Psalm 20

Psalm 20 (NET) reads:

For the music director; a psalm of David.

May the LORD answer you when you are in trouble;
may the God of Jacob make you secure!

2 May he send you help from his temple;
from Zion may he give you support!

3 May he take notice of your offerings;
may he accept your burnt sacrifice! (Selah)

4 May he grant your heart's desire;
may he bring all your plans to pass!

5 Then we will shout for joy over your victory;
we will rejoice in the name of our God!
May the LORD grant all your requests!

6 Now I am sure that the LORD will deliver his chosen king;
he will intervene for him from his holy heavenly temple,
and display his mighty ability to deliver.

7 Some trust in chariots and others in horses,
but we depend on the LORD our God.

8 They will fall down,
but we will stand firm.

9 The LORD will deliver the king;
he will answer us when we call to him for help!

The key verse to this psalm is verse 7, “Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we depend on the LORD our God.” What a tough way to live. I feel that phrases like this are kind of thrown around flippantly in Christian circles, but how many of us would have been willing to go into battle without horses or chariots, depending on the Lord for victory? I think that is what the psalmist is getting at. Time after time in the Old Testament the Lord helped Israel defeat armies that on paper were more powerful than them. This led them to say, “The horses? The chariots? They don’t matter. The Lord gives the victory.”

Today, we are scared to death to rely on God for “victory.” It is far easier to show up with our horses and chariots. After all, we can control the horses and chariots. We know what they can do. We can bridle the horses. We can steer the chariots. But God? He’s different. He doesn’t tell us what He’s going to do. He doesn’t tell us how our life is going to end up. He doesn’t tell us how we’re going to make it with no horses and no chariots.

That’s scary.

That’s faith.