Christianity
Psalms 21The King Rejoices in God
Summary
Psalm 21 thanks God for giving the king his heart's desire, a crown of gold and length of days. The first half celebrates blessings already received; the second looks ahead to the king's victory over his enemies, who will be consumed like a fiery oven. It ends with the people praising God's strength. Traditionally ascribed to David, it pairs naturally with Psalm 20, and later Jewish and Christian readers applied it to the Messiah.
Key verse
“Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.”
Psalms 21:13
Themes
- Answered Prayer
- Royal Blessing
- Victory
- Praise of God's Power
Text
The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.
For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.
He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever.
His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.
For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.
For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.
Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
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.
Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.
For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.
Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.
Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.
Text: King James Version (1611/1769), public domain.
Across traditions
Christianity
Psalm 20: The Prayer Before BattlePsalm 20 asks God to grant the king his desire; Psalm 21:2 declares that God has done so, so the two read as petition and thanksgiving.
Judaism
Tehillim 21 in the JPS 1917 TanakhThe Aramaic Targum renders the king in this psalm as the King Messiah, showing an early Jewish messianic reading.
Questions about Psalms 21
Who is the king in Psalm 21?
It originally celebrated a Davidic king of Judah. Ancient Jewish interpretation, including the Targum, and later Christian readers also applied it to the Messiah.
Is Psalm 21 connected to Psalm 20?
Most scholars think so. Psalm 20 prays for the king's success and Psalm 21 gives thanks that the prayer was answered.