Psalm 21:1

  • Ruling Power

    The sovereign rejoices in Your strength, O YHWH; and how greatly he exults in Your deliverance! Psalm 21:1 (Institute of Scripture Research) In Your strength – Politicians of all flavors seem to think of themselves as royalty.  They act as if they hold exalted offices, exempting them from common decency (and common sense).  In contrast,…

  • Two For The Money

    YHWH, in Your strength the king rejoices and in Your deliverance how he rejoices greatly!   Psalm 21:1 (my translation) Rejoices – English just doesn’t cut it.  English is a language focused on things.  So, we have dozens of words to distinguish slight variables in things.  Just think about the many different words we have that…

  • Double Down

    YHWH, in Your strength the king rejoices and in Your deliverance how he rejoices greatly!  Psalm 21:2 (Hebrew text, my translation) Strength / Deliverance – It’s Oz, but there’s no wizard.  It’s deliverance but there’s no background music.  Of course, you have to be “old” to understand these allusions.  I won’t apologize for that.  Age…

  • Fearful Joy

    Worship the LORD with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Psalm 2:11 Trembling – What a strange combination? Joy is supposed to be accompanied by contentment and peace, not a protective adrenaline rush. We tremble when fear grips us. But the Biblical accounts paint a different picture. “Woe is me” says Isaiah. He trembles before the…