Latest / Reformed Thinking / The King Rejoices in the Strength of the Lord (Psalm 21) | Charles Spurgeon

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The King Rejoices in the Strength of the Lord (Psalm 21) | Charles Spurgeon · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to reformed thinking. If you have ever wanted to know
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what the victory celebration sounds like after the king has
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conquered every foe and secured eternal rest, you are absolutely
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in the right place. I think that's a perfect way to
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put it. Today we are undertaking A
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substantial deep dive directly into the source material.
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Charles Spurgeon's truly insightful commentary on the
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Psalms, and we're focusing on what he names the Royal
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Triumphal Ode. That ODE is, of course, Psalm
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21, and for anyone approaching this text, understanding its
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scriptural setting is just vital to grasping its magnificent joy.
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So this was written by David. Yes, David wrote this Psalm, and
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he was expressing gratitude for his own, you know, military
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victories. But it's full of scope and it's
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breathtaking language. They absolutely soar beyond any
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temporal king. They point to someone.
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Else they point to the King Messiah, Jesus Christ in his
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resurrected and exalted state. So this is not just ancient
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history we're reading, this is this is prophetic theology.
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Precisely, we see Psalm 21 as the necessary and, well, the fit
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companion piece to Psalm 20. OK, so how do they connect?
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Think of the flow if Psalm 20 was the fervent prayer offered
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before the battle, full of petitions for divine aid and
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defense against enemies. Right to save us, Lord.
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Part of it. Exactly.
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Then, Psalm Chrome 1 is the triumphant hymn of Thanksgiving
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that follows the realization of that mercy prayed for.
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It is the victory parade after the campaign is complete.
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I see. So we are moving from the
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anxious supplication of the valley to the settled
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satisfaction of the peak. We move from hoping for success
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to affirming the glorious accomplishment.
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That is the perfect distinction. We are moving conceptually from
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the foot of the cross, where the great price was paid, right to
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the steps of the throne, where the everlasting reward is
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received. So.
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What's our mission today, then? Our specific mission today is to
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thoroughly extract the key insights on Christ's exaltation,
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to understand the depth of His unique joy and His finished
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work, and to clearly outline the absolute certain defeat of His
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enemies and through. All that.
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We aim to guide ourselves toward a proper, off filled view of
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divine strength and justice, secured entirely by Jehovah
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alone, not by any frail human effort.
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That sets a magnificent stage. Let us begin right with the
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King's immediate experience in verse one.
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The king shall joy in my strength, O Lord, and in my
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salvation. How greatly shall he rejoice?
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We start by introducing Jesus here, not just as a spiritual
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leader, but as a royal personage, the King.
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And this is so important because his kingship defines his entire
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mission. He gave a clear answer when
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asked if he was a king, affirming that he was born to
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witness the truth. And he reigns now.
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He reigns now, today, over the hearts of his people with a
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dominion of perfect love. But what's fascinating about
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this verse is the specific source of his joy.
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It is tied to strength. It is a joy derived from
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strength provided by God, not his own innate ability as a man.
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Absolutely. Though Jesus wrought out
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salvation, a labor of incalculable cost, we must
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remember that throughout his earthly life as a man he relied
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entirely on Jehovah for his strength.
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That's a point that can get lost sometimes.
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It can Spurgeon illustrates this beautifully by recalling
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Christ's consistent practice of solitary prayer on the lonely
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mountainside or in the solitary gloom of Gethsemane.
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He wasn't drawing from some secret well of human power.
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No, he never pulled from a hidden reservoir of internal
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human might. He always pulled from the
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infinite supply of his father. So that strength, which was so
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abundantly supplied during his agonizing conflict, is now the
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explicit subject of his endless Thanksgiving.
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It is the fuel for his celestial joy.
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Exactly This is why he now offers what the commentators
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sometimes call his rapturous tadam, a hymn of Thanksgiving
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and praise in the temple above. And all the credit is given to
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God. All of it.
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Crucially, all the credit for the victory is ascribed entirely
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to God. The origin point is thy
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strength, and the necessary outflow is thy salvation.
