Showing posts with label Psalm 21. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Psalm 21. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 9, 2025
Psalm Meditation 1317
¶Proper 19
¶September 14, 2025
¶Psalm 21
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2021&version=NRSVUE
¶In the biblical era, the fortunes of a nation were bound up with the fortune of the ruler. This is still true in some parts of the world today. The ruler owns everything, and doles out fortune and favor for the benefit of the whole population. If the ruler is blessed with riches and long life, the whole people is more likely to benefit from these blessings. If the ruler finds joy in the presence of the LORD, the people also find joy in God, and trust in the providence and steadfast love of the LORD.
¶Royal enemies were enemies of the whole realm, and God was called upon to defeat those enemies for the sake of the ruler, the people, and in the name of the LORD. As God defeated enemies, it was believed that the LORD proved mastery over the divinities of those nations who attempted to conquer the people of the LORD. The people of the LORD sing praises for the strength and power that keeps them safe from those who wish to destroy them for any number of reasons.
¶While we continue to be influenced by those entrusted to rule over us, we do have a little more personal agency. Some are able to amass personal fortunes and wield power and influence as if they had the authority to rule over people and nations. Each of us is able to give glory to God and to live in the steadfast love that gives our lives meaning and purpose. “Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power.”
¶September 9, 2025
¶LCM
Monday, August 2, 2021
Psalm Meditation 1103
Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
August 8, 2021
Psalm 21
1 In your strength the king rejoices, O Lord, and in your help how greatly he exults!
2 You have given him his heart’s desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
3 For you meet him with rich blessings; you set a crown of fine gold on his head.
4 He asked you for life; you gave it to him—length of days forever and ever.
5 His glory is great through your help; splendor and majesty you bestow on him.
6 You bestow on him blessings forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.
8 Your hand will find out all your enemies; your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9 You will make them like a fiery furnace when you appear. The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath, and fire will consume them.
10 You will destroy their offspring from the earth, and their children from among humankind.
11 If they plan evil against you, if they devise mischief, they will not succeed.
12 For you will put them to flight; you will aim at their faces with your bows.
13 Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power.
(NRSV)
We would like to have God at our beck and call, to give us our heart’s desire, give us cool stuff, and set fire to all of our enemies and their children. The psalmist tells us that this is how God treats the king of Israel. It is in the Bible, we have to believe that it is true, right? You can if you like, however chances are that the psalmist is celebrating a one time victory and taking it as a sign that God will continue to do these great things for the king, probably David.
Having God on our instant contacts sounds pretty cool until we think what it would be like to have God able to contact us instantly and directly. Every time we gave even the slightest thought to turning from God we would get a text reminding us how much you are loved and what a bad idea our considered course of action would be. It is great to think about but probably not much fun in reality. It is no fun to realize that for many of us our daily lives are out of sync with God.
It is good to know that God is interested and involved in our lives, that God loves us and wants what it best for us. It can be annoying to realize that what is best for us may not be what we would wish or hope for. We do well to live our lives as best we can, know that we are not always in accord with the ways of God, and be grateful for the forgiveness that God offers to us because we are both flawed and loved; all in the same package.
August 2, 2021
LCM
Monday, February 5, 2018
Psalm Meditation 921
Transfiguration Sunday
February 11, 2018
Psalm 21
1 In your strength the king rejoices, O Lord, and in your help how greatly he exults!
2 You have given him his heart’s desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
3 For you meet him with rich blessings; you set a crown of fine gold on his head.
4 He asked you for life; you gave it to him—length of days forever and ever.
5 His glory is great through your help; splendor and majesty you bestow on him.
6 You bestow on him blessings forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.
8 Your hand will find out all your enemies; your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9 You will make them like a fiery furnace when you appear. The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath, and fire will consume them.
10 You will destroy their offspring from the earth, and their children from among humankind.
11 If they plan evil against you, if they devise mischief, they will not succeed.
12 For you will put them to flight; you will aim at their faces with your bows.
13 Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power.
