The Wisdom Journey
Stephen Davey shares practical and relevant lessons through the entire Bible, Genesis to Revelation, in just 10-minute each weekday. The Wisdom Journey will help you understand the truth of God’s Word and apply that truth to your life. Subscribe and learn to know God, think biblically and live wisely.
The Wisdom Journey
The Psalm of Christ’s Suffering (Psalm 22)
Trouble has a way of forcing our loyalties into the open. We open Psalms 20–21 and walk a two-beat rhythm every believer knows: prayer before the fight, praise after the victory. Along the way, we trade the illusion of control—our “chariots and horses”—for the solid ground of God’s name, and we discover why allegiance to Christ is not just a feeling but a way of taking the next faithful step.
We start with the day of trouble. David teaches us to ask for help and to anchor our confidence in who God is, not in what we can stack in our favor. The “banners” of Israel’s tribes become a vivid picture of identity; they march with colors and emblems, but their song is about the Lord, not their brand. From there, we revisit David and Goliath—not as a pep talk, but as a pattern. The shepherd enters the valley under a Name, not a resume. That same courage is on offer to us when we face conflict, danger, or decisions that outsize our strength.
Then the scene shifts. The army returns, a crown gleams, and the people give thanks. Psalm 21 lifts our eyes beyond David’s throne to a greater coronation: Christ the King, whose reign brings justice, joy, and peace. We trace how earthly ceremonies hint at a future moment when nations bring their honor to Jesus and loyalty is sworn to the only worthy King. This hope doesn’t numb us to reality; it roots us in it. If the story ends with Jesus enthroned, our present battles carry meaning, and our obedience becomes a clear, quiet way of saying, “Long live the King.”
If this journey helped you trade fear for faith and lift a better banner, subscribe, share the episode with a friend who needs courage today, and leave a review with one takeaway you’re putting into practice. What banner will you march under this week?
The first of Stephen's two volumes set through the Book of Revelation is now available. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FQ3XCJMY
If you're seeking to follow God faithfully, part of what that means is leaving your sin behind and pursuing obedience. As we walk through this life, we strive against sin, against Satan, and against an ungodly world. But here's the good news. We can march into the spiritual battle confident of victory. Stephen is in Psalm 20 and 21 today. His lesson is called, Long Live the King. Let's get started.
SPEAKER_01:I have no doubt today that I'm talking to believers in the middle of trouble. Perhaps it's some kind of difficulty or danger or conflict. Maybe today you're realizing that there's really no way around it. God's going to have to take you through it. Well, beloved, these next two Psalms will arm you with what you're going to need for the conflict ahead. Psalm chapter 20 is a prayer before the battle, and Psalm chapter 21 is praise after the battle. And both of them are going to point us to our victorious Lord and Savior, our King Jesus Christ. Now, here in Psalm chapter 20 and verse 1, David immediately prays a prayer that's essentially for you today as you enter the conflict you're facing. He writes, May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble. May the name of the God of Jacob protect you. Now, if you happen to have an open Bible in front of you at the moment, you might circle the words the name of God. It's going to appear three times in this psalm as David refers to the name of God. Now God's name speaks of everything God represents. 1 John 5.13 says that those who believe in his name have eternal life. So to believe in his name is to believe in his nature, his divine attributes, and God the Son's death and resurrection. Everything that his name represents about him is the idea. Now again here in verse 5, David writes, May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners. So the congregation is trusting in the name of the Lord. And look here, they're waving their banners. Well, when the nation of Israel marched out to battle, they marched according to their tribes. Each tribe had its own distinctive flag or banner, probably had some kind of logo, we could say it today. Numbers chapter 2 and verse 2 referred to this kind of practice. Each tribe had a special emblem used in their tribal banners. They chose the colors, they chose the designs, and frankly, I'm sure if we could see them, they would be quite beautiful. You know, it must have been a magnificent sight to see the Israelites arrayed for battle and marching under these colorful flags. But as they march out to defend their nation, the song David is teaching them to sing here isn't about their, you know, trusting in their banner or their logo or their brand. It's all about trusting in the name of the Lord. Well, the third reference we have to the name of God is found here in verse 7. David writes, Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. You know, I wonder if David is reminiscing here on that moment when he faced Goliath. David had bravely walked down there into the valley of Elah to face this giant. I've had the privilege of standing