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It is Jehovah who planned it, ordained it, works it, and
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crowns it. The Son glorifies the Father by
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attributing every single aspect of victory to Him.
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And the King's response isn't just a polite nod or, you know,
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dutiful obedience. It is a rapturous, overflowing,
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inexpressible delight. How greatly shall he rejoice
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that exclamation of wonder? How greatly it's meant to convey
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a magnitude we can't possibly comprehend.
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We have to pause on that intensity.
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Consider the standard of measure here.
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If the sheer magnitude of His joy rises in direct proportion
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to the depth of the valleys of His grief, if His agony on the
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cross, His dereliction, was unutterable, far surpassing any
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human suffering, then His present sacred bliss must be
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correspondingly high. High is the 7th heaven.
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The depths of the suffering guarantee the heights of the
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joy. They have to.
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He endured the cross, despising the shame for the joy set before
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him. Now He possesses that joy.
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And it's not a static joy, is it?
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It's not a one time thing. No, it's dynamic and daily
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growing as He sees the purchase of His souls travail being
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brought out from their sinful hiding places and gathered into
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the Kingdom. The Father is constantly
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presenting Him with His redeemed people.
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He's actively delighting in the mission's success.
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He is, Spurgeon writes about him now, resting in his love and
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rejoicing over his redeemed with singing This is the King,
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actively delighting in the success of his redemptive
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mission. That whole picture, the King
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reigning in heaven, finding his strength and joy entirely in the
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Father, and rejoicing with a bliss that matches his former
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agony, is just so powerful. It is.
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But that level of rejoicing, of course, isn't just a spectacle
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for us to observe. It's a pattern for us to
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imitate, isn't it? It is the ultimate pattern.
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The practical application here is not a suggestion.
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It is a necessity for the believer.
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If the King relies solely on Jehovah's strength, then we, his
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subjects, must do the same. So any reliance on our own
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strength is? Any reliance on our own supposed
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moral or spiritual might must be seen as an act of treason
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against this principle. If we are subjects of King
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Jesus, we must lean upon Jehovah's strength and joy in it
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through unstaggering faith. It's easy to let our own
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weakness, our own sense of failure, sort of unstring our
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hearts. Of course, but his strength
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through faith tunes the minute our joy and salvation should
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rise to a solid, sustainable level.
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A kind of sober but absolute inexpressibleness.
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We settle for less too often. Way too often we settle for
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lukewarmness, a polite nod to divine help.
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This Psalm demands rapturous delight, understanding that the
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strength that secured the King's victory is the same strength
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available to secure ours. It removes all anxiety about the
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success of our faith. So if verse one establishes the
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King's internal settled joy, verse 2 immediately shows that
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joy expressed outwardly in the undeniable success of his
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prayers. It does.
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Let's move to verse 2, where we see the immediate confirmation
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of this reliance on the Father. Thou hast given him his heart's
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desire, and has not, withholding the request of his lips.
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This affirms the absolute efficacy of Christ's petitions.
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It guarantees it securing his eternal role as the prevailing
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intercessor. So we have to ask then, what was
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the core of Christ's desires? It's centered absolutely on the
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redemption of His people, the establishment of His Kingdom,
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and the ultimate victory over sin and death.
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His heart longed for this when He was on earth, demonstrated
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through every action, every suffering, and every prayer.
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Now in heaven, His desire is granted because He sees His
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Beloved, those chosen from before the foundation of the
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world, coming continually to be with him where he is.
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And the distinction made here between the heart's desire and
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the lips request is quite illuminating, isn't it?
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So something about the nature of true prayer.
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It's foundational for our understanding of intercession.
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What is residing deeply in the well of the heart is sure to
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come up in the bucket of the lips.
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And those are the only truly spiritual and effective prayers
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where the deep desire of the soul precedes the actual
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vocalization. And Jesus did both.
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Oh yes, Jesus prayed vocally as well as mentally, speech being a
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genuine assistance to thought. But the driving force was always
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the deep divine intention to redeem and reconcile.
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His requests, rooted in the Father's will, were not and are
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not withheld. So He is our perfect prevailing
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pleader and advocate. He cannot by definition, return
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empty from the throne of grace. He can't, because his will and
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the Father's will are one in the matter of redemption.
