Psalm Chapter 21

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.

• Psalm 21:1 The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!

When we wonder why some churches openly worship the Lord in praise and song; this is the reason. We worship God because of who He is and what He means to us. He is worthy of all our praise. Jesus Christ paid a big price for our salvation and should be worshiped and adored. He is our Lord, our redeemer and our provider.

• Psalm 21:2 Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.

God will answer the prayers of those that have complete faith in Him and trust Him.

• Matthew 7:11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

I will add here one cause of unanswered prayer. Selfish prayers for self indulgence are not always answered.

• James 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

Actually we should be thankful that God in His wisdom does not answer all of our selfish prayers for we do not always know what is best for us and our families or for anyone else. A sincere fervent prayer that is genuinely seeking the will of God and what is good, will be answered if prayed in faith. Sometimes it takes time and is not instant and sometimes for reasons only God knows, the answer might be no, because He sees things we don't see.

• Psalm 21:3 For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.
• 4 He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever.
• 5 His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.
• 6 For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.
• 7 For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.

Rejoicing and thanksgiving always pleases the Lord. We should be thankful for His mercy. Be thankful if we have a home, a job, a family and health. Be thankful for all good things and take nothing for granted.  I believe David is speaking of himself here and it may be that he is speaking of life eternal. He is thankful for all God has blessed him with.

I grieve when I read about so much murmuring and complaining in the US when we have so much here. I'm sure I have been guilty of this too. We see here the reward of faithfulness and those that trust in Him. David trusts in the Lord and rests in His mercy. 

This is the opposite of murmuring and complaining. Murmuring and complaining is actually sin.

• Numbers 14:27 How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me.

Do we complain about our president? Our pastor? our neighbors? Do we complain because we don't have as much as we want? Maybe we should try to be thankful for such as we have.

• Psalm 140:13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence.

Even children sometimes can be spoiled and not be thankful for gifts given them. If we ever visit a poverty stricken community, the children gladly receive a piece of bread.

• Psalm 21:8 Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
• 9 Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.
• 10 Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.
• 11 For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.
• 12 Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.

To those both past and present who persecute God's people there will be a day of vengeance. We don't have to face that if we've done evil though. We can repent in this life and get right with God over any sin. That is the reason Jesus came. To save us from our sin. If we die without making things right and accepting the way out that God has provided through Jesus Christ, it is to our own peril. We can get the best education, become famous doctors or lawyers, have new cars nice homes and live a good life but if we neglect the salvation of our souls, it is all for nothing. I read an obituary once where all the accomplishments of the deceased were listed but no mention of God or His Son Jesus in their lives. Not even any mention of a church or place of worship. All for nothing.

• 2Thessaloninas 1:8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:

In the next verses we see the final vengeance upon those that do evil and never repent.

• Revelation 14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 
• 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 
• 11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. 
• 12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. 
• 13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

We are judged by our works of faith at the coming of the Lord. To die or exit this life after we have come to Jesus, allowed Him to free us from sin, and clothed us with His righteousness, we will be rewarded with eternal life, a new body that can never die and we will be forever in the physical literal presence of the Lord.

• Psalm 21:13 Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.

God made a way that we can be free from evil. Jesus came to free us from sin. Many songs have been written so we can sing and rejoice in our salvation. It is truly something to sing about.

• Matthew 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. 
• 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 
• 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

God with us. What a beautiful thought. God wants to dwell with us and He made a way to restore that fellowship with all those who will receive this good way. Jesus Christ came to bring us back to God. Repent of sin and receive this wonderful salvation through Jesus Christ today. He is the only way back to God. This great way is so wonderful that it causes us to worship God in praise and song.

I will also add here that many do not understand "Speaking with tongues." I cannot completely understand everything about speaking in tongues but I do know one thing; sometimes our own understanding cannot comprehend the greatness of God. God gave to all who believe, the Holy Spirit. When we pray in the Spirit or in another tongue; it is a way of praising God in the spirit which we can't do on our own. 

When we are bursting with love for God and can't express all we want to say, the spirit will pray for us in another language and sometimes in our own language. This will edify the believer and strengthen him or her in praise. It is not something to be spoken against and criticized. It is a gift of God and not something bad as some teach. Just because we don't understand everything does not make it wrong. The gifts of the spirit did not die out with the apostles. Tongues are one way to praise the Lord when our human effort can't do it. Again this is only one part of speaking in tongues. Praise to God whether in our own language or in an unknown language is a vital part of our worship. He is worthy of our sincere praise. DC
 
Psalm 22

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