Psalms 19–21

The two witnesses of Psalm 19 still give their testimony, and nothing has spoiled it: (1) "The heavens declare the glory of God"; and (2) "The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul" (v. 7). Both witnesses speak the truth, as far as they go. The first declares God's power and divinity. Everyone alive has this witness testifying to them all the time. So all who do not turn to God are "without excuse" (Rom. 1:20). The second was sent mainly to the nation of Israel. It speaks of the holiness of God and exposes the sinfulness of man, leaving him nowhere to turn for mercy but God.

It is a solemn thought that whatever man has touched he has corrupted. Creation groans wherever man has been. But if I look where man cannot reach, at the moon and the stars, all is glorious… The heavens are spread over all. The sun runs its tireless circuit from one end of the sky to the other. They are the bright, unchanging witnesses of the divine glory, and man's defiling hand cannot reach them.

Notice something else, for this Psalm has great depth. The heavens do not declare the glory of Jehovah — that is His covenant name — but of God. The law of Jehovah converts the soul — it is perfect.

Creation is open to everyone's view, and it is full of signs of God. Evidence of a divine hand at work lies scattered above man and around him. Even the most darkened mind would struggle to escape the conviction that the wisdom and power on display there is nothing less than divine. Yet, widespread, continuous, and eloquent as its testimony is, men have not read God's plain speech in it. And note the charge against man. It is not just a misreading of the evidence. It is a complete rejection of it.

The heavens testified so plainly that only unbelief could claim earth was everything. But Israel boasted so highly in her earthly inheritance that she shut out everyone who was not a Jew. Yet their own Scriptures declared what their eyes saw every day. A heavenly testimony went out into all the earth, and its words to the ends of the world. This heavenly message is only a picture of the blessed worldwide gospel. That gospel is sent from the Son of Man in the heavens. It is not God speaking on earth, but from heaven, and so it is a voice addressed to all men everywhere — Jews and Gentiles.

Creation should indeed speak, and its voice be heard. What is invisible in the Creator is still seen. The things He has made make it plain — His eternal power and divine nature. They do not show His grace, or truth, or love. They do show infinite power and design, and that leaves people without excuse. Creation declares the power of God. It does not reveal what He is in Himself — His nature. But unless a person shuts his eyes on purpose, it is evidence enough that a Creator-God exists.

Those who study the stars may speak of the varied glories of the heavenly bodies. They may tell of their great discoveries. Yet they may never think of Him whose glory is before their eyes… It takes God-given faith to see the hand of God in creation. Scripture says, "By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God" (Heb. 11:3). The youngest child in the family of God knows more about where creation came from than the greatest thinker who does not know God.

Creation is the earliest witness of God to man. As soon as man fell, he needed something more, and in the mercy of God he found it. If men turned their back on that, or corrupted it with their own folly, the witness of creation still remained, and they could not silence it. The testimony is continuous and progressive. One day adds its tale to that of another, and one night likewise to the one that went before it. Never exhausted, the story never ends. The day has many voices, each subdued by the sheer number of them. It is like a river of speech flowing on and on. The night, with its quiet breathing, speaks in the hush — perhaps more clearly to the more attentive ear.

So the psalmist gives speech to creation, and he is in earnest about it. He wants us to know that he means every word of this. He says it is "speech" and it is "words" — really that. Words, despite the sneer of the skeptic. Words, despite the dullness of God's own people. Words truly there to be heard by those who listen for them... how much does the average Christian hear of this continual witness to God in the many voices of the day and the night?

Every day and night the voice of creation speaks in unmistakable language (v. 2). If anyone refuses such clear witness, he is ignorant on purpose. He has no excuse. Even the darkest lands that do not know God hear this voice. Romans 1:19-20 implies as much, presenting creation as a clear testimony — a testimony that people realize condemns the sin they indulge in: "So they are without excuse." So there is no place in the world without a testimony from God (v. 4).

It is a solemn thought that whatever man has touched he has corrupted. Creation groans when a man has been there. But if I look where man cannot reach — at the moon, the stars, and so on — all is glorious... The heavens spread over all. The sun goes round in its tireless circuit from one end to the other. Both are bright, unchanging witnesses of the divine glory, above man's defiling hand.

In this psalm we can clearly see that creation, set before us like this, is really God's faithfulness. This is the realm where God's handiwork, His eternal power and divinity, is plain to grasp — unless we are blind, as we naturally are... Verse 2 tells us clearly that this testimony communicates; it passes something on. God draws our attention to the testimony to Himself in the words "Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge." But if there is darkness, God is willing to give light there, a testimony.

The two witnesses of Psalm 19 still bear their uncorrupted testimony: (1) "The heavens declare the glory of God"; and (2) "The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul" (v. 7). These witnesses plainly speak the truth according to their measure. The first declares God's power and divinity. The second speaks of the holiness of God and exposes the sinfulness of man. It shuts him up to God alone for mercy. It leaves him without excuse too, if he does not seek that mercy from Him.

This testimony of creation goes out to everyone. There is no audible voice, as there was with the prophets. Still, the testimony is there in a silent voice, in the way things are presented. They have no speech, yet the voice of the testimony is heard.

Every day and night the voice of creation speaks in language no one can mistake (v. 2). So if someone refuses such clear witness, he is ignorant by choice: he has no excuse. Even in the darkest places where God is unknown, their voice is heard. Romans 1:19-20 hints at this. There creation stands as a clear testimony, and people realize it condemns the sin they give themselves to, "So they are without excuse." So there is no place in the world that lacks a testimony from God (v. 4).

Let us feel the shame, then, of needing to be told something so simple: that nature's speech is meant to be heard. Nature is the witness to everyone, so its teaching is not meant for a select few. It is for all.

Despite the unbelief in man's heart, whether it shows itself in evolution or modernism, the Creation remains. The Psalmist declares, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork". Every part of creation declares the eternal power and divinity of God. Yet it matters a great deal that the inspired writer of Psalm 19 names parts of creation which man has no power to touch or corrupt. He speaks of the unbroken march of day and night, and of the sun's endless circuit. In God's estimate this witness to His power and divinity is so strong and convincing that it leaves men without excuse.

Now take the witness of nature to the Creator, which we have described as so powerful and so certain. How do we explain how little conviction it produces, the apparent fruitlessness of this line of evidence? Is it not that men's hearts have wanted some other meaning so badly that they have shut their eyes to what it really shows? They will not see the God it points to. They would gladly give anyone or anything but Him the glory for such handiwork... Yet even with this lack of desire for God, these silent witnesses remain, to be accusers if nothing more.

They are signs of God's creative power and goodness, but they leave the soul unconverted. No one can know God for salvation except through the living and lasting word (1 Peter 1:23). That word reveals Christ, and in Him the Father Himself is revealed and glorified, and our need is met... Romans 1 teaches us that the most anyone can learn from looking at creation alone is God's eternal power and Godhead — His creative power. But this does not meet the sinner's need, and it does not display God's grace.

The testimony of creation is a picture of the testimony the gospel now gives, because both go out to all. God had given His testimony, whether man saw it or not.

The language that "day unto day utters" is as little unclear as its "pouring forth" is small. The knowledge that "night unto night shows" is no secret doctrine, but breathes its whisper in the ears of all. "There is no speech nor language, their voice is not heard." Not in spoken form; yet "their line is gone out through all the earth, and their sayings to the end of the world."

Every day and night the voice of creation speaks in unmistakable language (v. 2). If someone refuses such clear witness, he is willfully ignorant: he has no excuse. In the darkest heathen lands their voice is heard. Romans 1:19-20 shows this. There creation stands as a clear testimony, a testimony that people realize condemns the sin they indulge in, "so that they are without excuse." So there is no place in the world that lacks a testimony from God (v. 4).

In Psalm 19 we have the testimony of creation and of the law. It is a solemn thought that whatever man has touched he has corrupted. Creation groans when a man has been there. But if I look where man cannot reach, at the moon, the stars, and so on, all is glorious... The heavens spread over all. The sun goes on its tireless circuit from one end to the other. Both are bright, unchanging witnesses of the divine glory, and man's defiling hand cannot reach them.

This testimony of creation reaches everyone. There is no audible voice here, as there was with the prophets. The testimony still comes through, in the silent voice of the way things are set out. They have no speech, yet the voice of the testimony is heard. The whole creation would be useless without that sun. Wealth would mean nothing without the sun, for there could not be a grain of wheat if there were no sun. So the place the sun has in relation to this creation, the Son of God has in relation to us.

Psalm 19 is used in the most beautiful way to suggest that the limits are the world. Just as the sun in the heavens is not for one people or land alone, no more is the gospel. There is no language where their voice is not heard. "Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world." The gospel goes out to everyone. Jewish claims were therefore set aside. It was not done by new and fuller revelations, but by this divinely skilful use of their own Old Testament Scriptures.

They are signs of God's creative power and goodness; but they leave the soul unconverted. No one can know God in a saving way except through the living and lasting word (1 Peter 1:23), which reveals Christ... We learn from Romans 1 that looking at creation alone teaches us only God's eternal power and divine nature — His creative power. But this does not meet the sinner's need, and it does not display God's grace.