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So the promise is absolute. It is if we as believers have a
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desire that is aligned with His glory, say for the conversion of
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a loved one or for strength to resist temptation, we should
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immediately seek to send it up to the Father through our
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willing, loving, all prevailing intercessor.
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We are resting on the success already accomplished by the
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King. We pray through His victory.
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And right after this triumphant affirmation of answered prayer,
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we encounter that classic musical instruction, Sela.
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It often gets glossed over, but here it really seems to demand
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attention. It does.
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Sela signals a pause that is very properly inserted here.
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It functions as a rest for the music, but far more than that as
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a devotional command for the soul.
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We're meant to stop. We are meant to halt our hurried
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reading so that we may truly admire the blessed success of
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the King's prayers. It's an invitation to
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contemplation, prompting you as the listener to review your own
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needs and prepare your own requests, knowing you have a
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successful advocate. So we should treat Sela as a
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moment to just stop and consider the vastness of the victory.
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If Christ's prayers never fail, how does that knowledge change
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our approach to prayer? It should make it an exercise in
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holy confidence rather than desperate pleading.
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Spurgeon reminds us of the value of silence.
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We need more quiet rests, more selas in our hurried life and
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worship to truly absorb and appreciate the magnificent work
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being accomplished in Heaven on our behalf.
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If we rush past the King's answered prayer.
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We risk minimizing the very foundation of our assurance.
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Take time, admire the king, recalibrate your own hearts
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desires to align with his successful requests.
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That sense of accomplished success sets the stage
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beautifully for verse 3, which introduces a concept that should
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truly amaze every believer. It demonstrates the Father's
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proactive love. Yes, for Thou prevented him with
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the blessings of goodness. OK, we have to start with the
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language here. The word prevent is the critical
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term used in its older meaning. It is in modern use prevent
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means to hinder or stomp something, but here it retains
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its latinate meaning to proceed or go before.
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So Jehovah the Father preceded the Son with blessings.
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That's it. This demonstrates God's supreme
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willingness, His initiative to give blessings through His Son.
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So the Father, far from waiting for the Son's petition,
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outstrips the mediatorial work of mercy.
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He runs ahead of it. He absolutely does.
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We see detailed examples of this prevenient grace.
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That is grace that goes before everywhere in Scripture.
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Where do we see that? Well before Christ died, Saints
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were already saved by the anticipated merit of his death.
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The blessings of the atonement preceded the ACT itself.
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The entire Old Covenant rested on a future guaranteed promise.
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So the love came first. The love of Jehovah with its
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blessings of goodness, preceded the great atonement and provided
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it for our salvation. It wasn't caused by the
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sacrifice. It was the ultimate 'cause that
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provided the sacrifice. That is a staggering theological
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concept. Mercy, at its core is not
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reactionary. It is profoundly anticipatory.
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It defines the nature of God's covenant with his people.
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And this anticipatory nature runs through the entire
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experience of the believer, a point that is worth dwelling on.
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Mercy often ran before our desires and prayers.
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It continually outruns our expectations and our endeavors.
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Even our hopes are left to lag behind the reality of God's
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goodness. The source material gives some
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really tangible examples of this.
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Let's start with Matthew. OK, Matthew, the public and the
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tax collector. He was sitting at the receipt of
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Customus, a place of ill repute focused on collecting unjust
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tribute, when Christ called him. He wasn't exactly in a prayer
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meeting. Not at all.
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Matthew wasn't praying for holiness.
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He was counting money. He was prevented by grace.
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The blessing ran ahead of his desire.
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He was called while pursuing his sin.
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And you contrast that with someone like Paul.
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Paul the persecutor. He was met and struck down by
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God while breathing out threatenings and slaughter
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against the church, actively traveling to persecute
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believers. His heart was full of malice.
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Completely. Yet God met him on the road.
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Grace intercepted him. He was arrested by a love he had
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no intention of seeking. These examples really showcase
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God's initiative. And the parables of the lost are
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the perfect illustration of this divine pursuit, aren't they?
