Psalm 20:7

“Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God!”

Astonishing is the success of united prayer; nor are any so situated as not to need the intercessions of others. David, though so great and powerful, stood in need of them; and he here records the benefit he received from them.

The Psalmist here records,

I. The different grounds of men’s confidence.

The generality make the creature their confidence.

This prevailed universally among the heathen; and it too generally pervaded the Jewish nation also. We too, in all our straits and difficulties, are prone to it:

leaning to our understanding;

resting on our own resolutions;

and undertaking everything in a dependence on self.

The only proper ground of confidence is God.

He alone is all-sufficient; with him everything is easy. David abhorred the idea of resting on any other, Psalm 121:1-2; Psalm 11:1-4. Hence he adopted the resolution in the text.

II. The correspondent outcomes of their confidence.

Those who depend on the creature are disappointed.

This has frequently been the case, 1 Kings 20:23; and it is only what may be expected, Psalm 33:17. Creature-confidence arms God against us, Isaiah 31:1; Isaiah 31:3; and entails his curse on all who indulge it, Jeremiah 17:5-6.

But those who depend on God succeed.

So did Asa, 2 Chronicles 14:11-12. So did Jehoshaphat, 2 Chronicles 20:12; 2 Chronicles 20:15; 2 Chronicles 20:20. So did Hezekiah 2 Chronicles 32:7; 2 Chronicles 32:21. So did David, verse 8. And so shall all, even to the end of the world Psalm 34:22; Psalm 125:1-2.

Inferences:

1. What obligations do we owe to God for the mercies we have now received.

2. What shall they not receive who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ?

Charles Simeon