Psalms 21:1-13
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.
DESCRIPTIVE TITLE
Thanks for the King's Victory, and Confidence of Further Triumphs.
ANALYSIS
Stanza I., Psalms 21:1-6, Recent Victory with Joy Acknowledged, Psalms 21:1-2; traced back to Blessings beginning with Coronation, Psalms 21:3, when Long Life was asked, Psalms 21:4; the Continuance of which Life and Blessings is now Counted upon with Confidence, Psalms 21:5-6. Refrain, Psalms 21:7, The People extol their Monarch's Faith, and Assure Themselves of the Stability of his Reign. Stanza II., Psalms 21:8-12, Coming Conquests Foretold, Psalms 21:8, bringing on Enemies Fearful Punishments, Psalms 21:9-10, and the Defeat of their Devices, Psalms 21:11-12. Refrain, Psalms 21:13, Jehovah's Power Extolled.
(Lm.) PsalmBy David.
1
Jehovah in thy might rejoiceth the king,
and in thy victory[195] he exulteth greatly!
2
The longing of his heart thou hast given him,
and the request of his lips hast thou not withheld.
3
For thou camest to meet him with blessings of goodness,
thou didst set on his head a crown of fine gold:
4
Life he asked of theethou gavest it him.
length of days to the ages and beyond
5
Great is his glory in thy victory,[195]
[195] Or: salvation.
majesty and state thou layest upon him;
6
For thou dost appoint him blessings evermore,
thou dost cheer him with gladness by thy countenance.
7
Yea the king is trusting in Jehovah,
and in the kindness of the Highest he will not be shaken.
8
Thy hand will find out all thy foes,
thy right hand will find them who hate thee:
9
Thou wilt put them in a furnace of fire,
in the time of the setting of thy face against them.
Jehovah in his anger will swallow them up,
and there shall consume them the fire of his wrath;[196]
[196] Psalms 21:9 slightly expanded by Br., to make four lines and fill stanza.
10
Their offspring[197] out of the earth wilt thou destroy,
[197] M.L.: their fruit.
and their seed from among the sons of men.
11
Though they have held out over thee a wicked thing,
devised an evil device they shall not prevail;
12
For thou wilt make them turn shoulder in flight,
on thy bow-strings wilt thou make ready against their faces.
13
Be thou exalted Jehovah in thy strength, We will sing and will harp thy power.
(Lm.) To the Chief Musician. (CMm.) Concerning The Hind of the Dawn? = The King in his Beauty.
PARAPHRASE
How the king rejoices in Your strength, O Lord! How he exults in Your salvation.
2 For You have given him his heart's desire, everything he asks You for!
3 You welcomed him to the throne with success and prosperity. You set a kingly crown of purest gold upon his head.
4 He asked for a long, good life, and You have granted his request; the days of his life stretch on and on forever!
5 You have given him fame and honor. You have clothed him with splendor and majesty.
6 You have endowed him with eternal happiness. You have given him the unquenchable joy of Your presence.
7 And because the king trusts in the Lord, he will never stumble, never fall; for he depends upon the steadfast love of the God who is above all gods.
8 Your hand, O Lord, will find Your enemies, all who hate You.
9, 10 When You appear, they will be destroyed in the fierce fire of Your presence. The Lord will destroy them and their children.
11 For these men plot against You, Lord, but they cannot possibly succeed.
12 They will turn and flee when they see Your arrows aimed straight at them.
13 Accept our praise, O Lord, for all Your glorious power! We will write songs to celebrate Your mighty acts!
EXPOSITION
The temptation to declare this psalm to be simply a Coronation Psalm, to which some expositors have yielded, is obvious. On closer examination, however, it will probably be found that a more satisfactory view of the setting and scope of the whole psalm can be obtained by regarding the reference to coronation as incidental to the more general conception of reign. A recent victory restores the lustre of a reign which had become beclouded by the invasion of foes: this very naturally brings up a reminiscence of the high hopes with which the reign was begun. The king then became Jehovah's vicegerent; for Jehovah crowned him. Aspiring to rule well, as every dutiful Son of David must,he naturally desired to rule long; in which desire his people loyally united, apprehensive of the evils of succession and change. Hence sprang the coronation greeting, May the King live! How long? Who could think of assigning a limit? Nay, may the king live for ever! as long as ever Jehovah please: loyalty declines to assign a limit. Besides, who knows when King Messiah shall come? Who can ever tell whether this Heir to the Throne may not be He? and who knows whether the Heir Himself, breathing such an atmosphere, may not have conceived the incipient wish that it might be himself? Dim, visionary, yet withal dazzling,the wish may have been father to the prayer: Life he ask of thee, to which he felt no need to assign an endlife, only life! The spirit of the Messiah, working in the psalmist, carries him out of himself. It has not been revealed to the psalmist who will be the Messiah. But, in language vaguely and benevolently suited to any Son of David, yet strictly applicable only to the Son of David, he adds:thou gavest it him, Length of days, -olam wa-edh, age-abidingly and beyond. From this point onward the radiance of a Messianic light rests on the psalm. It is King David or King Jehoshaphat who sits yonder, but on him rests a light from afar, not his own. Through the type, we catch glimpses of the Antitype.
While abiding by the dominant view of authorship appended to the preceding psalm, hearty consent may be accorded to the following judgment:When, in after times, the prosperity of Hezekiah was celebrated in the Temple worship, this psalm was singularly appropriate. Whether by adaptation or not, Psalms 21:4 had a special meaning when spoken of him; and Psalms 21:11-12 tell of the Assyrian army and its destructionThirtle, O.T.P., 314-15.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1.
This is referred to as a Coronation hymnwhy?
2.
What is meant by the expressionLong live the King? i.e. in context.
3.
There are three applications to each of these psalms:
(1)
apply it to David or the writer;
(2)
apply it to the Messiah;
(3)
apply it to ourselves.
What personal encouragement is found in this psalm?
4.
Notice the possible Messianic application of Psalms 21:3 through 6. Cf. 2 Samuel 7.
5.
Anticipation of victory instead of defeat is a great source of encouragementRead Psalms 21:8 through 13 with personal applications.