Psalm 21: The king shall have joy in Your strength, O LORD; and in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! You have given him his heart's desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah. For You meet him with the blessings of goodness; You set a crown of pure gold upon his head. He asked life from You, [and] You gave [it] to him--Length of days forever and ever. His glory [is] great in Your salvation; honor and majesty You have placed upon him. For You have made him most blessed forever; You have made him exceedingly glad with Your presence. For the king trusts in the LORD, and through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved. Your hand will find all Your enemies; Your right hand will find those who hate You. You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger; the LORD shall swallow them up in His wrath, and the fire shall devour them. Their offspring You shall destroy from the earth, and their descendants from among the sons of men. For they intended evil against You; they devised a plot [which] they are not able [to perform]. Therefore You will make them turn their back; You will make ready [Your arrows] on Your string toward their faces. Be exalted, O LORD, in Your own strength! We will sing and praise Your power.
The Bible teaches that the people of God are entitled to some SUBSTANTIAL benefits that the LORD God Almighty promises to fulfill Himself. First and foremost, God promised to provide a peaceful relationship with Him through the forgiveness of sins. This way, we can stand approved before God when He judges us, rather than fall in shame as His enemies into the condemnation of hell. That wouldn’t be good. Right?
Secondly, we’re promised eternal life. The incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus allow sinners to be “justified” by faith. This means that, when we believe in the testimony of Jesus as it’s written in His Word, God “declares” that we’re righteous, even though we’re not. He considers us and declares us righteous, even though we don’t meet up to His standards of righteousness. As a result, we get to dwell in the glory of His presence and kingdom in heaven, FOREVER!
Thirdly, the Bible promises God’s people, that we can have the desires of our hearts when we ask the LORD by faith.
And that’s the tricky part…
Hear me out here. It’s hard to measure the value of salvation. How can we fully comprehend and appreciate the forgiveness of sin and our flaws if we can’t even identify and recognize all of our issues? Still, God’s promises are pretty straightforward. The promise God makes to grant us the desires of our hearts is tricky because of the varieties of desires that we all have. Will God REALLY give us ANYTHING we want that we desire? If that’s true, why are there so many Christians who aren’t receiving the fulfillment of this promise? Is it because they don’t have enough faith, as many people suggest? Is God fulfilling all of your desires? Probably not. Why?
What did God mean when He promised to fulfill the desires of our hearts? To answer that question, we should pay attention to what the Bible says – not what people say. So, let’s look at the places in scripture where this promise is made and ensure we understand the words AND the context. One of those places in the Bible is in Psalm 21. Remember, Verses 1-2 say…
“The king shall have joy in Your strength, O LORD; and in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! You have given him HIS HEART’S DESIRE, and HAVE NOT WITHHELD the request of his lips.”
The scriptures clearly say that God fulfills the desires of the king’s heart, and doesn’t withhold “anything” from the king. So, what does that mean? Does that mean that God’s promise only applies to kings? After all, King David wrote this psalm. Are the kings of Israel the only ones eligible for this benefit that God gives? What about scriptures like Revelation 1:6 and Revelation 5:10? Those verses describe church-age believers as “kings and priests?” Does that mean that true church-age believers are eligible for the promises God made to Israel’s kings in Psalm 21?
Here’s the deal: If we understand the true meaning of the phrase “heart’s desire,” then we can answer that question Biblically and confidently…
We can’t read the contents of Psalm 21:1-2 without thinking about the explanation found in Verses 4-7. Psalm 21:4-7 explains the meaning of the “heart’s desire” that God promises to fulfill. First, the king that receives the benefits of God’s blessing, refers to a king that asks God for life. The Verse says…
“He asked life from You, [and] You gave [it] to him--Length of days forever and ever.”
The king who gets what he wants from God is the king who asks God for life. There are two important details to think about here. First, this king acknowledges that God causes and sustains life. This type of king recognizes God as YAHWEH – the eternally self-existing and self-sustaining Creator of all things, in heaven and earth. This king knows that, without God, there is no life, no function, and no purpose for life. The king would not be king, if not for God – the KING of kings. This kind of king acknowledges that, while he might have some power and authority, it’s ONLY because of God. No one, including the king, would have life unless God provided it. Without life, we don’t have desires. See where this is going? This type of king recognizes that God is the source of ALL things, including the good things he desires. The key to gaining our heart’s desires stems from this fundamental principle. What do we think about the position and authority of God?
