Psalm 20 Sermon PART 1 — The Day of Trouble

spoken word, religious/sermon, austere choral-less church ambience

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We come this morning to the twentieth psalm,
which is a shorter psalm than some 
but one of the most theologically dense 
in the entire Psalter.

It is also a psalm 
that has been somewhat neglected 
in modern preaching,
partly because it does not fit easily 
into the categories 
that contemporary Christianity tends to favour.

Modern preaching often gravitates 
toward psalms of individual experience.
The believer alone with God.
The personal journey of faith.
The intimate moments 
between the soul and its Maker.

The twentieth psalm 
is not such a psalm.

It is a liturgy.
It is a prayer 
that the community of God's people 
prayed together 
for their king 
as he went out to battle.

The opening verses are spoken in the plural.
Notice this.
Not the king praying for himself.
Not an individual believer 
having a personal devotional moment.
The whole assembled people 
praying for one who has been sent out 
to face difficulty 
on their behalf.

[SECTION ONE — The Corporate We]
[Cello note sustained]
[Preacher — deliberate, ecclesial]

Hear how the psalm begins.

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.
Grant thee according to thine own heart, 
and fulfil all thy counsel.

The verbs are addressed to God 
about the king.
May the Lord hear thee.
May the name defend thee.
May he send thee help.
May he strengthen thee.
May he remember.
May he accept.
May he grant.
May he fulfil.

This is intercessory prayer 
of the most concrete kind.
The community is asking God to do specific things 
for the one person 
who has been sent to bear difficulty 
on the community's behalf.

I want you to feel the weight of this prayer, dear friends.
We who live in the modern West 
have largely lost the practice of corporate intercession.
Our worship has become 
largely the gathering of individuals 
who happen to be in the same building.
Each person has their own private prayer concerns.
Each person has their own private spiritual journey.
The notion that the assembled people 
might pray together, with one voice and one purpose,
for a specific person who needs specific help — 
this notion has nearly vanished 
from our actual practice.

The twentieth psalm recovers it for us.
It teaches us 
that the people of God 
are not a collection of private believers 
who happen to share a religion.
They are a body — 
a corporate reality 
whose prayers for one another 
are part of how God's purposes 
are actually accomplished in the world.

[SECTION TWO — The Day of Trouble]
[Cello note steady]
[Preacher — measured, building]

Notice also the specific occasion of the prayer.

The day of trouble.

The psalm does not pretend 
that the king is going out to a parade.
The day of trouble is real.
The battle is real.
The dangers are real.
The community is praying 
because the difficulty their leader faces 
is genuine 
and might not end well.

This is one of the marks 
of biblical realism, dear brothers and sisters.
The Bible does not deny the difficulty 
of the actual situations 
its people face.
The day of trouble is named.
The danger is acknowledged.
The prayer is offered precisely because 
the situation requires divine intervention 
that the human resources of the community 
cannot supply.

In my years as a missionary in India 
I learned to pray this kind of prayer.
The difficulties were real.
The opposition was real.
The poverty and the suffering and the long defeats 
were real.
We did not pretend otherwise in our prayers.
We named the day of trouble 
and asked God to hear us in it.

I commend this realism to you.
Do not pray for those you love 
as if they faced no actual difficulties.
Do not soften the day of trouble 
into vague spiritual challenges.
Name the difficulty.
Ask God to hear in the day of trouble.
This is how the twentieth psalm prays.
This is how the people of God 
have always prayed 
when they have been honest.

[end]

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[intro] [British Reformed-Missionary Sermon] [Mid-sized Reformed church acoustic, wood and brick] [Single sustained low cello note underneath, very sparse] [Faint distant English parish atmosphere] [Preacher — warm British baritone, RP with slight global breadth, measured pastoral wisdom] We come this morning to the twentieth psalm, which is a shorter psalm than some but one of the most theologically dense in the entire Psalter. It is also a psalm that has been somewhat neglected in modern preaching, partly because it does not fit easily into the categories that contemporary Christianity tends to favour. Modern preaching often gravitates toward psalms of individual experience. The believer alone with God. The personal journey of faith. The intimate moments between the soul and its Maker. The twentieth psalm is not such a psalm. It is a liturgy. It is a prayer that the community of God's people prayed together for their king as he went out to battle. The opening verses are spoken in the plural. Notice this. Not the king praying for himself. Not an individual believer having a personal devotional moment. The whole assembled people praying for one who has been sent out to face difficulty on their behalf. [SECTION ONE — The Corporate We] [Cello note sustained] [Preacher — deliberate, ecclesial] Hear how the psalm begins. 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. Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel. The verbs are addressed to God about the king. May the Lord hear thee. May the name defend thee. May he send thee help. May he strengthen thee. May he remember. May he accept. May he grant. May he fulfil. This is intercessory prayer of the most concrete kind. The community is asking God to do specific things for the one person who has been sent to bear difficulty on the community's behalf. I want you to feel the weight of this prayer, dear friends. We who live in the modern West have largely lost the practice of corporate intercession. Our worship has become largely the gathering of individuals who happen to be in the same building. Each person has their own private prayer concerns. Each person has their own private spiritual journey. The notion that the assembled people might pray together, with one voice and one purpose, for a specific person who needs specific help — this notion has nearly vanished from our actual practice. The twentieth psalm recovers it for us. It teaches us that the people of God are not a collection of private believers who happen to share a religion. They are a body — a corporate reality whose prayers for one another are part of how God's purposes are actually accomplished in the world. [SECTION TWO — The Day of Trouble] [Cello note steady] [Preacher — measured, building] Notice also the specific occasion of the prayer. The day of trouble. The psalm does not pretend that the king is going out to a parade. The day of trouble is real. The battle is real. The dangers are real. The community is praying because the difficulty their leader faces is genuine and might not end well. This is one of the marks of biblical realism, dear brothers and sisters. The Bible does not deny the difficulty of the actual situations its people face. The day of trouble is named. The danger is acknowledged. The prayer is offered precisely because the situation requires divine intervention that the human resources of the community cannot supply. In my years as a missionary in India I learned to pray this kind of prayer. The difficulties were real. The opposition was real. The poverty and the suffering and the long defeats were real. We did not pretend otherwise in our prayers. We named the day of trouble and asked God to hear us in it. I commend this realism to you. Do not pray for those you love as if they faced no actual difficulties. Do not soften the day of trouble into vague spiritual challenges. Name the difficulty. Ask God to hear in the day of trouble. This is how the twentieth psalm prays. This is how the people of God have always prayed when they have been honest. [end]

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