Today we continue in our sermon series, “Wonderful Words of Life,” where we journey through the books of poetry and wisdom in our Holy Scriptures. I mentioned last week that the Psalms teach us about faith and speak of God’s good and perfect will for the created world. The psalms also express a rich faith experience where God stands near and answers those who call. The depth, beauty, and power of the psalms are a gift that continues to help us connect with God and live in peace and harmony with others. I have come to learn, that there is a hidden power in poetry and songs. Something in those mediums connects deeply with our souls and moves us to a deeper level within our senses. This hidden power opens our lives to experience the Divine with our minds and feelings. There is a quote attributed to Saint Augustine of Hippo that says, “[The one] who sings prays twice.” So, we continue to in this journey through the psalms, indeed praying that our minds will be open to new understandings of God’s will for us.

Theologian William Holladay says, “As long as men and women have used words, they must have used words with rhythm: words with power; words to be repeated; words with which to recall the heroism of battle, to bring success to the hunt, to celebrate the joy of birth and the sorrow of death.”[1] Songs, beloved, psalms give testimony to God’s action in our lives and in the world. And today we hear the psalmist proclaim an affirmation that indeed the LORD and he alone saves.

Psalm 20 is widely considered to be a royal psalm. These are psalms that speak of the king, the anointed one. They were primarily composed during the dynasty of David. But they do not necessarily uplift the king. These psalms remind the people that true power, wisdom, deliverance, and salvation come from God and God alone. Therefore, we are to place our full trust in the LORD. These royal psalms remind us that praying for rulers, presidents, governors, and those who rule is an ancient tradition.[2] You may remember the words of God spoken through prophet Jeremiah to those exiled saying, “Promote the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because your future depends on its welfare.”[3] The faith of the people of Israel helped them to understand that though an individual may lead a nation, only God has the power to rule. So, here in this psalm, the psalmist expresses that the king is not the one who saves but stands in need of salvation.

The ancient Israelites had a funny relationship with kings. The book of 1 Samuel tells us about life in the land God had promised to Abraham. The people of Israel were a people set apart. Though their neighboring nations had kings, the people of God were governed by judges. As Samuel grew in age, he did as his predecessor, appointing his sons to replace him. But you see, Samuel’s sons didn’t really follow in his footsteps. As the Bible tells us, the two sons of the great judge and prophet tried to make a profit by accepting bribes in their roles, perverting justice for the people.[4] So, the people of the land were rightly concerned about the new fellas who were to take Samuel’s place. They went to Samuel saying, “Look, you’re an old man, and your sons aren’t following in your footsteps. Here’s what we want you to do: Appoint a king to rule us, just like everybody else.”[5] Even though God had cared for the people; even though God had protected them from the powerful enemies that surrounded them; even though time and time again the leadership model God had offered gave the people all that they needed, still they wanted to blend into the cultural surroundings and be just like everyone else. This request was deeply offensive to Samuel—who had served faithfully—and to God who had called the people to be his own possession.

But God told Samuel not to be disheartened, for they were not rejecting Samuel, their rejection was against God. Speaking to Samuel, God said, “They are doing to you only w