The early verses of the Psalm celebrate the endless witness of creation to God's greatness and glory, at least on its heavenly side. They also tell us of a tent set in the heavens for the sun. At the appointed time it comes out, shining with brightness and warmth, so that nothing is hidden from its light.

The rising sun is a marvelous witness. In past ages people did not know that the earth turns, so some thought a different sun rose every morning! But the wonder of it should impress everyone... We owe so much to the warmth and light of the sun! This is why foolish people have become sun worshipers, giving no credit to the great Creator who sustains the sun.

The unfailing sun goes out across these heavens, from his chamber at the far end of them. His strength never runs down, and he spreads around him the joy that comes with his presence, for it is a pleasant thing to see the sun. His seems to be the joy of strength — the joy that springs from power fully proved. He always fills his place, and is always a full circle. He is always the centre of light, though the clouds of earth may gather and shut him in. He is always the centre of warmth, though winter may build its wall of frost against him. Darkness and cold and death are the sure result of his absence.

He came to Israel as the Bridegroom, and His own people would not have Him. But He also stands as Bridegroom to the whole creation, for the sun is surely a figure of Him in the language of Psalm 19... As the Bridegroom He will fill the whole universe with light and joy. All creation waits for His coming. Until He appears it will go on in pain and groaning.

He does not shine now as the Sun of Righteousness. The moon only — a picture of the church — gives her faint light. It is night. But day will come, and the Sun of Righteousness rises with healing in His wings.

The apostle quotes this Psalm in Romans 10:18 to link the ministry of the heavens with the ministry of the gospel. What the one does for the earth, the other does for the world. Both spread everywhere, so that nothing can hide from either the fertilising heat of the one or the saving heat of the other. The ministry of the heavens to the earth reaches all, and that is the pattern of the gospel to the world.

The heavens belonged to no land in particular, nor do the sun and stars shine for Israel alone. They are for everyone on earth. This is the goodness of God, whose rain falls on the just and the unjust, and who makes His sun rise on the evil and the good. In the same way, the law had its narrow limits, but the gospel goes out in the grace of God without restriction.

They are signs of God's creative power and goodness, but they leave the soul unconverted... Romans 1 teaches that the most we can learn from creation alone is God's eternal power and divine nature — His power as Creator. That does not meet the sinner's need, and it does not show God's grace... So what comes next in our Psalm is most important and most precious: it points us to the life-giving word.

The apostle quotes from Psalm 19 a striking and most fitting illustration of how universal God's testimony is. We can see that the psalm divides into two parts. The works of God and the law of the Lord both testify. One witness is outward and universal; the other deals with those who had the law. The heavens belonged to no land in particular, nor do the sun and stars shine for Israel alone. They are for man in the earth at large. This matches the generosity of God, whose rain falls on just and unjust, and who makes His sun rise on evil men and on good.

Across these heavens goes the unfailing sun, out from his chamber at the ends of them. His vigour never lets up, and he spreads around the joy that comes with his presence. His seems indeed the joy of strength — the joy that springs out of proven ability. He always fills his place. He is always full and round, always the centre of light, though the clouds of earth may gather and shut him in. He is always the centre of warmth, though winter may build its barrier of frost against him. Darkness and cold and death are the sure result of his absence.

But the sun is clearly created to symbolise the Lord Jesus, as Malachi 4:2 implies: "But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings." The time of this rising will be the beginning of the millennium. That will be a day of wonderful blessing for the world, as pictured in verse 6 of our chapter. The sun is a wonderful friend, but it can be a withering enemy in a dry land without water or shade. So the Lord Jesus is a wonderful friend, but if someone decides to be His enemy, he exposes himself to the results of that folly.

The service the heavens render to the earth is like the service the gospel renders to the world. Both spread themselves everywhere, so that nothing is hidden from either the fertilising heat or the saving heat. The way the heavens serve the whole earth is the pattern for the way the gospel serves the world.

God's love is just like the sun in the heavens, about which we read, "there is nothing hidden from its heat." The sun warms the king and the beggar alike, the rich and the poor, the old and the young, the white and the black. So God's love is for all.

In contrast to the lack of heat in the assembly at Laodicea, the Lord Himself keeps His warmth and zeal. He is now glorified in heaven, and we may contemplate Him there in all His splendour. He really wants us to do just that, so that we may receive light and warmth and become zealous. A Christian who really loves the Lord "up there" in the glory has spiritual energy "down here." And nothing escapes His searching eyes, not even in Laodicea with its nice cover-ups.

The works of God in the heavens and the earth are tokens of His creative power and goodness, but they leave the soul unconverted. We cannot know God in a saving way except through the living and lasting word, which reveals Christ... Romans 1 teaches us that creation alone can show us only God's eternal power and divine nature — His creative power. But this does not meet the sinner's need, nor does it display God's grace.

What right-minded person can fail to admire the works of God displayed in the heavens or in the earth? They are surely there for our admiration and enjoyment. But it is a fatal mistake to be satisfied with them, beautiful as they are. They are tokens of God's creative power and goodness, but they leave the soul unconverted... Suppose you knew His eternal power and Godhead — His almightiness — and nothing more. That could only fill the soul with terror, and rightly so. Faith comes not by seeing the mighty works of creation but by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

"The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul." "Converting," in the broader sense of the word, would not be wrong — that is, turning it from any wrong path. Torah, "the law," means literally that which points out the way, and as "perfect" it is an infallible guide... How blessed to have the certainty that comes from listening to God's voice. It is clearly the first point of all for blessing. Apart from this, wisdom and folly, holiness and unholiness, are names and nothing else. We seek to please God and do not know whether we are offending Him.

"The law of the Lord" in verse 7 is not confined to the ten commandments, but takes in everything God has revealed in His word as a perfect ruling principle. When any individual receives it as such, that is conversion. By nature we are not subject to God, but sinners in a state of self-will. The word of God has power in it to bring about conversion, a total change.

In Psalm 19 we have two great witnesses to the power and thoughts of God. First, from verses 1 to 6, the witness that creation gives, and especially the heavens... From verse 6 to the end, we have the perfection of the law. The psalm does not ask here whether man keeps it. What matters here is the perfection of the law itself, its value for the soul of man wherever it brings its light, and the moral power of its instructions.

"The testimony of Jehovah" takes quite different ground from that of the "law." Its appeal is not to authority, as the law's is. It appeals to fact and truth. And "the testimony of Jehovah is sure," beyond any possibility of being overthrown... So His testimony "makes wise the simple," or inexperienced, with the wisdom of experience. Faith, then, is not credulity. It is not necessary to faith that you shut your eyes. He who is Light leads in the light. Question, scrutinise, use every faculty He has given you: they will not be put to shame.

The works and the word of God have these two qualities — they glorify God and bless the creature, as this Psalm shows. The sky declares God's handiwork. It also carries the sun, which gives its heat to all creation. So the law is perfect, glorifying its Maker like the sky, but it also converts the soul... The earth needs no effort and shows no unwillingness to receive blessing from the heavens. Man is different. He must stir himself up, as the Psalmist does here, to get the blessing that the law or the word carries for his soul.

Long ago man filled the earth with corruption and violence... The heavens are spread over all, and the sun goes on its tireless circuit from one end to the other. They are the bright, unchanging witnesses of the divine glory, and man's defiling hand cannot reach them. The law of the LORD changes just as little. Man cannot change the law, but he does disobey it.

Where else could we find instruction that had in it no possibility of mistake? A little experience with the word of God convinces us that here we have truth that is completely pure, with every detail right. This fact expands the heart with pure joy.

"The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart." What is more welcome to the heart than to be directed in love along the way we want to go? "The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes." How much we learn of His mind by what He commands or forbids!

Happy the heart that finds its joy in the "statutes" of God. Remember that "statute" means a divine direction given for our obedience. What joy there is in obeying Him!

The two lines are not mere repetition; the second advances on the first. In Ephesians we find "having the eyes of your heart enlightened" — an expression which joins the two parts of this together. The heart is largely what governs the eyes. When the heart rejoices in the LORD's precepts, the eyes can judge rightly. From the opposite of this all error, in fact, proceeds.

Jonathan had his eyes opened by disobeying his father, for he ate some honey. David says the opposite: "the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes" (Psalm 19:8). This means that true enlightenment is found in the path of obedience to God.

The statutes of the law are right, they are perfect, a true standard. In every direction the commandment of the law is pure. The eyes are opened and enlightened, and we see correctly and clearly. This lets us see righteousness fulfilled: God has put Christ in the place of exaltation, crowned in heaven.

Here the point is not whether man can keep it or not, but its own perfection and its value for those who by grace profit by its light. No one can change either of these witnesses... The heavens are spread over all. The sun runs its tireless circuit from one end to the other. Both are bright, unchanging witnesses of the divine glory, beyond the reach of man's defiling hand. The law of the LORD varies just as little; but if man cannot change the law, he disobeys it.

