Let us turn again to God's Word
and our text. This morning is found in the
psalm that we read, the first two verses of Psalm 20. Psalm 20 and the first two verses. The Lord hear thee in the day
of trouble. The name of the God of Jacob
defends thee. Send thee help from the sanctuary.
and strengthen thee out of Zion. The subject matter then that
we have before us in the verses I've just read can be described
as that of help from the sanctuary mentioned there in the second
verse. Psalm 20 then verses 1 and 2. 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. And first of all, I want us to
consider the prophetic significance, the prophetic interpretation
of these words that we've read. The Psalms, of course, speak
of the Lord Jesus Christ He said to the Jews, search the Scriptures.
These are they that testify of me. And we know he was referring
to the Scriptures of the Old Testament as those words of God
that speak specifically of himself. And at the end of Luke's Gospel
we read of The words of Christ first to those two on the road
to Emmaus who were overwhelmed by the events that they beheld
earlier in that day. They couldn't believe the things
that they had witnessed concerning the execution of Jesus of Nazareth
and now the news from the women that he was risen again from
the dead. And Christ meets with those two
on the road to Emmaus, but his identity is concealed from them,
and then we read about how he ministers to them. O fools, he
says, and slow of heart, to believe all that the prophets have spoken,
ought not Christ to have suffered these sins and to enter into
his glory, and beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expanded
onto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. In all the Scriptures, the things
concerning Himself. And then later, that same day,
it's the first day of the week, it's the third day since His
crucifixion, He's now risen and we see Him there at the end of
Luke 24 appearing to His disciples. and again he ministers to them
that verse 44 he said unto them these are the words which I spake
unto you while I was yet with you that all things must be fulfilled
which were written in the Lord of Moses and in the Prophets
and in the Psalms concerning Mary then openly their understanding
that they might understand the Scriptures the things written
He says in the psalms concerning man. and the Psalms contain a
remarkable revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we've said
on previous occasions, there is a sense here in the Psalms
where we're granted a sight of the very soul of Christ, that
the veil is drawn aside and we look into the depths of that
human soul and those sufferings that he had to endure, not just
his physical sufferings, he's last spoken of. But more than
that, we read also of what was transpiring in the very depths
of his soul as these things are unfolded to us in the book of
Psalms. There are certain Psalms that
are clearly messianic, they speak very specifically of Christ. In Psalm 22 for example, the
opening words, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Why art
thou so far from helping me and from the words of my roaring? The Lord utters those very opening
words, does he not, in the midst of all his sufferings upon the
cross. In Matthew chapter 27 we read
how he cried such words feeling so bereft in his soul, forsaken
of his God. And then at the end of the 22nd
Psalm, the closing clause we read, He hath done this. He hath done this. And we observe that the last
word, this, is in italics literally then, If we omit that word, it's
not a translation of any Hebrew word. It's been introduced in
the translation to bring out the full meaning of the statement,
but literally it says, He hath done. And it's the very expression,
again, that the Lord uses upon the cross at the end of His sufferings
when He says, It is finished. It is done. He has done. The work is completed. And it
is interesting, is it not, The opening words of Psalm 22 and
the closing words of Psalm 22 are words that were spoken by
the Lord Jesus Christ there upon the cross at Calvary. And we
can say that all that is contained between the opening words and
the closing words, the whole of Psalm 22, was therefore fulfilled
in Christ upon the cross. And we see something of the detail.
Look at what he says in the course of Psalm 22. At verse 7, All
they that see me laugh me to scorn, they shoot out the lip,
they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the Lord that he
would deliver him. Let him deliver him, seeing he
delighted in him. Oh, they mocked him in the midst
of all those dreadful sufferings. Oh, they ridiculed him. Verse 13, They gape upon me with
their mouths as a ravening and a roaring lion, I am poured out
like water, all my bones are out of joint, my heart is like
wax, it is melted in the midst of my bowels. All the dreadful sufferings that
Christ was enduring there. Again at verse 17 I may tell
all my foes, they look and stare upon me, they part my garments
among them and cast lots upon my vesture." Clearly then, Psalm 22 is speaking
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And here he feels so bereft of
any assistance, so forsaken Why aren't they so far from helping
me and from the words of my roaring? He asks there in the opening
verse of Psalm 22. But here in Psalm 27 we have
these opening words. The Lord hears us in the day
of trouble. The name of the God of Jacob
defends us. Send me help from the sanctuary.
