For you meet him with rich blessings;
you set a crown of fine gold upon his head.
He asked life of you; you gave it to him,
length of days forever and ever.
His glory is great through your salvation;
splendor and majesty you bestow on him.
For you make him most blessed forever;
you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
When we read Psalms 21, 22, & 23 we are struck with the contrast of David’s journey in light of the three songs. In the above passage we read about David being blessed with a crown. He has asked for life and God gave it to him. He has a glory as the position of king. He has splendor and majesty bestowed upon him. He is blessed forever. That is the beginning of Psalm 21, as stated above. But note the tenor of the next Psalm, a different day and time in David’s life:
Psalms 22:6-8 (ESV)
But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
“He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him;
let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”
Those verses indicate a different mood for the king. Here he feels abandoned. Here he feels low, like a worm. Instead of majesty he is mocked. Instead of glory and splendor he sees the wagging of heads. His trust in God in chapter 21 is mocked by others in chapter 22. David has gone from great confidence of what God has done for him to great shame of what man says about him. With all this in mind we get to the great truths in Psalm 23:
Psalms 23:4 (ESV)
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
The resolve of David is insight for our own journey with God. We too can recall all the blessings God provides and promises to the believer. Yet, we have moments and even long chapters of our story that don’t always reflect those rejoicing blessings of splendor and majesty. Instead we feel like a worm. But it is in those shadow of death experiences that we know that God is with us. He is comforting us with a firm rod and a guiding staff. Despite the times in our journey we know that God is present with comfort, despite the tool He is using in our lives for that comfort.
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