Psalm 21 — Humble Glory & Deliverance from the Proud

This post originally appeared on my Honest2God blog in 2014. I am reposting it here because it is still relevant today, for we are surrounded by the manifested selfishness of a society of fallen souls. We all seek to establish and expand our own kingdoms, and in the process, we treat others with disrespect. This psalm is a powerful reminder that those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted (Luke 14:11). As we lead the people of God, we should do so in a way that best reflects the love of Jesus!

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,

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.

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 lives. 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 the 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 amid 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.

His invitation to “come up” is far better than the humiliation of falling from our self-claimed glory (Luke 14:7-11). 

The second section of this Psalm that 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,

                they will not succeed.
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 works 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 in 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 Savior, Jesus Christ, and considering 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!

Are We Asking Amiss? Seven Questions for Discerning the Legitimacy of Our Prayer (Mark 10:35-45)

In the following passage, where James and John ask Jesus to be his top lieutenants in his kingdom, we can learn some surprising lessons about prayer.

Mark 10:35-45

And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him,  

    “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 

And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 

And they said to him, “Grant us to sit,

                                                        one at your right hand and

                                                        one at your left, in your glory.” 

Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking.

        Are you able to drink the cup that I drink,

                 or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 

And they said to him, “We are able.”

And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink,

         and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, 

but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, 

   but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” 

And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 

And Jesus called them to him and said to them, 

“You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,

                                                 and their great ones exercise authority over them. 

         But it shall not be so among you.

But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 

and whoever would be first   among you must be slave of all. 

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve,

                                                     and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

When I read this passage in the past, I think I probably responded with indignation, like the other ten apostles (v.41). However, this time I focused more on Jesus’ responses to their specific request. Here are four observations.

First, Jesus was not offended despite their demanding tone and asked what they wanted him to do. Upon hearing their presumptuous request, Jesus' first answer was, “You do not know what you are asking.” Jesus didn’t pull any punches. The late Walter W. Wessel noted in Expositor’s Bible Commentary,

“Jesus' answer is sharp and penetrating. The two disciples did not really know what they were asking. The way to a privileged position in the messianic kingdom is not by grabbing for power but by relinquishing it through suffering and death.”

I have begun to wonder if, like Zebedee’s family (James, John, and their mom, too—Matt. 20:20-21), we are still asking Jesus to do stuff that we want, instead of making his redemptive mission our heart’s desire. And we are not shy about asking, even when we have no idea of the scope and significance of what we are asking.

My second observation is that Jesus used the Old Testament images of cup and baptism to metaphorically describe the suffering and trouble that he would soon face (10:33-34), and James and John overconfidently said, “We got this!” (v.39). While Peter is often critiqued for epically over-promising, “Even though they all fall away, I will not” (Mark 14:28) before being told that he would deny Jesus three times before the next morning, this audacious claim by the sons of Zebedee (which amounts to the same kind of human posturing) often escapes notice. I think it's self-promotion hits too close to home for many of us. Ironically, Jesus conceded that they would suffer for his sake. However, Zeb’s boys still didn’t know what they were talking about.

Photo by Stefan Kunze on Unsplash

My third observation focuses on Jesus’ answering their audacious request with what amounts to a loving “No”, or literally, “to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant.” Their clueless request shows that they still misunderstood his role as Messiah as well as the nature of his coming kingdom. He had told them at least three times that his journey to Jerusalem would end violently—with a crucifixion, not a coronation. But they couldn’t grasp such a dramatic plot twist to their carefully curated expectations. What about us? Do we have such a clear vision and plan for the future that we cannot recognize the working of God outside of our plans?

Photo by Marco Oriolesi on Unsplash

My fourth observation is that in v. 42-45, Jesus provided a “But it shall not be so among you” corrective to both the sons of Zebedee and the other ten apostles. Our prayer lives, as well as our life values in general, are not to be like those of the world.

The ancient church had a saying, “The law of prayer is the law of belief.” In other words, the way we pray and worship is the way we really believe…more so than any written creeds or catechisms we may claim.

On that note, as we prepare to enter 2020, let me suggest seven questions—drawn from this passage—for discerning the kingdom legitimacy of our prayers and the ministries which they shape.

