Psalm 21:13

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 21:13

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13 Be thou exalted, [ruwm] LORD, [Yahovah] in thine own strength: [`oz] so will we sing [shiyr] and praise [zamar] thy power. [gabuwrah] KJV-Interlinear

13 Be Thou exalted, O Lord, in Thy strength; We will sing and praise Thy power. NASB

At the beginning of this psalm, we know that true joy and happiness comes from the source of God.

And at the close of this psalm, we are taught that it is the strength of God to which we will acquire our joy and happiness.

Exaltation, ‘ruwm,’ means to raise up, to rise, to extol, to hold up in high regard.  And exhalation comes as a result of a victory over adversity or enemies or anything that is in opposition.

The ultimate enemy of truth is evil, lies, anything that deceives.  And anything that is not truth is a deception of some sort.

And here, Gods victory is stated as a matter of fact, not a matter of hopeful wishing, not a possibility that might occur, but is stated as though it has already occurred.

That victory, over all that is evil, results in God being elevated, not in Gods eyes or mind, but in the minds of all of creation.

God accomplishes victory and we will witness it.

Strength, ‘oz,’ means force, security, majesty, boldness, and so forth.  This then lends itself to the entirety of Gods essence.  So, by means of Gods ability, God and God alone, accomplishes victory over evil.  And as a result of that victory, then peace and security and prosperity, and therefore happiness result for us.

We will never find happiness in the things of this world.  None of us will live long enough on this planet.  Give us a few decades and then we are out.  All things are left behind.

Then in the next life we need to be prepared for that next life, in order to enjoy its infinite benefits.  Thus the strength of God.

Gods strength comes into us through His word.  And we gain access to that word by means of learning.

Gods strength originates from within Him.

We gain the benefit of His strength, by means of our adherence to His will and plan.

Reject Christ and there is the Lake of Fire.  No divine strength for us there.

Reject doctrine after salvation and lose eternal reward.  No divine strength for us there, but certainly infinitely more than the Lake of Fire.

Pursue doctrine and your spiritual advancement to maturity, and there is the ultimate access to Gods strength, eternal reward, and all that God has done for us to that end, which again is infinitely more than no reward.

Psalm 21:12

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 21:12

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12 Therefore shalt thou make [shiyth] them turn their back, [shakem] when thou shalt make ready [kuwn] thine arrows upon thy strings [meythar] against the face [paniym] of them. KJV-Interlinear

12 For Thou wilt make them turn their back; Thou wilt aim with Thy bowstrings at their faces. NASB

Back, ‘shakem,’ means the shoulder blades or that which you see when a person is moving, or in this case, running away, fleeing as it were.

Arrows against the face, is God meeting their charge, head on.

In many conflicts in history, the aggressor is met with side attacks or surprise ambushes and such, but in Gods case, the attacks of aggressors are always met head on, face to face.

Truth never has to hide from the false.  Truth will always send the false into retreat.  And as we studied in the previous verse, truth will always totally defeat the false.

Even though people pursue the lies of life, their own opinions rather than Gods, time is always on Gods side and never on the side of any created thing.

God transcends time and space.  He is not confined by time or space.  He invented them both.  Thus He is omnipresent.  But man is trapped in time and space and is confined within its boundaries.  The only way we will have access to whatever exists beyond that, will not come until the next life.

The vastness of God is so far beyond our comprehension, that we cannot even begin to imagine the possibilities.

Man spends most of his time, trying to do what God has already done. And that in itself seems very bizarre and illogical. The components of salvation and eternal life and the spiritual life and the completion of oneself are already in place, yet people keep trying to build something better, with no clue as to what they are doing or how to do it.

Most folks spend their time, marking time, or walking in place, going nowhere, while recruiting others to do the same, rather than spending their time following the very simple path that God has already laid out, and then recruiting others to join them in that wonderful quest.

The crowns study should have taught you the many benefits of introducing others to the studies and things that you are learning, wherein you benefit as well by bringing or introducing them into their spiritual potential.  But then most folks don’t invite others let alone mention it.

With people, truth is something that they hide or keep their involvement secret due to embarrassment.  With God, truth is something put out in the forefront to meet evil head-on.

Today evil cheers at its perceived victories.  Tomorrow it will be silent and nowhere to be found.

As for you, where will your credentials of Christian support and courage, be found.

