Year One, September 21

His Glory Is Great Through Your Salvation1

In this psalm we find King David rejoicing in the mercy of the Lord his God.

  

Psalm 21

This has been called the Royal Triumphal Ode or the Song of Great Victory. If we can see King Jesus in it, our reading will be rewarded even more.

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.

Souls are saved by Jesus. He enriches his people with all spiritual blessings and this makes King David rejoice greatly.

3 For you meet him with rich blessings;

The word “meet” includes the idea of preceding or going before and Jehovah most certainly preceded his Son with blessings. Before Jesus died, saints were saved by the anticipated merit of his death. The Father is so willing to give blessings through his Son, that instead of waiting to give his grace, his mercy goes ahead of the Mediator on his journey to his death. “The Father himself loves you.”2

you set a crown of fine gold upon his head.

Jesus wore the crown of thorns, but now wears the crown of glory. His new crown points to his royal nature, kingly power, well-earned honor, glorious victory and divine authority. The crown is made from the richest, rarest, most brilliant and long lasting metal. Gold! Pure gold. The most valuable gold, to indicate the superiority of his kingdom. The crown is set on his head by Jehovah himself to declare that no one can remove it.

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.

No one will escape from the Great King when he comes in his righteous anger. We are commanded to accept his love before it is too late.

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.

Opposing Jesus will be useless. He will defeat his enemies with a frightening victory. Do not be found among them in that day.

13 Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength!

We will sing and praise your power.

This whole psalm is meant to proclaim the praises of the Lord Jesus. Isaac Ambrose writes:3 “I remember a dying woman who heard some sermon about Jesus Christ; ‘Oh,’ said she, ‘speak more of this, let me hear of this, do not be weary of telling his praise. I want to see him and therefore I love to hear about him!’ Surely I cannot say too much of Jesus Christ. On this blessed subject no man can possibly exaggerate. If I had the tongues of men and angels, I could never fully describe Christ. It is impossible for the creature to fully understand his Creator. Suppose all the sands on the seashore, all the flowers, herbs, leaves, twigs of trees in woods and forests, all the stars of heaven, were all rational creatures; and that they had wisdom, and tongues of angels to speak of the loveliness, beauty, glory, and excellency of Christ, as gone to heaven, and sitting at the right-hand of his Father, they would, in all their expressions, stay millions of miles on this side of Jesus Christ. Oh, the loveliness, beauty, and glory of his face! Can I speak, or you hear of such a Christ? And are we not all in a blazing love, in a angelic love, or at least in love like a bride for her husband? Oh my heart, how is it you are not lovesick? Why is it that you have not earnestly asked the daughters of Jerusalem as the spouse did? ‘I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you tell him I am sick with love.’”4

  

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¹ Psalm 21:5

² John 16:27

³ Isaac Ambrose (1604-1664).

⁴ Song of Solomon 5:8