Went to the Brooklyn Fair yesterday afternoon and saw this pleasant wall hanging there.
Psalm 22:1
Psalm 22
[Praise be to you, O Triune God, for your rich and revealing Word. Here we have another prophetic, Messianic Psalm, foretelling your suffering on our behalf and for your glory. Praise you for your wisdom in preparing the way in such a manner that your revelation in this Psalm both helped those before Christ and inspires wonder in us who came after.]
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
[David here felt far from you, abandoned and alone and cried out in anguish. But this is much more a “pre-echo” of the actual abandonment by you, Heavenly Father, of the God-man Jesus as He became sin for us while hanging on the cross.
You, Father, had to turn away, breaking the relationship of the Trinity–that perfect, eternal intimacy which was without strife, without conflict, and had perfect harmony, commitment, love and unity–and all was torn asunder. All three of you, Father, Son and Spirit, suffered great pain in this ripping of the relationship.
It was brutally broken by the burden of iniquity, as you, Lord Jesus, took upon yourself all the sins of everyone who ever lived or will live, and as you, Heavenly Father, turned away from such sin, leaving Jesus utterly alone. Your shared reason for doing this, was that we would not be left alone, that all might have the possibility of entering a rich and intimate relationship with the Trinity.
In offering your enemies such a never-ending connection with you, Lord God, the possibility of abandonment from your side became impossible, while the possibility of rest, stability and safety became rock-solidly certain for those who believe, for you are faithful to the end. In you is all that our hearts long for, and we can only have it because you, O Triune God, were willing to suffer the pain of separation to bring salvation.
I praise you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for your great, deep, powerful Love that led you to embrace and endure such anguish for the undeserving. You are a gloriously wonderful God, full of love and wisdom, grace and goodness, selflessness and tender mercy. To surrender to you is such a powerful privilege, embracing the truth that. when we are weak, then we are strong. Rule in us today, Lord, and use us for your glory.
Psalm 21:8-13
Psalm 21:8 “Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies; your right hand will seize your foes.”
[You, Lord God, did just that in the resurrection of Christ. And you will continue to act in righteous justice against those who oppose you, every one of them: Satan and his forces of demons, and all human beings who join him in rebellion against your Word, your Truth and your Character.]
Psalm 21:9 “At the time of your appearing you will make them like a fiery furnace. In his wrath the LORD will swallow them up, and his fire will consume them.”
[You will appear again, Lord Jesus—this is a certainty–and deal with them in your righteous wrath, having given every one of your human enemies the chance to believe, to respond to the light they have received. Your judgment will be just. And only those who have accepted your gracious offer of salvation, whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life will escape this judgment.]
Psalm 21:10-12 “You will destroy their descendants from the earth, their posterity from mankind. Though they plot evil against you and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed; for you will make them turn their backs when you aim at them with drawn bow.”
[“There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.” You will triumph, overcome and win, destroying all evil.]
Psalm 21:13 “Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength;”
[You are strong, you are powerful, you are undefeatable, you will win over all your enemies. For this you deserve to be lifted up on high and exalted. We can be confident in your victories, past, present and future; we can rest in them and rejoice.]
“we will sing and praise your might.”
[We respond to these great truths with worship of you for your mighty, majestic, multifaceted power which will overcome all evil, sweeping it into the lake of fire and sealing it forever, then creating the new heaven and earth which will be the perfect paradise you intended, with no sin, rebellion or evil to mar it.
Your righteous wrath will right the wrongs that ravished creation. You will bring goodness and grace to every atom and every galaxy. We praise you that you have included us, your children in this. Help us to live in this majestic hope. To you be glory forever and ever. Amen!]
Psalm 21:6,7
Psalm 21:6 “Surely you have granted him eternal blessings”
[You granted David the blessing of being an ancestor of Jesus and along with that, eternal life. You granted Jesus the blessing of the Resurrection and now He lives forever to intercede for those who believe in Him. And You grant us a rich, everlasting relationship with Him, from which flow further blessings into our lives: grace, goodness, power, protection and wisdom—all a foretaste of what we will have in eternity.]
“and made him glad with the joy of your presence.”
[To exult in your powerful and pure presence, Lord God, is to have joy! You, Heavenly Father, restored David’s relationship with you after his adultery. And in the Resurrection, you restored the fabric of the Trinity, which was torn when you turned away from Jesus as He became sin for us on the cross. Now in the God-head there is no end to your joyful, pristine relationships–the Father, Son and Holy Spirit’s rich unity–and your joy of being in the presence of each other. And you also brought us into your presence, into your family, into your embrace when you made us your children, giving us gladness.]
