Psalm 21

Psalm 21:1–2

“The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.”

The title reads, To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. This connects directly to Psalm 20, where the people prayed for the king before battle. Here, the battle has been won. The petitions have become praise. What was once requested is now realized. Psalm 20 was intercession, Psalm 21 is thanksgiving. The covenant God of Israel has acted in history, and the king stands as the visible beneficiary of divine intervention.

Maclaren observed the clear progression: there the people prayed for the king, here they give thanks for him; there they asked that his desires might be fulfilled, here they bless the LORD who has fulfilled them; there the battle was impending, here it has been won. The structure reinforces a biblical principle, prayer precedes victory, and victory produces praise. God’s people are not fatalists. They pray, God answers, and they respond in worship.

The opening declaration is strong and personal: “The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD.” David does not rejoice in his army, nor in military strategy, nor in personal skill. His joy is rooted in the strength of the LORD. This is covenant language. Throughout Scripture, God is revealed as the strength of His people. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1. David understood that preservation in battle, political stability, and personal survival all ultimately flow from divine sovereignty.

The phrase “in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice” expands the thought. Salvation in this context includes deliverance from enemies, preservation of the throne, and the establishment of covenant promises. Yet it also anticipates a greater salvation. The Hebrew term carries the idea of rescue and victory. David rejoices greatly, not mildly. There is intensity in the language. This is not stoic gratitude. It is visible, expressive joy grounded in divine action.

Spurgeon rightly noted that our joy should not be cold or mechanical. When God intervenes in history, when He answers prayer, when He preserves life, there should be thanksgiving proportionate to the deliverance. Lukewarm gratitude dishonors mighty salvation.

The reference to “the king” is historically David, but the ancient Jewish understanding acknowledged a broader horizon. The Targum and early rabbinic tradition recognized messianic implications. The Davidic covenant in 2 Samuel 7:12–13 establishes this forward look: “And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.” Ultimately, the greater fulfillment is in the Messiah, the true King who rejoices eternally in the Father’s strength. David is type, Christ is antitype.

Verse 2 grounds the joy in answered prayer: “Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips.” This directly echoes Psalm 20:4, where the people prayed, “Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel.” What was requested has now been granted. God did not withhold. The parallelism emphasizes both internal desire and spoken petition. The heart conceived it, the lips expressed it, and God answered it.

This underscores the biblical doctrine of prayer. God ordains both ends and means. He purposes victory, yet He commands His people to ask. When the king’s heart aligned with God’s will, and his lips expressed that desire, heaven responded.

Christ Himself taught the abiding principle in John 15:7: “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” Abiding produces alignment, alignment produces effective prayer. Likewise, 1 John 5:14–15 declares, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”

Scripture is equally clear that there are hindrances to prayer. James 4:3 states, “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” 1 Peter 3:7 warns husbands, “Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.” 1 John 3:22 connects obedience with answered prayer: “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.”

Unbelief also obstructs prayer. Matthew 17:20 declares, “And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”

Cold, mechanical religion is rebuked in Matthew 6:7: “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.”

These texts do not suggest that man earns answers from God. Grace remains the foundation. Yet they establish that God has ordained moral and relational conditions that affect the efficacy of prayer. David could say confidently that God had not withheld the request of his lips because his heart and throne were aligned with covenant faithfulness.

The word Selah calls for reflection. It marks a pause, likely musical, certainly meditative. It commands the worshipper to stop and consider the faithfulness of God. The pause is not empty silence, it is reverent contemplation.

For the believer today, this passage reinforces three truths.

First, joy must be rooted in God’s strength, not human competence. Leadership without dependence collapses. The king’s joy was theological before it was political.

Second, answered prayer is central to experiential Christianity. A prayerless life is a powerless life. God delights in granting petitions that align with His will.

Third, David’s victory anticipates the greater King. Ultimately, this Psalm finds its fullest expression in Jesus Christ. The Father gave Him the desire of His heart in resurrection and exaltation. Psalm 2:8 declares, “Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” The Messianic King receives the nations because He asked according to the eternal will of the Father.

Thus Psalm 21:1–2 is both historical thanksgiving and prophetic anticipation. It teaches covenant faithfulness, the power of aligned prayer, and the certainty that God strengthens and saves His anointed King.

