12 for 12

Psalm 21:1-6
1 O Lord, in Your strength the king will be glad,
And in Your salvation how greatly he will rejoice!
2 You have given him his heart's desire,
And You have not withheld the request of his lips.
3 For You meet him with the blessings of good things;
You set a crown of fine gold on his head.
4 He asked life of You
You gave it to him
Length of days forever and ever.
5 His glory is great through your salvation,
Splendor and majesty You place upon him.
6 For You make him most blessed forever;
You make him joyful with gladness in Your presence. 

As I read these verses, I couldn't help but think, "If only our leader was like this...if only he recognized God in all that he did..."  Wouldn't our nation, our world be a much different place? 

David recognized that everything he was, everything he had was because of the Lord.  In these six verses, David references 12 different blessings: gladness, joy, fulfillment of his heart's desire, fulfillment of the request of his lips, blessings of good things, a crown of fine gold, life, length of days forever, glory, splendor, majesty, being blessed forever, and then joy and gladness again. For each and every one of those things mentioned, God is given the credit and glory.  Go back and count how many times David says "You" which is a reference to God - it is 12.  12 references to God for 12 blessings in his life. 12 for 12.

There is debate as to whether or not David actually wrote this or if it was Hezekiah or even someone else writing about one king or the other.  The Expositor's Commentary even states that this passage "is so idealised or rather spiritualized, that it is hard to suppose that any single monarch was before the singer's mind."  I disagree.  Knowing what we do of David - that he was a man after God's own heart, I truly think he could have written this passage in one of those moments where everything was going right.  We've all had those moments, if only briefly - you are on Cloud 9, floating above the world in utter ecstasy, nothing can bring you down.  I think David wrote this Psalm during a joyful moment such as this.  He was truly thankful and was giving God the glory.  He recognized that "there is no true nobility but of the soul, and the soul has none but what it receives from the grace and salvation of God" (Clarke).  

Remember that truth as you go about your day.  Did you get a raise this month?  Did you somehow manage to pay your bills when you were sure there was no possible way?  Did you receive a phone call from someone you really needed to hear from?  Or maybe something wonderful happened that you can't quite explain?  It was God.  All of it.  He has given us everything that we have - all the good in our lives can be traced back to Him.  Like David, we must remember to give God the glory for every blessing He has given us - 12 for 12.