Verse Eight: Psalm 21:1

Psa 21:1 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! (NKJV)

(verse 8 of the 44 H1523)

It's interesting that in the NIV version of this verse, it says "the king rejoices" rather than "shall." I am not an expert by any means, so I am simply speaking from a layman's point of view here...but when I was reading this and searching out what to say about this verse, what the Lord wants to reveal here, the difference between the verbs strikes me. I think it's because it is more of a recommendation with "shall." Let me explain, "The king rejoices in..." is present, it's happening. The king is happy. But with "shall" it changes it just enough to be significant to me. It's going to happen. Have you ever had to choose to be happy about something? Maybe your heart just wasn't in it, maybe you were having a bad day or felt too tired to be excited about anything. Emotionally speaking, you're in a bad mood and you know it but there is a reason more important than yourself that motivates you to choose a better response. 

I have met a lot of people in life that don't believe you can choose your emotions. If you're sad, you're sad, etc. But this puts the person out of control, without responsibility and in the place of the victim. It's also not true. You are feeling grumpy but then lets say you walk into the next room and there is a cute little kitten playing and its just altogether comical, you feel at least a little bit better. It might even be enough to turn your day around entirely. Well, you can choose to dwell on something good rather than just wait for it to happen. Write down the things you have to be thankful for in life, look at fun pictures or meditate on a happy memory. Get outside, read some jokes, watch a funny show, whatever.  

I think that's what David was doing here. I have heard a lot of references to David being a sort of bi-polar guy. manically happy in one psalm and then at the bottom of the pit of despair in the next. But what if what David was doing, at least in some of these, was recalling all the reasons he had to be happy and focusing on those things instead? 

If you read the rest of Psalm 21 its thirteen verses of reason's David has to be rejoicing, all attributed to God:

• strength
• salvation
• heart's desire
• crown of pure gold
• life
• glory through God's salvation
• honor
• majesty
• mercy
• trust
• defense from enemies 

David had a lot of reasons to be down- he was under attack, he was hated, he had a huge responsibility, he messed up quite a bit. He could have easily focused on that and on the enemies in his life. Instead he looked at what God had given him, what God could do and had done and he declared that through song. I am guessing he sang it until the truth sunk in and his heart REALLY rejoiced :) simply awesome.

Psalm 21:13 Be exalted, O LORD, in Your own strength! We will sing and praise Your power. (NKJ)

Verse Seven: Psalms 16:9

Psalm 16:9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. (KJV)

(verse 7 of the 44 H1523)

There are a couple of verse things I want to draw your attention to first. The key to why David is rejoicing in this verse is found in the previous verse, verse 8, "I have set the LORD always before me: because [he is] at my right hand, I shall not be moved." The NIV version of verse 9 phrases things a little differently, "Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure."

So, David is saying his heart is glad, he is verbally positive and his body isn't tense, he is able to rest, because he has "set the Lord always before me." This all sounds great, in fact, to me this sounds like the key to some good ol' rest and relaxation and in these stress-filled days, who doesn't want that? But what does setting "the Lord always before me" mean?

The researcher in me looked at verse 8 in the King James on Blue Letter Bible because that's the version that they have Strong's reference points attached to. First, I looked at the one attached to "set", H7737.

1. The original Hebrew word is shavah
2. It means, "to agree with, be or become like, level, resemble"  

The next word that has a Strong's reference attached to it that I felt gave some deeper understanding was the word "moved" H4131.

1. The original Hebrew word is mowt
2.  It means, "to totter, shake, slip"

Taking these extensions of the definitions into account, the verse says something less enigmatic.
Again, verse 8,

"I have set the LORD always before me: because [he is] at my right hand, I shall not be moved."

Let's try adding what we have learned from Strong's to verse 8, "I have (agreed with, become like, leveled, resembled) the LORD always before me: because [he is] at my right hand, I shall not (totter, shake, slip)." It's still a little odd sounding, but I think we can safely say this as an interpretation: When I am coming into agreement with God, endeavoring to become like Him, always, and making Him my partner in life (right hand man), I am immovable, nothing shakes me up. This is what brings our bodies peace, our hearts gladness and spills into our relationships with encouraging words and joyful proclamation.

