Psalm 21

It’s only because of Jesus that I have a sense of going on, especially now that, from my perspective, things have hit a new low for me.

Times like this I am reminded of what He did for me, from the cross to the empty grave, just for me to know and believe that I have been reconciled to the Creator of the Universe, much so that I can call Him my Father – Yes, my faithful Father who has brought me this far, and will continue to be with me.

Times like this, I am thankful for Jesus, thankful to the Father, grateful by the Holy Spirit.

Let us continue to keep our eyes on Him; Let us continue to trust in Him, knowing, as always, that we shall not be put to shame.

Thank You, Lord, for the reading of Your Word.

Joy in the Salvation of the LORD

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

1 The king shall have joy in Your strength, O LORD; And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!

2 You have given him his heart’s desire, And have not withheld the request of his lips.

Selah

Yesterday we talked about how, through Christ, we now have a divine Father who not only hears us, but responds to us – in might, wisdom and love.

Seeing these verses that start off this Psalm, I think David was still in that train of thought.

As of late I’ve been thinking about the Lord’s presence in our lives, and I’ve responded to it by way of my prayers; I mention how in His presence there is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11), and the joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). In that first line of the first verse, we’re also seeing that we find joy in His strength; therefore, His presence is not without His strength.

And we rejoice in His salvation – that is, not only His presence, but His STRONG presence with us, just as we are fully WITH Him, at all times.

The same Father who hears us and responds to us, sees our hearts (made new in Christ).

The same God who ‘put words into (Jeremiah’s) mouth’ also knows the request of our lips, and He addresses our desires.

3 For You meet him with the blessings of goodness; You set a crown of pure gold upon his head.

4 He asked life from You, and You gave it to him— Length of days forever and ever.

5 His glory is great in Your salvation; Honor and majesty You have placed upon him.

6 For You have made him most blessed forever; You have made him exceedingly glad with Your presence.

Something within me is telling me to tailor all I’m about to post here so that everyone who happens upon it would be able to relate right away.

But I don’t know, I feel I want to be selfish – or, rather, I can’t promise that I won’t be letting out any personal emotions as I continue to exhort. This will always be where I let everything out of my chest, where I unload all that’s in the heart and in the head.

With that said, and with all the Scripture in line… I am thankful. David wrote a good deal about the blessings we have from the Lord – a lavish, luxurious crown representing promotion and prestige; length of days, spent in majesty.

But on top of all of this, the greatest blessing still persists – it’s not what He gives, but it’s who He is. Who He is for us is good, great, and glorious; and most of all, He is present. He is with us, and that, more than anything else, is what is good, and truly good.

The entire world may reject us. We may find ourselves betrayed by those who we thought were our allies. We may find ourselves abandoned suddenly by folks who meant the world to us; Folks who do not hesitate to leave us in that awful silence, to suffer in our own prisons of overthought and anxiety.

What’s so good and what gives us hope in this loneliness, more than the gathering of the brethren, is the persistent, consistent, faithful presence of God; With us through it all.

Oh, indeed, may we find much more than mere peace for our pain… may the Lord make us exceedingly glad. May we fully embrace the lot dealt to us, endure the pain we bring upon ourselves, all the while knowing and celebrating that the Lord is with us and is our joy, that His strength is our exceeding joy.

7 For the king trusts in the LORD, And through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved.

8 Your hand will find all Your enemies; Your right hand will find those who hate You.

9 You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger; The LORD shall swallow them up in His wrath, And the fire shall devour them.

10 Their offspring You shall destroy from the earth, And their descendants from among the sons of men.

11 For they intended evil against You; They devised a plot which they are not able to perform.

12 Therefore You will make them turn their back; You will make ready Your arrows on Your string toward their faces.

13 Be exalted, O LORD, in Your own strength! We will sing and praise Your power.

We shall not be moved, but those who call themselves our enemies shall ultimately fail, and eventually fall.

We shall have more cause to celebrate, knowing that our Father is for us, and not against us; He moves, not only for our good, but for the downfall of those who come against us, those who come against Him.

All in all, we in the body of Christ shall have our own share of excruciating pain, impossible trials, shame and persecution. But, to twist a quote from Fight Club – on a long-enough timeline, we will find ourselves rejoicing in the Lord, and His salvation; That is to say, we will always find ourselves comforted, when we realize we are ALWAYS in the faithfulness of God, and ALWAYS in the presence of the Father, through Christ’s finished work and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Thank You so much, Father.

Thank You so much, Jesus.

Thank You so much, Holy Spirit.

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