Prayers of a Different World

Okay, so we are reading from Psalm 20, starting at verse 1, all the way through to the end of Psalm 21.

To the choir master, a psalm of David.

May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble.

May the name of the Lord, sorry, the name of God, of Jacob, protect you.

May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion.

May he remember all your offerings and regard with favour your burnt sacrifices.

May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfil all your plans.

May we shout for joy over your salvation.

And in the name of our God, set up our banners.

May the Lord fulfil all your petitions.

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.

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.

O Lord, save the King.

May he answer us when we call.

To the choir master, a psalm of David.

O Lord, in your strength the King rejoices, and in your salvation how greatly he exalts.

You have given him his heart's desire and have not withheld the request of his lips.

For you met him with rich blessings.

You set a crown of fine gold upon his head.

He asked life of you.

You gave it to him, length of days, forever and ever.

His glory is great through your salvation, splendor and majesty you bestow on him.

For you make him most blessed forever.

You make him glad with the joy of your presence.

For the King trusts in the Lord, and through the steadfast love of the Most High, he shall not be moved.

Your hand will find out all your enemies.

Your right hand will find out those who hate you.

You will make them as a blazing oven when you appear.

The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath, and fire will consume them.

You will destroy their descendants from the earth, and their offspring from among the children of men.

Though they plan evil against you, though they devise mischief, they will not succeed.

For you will put them to flight.

You will aim at their faces with your bows.

Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength.

We sing and praise your power.

Thanks, Alex.

Just try the mic first.

Is that clear enough for those at the back?

Good.

Yep.

Because two weeks ago, I didn't know that it wasn't that clear.

And I thank Simon Brown for adjusting it for me.

And that's good.

And good to see you all as well, and visitors too.

My name is Bo, one of the elders in the church.

So today we are, we have come to Psalms 20 and 21.

While Psalm 20 is actually pretty, I suppose we find it a bit easier to read and maybe follow.

And 21, maybe a bit harder.

But overall, I find that it's actually not that easy to pray according to those Psalms.

I'm thinking of why that is the case.

I think the two reasons.

One is that we don't actually pray very much in general to start with.

Second is that in those Psalms, the king is the center of everything.

That is the focus.

And if we don't have similar focus in our life, then we will find it hard actually to follow those two Psalms.

Well, let us pray first before we continue.

Father, we thank you for your goodness to us that we can gather again this morning.

As we want to ponder on Psalms 20 and 21, we ask your help that we might be teachable and also we might be lifted up to see your glory.

Thank you, Lord.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

About 40 years ago, when I was a very young Christian in Melbourne, I was given this book by Christian friends in the uni.

I'm not sure whether some of us have read this book.

My Upmove for His Highest by Oslo Chambers.

During that time, in the Christian fellowship in the uni, we were encouraged to read many books.

And I did read many Christian books.

And this was one of those books that is different to other books.

This book was first published in 1927.

So it was about 100 years ago.

And it's still in print today.

So it can appreciate how this book has been read by many people in different languages as well.

It's a daily devotional book with a message for every day of the year.

Why is it so different to me?

It's just because the author, also Chambers, the focus of his woe is the Lord Jesus Christ.

And I was so stirred by this book in terms of somebody can actually give themselves up so much that in his right hand I could see that.

His focus for his focus for his woe is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Oslo Chambers lived only up to 43 years of age.

He died from the complication of appendix operation.

While he was a chaplain to the army in Egypt during World War I.

So he died in about 1917.

He became a Christian at the age of 15.

And he was gifted.

He was very gifted in music and art.

And he thought that he would serve the Lord through art.

But somehow the Lord called him to go to Bible school.

And then he started his preaching and teaching ministries.

And also thought that he would remain single.

He didn't think about marriage.

But one day during his trip in a ship to the USA, he met a young girl on board.

The girl, the nickname was BD.

And eventually they got married.

He got married at age 36.

Then he got married at age 36 and he died in 43.

So the marriage lasted for about seven years.

He didn't publish any book during his lifetime.

This book was published ten years after his death.

And that's very amazing.

After that, there were about 40 books published under his name.

How did this happen?

Because BD was an excellent shorthand writer.

I suppose many young people don't know what a shorthand writer is nowadays.

I remember one of my older sisters was learning how to do shorthand.

It took a lot of effort, as you can see, for many years.

She learned to write shorthand very quick.

But nowadays we don't need that anymore because of the recording and typing.

But because she was a shorthand writer, she was able to record everything that Oslo Chamber was teaching and preaching.

And then there's how all these 40 books came about after his death.

And this is amazing.