The first four references to scripture point to something outside us. This one points to something inside us, "the fear of the LORD," because it has to do with the real reception of God's truth in our hearts. It produces a healthy reverential fear of God. That fear is clean in its character and in its results, and the results endure forever. Wonderful assurance! Then "the judgments of the LORD" are connected with this — judgments that apply to specific circumstances, with decisions that appeal to those who have the fear of the LORD, as being "true and righteous altogether."

We come to the principle that underlies all this. It is "the fear of the LORD" Himself, and it is "clean" — it frees us from the defilement that bars us from approaching Him or having communion with Him. So it has the real elements of endurance in it. The favour of God has that, and what is in harmony with His mind abides. The judgments of the LORD are truth in the same way, and the fear of Him makes us cling to them. Truth here carries the primary meaning of the word: firm and stable.

This fear of the LORD is not the slavish dread that marks the superstitious. No. It is a reverent trust joined with a hatred of evil. "The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil" (Prov. 8:13). "The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever." Where this fear continues, the presence of the LORD is a reality and a joy.

I think this verse gives you the keynote of the scripture, as regards the fear of the LORD. Without this you cannot progress in practical holiness, or sanctification.

Disciplinary judgments are not joyful at the time, but painful (Heb. 12:11). Yet in the middle of trial faith owns them to be just and righteous. It never quarrels with the ways of God. As the Lord has said, "wisdom is justified by her deeds" (Matt. 11:19). Faith knows the aim and end of these judgments is blessed — that we should be partakers of His holiness.

Looking at God and His glory, the Psalmist says, "The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold..." But when we look at man, the effect is the opposite, sad to say. His guilt and rebellion turn the sweet into bitter, the food into poison, life into death... One sees both effects in their perfection in the blessed Lord Himself.

The judgments of the Lord on all human conduct warn us... We need the wisdom and good sense that can point out a divine path in the confusion of evil. It guides our steps out of the reach of evil here. God's word meets us even here. And in keeping His judgments there is great reward, great positive blessing and peace of heart here.

From all this comes the value that experience sets on these divine words. They are "more desirable than gold" — much of it, and refined. And for enjoyment, they are sweeter to the taste than the purest honey: the honey that drips of itself and is not pressed out of the comb.

Gold stands for all that is valuable to man. Scripture contrasts it with the precious things of God: with His judgments, that is, His righteous ways and commandments as seen in His law. Knowledge of God is to be received "rather than choice gold" (Prov. 8:10). Gold is what men labor for, and they will trade away strength and health to get it. For it they will give up ease and the happiness of home, and endanger life itself. Therefore Scripture speaks of covetousness (the lust of gold) as idolatry — this object of man's desire put in place of the Creator.

The Lord's judgments are "more to be desired than gold," in fact "than much fine gold." Sober wisdom recognizes this great value, apart from our feelings. But it adds, "sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb." That is, they appeal to our taste — in essence, to our souls — as well as to our intelligence. Honey pictures the ministry of the word of God, which is sweet, but not as sweet as the word itself. What others give us from Scripture cannot be relied on the way Scripture itself can.

Honey and the honeycomb here refer to the best there is in nature, and God has been very generous in the realm of nature. Israel were called to nature and they were blessed according to nature. Their blessings were the land, the cattle, the family, plenty of fruit — all the very things that appeal to the natural man. However, death has come in. It is the great threat that can cut us off from the very best of nature, from fellowship, and from the fortunes we have piled up. That is a real fear: once you have possessions, you are afraid of losing them through death itself. So here in Psalm 19 we have revealed that which is to be desired more than fine gold and even better than the best of nature, because it is beyond death. It is company and communion with a risen Christ, and communion with God about His Son.

Looking at God and His glory, the psalmist says the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether, more to be desired than gold, and sweeter than honey. But when we look at man, the effect is sadly the opposite. His guilt and rebellion turn the sweet into bitter, the food into poison, life into death. So, looking at these same judgments, the prophet cries out, "Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!" (Jer. 9:1.)

There are three ways in which it is possible to read the word of God. You may read it from a sense of duty. You may turn to it for help, relief, or guidance. Or you may read it out of delight in Him whose word it is, and whose rich treasures of grace and blessing it opens up. For some, these three ways mark different stages of spiritual life. They began by reading from a sense of obligation. In time they went on to reading for help and teaching. Finally they read because they realised that God's words were "more to be desired than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb." This last method, as many have found, is the only true way of Bible study.

Psalm 18 shows what God was to David, and in Psalm 19 we next see how others may learn about Him. He is Jehovah, the self-existing One. He has given a double testimony of Himself: first by creation (19:1-6), then by revelation (7-14). Verse 11 states the practical importance of this second testimony for saints.

These words are very timely in a world like this. This world is in darkness. Without the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit and the One who is the Captain of our salvation, we could not get through this world successfully, because it is a maze. It is a maze that we shall get wrong at every turn. So we need every warning and guidance of Scripture. Let us take heed to all that is available for our preservation.

Where else could we find so effective a guard against spiritual danger? The warning is against what is dangerous. But the same verse also assures us of the positive results the Lord's words may achieve in the heart: "in keeping them there is great reward." This is a clear fact here and now, and in the future it will be proved wonderfully true for those who keep them.

Notice that it is not merely what the law is, but what the heart knows it to be: the servant of Jehovah is warned by it. There is delight in it, according to the new nature, and the sense of relationship. This is because we are servants of God, though we have higher, more intimate and glorious relationships.

It was true that the word had long been laid aside and forgotten. But the moment someone listens to it with an attentive ear, he feels at once that it has lost none of its power... At the Reformation it was the word of God which overthrew the papal power and set many a precious soul free from its deadly bondage. Then, as in Josiah's day, it had been long neglected, but it had only to be taken up again to prove that its edge was as keen as ever, and its power undiminished. And it is just the same now. It can gain the same victories. It is all that is needed.

Besides this, the heart is in the middle of dangers and human tendencies which draw us far from God. The judgments of the Lord on all human conduct warn us. The joy of the word — and, for the Christian, the joy of heaven — is not enough. We need the wisdom and prudence that can point out a divine path in the confusion of evil. We need it to guide our steps clear of evil here... And in keeping His judgments there is great reward, great positive blessing and peace of heart here. The soul is happy with God and walks in peace through the world.

And surely it is for our good to be obedient. There is indeed "great reward" in keeping the commandments of our loving Father. Every thought of Him and of His gracious ways should bind our hearts in affectionate devotion to Him. So should every mention of His wonderful dealings with us — His loving ministry, His tender care, His thoughtful love... There is nothing in all this world more deeply blessed than the path and portion of an obedient soul... One approving smile from his Lord is more than ample repayment for all the reproach that men can heap upon him.

There is delight in it, according to the new nature, and the consciousness of relationship... But this confidence and nearness turn the eye to another point: the lack of full self-knowledge, and distrust of self. "Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults." In many things I may delight in the word, and value it when I think about it, and still not have judged my own heart. I may not be able to test my heart in practice and measure it by that perfection, for spiritual judgment grows over time.

If we ask a child why he did something wrong, he cannot answer. He does not understand his errors, and adults are no different. We do not understand what our mistakes really mean. We also have secret faults that we do not want brought into the open. But the day will come when "God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ" (Rom. 2:16). How much better now for us to judge them and echo the language of David, "Cleanse me from secret faults."

"Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults," that is, from the sins I do without knowing it myself. "Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins." To sin when you know you are sinning is indeed presumption.

So the psalmist is convinced: "who understands his errors?" In that conviction he turns to God with confidence and prays, "Free me from things hidden from me." Sins are not harmless just because they are unknown. They are still sins, as the law of sacrifice shows. (Lev. 4:2, 13, etc.) The dust of a defiling world settles on us without a sound, and it dulls the mirror of conscience before we notice. We need the basin and towel in the Lord's hand (John 13), not only when we are aware of evil, but because we are aware of so little.

But who can say he is free from sins of ignorance? Not the psalmist, when he asks the same thing, "Who can understand his errors? cleanse me from secret faults." (Ps. 19:12.) Not the apostle, when he declares, "For I know nothing against myself; yet am I not thereby justified; but He that judges me is the Lord." (1 Cor. 4:4.) Here we see two things at once. There is the integrity of a man who has been tested and has judged himself, free from every known offense. And there is the full admission that things might easily be wrong in him without his knowing it. Trusting His grace, he could hand those things over to the One who will bring everything to light. If none of us ought to be able to say less than this, who on the other hand can say more?

Jehovah is his Rock and his Redeemer (verse 14). The heart that searches itself always feels its own weakness and sinfulness (verses 12, 13). But it trusts Jehovah and looks to Him with confidence for protection and rescue from the evil it feels and fears... So reverence and godly fear, the constant companions of a true heart-enjoyment of grace, set the tone of this wise and thoughtful psalm.

"Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults," that is, from the sins I commit without knowing it myself. "Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins." To sin, knowing it, is indeed presumption.

