Rejoicing In The Lord

Psalm 21:1-13

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.

The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!  Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.  For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.” (Psalm 21:1-3)

David promised he would rejoice in God’s strength, and in the salvation he had been given.   He had been saved from Saul repeatedly, then given all the things he most desired, including the throne of Israel, and a healthy family.  The word translated preventest means to precede or anticipate, and indicates God blessed him in advance of his earning it.

 In Luke 18:29-30, Jesus spoke to his disciples, “And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake,   Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting. “  David’s experience is an example of what the Christian can expect.  We are blessed here, with far greater blessings to come. 

“He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever.  His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.  For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.  For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.” (Psalm 21:4-7)

David asked for life and God had given him eternal life.   In I John 5:10-11 we are told, “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.  And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.”  David was saved because he believed God, and we are saved the same way.  It is not something we did, but what God has done for us, as Titus 3:5-7 states.  “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

“Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.  Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.  Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.  For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.  Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.” (Psalm 21:8-12)

In John 16:33, Jesus said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”  As long as we are in the world, there will be trials and opposition, especially for those who serve God, but God has already won the victory.   As Romans 8:31 asks, “…If God be for us, who can be against us?”  Why should we worry about things?  After all, he is more powerful than anyone or anything, and John 10:27-30 tells us, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.  I and my Father are one.”  There is no way anyone can take us away from God’s love.

“Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.” (Psalm 21:13)

God demonstrates his own greatness, we just praise him for being able and willing to do those things for us.