Psalm 21

⁰³             You will go before him with choicest blessings;

You will set a crown of fine gold upon his head.

⁰⁴          He asked life of You;

You gave it to him,

length of days, eternity and everlasting.

⁰⁵          Great is his glory, through Your salvation;

splendor and majesty You bestow on him.

₀₆          Surely You make him most blessed forever;

You make him glad with the joy of Your presence.

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Blessings Received

For the Lord’s Day:  the 5^th of September 2004

Introduction:  In the first line of the third verse there is in the archaic Olde English of King James and Shakespeare a unique translation supported and commented upon by both Calvin and Spurgeon.  “For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness.”  Spurgeon tells us that “the word ‘prevent’ formerly signified to precede or go before.” 

 

Calvin supposes that “those who limit this psalm to the last victory which David gained over foreign nations … give too low a view of what the Holy Spirit has here dictated concerning the perpetual prosperity of this kingdom.  David, I have no doubt, comprehended his successors even to Christ, and intended to celebrate the continual course of the grace of God in maintaining his kingdom through successive ages.”

 

Calvin also notes the change of tense in the verbs here into the future tense, and thereby, given the content as well as the traditional rabbinic messianic tradition, the whole focus of this Psalm is attributed to the promise of the eternal kingdom given initially to David, then his kindred and finally to Jesus Christ.

 

The “preventing” language here in the text indicates the generous liberality in God’s bestowing blessings upon the king of Israel as well as the final King of kings.  In the blessed nature of this language, the Lord will not only grant what is asked from Him, but as Calvin notes He “anticipating the requests of the king, will load him with every kind of good things far beyond what he had ever expected.”

 

Development:  The next point we need to consider is the “choicest blessings” heaped and loaded upon the man after God’s own heart:  even David, in anticipation of the greater Son to come in the fullness of time.  “The blessings of goodness” (evident in the modern language of my choice) are simply “the best or most excellent blessings” according to Calvin and Spurgeon.  Delitzsch too agrees in describing “those which consist of good, i.e. true good fortune.”

 

Have you known a person, who’s every premise and proposition turned out good?  Everything they seem to put their hands to – prosper beyond the ordinary expectations!  Grandiose fortunes have been won, spent and enjoyed because of simple business acumen, or if we are willing to allow it: according to the providence of God.  Even capitalistic rascals, who once bragged about owning an entire legislature, were able to benefit the public good.  And so, even in the hands of a man of God like David, the Lord God of heaven and earth is able to manage a proper establishment and foundation for the final kingdom which will one day come in glory at the end of the age.

 

Old John Calvin gets almost poetic in his descriptions of the future king and kingdom.  “The Psalmist makes express mention of ‘the crown,’ because it was the emblem and ensign of royalty; and he intimates by this that God would be the guardian of the king, whom he himself had created.  But as the prophet testifies, that the royal diadem, after lying long dishonored in the dust, shall again be put upon the head of Christ, we come to the conclusion, that by this song the minds of the godly were elevated to the hope of the eternal kingdom, of which a shadow only … was set forth in the person of the successors of David.”

 

And so, it is by God’s grace, mercy and intent alone that David becomes the king in Judea and in his crowning, the Lord God intends to demonstrate the eternal foundations of His everlasting rule, once that crown of David is passed on to the One and only Son:  Jesus Christ.

 

In the next verse, the fourth we read of David’s simple request for life in the context of a multitude of dangerous adventures.  “He asked life of You; You gave it to him, length of days, eternity and everlasting.”  The life granted in and through grace was much more than any mortal man could reasonably expect.  There is here in these phrases a certain “length of days” that exceeds the ordinary life span of any mortal men.  Even if we count the literal reign of all David’s heirs – it is to brief to be considered in any earthly time frame.  Calvin notes well that “it serves not a little to magnify the grace of God that he vouchsafed to confer on a poor and miserable man [who merely asked for his life’s preservation] “but also the inestimable honor of elevating him to the royal dignity, and of transmitting the kingdom to his posterity for ever.”