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Absolutely. Think of the parable of the lost
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groat. The woman lost the coin.
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The groat did not make its own way back to her.
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The effort was hers. For the shepherd and the sheep.
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The shepherd sought the lost sheep.
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The sheep didn't seek the shepherd who was searching
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actively on the mountainside. And though the lost son resolved
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to return, the father saw him afar off and ran and met him,
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embracing him. So the love runs to meet him.
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It shows that the work of grace and mercy shall be all along
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carried on in a way of preventing anticipating love.
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So, practically speaking, this means all our mercies are truly
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blessings of goodness, not earned by merit, not caused by
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us, but given entirely a free favor and prudent foresight.
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They are preparing us for the next blessing before we even
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realize the need for it. They are gifts from a blessed
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God meant to make us blessed. This entire notion of provenient
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grace deserves deep contemplation, especially in a
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theological framework that emphasizes election and
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sovereignty. God anticipates our needs.
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He anticipates our needs, forestalls our greatest dangers,
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and prepares our path before we take a single step.
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He knew the Sun's need for strength before the Sun asked.
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He knew our need for the Sun before we were born.
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That thought naturally leads us to the crowning that results
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from this goodness. Thou settest a crown of pure
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gold on his head. This is the ultimate reward for
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the King's successful March. This is the moment of definitive
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coronation. Jesus once wore the infamous
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thorn crown, a crown of scorn and pain.
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But now where's the glory crown? A crown of victory and
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sovereignty? And this crown represents
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several things at once. It does.
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It represents his royal nature, His imperial authority earned
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through obedience, his glorious conquest over death, and the
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divine government he now exercises.
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And the material speaks volumes. Pure gold.
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What does that material convey about his reign?
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Gold signifies the richness, the rarity, and crucially, the
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lasting quality of his dominion. It is the most refined and
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valuable sort of metal, indicating the excellence, the
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absolute solidity, and the eternal perpetuity of His rule.
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It's not an alloy. No.
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Earthly crowns are often mixed metal alloys which fade or
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corrode. This crown is pure gold, meaning
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it is incorruptible. That incorruptibility is key
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when we contrast him with historical rulers.
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Yes, think of self crowned kings like Napoleon or the Caesars
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whose empires built on military might and human ambition melted
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away in an hour, often leaving ruin behind.
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This crown can't be moved. No power can move the crown set
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by the Father. Jehovah himself set it upon his
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brow, fixing it firmly. This is not a crown that can be
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challenged, usurped, or removed by revolution or subsequent
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defeat. It is settled.
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And there is a tradition that sometimes views this crown as
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being adorned with more than just gold.
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Indeed, while the verse specifies pure gold, some
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interpretation speak of precious stones, reminding us that
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believers themselves are seen as jewels in His crown.
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We are those beloved ones of who he has said.
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They shall be mine in the day when I make up my jewels.
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So we are incorporated into His glory.
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We are incorporated into the display of His royal glory,
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adorning the golden circle of the Redeemer's majesty forever.
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Our salvation is not just our rest, it is part of His reward.
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Moving now to verse 4, the promises transcend any moral
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king, becoming truly immense. He asked life of thee, and thou
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gavest it him even length of days, forever and ever.
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The sheer scope of Forever and Ever immediately pulls us fully
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into the Christological lens. It forces that perspective.
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So what's being affirmed here? The verse affirms the core
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reality of the Gospel victory. Jesus, having laid down his
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life, prayed as man and mediator for resurrection.
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He asked for life and he received it, now possessing it
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in full immortality. He died once.
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He died once and during the penalty for our sin, but being
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raised from the dead, he dies no more.
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That life is eternal, not merely extended.
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And the significance of this eternal life is not just for the
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King's status, but fundamentally for the continued existence of
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his subjects. It is the absolute guarantee of
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our existence and our security, the New Covenant.
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We cling to His promise because I live.
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You shall live also. We are partakers of his life.
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It is an organic, lasting connection.
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We couldn't have found eternal life on our own.
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We would never have found the jewel of eternal life if he had
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not successfully rolled away the stone that covered it.
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That life, secured by God's own glory and promise is permanent.
