Or, Blessed to Fight Another Day
Scripture: Psalm 21:1-13
Date: August 14, 2022
Speaker: Sean Higgins
How many Christians turn to the Psalms for comfort when they are feeling low compared to those who seek courage when the battle is hot? There is indeed much comfort, there is also much more.
Singing Psalms is biblical, it’s devotional, it’s beneficial. Singing Psalms requires some doctrinal work, singing Psalms affects some political views. Most of the Bible-readers I’ve heard talk about Psalms talk about it sentimentally—more like self-indulgent nostalgia for religious feel-goods, when Psalms are way more important liturgically, eschatologically, militarily, Messianic-ally.
We’ve worked through the first twenty Psalms before. I’ve usually preached them in clusters, a few at a time, and I’m going to do the same starting today and for the next two Sundays. Psalm 21, then 22 - “why have you forsaken me?”, then 23 - “the Lord is my shepherd.” We’ll start Romans again in September.
The last exposition of a Psalm was in August 2019 with Psalm 20. While it’s not always necessary to consider Psalms related to their position in the Psalter, Psalm 21 does appear to follow Psalm 20 on purpose.
Psalm 20 was the prayer for deliverance, Psalm 21 is the praise for deliverance. Both Psalms are focused on the king, as representative of the nation of Israel. These are before and after songs, a song of supplication and then a song of thanks.
The key phrase in Psalm 21 is “in Your strength,” found in verse 1 and verse 13. David wrote it, and it was given to the choirmaster for sake of national singing. It may have been part of a royal ceremony, an annual liturgy or a battle liturgy. There are no new requests in this song, but rehearsals of truth.
Verse 1 sets the tone.
O LORD, in your strength the king rejoices,
and in your salvation how greatly he exults!
(Psalm 21:1, ESV)
The king rejoices in the strength of the LORD, not his own. The king saw the Lord’s strength, His virtute work through the king and the king’s army, but the might was sourced in God. The king saw salvation , he was delivered, he won.
Verses 2-3 provide what there is for a context.
You have given him his heart’s desire
and have not withheld the request
of his lips. Selah
For you meet him with rich blessings;
you set a crown of fine gold upon his head.
(Psalm 21:2–3, ESV)
His heart’s desire was for help, see Psalm 20:4. His ask of the Lord was for salvation, see Psalm 20:5, 9. His petition and call and request go together. What Psalm 20 anticipated, Psalm 21 looks at as accomplished.
Verse 3 celebrates the fact. The rich blessings aren’t narrowed, but are a banner over the whole battle. This crown of fine gold was a garland or wreath for victory or dignity (from a Hebrew word pronounced ʿaṭarah) rather than for coronation (a different Hebrew word pronounced nezer).
Verses 4-6 are general praise for protection.
He asked life of you; you gave it to him,
length of days forever and ever.
His glory is great through your salvation;
splendor and majesty you bestow on him.
For you make him most blessed forever;
you make him glad with the joy
of your presence.
(Psalm 21:4–6, ESV)
Life and length of days are gifts, they are not guarantees. Forever and ever is rhetorical, but also anticipate the Christ (see Revelation 5:13; 11:15).
The king knows glory —(the frequent Hebrew word kavod)—weight of honor, and splendor —reputation, and majesty —impressive stateliness. He knows them as gifts bestowed, as gifts through (not escaping) battle. The salvation is not of his soul but deliverance from his enemies. The glory comes through the battle, “more renowned than if he had reigned in peace with the applause of all men” (Calvin).
He is blessed . The primary blessing is in the Lord’s presence ; the Hebrew is “you make glad with joy with your face.” Faces are a crucial distinction by the time we get to verse 12. Compare this with the Aaronic benediction in Numbers 6:25.
In the Lord’s presence is joy . The joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). So also in His strength we know powerful joy. God is glad in His exercise of sovereignty, and in His fellowship and granting of blessing to His people. All of it comes from God.
Verse 7 ends the praise of thanks.
For the king trusts in the LORD,
and through the steadfast love
of the Most High he shall not be moved.
(Psalm 21:7, ESV)
Trusting in the LORD is the key (per Psalm 20:7), and the LORD is committed to His promises. The steadfast love of the Most High belongs with the covenant He made to David of a throne forever (2 Samuel 7:12-16).
In the confidence of the Lord’s covenant commitment the song looks forward to more help from the Lord. Blessings for His own, curses on those who dishonor His own.
