"Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright." —Psalm 20:7-8
When David wrote, "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses," he was, of course, speaking as a man of war and recognizing the human tendency to believe that human resources can provide victory over human problems; in this case, problems posed by a military opponent. Beneath the psalmist's figure, however, lies the misguided principle of trust in human resources as the answer to man's problems, whatever their nature. It is in the nature of man, especially in our agnostic/atheistic era, to assume that "man is the measure of all things," and has, or will have, the solution to every problem. Unfortunately, the Christian mind is not immune to this kind of thinking. When the enemy is illness, we rely on the "chariots and horses" of modern medicine. If the enemy is economic, we expect deliverance via the horses and chariots of human government. If the crisis is military, our confidence rests, collectively at least, in the superiority in number, power and sophistication of modern weaponry.
Opposed to this vain confidence, David declares, "But we will remember the Name of our God." It behooves the Christian to focus his trust on the Lord. The Holy Spirit counsels through Solomon, "The Name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe [Prov. 18:10]." He is our refuge and our strength, our "place" of security when trouble comes. In applying this truth, David cried, "Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings [Ps. 61:1-4]."
Not only is the Lord our defense, but He is the Authority and Power for overcoming our foes and our problems. "Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. Through God we shall do valiantly: for He it is that shall tread down our enemies [Ps. 60:11-12]." This David understood and could testify to out of his own experience. When the Philistines had paralyzed the army of Israel under Saul and terrified them with the raging of their champion Goliath, David, undersized and under armed, challenged the giant: "Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied… And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into our hands [I Sam 17:45-47]." He came away victor over his formidable foe.
The New Testament confirms the validity of David's confidence. Here the Name of the Lord is disclosed in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, upon whom God the Father has bestowed a name of absolute authority: "… a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father [Phil. 2:9-11]." And in Eph. 3:20 we read that He is "able to do abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." his power is infinite, His resources are limitless, His wisdom is perfect.
This is not to suggest that we should not make use of the temporal resources available to us. When David challenged Goliath, he employed his sling. When as king he went out to battle, he went with his weapons and his militia. However, he focused not on human resources, but divine. And so it should be with us. God should not be an afterthought to be relied upon when all else fails.
There is, after all, one enemy we have to encounter who is altogether beyond the reach of "chariots and horses." That is the one who holds the power of death by reason of sin. And it is the Lord alone who could vanquish him. "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage [Heb. 2:14-15]. "This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved [Acts 4:11-12]."
Should you win every other battle in life by human strategy and resources, and lose this one, you will have lost everything. And no resource on earth will do, but the blood of Jesus Christ. Remember the Name of the Lord!
For eternal victory,
"Pastor" Frasier
When David wrote, "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses," he was, of course, speaking as a man of war and recognizing the human tendency to believe that human resources can provide victory over human problems; in this case, problems posed by a military opponent. Beneath the psalmist's figure, however, lies the misguided principle of trust in human resources as the answer to man's problems, whatever their nature. It is in the nature of man, especially in our agnostic/atheistic era, to assume that "man is the measure of all things," and has, or will have, the solution to every problem. Unfortunately, the Christian mind is not immune to this kind of thinking. When the enemy is illness, we rely on the "chariots and horses" of modern medicine. If the enemy is economic, we expect deliverance via the horses and chariots of human government. If the crisis is military, our confidence rests, collectively at least, in the superiority in number, power and sophistication of modern weaponry.
Opposed to this vain confidence, David declares, "But we will remember the Name of our God." It behooves the Christian to focus his trust on the Lord. The Holy Spirit counsels through Solomon, "The Name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe [Prov. 18:10]." He is our refuge and our strength, our "place" of security when trouble comes. In applying this truth, David cried, "Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings [Ps. 61:1-4]."
Not only is the Lord our defense, but He is the Authority and Power for overcoming our foes and our problems. "Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. Through God we shall do valiantly: for He it is that shall tread down our enemies [Ps. 60:11-12]." This David understood and could testify to out of his own experience. When the Philistines had paralyzed the army of Israel under Saul and terrified them with the raging of their champion Goliath, David, undersized and under armed, challenged the giant: "Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied… And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into our hands [I Sam 17:45-47]." He came away victor over his formidable foe.
The New Testament confirms the validity of David's confidence. Here the Name of the Lord is disclosed in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, upon whom God the Father has bestowed a name of absolute authority: "… a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father [Phil. 2:9-11]." And in Eph. 3:20 we read that He is "able to do abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." his power is infinite, His resources are limitless, His wisdom is perfect.
This is not to suggest that we should not make use of the temporal resources available to us. When David challenged Goliath, he employed his sling. When as king he went out to battle, he went with his weapons and his militia. However, he focused not on human resources, but divine. And so it should be with us. God should not be an afterthought to be relied upon when all else fails.
There is, after all, one enemy we have to encounter who is altogether beyond the reach of "chariots and horses." That is the one who holds the power of death by reason of sin. And it is the Lord alone who could vanquish him. "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage [Heb. 2:14-15]. "This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved [Acts 4:11-12]."
Should you win every other battle in life by human strategy and resources, and lose this one, you will have lost everything. And no resource on earth will do, but the blood of Jesus Christ. Remember the Name of the Lord!
For eternal victory,
"Pastor" Frasier
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