Verse Six: Psalms 14:7

Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad! Psa 14:7

(verse 6 of the 44 H1523)

I like doing this blog :) it gets me studying so much better than I have in the past! I used to be a lot better about my scripture knowledge, its nice to be getting better about it again because one of the things I always feel a little personal conviction about it when people say one of those verses everyone "knows" but I have no idea what book it's even from. Someone could misquote that thing, say it supports whatever they are pushing and I wouldn't know it; and that's not a good place to be. I say this because Psalm 14 is one of those passages that gets quoted kinda often. Take verse one for example:

The fool [fn] says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.

Its one of those verses that encourages you not to be an atheist, so it comes up a lot. (by the way "the Hebrew word for fool in this verse "denote one who is morally deficient.") The rest of the psalm goes on to talk about the abundance of evil in the world, that when God looks down to see if there are any seeking Him "All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one." (verse 3). To me, this puts us all on a level playing field. To realize hope fully you have to get off of your own prideful pedestal! You're human, you sin, you do things that hurt others, mess up, feel hatred and anger, lash out at others in your pain, want to inflict harm out of anger. You might be able to control yourself, practice patience and be getting better as you go but the truth is that we have all sinned. None of us have passed the test with flying colors and have therefore won our salvation on our own awesomeness. In order to progress we need to admit that, because within that we admit we need help just as much as the next guy. We might be able to see his problems and discern that he's blowing it big time in his life by some sin or another, but we shouldn't condemn him for it. We're not perfect either. Get your heart right and you can find what is offered by God.   

In the next three verses of the psalm, David reveals an answer to this. "Will evildoers never learn," he wonders in verse four, "Those who devour my people as men eat bread and who do not call on the Lord?" Verse four isn't just another description of the fools he's been describing, its another clue to what we can do to not be fools. He's already mentioned one, in verse three: Seek God. Now we have a few more: Treat people with respect and don't use them for your own survival (consuming them);  call on the Lord; and also, there is the opportunity for change by learning. There is hope! You're not just doomed to being a sinner.

Verse five says, "There they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous." This implies that, deep down, these men know the truth and it frightens them. Verse six goes on, "You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the Lord is their refuge." Hope again, because when we are no longer on the side of doing evil we will feel the attack that it is. The Lord is our refuge, not just a place to hide but a place to heal and strengthen to get through another attack when it comes.

Finally verse seven, is a hopeful plea that someday the salvation for Isreal will come out of Zion (Zion--God's abode, from which He revealed His purposes of mercy, as He now does by the Church (compare Psa 3:4 20:2 ), and which He rules and in which He does all other things for the good of His people ( Eph 1:22 ). When that happens, David hopes that the nation will rejoice.  But it doens't have to be a hoped for joy any longer; we can rejoice in it now because we know what came later, that God sent his Son from Zion to be that salvation. What better reason to rejoice :)  

Verses Four and Five: Psa 13:4-5

Psa 13:4-5 my enemy will say, "I have overcome him," and my foes will rejoice when I fall. But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. (NIV)

(4 and 5 of the 44 H1523)

Hi btw, I know it's been a while. Moving, Christmas, new stuff to get used to, losing my list and not having a printer...you get the idea. Thanks for hanging in there though, if you have been! Ok so back to the project, shall we? 

This Psalm is so short its almost worth putting the whole thing in there just to save me some time on explanation :) But at the same time these two verse sum it all up nicely because what strikes me the most about this is that what David, the author, knows overcomes what he feels. He feels the attack from the enemy, he feels a disconnect between his soul and God, a distance. He feels as though the Lord is "hiding (His) face" from him. He feels forgotten. He is wrestling with sorrow. But then in verse four, its as if he goes from pouring his fears out to God and begins to declare what he knows to be true. This is how he is able to get through the emotional turmoil. 

He knows that enemy is there and he knows that enemy will rejoice in his failures as a flawed human being. Something we can all relate to. But he doesn't stop there. He also knows a greater truth, which is what he states in verse five, "But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation."

