The Bible — World English Bible
Psalm 21
In brief
Psalm 21 is a psalm of David that answers Psalm 20. Where the people prayed before the battle, they now celebrate the victory. The king rejoices in God's strength, who gave him his heart's desire, crowned him and filled him with joy. The second part announces the defeat of God's enemies, and the psalm ends with a call to sing of the power of the Lord. Christians often see Christ the King in it.
According to its title, Psalm 21 is by David and is entrusted to the chief musician, meaning it was meant to be sung in worship. It is a royal psalm: the people thank God for their king, after a victory or an answered prayer. It answers Psalm 20, which prayed for the king before the battle. The title does not say which victory is meant. The word Selah, which the Hebrew text places at the end of verse 2, is probably a musical indication. In the Hebrew text and in some Bibles, the title counts as a verse of its own and the numbering is shifted by one: the heart's desire granted, verse 2 here, is numbered 3 there. Ancient Jewish readers already saw the promised Messiah in this king, and Christians recognize Jesus, the king crowned with glory. Today people pray it to thank God for an answered prayer or to intercede for those who govern, and some churches read it on Ascension Day.
The chapter in 3 parts
1The king rejoices in your strength, Yahweh! How greatly he rejoices in your salvation!
2You have given him his heart’s desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips.
3For you meet him with the blessings of goodness. You set a crown of fine gold on his head.
4He asked life of you and you gave it to him, even length of days forever and ever.
5His glory is great in your salvation. You lay honor and majesty on him.
6For you make him most blessed forever. You make him glad with joy in your presence.
7For the king trusts in Yahweh. Through the loving kindness of the Most High, he shall not be moved.
8Your hand will find out all of your enemies. Your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9You will make them as a fiery furnace in the time of your anger. Yahweh will swallow them up in his wrath. The fire shall devour them.
10You will destroy their descendants from the earth, their posterity from among the children of men.
11For they intended evil against you. They plotted evil against you which cannot succeed.
12For you will make them turn their back, when you aim drawn bows at their face.
13Be exalted, Yahweh, in your strength, so we will sing and praise your power.
Understanding Psalm 21 verse by verse
v. 1-2The king's joy: God has answered his prayer
The psalm opens with joy: “The king rejoices in your strength, Yahweh!” The king celebrates neither his army nor his skill, he celebrates God's strength and the salvation he gives. The people, who in Psalm 20 prayed for him before the battle, now see the answer: “You have given him his heart's desire.” This is not a promise that God will grant just any desire. The desire in question is that of a king who trusts in God (verse 7) and who fights for his people. Psalm 37 links answered desires in the same way to a life that makes the Lord its delight. If God has answered one of your prayers, these verses invite you to stop, as the Hebrew word Selah does at the end of verse 2, and give him thanks before moving on to your next request.
v. 3-4Blessed in advance: a crown and a life given
“For you meet him with the blessings of goodness.” God goes out to meet the king: his blessings came before the king's request, his grace arrived first. The crown of fine gold says the same thing: the king did not crown himself, he received his kingship from God. In verse 4, the king asked for life, probably in a moment of danger, and God gave him much more: “length of days forever and ever.” For a human king, the expression resembles the wishes addressed to a sovereign, like long live the king. But it also recalls the promise made to David of a kingdom that would last forever (2 Samuel 7:16), and Christians see it fully fulfilled in the risen Jesus, who lives forever. For you too, grace came first: God loved you before you looked for him (1 John 4:19).
v. 5-6Glory received, joy in God's presence
“His glory is great in your salvation.” Everything that makes the king great, his honor and his majesty, comes to him from God, and the psalm repeats it so that no one forgets. In verse 6, the king is made most blessed forever. The Hebrew can also be read as made a blessing: blessed himself, he becomes a blessing for others, as God had promised Abraham (Genesis 12:2). Then comes the deepest joy: “You make him glad with joy in your presence.” The peak of the king's happiness is neither his crown nor his victory, but God's presence. These verses give a right measure to our successes: what you have received is not given for your own glory, but so that others may be blessed through you, and your greatest joy remains to be in God's presence.
v. 7The heart of the psalm: the king trusts in God
Verse 7 stands at the heart of the psalm and gives its key: “For the king trusts in Yahweh.” Everything before it, the victory, the crown, the life, the glory, flows from this trust. The king is not strong because he is king, he stands because he leans on God. The reason is given at once: “Through the loving kindness of the Most High, he shall not be moved.” The words loving kindness refer to God's faithful love, the love that keeps its commitments. Not being moved means not losing your balance, not being shaken. The king may be attacked, but he is not overthrown, because his stability rests on God and not on himself. This verse speaks to anyone who carries a responsibility, in a family, a church, a business or a country: your strength does not come from your position, but from your trust in God.
