A Study in Psalms - Vol. III; No. 6

A Study in Psalms - Psalm 21

Psalm 21

For the director of music.
A psalm of David.

1O Lord, the king rejoices in Your strength.
How great is his joy in the victories You give!
2You have granted him the desire of his heart
and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
3You welcomed him with rich blessings
and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.
4He asked You for life, and You gave it to him--
length of days, for ever and ever.
5Through the victories You gave, his glory is great;
You have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.
6Surely You have granted him eternal blessings
and made him glad with the joy of Your presence.
7For the king trusts in the Lord;
through the unfailing love of the Most High
he will not be shaken.

8Your hand will lay hold on all Your enemies;
Your right hand will seize Your foes.
9At the time of Your appearing
You will make them like a fiery furnace.
In His wrath the Lord will swallow them up,
and His fire will consume them.
10You will destroy their descendants from the earth,
their posterity from mankind.
11Though they plot evil against You and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed;
12for You will make them turn their backs
when You aim at them with drawn bow.

13Be exalted, O Lord, in Your strength;
we will sing and praise Your might.

This psalm is a companion to the previous psalm. Psalm 20 was a prayer written by David for himself, for use by Israel before he went into battle. This psalm details God's answer to that prayer. First, David enumerates God's blessings upon him (vss. 1-7); then he enumerates God's miseries upon the wicked (vss. 8-12); finally, he concludes by glorifying God for both (vs. 13).

The Blessings of God

1O Lord, the king rejoices in Your strength.
How great is his joy in the victories You give!
2You have granted him the desire of his heart
and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
3You welcomed him with rich blessings
and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.
4He asked You for life, and You gave it to him--
length of days, for ever and ever.
5Through the victories You gave, his glory is great;
You have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.
6Surely You have granted him eternal blessings
and made him glad with the joy of Your presence.
7For the king trusts in the Lord;
through the unfailing love of the Most High
he will not be shaken.

In this section, David enumerates the blessings of God, which are the answer to David's prayer in Psalm 20. First, the blessing of God's strength and salvation: "O LORD, the king rejoices in Your strength. How great is his joy in the victories You give!" Note first that "the king rejoices". Blessed is the country whose king rejoices in the Lord. If the leadership of a country truly rejoices in the Lord--I mean, true rejoicing, not rote churchgoing--then the country invariably experiences spiritual blessing. This is not to say that such a country has no problems. Indeed, David's Israel faced many hardships and wars. However, spiritual riches are so much more important that material wealth, and such spiritual riches are usually rampant in a country whose leadership worships the Lord in spirit and truth.

And what king rejoiced in the Lord more than David? Here he rejoices in the Lord's "strength" and "the victories" He gives. Salvation comes from the Lord, and in His strength. "So you have two words...strength and salvation. Note them well; for not strength without salvation, nor salvation without strength, neither without the other is full, nor both without the Lord. Strength is of no use, without salvation to follow. For not in strength alone is there matter of joy, every way considered. No, not in God's strength, if it have not salvation behind it. Strength, not to smite us down, but strength to deliver; this is the joyful side. Now turn it the other way. As strength, if it end in salvation, is just cause for joy, so salvation, if it go with strength, makes joy yet more joyful; for it becomes a strong salvation, a mighty deliverance."[Footnote #9] David's acquaintance with God's strength and salvation was not merely theoretical. He, of course, experienced it many times, not least of which when he faced Goliath in battle.

The second blessing enumerated by David is answered prayer. He says: "You have granted him the desire of his heart and have not withheld the request of his lips." David here acknowledges God's direct answer to the request in the prayer in Psalm 20: "May He give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed." (Psalms 20:4). Of course, when God grants the desires of our hearts, it means that our heart's desires line up with His will. This is that best state of mind one can be in. We could be happy forever, with never a frown, if the desires of our hearts were the same as God's desires for us. And so, it is beneficial, in addition to praying "May Your will be done", to pray "Lord, may my will be Yours."

Note that for David, "the desire of his heart" was the same as the "request of his lips." Often, the pious, beautiful sounding prayers we utter with our lips (often before men) do not reflect the true desires of our hearts. We pray for spiritual riches, but desire material riches in our hearts. We pray that God's will be done, but desire to go our own way in our hearts. We pray that God's name would be glorified, but we desire fame and renown for ourselves in our hearts. This should not be. God sees the heart. We are not fooling Him. Prayer cannot be effective unless it truly reflects the desire of our hearts. Likewise, our hearts should not desire anything that we cannot speak to God in prayer.

Note here the "Selah" after verse 2 (something we often ignore in the psalms). Many think that the "Selah" is a musical term denote a pause or a musical interlude. And so, appropriately, this is a good time to pause and reflect on God's answered prayers in our lives.