Psalm 21:11

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 21:11

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11 For they intended [natah] evil [ra`] against thee: they imagined [chashab] a mischievous device, [mazimmah] which they are not able [yakol] to perform.  KJV-Interlinear

11 Though they intended evil against Thee, And devised a plot, They will not succeed. NASB

Intended, ‘natah,’ means to stretch out as in laying out traps or snares.

Mischievous device, ‘mazimmah,’ refers to an evil plan, false sagacity, false wisdom, intent, on purpose.

People who are indifferent toward God or truth, or reject outright, God or truth, do so intentionally.

The greater numbers of people who reject God do so with arrogant self-righteousness, even though they do not see themselves as arrogant or self-righteous.  They presume their own ideas are better than Gods plan and process.

They reject the idea of a daily study under instruction.  They presume that they already know what is needed to be known, or can figure things out for themselves.

They reject the idea of confession.  They presume that they need only be good as they see good, and God will accept them as they are.  They miss-use the phrase, ’Just as I am.’  Thus implying that they have no obligation to obey Gods mandates, or change their own sin nature habits.  Where this phrase means simply that you can not earn or deserve anything spiritual.  God makes all of the provisions of the spiritual life, available and equally to everyone, just as we are.

They in turn presume that there is nothing wrong with them, or at the very least, they are able to correct their own flaws, themselves.

And while salvation is by faith and not of works, many people still look to some effort from themselves in order to earn or be worthy of salvation, as well as a spiritual life after that.  They may also believe that they can lose their salvation by committing some infraction and therefore must do something in order to retain or earn back their salvation.

Throughout the ages, innumerable religions, faiths, belief systems, religions, cults, philosophies, and opinions have been invented.  For anything and everything that is not founded in truth is invented, and all of those invented views are unattainable.

No religion, no philosophy, etc, can attain its intended goal.  The false cannot transform itself into a truth.

There is only one way to attain the intended completion of oneself and that is by means of Gods plan and process.

Psalm 21:10

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 21:10

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10 Their fruit [pariy] shalt thou destroy ['abad] from the earth, ['erets] and their seed [zera`] from among the children [ben] of men. ['adam] KJV-Interlinear

10 Their offspring Thou wilt destroy from the earth, And their descendants from among the sons of men. NASB

Fruit, is typically used to describe the production of a tree or vineyard or garden type of plant.

However, when applied to people, it can be used to describe their children, the work of their hands or life, or the production of their thoughts.

Here our context is the enemy of God, and that is referring to the people that have rejected truth, doctrine, Christ, God, or any combination thereof.

Any anti-God lifestyle or way of life produces only evil, and evil becomes the production of those folks.

Since they have been destroyed as per the previous verses, then their production, likewise, ceases.

This verse is a reference to the end of life for each individual that lives their life in rejection to God and then dies, thus ending their evil productive period in this world.

Also, when history comes to an end, and that would be at the end of the Millennium, then all evil will cease permanently and forever.

No more evil people, means several things.  First their thoughts will cease, thus ending evil productivity.  Second, they will have no more influence on others, thus ending evil from their influence.  Third, they will have no more children, as dead people cannot have children needless to say, and that ends the cycle of evil in future generations that will not exist.

So, throughout history, generation after generation rises up and there is evil because there is negative volition toward God.  God has to halt it or place it in check, on occasion, with the removal of evil people by means of death in some fashion.

But, when it all comes down to the end of history, then ultimately the only thing that will end evil once and for all, will be the end of human history at the end of the Millennium.  Then, all evil will be vanquished, and the removal of this universe and the creation of the new universe, will bring no baggage from the old universe into the new.

So, this verse has an active generation, to generation, person to person current application for the removal of evil, but it also has a prophetic application for the end of history and ultimate end of evil forever.

Psalm 21:9

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 21:9

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9 Thou shalt make [shiyth] them as a fiery ['esh] oven [tannuwr] in the time [`eth] of thine anger: [paniym] the LORD [Yahovah] shall swallow them up [bala`] in his wrath, ['aph] and the fire ['esh] shall devour ['akal] them. KJV-Interlinear

9 You will make them as a fiery oven in the time of your anger; The Lord will swallow them up in His wrath, And fire will devour them. NASB

The oven is similar to a furnace, that is used to burn something to super-heated temperatures.

Wrath is a description of Gods policy in the administration of justice.

And fire is used throughout the Bible to symbolize judgment.

All three here, paint a picture of total destruction.  Not that God is going to light bad people on fire and watch them burn. Here the idea is that anyone who opposes God, and thus opposes truth, will be utterly destroyed.

