THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: God's Nurture Of The Inner Man In The Life Of Faith

XXI. Thanksgiving For God's Establishment And Sustainment Of David's Throne

(Psalm 21:1-13)

I. Introduction

A. When God establishes a leader in an institution, He graciously works not only to get that leader into the leadership role, but to keep the leader there amid efforts by detractors to the contrary.

B. David's royal thanksgiving psalm of Psalm 21:1-13 describes this ministry of God and directs His people to praise the Lord for His power and sovereign might in accomplishing these blessings (as follows):

II. A Royal Thanksgiving For God's Establishment And Sustainment Of David's Throne, Psalm 21:1-13.

A. The introductory notes in the English Bible comprise verse one of the Hebrew text (Kittel, Biblia Hebraica, p. 991), so we stay with the verse numbering system of the English Bible for clarity with this lesson.

B. We thus translate Psalm 21:1-13 as follows:

1. "O Jahweh, the king rejoices in Your power ('oz, B. D. B., A Heb.-Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 738-739). How greatly he rejoices in Your victories (yeshu'ah, Ibid., p. 447)!" (Psalm 21:1)

2. "The thing desired (ta'aveh, Ibid., p. 16) of his heart You have given to him, and the request ('areshet, Ibid., p. 77) You have not withheld (mana', Ibid., p. 586). Selah," Psalm 21:2.

3. "For You have come-to-meet-as-a-friend (qadam, Ibid., p. 869-870) [to] him with good blessings and placed a crown of pure gold on his head," Psalm 21:3.

4. "He requested life from You, and You granted it to him, length of days forever and ever (le olam wa'ad, H. A. W., Theol. Wrdbk. of the O. T., 1980, v. II, p. 645)," Psalm 21:4.

5. "Great is his glory because of Your victories; You have bestowed on him splendor and majesty," Psa. 21:5.

6. "For You granted him perpetual blessings and made him glad with the joy of Your presence," Psa. 21:6.

7. "Because the king relies upon (batah, Ibid., B. D. B., p. 105) Jahweh, and in the loyal love (hesed, Ibid., H. A. W., v. I, p. 305-307) of the Most High he will not be shaken, moved, overthrown (mot, Ibid., B. D. B., p. 556-557)," Psalm 21:7.

8. "Your hand will lay hold on all your foes; your right hand will lay hold on those who hate you," Psa. 21:8.

9. "At the time of your appearing you will make them like a fiery furnace; Jawheh in His wrath will swallow them up and His fire will consume them," Psalm 21:9.

10. "You will destroy their descendants from the earth, their posterity from mankind," Psalm 21:10.

11. "Because they plot evil against you and devise wicked schemes they will not prevail;" Psalm 21:11.

12. "For you will make them turn their backs when you aim at them with a drawn bow," Psalm 21:12.

13. "Be exalted, O Jahweh, in Your power ('oz again, cf. v. 1); we will sing and praise Your royal power (geburah, Ibid., H. A. W., v. I, p. 149)," Psalm 21:13.

Lesson: (1) Israel's King David acknowledged that God had established his kingdom (v. 1-6), he repeated the anticipation of his subjects' future success as their king (v. 7-12) and he recorded their praise of the Lord for the establishment and sustainment of David's throne, v. 13; Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to Psalm 21. (2) The psalm upholds God as the Sole Cause of the establishment of David's throne (v. 1-6), so (3) David continues to rely entirely on the Lord to avoid being shaken, moved or overthrown by his foes, v. 7. (4) In fact, David is confident that the Lord will go beyond merely sustaining his throne to obliterating all opposition to it (v. 8-10) since his foes in sin plot evil against David and devise wicked schemes contrary to the will of the Sovereign God Who established and sustained David on his throne, v. 13. (5) God is greatly to be praised in His Sovereign Majesty, v. 13.

Application: (1) God is the One Who establishes leaders in the divine institutions of marriage, family, church and government, and He is the One Who sustains them there, so we must adjust to this fact to live in God's blessing. (2) If we are a leader in such an institution, we should acknowledge God's appointment there as being in His will and rely fully on Him to function there and to see Him sustain us in that position. (3) By such a life of faith, if opposition arises to our role in the institution involved, be it marriage, family, church or government, we can be sure God will equip us to maintain that role effectively so that we can accomplish His purpose there. (4) If we are a subordinate in such a divine institution, we must acknowledge God's will in having set up the overseer over us that He has, and rely on the Lord to be productively blessed in our roles. (5) May we all as leaders or subordinates in all the institutions wherein we reside praise our Infinitely Sovereign and Powerful God Who is over all of us!