and spent them out of Zion. Strangely, not only Psalm 22,
but what we read here in Psalm 20, surely this is also applicable
to Christ. Though there is that sense of
bereftness, that terrible cry of dereliction in Psalm 22, yet
the Lord is sustained, is he not, in the midst of all his
sufferings. And it is Christ who is spoken
of here in Psalm 20. Look at verse 6. 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. Who is the
Lord's anointed? The anointed one, of course,
is the Christ. This is the very name of the
Messiah. And I assert that here in Psalm
20 we do see the Lord Jesus Christ and we see him particularly in
his priestly office and his priestly work. And so first of all let
us consider Christ in this capacity, his office and his work as the
great High Priest. Here in verse 6 we are told God
will hear him from his holy heaven. And the Lord Jesus Christ during
the course of his ministry here upon the earth was mindful that
he was heard of his God. He was heard of God there at
the grave of his friend Lazarus. In John chapter 11 we have the
record of that remarkable miracle where Christ raises the dead
to life. And what does Christ say there?
In John 11 verse 41, we see him addressing words unto
his father and acknowledging that the father hears him at
all times. Verse 41, they take away the
stone from the place where the dead was laid, where Lazarus
was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes
and said, Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard me, and
I knew that Thou hearest me always. But because of the people which
stand by, I said it, that they may believe that Thou hast sent
me. He thanks the Father for hearing
him. and he knows that he never seeks
the face of his father in vain. The father hears and answers
his cry. And what a prayer it was when
the father heard him. Previously there, at verse 38
in John 11, we read of Jesus groaning in himself. Well, this was the manner of
his calling upon God, how he groans within himself. who in the days of his flesh,
when he had offered up prayer and supplication, with strong
crying and tears, unto him that was able to save him from death,
and was hurt in that he feared. Though he were a son, yet learned
he obedience. O the Lord Jesus Christ, the
times in the midst of his ministry we see him groaning out his prayers
unto God. was a real life of faith and
his prayers were real prayers addressed to his father in heaven. He was truly a man here upon
the earth, though the eternal son of God. Yet he learns obedience
in the midst of all his troubles. And here you see in our text
we have these words at the beginning of the psalm, the Lord hear thee
in the day of trouble. The Lord hear thee in the day
of trouble. Wasn't the Lord Jesus Christ
heard by his Father in the day of trouble? Or think of his experiences
as he comes to the end of his ministry, as he must ultimately
make that great sacrifice for sins. This is the purpose of
his coming into the world. He comes not to be ministered
unto, but to minister and to give his life, a ransom for men. And we see something of his soul
troubles there in the garden of Gethsemane. Being in an agony,
he prayed more earnestly and his stretch was as great drops
of blood falling down to the ground. Here we read then of Christ's
time of trouble. The Lord hear thee in the day
of trouble. Then at the beginning of verse
2, send thee help from the sanctuary. When the Lord Jesus there in
the garden is moved to such agonising prayers, doesn't God hear him? Doesn't God answer him? There
appeared an angel unto him, we're told. There appeared an angel
unto him, from where? From heaven, strengthening him. Help was sent from the sanctuary. The Lord Jesus Christ did not
look to his Father, pray to his Father in vain. His prayers were
heard, his prayers were answered, dispatched from heaven. An angel
stood amazed to find him bathed in blood, adored by angels and
obeyed, but lower now than angels made, living the life of prayer,
living that life of dependence, calling upon his God, seeking
help from his God. This is how the Lord Jesus Christ
praised him. As I said, we are permitted to
see into his very soul, are we not? how Christ groans in himself
in his prayers to his Father in heaven. But his prayers are
not only spoken of in terms of sighs and groans, but he also
in prayer expresses something of his desires, even something
of his counsels. Verse 4 of the psalm. It says, grant thee according
to thine own heart and fulfil all thy counsel. All God will hear him, God will
fulfil all that his heart desires, God will accomplish all his counsel. That is the counsel of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And that is a remarkable prayer
that we read of course, his great high priestly prayer in the 17th
chapter of John, and the manner in which we see the Lord Jesus
Christ addressing His Father there. In verse 24 of John 17,
He prays, Father, I will that they also whom Thou hast given
Me be with Me where I am that they may behold My glory which
Thou hast given Me for thou lovest me before the foundation of the
world. Here he doesn't come and pray
as we must pray in all our petitions to God. We must be submissive
to the divine will. Thy will be done we pray. Thy
will be done in earth as it is in heaven. But see how Christ
is able to address the Father here on equal terms. He speaks
of his own will being done. Father, I will. Not so much a
request, you see. This is his counsel, his party,
of course, to the eternal covenant. And he pleads throughout that
17th chapter of John in terms of the covenant, those that the
Father has given to him. These are the ones that he is
praying for. And speaking of, as he addresses
the Father in these remarkable words, I will that they also
whom thou hast given me be with me where I am. This is his counsel. Grant them according to thine
own heart and fulfil all my counsel. Any praise for that people that
the Father had given to him in the eternal covenant. He desires
the safety of all his people, does he not there in that chapter?