Under the law the only sins that were provided for were those of ignorance. If a man acted presumptuously, he was to die without mercy; no sacrifice was provided for that. So, in the nineteenth psalm, David says, "Keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins" — that is, sins done knowingly.

Much worse than this are "presumptuous sins" (v. 13). They involve deliberately and willfully indulging in what we know is wrong. Once we launch out in such a course, it is not long before such sins take control of us. May the Lord indeed preserve us from this dreadful danger. It is not usually sins of ignorance that cause us the greatest trouble, but sins we know are sins, yet we give way to them. The Lord knew we needed His preserving mercy for this, when He gave His disciples the prayer, "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

We can find our safeguard only in the sanctuary. The Lord Himself is our constant necessity; and the self-distrust is wholesome that keeps us close to Him.

He asks to be cleansed from his secret faults, and to be kept from all presumptuous faults — what one would commit with open disregard of God. So he would be undefiled, and kept with God, not turning aside to idols or empty things. For small and neglected sins and unjudged confidence of heart lead to forgetfulness of God, and denial of Him in the truth.

"The great transgression" (verse 13) is, undoubtedly, rebellion of the will. It is this that the believer who is growing in the way of the Lord learns most of all to dread. Man's capital sin has always been the attempt to act and prosper independently of God. This is the very root and essence of all the varied forms of personal transgression. Jesus alone found complete joy in doing the will of God perfectly. Over those whose desire is to walk as He walked, keeping themselves in His name in the love of God, the tempter has no power (1 John 2:5-6; 5:18).

We may gather from Ps. 19:13 that he was conscious of this weakness. "Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins (literally, of pride); let them not have dominion over me." He knew how soon they get the mastery... Few realized more than he the deep and constant need of delivering grace, and none has had richer experiences of it. "The Lord was with him" is the key to his whole history.

Let us cultivate a lowly and an obedient spirit. God has said, "To this man will I look, even to him who is of a contrite spirit and trembles at my word." May these words sink down into our ears and into our hearts.

When God answers the prayer of verses 12 and 13, then David may say, "Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression." ... This is the negative side. Verse 14 gives what is beautifully positive: "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer."

It is not Messiah as Jewish unbelief and worldliness imagined, but Messiah in the day of distress. How could it be otherwise if He were found among an ungodly people? But whatever comes, He is always the faithful Witness. And God takes care to have those who see Him this way and love Him the more for it — hearts drawn to Him because He is so wrongly hated and despised.

They see the Messiah who does not scorn Jacob's trouble but enters into it. In Him they recognise the Anointed of the LORD. They value His devotion toward God, and His desires and purposes, which include them as His own.

The prophecy here is as direct as Isaiah's picture of the LORD's Servant (Isa. 52:13 – 53). We should read it as a direct announcement, not, as in the common English version, as a prayer.

In the Psalms, imperatives used this way turn the energy of hope into a sense of need. That is what a believer with weaker faith would do. It begs God for help instead of expressing the assurance of hope.

The psalmist is speaking of Christ, whom the Lord would certainly answer in the day of trouble (v. 1). God fulfilled this when He raised Christ from the dead. This answer contrasts with His being forsaken in the three hours of darkness on the cross, for there God was far from helping Him (Ps. 22:1). But when redemption was complete, God answered Him by raising Him from the grave.

In the very first verse, where the king is seen in his trouble, it is the name of the God of Jacob that sets him on high. That is only another way of reading the New Testament word that "Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father" (Rom. 6:4). God's "name" is His glory: it is the display of Himself. This is the blessedness of the gospel, that God displays Himself in it in His grace. Think what the name Jacob means, and remember the history tied to it, which the book of Genesis dwells on so much. Then "the God of Jacob" may well stand for — indeed can stand for nothing else but — the God of grace. Grace alone could take up the "supplanter" and make of him an Israel, a "prince of God."

This is why we rejoice that our God so often speaks of Himself as "The God of Jacob", and so rarely as "The God of Abraham". Thirteen times in the Psalms we find "The God of Jacob", and once "The God of Abraham". And let us remember that "Jacob" means "Cheater", "Deceiver", while "Abraham" means "The Father of Many Nations."

Christ, the object of the remnant's affections, is the subject of their prayers in Psalm 20:1-5, and Psalm 21:2-6 records the answer. They also rejoice in His salvation — His deliverance — and they share in the blessing that follows.

We have to tell the form apart from the essence. Better still, we should freely give the ancient people of God all that belongs to them. Do that, and we will find what is our own, and how little this simple justice has cost us. The Gentile's Christ is also Israel's Messiah, and wherever we find Him our claim on Him and our interest in Him cannot be taken away.

The godly see that their own blessing is bound up with God stepping in to deliver Christ from death. So they express their joy and confidence in God. They say, "We will rejoice in Your salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners." They acknowledge that all blessing depends on Christ, and not on themselves. So they say, "The Lord hear you"; "defend you"; "send you help"; "strengthen you"; "Remember all your offerings"; "Accept your burnt sacrifice"; "fulfil all your counsel," and "fulfil all your petitions."

This psalm does not show Messiah in the majesty of His kingdom and glory. It shows Him as the dependent Servant of Jehovah. It mentions offerings and sacrifice, in connection with the sanctuary and the hill of promise (verses 2, 3).

We see the anointed one (or Messiah), king of Israel, in distress and difficulty in the presence of his enemies. It is conflict for the sake of others, and the plea on his behalf goes up in the name of the God of Jacob — that is, of grace toward sinners. From the sanctuary in Israel, and out of Zion, seat of electing love, the help is to come.

Until then, God had acted towards Israel on the ground of their works. But when they had brought themselves into utter ruin, He falls back on His sovereignty and acts from Himself for their blessing. So we read, He "chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which He loved", and again, "He chose David." This is the sovereignty of divine mercy, making its own free choice for the blessing of man. A mount is a symbol of power. Mount Zion is a symbol of mighty power used in sovereign grace.

The Numerical Bible translates the opening verses of this psalm not as "May the Lord," but as "the Lord shall," or "He shall." The psalmist is speaking of Christ, whom the Lord would certainly answer in the day of trouble. That is the opposite of His being forsaken in the three hours of darkness on the cross, when God was far from helping Him. But once redemption was accomplished, God answered Him by raising Him from the grave. "The God of Jacob" defended Him, sending help from His heavenly sanctuary (v. 2), and strengthening Him "out of Zion." Zion is God's chosen city, and its name means "sunny," for it has Jerusalem in view as redeemed from all adversity.

In Psalm 20 the godly Jew understands another point — Messiah in the day of trouble, with Jehovah's help looked for on His behalf. He had said "Strengthen you out of Zion," but He hears Him from His holy heaven.

Without help we would surely collapse under the pressure that meets us in the path of daily confession and wilderness journeying. And how could we survive under the discipline of God, which all God's sons share in? There is help from the sanctuary! The letter to the Hebrews says: "we have such a high Priest, who is set at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a Minister of the sanctuary…"

Here they associate themselves in heart with Him as He suffers, and in His conflict here. Though they may see only the outside of it, they are still assured of His acceptance with Jehovah. They look for His offerings to be accepted, the desire of His heart and His counsels to be fulfilled, all His petitions accomplished. Their joy is in the full deliverance of this blessed but dependent One.

In the 20th psalm, set meaningfully near the great sacrificial 22nd, we read, "Remember all your offerings and accept your burnt sacrifice." The word "accept" is literally "turn to ashes." In connection with the sacrifice the word is really "fat ashes" — suggesting the richness of what these ashes speak of. Looking at the ashes, one could say, "The fire has done its work in full." So, looking at the death of our blessed Lord, we can say: All is finished, divine justice can ask no more. Fittingly, this witness of a perfect work lies on the east side of the altar, toward the sunrise. That suggests nothing remains now after the cross but our Lord's resurrection.

Plainly this is the psalm of burnt offering, though the sacrifice represented takes the place of all the other offerings. The burnt offering was the "continual burnt offering," the one that was above all a sweet aroma to God. The sin offering is what man's need craves and gets; so with the trespass, and so with the peace offering. But the burnt offering, as it goes wholly up to God, expresses what is the object of His unceasing delight.

What were Christ's offerings? He was the fulfilment of the burnt offering, the grain offering, the peace offering, the sin offering and the trespass offering. All these were involved in His one great sacrifice of Calvary. But the psalm names "your burnt sacrifice" in particular, for this is the side of His offering that is devoted entirely to God. God has proven His acceptance of this by raising the Lord Jesus from death.

The anointed, king of Israel, is seen in distress and difficulty in the presence of his enemies. It is conflict for the sake of others. They appeal for him to the name of the God of Jacob — that is, of grace toward sinners. From the sanctuary in Israel, and out of Zion, seat of electing love, the help is to come. Clearly this belongs with the establishment and triumph of the people. Messiah's offerings and burnt sacrifice secure it.

The word Selah occurs 71 times in the Psalms. It means "to pause," with a second meaning, "to lift up." We can take it as a sign that when we read we should pause, think, and then lift up our hearts in praise and prayer.

