Joy in the Salvation of the Lord
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
“The king shall have joy in Your strength, O Lord; and in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
You have given him his heart’s desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
For You meet him with the blessings of goodness; You set a crown of pure gold upon his head.
He asked life from You, and You gave it to him—Length of days forever and ever.
His glory is great in Your salvation; honor and majesty You have placed upon him.
For You have made him most blessed forever; You have made him exceedingly glad with Your presence.
For the king trusts in the Lord, and through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved.
Your hand will find all Your enemies; Your right hand will find those who hate You.
You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger; the Lord shall swallow them up in His wrath, and the fire shall devour them. Their offspring You shall destroy from the earth, and their descendants from among the sons of men. For they intended evil against You; they devised a plot which they are not able to perform. Therefore You will make them turn their back; You will make ready Your arrows on Your string toward their faces.
Be exalted, O Lord, in Your own strength! We will sing and praise Your power.”
“The king shall have joy in Your strength, O Lord; and in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
You have given him his heart’s desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah” David is celebrating, and we are invited to celebrate with him! God has delivered David once more, bringing salvation and giving David his heart’s desire.
“For You meet him with the blessings of goodness; You set a crown of pure gold upon his head.
He asked life from You, and You gave it to him—Length of days forever and ever.” David has watched as his predecessor Saul has messed up, forfeiting the chance to found a royal dynasty. Now it is David’s turn, and he might be excused if he is nervous. What if David also fails to do God’s will? But God has saved David and has made him king and has given him sons to carry on his legacy.
Why does David speak of everlasting life? Surely, David realizes that some day he too will become old and die. We must remember that David has a three-fold ministry as prophet, priest, and king, foreshadowing the Messiah. Here David is prophesying about the eternal life that only God can give, something beyond traditional Jewish beliefs at that time. David is looking beyond the grave to being with God forever.
“His glory is great in Your salvation; honor and majesty You have placed upon him. For You have made him most blessed forever; You have made him exceedingly glad with Your presence.
For the king trusts in the Lord, and through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved.” David is not trusting in his own wealth or power but in God’s salvation and blessings. David trusts that God has established him and that he will be secure because of God, not through his own efforts. But notice something else. David says that God has made him “exceedingly glad” with His presence. Say what? How is this possible All those lonely nights herding sheep have forced David to depend on God for comfort and companionship. In the stillness of the desert with nobody else around, David has learned to listen for God’s quiet voice of comfort and assurance.
“Your hand will find all Your enemies; Your right hand will find those who hate You.
You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger; the Lord shall swallow them up in His wrath, and the fire shall devour them. Their offspring You shall destroy from the earth, and their descendants from among the sons of men. For they intended evil against You; they devised a plot which they are not able to perform. Therefore You will make them turn their back; You will make ready Your arrows on Your string toward their faces.”
Does God have enemies? Absolutely! Many people hate God because He is good and all-powerful and they are not. Satan and one third of the angels fell from heaven because they rebelled against God; now those same fallen angels roam the earth, seeking anyone who is unhappy to turn their hearts and minds away from God’s goodness. But the wonderful news is that no matter how hard Satan tries, God will still win.
“Be exalted, O Lord, in Your own strength! We will sing and praise Your power.” We cannot possibly give God all the praise and glory that He deserves. Only God can achieve perfection. But we can praise God for His mighty power and the marvelous things that He does.
APPLICATION: These last few days have been very difficult. At our hospital, we have lost two teenagers with chronic problems who we thought would recover and go home to rejoice with their families. A preacher friend who has gone on to glory used to say that “We are only in advertising while God is in management.” Even though we have prayed earnestly for these children and their families, God has allowed them to die at this time. How can we praise God under such circumstances? But on the other hand, how can we not praise God? God has allowed us to do our best to try to help these people. We can only pray that during the months of hospital admission, God has demonstrated His love, His mercy, and His grace to the families involved.
One thing difficult for us to realize here is that many of the children who come to the hospital are from terrible home situations, places where people worship traditional fetishes and practice all sorts of vile things. One child whom God sent to us several years ago had likely been sold to someone as a child slave. When this little girl became sick and was sent home, her grandmother beat her; in fact, even during the child’s hospital stay, the grandmother was still physically abusing her. Thankfully, we were able to place the girl with our hospital chaplain and his family. We give money for the girl’s upkeep and education and she is enjoying school for the first time in her life and making good grades as well.
God is still on the throne, even if we do not understand His ways. But we can still agree with David, “Be exalted, O Lord, in Your own strength! We will sing and praise Your power.” We don’t have to understand God to praise Him. And when we praise, God gives us more light.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we praise and bless You for Your mighty works in our lives. Help us to trust You even when things become dark or difficult. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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