(NRSV)
There were kings that were chosen by God and there were kings that did not walk in the way of God. By the time the books of Kings and Chronicles were written the authors of those books seemed to know which kings were good and which were not. I wonder if there was in disagreeement over the faithfulness of a given king during a particular reign. I believe that each of us believes that we are doing the right thing, at least in the moment we are contemplating and acting. Sometimes it is not until years later that we realize that our actions were not as pure as we believed at the time. I am sure that kings were even more convinced of the rightness of their actions due to the absolute power given to kings of the biblical era.
One of the reasons that the definitive history of an era is not written until 50+ years have passed is that it takes that long for those with personal investments and prejudices to lose their influence in the evaluation. All-powerful kings likely declared and believed themselves to be living in the favor of the divine beings of the culture. It takes time to sort out which ones were faithful followers and which ones were not. Every victory is seen by supporters as evidence of divine blessing and each loss is seen by detractors as evidence of divine curse. It takes time to sort out the good and bad, the truth and fiction of an era.
We do well to keep ourselves from putting too much hope and trust in the rulers we have at any given moment. As people of faith we can look beyond the power of those in charge to see where God is pointing and leading. Because humans are mortal it is important to have an eternal focus for our ideals of faithful practice. We look to humans to lead us in the short term. It is important to look to God and the ways of God for the long term. “Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power.”
February 5, 2018
LCM
Transfiguration Sunday
February 11, 2018
Psalm 21
1 In your strength the king rejoices, O Lord, and in your help how greatly he exults!
2 You have given him his heart’s desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
3 For you meet him with rich blessings; you set a crown of fine gold on his head.
4 He asked you for life; you gave it to him—length of days forever and ever.
5 His glory is great through your help; splendor and majesty you bestow on him.
6 You bestow on him blessings forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.
8 Your hand will find out all your enemies; your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9 You will make them like a fiery furnace when you appear. The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath, and fire will consume them.
10 You will destroy their offspring from the earth, and their children from among humankind.
11 If they plan evil against you, if they devise mischief, they will not succeed.
12 For you will put them to flight; you will aim at their faces with your bows.
13 Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power.
(NRSV)
There were kings that were chosen by God and there were kings that did not walk in the way of God. By the time the books of Kings and Chronicles were written the authors of those books seemed to know which kings were good and which were not. I wonder if there was in disagreeement over the faithfulness of a given king during a particular reign. I believe that each of us believes that we are doing the right thing, at least in the moment we are contemplating and acting. Sometimes it is not until years later that we realize that our actions were not as pure as we believed at the time. I am sure that kings were even more convinced of the rightness of their actions due to the absolute power given to kings of the biblical era.
One of the reasons that the definitive history of an era is not written until 50+ years have passed is that it takes that long for those with personal investments and prejudices to lose their influence in the evaluation. All-powerful kings likely declared and believed themselves to be living in the favor of the divine beings of the culture. It takes time to sort out which ones were faithful followers and which ones were not. Every victory is seen by supporters as evidence of divine blessing and each loss is seen by detractors as evidence of divine curse. It takes time to sort out the good and bad, the truth and fiction of an era.
We do well to keep ourselves from putting too much hope and trust in the rulers we have at any given moment. As people of faith we can look beyond the power of those in charge to see where God is pointing and leading. Because humans are mortal it is important to have an eternal focus for our ideals of faithful practice. We look to humans to lead us in the short term. It is important to look to God and the ways of God for the long term. “Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power.”
February 5, 2018
LCM
Monday, October 26, 2015
Psalm Meditation 802
Twenty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time
November 1, 2015
Psalm 21
1 In your strength the king rejoices, O LORD, and in your help how greatly he exults!
2 You have given him his heart’s desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
3 For you meet him with rich blessings; you set a crown of fine gold on his head.
4 He asked you for life; you gave it to him—length of days forever and ever.
5 His glory is great through your help; splendor and majesty you bestow on him.
6 You bestow on him blessings forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the LORD, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.