When a pot or furnace is super-heated, then anything placed within it, such as wood, will eventually burn up leaving the dust of ashes behind.  This is blown out and carried off into the wind or dumped onto the ground and there mixed such that it will never be identifiable or discovered again.  No one even looks for ash dust.  It is simply lost and forgotten because it is worthless.

And so the Bible again paints a picture of what you will become, if you reject Christ.  Your destiny will be as though you were nothing.  And when you end your life with nothing to show for it, then you have indeed wasted your life.

Unbelievers go to the Lake of Fire, and are forgotten. 

Believers who ignore their spiritual opportunities, go to heaven certainly, but they have no reward, no blessings to bring with them into eternity.  And having nothing forever, is likewise a wasted life, especially when all of the opportunities of eternity are right there in front of you for the taking.  All you have to do is listen and learn and grow up in your spiritual life by means of a daily study.

How hard can that be?

Psalm 21:8

Copyright Ó 2012 J. Neely

Psalm 21:8

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8 Thine hand [yad] shall find out [matsa'] all thine enemies: ['oyeb] thy right hand [yamiyn] shall find out [matsa'] those that hate [sane'] thee. KJV-Interlinear

8 Your hand will find out all your enemies; Your right hand will find out those who hate you.  NASB

The hand is often used as the instrument of ones work or effort.  And here it is Gods hand that works truth and is able to find out, to discover, to expose all enemies that oppose God, that oppose truth, that oppose His plan, that reject God and truth, that are indifferent toward God or truth or His plan, that are adversaries against God in any and all manner of opposition.

The right side, is the side of authority. Gods right hand is the work that supersedes all other works or efforts.  God is the sovereign over all that exists.

Will find out, is repeated twice indicating that God knows all.  Nothing can be hidden from God, no matter what plans or deceptions are thought up or attempted in history.

Will, indicates the certainty of Gods ultimate victory over all that oppose Him.  God does not need to discover opposition, He already knows it from eternity past.  Therefore nothing can ever be hidden or slipped past God.

The certainty is emphasized here, since truth is going to be the victor when history concludes and mans efforts and Satan’s efforts are brought to a screeching halt and end, once and for all in the final days of history.

So, this very important principle should make you aware that any thoughts that you have toward drifting away on your own and against God, will end up in certain failure.

There is only one victory and that is by means of Gods plan and design for history and especially for your personal life.

Psalm 21:7

Copyright Ó 2012 J. Neely

Psalm 21:7

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7 For the king [melek] trusteth [batach] in the LORD, [Yahovah] and through the mercy [checed] of the most High ['elyown] he shall not be moved. [mowt] KJV-Interlinear

7 For the king trusts in the Lord, And through the lovingkindness of the Most High he will not be shaken. NASB

David is the king.  Most kings and leaders and high ranking officials throughout history have presumed that they are beyond the need for God or anything else in creation.  Some even presumed themselves as a god themselves, but of course that did not work out so well for them.

But a really smart person, a wise person, knows the truth about life and reality, and they know that all of life depends entirely on God for all of their and its, existence.

Without God in your life, you would be nothing, have nothing, know nothing.  But then there a lot of people that are too stupid to figure this out.  After all, having been alive in this world for the impressive number of years of perhaps ten, or twenty, or forty, or even eighty years, then you can well imagine that you more than qualify for wisdom over all of human history of well into the many thousands of years, and of the planet and of creation, which is many more times that number.

But David did not presume such wisdom.

It is due to Gods favor, or as we often times call it, grace, that we are even here at all.

And mercy, ‘checed,’ means grace or favor, but it is the application of grace, or grace in action, the activity of Gods work in our behalf in the present.

God gives us favor, due to our compliance with His truth, which is the content of the scriptures, and the mandates and procedures that He has defined and designed for our spiritual life, and then he applies His favor, or blessings to our life throughout the course of our life.

And not be moved, simply means to be established.

Being established means to be set on solid ground, on a solid foundation, that is immovable and permanent.

And that foundation is doctrine. 

Established means to be complete, and that is exactly what doctrine does for you.

You were born into this world an incomplete person.  Your physical life demonstrates the completion process wherein you grow up physically, learn information and develop mentally, and grow up to some semblance of maturity.

And so it is with the spiritual life, only the spiritual aspects of your life will be with you forever, and they are the foundation and form, or your real completion and destiny with God forever.