The godly see that their blessing is tied to one thing: God stepping in to deliver Christ from death. So they express their joy and confidence in God. They own that all blessing depends on Christ, and not on themselves, and so they say, "May the LORD fulfill all your petitions!"

His heart's desire beautifully involves His people too. That is why verse 5 has them rejoicing in His salvation and setting up their banners in the name of their God. Many psalms unite the Lord with His saints like this, and it is surely meant to move our hearts in thanksgiving... The "we" mentioned here then speak out their conviction that the Lord would fulfil every petition of the Lord Jesus. Indeed, they also will share in the answer to His petitions.

A fighting army always needs a standard. It is a rallying point and a sign of unity. It is also an inspiring emblem of the cause the army fights for, and a public display of that cause. Few things show the power of feeling and symbol as strongly as a banner. It is only a piece of silk or cloth, with a name or rough figure on it, worth very little in itself. Yet warriors will fight to the death around it... Israel's banner carries the great name of JEHOVAH, and it needs no party name, symbol or slogan added to it. It is great enough for us all to fight under.

How empty is the help of man, how weak and powerless the arm of flesh. As the psalmist declares, "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God."

As a prophecy, this prayer seems fitted for the lips of a repentant Israel in the last days. God will receive them in grace and freely forgive them. Then they will once again raise their banner in the name of Him who is their God — a name they will by then have truly learned and known. When with unveiled hearts they acknowledge Jesus as the Christ, they will glory in the God of Jacob as the strength of their salvation. "Jehovah-nissi" — the Lord my banner — will then be their lasting watchword.

The people, rejoicing in His deliverance, set up their banners in that Name which God has declared to them — the name of Jacob's God, the God of grace. There is certainly a national movement here, in the face of enemies, but with confidence... Their faith has linked itself with Him. That faith speaks out in joyful certainty, in the voice of a believing nation in the last days.

Indeed in verse 6 the person who is the subject of the psalm is said to be Jehovah's anointed, that is, His Christ. A little group favoured His righteous cause. They saw Him rejected by men. In the prophetic testimony of the Psalms they earnestly desire His acceptance with God, and help and deliverance from the sanctuary.

The psalm anticipates the recognition by the godly Jews that the suffering and rejected Christ is the Anointed of God — their Saviour. Simeon, in the gospel day, sees in Christ God's salvation, while at the same time he recognises that He will be rejected by the nation — One who is "spoken against" (Luke 2:34).

Their joy is in the full deliverance of this blessed but dependent One. In verse 6 we have the assurance of faith about it: from heaven itself Jehovah has heard.

In the second verse there is a twofold answer implied, for the sanctuary and Zion are in different lines of thought. The one is the place of priesthood, the other the seat of royal power. Christ is both Priest and King. But in connection with Him, the sanctuary set in the middle of Israel can be no more than "the figure of the true." The sixth verse declares this plainly, where the answer of God is "from His holy heaven." Christ is still to be answered out of Zion, with the kingly power in Israel put into His hand. In that day the two answers will come into fullest agreement.

Faith is sure that Christ will be heard. It is sure that Jehovah will step in with "the saving strength of His right hand," and deliver His Anointed in resurrection power. This gives the remnant the confidence that Jehovah will bring down all His enemies and raise up His own. So Christ, risen and exalted, becomes the resource of His people.

God has indeed answered Him from heaven in a far greater way than David imagined in this verse. God has received Him up into the heavens to sit at His right hand. Israel will one day have the joy of worshipping the One God has exalted as they have never worshipped Him before.

So Israel will yet wake up to the acceptance with God of Him whom, as the Crucified, they refused and scorned. So far they have heard only the Voice that cried, "You do not hear." To the One who afterwards said, "You have heard Me," they have been deaf and unbelieving. At last the "Ephphatha" will be spoken which will give ears and tongue each its work, and they will say, "Now I know that Jehovah saves His Anointed! He answers Him from His holy heaven, with the saving strength of His right hand."

In Psalm 20, surrounded by sorrows and evil, we have the faithful witness, the living witness Himself. We see Him in the day of His distress, for He has come down among an ungodly people. Prophecy marks out the remnant this way: in heart they enter into His distress, sure that Jehovah will hear His Anointed.

"I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off." All these things were symbols of human strength, human grounds of confidence in conflict.

The multiplication of either was forbidden to the Israelites for this very reason. Both were used mainly for war; but Israel's reliance was to be the Lord their God.

The victory is complete. Israel burns the enemy's chariots and disables their horses by cutting the sinews of their legs. The purpose of this was, no doubt, to make it impossible for His people to trust in human resources. If they had used these horses, they might have put their confidence in them.

Scripture brings the Name of the Lord before us again and again. That Name expresses everything the Lord is in Himself, and everything He is in His dealings with His creatures — with those nearest to Him and with the nations who do not know Him. … To the righteous, the Name of the Lord was a strong tower he could run to for safety.

In the past Israel put their trust in chariots and horses, and they found themselves completely defeated. In the end — and only after great tribulation — they will remember the name of the Lord their God. What a change that will be! Then their enemies, who trusted in the weapons of war, will find themselves broken down and falling to the ground. Israel, meanwhile, will have risen to stand upright.

In everything people do, they need some means of help or support, and in battle they find horses very useful. Of course now they need motorized equipment; but whether horses or tanks, these are no guarantee of success. Deliverance is only by the Lord. We are slow indeed to learn this elementary lesson.

In synonymous parallelism the same thought comes twice in different but equivalent words. In antithetical parallelism the two halves express the opposite sides of the same thought, as in Psalm 20:8.

The name of God is once more uttered by them here. Well may they be glad to remember it now, after so long a time of forgetfulness. Now no earthly confidence will they boast in, but only in Jehovah. The sure result follows: while other hopes deceive, Jehovah manifests Himself for them. Their enemies (these boasters) are brought down and fallen. Israel rises from her sorrow and degradation — and not temporarily: they rise and stand upright.

In the past Israel put their trust in chariots and horses, and they found themselves totally defeated. Finally, though only after great tribulation, they will remember the name of the Lord their God (v. 7). What a change that will be! Then their enemies, who have trusted in the weapons of war, will find themselves broken down, falling to the ground, while Israel will have risen to stand upright. This is figurative resurrection — "life from the dead" (Romans 11:15).

Here they join themselves in heart with Him as He suffers. In His conflict they may see only the outside of it. Even so, they are sure of His acceptance with Jehovah. Their joy is in the full deliverance of this blessed but dependent One. In verse 6 faith is sure of it: Jehovah has heard from heaven itself. The mighty are fallen. The poor of the flock are raised up and kept standing before Him.

Then will come the "time of Jacob's trouble" (Jeremiah 30:7). It will be the great tribulation, worse than anything from the beginning of the world until then, and worse than anything after it (Matthew 24:21). If those days were not cut short, no one would survive (v. 22)… This goes on until every hope in man's help is gone. Then they are ready to say that some trust in chariots and some in horses, but they will remember the name of the LORD their God.

We cannot stress too much the importance of this simple trust in the Lord — just leaning upon Him every day and every hour of the day.

God will answer the intercessions of His Anointed (Christ); all enemies are bowed down and fallen. The words "But we are risen and stand upright" point to the day of Israel's national and spiritual resurrection. Looking ahead to the trouble of the last days we read the prayer of this godly remnant. "Save, LORD! Let the King hear us when we call."

In verse 9 Messiah takes another place. Jehovah had delivered Him as the dependent One in the day of His distress. Now the remnant look for Him to hear them when they call. Jehovah is still looked to as the Saviour, but Messiah the king is invoked. They now know that the Anointed is exalted. No part of scripture opens up the Person of Christ as the Psalms do... Here Messiah is connected with the remnant as the dependent One, but He is exalted too, as the king Israel calls on.

In Psalm 20 the Jews, taught by Jehovah in the last days, recognise Jesus in the time of their distress. They see the crucified One joined to them as their Saviour. Their thoughts turn towards Him: "now I know." The last verse shows this with striking force — "Jehovah, save" (in Hebrew that word is the root of the name Jesus); "let the king hear in the day of our calling." It is the recognition of Jesus, and in Jesus their own security, for God hears them.

The third section must be described as the resurrection of Israel. We see them actually brought back to God, as they will be through faith in Christ. The necessary effect is that they find God on their side. With the usual punctuation, the last verse goes on to a further discovery, full of blessing: Messiah, their King, and Jehovah are the same. That is a truth the Psalms are certainly able to give.

It is Christ in royalty, rising and receiving glory, but all Jewish in this Psalm and in Psalm 20... The psalm calls on the name of the God of Jacob. So the prayer is not "Hear us, You!" but "Let the king hear us." It is just by this connection and contrast that the Lord says, "In that day you will ask nothing of me... whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you," He associates them with Himself as sons... They look at Jehovah's dealings with the King; we are in Him, asking the Father in His name, and He is in us. They know the acts, we know the Person.

Calling then only upon God, "Save, Lord," there will be no question as to the answer, not only from God, but from the King. His petitions to God have been answered, and He, from His holy heaven, answers the prayer of all His faithful subjects.

