Every verse here opens — tap a number for what that one means.
1The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
2Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.
3For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.
4He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever.
5His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.
6For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.
7For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.
8Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
9Thou 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.
10Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.
11For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.
12Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.
13Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.
Commentary
Psalm 21, explained
What Psalm 21 is saying
Psalm 21 is the post-battle thanksgiving counterpart to Psalm 20's pre-battle intercession. The king rejoices in God's strength, having received his heart's desire—a crown of pure gold, length of days, splendor, and majesty. The psalm's second half shifts to prophetic confidence about future victories, with the striking image of God's enemies consumed 'like a fiery furnace' (k'tanur esh) at His appearing.
The background behind it
The language of 'length of days forever and ever' (v. 4) exceeds what can be applied to any mortal king, leading both Jewish and Christian interpreters to read messianic overtones into this royal thanksgiving.
Themes running underneath
The psalm attributes every royal success to God's prevenient blessing ('You came to meet him with rich blessings'), challenging any notion of self-made achievement. The fiery judgment imagery anticipates eschatological themes developed in later prophetic literature.
Why it still matters
Psalm 21 models the discipline of attributing success to God rather than personal merit. Its extravagant gratitude for answered prayer challenges the tendency to quickly forget what God has done once the crisis passes.
Scripture text: King James Version — public domain.