8 Your hand will find out all your enemies; your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9 You will make them like a fiery furnace when you appear. The LORD will swallow them up in his wrath, and fire will consume them.
10 You will destroy their offspring from the earth, and their children from among humankind.
11 If they plan evil against you, if they devise mischief, they will not succeed.
12 For you will put them to flight; you will aim at their faces with your bows.
13 Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power.
(NRSV)
We do like our lives to be predictable and sensible. I have heard that those who claim to like change are most often talking about self-imposed, self-directed change. These folks are as upset as the rest of us by change that comes from a place outside their control, especially unpleasant change. We don’t like to discover that our fortunes have suddenly changed for the worse, that those we count as our enemies have taken the upper hand. In those situations even those who claim most loudly that they like variety and change are going to call on God to rescue us from this unwanted and unwelcome change.
The psalmist raises up the king as one who is, and always has been, unfailingly quick to praise and exult God for all the help directed toward the king. Because the king has been predictable, it would be good if God were to remain predictable as well. Since our enemies and God’s enemies overlap at this point it would be good if the skills of the king of God would come together to defeat this enemy in a convincing display of military precision. The psalmist is so sure that the aims of king and God are the same it seems that the two are being addressed simultaneously.
Change comes whether we like it or not. Sometimes change is good for us. When things go from bad to good we like that change. When we find ourselves challenged by the changing conditions of our lives we may come to see those challenges as having been good for us despite the pain caused by it. When things go from good to bad we can be disheartened by the changes even as we discover new connections between ourselves and others. And sometimes change is bad from every angle and we would not wish that kind of change on anyone. In all of these, God is with us. God rejoices with us, helps us discover ways to grow through changing circumstances, is present with us in our suffering and stays with us in the most calamitous of circumstances.
October 26, 2015
LCM
Twenty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time
November 1, 2015
Psalm 21
1 In your strength the king rejoices, O LORD, and in your help how greatly he exults!
2 You have given him his heart’s desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
3 For you meet him with rich blessings; you set a crown of fine gold on his head.
4 He asked you for life; you gave it to him—length of days forever and ever.
5 His glory is great through your help; splendor and majesty you bestow on him.
6 You bestow on him blessings forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the LORD, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.
8 Your hand will find out all your enemies; your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9 You will make them like a fiery furnace when you appear. The LORD will swallow them up in his wrath, and fire will consume them.
10 You will destroy their offspring from the earth, and their children from among humankind.
11 If they plan evil against you, if they devise mischief, they will not succeed.
12 For you will put them to flight; you will aim at their faces with your bows.
13 Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power.
(NRSV)
We do like our lives to be predictable and sensible. I have heard that those who claim to like change are most often talking about self-imposed, self-directed change. These folks are as upset as the rest of us by change that comes from a place outside their control, especially unpleasant change. We don’t like to discover that our fortunes have suddenly changed for the worse, that those we count as our enemies have taken the upper hand. In those situations even those who claim most loudly that they like variety and change are going to call on God to rescue us from this unwanted and unwelcome change.
The psalmist raises up the king as one who is, and always has been, unfailingly quick to praise and exult God for all the help directed toward the king. Because the king has been predictable, it would be good if God were to remain predictable as well. Since our enemies and God’s enemies overlap at this point it would be good if the skills of the king of God would come together to defeat this enemy in a convincing display of military precision. The psalmist is so sure that the aims of king and God are the same it seems that the two are being addressed simultaneously.
Change comes whether we like it or not. Sometimes change is good for us. When things go from bad to good we like that change. When we find ourselves challenged by the changing conditions of our lives we may come to see those challenges as having been good for us despite the pain caused by it. When things go from good to bad we can be disheartened by the changes even as we discover new connections between ourselves and others. And sometimes change is bad from every angle and we would not wish that kind of change on anyone. In all of these, God is with us. God rejoices with us, helps us discover ways to grow through changing circumstances, is present with us in our suffering and stays with us in the most calamitous of circumstances.