The third blessing enumerated by David is God's bestowing of blessings even before we ask. He says: "You welcomed him with rich blessings." God so often paves our way with blessings, "welcoming" us with them as we go, answering prayers even before we ask. Think of how many blessings God has bestowed on you that you did not even ask for. "Existence, reason, intellect, a birth in a Christian land."[Footnote #10] Foremost of all such blessings is the salvation that God provided for us through Christ's death, many years ago, long before we could utter a prayer for salvation. Most of us have realized that our relationship with God was the work of God drawing us toward Him, even before we sought Him or desired to know Him. The example that David gives for a blessing that preceded his request is his selection as the king of Israel. David was the runt of the family, a lowly shepherd (I Sam. 16); nevertheless, God "placed a crown of pure gold on his head."

The fourth blessing enumerated by David is life. He says: "He asked You for life, and You gave it to him--length of days, for ever and ever." Though we are not to "love this world or anything in the world" (I John 2:15), God has given us a desire to live and a love for life. Thus, "it is lawful to pray for the continuance of life. David did it. Hezekiah did it. Christ did it. We may pray earnestly for such a blessing; yet we must pray submissively, always adding as did our Lord, `Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done, O Father.' (Luke 22:42, KJV). Life is not an absolute good. It is not a good of itself, as pardon and renewal and glory are. It is only a good when God makes it so. For several reasons and on several occasions we may greatly desire life. One is when wicked attempts are made to take it away, as in the case of David. Another is when we are in the midst of our days, and our departure out of the world would frustrate some important purpose, as the education of our children, or the accomplishment of some great design for the public good. The love of life, if not inordinate, in neither unnatural, a weakness, nor a sin."[Footnote #11]

God gave David more than what he asked for. David asked for "life", but God gave "length of days, for ever and ever." God often gives us much more than we ask for. As Paul says in his doxology to the Ephesians: "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine" (Eph. 3:20). So, David asked for "life", and God gave Him eternal, abundant life in heaven. "Heaven will be more blessed, the crown of righteousness brighter, the weight of glory heavier, the rest of heaven sweeter, than any mortal ever dared to hope or was able to conceive."[Footnote #12]

The fifth blessing enumerated by David is glory. He says: "Through the victories You gave, his glory is great; You have bestowed on him splendor and majesty." David received much glory through "the victories [God] gave". One first thinks of his victory over Goliath, and the glory it brought David. Although his victory over Goliath was the work of God, and David himself owned it as such, David was still glorified by the people through it. They would dance and sing: "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten of thousands" (I Sam. 18:7). "Nothing can make men more glorious, even before the world, than God's owning them before the world, and putting respect upon them."[Footnote #13] Of course, when men give us glory, we are to do our best to deflect the glory back to God, giving Him His due glory. God has blessed us with a marvelous cycle: He crowns us with glory, we cast our crowns before Him, then He crowns us again, and so on. What a blessing, indeed, that God would stoop to bestow glory upon us! And He has glorified each one of us through Christ. He has brought us from hated sinners, to be the chosen people of God. "There is no point of honor so high that God cannot, if he choose, raise us to it. He takes the poor from the dunghill and sets him among princes. He takes David from the sheep-cote and puts him on the most dazzling throne on earth. Jesus receives from God the Father glory and honor, and from the sepulchre of Joseph, He ascends to the throne of the universe. Let no virtuous, pious soul fear anything."[Footnote #14]

The sixth blessing enumerated by David is joy in the presence of God. He says: "Surely You have granted him eternal blessings and made him glad with the joy of Your presence." When God starts blessing us, there's no stopping His "eternal blessings". These "eternal blessings" inspire in us the "joy of [His] presence." It could have been different. We could have served a God who demanded strictly fear in His presence. Certainly, we in our sin do not deserve to be joyful in the presence of God. But God is gracious and chooses to bless us so that we would be joyful in His presence, rather than hold us in constant fear of His wrath. As Paul tells us: "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, `Abba, Father'" (Rom. 8:15). God chooses to relate to us, not as a cruel taskmaster, but as a loving Father.

And so, we should be joyful! So few Christians exude the joy that reflects the "eternal blessings" of God. God's people don't have to be (nay, should by no means be) deathly solemn, but can by all means be overflowing with joy. Joy is a magnet, that can be used to draw people to God.

The seventh blessing enumerated by David is God's unfailing love. He says: "For the king trusts in the LORD; through the unfailing love of the Most High he will not be shaken." The numerous blessings enumerated do much to engender "trust in the LORD" and belief that one "will not be shaken". Such trust should turn to praise for God's "unfailing love". Although there are times when we think God has deserted us, invariably when we can objectively look back at the situation, we understand God was with us, exhibiting His "unfailing love".