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We see the faithfulness, justice, and grace of God all
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inextricably bound up in Christ's perpetual life at the
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Father's right hand. That synthesis is correct. 1st.
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The glory of God's faithfulness is secure because eternal life
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and blessedness were pledged to Emanuel in the covenant of
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redemption as the necessary reward for his finished work.
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He was confident of the reward. He endured the cross in the
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absolute, confident hope of receiving this reward.
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Second, the glory of God's justice is secured because the
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resurrection and subsequent life are the Father's visible public
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expression of full satisfaction with the death of Christ.
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The debt is paid. The debt is paid.
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Death can never again have dominion over him.
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To demand the penalty again would be a violation of divine
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justice. And the third aspect, the glory
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of His grace, is secured by his perpetual life.
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Yes, because he lives actively to promote and maintain that
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grace in the lives of his people.
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His life at the right hand is an eternal living memorial of God's
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sovereign love in making Him our Substitute and Savior, ensuring
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that what was purchased is eternally applied.
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I recall the source material noting that God is often better
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to His people than their prayers, citing Hezekiah asking
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for one life and receiving 15 years of extension.
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How does that contrast with Christ's prayer for life?
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That is a wonderful parallel. It illustrates that the scope of
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divine blessing often exceeds the scope of human petition.
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God gives liberally and like Himself, generously beyond
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measure. So in Christ's case.
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In Christ's case, He asked for life and was given length of
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days forever and ever. Life in its fullest, most
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glorious, and most consequential form, Not just a temporary
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restoration, but an eternal, unshakable state of being.
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The sheer magnitude of the answer far exceeds the human
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capacity of the prayer. In verse 5, we see the Father's
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glorification of the Son made absolutely explicit, leaving no
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room for doubt. His glory is great in thy
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salvation. Honor and majesty has thou laid
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upon him. We have to synthesize the dual
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nature of this glorification. Salvation is 1st and finally
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ascribed to God, magnifying the Father as Jehovah planned,
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executed and accepted the work. However, the Son's personal
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glory is greatly invisibly seen in the success of that work.
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He once bore the cross and it's immense shame.
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Now He bears the palm of victory, the scepter and the
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crown. The Father has so glorified the
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Son that there is no glory like that which surrounds Him in
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heaven. The glory, then, is precisely
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commensurate with his shame. There's a balance of divine
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reward. Precisely the full, immeasurable
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weight of the glory of bearing sin away is laid upon the exact
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same beloved person who bore the deepest shame of sins.
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Penalty. And the honor and majesty are
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placed upon him. The text says laid upon him like
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royal vestments, like gold chains or stars upon Princess,
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It is a covering of glory entirely enveloping him.
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He's covered on Glory. Yes, as the altar of the wood of
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the Tabernacle was overlaid with pure gold in the Old Testament,
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so is Jesus covered with glory and honor.
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Now if there is a far more exceeding and eternal weight of
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glory promised for His humble followers, what must be the
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degree, the infinite measure of glory laid upon our Lord
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Himself? It calls us to respond with
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praise. Continuous, exuberant praise.
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We cannot possibly honor Jesus too much, especially since God
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Himself delights and initiates that honor.
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He that endured the anguish is now full of joy in heaven,
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having received in possession the joy He only had in prospect
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when He suffered. This idea leads perfectly into
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verse 6, which speaks of Christ being the eternal source of
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blessings. For thou hast made him most
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blessed forever. He is, of course, blessed in
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himself as God over all, blessed forever the second Person of the
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Trinity, but as the Mediator. This blessedness is presented as
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a specific earned reward laid upon him for his work.
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And there's a distinction in the marginal reading, right?
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Yes, and it's a spectacular distinction.
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Thou has set him to be blessings forever.
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That is a significant shift. Not merely the recipient of
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blessedness for himself, but the active, ordained source of
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blessedness through him. It changes everything.
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He is ordained, appointed and made Incarnate with the
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deliberate design of being an overflowing eternal wellspring
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of blessings to others. Connects back to Abraham.
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It connects directly back to the covenant with Abraham where God
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promised that in his seed all the families of the earth would
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be blessed. Christ is that promised seed.