In this psalm we have the full answer to the desires expressed by the godly in Psalm 20. There we see Christ as the faithful witness for God among His enemies. Here we see Him as the witness for God, exalted over all His enemies (v. 1). Christ in exaltation becomes a witness to the power and salvation of the LORD.

Psalm 21 — the answer to Psalm 20. (Part 1 is addressed to the LORD.) Verses 1-7: the joy of the faithful in what the king is. (Part 2) Verses 8-12: what you, the king, will do in judgment on men, your enemies. Verse 13: our joy.

They look at the Messiah — a wonderful sight — as in the trouble, but only as entering into it. They ask that the desires of His heart be granted Him. So we have the King rejoicing with the LORD's strength — not the Son who is one with the Father. We have them looking at the LORD's dealings with the King, not us in Him... It is "the LORD saves His Messiah," that is, known in resurrection.

He had asked life of the LORD (compare Hebrews 5). He gave it Him, but it was length of days for ever and ever, the abiding eternal life of the risen, glorified man. That was the answer to the cry of the suffering Messiah when death was before Him... His glory is great in this deliverance by the LORD's delight. He was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father.

The answer to His cry for deliverance did not come in the garden before the cross. God heard Him from the cross, when the work of redemption was finished. How blessed are the words of Psalm 21, spoken prophetically of the Lord Jesus.

Since the Lord Jesus has become true Man in every proper respect, the strength of God is His. In this He rejoices, and in the accomplished salvation of God, which will be shown in full in "the age to come" (v. 1). This is plainly prophetic. It reads as though His heart's desire were already given Him (v. 2). But only when He reigns will it be completely fulfilled.

Jesus now has His heart's desire. For the joy that was set before Him He endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God... Grief once filled the heart of the Man of sorrows until it broke, and His affliction was for our sakes. That grief is now forgotten in the great gladness of the LORD's presence. To know these things is the believer's chief delight. For it is his Saviour and forerunner whom he sees crowned like this.

In Psalm 21 we get the full answer to Psalm 20 and its desires, in the exaltation of Christ. That answer throws light back on the true character of Psalm 20. The faithful remnant longed for one thing: that Jehovah would give the suffering Messiah what His own heart wanted, and would fulfil His requests. Now that Christ is exalted they can say — the Spirit says it for them — You, Jehovah, have given Him His heart's desire, and have not withheld the request of His lips.

"The king" here is the subject of Psalm 2… "Selah" means 'pause' or 'meditate'.

Jesus had asked life in the days of His flesh, and the resurrection was the answer to the request of His lips. Length of days for ever and ever is the portion awarded to Him. In dying obedience He committed His spirit into the Father's hands.

If we compare Hebrews 5:7 and Gethsemane's cry, I think the force of the Psalm will be clear. The answer in the Psalm is not that He was kept from dying. It is life as risen in glory above, made most blessed for ever. God did not spare His life for a time here; He laid honour and great majesty on Him as man, in a higher and more glorious condition.

Christ as a man, though mighty to do all things, asked everything of His Father. Dependence was His perfection. At Lazarus' tomb He asked, knew His Father heard Him always; asked in John 12; asked that the cup might pass. The necessity of an event does not stop asking. Everything in God's purpose will certainly come to pass. Yet He leads people's hearts to ask, and that asking morally fills out their relationship with Him. In Christ, as man, this was perfect.

His exaltation is a witness that every desire of the heart of Christ agreed with the thoughts of God. That is why the godly say, "You have given Him His heart's desire, and have not withheld the request of His lips."

At the hands of men His days were shortened; at the hands of God He is given length of days for ever and ever. They heaped upon Him shame and dishonour; God has given Him glory, honour and majesty. Men filled His path with trial and sorrow. God has blessed Him for ever, and made Him glad beyond measure with His own favour.

But here is One fully proved and perfectly trustworthy — "You have given Him His heart's desire, and have not withheld the request of His lips." Nothing could be simpler! "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you" (John 15:7). That is definite enough, and simple — a perfect account of prevailing prayer. His words form the desires and govern the heart; the will is perfect and so the prayer prevails. Christ the Lord, even upon the throne, is an Example for us, exceptional only as His perfection is exceptional.

In John 17:24, the Son presents to the Father His desires for those whom the Father had given Him: "Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world." The Son knows that His Father's eternal love would give Him His heart's desire, and would not withhold the request of His lips.

"To go before," to anticipate (from the Latin praevenio), "to come before."

In Psalm 21 we get the full answer to Psalm 20 and its desires: the exaltation of Christ. That exaltation throws its light back on the true character of that psalm... More than that — Jehovah met Him with free and willing love, with the blessing of goodness, and crowned Him in glory.

You cannot measure the "goodness of God" in human terms. It holds all that is generous, joyful and loving. It expresses what He Himself is — for God is good... In the same way, our portion is centred in One who is always the Object of God's pleasure and delight — the One the Psalmist spoke of in advance in this verse.

His crown is one of "pure gold" (v. 3); that is, of unsullied righteousness; and therefore His kingdom such as will last (Heb. 1:8-9); "length of days for ever and ever" (v. 4).

God meets Him with blessings that are truly blessings: He sets a crown of pure gold on His head. What is this but the glory of God, which He, now enthroned, is to bring about? For this was the desire of His heart... This is the very meaning of His reign. Sin entered by man, to God's dishonour; so by man also the evil shall be undone, to His eternal praise.

The desire of His heart is fulfilled, as it will be when God sets the royal crown of pure gold on His head — the head that was once crowned with thorns. He had gone down into the jaws of death, and then received life — yes, eternal life. He received it as the head of the new creation, which shares this life He has received.

In resurrection He is granted His heart's desire. He is sitting at God's right hand with "a crown of pure gold on His head." He has received what He asked of God, "even length of days for ever and ever."... Men took His life from the earth. But God has answered men by raising Him from the dead, and there He lives in the power of an endless life (Heb. 7:16).

The blessings of goodness come out to meet, with perfect favour, the acceptable Man who rests on the Father's throne. Grief once filled the heart of the Man of sorrows until it broke, and His suffering was for our sakes. That grief is now forgotten in the overwhelming gladness of Jehovah's face. To know these things is the believer's chief delight. For the One he sees crowned is his Saviour and forerunner.

If we compare Hebrews 5:7 and Gethsemane's cry, I think the force of the Psalm will be clear. The answer in the Psalm is not that He was kept from dying. It is life as risen in glory above, made most blessed for ever. God did not spare His life for a time here. Instead He laid honour and great majesty on Him as man, in a higher and more glorious condition. Christ as a man, though mighty to do all things, asked everything of His Father. Dependence was His perfection. At Lazarus' tomb He asked, and knew His Father heard Him always; He asked in John 12; He asked that the cup might pass. The certainty of an event does not stop the asking. Everything in God's purpose will certainly be done; but He leads people's hearts to ask, as the moral filling up of their relationship with Him. In Christ, as man, this was perfect.

God heard Jesus first by an inward deliverance. God enabled Him to take the cup from His Father's hand, and not from the hand of Satan… But He was heard more fully in His resurrection. "He asked life of you; you gave it to him, length of days forever and ever," Psalm 21:4.

Death, which ends the days of fallen man, becomes the means of prolonging the days of this perfect Man. What a seeming paradox this is! As someone has said, "He is 'cut off from the land of the living'; He is buried, and yet He will live and His days will go on." The resurrection is the glorious answer to this paradox. It is no part of God's pleasure that man should lie under the sentence of death, any more than that he should come under judgment for his sins… So we see the pleasure of the LORD not only displayed in Christ, but secured by Christ.

Length of days for ever and ever is basic to the truth of eternal life wherever we meet it. The words "eternal" and "everlasting" carry that meaning in themselves. It sets the short span of human life in this world against the eternal relations of those whom God blesses in the resurrection world.

His crown is one of "pure gold" (v. 3); that is, of spotless righteousness. So His kingdom is one that will last (Heb. 1:8-9): "length of days for ever and ever" (v. 4).

Verse 3 looks back to the very time He was facing death. At that time He asked life from God (Heb. 5:7), and God gave it to Him in resurrection — "length of days forever and ever" (v. 4). In one respect this is true of David too, and of all believers, who are blessed with eternal life in Christ. But the language here has only One in view — One who is King.

In Psalm 21 we get the inspired answer to this godly desire, already anticipated in Psalm 20:3, 6. So here they celebrate, in prophecy, the triumph of the Christ. He has been heard. But now we have His desires explained, His earthly sorrows opened out. Death was before Him. He asked life of Jehovah, and God heard Him. But how, after all? In length of days (as man) for ever and ever. They say to Jehovah, "His glory is great in Your salvation. Honour and majesty You have laid upon Him." In a word, the right hand of God has exalted the rejected Messiah, and set Him in glory and majesty above.

The prayer of Jesus to the Father, when His hour had arrived, was "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you" (John 17:1). This passage sets out the results of His gracious suffering: "His glory is great in Your salvation." The spiritual man can already see this by faith. "We see Jesus crowned with glory and honour" (Heb. 2:9). Great glory is His, whom God has made higher than the heavens.