Secondly, the king asked God for a certain QUALITY of life. This king didn’t ask to live on this planet for a long time. This sort of king doesn’t ask for a good life centered on material wealth and comfort. The king SPECIFICALLY asked the LORD for the quality of life that only God can give – eternal life. The king recognizes the eternally-sovereign nature of God and wants the things that come from God, and God alone. It’s not that this king desires life within himself, for his ambitions, to do whatever he thinks is good for himself. This is how a lot of people think. Many people approach God, and use these scriptures to justify their approach, with this attitude, and then wonder why God doesn’t hear them.
The Bible teaches that this sort of king desires “length of days forever,” according to the unique way God gives life to those who seek Him. The king gets what he wants because he wants the things that God wants to give – eternal life – and the king goes to God, AND GOD ALONE, IN HUMILITY, to receive those things.
The Bible teaches that the desire of the king’s heart – the desire that God fulfills without hesitation – is to have the quality of life that God appoints. The quality of life that God appoints and approves of for HIS purposes. The king doesn’t desire a quality of life that seems good to him by personal standards or ideologies. This king wants the things that are pleasing to God, based on his knowledge of God’s identity and nature, according to the truth of His testimony in scripture. The reason why is that this king sees that God’s provision, according to His ETERNAL nature, is WAY better than anything else. Look at what Verse 5 says…
“His glory [is] great in Your salvation; honor and majesty You have placed upon him.”
The Bible teaches that the king’s glory doesn’t come from the personal desires of the king, things that he tries to gain for himself, or even the size of his kingdom. The king’s glory results directly from God’s greatness in salvation. The king wants eternal life from God, recognizing that God is the ONLY ONE able to give it. As a result of this humility and faith, God glorifies the king according to His grace. The king wants eternal life, so God gives him salvation. That salvation makes the king glorious in God’s mind.
Notice how the LORD fulfills the king’s desire for eternal life. It’s not just that the LORD gives life, but that this quality of life is described as “salvation.” The mention of “salvation” implies the presence of a threat. Think about it. Why do you need to be “saved” if there isn’t any threat or danger? This means that before the king requested eternal life, he was threatened. Since this psalm doesn’t refer to any particular king, it means that every king must have been experiencing threats concerning the same issues. The full context of the Bible explains that the number one threat to eternal life is sin. The wages of sin is death. The testimony of Genesis Chapter 3 teaches that when Adam invited sin into the world, he immediately experienced spiritual death, being separated from pure fellowship with God. It’s this severed connection from God that causes condemnation in hell, and THAT is the REAL threat to all people since ALL people are conceived in sin.
We die physically, to show that something is wrong with our souls – they’re dead too. So, unless we have the threat of hellfire addressed, our souls stay dead. Since God is the God of the living, we can’t be with Him in heaven with dead souls. Since we can’t give life to our own souls – are you seeing how big of a threat this is?
Putting these ideas together, it’s clear that the king who gets what he wants from God is the king who desires to be RESTORED TO GOD in eternal life. The king desires reconciliation with God, through the forgiveness of sins. This king doesn’t want to be an enemy of God with a dead soul that will end up in hell. This king wants God to fix this spiritual issue, trusting that God is the only one who can AND that He’s willing to do so if we humbly ask Him to. THIS is the desire that God is willing to fulfill. God is willing to FREELY GIVE eternal life to ANYONE who seeks Him for it.
How does God fulfill this desire? He gives salvation to the soul. He separates us from the deadly influence of sin, depravity, and hellfire. If that’s not your chief desire – to stay out of hell – then your priorities are WAY off!
This is why the king gets honor and majesty from God. How much honor could a condemned king have? How much majesty could a king receive while in hell? Is there any value available to anyone who is separated from the love of God? The benefits many seek in this life are the byproduct of God’s salvation. A lot of people want honor and glory. A lot of people seek goodness and peace. Many people crave circumstantial greatness and comfort. According to the Bible, God is willing to give ALL of those things; BUT He will only provide those things in a specific way. He will only give those things to those who have received His salvation. Getting God’s salvation is based on the desire to be reconciled with God; a desire to have our sin dealt with in a fruitful and meaningful way. God’s salvation comes to us when we believe that God is able and willing to address these things for us. God’s salvation comes to us when we trust in HOW God gives His salvation – through Jesus Christ, God-in-flesh.