Verse 15 he prays, I pray not that thou shouldest take them
out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the
evil. Or he prays that they might be
kept safe, secure in this wicked world, this world that lies in
the wicked one. He prays also of course for their
sanctification. He says sanctify them through
thy truth thy word is truth. For their sakes he would sanctify
himself that they might be sanctified through the truth he says later
at verse 19. He desires that they might truly
be that people who, though in the world, are separated from
the world, set apart for the service of God. He prays furthermore
concerning these people that the Father has given to him,
that they might be a united people. Verse 20, he says, Neither pray
I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me
through their word. that they all may be one, as
thou, Father, art in me and I in thee, that they also may be one
in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." Throughout
we see him speaking to the Father, praying to the Father, pleading
with the Father, but also able to address the Father as one
who is equal to the Father, the eternal Son of the eternal Father,
who expresses his own will, who desires the accomplishment of
his own counsel. And so here in the fourth verse
of Psalm 20, grant thee according to thine own heart and fulfil
all thy counsel. We see the Lord Jesus Christ
here then as a priest, who prays, that was part of the priestly
office, was it not? They were to plead on behalf
of the people, to plead before God, to present prayers to Him. And so here in the words of our
text, here is the assurance, the Lord hears us. 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. But Christ
as a priest is not only one that makes intercession, that is part
of his priestly office, but he is also of course a sacrificing
priest. He comes ultimately to offer
himself, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world. And so here in verse 3 of the
psalm, remember all thy offerings and accept thy burnt sacrifice. Selah. All those Levitical offerings,
all that was prescribed under the Old Testament ceremonial
laws, all is pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ. All the burnt
sacrifices, were they not types of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
remember how what we have in the book of Leviticus is really
answered in the New Testament by what Paul writes in the Hebrews. Hebrews is the best interpretation
for us of those various sacrifices prescribed in the book of Leviticus. is fulfilled, they say, in Christ. In Hebrews chapter 10, for example, and there at verse 12 following
we read of this man. That is Christ, this man, after
he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on
the right hand of God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be
made his footstool, for by one offering he hath perfected forever
them that are sanctified. Those that were given to him
by the Father, those that were set apart in the eternal purpose
of God, they are such as are perfected by that one offering
of Christ. He is that great high priest
then of the believer's profession. He not only intercedes and is
heard in all his prayers, but he has satisfied all the holy
wrath of God. He is born in his own person,
that punishment that was due to his people. I say that here
in the psalm then we are to see Christ, it's a prophecy of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And we must take account of that
interpretation, we're not to ignore it. We should desire that
we might see Christ in all the scriptures. But then, besides
this prophetic interpretation, is there not also an application
to be made to the people of God, to the Church of Christ? There
is, in the words of the text here in the opening verses of
this psalm, the Lord hear thee in the day of trouble, the name
of the God of Jacob defend send thee out from the sanctuary and
strengthen thee out of Zion, there is, I say, an experimental
application to be made, because what is true in Christ, who is
the head, is also true in the Church, which is his model. John tells us in his first epistle
as he is, so are we in this world. as He is, so are we. Christ also suffered for sins,
says Peter, the just for the unjust. But not only did He die
as a great substitute, He also died as a blessed example. Christ also suffered for us,
says Peter, leaving us an example. that we should walk in his steps. Yes, he is the great substitute,
that's the very heart of his work upon the cross, substitutionary
atonement. But in his sufferings he is also
that one who is a pattern to his people. Paul, writing in that great 8th
chapter of the epistle to the Romans, tells us whom he did
foreknow He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image
of his Son. We are predestinated, if we are
truly the children of God, if we are those who are the Church
of Christ, we are predestinated to be conformed to that image. And this was the desire, was
it not, of the apostles. He wanted such a knowledge of
Christ that I might know Him and the power of His resurrection
and the fellowship of His sufferings being made conformable unto His
death. As He is, as Christ is, so are
we in this world. What is true in Christ must be
true also of those who are in Christ. or when he writes in
his epistle to the Colossians, having spoken of Christ's sufferings
and the purpose of those sufferings, in chapter 1 of Colossians, he
says this at verse 4, "...who now rejoice in my sufferings
for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions
of Christ in my flesh, for his body's sake which is the church."
