Psalm 21 Devotional.
1 David in the person of the people praiseth God for the victory, attributing it to God, and not to the strength of man. Wherein the holy Ghost directeth the faithful to Christ, who is the perfection of this kingdom.

To him that excelleth. A Psalm of David.

1 The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord; yea how greatly shall he rejoice in thy salvation!

2 Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not denied him the request of his lips. Selah.

3 For thou preventest him with blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.

4 He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever.

5 His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.

6 For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.

7 For the king trusteth in the Lord, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.

8 Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.

9 Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the Lord shall destroy them in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.

10 Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.

11 For they intended evil against thee: they imagined mischief, but they shall not prevail.

12 Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, and the strings of thy bow shalt thou make ready against their faces.

13 Be thou exalted, Lord, in thy strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.

We saw in the previous Psalm the voice of the king on behalf of the people of God, and his willingness to advocate for the people of God, and pray for their salvation and success. And this is a singular virtue of the people who are blessed from above by God’s divine favor, even to know what benefits others, and to pursue it. As it is written, “For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and follow after it.” and again, “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” And so we see in the person of David, the proper behavior of the righteous man, to pray for the people of God and to promote their welfare. “The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee” We saw also how the Psalms are listed in a profound and systematic order, some even being combined with other Psalms to create logical coherence, and to excite our minds with wonder, admiration and to incite meditation and exploration into the deep mysteries of the word. We saw how Psalms 14 and 15 are linked together, and the manner in which 20 follows after 19, even as praise follows our meditation on creation and the law of God. But now we have the second Psalm in this particular set, that flows naturally from Psalm 20. For this is another kingship Psalm and is David’s response to God’s giving victory over His enemies. Therefore the result of prayer must always be thanksgiving because the godly prayer is always answered, even if not in the manner in which we ask. For instance, if we are in affliction and pray for deliverance, and God does not immediately grant it, yet He has granted something better, even the exercise of our patience, the cultivation of hope and the strengthening of our faith, which is of much more value than present comforts. Further, God comforts us with inward peace, even if He does not immediately deliver us from outward pain, which makes all of our tribulation easy to bear. Therefore David here prays in joyful thanksgiving, beholding the glory of God in His wonderful providence towards Himself and the people of God. So we see that Psalms 20 and 21 go together, as thanksgiving must always follow victory. If David prayed sincerely, “they are fallen but we are risen and stand upright” then he must also pray, “Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not denied him the request of his lips.” inasmuch as the whole work belongs to God, and if He use our labor and endeavors, the glory and credit belongs to Him, inasmuch as our hearts are cold and hard as stone unless He quicken them and enliven them by His free grace. And so we see in this singular victory of David the true confession of the Christian, even that God alone deserves the glory, as He is the rightful King of all the earth. There is no worldly king but must throw himself at the mercy of God and acknowledge the true Supreme Lord of all the earth.

Calvin,
The king will rejoice in thy strength, O Jehovah! David could have given thanks to God in private for the victories and other signal favors which he had received from him; but it was his intention to testify not only that it was God who elevated him to the throne, but also that whatever blessings God had conferred upon him redounded to the public good, and the advantage of all the faithful. In the beginning of the psalm the believing Israelites express their firm persuasion that God, who had created David to be king, had undertaken to defend and maintain him. It therefore appears that this psalm, as well as the preceding, was composed for the purpose of assuring the faithful that the goodness of God in this respect towards David would be of long duration, and permanent; and it was necessary, in order to their being established in a well-grounded confidence of their safety; to hope well of their king, whose countenance was as it were a mirror of the merciful and reconciled countenance of God. The sense of the words is: Lord, in putting forth thy power to sustain and protect the king, thou wilt preserve him safe; and, ascribing his safety to thy power, he will greatly rejoice in thee. The Psalmist has doubtless put strength and salvation for strong and powerful succor; intimating, that the power of God in defending the king would be such as would preserve and protect him against all dangers.

In the second verse there is pointed out the cause of this joy. The cause was this: that God had heard the prayers of the king, and had liberally granted him whatever he desired. It was important to be known, and that the faithful should have it deeply impressed on their minds, that all David’s successes were so many benefits conferred upon him by God, and at the same time testimonies of his lawful calling. And David, there is no doubt, in speaking thus, testifies that he did not give loose reins to the desires of the flesh, and follow the mere impulse of his appetites like worldly men, who set their minds at one time upon this thing, and at another time upon that, without any consideration, and just as they are led by their sensual lusts; but that he had so bridled his affections as to desire nothing save what was good and lawful. According to the infirmity which is natural to men, he was, it is true, chargeable with some vices, and even fell shamefully on two occasions; but the habitual administration of his kingdom was such that it was easy to see that the Holy Spirit presided over it. But as by the Spirit of prophecy the Psalmist had principally an eye to Christ, who does not reign for his own advantage, but for ours, and whose desire is directed only to our salvation, we may gather hence the very profitable doctrine, that we need entertain no apprehension that God will reject our prayers in behalf of the church, since our heavenly King has gone before us in making intercession for her, so that in praying for her we are only endeavoring to follow his example.

