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Psalms 21

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Thanksgiving for the King's Deliverance 1–7

1
The king shall joy in thy strength, O Jehovah; And in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! ​
2
Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, And hast not withholden the request of his lips. [Selah
3
For thou meetest him with the blessings of goodness: Thou settest a crown of fine gold on his head. ​
4
He asked life of thee, thou gavest it him, Even length of days for ever and ever. ​
5
His glory is great in thy salvation: Honor and majesty dost thou lay upon him.
6
For thou makest him most blessed for ever: Thou makest him glad with joy in thy presence.
7
For the king trusteth in Jehovah; And through the lovingkindness of the Most High he shall not be moved. ​

Confidence in Future Victory over Enemies 8–13

8
Thy hand will find out all thine enemies; Thy right hand will find out those that hate thee. ​
9
Thou wilt make them as a fiery furnace in the time of thine anger: Jehovah will swallow them up in his wrath, And the fire shall devour them. ​
10
Their fruit wilt thou destroy from the earth, And their seed from among the children of men. ​
11
For they intended evil against thee; They conceived a device which they are not able to perform.
12
For thou wilt make them turn their back; Thou wilt make ready with thy bowstrings against their face. ​
13
Be thou exalted, O Jehovah, in thy strength: So will we sing and praise thy power. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Psalms 21

Verse 1

The king shall joy in thy strength — The psalm answers Ps 20: the 'salvation' (yeshuah) the people rejoice in there (20:5) is the king's joy here. 'Strength' is oz, the word that closes the psalm (v.13). 'Rejoice' is gil, properly to spin round, a word of loud gladness.

Verse 3

thou preventest him — 'Prevent' in the KJV means to go before: qadam is to meet or come to the front, so the blessings of goodness are sent out to meet him, as in Ps 59:10, 'The God of my mercy shall prevent me'. The crown (atarah) of 'pure gold' (paz) is set on his head by the LORD.

Verse 4

He asked life of thee — Shaal, to ask, is the verb of Ps 2:8, 'Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen'. The gift is 'length of days' (orek yamim, as 'long life' in Ps 91:16) and then 'for ever and ever' (olam and ad), a span no mortal reign reaches. Christ says 'I am alive for evermore' (Rev 1:18).

Verse 7

through the mercy of the most High — 'Mercy' is chesed, covenant love, and 'the most High' is Elyon, the title of the God of Melchizedek (Gen 14:18–19). 'Not be moved' (mot) is the verb of Ps 16:8 and Ps 15:5. The king 'trusteth' (batach), the root of 'hope' in Ps 16:9.

Verse 8

Thine hand shall find out — Matsa is to find, to come upon. The verse may be read of the king's hand or the LORD's. The king sits at the LORD's right hand: 'Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool' (Ps 110:1), which Christ quotes (Matt 22:44).

Verse 9

a fiery oven — Tannur is the baking oven. 'In the time of thine anger' is literally 'at the time of thy face' (panim), the face of the LORD turned on them, as in Ps 34:16, 'The face of the LORD is against them that do evil'. Malachi uses the same figure: 'the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven' (Mal 4:1).

Verse 10

Their fruit… and their seed — Fruit (peri) and seed (zera) are the offspring of the enemies, the line that carries a name on. The same end is spoken of the wicked, 'the seed of the wicked shall be cut off' (Ps 37:28), and of Jeroboam's house, 'to destroy it from off the face of the earth' (1 Kgs 13:34).

Verse 12

make them turn their back — Shekem is the neck or shoulder, here the back turned in flight. The LORD is the archer, as in Ps 7:12, 'he hath bent his bow, and made it ready'; 'make ready' is kun in both places. 'Strings' is meythar, the cord of a bow.

Verse 13

Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength — Rum is to be high. 'Strength' is oz, the word with which the psalm began (v.1), and 'power' is gevurah, the word for the 'saving strength' of Ps 20:6. 'Praise' is zamar, the root of mizmor, 'Psalm', in the title.