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.

Previously we saw the ingredients of praise which came forth sincerely and freely from David’s lips, even thankfulness and joy. For a thankful heart will be fruitful in praise, and those who praise the Lord must do so in joy and not in idleness. And this is a chief difference to be drawn between the hypocrite and the true believer, that they may be joyful for a time, pertaining to the things in this life, but it is transitory and fleeting, and because it is not founded on the gospel, or given to them by the Spirit of God, it fades away as soon as the object of their desire is removed. For men of this world require shiny objects to be before them or they will complain and repine. And so they surround themselves with entertainment, media, music, friends, even a wife and children, but all these things are not for the glory of God but their own amusement, for as soon as they lose these things, they rage and cry and complain at God’s disposal. But the true child of God is content with His presence, therefore if we should receive good things, we are thankful, and if we lose them we are thankful and we bless God. We also ought to note that inasmuch as the people of God trust in His mercy to save them, they also observe His dealings with the wicked and praise Him for His judgments towards them. For as it is written, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” and again, “The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.” And so the Psalm says, “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 destroy them 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.” which in a historical context is all the same as to say, “long live the king”. For in this desire is the anticipation that all the king’s enemies shall be destroyed, and his kingdom established in peace. The kingdoms surrounding Israel were heathen kingdoms, thorns at their sides and briars to be burned up. As it is written, “With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns.” and again, “For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke. Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire…” And so whenever the people of God exclaim with shouts, “God save the king” it is one and the same to say, “may God destroy your enemies, the wicked who plague your land” and inasmuch as members of God’s covenant have the promise established to their children also, so God’s anger is towards the wicked and their children, as it is written, “Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.” and so must we learn the fear of God, inasmuch as He hath power over heaven and hell, and can turn the blessings of the wicked into cursings, and our affliction into springs of joy. Bless Him therefore O His people, and evermore say with David, “Be thou exalted, Lord, in thy strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.”

Calvin,
Hitherto the internal happiness of the kingdom has been described. Now there follows, as it was necessary there should, the celebration of its invincible strength against its enemies. What is said in this verse is of the same import as if the king had been pronounced victorious over all his enemies. I have just now remarked, that such a statement is not superfluous; for it would not have been enough for the kingdom to have flourished internally, and to have been replenished with peace, riches, and abundance of all good things, had it not also been well fortified against the attacks of foreign enemies. This particularly applies to the kingdom of Christ, which is never without enemies in this world. True, it is not always assailed by open war, and there is sometimes granted to it a period of respite; but the ministers of Satan never lay aside their malice and desire to do mischief, and therefore they never cease to plot and to endeavor to accomplish the overthrow of Christ’s kingdom. It is well for us that our King, who lifts up his hand as a shield before us to defend us, is stronger than all.

The Psalmist here describes a dreadful kind of vengeance, from which we gather, that he does not speak of every kind of enemies in general, but of the malicious and frantic despisers of God, who, after the manner of the giants of old, rise up against his only begotten Son. The very severity of the punishment shows the greatness of the wickedness. Some think that David alludes to the kind of punishment which he inflicted upon the Ammonites, of which we have an account in the sacred history; but it is more probable that he here sets forth metaphorically the dreadful destruction which awaits all the adversaries of Christ. They may burn with rage against the Church, and set the world on fire by their cruelty, but when their wickedness shall have reached its highest pitch, there is this reward which God has in reserve for them, that he will cast them into his burning furnace to consume them.

David amplifies the greatness of God’s wrath, from the circumstance that it shall extend even to the children of the wicked. 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. And yet when he thus pursues his vengeance to the third and fourth generation, he cannot be said indiscriminately to involve the innocent with the guilty. As the seed of the ungodly, whom he has deprived of his grace, are accursed, and as all are by nature children of wrath, devoted to everlasting destruction, he is no less just in exercising his severity towards the children than towards the fathers. Who can lay any thing to his charge, if he withhold from those who are unworthy of it the grace which he communicates to his own children? In both ways he shows how dear and precious to him is the kingdom of Christ; first, in extending his mercy to the children of the righteous even to a thousand generations; and, secondly, in causing his wrath to rest upon the reprobate, even to the third and fourth generation.

Opening Prayer.

Lesson 28.

The necessity of understanding the historical and religious atmosphere in which we live. Part 8. An introduction to Foxe’s Acts and Monuments. [3]

Intro.

We glorify God in a high degree when we suffer for God, and seal the gospel with our blood. John 21: I8, I9. ‘When thou shalt be old, another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not: this spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God.’ God’s glory shines in the ashes of his martyrs. Isa 24: I5. ‘Wherefore glorify the Lord in the fires.’ Micaiah was in the prison, Isaiah was sawn asunder, Paul beheaded, Luke hanged on an olive tree; thus did they, by their death, glorify God. The sufferings of the primitive saints did honour to God, and made the gospel famous in the world. What would others say? See what a good master they serve, and how they love him, that they will venture the loss of all in his service. The glory of Christ’s kingdom does not stand in worldly pomp and grandeur, as other kings’; but it is seen in the cheerful sufferings of his people. The saints of old ‘loved not their lives to the death.’ Rev 12: 2: They embraced torments as so many crowns. God grant we may thus glorify him, if he calls us to it. Many pray, ‘Let this cup pass away,’ but few, ‘Thy will be done.’ Thomas Watson

i. Glorifying God in suffering.
ii. God is glorified when we suffer with understanding.
iii. When we suffer patiently.
iv. When we suffer joyfully.
v. When we continue in all holy duties despite suffering.

(Foxe’s Utility)
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.

Conclusion.

Closing Prayer.

YouTube Audio: https://youtu.be/C6jlwwOzgEY