Psalms 21: The King Rejoices
A royal thanksgiving celebrating the LORD's answered blessing upon his king, with strength, crown, and joy in God's presence.
Psalms 21 (WEB)
1 The king rejoices in your strength, Yahweh! How greatly he rejoices in your salvation!
2 You have given him his heart’s desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah.
3 For you meet him with the blessings of goodness. You set a crown of fine gold on his head.
4 He asked life of you, you gave it to him, even length of days forever and ever.
5 His glory is great in your salvation. You lay honor and majesty on him.
6 For you make him most blessed forever. You make him glad with joy in your presence.
7 For the king trusts in Yahweh. Through the loving kindness of the Most High, he shall not be moved.
8 Your hand will find out all of your enemies. Your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9 You will make them as a fiery furnace in the time of your anger. Yahweh will swallow them up in his wrath. The fire shall devour them.
10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth, their posterity from among the children of men.
11 For they intended evil against you. They plotted evil against you which cannot succeed.
12 For you will make them turn their back, when you aim drawn bows at their face.
13 Be exalted, Yahweh, in your strength, so we will sing and praise your power.
Psalms 21 (KJV)
1 The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
2 Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.
3 For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.
4 He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever.
5 His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.
6 For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.
7 For the king trusteth in the Lord, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.
8 Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
9 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.
10 Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.
11 For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.
12 Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.
13 Be thou exalted, Lord, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.
Psalms 21 (ASV)
1 The king shall joy in thy strength, O Jehovah; And in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
2 Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, And hast not withholden the request of his lips. [Selah
3 For thou meetest him with the blessings of goodness: Thou settest a crown of fine gold on his head.
4 He asked life of thee, thou gavest it him, Even length of days for ever and ever.
5 His glory is great in thy salvation: Honor and majesty dost thou lay upon him.
6 For thou makest him most blessed for ever: Thou makest him glad with joy in thy presence.
7 For the king trusteth in Jehovah; And through the lovingkindness of the Most High he shall not be moved.
8 Thy hand will find out all thine enemies; Thy right hand will find out those that hate thee.
9 Thou wilt make them as a fiery furnace in the time of thine anger: Jehovah will swallow them up in his wrath, And the fire shall devour them.
10 Their fruit wilt thou destroy from the earth, And their seed from among the children of men.
11 For they intended evil against thee; They conceived a device which they are not able to perform.
12 For thou wilt make them turn their back; Thou wilt make ready with thy bowstrings against their face.
13 Be thou exalted, O Jehovah, in thy strength: So will we sing and praise thy power.
Summary
Closely paired with Psalm 20, this royal psalm celebrates the answered prayer of the previous psalm. The king now rejoices in the strength and salvation God has given him, for the LORD has granted his heart's desire and not withheld the request of his lips. God meets him with rich blessings, sets a crown of fine gold on his head, and grants him life, even length of days forever and ever. His glory is great because of God's salvation, and the LORD makes him most blessed and glad with joy in his presence. The reason for this security is named plainly: the king trusts in the LORD, and through the loving kindness of the Most High he shall not be moved. The psalm then turns to the defeat of God's enemies, whose evil plots cannot succeed and who will be scattered when God comes against them. It ends with a call to worship: “Be exalted, Yahweh, in your strength, so we will sing and praise your power.” The promise of life “forever and ever” and a king who shall not be moved stretches beyond any earthly ruler toward the everlasting reign of Jesus, the crowned and risen King.
Voices
- The king — The anointed ruler who rejoices in the LORD's strength and salvation, crowned and blessed because he trusts in God.
- Yahweh (the LORD) — The God who answers the king's prayer, grants him life and a golden crown, and scatters his enemies in his anger.
- The worshiping people — The congregation who close the psalm by exalting the LORD and singing praise to his power.
Key Verse
Psalm 21:1 (WEB)
The king rejoices in your strength, Yahweh! How greatly he rejoices in your salvation!
Lessons Learned
- True joy for a leader, and for any believer, is found in God's strength and salvation.
- God often gives more than we ask, meeting us with the blessings of goodness.
- The one who trusts in the LORD shall not be moved, kept by his loving kindness.
- Plots against God and his anointed cannot finally succeed.
- Joy belongs to those who rejoice in God's salvation. “The king rejoices in your strength, Yahweh!” (Psalm 21:1, WEB). Gladness rests not in our own achievements but in what God has done.
- God gives generously. “You have given him his heart's desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips” (Psalm 21:2, WEB). The Lord delights to answer the prayers of those who trust him.
- Trust keeps us unshaken. “For the king trusts in Yahweh… he shall not be moved” (Psalm 21:7, WEB). Stability comes through faith in God's loving kindness, not our own footing.
- Evil plots cannot prevail against God. “They plotted evil against you which cannot succeed” (Psalm 21:11, WEB). No scheme against the Lord and his anointed will stand.
- What gifts has God given the king according to verses 1-6?
- Where does the king's security come from, according to verse 7?
- How does the promise of life “forever and ever” (21:4) point beyond an earthly king?
- Why can the psalmist be so confident that the enemies' plots will fail?
- What recent answered prayer can you rejoice over, and how might you turn that into praise like verse 13?
- God grants the king strength, salvation, his heart's desire, blessings of goodness, a golden crown, long life, glory, honor, and joy in God's presence (21:1-6). The list overflows, showing a God who blesses abundantly.
- Verse 7 names trust in the LORD and the loving kindness of the Most High as the source of the king's stability. He is unshaken not because of his throne but because of the God he relies upon.
- No earthly king lives forever, so the promise of unending life points past David to his greater Son. Jesus, the risen King, reigns with length of days forever and ever, fulfilling what the psalm could only foreshadow.
- Because God reigns and his purposes cannot be thwarted, every scheme against him is doomed before it begins. The psalmist's confidence rests in God's sovereign power, not in any weakness of the enemies themselves.
- This is a personal-application question. Invite members to name a specific answered prayer and to voice praise for it, perhaps in the words of verse 13. As leader, encourage thanksgiving as the natural overflow of recognizing God's goodness.