Psalm 21
Theme: Praising God for His Strength
21:1 Giving Thanks for victory over evil
Psalm 21 is an explicit prayer, directed to God to give thanks for the victory. That is why verse 5 is written in the past tense, referring to “the victories you gave.”
21:2-6 Blessing on the king
Victory through God’s strength (v. 1). The previous psalm had asked for victory, not through chariots and horses in which the heathen trust but in the name and by the power of God. This is precisely the blessing God gave.
Answered prayer (v. 2). The king had been praying for victory. But here, in addition to thanking God for the victory itself, Psalm 21:2 also thanks God simply for answering prayer. Thus, the specific answer of granting victory becomes merely one example of the many answers God gives in response to his people’s earnest petitions. This broadens the psalm to include the kind of prayer answers you or I may have received from God.
Rich blessings associated with the crown (v. 3). The welcome of verse 3 must be the welcome David received upon returning from battle with Israel’s enemies, if the context is to be taken into account. But if it is, then, since the crown is mentioned in the parallel half of the couplet, the “rich blessings” would be those associated with the king’s rule over his kingdom. Our equivalent would be whatever blessings come to us as benefits of the work God has given us to do for him: good income from a good job, the appreciation of fellow workers, friends, and other such things. Are we grateful for these things? Do we thank God for them?
Length of days (v. 4). That the king should thank God for length of days is not surprising. This is something anyone might pray for, and David did indeed have a long life. He lived to be seventy. The surprising thing is the phrase “for ever and ever.” How is a phrase like that to be understood?
21:7 Confession of Trust in God
VERSE 7 OCCUPIES the center point of the psalm and provides transition from the positive blessings of God on the faithful king to the negative judgment of God on the enemies. The distinctive nature of the verse is revealed by the appearance only here of third-person reference about Yahweh rather than the second-person address to him that dominates the rest of the psalm. In this central verse, the king responds to the description of divine blessing and presence with a confession of trust in Yahweh.
21:8-12 Divine Judgement on God’s enemies
THE PRESENCE OF God is a two-edged sword. For the faithful who trust in him, God brings blessing and salvation, while for the rebellious who resist his rule, God’s coming means judgment. In 21:8–12, the psalmist describes the hoped-for consequences of Yahweh’s “appearing” (21:9a) on the enemy. That we are beyond the king’s reflective confession of trust is indicated by the return to second-person direct address of Yahweh (“your enemies,” “your foes”).
21:13 Giving thanks for God’s Mighty Power
21:13. The congregation vowed to sing and praise the might and power of the LORD, who alone is to be exalted.