Hello, you're listening to Let the Bible Speak. Let the Bible Speak is the radio ministry of the Free Presbyterian Church. Stephen Pollock is the pastor of Free Presbyterian Church of Malvern, Pennsylvania. The church is located at the junction of 401 and Mallon Road. Thank you for joining us today as Dr. Pollock opens the Word of God and lets the Bible speak. Let's turn together tonight once more to the book of the Psalms. And the Psalm 20, we're in the Psalm 20 this evening. Another Psalm of David, written here to the chief musician. The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble. The name of the God of Jacob defend thee. Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion. Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice. Selah. Grunt thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel. We will rejoice in thy salvation. And in the name of our God, we will set up our banners. The Lord fulfil all thy petitions. Now know that I, sorry, now know I that the Lord saveth his anointed. He will hear 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 are brought down and fallen, but we are risen and stand upright to save Lord. Let the King hear us when we call. The church of Jesus Christ is a spiritual entity. It's a spiritual community, a spiritual body. The members, of course, of Christ's church are those who have been born again. When you consider the language of John or other portions of the Word of God, that concept of the rebirth is a giving of life to those who are dead. Such a spiritual nature leads to another truth, and that is the church that is spiritual is also the church that is militant, We refer to the church militant, denoting the truth that the church is a body at war. And we look to that day when the church militant will be the church triumphant. But in the not yet of the kingdom, we now live in the time when the church is militant, the church at war. Again, it doesn't take much time to prove that in the scriptures. Paul would say to the Corinthians, The church is a militant body. And the gates of hell, we're told, shall not stand against the church of Christ. Again, that picture is of a church militant, a church aggressively laying siege upon the gates of hell, seeking to overthrow principalities and powers by the grace of God. Now, we understand Christ has won the decisive battle on the cross, but the conflict continues as he rides forth. Revelation chapter six, on that white horse, he went forth conquering and to conquer. And so the conflict occurs as the church engages in spiritual conflict with the evil one. This fact should cause care, not carnal care, but genuine care in the child of God. And to those who have such proper biblical concern in the warfare, to them God in kindness gives his comfort in his word. Portions like Psalm 20. Virgin says we have before us here a national anthem, fitted to be sung at the outbreak of war, when the monarch was girding on his sword for the fight. A happy people here plead for a beloved sovereign, and with loving hearts cried, Jehovah, God save the king. It is sung, we're told, by the people, sung about the welfare of their king, and thought to be sung when the people went forth to war, the king went forth And so verse number 9, you have the end of the psalm that really repeats what it says before. It's like the people of God are gathered together. You can imagine the army collecting themselves at the gates of Jerusalem, and David's at the head, and around him are the people, and they sing this prayer, and they sing this psalm, and they cry unto God, And may the King hear us as we call upon the Lord. It's a really rich picture of what's involved in this particular psalm. It's to be used in that regard. Of course, the important thought here, again, theologically and biblically, is that this psalm refers to David the King as his anointed, verse number 6. Now I know I that the Lord saveth his anointed. Again, it's that word for anointed that we, again, have the English word Messiah, the anointed one. And so the thought points to the coming of David's greater son, who enters the world as a king going to war. He's going to win the battle. He shall indeed be conqueror. Again, verse number six, now know I that the Lord saveth his anointed, he will hear him from his holy heaven with the seeming strength of his right hand. Christ is not dead. He is alive. He is the risen, conquering, ascended, anointed King. That is our Jesus. His success, in turn, secures the success of the church. The church militant that we're thinking about will indeed be the church triumphant. Again, we're going to see this in our studies in Romans in the coming days. Genesis 3, verse 15 is, of course, the promise that Christ, the seed of the woman, will crush the serpent's head. The word bruise is used there, but it's a very strong word to crush the serpent's head. And yet when Paul reflects upon his words at the end of the letter to Romans, he says, This idea that our union, we're thinking about union with Christ these days, our union with Christ is so intense, so close, so intimate, that it's Christ as a victory. So we share in that victory, and Satan is found under our feet as a church militant becomes a church triumphant. So how does that help us understand Psalm 20? Well, the point is, we battle in Christ. or where warfare is waged under the banner of the Lord Jesus Christ. And thus his victory will be ours, and our victory will be his. There's that union of Christ and his people, the king and his army, that is so intimate that they will share in the triumph. And