Psalm 21:7 “For the king trusts in the LORD;”
[When David trusted in you, he was led on in paths of righteousness. As the Lord Jesus trusted you, LORD, He submitted to the cross and death. As a man He was totally vulnerable, absolutely weak, helpless in his humanness–but He was willing to be weak because He knew and trusted your pure, positive, perfect character which proved true again in the Resurrection. And so can we!]
“through the unfailing love of the Most High he will not be shaken.”
[Your love did not fail, did not leave Jesus in the grave, but
brought about the great victory over death, decay and the devil. And that “unfailingness” continues in our lives, as you, the Most High, the Final Authority, the Almighty One, persist in your perfect love to protect us so we will never be shaken as we rest on the rock-solid reality of your rich and reliable character.
Praise be to you Lord God, Triune King, Gracious Shepherd, Mighty Warrior. Tender Father. To you be honor and glory and praise as I submit to and trust in your goodness today and on into eternity forever. Amen.]
Psalm 21:3-5
Psalm 21:3 “You welcomed him with rich blessings and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.”
[You crowned David as king, after his long wait of living as an outlaw. You crowned Jesus as Savior, after His 30 year wait, and His 3 years of intense work and immense suffering. And you crown us as children of the King every day with love and compassion (Ps 104:4)–continually pouring out abundant, good and gracious blessings on us.]
Psalm 21:4 “He asked you for life, and you gave it to him—length of days, forever and ever.”
[In his death, you granted Jesus resurrection; He rose to eternal life, and passes it on to all who believe in Him, David included. We, as your children, have eternity before us–length of days forever and ever–and can rejoice now in the certainty of it.]
Psalm 21:5 “Through the victories you gave, his glory is great;”
[David was given many victories, beginning with Goliath and spanning his whole reign. Jesus, in His incarnation was strengthened by your power and had one long string of victories: no sin, no failure, no losses, only obedience and triumph in every temptation. Even the greatest possible defeat, death, led to the greatest possible victory–destroying the power of death, the devil and destruction.
What great glory Jesus earned in His many victories, and He passes on this possibility of being victors to us, calling us to be more than conquerors with Him in His power. He also wants to share His glory with us, as we triumph with Him through our faith (1 Pet 1:7).]
“you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.”
[David ruled in the golden age of Israel. Jesus now reigns in the church age from his throne on high as the mighty and majestic Ruler of creation and all beyond. You, Heavenly Father, have raised Him up above all principalities and powers, above all might and majesty, above all names and titles. You have seated Him, the eternal Victor, at your right hand to reign forever and ever.
Evil can now be eliminated. A new and sinless start can be had through our physical death, into the new heaven and earth where the splendor and supremacy of Jesus will be endlessly on display and we will be forever with Him in wonderful, wide and eternal love.]
Praise be to you, Heavenly Father, for revealing these things by the pen of David, by the triumph of Christ and by bringing us into your bountiful and beautiful Kingdom. Help us to live daily in this unseen reality, rejoicing in you, in your love for us and in the certainly of what you will bring.
Supreme Stability
Praise be to you, Lord, for the wonder of stability in you, in your amazing, unchanging, ever flowing and perfect love. I praise you for your gracious and good commitment to us, your beloved children who are so often selfish, unbelieving and rebellious.
Every day we grieve your Spirit, choosing to exalt our ideas and agendas over your Word. You endure this willingly, and thankfully, your suffering this pain inflicted by us does not alter the course of your love, your plans or your grace. You are love itself, so you can never not love. In your wisdom you take each failure and use it to chasten, teach and bring surrender.
In this reality of your perfect and powerful character, I can rest, sure that my place in your heart is secure, certain and unshakable. “My soul finds rest in God alone…for my hope comes from Him…” (Ps. 62:1,5).
I am deeply thankful for this. I am both quietly and wildly joyful that you chose me to be your child, to be your partner in your plans, to be a fruitful branch in your vine. Thank you that nothing can separate me from your love and that my place in eternity is secure.
I praise you for your never-ending flow of grace, forgiveness and transformation in this present life. I praise you that today is a gift from your hand, prepared and packaged perfectly so that I might walk with you through every event in the light of your presence, as your ambassador, as your servant-warrior, able to stand in the attacks which you will allow from the enemy.
I praise you for the opportunities you have prepared for me to give you honor through faith responses: offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving and having a willful belief in your Word–living in the light of Truth rather than in the darkness of the human condition.
I thank you, too, that we have “all kinds of trials…so that the proven genuineness of [our] faith…may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Pet.1:7,8).
This is life on a high and wondrous level, where every event, every interaction is filled with potential significance–if we will just join you in what you are doing.
Help me to do that today, Lord; grant me discernment so I can see what you are doing an join you in it, so that you may be honored, that the enemy may be defeated and that your light and hope may overflow from me to all those around me. Praise be to you now for what you will do in this day.
Psalm 21:1,2
Psalm 21. For the director of music. A Psalm of David.
