Psalm 21:5-7, 11-12
This is a psalm
of David, presumably written by or for King David and using the third person
"him" most likely to refer to himself and any godly descendants to
follow. I like his statement in v. 6b and desire that I too might be glad today
with the joy of the Lord's presence. So having sorted out the pronouns, the author is speaking of the king
(David), and by extension of the
people of the king, to God,
His invitation to “come up” is far better than the humiliation of falling from our self-claimed glory (Luke 14:7-11).
When I read the phrase “aim
at their faces with your bows” I can’t help but picture the humorous scene in the movie, Fellowship
of the Ring, where Gimli the Dwarf covers his own fear of the forest by bragging about how
stealthy he is, only to look up to see a bunch of Elfish bows pointed at his
face. It seems that prideful people are like that…surprised to learn they’re
not “all that.”
The humble glory of God has a much better shelf-life than any work of human pride.
5 His [David’s]
glory is great through your [God's] salvation;
splendor and majesty you bestow on him.
6 For you make him most blessed forever;
you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord,
and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.
splendor and majesty you bestow on him.
6 For you make him most blessed forever;
you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord,
and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.
The king’s glory was not in his own achievements so much as
it was great through what God had done to save and deliver him time and time
again. David didn’t have to promote himself but it was God who bestowed splendor and majesty on him. God’s
consideration of us is usually better than anything we would honestly think of
ourselves. Self-glory is always at the expense of others and in the end, poisons
our own life. But the humble glory that God gives to those who trust in him and
are “glad with the joy of your presence”
results in our being firmly established. Following the plan of God is not some dour
task demanding grim determination, though often difficult (as it was for David)
it is filled with joy and the greatest of loves.
In this psalm David—the king—represents all who would trust
the Lord for their honor and
glory. David worked diligently as a shepherd—in obscurity even within his own
family—until the time that Lord
chose to elevate him. Saul persecuted David for years and yet David spared Saul’s
life several times (see 1 Samuel 16-31) and though a proficient warrior he refused
to take things into his own hands (his military advisors told him to kill Saul)
trusting in the plan of God. Why? Because he knew the steadfast love of the Lord for him! The steadfast love of God is something we all need to be reminded
of in the midst of a culture of self-promotion, self-esteem, and selfishness.
Amazingly we matter more to God than we do to ourselves!
I wrote a major paper in the first year of my doctoral program about
the “humble glory of God” and this passage fits into that model. In that paper, I included an original poem, Scent of
Glory, that begins like this,
Born to share glory, not seek it.
Yet sniffing, climbing, grasping, fighting, expecting,
We hunt along a different path
Twisted we claim it, kill it, and die
Poisoned by pride.
And then later,
Glory is given not grasped,
Belonging to God—Father, Son, Spirit—
Shared in Trinitarian community of love.
Yet he invites us in as family, to eat once
again
What we once lost by taking.
The second section of this Psalm that also stood out to me, in this reading, was
v.11-12. While the king/person that trusts in the Lord is established and unmoved,
the person who is filled with the pride of self-promotion will not ultimately succeed.
These verses contain some very military language that we would like to be true
of us in our conflict with our enemies today.
Though they
plan evil against you,
though they devise mischief,
though they devise mischief,
they
will not succeed.
For you will put them to flight;
you will aim at their faces with your bows.
For you will put them to flight;
you will aim at their faces with your bows.
When I read the phrase “aim
at their faces with your bows” I can’t help but picture the humorous scene in the movie, Fellowship
of the Ring, where Gimli the Dwarf covers his own fear of the forest by bragging about how
stealthy he is, only to look up to see a bunch of Elfish bows pointed at his
face. It seems that prideful people are like that…surprised to learn they’re
not “all that.” The humble glory of God has a much better shelf-life than any work of human pride.
God is still in the business of confronting the pernicious idol of our own pride. In the midst of cultural discord, political campaigns, and sadly even church conflicts, pride is not absent. I pray that we might be delivered from the attacks of the proud, yet often that means we need to be delivered from ourselves.
We are to be different, following the example of our gift-giving Saviour, Jesus Christ and consider others first.
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but
in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let
each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests
of others. (Phil. 2:3-4)
Lord, have mercy, Christ have mercy!