The truth is, God is the One that places honor and majesty into the life of the king; and anyone else for that matter. Honor and majesty ONLY COME by the hand of God. Anyone who wants honor and majesty must go to God the way scripture says, to gain it – trusting God’s Word is the only way to get it done.
It’s important to see how God fulfills this promise. God is willing to satisfy the desire for eternal life, honor, and majesty; BUT He doesn’t necessarily do so by manipulating circumstances to align with our “worldly” desires and comforts. Just because He gives us salvation, doesn’t mean that God makes our lives easy, comfortable, and perfect. Look at what Verse 6 says…
“For You have made him most blessed forever; You have made him exceedingly glad with Your presence.”
Since the king receives salvation and eternal life from God, the king is “made most blessed forever.” First, the Bible teaches that it is NECESSARY to be transformed from one spiritual condition to another, by the supernatural work of God, to receive the desires of our hearts. We need to be born again, by the Holy Spirit, on account of faith in the identity and testimony of Jesus Christ, found in the contents of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.
Notice that, it’s God who “made” the king blessed. The king was not blessed by himself. The king wasn’t blessed by having nice things, authority, power, money, or a successful kingdom. Even though he was the king of Israel, that didn’t qualify him to be blessed automatically. God had to make the king this way. The history of Israel shows that only certain types of kings were blessed. Other kings weren’t blessed at all! Guess which type of king was blessed, and which wasn’t…
The word used in the original language describing God “making” the king blessed, is a word that describes the supreme control of God. This Hebrew word is used 85 times in the Old Testament and is translated into the English word “made” 19 times. The word is first used to describe the supreme control of God in Genesis 3:15, where God judged the serpent in the Garden of Eden. There, God “made” enmity between the serpent (the devil), and the Seed of the woman, referring to Jesus, specifically as the Messiah of Israel.
In other words, God the Father exercised His supreme control, to separate the devil, and the effects of his works, from Jesus and His works. The works of the devil aren’t equal to Jesus’. They are TOTALLY CONTRARY and OPPOSITE. In this way, the effects of God’s work can only be produced by God’s hands. Since Jesus IS God, but in the flesh, then the work of Jesus is how we connect to the good things of God. Based on this truth, if it doesn’t come from God’s hand, it can only be the effect of the devil’s work. It doesn’t matter what it looks like. Our opinions about the circumstances don’t matter either. The blessing that the king receives in Psalm 21 can only come from the supreme control and authority of God.
The point is that the king was not blessed before, but when he humbly pursued God for eternal life, he received the benefits of God’s unique and supreme control and authority. What did that look like? The king was spiritually changed into something different than his natural spiritual condition. The king was spiritually corrupt on his own and was destined to die physically AND spiritually in hell. God’s salvation changed that. God “made” the king “blessed,” referring to the sovereign intervention that God exercised, to transform the king’s spiritual nature from cursed, to blessed. The blessing here refers to the salvation and eternal life the king receives, pictured by the “crown of pure gold” that was described in Verse 3. That is why this blessing lasts forever.
Since this change in condition is spiritually rooted, it DOES NOT require all of our life circumstances to change. The salvation and blessing of God, doesn’t demand God make the life of the king – or any of us for that matter – comfortable according to personal standards and ideals, because the quality of life this king was seeking, was ETERNAL.
Here’s a point for every true Christian to constantly consider:
How can the king benefit from ETERNAL blessings received in heaven, while alive in this world?
So then, how can anyone benefit from God’s ETERNAL blessings, if we’re still here in this corrupted world? A world that is aging and decaying, while dealing with issues connected to sin, and so forth. If we get the FULL benefit of God’s eternal blessings, don’t we have to be in an eternal condition ourselves? Hmm…
Now if that’s hard for you to accept, look at the effect that God’s blessing produces. Again, Verse 6 says:
“For You have made him most blessed forever; You have made him EXCEEDINGLY GLAD with Your presence.”
When is the last time something in this world, made you EXCEEDINGLY GLAD, in a lasting and meaningful way? Notice that it’s God’s presence that produces this quality of blessing. The presence of God, AND HIS PRESENCE ALONE, brings fulfillment to our hearts and souls. God’s presence saw the desire of the king. God’s presence responded to the desire of the king. God’s presence rewarded the king.
God’s presence heard the king, acknowledged the king, saved the king, transformed the king, reconciled the king, enabled the king; and God’s presence caused the king to have EXCEEDING gladness.
