By Benjamin H. Liles
"The king shall have joy in Your strength, O LORD; and in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! You have given him his hearts's desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips...Therefore You will make them turn their back; You will make ready Your arrows on Your string toward their faces. Be exalted, O LORD, in Your own strength! We will sing and praise Your power" (Psalm 21:1-13, New King James).
As previously stated, those who delight themselves in the God of their Fathers--Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob--have a sure and heavenly reward from Him. We read in another book, "Those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder from heaven against them. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth and will give power to His king. He will exalt the horn of His anointed" (1 Samuel 2:10).
As we have seen over and over, countless times, Jesus Christ is the One of whom scripture foretells. He fulfills all of scripture. Jesus Christ himself said, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened" (Matthew 7:7-8).
I cannot begin to stress the magnitude of the fact that God does not desire anybody in this world to perish. We have established that a great many number of times, but if I have to I will again: "The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise...but is patient with you...wanting...everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9, Berean Study).
Now here's the thing, God despises sin so much that He cannot tolerate it one bit. In His righteous judgment, which He has given the Son--Jesus Christ--every knee will bow and confess Him as Lord. Yet, it will not be the same across the board. If you look at Psalm 21:8-11 remind me of where Jesus will tell those at His left hand, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!" (Matthew 7:23, New King James).
But we can have joy that is found only in Jesus, for He said, "If you keep My commandments (loving God above all things, as well as loving others as yourself), you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and remain in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full" (John 15:11, new American Standard).
Therefore, I find this at work in a believer's life; trusting in the One who saves from sin, having their joy made full (as they follow His commands), and in working out their salvation with fear and trembling, studying diligently His word so they are found approved by God as workmen. Now, when I say that, I don't mean we work for our salvation. The salvation of God is given as a gift to all who put their trust in Jesus Christ who died and shed His blood for forgiveness of sins.
In that sense we cannot work for ourselves God's saving grace. It is bestowed upon those who have seen the depravity of their sins; thus they put off the sin, which so easily entangles, running for the prize so as to receive Jesus Christ as their just reward. "But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don't break in and steal" (Matthew 6:20, Holman Christian Standard). I humbly advise this for you, that you may be encouraged and found approved by God for good works, so you may obtain eternal life through Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.