Unfailing Love: When there is unfailing love, there is no doubt that despite all you've done wrong, you're still loved. Seems almost stupid to say. "Hey did you know that when something doesn't fail it means it never dies/goes/away/ends?" Uh...yeah...thanks kinda put that one together all by myself. But let that sink in! I mean, this is exactly what David needs, he has FAILED and not only is the world seeing it, but the underworld is seeing it and mocking his, torturing him with regret and shame. His self-worth is utterly shattered. The only thing that is going to save him is Love. A love that he has to take a leap of faith and trust is unfailing. Eternal. The existence of that love along with his acknowledgment, faith and trust in it, is what saves him form himself and his enemies. It is then that in verse six we can read that David  "will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me."

Amen to that. 

NoooooO!!!!

you know how you like....move....and you lose all kinds of random stuff?

yeah.

yay for that.

Its ok though, just a minor set back on the road to making this a blog, wooo!

bleh.

Transitions...

Nope, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth and I also haven't given up on this project :) However we are in the process of moving from one state to another so I am pretty much entirely distracted by this and other personal matters going on with extended family. There is love and support but not much joy in those matters. Somehow, it just seemed appropriate to take a break. I'll be back in a week, unless otherwise inspired. Peace to you all <3

Verse 3: Psalm 9:14 (H1523)

Psalm 9:14 "That I may show forth all thy praise. In the gates of the daughter of Zion I will rejoice in thy salvation."

(3 of the 44 H1523)

In Psalm 9 David praises God for His righteous involvement in ruling the country. It acknowledges God as King forever, the ultimate judge and yet also a refuge for the oppressed. It gives God credit for the nation being above it's enemies. By the end, when we get to verse 14, he has gotten more acute with his praises. He doesn't just mention the nation and it's enemies, he turns to talking about himself and his own salvation through God's interaction. In verse 13 David says, "Have mercy upon me, O Jehovah; Behold my affliction which I suffer from them that hate me, Thou that liftest me up from the gates of death;" and for what purpose? Verse 14 says it is to "show forth all thy praise." 

God is a relational God. In the midst of all this war between two nations, David recognizes that he has been snatched from the hands of death by God personally. And that is not just the reason he praises God, he claims that praising Him is the whole reason he was saved in the first place. 

When I see this, I'm just going to be honest but I get a few questions. Did God save him because He knew David would praise Him? And why would that matter to God to be praised? Is He just a people pleaser with the desire for a gold star? Is he just sitting up in heaven getting ideas about how to earn love? "Oh! I know what I'll do, he'll really like this! I'll snatch him from death and THEN he'll really love Me. He'll tell everyone and I'll be so cool then!"

Yeah. Something tells me God's not so codependent as me. Yeesh, its kind of hard to look at myself so honestly! Isn't it so horrible how we do things like that? I am sure I am not alone in struggling with "Approval Addiction." Sucha sneaky little booger too, that one. Anyway, back to David and God.

It's clear there is a purpose to God's actions and all the analysis in the world won't reveal the full extent of purpose in those actions. But we do have the benefit of hindsight here, being in the future and all. We know David doesn't have a clean slate kind of life, he commits some pretty raunchy sins at some points. And we also know he is considered a man after God's own heart (1 Samuel 13:13-14). Even though this is said before David's reign, I am pretty sure the all knowing God knew it was coming. 

He also knew all the ways David would acknowledge Him. Think of how many Psalms there are! And how many belong to David himself, no matter the circumstance, he cried out to God for help or in praise or both. He sets a supreme example for all of us about relationship and God. God doesn't just play chess with the armies of nations, removed from our own everyday lives. He is in them, involved, and desiring our interaction. This, to me, makes sense of the claim that David makes, that he is saved from death to praise God and rejoice in His salvation. When David does that, it lets us know something God seems quite determined to let us know: that He loves us enough to save us from death. So then it makes sense why He would save a man He knows will praise Him for it, publicly. I think it's because there's that hope that, maybe, if we aren't listening to His voice telling us then we will listen to David's.  And I think maybe He's right :)