Installment #3 in these posts from Psalm 19 & 20 is found in 20: 7-8- “Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the Lord our God. Those nations will fall down and collapse, but we will rise up and stand firm.” (NLT). The ESV uses the word “trust” instead of “boast.”

It’s really not hard to see what David was getting at. Another verse comes into play here from Psalm 33:17- “The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue.”

Throughout Biblical history and now into 2021, man has always thought he knew better. We’ve taken credit where credit is not due…except to God. We’ve tried to fight the battles on our own. We’ve trusted in earthly means to make things right.

In Galatians 4 Paul is talking about being enslaved and being free. He shows the difference between Isaac and Ishmael. He says something I saw for the first time this morning and it amplifies Psalm 20:7. Paul writes, “The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. But the son of the freedom wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise.“ (4:28) (NLT) (Emphasis mine)

He is contrasting do-it-yourself vs do-it-God’s-way. Same as Psalm 20:7, i.e. trust in horses and chariots or trust in God.

The lesson is obvious: whom will you (and I) trust? In whom or in what will you place your trust?

“Father, there should be only one answer to those questions: I will trust in You. As the mess between Isaac and Ishmael was then and still is today, help me to see the disaster that occurs when I take matters into my own hands and place my trust where it shouldn’t be.”