The Misery of the Wicked

8Your hand will lay hold on all Your enemies;
Your right hand will seize Your foes.
9At the time of Your appearing
You will make them like a fiery furnace.
In His wrath the Lord will swallow them up,
and His fire will consume them.
10You will destroy their descendants from the earth,
their posterity from mankind.
11Though they plot evil against You
and devise wicked schemes,
they cannot succeed;
12for You will make them turn their backs
when You aim at them with drawn bow.

A blessing that we can all look forward to is God's ultimate triumph over the wicked, and over evil itself. Make no mistake. The time will come. We have been promised this in the Bible, and God always keeps His promises. We need not worry too much about the wicked who prosper in this life due to man's imperfect justice. In the end, they will get their due. In this section, David speaks of this time. These verses can be contrasted to the blessings of God in verses 1 through 7. David begins: "Your hand will lay hold on all Your enemies; Your right hand will seize Your foes." David pictures God exerting the strength of His "right hand" against His enemies. The enemies of God must fear God's strength, contrasted with David's rejoicing in God's strength in verse 1. Note that "all" God's enemies will be seized by God. Given all the promises of God's wrath on His enemies, one wonders why anyone would be a foe of God. What a foolish thing to be! An enemy of the all-powerful, omniscient, Creator of the universe. David continues: "At the time of Your appearing You will make them like a fiery furnace. In His wrath the LORD will swallow them up, and His fire will consume them." The fiery wrath of God is contrasted to the "crown of pure gold" given to God's people (see vs. 2); and indeed, it's a great contrast. Make no mistake: as we see in this verse, the wrath of God will be horrible. To be made "like a fiery furnace" and to be "consumed" by the fire of God is nothing to be taken lightly. But the ungodly have been warned. They will have no right to say, "Why me?" "You will destroy their descendants from the earth, their posterity from mankind." This can be contrasted to the "life" and "length of days, for ever and ever" described by David in verse 4. Whereas the people of God have the blessing of abundant, eternal life, even the descendants and posterity of the wicked are destroyed. This is difficult for many. They say: "Isn't God unjust? Destroying the children for the sins of the fathers?" Nevertheless, as Calvin says: "It is a doctrine common enough in Scripture, that God not only inflicts punishment upon the first originators of wickedness, but makes it even to overflow into the bosom of their children."[Footnote #15] We must remember how hard in this world it is even for godly men and women to raise godly children. "Without love to God, how can [an ungodly man] bring up his children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord?"[Footnote #16] "Though they plot evil against You and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed." The frustrated schemes of the wicked are contrasted with the "victories" given by God to His people (see vs. 5). The evil of the wicked is not spontaneous. They "plot evil" and "devise wicked schemes". However, many of the evil schemes of the wicked are frustrated. There are many foiled bombings, robberies, kidnappings, etc. Praise God for that! Praise God for the law enforcement officers who do their jobs so well in battling evil and battling the schemes of the wicked. Finally, "for You will make them turn their backs when You aim at them with drawn bow." This is contrasted with the "trust" in God of the godly, who "will not be shaken" (see vs. 7). The wicked, far from trusting in God, will turn their backs in fear at the sight of God. The wicked, far from not being shaken, will face the "drawn bow" of God.

Praise to God for These Things

13Be exalted, O Lord, in Your strength;
we will sing and praise Your might.

What better way to finish this psalm than to praise God for all His goodness! Let's all agree with David: "Be exalted, O LORD, in Your strength." We can exalt God for His strength on our behalf through His blessings (as enumerated by David in verses 1 through 7), and for His strength against the wicked (as described by David in verses 8 through 12).

David concludes with a statement of resolve to continue the worship and praise of God: "We will sing and praise Your might." Again, let's all agree with David and continually sing praises to God.

So Father, we praise You from our hearts. You have blessed so much that words cannot express our appreciation for all that You have lavished upon us. May we live lives worthy of such blessings, lives that would glorify Your name. In the name of the greatest blessing that You have given us, the name of Your Son Jesus Christ, we pray these things, Amen.

(Our study in the Psalms will continue in the next issue)

Footnotes

9. Paraphrased from Bishop Launcelot Andrews, cited in Spurgeon, A Treasury of David, Vol. I; pg. 318.

10. Plumer, Studies in the Psalms, pg. 282.

11. Ibid.

12. Ibid.

13. David Dickson, A Commentary on the Psalms, pg. 103.

14. Plumer, op. cit., pg. 283.

15. John Calvin, cited in Plumer, op. cit., pg. 284.

16. Plumer, op. cit., pg. 285.