Seven Questions for

Discerning the Legitimacy of Our Prayer

Photo by Vil Son on Unsplash

By way of application, I want to pose seven simple questions that arise from this pericope, which will help us not waste the privilege of prayer by asking wrongly. Not every request is legitimate, nor is every motive pure. Can we, with the psalmist, humbly ask,

“Search me, O God, and know my heart!
    Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24)

1. Do we presumptuously demand that Jesus do our bidding? While it is true that we have amazing access to the Lord, and can even be bold in our prayer, “so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” This is not the same thing as demanding that Jesus do what we want. He is not a voice-activated vending machine. As a loving Father, why would he give us something that will hurt us or others just because we demand it?
2. Do we realize what it is that we are asking? Sometimes we really don’t understand what God is doing and how he is at work. It might be that our prayer could be in opposition to his intended plan. There could also be ramifications to our prayer that we cannot imagine.
3. Is our prayer requesting something that Jesus can grant and still fully reveal the character of his Heavenly Father? He will not misrepresent the love and glorious goodness of his Father any more than the Father would share the glory of the Son with idols (Isa. 48:11). If Jesus had granted this request, it would have made it seem as though God played favorites, and that position in the kingdom of heaven was to be gained by political means. Neither of these is true.
4. Would others be troubled by our request? If I pray for the Seahawks to beat the 49ers on Monday Night Football, my new neighbor would be troubled. What if he was praying the other way? While that is a relatively unimportant example, the point is that we should not pray for our own exaltation and/or enrichment above others. Additionally, it is wise to consider how a person might react if they overheard our prayer. I recently heard an evangelist praying for a government official in a way that, had they heard it, would likely have hardened them against the gospel message. Our prayer should selflessly radiate the love of God.
5. Is our prayer in keeping with Jesus’ kingdom values? We should take time to study the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:1-12) and allow their counter-cultural nature to inform the direction and tone of our prayer. Jesus values humility, servanthood, and self-sacrifice for the love of others in response to the love of God. Do our prayers mourn over sin, both personal and corporate? Is it poor in spirit? Is it deployed in our peacemaking efforts, or is it merely a means to maintain our comfort, privilege, and asset accumulation?
6. Does our prayer life help us to be servants of others? As an extension of the previous question, does my prayer life cause me to be more sensitive or less sensitive and responsive to the needs of others? Any time we spend listening to Jesus should leave its mark on our lives, making us more servant-hearted like him.
7. Finally, is our prayer in keeping with the example of Jesus? By his example, I mean not only that he didn’t ask for others to serve him, but he purposefully served and gave his life for others. When it came down to the hardest prayers of all, Jesus said, “Not as I will, but as you will,” and “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)

Photo by Jack Sharp on Unsplash

Notice also that in v. 51, Jesus asked the blind beggar Bartimaeus the exact same question that he asked James and John, and he granted his request. He set Bartimaeus free from blindness to “go your way” and Bartimaeus’ way was to follow Jesus “on the way” (v.52). When Jesus answers our prayers, do we do more of our own thing or more “following him on the way” as he works to rebind the broken cosmos?

If we pray, is our prayer legitimate? These seven questions should help answer that question. Jesus’ half-brother James wisely wrote,

You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. (James 4:2-3)

Today, my prayer is that out of our blessed relationship with Jesus Christ we will trust, ask, and ask not amiss.

The Danger of Pride

Don't believe your own press reports!

Recently, while reading 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles, I noticed that both Judean King Amaziah and his son King Uzziah started their reigns well, “doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord” (2 Chron 25:2; 26:4) but later, after initial successes, they became proud and suffered for it. 

First, Amaziah changed his battle plans to obey God and trusted that the Lord would make up for his sending Israelite soldiers home with pay. Then, after defeating a smaller army of Edomites, he called out the King of Israel over atrocities committed by his spurned mercenaries. At that point, Jehoash [king of Israel] warned Amaziah [king of Judah] via a don't-get-too-big-for-your-britches kind of parable. His punch line is found in 2 Kings 14:10,

Photo by Hidde Rensink on Unsplash

“You have indeed struck down Edom, 

                   and your heart has lifted you up.

Be content with your glory, and stay at home, 

 for why should you provoke trouble so that you fall, 

                         you and Judah with you?”

The northern kings were not known for speaking the truth, but this statement was startlingly insightful and accurate. However, Amaziah didn’t listen and attacked Israel anyway. He lost. In fact, Jehoash’s ravaging army tore down a large section of Jerusalem’s city wall and looted all the gold and silver furnishings from the Temple!

Photo by Randy Fath on Unsplash

What was it that changed? Where did it all go wrong for Amaziah? First, he didn’t serve the Lord “with a whole heart.” Secondly, after defeating the Edomites, Amaziah did something very strange—he brought back the idols which he had captured and worshipped them. Such an act makes no sense. Since those idols had not been able to deliver Edom from Amaziah's own hand, why would he worship them? Probably because they were a symbol of his own accomplishment. If this was his reasoning, then it seems more like our behavior today, where we glory in our perceived successes instead of in God’s past deliverances. How often do we memorialize our own victories and “worship” what we have taken from others? Such idolatry of the heart is rooted in pride.

