Today's Featured Psalm
Psalm 21

Read this Psalm

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1 O LORD, in your strength the king rejoices,
   and in your salvation how greatly he exults!
2 You have given him his heart’s desire
   and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
3 For you meet him with rich blessings;
   you set a crown of fine gold upon his head.
4 He asked life of you; you gave it to him,
   length of days forever and ever.
5 His glory is great through your salvation;
   splendor and majesty you bestow on him.
6 For you make him most blessed forever;
   you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the LORD,
   and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.

8 Your hand will find out all your enemies;
   your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9 You will make them as a blazing oven
   when you appear.
The LORD will swallow them up in his wrath,
   and fire will consume them.
10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth,
   and their offspring from among the children of man.
11 Though they plan evil against you,
   though they devise mischief, they will not succeed.
12 For you will put them to flight;
   you will aim at their faces with your bows.

13 Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength!
   We will sing and praise your power.

Scripture taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Psalm Devotional
The Return of the King

On May 8, 1945, Germany surrendered to the Allies. The surrender sparked a national celebration in America. Psalm 21 deals with a similar theme. It describes a nation celebrating a military victory. However, as this psalm unfolds, we learn not just of past deeds but of future promises., and we learn not just of King David but of a greater King to come.

Psalm 21, like Psalm 20, is a liturgical psalm. When we read this psalm we are entering into a royal liturgy, a worship service in response to victory. Israel is rejoicing in the victory of their king, but they recognize that this victory is solely credited to God. God is the “you” in the opening verses of this psalm. It is God who grants the victory.

In verses 3-6 we learn that God not only grants the king victory, but He also exalts the king. He grants the king a crown of honor (v. 3), an everlasting kingdom (vv. 4,6), and the attributes of “splendor” and “majesty” (v. 5). It is in these verses that we begin to experience the redemptive-historical escalation that we often see in the Psalms. The language begins to outgrow the parameters of an earthly king. We understand that it is ultimately Jesus who wears the crown of gold (Rev. 14:14), that it is only in Jesus that David’s kingdom can be understood as everlasting, and it is ultimately only Jesus who can possess the divine attributes of splendor and majesty. This redemptive-historical escalation becomes even more vivid in the second part of the psalm.

Listen to this Psalm

Messiah album art The King in Your Great Strength, O Lord (Psalm 21A)
The Book of Psalms for Worship | Messiah
Messiah album art Because the King Trusts in the Lord (Psalm 21B)
The Book of Psalms for Worship | Messiah