Both of these couples, their whole focus in life is to serve the Lord Jesus Christ.

And they seem to live to a different world than many other people.

But if you read his books, I think our imagination will stir to seek this, to live like them, to live for something or someone that is greater.

I hope that Psalms 20 and 21 will also help us to see the same.

When we read these two Psalms, we should bear in mind that those people, their whole focus is on their king or the Psalms on the king.

And Psalm 20 is more a petition for the king.

And Psalm 21 is more a thanksgiving Psalm for what God has done for the king.

Now the problem I suppose we also have would be saying, would these Psalms be written by David, King David himself?

So if it's written by King David, would it be sort of self-promoting writing about him?

It could be written by King David himself or it could be written by someone else for King David.

Either way, I don't think it is, even if it's written by King David, I don't think it is self-promoting.

Because King David's focus is on the office of his kingship.

Not about himself, but about the king of God's people.

And we know that the Psalms ultimately fulfilled in King David's greatest son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so whether it's written by King David or not, I don't think it's a big problem.

It's a focus on the kingship and also on the greater king that is to come, that is to fulfill the Psalms.

So I will go through some part of the Psalms just so that we can help us to appreciate it.

But I won't be able to cover the whole two Psalms.

So the first part is to see what people pray for the king and how there is answer in Psalm 21.

So Psalm 20 verse 1, may the Lord answer you in the day of trouble.

Psalms 20:1

And Psalm 21 verse 1, O Lord, in your strength the king rejoices and in your salvation how greatly he exalts.

Psalms 21:1

So from this prayer in Psalm 20, we know that for those people who pray for their king,

is that they ask God to protect the king in the day of trouble.

Do you see that they did not ask God to protect us in the day of trouble?

They said protect the king.

We can think why that is the case.

Because these people, their focus is on the king.

They know that if the king stands, then they will stand.

If the king falls, then they will fall.

And so they pray for the king to be protected.

And did God protect King David?

We could see from history that King David was a very successful military king.

And through him, Israel became a very strong nation, the superpower of that time.

However, King David before, after he yielded to temptation,

and he committed adultery and murder.

So the nation of Israel likewise fell apart a generation later.

When we apply that to the Lord Jesus Christ, we know that he stood firm

in the face of temptation and opposition.

In fact, Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tempted in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights.

And he did not yield to temptation.

But then, did God protect Jesus, the Lord Jesus, from the pain or suffering or opposition?

We read in the Garden of Testimony that he was praying God would take away the cup,

this bitter cup from him.

But he said that it is still like he wants to do God's will in this.

And so Jesus went through the horror of the cross.

But because the Lord Jesus endured the suffering of the cross,

we can now stand before God as forgiven sinners.

So, in a way, God answered the prayer of the people.

The people's prayer is that the king to be protected,

so that they themselves will be protected.

But the king Jesus actually went through the suffering,

so that we ultimately can be protected from God's wrath.

So that is the first prayer.

The second one is about the king's offering be accepted.

In Psalm 20, verse 3,

Psalms 20:3

And Psalm 21, verse 4,

Psalms 21:4

He asked life of you, you gave it to him, length of days, forever and ever.

So the people of God also understood that the king represented them in offering burnt sacrifices.

They could only approach God if the king's offering for remission of sin was acceptable to God.

They did not presume that God would listen to their petitions if their sins had not been atoned for.

So God's acceptance of the offering was reflected in the king's long life.

King David offered up sacrifices year after year.

But King Jesus offered himself as the perfect sacrifice once and for all.

King David died.

King Jesus was resurrected and lived forever and ever.

And so the Psalms ultimately fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Because he is the only one who can offer the perfect sacrifice.

The third thing they were praying for is that the king's plan be fulfilled.

Psalm 20, verse 4,

Psalms 20:4

May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans.

And Psalm 21, verse 2,

Psalms 21:2

You have given him his heart's desire and have not withheld the request of his lips.

So they pray that God might fulfill the king's plan.

And this was in a way a dangerous request.

As a fulfillment of the king's plan may be in conflict with their own plans.

Like in a war, the king would need to get people to fight as soldiers.

And so to fulfill the king's plan,

those people would need to be part of the soldiers.

Or when the king wants to build something, they need to be in the labor.

And so to see that their focus is on the king,

so they basically trusted the king to do the best for the nation.

Not so much necessarily according to their own will or their own desire,

but they just want the king's plan to be fulfilled.

And they are ready to submit their own plans to the king's plan.

While many of King David's plans were fulfilled,

one thing he really wanted to achieve was to build a temple for God.

But he didn't get that done because God said that it wasn't King David who would build this temple.