 

How many there are in the kingdom of Christ, who supposed their lives were, forfeit in some circumstance and thus they prayed for simple preservation!  And what did they gain in and through the new spiritual birth, but an eternal gift beyond the mortal expectations of any dangerous moment!  Amazing grace, is the choicest blessing multiplied in this life and the next.

 

Our next verse, the fifth – the people celebrate the reflected glories of the Davidic kingship.  And by reflected glories, we may be advised thereby of the greater deeds and works of our Father in heaven.  And what is the greatness of the king’s glory?  It is that attained in the gracious granting of salvation from the Most High and only God of heaven and earth.  He who chose David as a choice servant: to be a man after His own heart.  “Great is his glory, through Your salvation; splendor and majesty You bestow on him.”

 

You know, when we consider the grand scheme of political, military and religious intrigue rampant in the Middle East of David and Solomon’s age, it never should have happened, period!  Israel, in comparison to Egypt, Babylonia, Assyria and the Medes & Persians was totally insignificant.  Her lightly armed hillbillies were never numerous in comparison to the grand militant empires which conspired to bring her down by huge mobilizations.  Hezekiah proves the point when his small band of military brothers was entrapped in the citadel of Zion, while hundreds of thousands of Assyrians encamped against them.  And yet, in and through the greater glory and power of Judah’s God in heaven, the enemy was destroyed – time after time, even as the historical records indicate.

 

And thereby, through God’s gracious providential ordering: “splendor and majesty” were bestowed upon the crowned king in Jerusalem.  One of the facts of history is that the “glories” of military heroism follow naturally after those who by God’s grace attained them.  It is only the heroic lightweights who must set the record straight by constant amendments to their military past.  I once met a Great War veteran who told me that he had shot at the Red Baron of Germany.  He was the first to admit that he had done no damage – but just having had a shot gave him a real sense of worth and accomplishment!  There was no medal, citation or promotion, but simply a sense of having done his duty – that was honorable enough.

 

Application:  But David accomplished more than mere honorable military service, and that is what is celebrated here.  David was seen by the Almighty, and chosen to establish the royal line that would lead to the future Messiah.  His greater Son would ascend His earthly throne and raise it to the heights of heaven above. “Surely You make him most blessed forever; You make him glad with the joy of Your presence.”

 

And what was it that set David apart from Saul and all the rest of the rulers of his day and age?  David’s military adventures were transitory, even the seat of his kingdom disappeared in the ruble of history, but in the sublime poetry of his songs and prayers – we know not only of his record, but also in and through his prophetic role we know too of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

And isn’t this the best image of Christ in David’s person, mind and heart: the divine word revealed and recorded for all time.  The material kingdom of Israel and Judah waxed old and waned even as every other kingdom on this sorry planet.  And yet, the hymnal of the Kingdom of the Spirit that was composed by David is the most immortal gift granted to his posterity.  Certainly, we sense the sublime presence of the Messiah in these choice verses.  But, they were given in and of the power of the Spirit to David, so that his generation and all of those in the Old Covenant Church might have One greater than David to look forward to.

 

And what was it that blessed David forever and ever, but the presence of God Himself.  “You make him glad with the joy of Your presence.”  It is written that as the Lord went before His people out of Egypt that the desert, which supports so few in and through its dry economy, that it did indeed bloom in His presence, manna and quail multiplied to feed the people, their clothes and shoes wore not.  Though many complained and grumbled – still those who sensed the near presence of the Almighty did believe and were counted righteous.

 

All of those who counted the commandments as reasonable were gifted in that regard by and through the Spirit of God.  Even today, we may count it all grace in knowing the presence of our Lord and Savior.  We walk and talk with Him in life and in prayer, we reflect however poorly most times, his continued presence in our life and midst.  And yet, it is this very presence that gives us life through grace and mercy.  May we like David count the love of Christ as the highest joy day by day.  Amen.

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PREACHING RESOURCES

Calvin, John:  Commentary on Book of Psalms.

Delitzsch, F:  Commentary on the Old Testament – Psalms.

Spurgeon, C.H:  Treasury of David.

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