Henry,
“As the foregoing psalm was a prayer for the king that God would protect and prosper him, so this is a thanksgiving for the success God had blessed him with. Those whom we have prayed for we ought to give thanks for, and particularly for kings, in whose prosperity we share. They are here taught, I. To congratulate him on his victories, and the honour he had achieved, Psalms 21:1-6. II. To confide in the power of God for the completing of the ruin of the enemies of his kingdom, Psalms 21:7-13. In this there is an eye to Messiah the Prince, and the glory of his kingdom; for to him divers passages in this psalm are more applicable than to David himself.”

And therefore looking to Christ our true Prince of peace, and the rightful king of all the earth, let us come unto God the Father through Him, and give Him our hearts in sincere worship, knowing that He will reject all hypocrisy and idolatry. Yea, though we profess true doctrine outwardly, yet inwardly harbor resentment to God or His people, He will certainly repay us to our face, and cast us justly out of His sight. Let us come before Him in true repentance, knowing that we were once of the wicked, and deserve nothing at His hand but wrath and vengeance. Let us value grace above all else, and seek wisdom from His word, even as He has commanded, “Wisdom is the beginning: get wisdom therefore: and above all thy possession get understanding.” Let us come before Him humbly and meekly, anticipating grace at His mouth, and believing confidently that He will grant us our prayer’s request.

Opening Prayer.

Lesson 26. The Necessity of Understanding the Historical and Religious atmosphere in which we live. Part 6. An introduction to Foxe’s Acts and Monuments. [1]

Intro.
Is Christian history that of wealth, status and mega churches, or suffering affliction and hatred from the world?
Do neoCalvinists even look like a Christian church?
The whole history of the church has been refuting heresy and suffering persecution.
Can neoCalvinists suffer persecution if they are the heresy that must be refuted?
They must force others to persecute them (unnatural) because their message brings no offense. They work hard to be offensive so that they can say they have been persecuted, while they draw large crowds by their legalism. (see Paul Washer’s shocking message)

(Foxe’s Utility)
1. The superfluous degree of books, not a reason to dissuade him from writing. (though impudence and pride was the cause for most)

2. His own perception of lack of skill on his part was not a reason to dissuade him from writing. (though his knowledge and skill is certainly not lacking)

3. The heroic deeds of the martyrs inspired him to write of thief acts of heroism.

4. Inaction on his part might have resulted in the burying of these deeds in darkness.

5. Their lives were testaments of the grace of God, and inspire us also, two chief reasons why they should be recorded.

6. Christian history is the history of suffering affliction without seeing present victory, than political uprisings and wars and great conquests. (the doctrine of providence)

7. The history of the church shows us the necessity of faith, seeing the wicked so often flourish, and the righteous are driven to suffering.

8. The true character of the Christian is exercised, tested and manifested in suffering.

9. Good doctrine that promotes peace towards God naturally produces peace towards man even amidst their rage.

10. The true spiritual conquest consists in that which is often most successful under affliction. Mortification and hope for resurrection. Heb. 11.

11. It is incumbent upon us to study the lives of those who by the Spirit of God gave up their lives unto death for the gospel. Yes to be intimately acquainted with their names and deeds. As the scripture is a history of these worthies, so this work is following that pattern, as Moses, Joshua, Samuel, Nathan, Gad, Ezra, Jeremiah, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John…

12. Wisdom makes us to reign like kings, where even the most powerful cannot bend our conscience or disturb our peace. But we have an invincible fortitude by grace.

13. Christ is the true example of Christian manhood and did suffer grievous affliction at the hands of man.

14. We follow the path of the godly ancient fathers when we honor and follow the example of the faithful martyrs.

15. Reading the courageous acts of the Martyrs encourages us to be bold in the faith in the face of the opposition of heretics.

16. It is incumbent upon us to diligently study the martyrs as we are of their stripe, if we ever hope to be called Christian.

17. The publishing the acts of the Martyrs would much promote the public good. (not necessarily and absolutely, but relatively and consequently)

Conclusion.

Closing prayer.

YouTube Audio: https://youtu.be/3-4kEBAxMLY