Episode 1446: All-Powerful to Save

[00:00:00] Scott Maderer: Thanks for joining me on episode 1, 446 of the Inspired Stewardship Podcast.

[00:00:07] Willette White: I'm Willette White. I challenge you to invest in yourself, invest in others, develop your influence, and impact the world by using your time, your talent, and your treasures to live out your calling. Having the ability to overcome the challenges that come your way is key, and one way to be inspired to do that is to listen to this.

[00:00:30] We

[00:00:45] Scott Maderer: are saved to be the light, to be the salt. We are saved from fear and self centeredness and are meant to work in ways that align with the purpose of God. That's [00:01:00] what it means to live out the ways of peace and to be the body of Christ. Welcome and thank you for joining us on the Inspired Stewardship Podcast.

[00:01:12] If you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be, then you must learn to use your time, your talent, and your treasures for your true calling. In the Inspired Stewardship Podcast, you will learn to invest in yourself, invest in others, and develop your influence so that you

[00:01:39] In today's Spiritual Foundation episode, I talk about Psalm 20. I also share with you how this is a call to bless the people in some ways, not just a blessing to the king. And I talk about how this is a call to relationship, not blind obedience. Psalm 20 says, The Lord answer you in the day of trouble. [00:02:00] The name of the God of Jacob protect you.

[00:02:02] May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion. May he remember all your offerings and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices. Selah. May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans. May we shout for joy over your victory. And in the name of our God, set up our banners.

[00:02:25] May the Lord fulfill all your petitions. Amen. Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed. He will answer him from his holy heaven with mighty victories by his right hand. Some take pride in chariots and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God. They will collapse and fall, but we shall rise and stand upright.

[00:02:49] Give victory to the King, O Lord. Answer us when we call. You know the Psalms are something that we often use [00:03:00] in various services or parts of services, but often when we talk about other parts of the scripture, it's common practice to put people in, describe what was the situation, what was the context that brought about this letter or this portion of the narrative.

[00:03:20] But in the Psalms, we tend to just read them and not really try to give any sort of context to it. And the psalms are often about an emotion rather than an event, or at least the event is not necessarily explicitly spelled out. It's hidden or implied. But this psalm, Psalm 20, is one that at some level needs some description.

[00:03:47] Psalms are often prayers or songs or shouts to God. But this one seems to be addressed to people or maybe to a person. So as you think about it, [00:04:00] think about who is talking in this text. Is there only one person, or is this kind of a call and response kind of thing? And the truth is we really don't know.

[00:04:11] We don't know the history or the context of this Psalm se fully. So some that read it and comment on it, some biblical scholars, consider this a royal psalm, which is an address from the people to the king, a one direction, the people calling out or lifting up the king. And there's definitely an argument to be made that you can read this psalm that way.

[00:04:38] The end, give victory to the king, O Lord, answer us when we call, does seem to be that sort of statement. of the people blessing the king, inviting God's protection and asking that God brings to fruition all the plans that leader has for the nation and for the people. May he or may [00:05:00] God grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans.

[00:05:05] That's in there as well. So that moment of connection is thinking about how do we bless our leaders? How do we lift them up in prayer and offer them to God for daily direction and blessing? And how do we do that even when we aren't sure we agree with what the leader's heart desire is? Is Psalm 20 saying that we should blindly accept any leader?

[00:05:31] Are we to assume that anyone who steps into leadership is ordained by God to have that position? Remember, that's what a king was. They were recognized by God and given that position by divine ordination. And therefore, at this time, it was looked at that they were deserving of our total obedience. If we think about it in modern times, especially given the division and the [00:06:00] arguments that go on around politics and political position, thinking that you should give blind obedience to anyone in leadership, whether you voted for them, whether you agree with them, whether you like them, whether you think their heart's in the right place.

[00:06:16] That's a hard sell. So what if we look at the Psalm a different way? What if Psalm 20 is not about blessing the king, or at least not only about that, but it's also about the king blessing the people? The purpose of the king in ancient Israel at one level was to point the people towards God He was supposed to be the sign of God's will being lived out throughout the nation In that kind of situation it's not too far fetched to imagine that the king would bless the people as They seek to be the people of God and work in the world That the king [00:07:00] wants the people to be sustained in difficult times and to shout For joy in times of accomplishment and that surprisingly the work of the people would be the work of peace To call out and say we're not to trust in weapons of war Whether those are chariots and horses like they are in the psalm or bombers and tanks But rather to take pride in the name of the Lord Which includes being the prince of peace?

[00:07:28] I think that's one of the signs that I look for in leaders that are good leaders that are blessing the people is leaders who call and bring people together peacefully rather than calling for violence or anger or hatred of anyone. We can consider amid all of the blessings and working for peace, who is the anointed that's called out in verse six?

[00:07:57] Thank you. Maybe this was done as call and [00:08:00] response and the king allows the people to respond and they are saying now We know that the Lord will help his anointed. He will answer him from his holy heaven with mighty victories by his right hand They know the king is anointed because his actions match the purpose of bringing the nation before the Lord Because the priorities lead to the waging of peace and the honoring of all people So the people add their voices to this litany and trust that the victories of peace and of community building, of bringing people together, are from the hand of God.

[00:08:39] And so they conclude by saying, give victory to the king. Let these efforts bear fruit. Let the nation honor even those on the margins, even the immigrants, even those who are foreign. Let them find welcome in our land. Let hope prevail and joy be seen. These that are the answers they seek, the sign of God's [00:09:00] presence in the working of the leader and of the people.

[00:09:06] Now, to be clear, that's probably reading quite a bit into the text, but the words do seem to support a broader interpretation than you might get at first glance. And there's an interesting comment from a Jewish writer on the opening verse of Psalm 20 that suggests when Verse one invokes the God of Jacob, that there's an intent behind invoking the God of Jacob.

[00:09:34] If all three of the patriarchs are named Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, then it is universally acknowledged that this is recognizing the God of creation and all that is. When Abraham alone is mentioned, then often The Jewish text they say that the intent then is to discuss the invitational quality of God.

[00:09:58] Because Abraham, [00:10:00] his symbol was the mountain, and the mountains were to draw people to Israel and to the God. But Jacob's symbol is a roof beam. The main structure of the house. Jacob was the one who renamed Israel. The God of Jacob then is drawing attention to the specific needs and calling of the covenant people.

[00:10:26] It's calling out, they are the house of the Lord. These are the people of God. Psalm 20 is inviting us to identify as the people who are called by God to be the light on the hill and the salt of the earth. We are meant to be the sign that God is at work in the world. We are the ones who live out the ways of peace.

[00:10:50] And it is within that relationship, then, that we come to know what it means to be saved. And the emphasis there is on what we are [00:11:00] saved for, not what are we saved from. We are saved to be the light, to be the salt. We are saved from fear and self centeredness and are meant to work in ways that align with the purpose of God.

[00:11:19] That's what it means to live out the ways of peace and to be the body of Christ. Thanks for listening.

[00:11:34] Thanks so much for listening to the Inspired Stewardship Podcast. As a subscriber and listener, we challenge you to not just sit back and passively listen, but act on what you've heard and find a way to live your calling. If you enjoyed this episode, do me a favor. Go over to Facebook. com slash inspired.

[00:11:58] stewardship and [00:12:00] like our Facebook page and mark it that you'd like to get notifications from us so that we can connect with you on Facebook and make sure that we're serving you to the best of our abilities with time and tips there. Until next time, invest your time, Your talent and your treasures develop your influence and impact the world.