Psalm 21

 

1 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

The king shall have joy in Your strength, O LORD; And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!

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 pure gold upon his head.

4 He asked life from You, and You gave it to him--Length of days forever and ever.

5 His glory is great in Your salvation; Honor and majesty You have placed upon him.

6 For You have made him most blessed forever; You have made him exceedingly glad with Your presence.

7 For the king trusts in the LORD, And through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved.

8 Your hand will find all Your enemies; Your right hand will find those who hate You.

9 You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger; The LORD shall swallow them up in His wrath, And the fire shall devour them.

10 Their offspring You shall destroy from the earth, And their descendants from among the sons of men.

11 For they intended evil against You; They devised a plot which they are not able to perform.

12 Therefore You will make them turn their back; You will make ready Your arrows on Your string toward their faces.

13 Be exalted, O LORD, in Your own strength! We will sing and praise Your power.

     Psalm 21 (NKJV)

 This psalm may refer to King David as he offers thanksgiving to God for victory in battle and other resulting blessings; others see the kingly references to mean the Messiah, Jesus Christ. The psalm also can be taken more generally to express the many joys of salvation for the child of God.

 The verses stress that all good things come from God’s hand. There is only one salvation and it comes from God, who gave His only begotten son Jesus Christ, to save all who would believe in Him.  David knows from personal experience that blessing, life, gladness, strength and joy come from the Lord’s presence, and that should be our experience too Rather than letting the world influence us and hold our attention, we should seek His face and spend time rejoicing in our glorious Savior. And we should pause and meditate on His infinite goodness, as the psalm instructs us (v. 2).

 David trusted in the Lord and through the mercy of Almighty God, he was not moved. Although he suffered many trials and experienced sin and mistakes in his life, his faith did not fail and the Bible says that he was a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). That should be both an encouragement to us when we sin and make mistakes, as well as an exhortation to make sure we are truly trusting God even in tough circumstances and uncertainty.

 The psalm ends with a description of God’s judgment upon the wicked and God’s people can rejoice that justice will ultimately prevail. It is also a solemn warning that while we are living in the age of grace, there is an appointed time coming of God’s wrath upon this earth and all those who have rejected Jesus Christ will perish. Be certain that He is your Savior and Lord today. Then let us sing and praise His mighty power (v. 13).

                                                 Crown Him with Many Crowns

Crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon the throne;

Hark, how the heav’nly anthem drowns all music but its own.

Awake, my soul, and sing of Him who died for thee,

And hail Him as thy matchless King, through all eternity.

(Matthew Bridges, 1800-1894)