Psalm 21:5

Copyright Ó 2012 J. Neely

Psalm 21:5

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5 His glory [kabowd] is great [gadowl] in thy salvation: [yashuw`ah] honour [howd] and majesty [hadar] hast thou laid [shavah] upon him. KJV-Interlinear

5 His glory is great through Thy salvation, Splendor and majesty Thou dost place upon him. NASB

Glory, splendor, and majesty are a part of every individual believer throughout history.

David is the one being referred to here, but the pattern of his life applies to all believers.  And as a believer in Christ, this applies to you.

You have glory. You have honor.  You have majesty.

But, these do not come from your own self, or from your own efforts.  These do not even originate from you. Neither are they earned or deserved by you.

The only legitimate glory and honor and majesty in existence belong to God and to God alone. No one else has any of these traits as original possessions which they can claim as their own.

God is the source and if you have any of these, then they came from God and from no other source.

The ‘Thy and Thou’ here indicate Gods work and Gods possession which He provides and places on the believer.

The work of God is consistent throughout the scriptures and throughout history. 

Gods work, never mans, is the key to truth and the production of good.

Mans works are never a part of the spiritual life.

God planned and carried out the work of salvation.

God authored the scriptures, and invented the mechanism for mans assimilation of the scriptures.

It is God who communicates truth to man.  It is God who makes truth clear and lucid.  It is God who transfers truth into the believer, through his human spirit and into the soul.  It is doctrine, that is the written manifestation of Christ, who is God.  It is doctrine that lays the foundation of truth in the soul and builds the spiritual structure within the soul.

It is the spiritual aspect of your life that is the target for Gods favor and blessing, and the vessel which holds Gods glory, honor and majesty within you, in your behalf.

Psalm 21:4

Copyright Ó 2012 J. Neely

Psalm 21:4

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

4 He asked [sha'al] life [chay] of thee, and thou gavest [nathan] it him, even length ['orek] of days [yowm] for ever [`owlam] and ever. [`ad] KJV-Interlinear

4 He asked life of Thee, Thou didst give it to him, Length of days forever and ever. NASB

When a persons life is in peril, then the natural thing to pray for is deliverance from that peril and the continuation of ones life.

David found himself in peril many times, as in much of his adult life, he was in one war after another, one battle after another, and could easily have lost his health or life in any of those conflicts.

Many a person will face death in some way. Even if you get the flu and believe that you are knocking on deaths door because you feel so bad, but really aren’t.  Still when you hurt or are in pain, either physical or emotional as so many folks face anxieties throughout their life, then it is only natural to pray for the pain to stop, for the stress to stop, for that suffering whatever it is, to go away.

And sometimes it goes away by some natural course like getting over some illness, or it goes away after a certain amount of time for a healing process to complete, or in some cases, there is no apparent way out of the problem and you just have to rely on faith and wait for your solution to come along.

But in every situation, there is a solution.  Sometimes it is obvious, and other times it is not so apparent.

More often than not, your suffering is a test of some sort.  It is either there to get you back on track in your spiritual life, or to get your attention and remind you that you are not invincible and you really are dependent on God.  Far too many folks need a good hammering from time to time, in order to place their boasting or arrogance or their indifferent or belligerent attitude in check.

And then there is the suffering for blessing concept wherein a spiritually positive person is given the opportunity to exercise and strengthen their faith by getting through their ordeal with poise.  This of course does not mean that you do nothing.  God did give you a brain and you need to use it.  You think through your problem, you look for solutions, and more often than not, they will present themselves sooner or later.  But what you do not do is sit down and do nothing.

David did not stand out in the open on the battlefield and believe that God would make him invisible.  He held his shield, he used his sword, he ducked and dodged and ran and darted and took cover and did what his training taught him to do.

Athletes and entertainers practice and practice, and practice some more in order to be at their best.  Whatever it is that you do, you must do over and over, in order to know your trade or talent or ability.

And if your problem is not social or economic, but some form of terminal illness, then you have doctrine.

And doctrine is what we all have.  It prepares us of the ultimate test, which is our departure into eternity.  And that happens to us all sooner or later.  Ignoring the inevitable gets you nowhere.  Preparing for it, gains you confidence and a greater outcome.

Psalm 21:3

Copyright Ó 2012 J. Neely

Psalm 21:3

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

3 For thou preventest [qadam] him with the blessings [Barakah] of goodness: [towb] thou settest [shiyth] a crown [`atarah] of pure gold [paz] on his head. [ro'sh] KJV-Interlinear

3 For Thou dost meet him with the blessings of good things; Thou dost set a crown of fine gold on his head. NASB

Prevent, ‘qadam,’ means to prevent by use of good, or to anticipate, to project, to hasten, to meet, before disappointment, before or prevent, to hinder, to intercept.

