Psalms 21:1 - Meaning and Application

David speaks here for himself first. He says his joy was in God’s strength and salvation, not in the strength or success of his armies. He also leads his people to join him, to give God all the glory for his victories. At the same time, the words look ahead to Christ, because David’s victories were only shadows of Christ’s triumphs over the powers of darkness.

The people congratulate the king and share his joy, as in Psalm 21:1. They say, in effect, that the king rejoices in God’s strength, and so do they. What pleases the king pleases his people. Happy is the nation whose king trusts God’s strength, finds joy in God’s salvation, and is glad to see God’s kingdom advance. Such a king trusts God to support him in all he does for God’s service. Our Lord Jesus, in his great work, depended on help from heaven and looked ahead with joy to the salvation he would bring about.

They also give God all the praise for what gave the king joy. First, God heard his prayers, as in Psalm 21:2. God gave him his heart’s desire, and only a prayer that truly comes from the heart is accepted. This was the very thing they had asked for him in Psalm 20:4. God’s kind answers to prayer should always lead us to humble praise. When God gives Christ the nations for his inheritance, lets him see his descendants, and accepts his prayer for all believers, he gives him his heart’s desire.

Second, God surprised him with blessings and gave more than he expected, as in Psalm 21:3. God met him with the blessings of goodness. All our blessings are gifts of God’s goodness, never things we earn. But it is especially moving when God gives blessings before we ask, before we are ready, or even when we fear the opposite. Then it can truly be said that he met us with them. Nothing could stop Christ’s saving work, but for mankind no gift came more before our need than redemption through Christ and all the good results of his work as our mediator, the one who brings us to God.

Third, God raised him to the highest honor and power. He set a crown of pure gold on his head and kept it there when enemies tried to pull it off. Crowns belong to God’s giving. No one wears one unless God places it there, whether for judgment or for mercy, and the result will show which it was. On Christ’s head, God first placed a crown of thorns, and then a crown of glory.

Fourth, God promised him a lasting kingdom and gave more than he could ask or imagine, as in Psalm 21:4. When he went into danger, he asked God for his life, and God not only gave that, but also length of days forever and ever. This means God not only lengthened his life beyond what he expected, but also assured him of blessed life after death and of the lasting rule of the Messiah, who would come from his family line. We can see how God often gives beyond our prayers and hopes, and from that we should learn how rich he is in mercy to those who call on him. We should also rejoice in the long reign of Christ. He died so that we might live through him, but he is alive and lives forever. Of his kingdom and peace there will be no end, and because he lives, we too will live.

Fifth, God gave him great honor and dignity, as in Psalm 21:5. His glory was greater than that of all the nearby kings, because of the salvation God had worked for him and through him. The honor that good people should most want is to see the Lord save. Honor and majesty were laid on him, like a burden he must carry and a trust for which he must answer. Jesus Christ received honor and glory from God the Father (2 Peter 1:17), the glory he had with the Father before the world began (John 17:5). On him was placed the work of ruling all things, and all authority in heaven and on earth was given to him.

Sixth, God gave him the joy of being a source of blessing to all people, as in Psalm 21:6. The margin can be read as, “You made him blessings forever.” God made him a universal blessing to the world, the one in whom the families of the earth are and will be blessed. God also made him very glad by showing favor to his work and to him in carrying it out. The Spirit of prophecy rises here to what belongs fully to Christ, for no one except him is blessed forever, much less a blessing forever in the full sense this line points to. Of Christ it is said that God filled him with joy by his presence.

When we sing this psalm, we should share in his joy and celebrate his exaltation.