so the psalm that gives conference to David and to Jesus is a psalm that teaches and inspires us also. That's the steps you take. It speaks of David as the king. It points forward to Christ. But because we are so closely connected with Christ, it says so much regarding our own present spiritual conflict under the authority of Christ or king. So tonight I want to consider just briefly a spiritual approach to a spiritual adversary. What does the psalm teach us regarding what a spiritual approach looks like in times of spiritual conflict and war? Well, first of all, let's consider our position in the battle. Anyone can say or sing, the Lord is on my side. It's a popular hymn, sang in public places. Anybody's lips can utter those words, and many, many people have claimed to have the Lord's backing for their actions and for their victories. Again, if you were in nations like Holland, or perhaps the UK, again, there were those who would have acknowledged a political victory, said, well, I'm on the Lord's side. The Lord has given me this victory. Certainly, the Lord is on their side. Now, it's clear from this introduction that I said the church is at war. And so the question is not, is the church of Christ at war? That's not our question right now. The question is this, am I a soldier of the cross, a follower of the Lamb? Do I have a position in the battle? Am I part of the Lord's army? The church is at war, but am I part of that? Is this something that relates to me personally, individually? Well, verse 5 points us in a helpful direction. Verse 5 says, Again, this is military imagery. As they go to war and they have their banners in front of them and above them, they're riding their horses under that banner, denoting themselves a part of a particular army. And the army involved here, of course, Israel, but spiritually now, is the army that fights under the name of the Lord God of Israel. And Spurgeon says this, He's getting the point here. that it's not enough to verbally profess something. And the key issue is, are you part of the Lord's army? And so how do you know that? Well, first of all, we enlist in this army in Christ's name. You see, when the kingdom comes, as the king comes into the world, remember the picture here. The king has left glory, entering this world to conquer. He's coming to war. The babe in Bethlehem grows and becomes a man of war. And he's entering the world in that context. And so he comes in Mark 1, and he preaches the kingdom, the kingdom of God's nigh. It's a war cry. Are you going to join the king? Are you going to enlist under the king's name? It's a war cry. And what does the Lord say? Repent and believe the gospel. And so those who are part of Christ's army are those who have enlisted under his name. They are those who have joined the kingdom, which implies our right understanding of the gospel. To join the kingdom is to know your sin and to know the Savior. You see, we have no right to claim the Lord's help and strength without being sure that we're in the Lord's army. The Lord's army requires that we renounce the devil, renounce his leadership, renounce ourselves, our own strength, and trust in the truth of the biblical gospel. It's fundamental, isn't it? We're speaking in metaphorical language here tonight of war and an army and conflict. All real, but the pictures are there. But to enlist in Christ, you're going to be asked certain questions. You're like, when you come to sign up, can you sign your name beside certain propositional truths? And so you can't be in Christ's army and deny the Trinity. You just can't be there. And whatever you're in, you're not in Christ's army. so fundamental to the truth of the gospel that we believe in one God in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. You can't sign that. You're not part of the army. You've got to believe in the person of Christ, that he is indeed very God and very man. You deny that, you're not part of this army. You have to believe in the truth that justification is by grace alone, in Christ alone, through faith alone. You've got to believe in the full authority of the inerrant inspired scriptures. These are just some samples and there are others, but these are the fundamentals that you cannot deny and still be part of Christ's army. Denying these cardinal doctrines are incompatible with being part of the Lord's cause. So we enlist in Christ's name. And secondly, we wear the Lord's armor and use his weapons. Turn across, you know the portion, I've quoted it already, Ephesians chapter 6. We who enlist do not get to choose, if you like, the armor nor the battles we engage in. We find ourselves enlisting into Christ's army without the choice to say, I'm going to fight this battle or this army or this particular circumstance. We are brought to wrestle, verse number 12, not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rules of darkness of this world, spiritual wickedness in high places. And the Lord provides armor for us, wherefore take on through the whole armor, if I can put it this way, that God provides. It means more than that. The armor of God means more than that, but it doesn't mean less than that. It is the armor that God provides, the armor that we don't manufacture for ourselves, but that which is given to us by God in His grace. And so we're to stand there for verse 14. This armor is given to us by the Lord. And if we're going to fight the Lord's battle and fight as part of his army, we're going to have to wear this armor. Now, what is this in summary? Well, in summary terms, every piece of the armor