just above that same valley in Israel, and I could just imagine young David descending down there toward this giant, Goliath. And as he moved toward him, what did David shout? You come to me with a sword and with a spear, but I come to you in the name of the Lord. 1 Samuel 17 and verse 45. So David is telling his people now as they march out against the enemies, and those enemies have state-of-the-art weapons. What are they? Chariots, horses. Well, let's fly the banner of faith, so to speak, and let's sing this. We trust in the name of the Lord our God. Now, as we move into Psalm 21, the king and his army are returning from battle and they're victorious. This is really a coronation psalm. The last verse of Psalm 20 we just looked at says, Lord save the king, but now here in Psalm 21, they're essentially shouting, Long live the King. And by the way, many nations in our world today have used this psalm in the coronation ceremony of their king. Here in chapter 21, the king is a crown of gold set upon his head. Verse 3 says this. So this sort of sweeps us into the coronation ceremony of royalty. And I don't want you to miss this. This is also looking forward prophetically to the eternal reign of Jesus Christ, the King of kings. And let me tell you, beloved, the kingdoms of this world. They might quote this psalm, but they're only experiencing just a taste of what David is writing about here. The immediate context is referring to the pomp and circumstance of earthly kings. Bible scholars believe that Psalm 21 probably was written for and then sung during the coronation of King David. And then it's going to be used over the course of history at the coronation ceremony of future kings. This psalm became Israel's national anthem in a way. It's a psalm of thanksgiving nationally to God. And this is David's personal testimony here as well. Look here at verse 7 where he writes, For the king trusts in the Lord, and through the steadfast love of the Most High, he shall not be moved. You know, that's another way of saying long live the king. Let his reign last a long time. Let him be given, verse 5 says here, splendor and majesty. One of my favorite authors was born in Great Britain nearly a hundred years ago. He writes about the customs of crowning an English king. After the king is dressed in his royal robe, after the royal ring is placed on his finger, symbolizing the marriage of the king with his kingdom, after the crown is placed on his head by the archbishop, the people all begin to shout, God save the king, and that shout just kind of echoes throughout the cathedral. At that moment in time, trumpets begin sounding, and the great guns at the Tower of London begin booming out so that all of England knows the new king has just been crowned. Now, just before taking his seat on the throne, the king is presented with a copy of the Bible, and all the princes and dignitaries then come and swear their allegiance to the new king. Now, once that ceremony of loyalty is completed, a choir then rises to begin singing a selection of scripture put to music. It could even be this particular Psalm of David. Once the choir finishes, all the people begin to shout and chant once again, Long Live the King. That strikes me as just a little foretaste of the coming millennial kingdom when all the redeemed will shout and sing to Jesus, Long Live the King. In fact, the Book of Revelation tells us that Jesus Christ will reign during that thousand year, that millennial kingdom on earth that follows the tribulation period. We're told his capital city will be Jerusalem. The people and the nations of the world who refused to follow the Antichrist, who accepted the gospel of the Messiah, well, they haven't died, they're still living, they will enter into that glorious millennial kingdom. They'll come and pay their respects, they'll give their worship and praise to the King of Kings. Who knows? We might all be singing these very same psalms at the coronation ceremony of King Jesus. Frankly, I don't think we can even imagine the splendor of the Lord's coronation ceremony on that day. It's going to be magnificent, glorious. The kings of all the nations of the world who've trusted in Christ during the tribulation period and have entered into that glorious millennial kingdom. What are they going to do? Revelation 21, verse 24 says, they're going to all come and swear allegiance, loyalty to Jesus, the King. And we're going to be there along with all the redeemed on that grand occasion who've come back with him as he comes to reign on earth. And who knows? We might be joining everyone else in shouting what? We're going to be shouting, long live the King. And we will know in our hearts better than we know now, it will be no longer by faith but by sight that He has indeed come to live and reign on earth in a kingdom that begins his glorious reign that will in fact last forever. Well, let me remind you that we can all begin rehearsing for that grand day. We can start today. We can sing in our hearts, we can live out through our lives the meaning of these coronation psalms. Lord Jesus, you are my Lord, you are my King. Right now, I want you to reign and rule as King in my heart and in my life today. Well, until our next wisdom journey, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
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