There is a question about who the “you” is in these verses. Are the people talking to the king or to the Lord? Both are possible grammatically, both would be applicable. But since the praise part in the first half of the psalm is directed to the Lord about the king, so it seems reasonable to continue that here: the expectation is for the Lord’s ongoing blessing through the king.
Verse 8 is a thorough investigation.
Your hand will find out all your enemies;
your right hand will find out those
who hate you.
(Psalm 21:8, ESV)
Rebels and rivals have no place to hide from God. They will be located. Hand is involvement and reach, right hand is power.
Verses 9-10 refer to a thorough defeat.
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.
You will destroy their descendants from the earth,
and their offspring from among the children
of man.
(Psalm 21:9–10, ESV)
A blazing oven brings fire that will consume . The flames lick and overwhelm. The imagery is powerful, but actual fire is a weapon and a result of weapons as part of destructive power. It’s a swallow not a nibble.
The defeat will be so thorough that there won’t be any seed ( descendants ) left to grow into fruit ( offspring ). No more children, no more generations. It’s reminiscent of what Israel’s conquest of the land was supposed to have been.
Verses 11-12 look to the target.
Though they plan evil against you,
though they devise mischief, they will
not succeed.
For you will put them to flight;
you will aim at their faces with your bows.
(Psalm 21:11–12, ESV)
The machinations of men continue against God and His anointed as if on a sitcom conveyor belt of futility. They will ride their hamstrung horses into every ditch. They will not win. For all their talk, they will run. And they are in the bull’s-eye of the bow. David says “You make ready on your strings,” You will aim at their faces with your bows . It’s a headshot, the kill shot. Always in the sights, always locked on, just a matter of time.
Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength!
We will sing and praise your power.
(Psalm 21:13, ESV)
In verses 1 and 13: exult, LORD, rejoice/sing, in Your strength . The assembly sings about the strength of the LORD.
In what ways does this inspired psalm rebuke and train us in righteousness (per 2 Timothy 3:16)? We do not have a king, we are not Jews, we do not have righteous men praying to the Lord for military success or praising the Lord from the White House. We can’t even bring our guns with us when we leave the battlefield, and we certainly aren’t giving thanks to God.
Many churches teach their people to punt on first down, meaning, it’s evil to have the football, whereby the football equals any mix of God and government. It’s a pretty popular poke today against “Christian nationalism,” so-called, against those who worship certain non-progressive political figures and/or who are said to want to impose their religion on others.
As those who confess that Jesus is Lord, we’ve realized that His lordship means we must obey Him; all He’s commanded actually (see Matthew 28). Faith without obedience is fake, and this is true for the polis, the city, as much as it is for persons.
There has been no unique word of the Lord to our nation, no covenant for an American future fruitfulness. But there is a word of the Lord to us all no matter what color house we live in. That word relates to the Son of David, Jesus Christ, the King of kings. For the ten thousands David struck down, David’s Son will strike His hundreds-of-thousands. The throne of the Messiah is established forever (1 Kings 2:45). He is the blessed Lord and the Lord of blessings to those who rejoice in His strength.
Christians in the church can expect that officials in the government should honor God and govern to please the Lord Jesus Christ without expecting that the church is the boss of it all. This is one way our worship is distinct from Israel, for whom worship belonged to the nation (a theocracy, where priests ruled in the name of God, which even Israel technically only had up until Saul was anointed king). Psalm 21 is inspired for worshiping God in His political work. None of our presidents or governors are royal heirs in the Davidic Covenant. But why wouldn’t we want our presidents and governors to acknowledge and serve, to pray and praise the one who is the fulfillment of that covenant?
Do we want the blessings of the Lord on our nation? Sure, just as we want it for all the nations, including Israel.
Trust in the Lord cannot be legislated into effect, but it will be evident in legislation, as has been true for much of our nation’s short history. Men will not be coerced into salvation, but those who are saved will come to the Lord in the day of trouble and exult in the Lord when He has shown His strength.
He will find out all His enemies. His people trust in Him. We should pray for our leaders, that they would repent from their sin and kiss the Son before the arrows fly at their faces, and that the Lord would bless us, keep us, and make His face to shine upon us.
Trust that the Lord will shoot His arrows at the right time and that He will hit His target. You keep praying for help in trouble, and then praising Him for His help. These are the basics, this is the pattern of acceptable worship. The blessed are blessed for and through the good fight (Psalm 21:5-6; 2 Timothy 4:7).
Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:28–29, ESV)