It is not the intrinsic glory of the Son of God — Himself the Life, the true God and eternal Life (1 John 5:20) — that is here presented. Instead, it displays the Messianic honour that God has laid on the guiltless Sufferer of death as the appointed Heir of all things (Heb. 1:2). Here in particular, this glory appears under the limited, earthly side of Jewish promise. We do well to note the true prophetic character of this Psalm. Yet its subject is Christ glorified, so the eye of Christian faith finds in these verses a rich and full pasture of immediate grace.

The exaltation of Christ also shows God's infinite delight and satisfaction in the One whom men rejected. Men cut His days short; God gives Him length of days for ever and ever. They heaped shame and dishonour on Him; God has given Him glory, honour and majesty. Men filled His path with trial and sorrow. God has blessed Him for ever, and filled Him with gladness by divine favour.

He has gone down into death, and He receives even life itself as the gift of God. That eternal life becomes the portion of the new creation, and He is its Head. In the same way "His salvation" becomes a true salvation of countless people. That is what makes it great indeed, and great His glory. In all these things He is the Representative of others. To be this — the Saviour of multitudes who will adore Him forever — is without question what "His glory is great in Your salvation" means.

The same blessed Person went down the whole way to the deepest depths because of sin. He is now in the centre of the glory, and supreme in the administration of all the bounty of God. "His glory is great in Your salvation."

To know these things is the believer's chief delight. For it is his Saviour and forerunner whom he sees crowned in this way.

In Psalm 21 we get the full answer to Psalm 20 and its desires, in the exaltation of Christ... He had asked life of Jehovah (compare Heb. 5). He gave it to Him, but it was length of days for ever and ever, the abiding eternal life of the risen glorified man. That was the answer to the cry of the suffering Messiah when death was before Him... The glory of the Father raised Him from the dead. Jehovah has laid honour and majesty upon Him. He has made Him most blessed for ever and glad with Jehovah's countenance.

Jesus has now His heart's desire. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, despising the shame, and now He sits at the right hand of the throne of God. The world rejected Him. His reward and comfort now are the joy of the Father's presence and the brightness of the glory He has received from Him. God has made Him most blessed for ever.

Christ is made blessings; not only is He the Blesser, but He is made Blessings for evermore (see Ps. 21:6, margin) and all that is on God's account towards mankind.

As gone on high, our Lord Jesus Christ is made "blessings for ever" (Psalm 21:6. See New Trans.). As Son over God's House, He is the Administrator of all blessing.

"You make Him glad with the joy of Your presence." This reminds us of Psalm 16:11, "In Your presence there is fullness of joy." His close fellowship with the Father is a vital reason for His joy.

The "throne" suggests distance, the "face" suggests knowledge and intimacy. Character is declared in the face. For ever God will be showing His perfections to His redeemed people. We will always be learning what kind of God we are dealing with. Psalm 21:6 says: "You have made him exceedingly glad with Your countenance."

What follows is one of the few passages in scripture that tells us the Lord's present experience. In worship the Holy Spirit fills the believer's soul with that same experience, because we have "part with Him." (John 13.) ... He is full of gladness. Once a "Man of sorrows," He is now the "Man of joy." We talk of the happiness of heaven. My delight is that there is One there whose joy is, and always will be, beyond that of everyone else.

As for the Psalms, I do not accept that they are all the words of our Lord. Even in some psalms where His voice is clearly heard, there are other voices too. So in Psalms 20 and 21 we hear the voice of those who pray and give thanks on behalf of Jehovah's Anointed rather than His own voice. At least they express their interest and agreement with His desires, and then acknowledge how all these desires are fulfilled to the very last detail.

This exaltation and blessing is seen as the direct answer to the faithfulness of Christ when He suffered at the hands of men.

This continues the words of the remnant that we had in the previous psalm. They first speak to Jehovah, admitting that they have a full and glorious expectation of the victory of their King, and that He will be established in His kingdom, because He had trusted in Him, His God. (See Psalm 18:2-3; Hebrews 2:13; Hebrews 5:7.)

Even when He is displayed in His glory we are reminded that the King trusts in the Lord. Such is the true place of Man — dependent on the living God. He recognises too that His remaining unmoved is through the mercy of the Most High. So although the King Himself will be seen, the power behind Him is unseen. This will be true throughout the 1000 years of peace.

The name El is also used with ELION, and is then translated "the Most High God." Look at the various places where this name is found and you will see that it is God's "millennial name above all idolatrous gods and demons and all power." It is in this character that God is called "possessor of heaven and earth."

A friend at our right hand is a friend at our side, whom we can turn to at any moment. The wicked man, trusting in himself, "says in his heart, 'I shall not be moved'" — only to come under the judgment of the LORD. The godly man, trusting in the LORD at his right hand, can say, "I shall not be moved." And he can say it with complete confidence, for if the Lord says, "I will never leave you nor forsake you," then "we can confidently say, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?'"

In verses 3 to 7, the exaltation of Christ bears witness to the righteous government of God. It is only right that the One who was the faithful witness for God in the middle of evil should be raised to a place of glory. In verses 8 to 12, the judgment carried out on the enemies of Christ bears witness to that same government. It is only right that those who have rejected Christ — the perfect witness for God — should come under judgment. The One whom man rejected is appointed to carry out the judgment.

In verses 3 to 7, the exaltation of Christ bears witness to the righteous government of God. It is only right that the One who stayed a faithful witness for God while evil surrounded Him should be raised to a place of glory. In verses 8 to 12, the judgment carried out on the enemies of Christ bears witness to that same righteous government. It is only right that those who have rejected Christ — the perfect witness for God — should come under judgment. And the One whom man rejected is the One appointed to carry out that judgment.

All that would oppose this is found out and judged. The King's right hand of power will expose those who hate Him.

The complete powerlessness of all who oppose the Lord will be made plain. The evil they intended, and the harmful schemes they dreamed up, they were never able to carry out.

The King is again named in Psalm 21. It is clearly Christ, for He has "length of days forever and ever," and is "most blessed forever." … This can only be Christ, the true seed of David and God's righteous governor. He takes up the rule which the first man could not keep, and He begins His reign with judgment on His enemies.

Man's hatred and schemes are on display. Man's judgment follows. The King's right hand finds out all His enemies. Jehovah will swallow them up.

What we see here is not His atoning sufferings, but the harmful schemes of men. So His sufferings do not bring peace, but judgment. Here, then, we have three things. Christ suffers and cries to Jehovah. Christ is exalted as man, crowned with glory and honour. Christ carries out judgment on His enemies.

Christ's sufferings have two distinct sides. The one was for righteousness, and it brings judgment. The other was for sin, and it brings blessing. … Christ now waits at God's right hand, expecting to take vengeance on those enemies of His who crucified Him with wicked hands.

Verses 8-13 describe some of the effects of Messiah's second coming, in the majesty of that power and coming. The world today rates it no better than a clever fable. Soon it will be seen with the eye. Having received the kingdom, He will return. In that dreadful day the strong right hand of His most holy vengeance will find His enemies.

But verse 8 will be in righteousness on those who have rejected all His love. It is not until men become adversaries that the fire of the Lord destroys them (verse 9). We were once the children of wrath. Your grace alone makes us differ.

Except in cities, where some worked as bakers with built-up ovens, every household usually had its own simple oven. People dug a hole in the ground and coated it with clay, which hardened in the heat of the fire. Any kind of grass dried quickly in the sun, and they threw it into the oven to heat it. They made the bread into thin cakes and baked them by sticking them to the sides of the oven... The heat of the oven stands as a symbol of rapid destruction. Ps. 21:9; Mal. 4:1.

In these two psalms we have the rejected Messiah exalted by God, honour and majesty put upon Him, and length of days given Him for ever and ever. He had suffered from men, been despised and rejected by them, and God has glorified Him as man. Notice the result. His hand finds out all His enemies, His right hand those that hate Him. He makes them as a fiery oven in the day of His anger. For they intended harm against Him, which they were not able to carry out. As He said Himself in a parable: "But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me."

Notice also the essential difference between what Christ suffered from man and what He suffered from God. The first was for righteousness, the second for sin. The consequence of the first (Psalm 21) is that He will make His enemies as a fiery oven in the day of His wrath. In the second He was bearing wrath: the consequence is all unmixed blessing, and nothing else, as its fruit.

In verses 3 to 7, the exaltation of Christ bears witness to the righteous government of God. In verses 8 to 12, the judgment carried out on the enemies of Christ bears witness to that same righteous government. It is only righteous that those who have rejected Christ — the perfect witness for God — should come under judgment (John 16:9-11). God has appointed the One whom man rejected to execute the judgment (Acts 17:31)... The utter powerlessness of all who oppose the Lord will then be plain.

