As a person who is always searching for joy, this psalm of thanksgiving is a treasure of insight.
Verses 1-2
David’s first sentence goes straight to the punchline.
Lord, the king finds joy in your strength. How greatly he rejoices in your victory!
Obviously, David has won a battle he is excited about. Possibly the one he worried about in Psalm 20. So this is an answer to prayer and a big win for David as king. But the important thing to take away is not the answer to prayer, but David’s focus on God as the source of his victory.
Yes, he prayed. Yes, he fought. But God did the work. I believe this is why David is so full of joy. He isn’t concerned with himself, how he rates as a leader, or what he could improve for the next battle. I’m all for self evaluation and self improvement, but if we are to find joy we must look to God and shift our focus off ourselves. Praise and thanksgiving are key to this as well as focusing on the attributes of God.
Verses 3-7
This passage takes the set up of the first two verses and exaggerates it. God gives rich blessings, He answers prayer, He gives long life, He gives glory and majesty and joy and love. God is the source of all those things.
David is just a grown up shepherd boy living a dream. He acknowledges God brought him to his position and God continues to grant him life and blessing. The joy doesn’t come from the position or the things. The joy comes from relationship with God. The rest is just frosting.
Verses 8-12
David jumps from the present victory to a future battle where God wipes out His enemies firsthand. There is no mercy for those who intend to harm him. He eliminates them and their family line from the earth.
Verse 13
The psalm closes with a final word of praise.
Be exalted, Lord, in your strength; we will sing and praise your might.
If we are to find joy in our battles, we must look to the Lord as David did—eyes off ourselves and circumstances and on our King who gives all good gifts.
This post is Day 21 of the 31 Days of Journaling through the Psalms series. If you would like to read the first post, Psalm 1: The Wise and the Wicked, click here. The introduction to the series can be found here.
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