The meaning here, is that God knew of the problems that David would have, and thus made arrangements and provisions such that blessing would already be available for David, even before David would ask, or even know to ask for help.

In eternity past, God looked down through the tunnel of time and saw your life in all of its detail.  God made provision for every possible thing that you would need during your entire life. He intercepted your timeline, He anticipated your timeline, He made all possible arrangements that you would need, according to His plan for you (not necessarily according to what your own plans or wants might be).

With blessings of good, means that God brings good and only good into your life.

This is the devils world and all bad originates from Satan, never from God.

When Adam and Eve were in the garden, all was perfect.  Nothing bad could possibly come into their lives.

But then there was Satan, and temptation, and finally sin, and sin is the big problem which brings all manner of problems into the human arena.  Life now ends in death, health now ends in deterioration, physical and mental wellness drifts toward handicaps and defects and all sorts of difficulties.   Fruitful gardens turned to weeds.  Perfect weather turned to storms, and so on and on goes the list of problems that hamper this world and life.

None of which were caused by God.

And yet in spite of our problems and circumstances, God has provided us with crowns of gold. Not just crowns of royalty, but of victory.

Whatever happens in this world and in this life, which by the way is only going to last but a few decades at best for you, and after that, your life will continue forever.  And that is the time of your vindication from all that is bad and sad in this world.

So, as much as you probably hate this world or your life or whatever it is that has given you grief, God saw it all in eternity past and God made provision for it.

Even if you are living high on the hog, don’t get your nose up too high, because that nose can be chopped down a few notches, if God needs to get your attention.

In any case, God has already seen your life, has already made provision, and it remains for you to comprehend this and understand it, and then perhaps you will have a bit less bitterness or arrogance, as the case may be, and have a different outlook on life.

If you have lived for a reasonable amount of time, can you not look back on your life and see how things should have gone, but did not, how your life could have taken a very different turn, but did not?  Isn’t it possible that you shouldn’t even be here now, but you are?

There is a verse that you should know, should have already memorized, of which I will let you look up for yourself, if you are even interested.

And it goes like this, ‘Before I call, You will answer. While I speak, You will hear.’

Do you see the significance of this verse in the provision from eternity past and the action of today?

Psalm 21:2

Copyright Ó 2012 J. Neely

Psalm 21:2

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

2 Thou hast given [nathan] him his heart's [leb] desire, [ta'avah] and hast not withholden [mana`] the request ['aresheth] of his lips. [saphah] Selah. [celah] KJV-Interlinear

2 Thou hast given him his heart's desire, And Thou hast not withheld the request of his lips. Selah.  NASB

The hearts desire, is the desire of that which is in the heart.

So what is the heart?

The heart is the symbolic pump of the soul.  It is the content of that which you think on an ongoing basis.

Just as in the body, the heart pumps and pumps and pumps non-stop, round the clock, twenty-four seven.  So also, the soul has a concept heart and that is what you think non-stop, twenty-four seven.  And even though you are asleep perhaps eight hours each night, or whenever it is that you sleep, your soul never rests.  It keeps on thinking and thinking and thinking, even better than that little rabbit in the commercial.

So, what is it that you think?

Well most folks think experiential or academic thoughts, or whatever it is that you do day in and day out.  Everything that you learn in this world, everything that you experience, everything that you believe, everything that you want or need or desire or are tempted by, all of these things make up the content of your soul and thus the sum total of your hearts desire.

But what does God honor?  Does He honor the things of this world, or the things of truth?  And by the way, what exactly is truth?

In the nut shell, truth is everything that matches up perfectly, facts with reality.  And in this universe God has put together many truths, like chemistry or physics.  He put together things like the divine establishment principles of volition, marriage, authority, freedom, liberty, freedom through military victory, freedom of choice, nationalism and so forth.  He put together truths like salvation by faith, spirituality by confession, spiritual construction by study and learning and application.  He is truth.  He is the one and only living God.  He created truths like responsibility, accountability, obligation and charity and support.  God put together truths like justice by law and fairness by its application.

God put together all of these truths and many more, and for every truth, there is an equal and opposite lie, which was authored by evil.

And when truth is mis-interpreted, and becomes the promotion of the lie, then that is when dysfunction and disorder begins to tear away at society and your individual life.

God honors truth. Truth is the content of the scriptures, which you learn through your daily study, but remember that truth is a vast body of knowledge.  The Bible contains a limited number of words, verses, chapters and books, and can hardly be defined as vast.  An encyclopedia has more content than the Bible. 

