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Thanksgiving for our king
He asked you for life and you have given it: he will live for ever.
2 The king rejoices in your strength, O Lord, and exults in your saving help.
3 You have granted him his desire; you have not rejected his request.
4 You have come to him with rich blessings; you have placed a golden crown upon his head.
5 When he asked, you gave him life – length of days forever and ever.
6 He glories in the victory you gave him; you shall bestow on him splendor and majesty.
7 You have given him eternal blessings, and gladdened him with the joy of your presence.
8 The king trusts in the Lord, and through the love of the Most High, he will not be shaken.
9 Your hand, O Lord, will reach your enemies, and lay hold of all your foes.
10 Your mere appearance will turn them into a blazing furnace. Your wrath will engulf them like a fire.
11 You will wipe their fruit from the earth and destroy their posterity.
12 Though they plot evil against you and devise wicked schemes, they will never win;
13 they will turn back in fear, when you aim arrows at them.
14 Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength! We will sing in praise of your might.
The preceding psalm asked help for the king; this psalm in turn gives thanks for the victory gained. We know how to ask, but do we know how to thank?
When we read the Bible, it seems that with so many of God's blessings, the kings of Israel should have had more success than they did. The Word of God is true: God's friends discover with surprise that if they persevere in fidelity, God works marvels for them.