And his descendant is going to build this temple,

and King Jesus is the only king who would perfectly build this temple.

Jesus said, I mean, King David's son Solomon did build a temple.

But Jesus said, destroy this temple, and I will raise it up again in three days.

So the temple that was built by King Solomon was not,

it wasn't the real or the actual temple.

It was only a picture of what is to come.

Because the temple is where the people can meet with God.

And only the Lord Jesus Christ would be the place or the person whom we can meet God.

And so Jesus is the one who built the perfect temple.

And this is the ultimate fulfillment of the king's plan.

So King Jesus' plan is to be the temple,

to be the meeting place between God and man.

And that is the most important thing that he came to do.

So the fourth thing that they pray for is that the king's faith may be vindicated.

Psalm 20, verses 7 to 8,

Psalms 20:7–8

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.

Psalm 21, verses 11 to 20,

Though they plan evil against you,

though they devise mischief,

they will not succeed.

For you will put them to fight.

You will aim at their faces with your bowels.

So the prayer here is that God will show the world

that God himself was trustworthy and in control of everything.

And also that their king's faith in God was not futile.

They knew that even if they were defeated by their enemies,

the defeat was only transient.

God will raise them up and make them stand upright.

Some nations, or most nations,

could only trust in their chariots and horses.

But the people of God had God to rely on.

In our this day and age,

besides horses and chariots,

we trust in many things else.

We trust in technologies in particular

for achievement of what we want to do.

We can see the world progressing,

advancing in technology in many areas.

But we can also see the world regressing in many areas.

In particular, in terms of relationship between people,

in terms of mental health,

within the people.

it's just when the world trusts in technologies,

even if they achieve something,

eventually they lost more than what they achieved.

And people of God

know that,

know to rely on God.

And God's timing may be slow

in terms of what you want to achieve.

But God's timing is never wrong.

But it doesn't mean that King David and his people

did not have chariots and horses,

or they did not have strategies for war.

They had all those things.

But ultimately,

they did not trust

in their own strength.

And also,

it also means that they could sleep well

before each battle.

sleeping well is very difficult

in our day and age.

Most people have trouble sleeping.

It's just because we don't,

many times,

because we are uncertain

about our future,

about tomorrow.

And people who

can trust in the Lord,

one thing,

I mean,

it's not necessary

they can't necessarily sleep well,

but usually they would

because they have rest

in their hearts.

Because they,

it does,

they know that it doesn't matter

whether

tomorrow turns out

well or not.

For the Israelites,

also for them,

even if they are defeated,

even if they die,

that is not the end

of them

because they trust in God.

And so,

they can see things

much further

than people

who can only trust

on horses

and chariots.

When Jesus was

on the cross,

his enemies

ridiculed him,

asking him

to show

his power

as a son of God

and free himself

from the nails

of the cross.

Jesus did not

put his trust

on his own strength.

to fulfill

God's plan.

He trusted God

and he died,

but then he was

resurrected.

So,

now all authority

in heaven and on earth

has been given

to King Jesus.

So,

the first time

he came,

he came as a lamb

to take away

the sins of the world.

And then the second time

he will come as a lion

to trust the world

that will fulfill

the second part

of Psalm 21

when that happens.

Now,

we,

after mentioning

the Psalms,

we will consider

it is actually

not easy

for us

to pray

these Psalms.

There are

many reasons.

I will only

mention two

today.

One is,

the first reason

is that we live

in a different world

to that of

King David.

in King David's

world,

actually,

or in,

to say,

in our world first,

in our world,

we live

in two different

kingdoms

if we are

Christians.

The kingdom

of God

where

Jesus Christ

is the king,

that is a

spiritual kingdom.

And the

kingdom of the world,

that is the

political

kingdom

that

ruled by

prime ministers,

kings,

or presidents.

So,

first of all,

we are living

in these two

different kingdoms

in our

world in this time.

But in King David's

world,

King David

was the

representative

of their

spiritual world

because he is

the spiritual

king as well.

He is a

political king.

So,

for the

people of

Israel,

they did

not have that

conflict between

the two kingdoms.

Their kingdoms

were merged

into one.

And so,

they can

pray

for this

king and

that this

king's

plan could

be fulfilled

by God

under God's

help.

For us,

we cannot

easily pray

that King

Charles'

plan will

be fulfilled

because we

do not.

We know

that we

will not

trust

King

Charles

or our

prime minister

or president

that their

plans

would be

a godly

plan.

And that's

why we

can't pray

as those

Samis

would do

because we

live in

two different

kingdoms

and those

two kingdoms

are often

in conflict.

