Knowing The Word in Psalm 21

The King Rejoices in the Lord's Strength

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1 O Lord, in your strength the king rejoices, and in your salvation how greatly he exults! 2 You have given him his heart's desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah 3 For you meet him with rich blessings; you set a crown of fine gold upon his head. 4 He asked life of you; you gave it to him, length of days forever and ever. 5 His glory is great through your salvation; splendor and majesty you bestow on him. 6 For you make him most blessed forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence. 7 For the king trusts in the Lord, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.

8 Your hand will find out all your enemies; your right hand will find out those who hate you. 9 You will make them as a blazing oven when you appear. The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath, and fire will consume them. 10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth, and their offspring from among the children of man. 11 Though they plan evil against you, though they devise mischief, they will not succeed. 12 For you will put them to flight; you will aim at their faces with your bows.

13 Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power.

Comments

As you read this psalm, you probably felt uplifted by the first seven verse and then perhaps became uneasy with verses 8-12. What are we to do with the hard verses? First, I suggest, we need to see if these verses are consistent with the rest of Scripture, and they are. Jesus in his parables tells of a day of judgment when the wheat and chaff will be separated. Likewise, Revelation tells of a lake of fire for the enemies of God. Second, it is important to note that the writer, King David, leaves the punishment of the wicked up to God and what God will do. In Barcelona nine years ago, I was pickpocketed by a group of young girls on the subway and lost a substantial amount of cash. Angry at those who did this, I prayed to God that the use of the money they stole from me would bring harm to them! I ended my prayer, however, with something like this: “It is all up to you, Lord. You know my anger. You know the injustice. But it is all up to you Lord. Take my anger away from me and work your purposes out in their lives.” We all experience deep emotions. The psalms often teach us to take them to God, turn them over to him, and let him be in charge. Reading and praying the psalms is a great way to find peace.

Prayer

May the Light of lights come

To my dark heart from thy place;

May the Spirit’s wisdom come

To my heart’s tablet from my Savior.

Be the peace of the Spirit mine this night,

Be the peace of the Son mine this night,

Be the peace of the Father mine this night,

The people of all peace be mine this night,

Each morning and evening of my life.

Source unknown (Celtic)