The Word of God - A Discussion: Psalms Week 2
6/5/22 Sunday Evening Study
Psalm 13 - 33

Psalm 20:6-8

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.

I picked apart this idea from verse 7 - some trust in chariots and some trust in horses. Chariots were a method of conveyance which offered protection. Not only were you able to ride inside and not be exposed, it also hid who you are and any precious cargo you might be carrying. So if we are trusting in chariots, we are trusting in being almost unseen and untouchable. What would that equate to now? 

• Internet anonymity
• status/class/race?
• weapons/training
• Our literal vehicles and homes

What about trusting in horses? The horses serve us also as conveyances - even being the power behind the chariot. The horse, if well trained, knows where to go, will avoid danger, and will at the very least look out for itself - expending its energy rather than our own. There is a common trust between a horse and a rider - when one is tense or afraid the other knows. What do we have like that today?

• Social groups/cliques
• money/investments

Is there anything wrong with trusting in these things? We value security in a world where things seem to become more insecure by the day. It seems that there is nowhere safe - schools, churches, grocery stores - evil and tragedy is everywhere. We trust in these items of security because they work, to an extent. But David’s point here is easy to understand - these things can only do so much, and they will fail, but if we are trusting first in God, we will be the ones left standing upright.

Does this mean that if a shooter goes into a church the people who are killed or injured are only the people who place their trust in the wrong things? Absolutely not. Sometimes being the one standing upright at the end means that we put ourselves in harm’s way - at least for this life. The point here is that if in fact we trust our eternal destiny to God, then ultimately what we see around us - all of the things that will crumble away and die, don’t matter in the light of eternity with Him. My eternal status with God should be the only thing I really need to trust - even today, even in this life. Yet that seems so far off, and I want what I want now!

We read the most famous Psalm of all time this week - a psalm that I have preached a dozen times at funerals. The angle I always take for the 23rd psalm is this idea of God leading and guiding us while we live, protecting us both now and forever, and then our eternal status with Him. Yet one verse got to me quite a bit this time through, because it made me realize how seldom I allow the reality of David's words to be realized in my life. 

Psalm 23:5

5 You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.

God is preparing the table before us. We can take this many ways - but I read it as God providing for all of my needs - He is taking care of me if I simply allow it. But what struck me was the next phrase - in the presence of my enemies. God provides and protects me, and it is not a secret. My enemies can see that I am well taken care of. They can see that I am anointed and marked as God’s, and as a result my life is full of richness that theirs lacks - my cup runneth over. 

Do I walk around though my cup runneth over, or do I walk around as though I have not seen green pastures or still waters for a very long time? My enemies - are these the people I perceive that don’t like me, or is He referring to the devil and his followers who really and truly hate me because of the grace that has been extended to me and not to them? If I could see what is happening behind the curtain - like in Obie’s book - that whole spiritual war happening all around us for each decision we make, would I place so much importance on the things I drag around with me?

This verse 5 tells me that God protects and provides for Hos own no matter who sees and no matter what threatens. Let that sink in. When we think of the security in this chapter, we always think of the rod and staff that comfort us from the valley of the shadow of death - but here, God is being God even with the adversary upon us. What a comfort! What faithfulness!

Please - share some of your insights with me!