[This Psalm has a triple message: first it speaks of David’s relationship with The Lord; secondarily it is a Messianic prophecy, predicting the victory of Jesus over death and the devil; third, it speaks truth about the life of each believer.]
“O LORD, the king rejoices in your strength.”
[In realizing how helpless we are, Lord, it is wonderful to know that your strength is at work in our weakness. David struggled with his own weakness in dealing with inner danger from his men (his general, Joab and his son, Absalom), as well as those enemies who attacked from the outside.
In like manner, Jesus made himself vulnerable and weak as a human being, having to rely on prayer, the help of the Spirit in His ministry and your power to rise Him from the dead.
We, also, on an everyday basis, face enemies who are too strong for us, both human and spiritual, but we have your strength to rely on.]
“How great is his joy in the victories you give!”
[The victories in our lives are gifts from you, Lord, and we can rejoice as you help us move ahead, defeat our inner evil (the flesh), and the outer evils (the devil and wickedness in the fallen world), just as Jesus did. To know you, Lord Jesus, to intentionally live in your Truth, is to experience your power, and to receive your joy.]
Psalm 21:2 “You have granted him the desire of his heart and have not withheld the request of his lips.”
[You consistently answered David’s prayers, giving guidance, help, protection and victory—in the many battles he was involved in, there is no mention of him ever being wounded.
You answered every one of Jesus’ prayers, Heavenly Father. And so you answer ours, especially when we delight in you, opening the way so you can put in our heart the right desires and grant these “idol-proofed” requests at the right time.]
Help us, Lord, to ask according to your Word, to find our delight in you and to rejoice in whatever answer you give, whether it be “Yes!” “No” or “Wait.”
Selah (think on that)
Fruits of Meditation on Scripture
As I continue to memorize and meditate on your rich and powerful Word, Lord, you continue to transform my being.
There is a growing grasp of your great supply of significance and honor, poured out upon me every day. This is part of an ongoing, deep, transformation that flows from basking in the truth, listening to Scripture telling me that I am yours, that I am with you, treasured by you, delighted in by you, invited to join you in your mighty purposes, that you freely and consistently give me worth, belonging and competence.
There is also an ongoing shift away from the fear of man to a fear of God: a desire to please you and a corresponding ability to reject what people think–to be free from their disapproval, their denigration, their disrespect. Your approval is enough to rest in, live in, die in.
Another aspect of this is a better grasp of the joy of being weak, the opportunity to trust you to work where I am without influence, leverage or power. If I want adventure, trusting you in my weakness is it!
This, combined with the daily reminder that our battle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces of evil, brings me a changed perspective of those who oppose me: a compassionate, forgiving, positive view–even a warmth as I think of them.
What a change you are bringing in my being through meditating on your Word, Lord, especially Psalms 18, 34, 37, 62 and 86. This is certainly a foretaste of heaven as you bring me out into an ever more spacious place, into growing freedom, into a greater joy. Glory be to you for these changes that carry me forward in every area of my life.
I praise you for what you are going to do today, Lord, as you orchestrate the flow of events, protecting me from evil and exposing me to challenges as you know is best.
I praise you for the negative feelings that may come: frustration, a sense of uselessness, failure in my plans, anger, impatience and a feeling of worthlessness. Each of these is an opportunity to think Truth, to surrender to you, to praise you, a chance to use negatives as a stimulus to respond with a positive that I’ve memorized from your Word, to be a glory-giver rather than a glory-stealer.
Before anything happens today, I give you glory for it now, Lord Jesus, trusting in your Great, Good, Glorious and Gracious character to bring what is best.
Rest in God's Design
I praise you, Lord God, for the way you are using Scripture to transform me, bringing change in my thinking, my will, my emotions, my responses, my values and my motives.
To memorize your Word and meditate on it is powerful. It is pouring your perspective down into my soul, into secret areas where it brings cleansing, transformation and a greater grasp of your glory.
It also brings a wider picture of your power, purposes and plans, which results in a greater trust of you. And this leads me to praise you all the time, knowing that you have a design to use each event for good, especially those that, humanly speaking, are unwanted, uncomfortable and distressing.
It is clear that this trust and the resulting praise are the way to trigger the flow of your patience in my life. When I see the big picture of you having absolute control over where the events of the world are going, that you are molding them to fit your overall plans, that whatever comes to me comes with your permission and purpose–then I can reject my natural impatience, take up Truth and your Patience to move through each event, trusting you to work it out.
This is the outcome of drawing my security from you, Lord, you who are my Rock, my Fortress, my Deliverer, my Shield, my Strength and my Stronghold. (Psalm 18:1,2). In you I can rest, sure that you will shield my head in the battles of today, that in you is all I need and that my soul can find complete contentment in you, for from you alone comes my hope (Ps. 62:5).