Years later, Amaziah’s 16-year-old son Uzziah (aka, Azariah) became king. “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord… as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper” (2 Chron 26:4-5). He fought successfully against the Philistines and the Arabians while other nations opted to pay tribute to him. He strengthened and upgraded his army and fortified Jerusalem with towers and even installed ballistic machines of war upon them (v.11-15). But, then things changed... and 2 Chronicles 26:16-20 tells the tragic story,  

But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the Lord his God and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. But Azariah the priest went in after him, with eighty priests of the Lord who were men of valor, and they withstood King Uzziah and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have done wrong, and it will bring you no honor from the Lord God.” Then Uzziah was angry. Now he had a censer in his hand to burn incense, and when he became angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead in the presence of the priests in the house of the Lord, by the altar of incense. And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead! And they rushed him out quickly, and he himself hurried to go out, because the Lord had struck him. 

Both father and son suffered for their own prideful mistakes. Despite initial trust in the Lord, albeit without a whole heart, they eventually trusted more in their own strength than in the Lord.

Uzziah was on the right path a bit longer, but then his heart became proud, and he thought himself privileged enough to enter the Holy Place of the Temple and offer incense, which only the priests were permitted to do. He presumed that he could approach God on his own merits if God even existed. When the valiant priests “withstood” him, instead of repenting, Uzziah became angry, and when he became angry, leprosy broke out on his forehead—an external manifestation of an inward spiritual condition.

"Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." (Matthew 23:12; see also Luke 14:11; 18:14; James 4:6,10; 1 Peter 5:5b-6)

Photo by Edwin Andrade on Unsplash

As pastors and Christian leaders, do we presume too much? Have we begun to believe that the Lord’s blessing is a result of our own competence and leadership skills? Do we think that we are entitled to recognition and being platformed above others? If so then we should remember that the Lord is faithful to tear down the idols we build to our own egos. Will we humble ourselves and become teachable again, or will we stiffen our necks and grow angry revealing our unclean hearts?

It seems that leprosy of the soul is far more prevalent today than that of the forehead, and so sadly, it often goes untreated. Will you, along with the psalmist and me, ask the Lord to do his cleansing work inside and out?

Search me, O God, and know my heart!
    Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:23-24)

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

No King in Gondor! (A Holy Week SOAP Journal from Luke 19)

In addition to regular articles, I will be posting some simple SOAP journals that were produced during a regular gathering of pastors to journal, pray, and encourage one another. These are not exhaustively studied as they are generally the work of 20 minutes of reading, 20 minutes of writing, and 20 minutes of sharing with each other what we have written. Hopefully, these brief devotional posts will be encouraging to the readers of this blog. If you are not familiar with the term, we used the SOAP acronym as a devotional guide, which stands for:

• Scripture—what verse or short section caught my attention today? 
• Observation—what can I briefly notice that the passage specifically says?
• Application—what will I do differently as a result of having read this today?
• Prayer—what will I ask the Triune God to do for, in, and through me today?

S = Luke 19:12-14 

“He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ 

But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying,

‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’”

O = It was in the context of correcting their faulty kingdom suppositions from immediacy to a time of delay that Jesus told this parable. Much could be said about the historical allusion to Herod and Archelaus’ previous trips to Rome, but what strikes me is the attitude of the citizens who rejected the man as their king. It reminds me of the scene in Lord of the Rings where Boromir (the son of the Steward of Gondor) rejects the ranger Aragorn (the true heir to the throne) as his king, saying, “Gondor has no king. Gondor needs no king.” But later, having learned better, Boromir lay mortally wounded after a heroic effort to obey Aragorn’s command. He asked for forgiveness and confessed to Aragorn with his dying breath as “my captain...my king.” It is gripping cinema. But it hits a little too close to home. It is revealing that Jesus told this parable just before his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday. A week later, Pilate’s court would ring with orchestrated shouts of “No King but Caesar!” (John 19:15)

Photo by Daniel Pascoa on Unsplash

A = How often have I done the same thing as the rebellious citizens in Jesus’ parable? Too often in willfulness and pride, I have as much as said that I don’t want the Lord to rule over me…I would rather do my own thing, but it always ends badly. God has an absolute claim on the kingship in my life, and my rejection of his rightful Lordship only causes pain to me and to those I love. I would much rather be one of the ten servants who were given a place, an opportunity to play a part in the king’s plan. What he is looking for from me is faithfulness. So, what is Jesus asking me to do this week? Will I respond obediently (i.e., immediately, thoroughly, completely, and cheerfully) and hear his commendation, “Well done, good servant”? Or will I be like those “enemies” who stubbornly refused to participate in the peaceful kingdom? My goal should be humbly living a daily surrendered life rather than seizing a daily selfish life.

P = O Lord, I repent once again of my self-rule and willful independence. May I, by your grace, be considered a servant that can be trusted until the return of the True King! Thank you that you have lovingly invited me into your kingdom, and you judge me not by my success, but affectionately call forth faithfulness. May I not forget that you exist and that you are a rewarder of those who seek you (Heb. 11:6), and may I seek you with all my heart!