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He is set as the eternal medium through which all the gifts and
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joys of salvation, justification, adoption,
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sanctification, glory flow to the guilty forevermore.
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He is a conduit, the eternal living spring.
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And the culmination of this immense blessedness is described
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as his exceeding gladness. He who is an active, ongoing
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blessing to others cannot help but be glad himself.
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His unbounded good doing ensures him unlimited joy.
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And the source of that joy? The source of this joy is the
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loving favor, the countenance of God.
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This is the purest, eternal source of joy, and its degree
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exceeds all human bounds. The very countenance, the
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visible approval and loving smile of the Father makes the
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Prince of Heaven glad for all eternity.
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This whole segment from verse one through 6 is truly a great
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shout of triumph in a song of feasting.
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It concludes the celebratory segment, having established
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Christ's victory, His glorious reward, and the infinite eternal
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source of His joy. Now we experience a necessary
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shift in focus in verse 7. The King's security is
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absolutely guaranteed, rooted entirely in God.
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The certainty naturally transitions the focus to the
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subsequent actions of his reign, which include the inevitable
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execution of justice against his foes.
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We begin with the foundation of that security, for the king
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trusteth in the Lord. This is a crucial pivot point,
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grounding the immense triumph of the previous verses.
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Our Lord, as a true king and leader, set the highest example
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of holy confidence in God. He committed His cause entirely
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to the Judge who judges right, knowing he was always heard in
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heaven. So the joy was a joy of faith.
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The joy we just spent so long discussing was ultimately the
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joy of faith, and the victory achieved was due entirely to
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that same precious reliance. Faith over leaps time singing
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the battle song while chanting the victory cry.
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And the result of this total perfect trust is absolute
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settled stability through the mercy of the Most High.
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He shall not be moved. Eternal mercy is the chain that
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secures the mediatorial throne of Jesus, the Most High.
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The Sovereign, omnipotent Father engages His infinite
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perfections, His Holiness, His justice, His unchangeableness,
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to maintain the throne of grace upon which our King and Zion
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reigns. He was not moved then and he
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will not be moved now. Christ was not moved from his
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purpose by temptation, nor in his sufferings by pain, nor by
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his enemies hatred, and He shall certainly not be moved from the
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glory is completion of his redemptive designs.
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Unlike earthly empires that rise and dissolve based on military
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success or political fortune, his dominion is maintained by
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the divine attribute of mercy. Yes, other kings fail because
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they rely upon an arm of flesh, shifting alliances, human
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armies, or temporary wealth. But our monarch reigns on in
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splendor because he trusteth in Jehovah.
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And there's a practical reflection for us in that.
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There is. Since the monarch trusts in
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Jehovah, all reliance upon mere human talent, ability, or
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organizational genius must be entirely discarded from this
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Kingdom. We must trust in God alone for
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the promotion and preservation of the Redeemer's Kingdom.
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This security leads directly into the terrifying counterpoint
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in verses 8 and 9, the destruction of the wicked.
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The Psalm ensures that the triumph is complete, extending
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to all opposition. Thine hand shall find out all
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thine enemies. Thy right hand shall find out
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those that hate thee. For the friends of
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righteousness, the destruction of the wicked is a fitting
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subject for calm, grateful Thanksgiving, because it
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confirms the moral order of the universe.
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And the warning is stark. It is none can escape the wrath
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of the victorious king. The finding out is comprehensive
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and complete. It involves more than just the
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discovery of their hiding places.
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The hand shall find out means that she'll actually take hold
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of them, grasping and arresting them in the midst of their
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assumed security. The specification of the right
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hand emphasizes the execution of this justice.
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The right hand signifies ease, power and rapidity and
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punishment. The finding out involves
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touching them in their tenderest parts, bringing the utmost
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confusion and terror to their hearts.
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When Christ appears to judge the world, the hardest hearts will
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be subdued into terror and the proudest spirits humbled into
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absolute shame. Because He who has the key to
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human nature can touch all His deepest springs at His will.
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Their most secret sins, their most hidden motives, will be
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brought to light and become their immediate condemnation.