But through your learning of doctrine, your eyes are opened up to the vast world of truth which you gain discernment of, indirectly through your daily study.

God prepared a spiritual apparatus by which your life can function as it was intended to function.

Salvation initiates that apparatus, by the creation of your human spirit.

Confession places you in fellowship, which allows the Holy Spirit to teach you and instruct you with doctrine, filtering content through your human spirit, and transferring it down into your soul, thus constructing your own personal fortress, your own personal temple, your own personal presence before God the Father.

This opens up your eyes, of understanding, opens up your ears of comprehension, opens up your life to a light that hides nothing.

This includes your knowledge of history, of your life, and how it all fits together.  This all opens up your understanding to what is important and what is not.  This places God first, doctrine first, the divine plan first and yourself last.  This eliminates selfishness, self-centeredness, arrogance, poor me thinking, and places your entire self in Gods hands to allow Him to bring you to the point of victory, of which you can’t even begin to imagine, but one day, will be overwhelmed with when you finally see the completion of your life.

This allows you to grow in faith and helps you to be able to manage and tolerate and live with whatever circumstances you have or will face in this life, because God will bring you to a better result.

So what is in your heart, what comes off the tip of your tongue, what is it that you really want, what is it that you really need?  Something of your own design, or something of Gods design?

Psalm 21:1

Copyright Ó 2012 J. Neely

Psalm 21:1

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

1 To the chief Musician, [natsach] A Psalm [mizmowr] of David. [David]

The king [melek] shall joy [samach] in thy strength, [`oz] O LORD; [Yahovah] and in thy salvation [yashuw`ah] how greatly [ma`od] shall he rejoice [giyl]! KJV-Interlinear

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

1 O Lord, in Thy strength the king will be glad, And in Thy salvation how greatly he will rejoice!  NASB

Music comes from musicians, and generally refers to the grace of God which plays throughout history regardless of what circumstances exist at any point in time in history.  God is the author and provider of grace.  Grace is His divine policy.  Grace is Gods divine favor toward man.

As in many psalms, this psalm begins with the recognition of God and grace, the chief Musician, one who is eminent, or chief over all that provides the song of life for all.

The previous psalm, which we just finished studying, was the petition for victory, and now we have here the thanks within this psalm, for that victory.

Strength, ‘oz,’ means force, security, might, power.

Salvation, ‘yashuwah,’ is a passive term meaning something saved, delivered, rescued as in health or welfare.  Salvation is not the one time saving from sin and the instance of eternal life by means of faith, but here it is the ongoing and repetitive rescue from the many battles that occur during any given war or wars.

David fought in many wars and was delivered and saved in all of them.

As for you and me, we all face the battles of the angelic conflict and we face many wars of attitude and temptation and so forth, daily, throughout our individual lives.

And while we probably take most of the daily activities for granted, we are in fact delivered continually from problems that we both know about, and especially from problems that we will never know about.

In an active battle, there are arrows and bullets flying all over the place and you would never know or even see the bullet that has you name on it.  It is the same in life.

This is the devils world, and your bullet could come with a slip in the bath tub, or on the highway in traffic, or by way of bad food.  Your bullet could come at the hand of gossips, or those who would malign you.  Your bullet could come from seemingly reasonable philosophies that would carry you away from truth.  And there is no shortage of temptations and enticements and rationales out there.

If you were able to step outside of yourself and look at your entire life from a higher vantage point, and see the many saves that have been made in your behalf, then you would most likely think a bit deeper and be more grateful for all that God has done for you.

And that is where this verse begins.

David has been on the battle field.  He has seen the graphic and brutal fighting up close and personal that occurs on a battle field.  He has experienced the adrenalin and fear of not knowing if or when he might fall himself, and when it is over, he now expresses his joy for his own personal deliverance and for his army and for his nation and so forth.

Sometimes we all have to face the grim reaper, or some really tough situation, before we can really understand the closeness of some major disaster that would really ruin our day, if not more.

And here David gives thanks to God, for Gods strength, not Davids, for Gods deliverance, not Davids ability to elude disaster, for Gods role in perpetuating Davids life for another day, not Davids effort of self-preservation.

No matter who or what you are, you are not self-made, not self-preserving, not self-perpetuating.  Your entire life depends on Gods grace and nothing else.

This does not excuse you from being prepared and responsible, where being unprepared and being irresponsible can certainly hurry many more disasters upon you.  Never tempt fate.