speaks of the gospel again. It speaks of the person and work of Christ Jesus. Our weapons are not carnal, but they are mighty, they are spiritual. And what you see here is the weapons and the armor that God gives us to engage in the right conflict. And so we look at the armor and we discern the armor, and therefore we discern from the armor the battles that we are meant to fight. You see, you're not in the Lord's army if you're fighting the wrong enemy, or fighting in your own strength, your own intellect, your own resources. The devil aims at creating spiritual doubts and deceptions. Hence the helmet is given to us and the breastplate of righteousness. The devil's aim is to undermine truth in our minds and in our hearts, provoking doubts and deceptions in ourselves and others. So the armor that we are given implies the battle we're to fight, which is to fight for truth. and assurance in a fallen world where there is no truth and no confidence in the life that is to come. But we're fighting that within ourselves and also in the world in which we live. And the armor is given to us. So if you're gonna engage in that battle without a helmet of salvation, you're gonna be swept aside and destroyed in seconds. If you don't know the truth, you can't fight for the truth. If you're not convinced that Christ is your righteousness, you're going to be shot through with any doubts and attacks against the gospel. You see what I'm saying here? The armor that you wear implies the battle you're involved in, and you're fighting against doubts and deceptions. The devil's aim is to render the church inactive and ineffective. Inactive, so you're given shoes for your feet. The devil likes to see a church standing still. not engaging in gospel conflict, not taking the word of God forward. Again, I say, the gates of hell shall not stand against the advancing church, not the standing church. So we engage in a battle that involves advancing and going forward for the cause of Christ. That's the enemy out there. It's the world and the devil, principalities and powers, and we're seeking to overthrow that enemy. Hence, we've got shoes upon our feet, the gospel of peace. We have a sword in our hand. No sword, you're ineffective. If you don't have the word of God in your hand, you can do nothing. And so you're in this battle and the armor is given to you, the weapons are given to you, that you engage in these things. So you're in the Lord's army. That's your position. It's not written again, Ephesians 6, not written to one individual or one group of people, but to the entire church. And so yes, if you think of the war, the war that's taking place across the world, you may have your own local skirmish in your family, in your home. In the neighborhood of this church, wherever it might be, we have our own skirmishes, but we must be faithful in battle. That's the position of the child of God. And so if you've enlisted in Christ's name, you didn't enlist to a peacetime enterprise. You've enlisted into an army. And your position in the battle is to fight these things, doubt and deception, inactivity and ineffectiveness. You've got to fight those things with all your strength, being strong in the Lord. So that's something regarding our position in the battle. Secondly, think about our activity in the battle here. Again, the confidence that the psalmist has in verse number six is not a confidence that leads to inactivity. And he says in verse number six, That's the confidence in this battle. David and the people of God, they understand that God preserves his king. But yet David still goes out to battle. You read 2 Samuel 8, you'll read the list of David's victories. He smoked this one and that one. In other words, he's smiting people all the time. He's out and about doing the king's work, doing the Lord's work. You even think of the time when he comes back to Ziklag from battle in 1 Samuel 30, and the people have come and they've burned the city with fire and taken their wives and their sons and their daughters. And what does David do while the people start attacking him? It's your fault that it's all happening. It's all to do with you. And once they do, he has to strengthen or encourage himself in the Lord, his God. But even in that, he still goes out and fights. He believes, he's strengthened, encouraged himself in the Lord, and he still gets about the activity. So our confidence in God never leads to inactivity. He's a trust in God's faithfulness. He's a trust in God's strength. But it doesn't lead to spiritual immobility. But of course, fundamental to all activity in the Lord's work, whether it be defensive or offensive, is the necessity of prayer. Verse number seven says this. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. That explains the prayer of verses one through four. The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble. The name of the God of Jacob defend thee. Send thee help. Remember all thy offerings. Grant thee according to thy heart. Those are petitions and prayers that are given by the people of God on behalf of the King. You see, the dangers in battle, whether battle is personal or whether it's community-based, corporate, in the church, the dangers are things like presumption. Again, the faith of the Calvinist that believes all will be well is a faith that must never lead to presumption, that requires inactivity, and more importantly, prayerlessness. And we who are Reformed, we are those who believe in God's faithfulness, but we must be those who are most earnest in prayer. We believe in God who works through prayer. So