Psalms · psalm 21 of 150
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Psalm 21 is a royal psalm of thanksgiving. The king rejoices in the Lord's strength, who granted him his heart's desire, crowned him with fine gold and gave him length of days. He trusts God's steadfast love and will not be moved. The second part announces that the Lord will defeat the king's enemies, and the people praise his power.
The title directs the psalm to the choirmaster and attributes it to David. It is the natural reply to Psalm 20: there the people prayed before the battle; here they give thanks for the answer. It is a royal psalm, and Christians read it in light of Christ, the King who receives from the Father glory, life and eternal blessing, although the New Testament does not quote it directly.
The psalm begins with the king's joy: in your strength the king rejoices, O Lord, and in your salvation how greatly he exults! God gave him his heart's desire and did not withhold the request of his lips. He met him with rich blessings and set on his head a crown of fine gold. He asked for life, and God gave it: length of days forever and ever.
His glory is great through God's salvation; God has bestowed on him splendor and majesty. He has made him most blessed forever and made him glad with the joy of his presence. The reason is that the king trusts in the Lord, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.
The second part addresses the king: your hand will find out all your enemies. You will make them like a fiery furnace when you appear; the Lord will swallow them up in his wrath. You will destroy their descendants from the earth and their offspring from among the children of man. They plotted evil against you but cannot succeed. The psalm ends with the people's praise: be exalted, O Lord, in your strength; we will sing and praise your power.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The king rejoices in the Lord's strength and exults in his salvation. The king's joy is not in his own victory but in what God has done for him.
God met him with rich blessings and set a crown of fine gold on his head. It is the picture of a king crowned by God, not by his own merits.
God has made him a blessing forever and made him glad with the joy of his presence. Christians read these words as a reflection of the glory the Father gives to Christ.
The king trusts in the Lord and, through the steadfast love of the Most High, will not be moved. The king's security is not based on his army but on God's faithful love.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: In the Lord's strength and salvation. — Psalm 21:1
Answer: His heart's desire; he did not withhold the request of his lips. — Psalm 21:2
Answer: A crown of fine gold. — Psalm 21:3
Answer: He asked for life, and God gave him length of days forever and ever. — Psalm 21:4
Answer: Because he trusts in the Lord and in the steadfast love of the Most High. — Psalm 21:7
Answer: They plotted evil against him, but they cannot succeed. — Psalm 21:11
Psalm 21 teaches us to give thanks. Psalm 20 prayed before the battle and this one gives thanks after it. Often we ask with fervor and forget to return and give thanks. In a small group, a valuable exercise is to make a list of answered prayers, even partially answered, and thank God for them aloud.
It also reminds us where security is found: not in the crown or in power, but in the steadfast love of the Most High. For Christians, the psalm points to Christ, who trusted the Father fully and was exalted. His victory is the basis of our hope.
Psalm 21 closes with praise for the Lord's power. Psalm 22, by contrast, begins with a cry of abandonment: a deep lament that Jesus made his own on the cross and that ends with a universal hope.
In its first sense it speaks of the king of Israel, in David's line. Many Christians see in the psalm a reflection of Christ, the ultimate King. The New Testament does not quote the psalm, so this reading is an application and not a direct citation.
It is poetic language of judgment, expressing that the Lord will destroy those who oppose his king. It is not a teaching on how a Christian should treat adversaries, whom Jesus asked us to love.
They form a pair: Psalm 20 is a prayer before the battle and Psalm 21 is thanksgiving for the answer. Both are royal psalms and both begin by mentioning the day of trouble or the Lord's strength.