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And verse 9 offers truly graphic imagery of divine wrath, imagery
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that demands serious consideration.
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Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger.
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This is fearful, intense retribution.
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The language is unmistakable. They themselves shall become an
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oven to themselves. Their own consciences will be
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set aflame, becoming their ultimate and unavoidable
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tormentors. The fire they had for God's
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people is turned back on them. Exactly those who previously
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burned with anger and malice against God and His people shall
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now be burned by the heat of His righteous anger.
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The fire of unrepented sin is followed necessarily by the fire
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of wrath. They are cast into a furnace
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like faggots burning furiously beneath the Lord's anger.
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The reference to them being swallowed up with misery and
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devoured with anguish is intended to convey an utter
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final destruction of soul and body.
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The source material here is very direct, pushing back against any
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modern attempt to lessen the severity of this description, as
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if to make God more palatable to modern sensibilities.
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That's right, Spurgeon is uncompromising here.
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These are terrible words spoken by the Spirit, and those
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teachers who endeavor by sophisticated reasonings to
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weaken their force do not act well.
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The caution is. We are cautioned and never to
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allow slight thoughts of hell, or we will inevitably soon after
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have low thoughts of sin. The hell of sinners must be
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fearful beyond all human conception, or such violent and
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graphic language would simply not be used.
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The wrath confirms the perfect holiness and moral government of
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the King. The time element is essential as
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well. Now is the time of His patient
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grace where he delays judgement. But there is a set time for his
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wrath, a day of vengeance that is fixed and inevitable.
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Indeed, the Lord shall swallow them up in his wrath.
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Jehovah will visit the enemies of his Son with his own anger.
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The Lord Jesus judges by Commission from God the Father,
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whose solemn assent and cooperation shall be fully
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engaged with Him in his sentences upon impenitent
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sinners. The wrath to come is not a
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metaphor. It's not a metaphor for
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discomfort, it is a reality. Moving to verse 10, the
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consequences of this judgment are far reaching, striking not
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only at the wicked person but at their entire work and legacy.
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Yes, their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and
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their seed from among the children of men.
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What does that mean exactly? Their fruit.
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This describes the annihilation of their efforts and their
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lineage, their fruit, their life's work, their schemes,
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their self justification shall be an utter failure, forgotten
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and their very names wiped out as something abominable.
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And their seed any. Posterity, following in their
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steps, shall meet with a similar overthrow until the race of
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opposition comes to a final, definitive end.
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It affirms A sobering truth. The dying Sinner often bequeaths
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a curse to his descendants. If men will hate the Son of God
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and oppose his reign, they must not wonder if their own sons
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meet with no favor. Verses 11 and 12 then pivot to
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focus on the nature of their crime.
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It's about malicious intention and ultimate failure in
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execution, for they intended evil against thee.
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This is where God judges the heart.
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Before the action is complete, God notices intentions.
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The one who would have committed an evil act against the King,
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but could not, is counted guilty as if they had succeeded.
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God judges the heart's resolve. He does.
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When ungodly men attack the gospel with malice aforethought,
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their crime is immense and their punishment will be proportional.
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Their intentional evil has a specific moral virus not found
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in sins of ignorance or weakness.
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And when they intend evil against believers?
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When they intend evil against the poorest, weakest believer,
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they mean I'll to the king himself, as if shooting at the
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monarch through his standard bearer.
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But despite their malicious intent, they are guaranteed to
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fail spectacularly in execution. They imagined A mischievous
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device which they are not able to perform.
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Want of ability is the clog on the foot of the haters of the
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Lord Jesus. They possess the malice, the
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cunning, and the deep desire to plot mischief, but they utterly
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lack the necessary ability to succeed against the King.
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So they're judged on intent but stopped in their tracks.
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They are judged as to their hearts, but their actual power
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is perfectly limited by God's sovereignty.
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This must provide absolute settled comfort for the Saints,
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knowing that the boastful threatenings of the enemies of
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the Gospel will ultimately amount to nothing.
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Indeed, the serpent may hiss loudly, but his head is broken.
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The enemy may worry and threaten, but he cannot devour.