Paul's sufferings did not procure anything for the church. It is
Christ alone who has made the one sacrifice for sin. But here
we see the pattern believer, Paul, who can speak in these
terms. Rejoicing, he says, in my sufferings
for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions
of Christ in my flesh. The believer is to know something
of the fellowship of the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ. So,
as the psalm speaks to us of Christ, and principally speaks
to us of the Lord Jesus Christ, so it also speaks of those who
are true believers in Christ. He speaks of their experience.
And furthermore, let us not forget what Paul says of the Old Testament
Scriptures, that whatsoever things were written aforetime were written
for our learning, that we through patience or endurance and comfort
of the Scriptures might have hope. And so the words of the
psalm and the words of our text here in these opening two verses
are to be related, are they not, to those who are Christ's. And
we can observe a number of things here with regards to the Christian's
experience. First of all, we have mention
of the day of trouble. The Lord hears thee in the day
of trouble. What is the day of trouble? What is the day of trouble that
he has spoken of? I said, considering Christ's
experience, that we can see it in some measure, in the agonies
that he has to endure there in the Garden of Gethsemane, Christ groaning in his spirit, calling upon his Father, is sweat
like great drops of blood falling to the ground. But what is the
day of trouble for the Christian? Look at the words that we have
in Jeremiah chapter 30 and verse 7. We read this, Alas, for that
day is great, so that none is like it. It is even the time
of Jacob's trouble. but he shall be saved out of
it. It is the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved
out of it. Jacob, of course, is the one
who, though the supplanter becomes Israel, the prince with God,
who wrestles with the angel and prevails. The time of Jacob's trouble Is it not in the experience of
those who are the spiritual Israel, the true descendants of Jacob? Isn't the time of their trouble
that time when they feel and know something of their sinnership,
when they're convinced of what they are as sinners, when God
begins with them, when there's that blessed awakening in the
soul and there's that sense of their need before God? the Holy
God, and they are those who are the transgressors of his holy
law. It's a time of conviction, a
time of trouble, but that's not the only time of Jacob's trouble.
Are there not also those times of deep trials which God in his
sovereignty has appointed in the lives of all who are believers? There will be trials and tribulations
Christ himself has said as much in the world. He shall have tribulation,
there's no avoiding it. Often these times of trouble
then come into the believer's life. And what times they are,
all their false hope is utterly consumed away. All the grass
is burned up, that's the purpose of the trial. It's a purifying
experience, but it's a necessary experience. The time of Jacob's trouble. What says David here in the psalm? The Lord hear thee in the day
of trouble. And so it was for Jacob there
in Jeremiah 13. even the time of Jacob's trouble,
but thee shall be saved out of it." Or the Lord doesn't forsake
his people, the Lord hears them and answers them. It was so for
the Lord Jesus Christ, was he not? Even in the depths of his
troubles, there upon the cross, as he cries that terrible cry
of dereliction, and yet he's heard, he's vindicated. He is
declared to be the Son of God through power according to the
Spirit of Holiness by the resurrection from the dead. And so all his Jacobs are saved
out of their time of trouble. We read here in the psalm that
it is a day. The Lord hear thee in the day
of trouble. always a little does. But surely
we are to understand here that it's certainly a particular season
of time. It may be long, it may be short,
it's what God has appointed. Peter says now for a season,
if need be, you are in happiness through manifold temptation.
that the train of your faith may prove to be more precious
than gold and perishes, though it be tried in the fire, is to
be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of
Jesus Christ. It's a season. As I say, it might
be a long or a short season of time. in comparison with eternity,
it's all a short period of time, it's just a time. Now for a season,
a little while, a short period. If needs be, it's always if needs
be, it's only as God sees it to be necessary. And what is
the believer to do in the midst of his trouble? He is to look
to the Lord, he is to cry to his God. Isn't this what we see
the Israelites doing in that terrible day of their trouble
in the land of Egypt, how they have to cry unto God, how they
have to call upon His name. At the end of Exodus chapter
2 we are told how Israel, the children of Israel, sighed by
reason of the bondage and they cried And their cry came up unto
God by reason of the bondage, and God heard their groaning.