Verses 8-13 describe some of the effects of Messiah's second coming in the majesty of that power. The world now thinks it no better than a clever fable, but soon it will be seen. Having received the kingdom He will return (Luke 19:12). In that dreadful day the strong right hand of His most holy vengeance will find His enemies. He will begin His reign by suddenly destroying the crowds who gather themselves together as the armies of the Beast. He will hold the kingdom until He has subdued all enemies beneath His feet (1 Cor. 15:25)... These judgments must come before the Lord's song is revived in the land of promise.

But verse 8 falls in righteousness on those who have rejected all His love. It is not until men become adversaries that the fire of the Lord destroys them (v. 9). We were once the children of wrath, and only His grace makes us different (v. 10)... Now is the time between those two psalms.

The Christian is taught by example and instruction to pray for his enemies and to return them good for evil. How can he then use such language...? Passages appear all through the Psalms that are quite unsuitable for the lips of the Christian, though they suit the period they have in view.

Verses 8-13 describe some of the effects of Messiah's second coming, in the majesty of that power and coming. The world now thinks it is no better than a clever fable, but soon it will come into sight. Having received the kingdom, He will return (Luke 19:12). In that dreadful day the strong right hand of His most holy vengeance will find His enemies. He begins His reign by suddenly destroying the crowds who gather as the armies of the Beast. He will hold the kingdom until He has put all enemies under His feet (1 Cor. 15:25).

So not only people, but whole households will be judged. One man's hostility spreads to his family, and the Lord Jesus will see how far the evil influence reached and will judge it in full.

Not only will the wicked be dealt with, but the "fruit" of their evil will be destroyed from the earth. All who oppose the Lord will prove completely powerless. They could not carry out the evil they intended or the harmful schemes they imagined.

Now His hand finds out all His enemies: none can escape, when the eye that searches for them is all-knowing. His coming is the appointed time for destroying the united opposition against the Lord and His Christ... The destruction will be sudden and complete, as these vivid images picture. Fruit and seed alike will perish from the earth. The time for the earth's deliverance from oppression has now come — the time to "destroy the destroyers of the earth." (Rev. 11:18.)

In verses 3 to 7, the exaltation of Christ shows God's righteous government. It is only right that the One who was the faithful witness for God in the middle of evil should be raised to a place of glory. In verses 8 to 12, the judgment carried out on Christ's enemies shows God's righteous government. It is only right that those who have rejected Christ — the perfect witness for God — should come under judgment (John 16:9-11). The One whom man rejected is appointed to carry out the judgment (Acts 17:31).

The eleventh verse states the reason for this action of divine power: it is their malice against Christ. That malice, as we know, may be shown in the persecution of His people. (Acts 9:4, and compare Matt. 25:45.) In fact, the Israelite remnant will be snatched from the very jaws of their enemies when the Lord appears. (Zech. 14.)

After this, in this psalm He carries out judgment and justice on His enemies. This prepares the way for the millennial reign... Then comes the millennium in the last verse: "Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power."

Verse eleven gives the cause of this action of the divine power: their malice against Christ. As we know, that malice can show itself in the persecution of His people (Acts 9:4, and compare Matt. 25:45). In fact, at the appearing of the Lord, the Israelite remnant will be snatched out of the very jaws of their enemies (Zech. 14).

Afterwards those enemies are brought before Him. They would not have Him reign over them. They thought up a scheme they were not able to carry out, to cast down the One whom God would exalt. They would not say, "Let the king hear when we call," or "Jehovah, fulfil all your petitions."

Though we cannot judge the thoughts of others, God does discern that these enemies intended evil against the Lord Jesus, and the day is coming when "God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ" (Rom. 2:16). They may not have been able to perform their evil intentions against the King, but they will be judged for their wicked plans.

In these two psalms, then, we have the rejected Messiah exalted by God. Honour and majesty are put on Him, and length of days is given Him for ever and ever. He had suffered from men, who despised and rejected Him, and God has glorified Him as man. Notice the result. His hand finds out all His enemies. His right hand finds those who hate Him. He makes them like a fiery oven in the day of His anger. For they intended mischief against Him, which they were not able to carry out.

Notice also the essential difference between the sufferings of Christ from man and from God. The first were for righteousness, the second for sin. The consequence of the first (Psalm 21) is that He will make His enemies like a fiery oven in the day of His wrath. In the second He was bearing wrath, and the consequence is pure blessing, and nothing else, as its fruit.

Verses 8-13 describe some of the effects of Messiah's second coming. He comes in the majesty of that power and appearing which the world now thinks no better than a clever fable, but which will soon be seen. Having received the kingdom He will return (Luke 19:12)… In this Psalm the reference is directly to the alliance of nations, formed before the millennium, whose eyes will be set for evil on Immanuel's land.

In Psalm 20 the godly ones tell the King their desires for Him to be heard in the day of trouble, and how they will rejoice in His salvation (1-5). Then they voice their confidence about His deliverance, and their own too (6-8). "Save, LORD" is their cry. "Let the King hear us when we call" (9). In Psalm 21 they address the LORD, who has heard the prayer of His Anointed One. They recount what He has given to Him, and set out what the King will do with His enemies, since the LORD has taken up His cause.

Though we cannot judge the thoughts of others, God does discern that these enemies intended evil against the Lord Jesus. The day is coming when "God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus" (Rom. 2:16). They may not have been able to carry out their evil intentions against the King, but God will judge them for their wicked plans. He will make them turn their backs in confusion, sending His arrows (His long-range warfare) to carry out His purpose.

Verse 12: literally, "turn their shoulder."

The eleventh verse states the cause of this action of the divine power: it is their malice against Christ. As we know, that malice may show itself in the persecution of His people (Acts 9:4, and compare Matt. 25:45). In fact, at the appearing of the Lord, the remnant of Israel will be snatched from the very jaws of their adversaries (Zech. 14). The following verse may well speak of the humiliating defeat of these baffled foes.

In verses 3 to 7, the exaltation of Christ bears witness to the righteous government of God. He was the faithful witness for God in the middle of evil, so it is only righteous that He should be exalted to a place of glory. In verses 8 to 12, the judgment carried out on the enemies of Christ bears witness to that same righteous government. It is only righteous that those who have rejected Christ — the perfect witness for God — should come under judgment (John 16:9-11). God has appointed the One whom man rejected to execute the judgment (Acts 17:31)… It will be plain that all who oppose the Lord are completely powerless. The evil they intended, and the mischievous schemes they imagined, they were unable to carry out.

As the souls under the altar prayed that their blood might be avenged, so these saints have been crying for deliverance through the judgment of their adversaries. Christ's coming brings them deliverance from earthly tribulation and settles them in earthly blessing… Here they are not thinking of the grace of God in giving His Son, or of the love of Christ in redeeming them with His blood. Their thoughts are on the delivering might which has stepped in with judgment on their behalf. This is the constant theme of the Psalms.

Here once more the psalm looks ahead in prophecy to the downfall and complete overthrow of the enemies, when the King reigns. Then we hear in the last verse a prophetic prayer, that all this might be accomplished. "Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength." And when He is exalted, then Israel redeemed will sing — "We will sing and praise your power."

Here once more the downfall and complete overthrow of the enemies, when the King reigns, is prophetically anticipated. Then we hear in the last verse a prophetic prayer, that all this might be accomplished. "Be exalted, LORD, in Your own strength." And when He is exalted, then Israel redeemed will sing — "So will we sing and praise Your power."

The power of God has always been the confidence and glory of His saints. That He has a mighty arm is the security of their salvation. His power is their praise, whether in heaven or on earth (Rev. 4:8; Ps. 21:13). That power belongs to Him alone, while man is less than nothing, is the standing confession of their lips (Ps. 62:9-11). Those whom the Spirit leads go only in that strength (Ps. 71:16)... Once we own that power belongs to God alone, we know it is already on our side.

The throne before which they stand is not one of mercy, but of righteousness, and the Lamb is seen here not as slain for sin, but as executing judgment... They are not thinking here of the grace of God in giving His Son, or of the love of Christ in redeeming them with His blood. Their thoughts are on the delivering might that has stepped in with judgment on their behalf. This is the constant theme of the Psalms: "Be exalted, Lord, in your own strength; so will we sing and praise your power." (Ps. 21:13.)

Finally the exaltation of Christ, involving the judgment of His enemies, will lead to the praise of God by the godly: "So will we sing and praise your power."

The psalm concludes with a fitting ascription of praise to the Lord the great King by those who gladly identify themselves with Him. He will indeed be exalted in His own strength, which will cause singing and praise from the lips of His redeemed saints.

They come to understand the resurrection and ascension of Christ the king, as verse 7. So they know their own security — that is, His power — as a believing people, trusting in Him as the deliverer of them also in the last days. They see Him as one of their own nation, and in faith they see Him destroying His enemies, that is, their enemies; and they triumph in His victory... You may compare the last verse with Isaiah 2:11, 17.

After this, in this psalm He executes judgment and justice on His enemies, in preparation for the millennial reign... Then comes the millennium in the last verse. As the Spirit keeps and leads us, through grace, in the experience of this Psalm (21), we shall also have the experience of Psalm 23. I think too that the order in which they come is important, and that the experience of them must be learnt in that order in the soul, and it cannot be reversed.