A NATIONAL ANTHEM–PSALM 20:1-9
Introduction:
“If David had not been vexed with wars, we might never have been favoured with such psalms as this. There is a needs be for the trials of one saint, that he may yield consolation to others. A happy people here plead for a beloved sovereign, and with loving hearts cry to Jehovah, “God save the King.”
“The particular occasion which suggested it, it would be mere folly to conjecture, for Israel was almost always at war in David’s day. His sword may have been hacked, but it was never rusted.” —Charles H. Spurgeon.
I. A PRAYER FOR SUCCESS vv. 1-4
A. In the day of trouble, v. 1; Psalms 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
1. God’s promise, Psalms 91:15, “He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.”
a. God has saved us from our worst enemy, 2 Timothy 1:9, “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,”
b. He has delivered us from the power of darkness, Colossians 1:13, “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:”
c. He has delivered us from the wrath to come, 1 Thessalonians 1:10, “And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.”
1) He is our Rescuer, Romans 11:26, “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:”
2) He is the Redeemer of those that turn from transgression, Isaiah 59:20, “And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.”
2. Even during the time of Jacob’s trouble God will deliver His people, Jeremiah 30:7, “Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.”
a. This speaks of the Tribulation period, Daniel 9:27, “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”
b. The period will end when Christ appears to rescue His elect, Romans 11:26, “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:”
c. The Lord will establish His kingdom at that time, Matthew 24:30-31, “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31-And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
B. The name of God defend you, vv. 1-2; Psalms 9:10, “And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.”
1. God will set His people in a high place of defense, Psalms 59:9, “Because of his strength will I wait upon thee: for God is my defence.”
2. He is our High Tower, 2 Samuel 22:3, “The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.”
II. UNWAVERING CONFIDENCE IN GOD vv. 5-7
A. In Jesus there is salvation for it is His salvation, Psalms 35:9, “And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice in his salvation.”
1. When David had sinned, he asked God to restore “the joy of THY salvation,” Psalms 51:12, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.”
2. David had confidence that his salvation was secure, but his SERVICE had been hindered, 1 Corinthians 9:27, “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”
B. God saves His chosen people, Psalms 28:8, “The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.”
III. THE DECLARATION OF THE DEFEAT OF THE FOE vv. 8-9
A. How different is the end of those whose trusts are different, v. 8; Psalms 34:22, “The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.”
B. The enemies of God and His people will die in dishonor as did Sisera, captain of the host of Jabin, king of Canaan, Judges 5:26-27, “She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen’s hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples. 27- At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead.”
C. But we stand on our feet having trusted in our God, Jeremiah 17:7-8, “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. 8-For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.”
CONCLUSION