Psalm 21

of David.

¹ O LORD, the king rejoices in your strength. How great is his joy in the victories you give!
² You have granted him the desire of his heart and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
³ You welcomed him with rich blessings and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.
⁴ He asked you for life, and you gave it to him – length of days, forever and ever.
⁵ Through the victories you gave, his glory is great; you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.
⁶ Surely you have granted him eternal blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence.
⁷ For the king trusts in the LORD; through the unfailing love of the Most High he will not be shaken.
⁸ Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies; your right hand will seize your foes.
⁹ At the time of your appearing you will make them like a fiery furnace. In his wrath the LORD will swallow them up, and his fire will consume them.
¹⁰ You will destroy their descendants from the earth, their posterity from mankind.
¹¹ Though they plot evil against you and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed;
¹² for you will make them turn their backs when you aim at them with drawn bow.
¹³ Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength; we will sing and praise your might.

As I study this psalm, I cannot help but see this as a psalm that refers to David’s reign as well as the coming reign of Christ. As I read the first six verses, I can picture David’s kingdom as it become one of the most powerful nations on the earth during this period of history. However, the last seven verses seem to point to a coming King, one who will destroy the enemies of God. This King is Christ. In Deuteronomy 17 we are given instructions for a King to follow. Verses eighteen through twenty reads:

And it shall be, when he sits upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is before the priests the Levites: and it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life; that he may learn to fear Jehovah his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them; that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children, in the midst of Israel.

As we study these verses, we realized that knowledge of the law of the Lord and the fear of the Lord are key to how a king rule.

As I read verse ten of this Psalm, I must reflect on Peters words concerning the latter days (the times that we are living in today). Verse ten states “you will destroy their descendants from the earth”. In studying the scripture, I realized that this had already happened once before in the history of mankind The Great Flood of Genesis. In II Peter chapter three Peter writes about the last days in which men deny that this great flood ever happened. He gives us two characteristics of the mockers that Christians will face during these times.

The first characteristic is they walk after their own lust. As I reflect on the phrase “walking after one’s own lust” I ask myself “why is this an issue?”. Peter wrote this epistle to stir up the minds on the believers. He wrote this epistle to remind them of the message of the gospel. In fact, in verses fifteen and sixteen of chapter three he reminds them that Paul wrote to them in words that were sometimes hard to understand the salvation of the Lord. As I reflect on Paul’s writings about the gospel, the resurrection of Christ and our future resurrection I gain a new perceptive of the message of the gospel. Paul states in I Corinthians 15:12-19

Now if Christ is preached that he hath been raised from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither hath Christ been raised: and if Christ hath not been raised, then is our preaching vain, your faith also is vain. Yea, we are found false witnesses of God; because we witnessed of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, neither hath Christ been raised: and if Christ hath not been raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also that are fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable.

In other words, if the message of the gospel was just to make the world a better place to live in and that this life we are living really is all there is then I am preaching the wrong message. If my message does not focus on gaining eternal life with God, but just on how to make the world a better place to live; then why would people give up walking after their own lust? They would not. If all I had was hope in this life, then I would be the Lord of my life and live my life for my pleasures only. So, until a man looks at the eternal value of their life the message of the gospel really has no meaning to him.

The second characteristic is they deny the Word of God. They question the Word and the promises found in the Word. They deny the creation, the flood, the call of Abraham, the law, the prophets and the ministry of Christ. What is so sad about questioning God’s Word is that most believers do not even read it. Yes, it is true that the Word of God is often abused by many and twisted to support their own personal belief system; however, that does not justify holding the Word of God out of your life. You have the same freedom as others to study the Word. You have as much access to the Word of God as anyone else. So, as I look at the second characteristic of the latter days, I must ask the question “what do you think of God’s Word?”. Do you stand on the Word of God? And what do you think about God’s son the King (Christ) in relationship to how you live your life? Read Psalms 22 and study how He suffered for us when he came the first time to earth and then read Psalms 2 to see how he will reign the second time he comes to the earth.

As I read this Psalm this morning, I thought of King David and his son Solomon. David walked in life was before the Lord and on the integrity of heart and walking in a righteous manner before man. However, we see in Ecclesiastes that Solomon gave his heart to seek and search out wisdom concerning all things that all under heaven. Two kings, a father and a son, however two different walks. A young shepherd that learned of God at an early age, who seek to know the way of God and not to stray from this way. A young prince of one of the greatest kingdoms on earth at his time who focus was really on himself. Read Ecclesiastes and circle all the Is in the Book. As I read the account of Solomon’s turn from God in I Kings 11:1-13 I see how God offered his mercy to Solomon, but Solomon refused to turn back to God. Unlike David his father who repented and turned back to God after the prophet Nathan stated to David “Thou art the man”, Solomon in all his wisdom decided to go the way of the world and not God’s way. Why are I writing this paragraph? Because someone who use to be very close to me wrote me to state that peace could not be found in this world and that religion did not have the answer. Like Solomon he was searching everywhere for answers but refused to consider the right way (God’s way). The shepherd king of Israel found God by finding God’s Word in his heart. This was David’s true foundation believing in the Word of God. This is the secret of my faith and the peace I have every day. Believing this first that God can be found only in his Word. This is the preaching of the Cross that Paul strives daily to achieve and may all who see me also see my Savior life in me. Salvation can come by no other means than by believing on the message of the death, burial, and the resurrection on Christ.