And God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and
with Jacob. And God looked upon the children
of Israel, and God had respect unto them. Oh, we will save Jacob
out of his time of trouble. The Lord hears them in the day
of trouble. And it continues, the name of
the God of Jacob defends them. It's not just a day of trouble,
there's that defence. And that defence comes from God
himself. God defends his people. God is
the defence of his people. He shall dwell on high, says
Isaiah. His place of defence shall be
the munitions of rocks, that is where God hides his people,
you see. There is that place of safety for them, that God
himself is pleased to provide. Again, there in Isaiah, in chapter
26, verse 20, the invitation is given, Come
my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors
about thee, hide thyself, as it were, for a little moment,
until the indignation be overpassed." Or there is that defence that
God provides for his people. And what is the defence that
he's spoken of here in the psalm? It's the name of the God of Jacob. The name of the God of Jacob
defends that. God's name. And all that that
name declares, what is God's name? It's a revelation of God. It's a declaration of the character
of God. And that's the defence that his
people enjoy. What is God's name? God is love. We read twice there in 1 John
4, verse 8 and again at verse 16, God is love. And herein is
love. Not that we love God, but that
he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our
sins. Sent his Son to make that great
sacrifice for the sins of his people. Or we see the love of
God, do we not, in the gift of his only begotten Son? And that
work that the Son came to accomplish, they shall call his name Jesus. For he shall save his people
from their sins. This is the place of defence,
the name of God, and God's name is Jesus. Which means the Saviour. Remember how The Lord God revealed
himself to Moses after that terrible incident over the matter of the
golden calf, the awful sin, the idolatry of the children of Israel
and God's determination initially to disinherit them and yet Moses
standing in the breach and Moses pleading with God on their behalf
And then in Exodus 34 we are told how the Lord descended in
the cloud and stood within there and proclaimed the name of the
Lord. And the Lord passed by before
him and proclaimed the Lord, the Lord God, merciful, and gracious,
long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy
for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and
that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity
of the fathers upon the children and upon the children's children
unto the third and to the fourth generation. And Moses made haste
and bowed his head toward the earth and worshipped. God came
and God proclaimed to Moses his name. The name of the God of Jacob.
Defend it. Oh, what a name it is. He is
God. He is merciful. He is gracious. He is faithful. Again, in Deuteronomy
7 we read of the faithful God which keepeth covenant. Here
is the believer's defence and it's the God of the covenant.
I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore ye sons of Jacob are
not consumed. And then coming into the second
verse we have help that comes from the sanctuary. Send thee
help, it says, from the sanctuary. What are we to understand by
this reference to the sanctuary? Well, we read in Hebrews, again,
Hebrews chapter 8 of the sanctuary and the true tabernacle which
the Lord pitched and not man. All remember there in the Old
Testament that tabernacle spoken of in Hebrews 9 as a worldly
sanctuary, that they belong to this world, the tabernacle, and
subsequently the tabernacle is replaced by the temple of the
Lord. The tabernacle, the temple, these
are types of the Lord Jesus Christ. A lovely little work of Bunyan's
on Solomon's temple, spiritualized. is Christ the sanctuary and true
tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man. Send me help from
the sanctuary. It's the promise, is it not,
of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Again, look at the words that
we have from the mouth of the prophet Isaiah. In the beginning of chapter 32
in the book of Isaiah, Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness,
and princes shall reign in judgment and a man. A man shall be as a hiding place
from the wind, and a cupboard from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place,
as a shadow of a great rock, in a weary land. A man shall be as a hiding place. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. Send
thee help from the sanctuary. Christ is that sanctuary, that
place of safety for all his people. And then also here we have strength,
out of Zion. Send thee help from the sanctuary
and strengthen out of Zion. What is Zion? Well, the spiritual
Zion is not the place where God abides. It is that place that
God has chosen as his special dwelling place. It is where God
is to be found, Zion. In the latest Psalm, Psalm 132,
the Lord hath chosen Zion. He hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest forever. Here will I dwell, for I have
desired it. I will abundantly bless her provision. I will satisfy her poor with
prayer." This is Zion. This is the church, is it not?
The place where God is pleased to make His special dwelling
place. God is everywhere. God fills
heaven and earth. He is omnipresent. But this is
that special gracious presence of God, and he comes to make
his dwelling place in spiritual Zion, in the midst of the church. And he says here, he will abundantly
bless her provision, he will satisfy her poor with bread. This is where God's people then
are strengthened and encouraged, is it not? Here we see the believer's
safety. the believer's strength. God hears, God answers the prayers
of his children, whatever be their circumstances, whatever
be their state, whatever troubles they find themselves in. As Christ
himself never sought the face of his Father in vain, so those
who are in Christ as they come and seek God through his mediation
can never pray in vines, the Lord hear them in the day of
trouble, the name of the God of Jacob defend them, send them
out from the sanctuary and strengthen them out of Zion. For the Lord grant his blessing
for his namesake. Let us conclude our worship this
morning as we sing 136. Day of Hurst 124. 136. Dear refuge of my weary
soul, on thee when sorrows rise, on thee when waves of trouble
roll, my fainting hope relies. 136.