SATURDAY 30th
Psalm 21
NIV (v13) – ‘Be exalted in your strength, LORD; we will sing and praise your might.’
ESV (v13) – ‘Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power.’
I almost linked this Psalm with the previous one, as it would link with it easily, for in Psalm 20 David extols the name of the LORD and here in Psalm 21 he extols the LORDS strength (v1). He is proclaiming loud and clear that the LORD is a strong and mighty God, he will not only deliver from the enemy, but he will also deal with the enemy (vv8-12). That is good news and something to extol.
He ends this short Psalm with the words, ‘Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power.’
One of my favourite choruses is by Twila Paris, ‘He is exalted, the King is exalted on high; I will praise him. He is exalted for ever exalted and I will praise his name! He is the Lord; for ever his truth shall reign. Heaven and earth rejoice in his holy name. He is exalted, the King is exalted on high.’
When it comes to the good news of gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, we find that in coming to this world, Jesus came to do battle and as a result he has also both dealt with the enemy and delivers us from the enemy. Our enemy is the devil and the sin which had brought ruin to our lives as result of the fall way back in the Garden of Eden, but Jesus came, and in going to Calvary he bore our sin, he did battle with our enemy and won victoriously and the letter of Paul to Colossians says ‘And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.’ (2:13-15) He dealt with the enemy and he delivers us from the enemy, and as a result we have the amazing declaration in Philippians 2 that says ‘Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (vv9-11) Hebrews also says ‘Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.’ (Hebrews 2:14-15) That’s the reason why I like the chorus ‘He is exalted’ for it is a declaration of Scripture, a declaration of wonderful truth that Christ came to the world that was in darkness, Christ challenged the prince who was at work in the darkness and Christ conquered over the powers of darkness and as a result God has exalted him and given him a name above every other name, and the wonder is that Christ calls us out of the domain of darkness and in coming to know him as Lord and Saviour I am benefiting from his victory, my enemy has been defeated, my sin has been forgiven, and I have been brought into fellowship with God the Father, therefore I want to exalt Jesus, I want to worship him, I want to give to him the praise and adoration that he is due, and like David we can say ‘Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power.’
Let us end this devotion with further Scriptures that remind us of Christ’s victory.
‘. . . “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (1 Corinthians 15:55–57)
‘No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Romans 8:37–39)
‘To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.’ (Revelation 1:5–6)
‘“Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.”’ (Revelation 1:17–18)