Psalm 21:3–7

“For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.
He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever.
His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.
For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.
For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.”

These verses expand the reasons for the king’s joy. Psalm 21:1–2 declared the fact of joy and answered prayer, verses 3–7 explain the grounds of that joy. The structure is theological. God acted first, the king responded in trust, and stability followed.

Verse 3 begins, “For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness.” The word preventest in the older English sense means to go before. God went before the king with blessings. David did not discover goodness by accident, nor did he manufacture it by strategy. God anticipated his need and met him with covenant favor.

This principle runs throughout Scripture. “We love him, because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19. Divine initiative precedes human response. The grace of God meets men before they seek Him. Even David’s anointing as a shepherd boy demonstrates this pattern. He did not campaign for the throne. God chose him and prepared the path.

The long delay between David’s anointing and his enthronement did not cancel the blessings of goodness. Years of persecution under Saul were not evidence of divine neglect but of divine shaping. God’s goodness is not always immediate comfort, sometimes it is long preparation. The blessing may come disguised as hardship, yet it remains goodness under providence.

The text continues, “thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.” The crown represents legitimate authority, royal dignity, and victorious rule. It was pure gold, symbolizing value, permanence, and divine approval. David did not seize this crown unlawfully. Though he had opportunities to kill Saul, he refused. “The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the LORD’S anointed.” 1 Samuel 26:11. He waited for God to place the crown upon him. That patience is evidence of faith.

This also anticipates the greater Son of David. Christ did not grasp at glory prematurely. He humbled Himself unto death. “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.” Philippians 2:9. The Father set the crown upon the Son in resurrection and ascension.

Verse 4 declares, “He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever.” Historically, David prayed for preservation in battle, and God granted life. Yet the phrase “for ever and ever” stretches beyond ordinary longevity. In the Old Testament context, this may reflect the promise of an enduring dynasty.

The Davidic covenant confirms this. “And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.” 2 Samuel 7:16. Ultimately, the promise finds its fulfillment in Messiah. The New Testament leaves no doubt. “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” Hebrews 13:8. The resurrection of Christ is the ultimate granting of “length of days for ever and ever.”

Verse 5 continues, “His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.” David acknowledges that whatever glory he possesses is derivative. It is “in thy salvation.” God’s deliverance produced the king’s exaltation. Honor and majesty are not self-generated qualities, they are conferred by divine action.

This reflects the biblical principle that God exalts the humble. “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.” 1 Peter 5:6. David’s throne was not self-constructed. It was established through covenant faithfulness and divine intervention.

Verse 6 rises higher: “For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.” The greatest blessing is not military success or political dominance, it is the countenance of God. The presence of God produces exceeding gladness. The Hebrew idea behind countenance is the shining face of divine favor.

This echoes the priestly blessing. “The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.” Numbers 6:24–26. David understood that the shining face of God outweighed the golden crown.

Applied to Christ, this verse is profound. Though Isaiah prophesied of Him, “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” Isaiah 53:3, yet the deeper reality is that the Son eternally delights in the Father. Even in earthly suffering, He remained anchored in divine fellowship. At His baptism the Father declared, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17. That pleasure did not cease in eternity.

Spurgeon rightly observed that Christ must be reckoned among the happiest of men. Sin produces sorrow. Jesus never sinned. Conscience never accused Him. He bore grief vicariously, not personally. He had perfect peace in the Father’s will. “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.” Psalm 40:8.

Verse 7 concludes this section: “For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.” Trust is the king’s response to grace. Stability is the result. The throne is secure not because of military alliances but because of covenant mercy.

The word mercy reflects covenant loyalty, steadfast love. The king stands because God is faithful. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1. Therefore, “we will not fear.” Psalm 46:2.

The phrase “he shall not be moved” echoes the language of stability used throughout the Psalms. “He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be moved.” Psalm 62:6. The king’s immovability rests entirely upon divine mercy, not personal merit.

Again, the greater fulfillment is in Christ. He trusted the Father perfectly. “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” Luke 23:46. Because of that perfect trust and obedience, His kingdom cannot be shaken. “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end.” Isaiah 9:7.

Psalm 21:3–7 therefore presents a theology of kingship grounded in grace. God goes before with goodness. God confers the crown. God grants life. God bestows glory. God gives His presence. The king trusts. The result is stability.

