ch 30:12 In Judah too the hand of God unfolded to give them the same heart and to have them carry out the command of the king and the chiefs, according to the word of Jehovah. Ps 37:24 If he falls, he is not defeated, for the Lord takes his hand. Ps 104:28 You give it to them, and they collect it; You open your hand, and they satiate themselves with goods. John 10:28 I give them eternal life; and they will never perish, and no one will delight them from my hand.
· False trust, general references
Ps 52:9 This is the man who did not take God as his protector, but who confided in his great riches, and who triumphed in his malice! Ps 146:3 Do not entrust yourselves to the great, to the sons of man, who cannot save. Isaiah 31:1 Woe to those who descend to Egypt for help, Who rely on horses, And rely on the multitude of chariots and the strength of the horsemen, But who do not look to the Holy One of Israel, And do not seek the Lord! Jer 17:5 Thus saith the Lord: Cursed be the man who trusts in man, Who takes the flesh for his support, and who turns his heart away from the Lord!
· Security of the saints, they are firmly established
Ps 40:3 A voice cries out: Prepare for the way of the Lord in the wilderness, Flatten in the arid places A road for our God. Ps 112:8 His heart is strengthened; he has no fear, until he puts his pleasure in looking at his opponents. Isaiah 54:14 Thou shalt be strengthened by righteousness; Banish worry, for you have nothing to fear, and fear, for it will not approach you. Rom 16:25 To him who can strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, in accordance with the revelation of the mystery hidden for centuries, 2 Thes 2:17 console your hearts, and strengthen you in every good work and word!
From all the above, we note that in Ps. 20, in the midst of the sufferings and evil that has entered the world, the Word places before us the faithful witness, the living witness himself: He is seen in the day of his distress, for he descended into the midst of an ungodly people; the residue, prophetically designated by the fact that he takes part in the distress of the Messiah, is assured that the Lord will answer his Anointed. There is consciousness in the faithful; the truth is in their hearts in the presence of the law, and the law understood spiritually; they are interested in the Messiah when he is despised and rejected by men; yet we are in Israel and they await the help of the God of Israel and of this God as dwelling in their midst and having his sanctuary there. In Ps. 16, the Lord identified with the residue; here the faithful associate themselves with him from their hearts in his sufferings and his struggle, although they perhaps see only the outside, being assured, however, of his acceptance before the Lord. They desire that his oblations be accepted, that the desire of his heart and his counsel be fulfilled, and that all his requests be granted to him. Their joy is in the full deliverance of this blessed but dependent Anointed, and verseand 6 expresses the perfect assurance of their faith in this regard: Jehovah has answered from heaven, the powerful have fallen, the poor of the flock are raised up and sustained before him. – In verseand 9, the Messiah takes another position: the Anointed, dependent on the Lord, had been delivered on the day of his distress; now the faithful of the residue are waiting for the king to answer them on the day they cry out to him. It is always to the Lord that one expects as Savior, but one invokes the Messiah, the King; they now know that the Anointed is elevated to the throne. No other part of scripture reveals the person of Christ like the Psalms, with the exception of the first two chapters of Hebrews, which relate to it and serve as their key. – Here the Messiah associated with the residue is the dependent man, but also raised as King to be invoked by Israel; a little later we will find that he is the Lord himself. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “the king in his beauty.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.