October 26, 2015
LCM
Monday, July 23, 2012
Psalm Meditation 632
Ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time
July 29, 2012
Psalm 21
1 In your strength the king rejoices, O Lord, and in your help how greatly he exults!
2 You have given him his heart's desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips. (Selah)
3 For you meet him with rich blessings; you set a crown of fine gold on his head.
4 He asked you for life; you gave it to him— length of days forever and ever.
5 His glory is great through your help; splendor and majesty you bestow on him.
6 You bestow on him blessings forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.
8 Your hand will find out all your enemies; your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9 You will make them like a fiery furnace when you appear. The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath, and fire will consume them.
10 You will destroy their offspring from the earth, and their children from among humankind.
11 If they plan evil against you, if they devise mischief, they will not succeed.
12 For you will put them to flight; you will aim at their faces with your bows.
13 Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power.
(NRSV)
Most of us don’t know what it is like to be ruled by a king and we certainly don’t know what it is like to be a king. We do know what it is to be blessed and to trust in God. Some of our blessings are things we can hold in our hands, like food, water, clothing and shelter. We may not have the best of any of those, however we do realize that they are gifts from God. The best blessings are the ones we can’t hold in our hands. The psalmist puts it, “you make him glad with the joy of your presence.” The greatest blessing in any of our lives is the knowledge that God is a very real presence with us. As we realize that God is with us, we become aware that God is the source of all of our blessings and we put our trust in God more and more.
That trust can be manipulative, especially at first. We say things like, “If you loved me you would…” and we ask God to do something or give something as a test on our part. As we experience the trustworthiness of God our requests become more direct. We ask for what we want, trusting that God will hear us, even when we don’t get the response for which we asked. There may even come at time in which we simply trust, without asking, that God will provide for us.
While the destruction of enemies is pretty graphic and uncomfortable, we do well to remember that not all of our enemies are human and many of them are not external. To know that God gives us the wherewithal to face those internal enemies deepens our trust in God and broadens our ability and willingness to lift God up in our lives in such a way that others know of our relationship with God.
July 23, 2012
Ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time
July 29, 2012
Psalm 21
1 In your strength the king rejoices, O Lord, and in your help how greatly he exults!
2 You have given him his heart's desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips. (Selah)
3 For you meet him with rich blessings; you set a crown of fine gold on his head.
4 He asked you for life; you gave it to him— length of days forever and ever.
5 His glory is great through your help; splendor and majesty you bestow on him.
6 You bestow on him blessings forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.
8 Your hand will find out all your enemies; your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9 You will make them like a fiery furnace when you appear. The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath, and fire will consume them.
10 You will destroy their offspring from the earth, and their children from among humankind.
11 If they plan evil against you, if they devise mischief, they will not succeed.
12 For you will put them to flight; you will aim at their faces with your bows.
13 Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power.
(NRSV)
Most of us don’t know what it is like to be ruled by a king and we certainly don’t know what it is like to be a king. We do know what it is to be blessed and to trust in God. Some of our blessings are things we can hold in our hands, like food, water, clothing and shelter. We may not have the best of any of those, however we do realize that they are gifts from God. The best blessings are the ones we can’t hold in our hands. The psalmist puts it, “you make him glad with the joy of your presence.” The greatest blessing in any of our lives is the knowledge that God is a very real presence with us. As we realize that God is with us, we become aware that God is the source of all of our blessings and we put our trust in God more and more.
That trust can be manipulative, especially at first. We say things like, “If you loved me you would…” and we ask God to do something or give something as a test on our part. As we experience the trustworthiness of God our requests become more direct. We ask for what we want, trusting that God will hear us, even when we don’t get the response for which we asked. There may even come at time in which we simply trust, without asking, that God will provide for us.
While the destruction of enemies is pretty graphic and uncomfortable, we do well to remember that not all of our enemies are human and many of them are not external. To know that God gives us the wherewithal to face those internal enemies deepens our trust in God and broadens our ability and willingness to lift God up in our lives in such a way that others know of our relationship with God.
July 23, 2012
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