And the

kingdoms

will

perfectly

merge

again,

those two

kingdoms,

when the

Lord Jesus

comes again.

will be the

only king

that we

look up

to.

So in

our imperfect

world,

we do not

pray the

same way

for our

political

kings.

At the

same time,

unlike the

Israelites,

we also do

not need to

pray for our

spiritual king

because we

know that the

Lord Jesus

is perfect

in every

way.

And he's

a son of

God and

he's absolutely

wise and

absolutely able

to do anything

he wants to

do.

And so

because of

that, we

do not

pray like

the

psalms.

What do we

pray for?

We still

pray for our

spiritual and

political leaders.

we do not

pray that

God will

fulfill their

plans, but

we pray that

God's plan may

be fulfilled

through them

or in them.

And so we

still can apply

that in this

way.

Ultimately,

it is God's

plan that we

want to be

fulfilled.

And so

we pray,

we can pray

in this way.

So this is

first reason

is that we

are living in

two different

kingdoms.

Second reason

is that our

world view

has changed

over the

last 50

years or

so.

Before

then,

most people

lived for

the good

of others,

but now

most people

live for

their own

good.

That is

the difference

in the

world view.

I remember

about 40

years ago

when an

older sister

migrated with

her family

to Melbourne.

She

found a

job in

the clothing

factory.

And she

was happily

working there.

It's a

boring job.

Maybe they

were just

sewing clothes.

She was

happy that

she could

supplement

the husband's

income for

the family.

But if

you have

such

factories

nowadays,

I suspect

that not

many people

want to

do such

jobs.

even the

food factories

that we

still have,

the chicken

factories,

most of

the workers

inside will

be from

overseas.

Because we

want fulfillment

in jobs,

so we

could not

take up

jobs that

are boring

and no

sense that

there's no

enjoyment

in it.

Just because

our world

will change,

and so we

are so

focused on

each person's

own

happiness,

and that

has become

the most

important thing.

And so,

in our

prayers,

we would

usually pray

for our own

leaders,

what will

make us

happy,

or pray for

our leaders,

what they

do will

make us

happy,

so we

will become

the focus.

Or even if

we pray for

other people,

like people

who are

unwell,

and we

will pray

that they

will get

better.

I mean,

it's not

wrong to

say that

that's what

we want,

but that

is all we

pray for

usually.

But then,

God

usually

helps us

to grow

through

suffering,

and if

God's plan

is that

we should

grow through

suffering,

and our

prayer is

that God

should take

away our

suffering,

then it

might be

in conflict

with God's

plan,

if we

want to

pray that

God's plan

will fulfill

in us.

And so,

we need

to learn

to see

things in

a bigger

perspective,

in a bigger

vision,

and not

just focus

on personal

happiness,

or the

lack of

suffering,

but that

God will

do something

through the

suffering to

help us to

grow as

his people,

and we

don't just

stop at

praying that

God will

take away

suffering,

and not

seeing something

even bigger,

as these

people in

Psalm 20

and 21

could see

that they

want the

king's plan

to be

fulfilled,

and that

might

involve

suffering

to those

people as

well.

So,

we can

just have

a thing

over the

past 12

months,

first of

all,

who was

our king,

who do

we focus

our life

in?

Many times

this is

ourselves.

Like,

I was

40 years

ago,

I was

reading that

book.

I mean,

I was

amazed by

the book,

but I

was still

doing my

own things.

I was

sort of

the king.

So,

we can

think what

we have

been praying

for,

and we

will know

who the

king,

who our

king is,

and I

hope that

through these

two psalms,

we can

have a

bigger vision

and pray

for greater

things in

the coming

year.

Upon

his death

in 1917

in Egypt,

Oslo's

wife,

B.D.

sent a

telegram

to his

family back

in England

with the

message,

Oslo,

in his

presence.

very

simple,

but very

profound.

Death is

not the

end at

all,

also in

his

presence.

And I

hope that

we all

will have

this hope

in us

that when

we die,

we are

in his

presence.

And also

when we,

as we

live,

I hope

that we

can live

in his

presence as

well,

that we

will see

greater

things and

want to

do

greater

things for

the Lord

Jesus

Christ as

well.

All right,

let's pray.

Almighty God,

we thank

you for

fulfilling the

King's plan

that the

Lord Jesus

Christ

become

our

Savior

and our

Lord,

and through

him we

could come

before you.

Father,

we know

that it's

also the

Lord's

plan for

us to

be sanctified,

to be

made more

like him.

I pray

that you

might help

us in

the coming

year to

be a year

that we

would grow

in our

knowledge of

you and

become more

like the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

Thank you,

Lord, we

pray in

Jesus'

name.

Amen.