we don't trust, if you like, in the inevitabilities of God's success. We realize that God's success comes in the way he's ordained, including the means of prayer. Presumption is a dangerous thing. Carnality is also here trusting in horses and chariots. These things are necessary and essential for battle. In that time and generation, you wouldn't win a battle without horses and chariots. They are prepared for battle, says the wise man in Proverbs. Necessary things, but we err greatly in trusting as a church in our own resources. We can err by trusting in buildings or pastors or evangelists, the resources that God gives to the church. We can put our trust in those things. not in the Lord. And we can look to the resource we have as a church, the denomination, and presume that because we have these resources, therefore, we'll go forward. If we put our trust in chariots and horses, we will suffer great defeat and destruction. And very quickly, there'll be no more. We've got to put our trust in the Lord. Which leads to the third thing. We've seen, again, our position in the battle, our activity in the battle, and then thirdly, and just finally and briefly, our confidence in the battle. If this psalm has as its central thrust the prayer, remembering the name of the Lord our God, that prayer that we see expressed in the opening verses, well then, what is our confidence in the battle? It is, of course, in the Lord himself. hope and confidence found in him. And so the people of God sing and pray in the light of the character, in the name. That's what the name means—in the name of God, in the character of God. So note the particular details in this psalm. Again, I keep coming back to the same words so often when you think about our confidence in God. The same things, and I hope they're written large in our hearts and minds. Confidence in the presence of God. Verse two, send the help from the sanctuary and strengthen you out of Zion, the place where God dwells. Our only hope of success in the battle is if the Lord goes with us. If we seek to go in our own strength, or if God does not come with us, working with us, alongside us, as co-laborers, together with God, then we will see nothing done for the Lord's cause. We need to not grieve the Spirit of God. We need the help that comes from the presence of God, the help that comes from the sanctuary. Guarding our hearts and our minds, not grieving the Spirit, but depending upon the Lord to work with us. The presence of God, the provision of God. Verse number three, remember all the offerings and accept thy burnt sacrifice. Remember, that's a prayer that starts in the opening verse. It's a prayer for God to remember the sacrifice of the King. The king, before going to battle, has offered these burnt sacrifices and these offerings. Again, recognizing that to go forward without sin being dealt with is a serious business. And so they enter the battle on the ground of redemption, on the ground of atonement. Their sins are dealt with, then they go forward to battle. And so the prayer is, Lord, don't forget. Don't forget the ground upon which they are serving. Don't forget the ground upon which they are laboring, indeed fighting. provision of God and sacrifice. Sacrifice offered by those who are in covenant with God, the name of the God of Jacob defend thee, verse number one. Hence the posture that God has toward him. It's really a recognition that provision of God secures the posture of God. The assurance that God will hear and answer prayer. The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble, verse number six. He will hear him from his holy heaven. Why? Because blood's been shed. because a covenant has been secured. God provides the sacrifice. God provides the means. And therefore, his posture toward us is one of grace, willing to hear us as we call upon him. The presence of God, the provision of God, the posture of God toward us, the purpose of God in verse number four, grant thee according to thine own heart and fulfill all thy counsel. Again, it's a prayer that God would grant the King the desires of his heart. Spurgeon says this, And so the idea here is, Lord, grant the king his desire, because his desires are your desires." Because we see Christ in this, and Christ in the garden says, not my will, but thine, be done the perfect unity of the Trinity and the incarnate deity in unity with the covenant given to him that he would do the will of God. That's the point here. God's purpose secures his blessing. That's our great hope. If God is determined to save a people, then we cannot fail to see that end achieved. God's purpose secures us. That's our confidence in prayer. Lord, do as you've promised. Do according to your purpose and do it according to your power. Verse number six. He will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand. See, what's our confidence found in? It's not in ourself. It's not in the horses and chariots that God may has given us. Our only hope and confidence is in the name of God, in the character of God, in the attributes of God revealed in the word of God. That's what gives us our confidence and our hope and our security. So yes, we are a church militant. Yes, we are very much engaged in spiritual warfare. But we're doing it in the Lord's strength. We're doing this in the Lord's name. And may God be pleased to help us to pray and remember the name of the Lord our God. Thank you for taking the time to listen to this episode of Let the Bible Speak from Malvern Free Presbyterian Church. 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