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The devil and all his allies retreat in dismay from Zion's
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walls because the Lord, the King, who trusts in Jehovah, is
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there. Their devices may cause
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temporary distress, but they cannot achieve the desired
30:27
result of overthrowing God's Kingdom.
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The section concludes with the striking image of sudden
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complete defeat in verse 12. Therefore shot they'll make them
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turn their back. The initial audacity of the foes
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who advance confidently is quickly and decisively reversed.
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Jehovah meets them to their teeth and they flee in absolute
30:46
dismay. And the original language
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suggests something more. It suggests that the wicked are
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actually set as a but for God to shoot at a target chosen
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specifically for his raft to aim at.
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They are stopped in their tracks and forced to flee, presenting
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their backs to the victor. What a terrifying situation to
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be set as the mark at which God's swift, sharp, deadly
31:07
arrows are directed. It is the dreadful situation of
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being surrounded and pierced by the judgements of God, which are
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called His arrows because they are sharp, swift, sure, and
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deadly. We see this illustrated on a
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large scale in historical instances of divine judgement,
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such as the destruction of Jerusalem, and we see it
31:23
individually when conscience itself awakened by the Spirit,
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comes the internal tormentor. Their boastings soon cease when
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the shafts of justice begin to fly.
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We arrive now at the sweet, conclusive verse, a direct and
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necessary response to the King's certain triumph and the
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inevitability of his perfect justice.
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Be thou exalted Lord, in thine own strength.
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This invocation demonstrates the appropriate response of the
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righteous who have just witnessed this glorious scene.
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It is always right and fitting to praise the Lord when we
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recall His immense goodness to His Son and the decisive, total
31:55
overthrow of His foes. And since we can't do it
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perfectly. Since we as finite beings always
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fail to honor him as he deserves, we invoke his own
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infinite might to maintain his loftiness.
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That the request is not that He be exalted by us through our
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feeble efforts, but that he be exalted through the display of
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His own inherent divine strength.
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We are praying for a self actualization of glory.
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That's the key distinction. It is a surrender to His
32:23
absolute sovereignty. The goal of all things is the
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exaltation of the name of God, and we appeal to His infinite
32:30
power to make that loftiness evident, visible and
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acknowledged by all creation. God alone must maintain His high
32:36
position by His own almightiness.
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And the final line connects that triumphant act back to the
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grateful response of the believer.
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So will we sing and praise thy power.
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This is the result of the glorious, undeniable appearance
32:47
of the divine Helper for time. The Saints may mourn or struggle
32:51
with anxiety, but the visible display of the Helper's power
32:55
awakens their subtle joy. And that joy has to go
32:58
somewhere. That joy must necessarily flow
33:00
only in the channel of praise. All the attributes of God, His
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mercy, His justice, His faithfulness, are fitting
33:06
subjects for celebration, and when we observe a display of His
33:10
strength and justice, we must extol it.
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He does it alone, so he gets the praise alone.
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Since He wrought our deliverance alone in His own strength, He
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alone shall have the praise. We have journeyed through the
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spectacular ode, from the King's rapturous joy over his answered
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prayers and prevenient grace, to the certainty of his golden
33:28
crown, and finally to the devastating but perfect
33:31
execution of divine justice. The central unifying theme of
33:35
this entire Psalm is that the triumph of King Jesus is rooted
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entirely and eternally in God's strength, manifested through
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anticipating grace, perfect execution of his will, and
33:45
inevitable justice, justice against every enemy.
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The Psalm provides us with a truly complete, awe inspiring
33:50
picture of the victorious Messiah, demanding not just
33:53
intellectual ascent, but heartfelt adoration.
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And as we leave this deep dive, we return to the source of
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Christ's eternal joy. The father's countenance.
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That joy is drawn eternally from the Father's loving favor from
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the countenance of God. Knowing this is the purest,
34:09
fullest source of delight for the King.
34:10
What practical steps can you take today to ensure your life
34:14
is constantly aligned through faith and obedience to seek and
34:17
find that same divine favor? A worthy challenge indeed.
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Thank you for joining us for this deep dive into the Royal
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Triumphal ode.