Historically true of David, prophetically fulfilled in Christ, and spiritually instructive for every believer, these verses declare that true blessedness is inseparable from the countenance of God and the mercy of the Most High.

Psalm 21:8–13

“Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.
Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.
For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.
Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.
Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.”

This final section shifts from thanksgiving to judgment. The same God who strengthens His anointed King also defends His throne by righteous wrath. Covenant mercy does not cancel divine justice. The salvation of God’s people necessarily includes the defeat of God’s enemies.

Verse 8 begins with certainty: “Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies.” No enemy escapes divine detection. The language is personal. These are not merely David’s enemies, they are God’s enemies, “those that hate thee.” To oppose the Lord’s anointed is to oppose the Lord Himself.

This principle is consistent throughout Scripture. When Saul persecuted the church, Christ confronted him with the words, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” Acts 9:4. To attack God’s people is to attack God’s Christ. The enemies of the kingdom are never merely political, they are theological.

“Thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee” emphasizes power and authority. The right hand symbolizes strength and decisive action. God’s judgment is not random, it is deliberate and personal.

Verse 9 intensifies the imagery: “Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger.” The expression “the time of thine anger” reminds us that divine wrath is not uncontrolled emotion, it is appointed judgment. Just as there is a day of grace, there is a day of wrath. “Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained.” Acts 17:31.

The oven imagery conveys consuming heat and inescapable destruction. “The LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.” This language anticipates final judgment. It echoes the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and foreshadows the lake of fire. “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” Revelation 20:14.

God’s wrath is not arbitrary cruelty. It is holy justice. Those who reject mercy eventually encounter judgment. As Hebrews declares, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Hebrews 10:31.

Verse 10 extends the severity: “Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.” This reflects the ancient Near Eastern reality of dynastic judgment. In covenant context, it emphasizes the total overthrow of rebellion. Sin carries consequences beyond the individual. The destruction of fruit and seed symbolizes the eradication of influence and legacy.

Verse 11 provides the moral explanation: “For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.” Judgment is proportionate to intent. This was not ignorance. It was deliberate hostility. Scripture distinguishes between sins of weakness and sins of defiant rebellion.

Psalm 2 describes the same posture: “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed.” Psalm 2:1–2. The plotting is intentional. Yet it is futile. Psalm 2 continues, “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.” Psalm 2:4.

“They imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.” This is both judgment and comfort. Rebellion against God always overestimates itself. Men threaten the church, mock Scripture, and boast of erasing the gospel, yet they are not able to perform what they imagine. Christ Himself declared, “Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18.

Verse 12 returns to battlefield imagery: “Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back.” The enemies flee. The rebellion collapses. “When thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.” God is portrayed as a warrior with a drawn bow. His arrows are prepared, aimed directly “against the face of them.” Judgment is precise, swift, and unavoidable.

The prophets use similar imagery. “Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee.” Psalm 45:5. The arrows of God are never misdirected. They are sharp, swift, sure, and deadly.

This section reminds us how near judgment truly is. The bow is drawn. The arrow is nocked. Mercy alone restrains the release. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9. Presuming upon that mercy is itself a serious sin.

The psalm concludes in worship, not vengeance. Verse 13 declares, “Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength.” David does not exalt himself. He exalts God. The victory, the judgment, the preservation, all magnify divine strength. God’s power is intrinsic, not derived. He depends on no one.

“So will we sing and praise thy power.” Praise is the proper response to both mercy and justice. The people of God sing not because they delight in destruction, but because they delight in righteousness. The kingdom of God stands secure. Evil does not triumph. Justice is not suspended forever.

This closing verse balances the entire psalm. It began with the king rejoicing in God’s strength, it ends with the people exalting that same strength. The structure reinforces a central truth, God’s sovereign power secures both the salvation of His people and the judgment of His enemies.

Historically, this applied to David’s reign. Prophetically, it anticipates the Messiah. Ultimately, Christ will defeat all enemies. “For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.” 1 Corinthians 15:25. The final enemy, death, will be destroyed.

Psalm 21 therefore presents a complete theology of kingship. Grace crowns the king. Mercy sustains him. Judgment removes rebellion. Praise exalts the LORD. The God who answers prayer is the same God who executes justice, and His strength is worthy of eternal song.