v. 8-10God's hand against those who hate him
The tone changes. “Your hand will find out all of your enemies.” We can understand the people as speaking here to the king, or to God himself. Either way, it is God who acts, since verse 9 says: “Yahweh will swallow them up in his wrath.” The images are harsh: the fiery furnace, the fire that devours, descendants wiped from the earth. They belong to the language of war in the ancient world, and they should not be softened. These enemies are those who oppose the king God has chosen, and so God himself. Christians read these verses in different ways: some see mainly the historical victory of Israel's king, others an announcement of the final judgment, when Christ returns. But for the disciple of Jesus, they give no permission to take revenge: vengeance belongs to God (Romans 12:19).
v. 11-12Evil schemes will not have the last word
Verse 11 says what these enemies are accused of: “For they intended evil against you. They plotted evil against you which cannot succeed.” They conspired, schemed, calculated. But the verse adds at once that they cannot succeed. Their plans may be clever, they will not win against God. Verse 12 returns to a battle scene: the enemy turns his back and flees, with drawn bows aimed at his face. These verses speak to anyone who feels threatened by intrigues, slander or hostile plans. They do not promise that you will never suffer injustice, but they declare that evil will not have the last word. Joseph could tell his brothers that God had turned into good the evil they had meant to do to him (Genesis 50:20). And at the cross, the plot against Jesus became the road to salvation.
v. 13Be exalted, Lord: victory becomes praise
The psalm ends the way it began, with the strength of God. In verse 1 the king rejoiced in his strength; in verse 13 the whole people cry out: “Be exalted, Yahweh, in your strength.” In Hebrew it is the same word for strength at both ends of the psalm: everything in between is his work. The last word does not go to the king but to God: “so we will sing and praise your power.” One person's victory becomes everyone's praise. You can do the same: when God acts in your life or in your church, do not keep the gratitude to yourself, sing it with others. For Christians, this song also foreshadows the one at the end of time, when all creation will celebrate the victory of Christ (Revelation 5:13).
How to pray Psalm 21
When to pray this psalm
- When God has answered a prayer you had carried for a long time.
- After a healing, a success or a hardship you have come through, to thank God without taking the credit.
- When you are given a responsibility and want to lean on God rather than on your position.
- To pray for those who lead your country, your city or your church.
- When you feel targeted by intrigues, slander or hostile plans.
- With your church, to celebrate together what God has done.
A prayer inspired by Psalm 21
Lord, I rejoice in your strength. I do not come to talk about my merits, but about what you have done. You heard what I asked of you, and you did not withhold the request of my lips. Forgive me for sometimes forgetting to thank you once the answer had come. Your grace came to meet me before I even looked for it, and everything good I have comes from you. Keep me from taking the glory for what you have done. I also place in your hands those who govern and those who carry responsibilities: may they trust in you rather than in their own power. Let your loving kindness keep me from being shaken. When hostile plans rise up against me or against those I love, I do not want to take revenge: I place my cause in your hands, for evil will not have the last word. Thank you for Jesus, the king you crowned with glory, who lives forever. Make me glad with joy in your presence. Be exalted, Lord, in your strength: I want to sing and praise your power, together with all who love you. Amen.
Key verses
The king rejoices in your strength, Yahweh! How greatly he rejoices in your salvation!
The psalm opens with the king's joy, who credits his victory not to himself but to God's protection.
You have given him his heart’s desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips.
God gave what the king's heart desired and did not withhold what his lips asked. This verse answers the prayers of Psalm 20.
For the king trusts in Yahweh. Through the loving kindness of the Most High, he shall not be moved.
The king trusts in the Lord, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he is not shaken. Stability comes from God, not from the king's power.
Be exalted, Yahweh, in your strength, so we will sing and praise your power.
The last verse calls the assembly to sing of the power of the Lord. Victory becomes shared praise.
Bible verses to meditate on
Test your knowledge
Frequently asked questions about Psalm 21
What does Psalm 21 mean?
Psalm 21 is a song of thanksgiving for the king. David, or the people with him, thank God for answering his prayers, protecting him, crowning him and blessing him. The second part speaks of the defeat of those who oppose God. It ends with a call to celebrate the power of the Lord.
What is the link between Psalm 20 and Psalm 21?
The two psalms are prayers for the king and answer each other. Psalm 20 is a prayer before the battle, Psalm 21 is a song of gratitude after the victory. The vocabulary is close: desire of the heart, salvation, name of God, blessing. You can read them one after the other, one to ask, the other to give thanks.
How do you pray Psalm 21?
Use it as a psalm of gratitude. Remember a prayer God has answered, and take up verses 2 to 7 to thank him. Then entrust to him what is still waiting, remembering verse 7: stability comes from God. You can conclude with verse 13, singing of the power of the Lord.
Articles quoting Psalm 21
World English Bible translation — public domain.