If not for God’s presence, the king wouldn’t be glad to ANY degree, because he would have stayed in a condemned condition, as an enemy of God; without life, purpose, fulfillment, peace, and contentment. He might have had power and authority as the king for a time but would die eventually in shame and condemnation. However, because of God’s presence, the king’s soul was satisfied, and gladness was ABOUNDING and OVERFLOWING as if he was constantly jumping for joy – regardless of his actual condition and physical circumstances. How does THAT sound to you?
So then, why does God do all of this? What is the key to gaining this sort of favor from God? How do normal people, who aren’t Jewish kings, tap into these benefits, that come exclusively from God? The answer is simple: We need to live with the same quality of faith that this triumphant king lived with. Verse 7 makes it simple:
“For the king TRUSTS IN THE LORD, and through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved.”
The king trusted the LORD for peace, satisfaction, purpose, ability, and victory. This king didn’t trust in the ideals of his mind, based on cultural standards, or personal ambitions to bring his personal quality of peace, satisfaction, purpose, ability, or victory. This king didn’t have confidence in himself to produce eternal life. You don’t see this type of king saying, “I Got This!”
This king recognizes that TRUE victory is spiritual, and only YAHWEH, the Most High God of the Bible, can provide that victory, and this quality of internal peace. The king desired to gain God’s quality of life, according to God’s mercy, not his merits. The king didn’t try to earn the desires of his heart from God by racking up achievements and accolades. The king just wanted the mercy of God. The king just wanted God to treat him differently than he deserved based on his natural spiritual condition.
The king wanted to please God, receiving God’s provision according to God’s will and eternal purposes. He had that desire fulfilled by God because of what the king believed about God’s nature, identity, character, and integrity. The king didn’t live presumptuously, as if he could produce the effects that God does. The king desired to exercise his authority by submitting to God and His supreme authority, recognizing God as the KING of kings and LORD of lords. The king made himself God’s servant.
This is why the king got what he wanted. The king wanted the same things that God wanted for his life. The king’s desires were God’s desires. The king recognized that God’s purposes and promises are WAY BETTER, and FAR MORE VALUABLE than anything else in life. The king saw God’s true character. God is SUPREMELY good, valuable, gracious, faithful, and merciful. The king recognized that his natural condition presented problems concerning his relationship with God, so he wanted the LORD to address those problems to restore their relationship to a favorable condition, the way that only God can. The king wanted to live God’s way instead of his own way.
How do we know all this is true? This seems like a lot to assume about this unnamed king from just a few verses. Does anything else in the Bible support these points? Well, think about the words of Jesus – the KING of kings, AND prototype for saving faith. In John 17:1-5 Jesus said:
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”
Jesus’ standard is pretty clear to see. Those who want their heart’s desires fulfilled, need to have the desire of Jesus’ heart. Jesus desired to glorify the Father in heaven and gave His life to do so – even to the point of the cross. Jesus desired to exercise the authority of the Father, to save souls from hell, giving eternal life to those who believe. These are all spiritual and eternal things. And Jesus was willing to subject Himself to a violent and unjust death to fulfill these things. But remember, He didn’t stay dead. Ultimately Jesus resurrected in glory, showing that His focus on eternal things, isn’t a hoax or nonsense. Jesus wanted to share eternal life, which HE defined this way Himself:
To know the One True Living God and Jesus Christ, God in flesh.
Jesus desired to make Himself known, as the One True Living God, the Anointed One, sent to fulfill ALL of the Father’s eternally unconditional promises. Jesus desired the Father to be glorified, by doing the things that the Father appointed Him to do – which required Jesus to give Himself as a sacrifice, being crucified in shame, on a tree. Jesus desired to receive the glory of the Father, according to the will and purpose of the Father.
Whoever wants THESE things, will have their desires fulfilled. The Father will be excited to fulfill those desires. Those who trust God like the kings of Psalm 21, will receive the eternal life, salvation, reconciliation, blessing, transformation, honor, majesty, exceeding gladness, and glory that Jesus freely gives, because of His life, death, resurrection, and ascension. All we need to do is trust these things are true, and humbly seek God by His terms. Whoever is delighted to see the Word of God fulfilled in their lives, by Jesus, according to His eternal purposes and promises, are the ones who gain the benefits that the Bible talks about.
And, THAT’S what the Bible teaches about the One, WE know, as God.
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