Psalms 21

1 To victory, the psalm of David. Lord, the king shall be glad in thy virtue; and he shall full out have joy greatly on thine health. (To victory, the song of David. Lord, the king shall be glad for thy strength, or thy might; and he shall have great joy in thy victory.)

2 Thou hast given to him the desire of his heart; and thou hast not defrauded him of the will of his lips. (Thou hast given him his heart's desire; and thou hast not denied him what he asked for with his lips.)

3 For thou hast before come him in the blessings of sweetness; thou hast set on his head a crown of precious stone. (For thou hast come before him with the blessings of goodness; thou hast set upon his head a crown of pure gold.)

4 He asked of thee life, and thou gavest it to him; the length of days into the world, and into the world of world. (He asked for life from thee, and thou gavest it to him; yea, length of days forever and ever.)

5 His glory is great in thine health; thou shalt put glory, and great fairness, on him. (His glory is great because of thy help/Thy salvation hath brought him great glory; thou shalt put honour, and majesty, upon him.)

6 For thou shalt give him into blessing into the world of world; thou shalt make him glad in joy with thy cheer. (For thou shalt make him blessed forever and ever; thou shalt make him glad with joy before thee.)

7 For the king hopeth in the Lord; and in the mercy of the highest he shall not be moved. (For the king trusteth in the Lord; and by the love of the Most High, he shall not be moved, or shaken.)

8 Thine hand be found to all thine enemies; thy right hand find all them that hate thee. (Thy hand shall find all thy enemies; thy right hand shall find all those who hate thee.)

9 Thou shalt put them as a furnace of fire in the time of thy cheer; the Lord shall trouble them in his ire, and fire shall devour them. (Thou shalt put them into a fiery furnace at the time of thy coming; the Lord in his anger shall trouble them, and then fire shall devour them.)

10 Thou shalt lose the fruit of them from the earth; and the seed of them from the sons of men. (Thou shalt destroy their descendants from off the earth; yea, their children from among the sons and daughters of men.)

11 For they bowed evil against thee; they thought counsels, which they might not stablish. (For they brought in evil against thee; yea, they thought out evil plans, but they could not execute them.)

12 For thou shalt put them aback; in thy remnants thou shalt make ready the cheer of them. (For thou shalt make them turn, and run away, when thou shalt aim thy arrows at them.)

13 Lord, be thou enhanced in thy virtue; we shall sing, and say openly thy virtues. (Lord, be thou exalted in thy strength; we shall sing, and shall talk openly, about thy power.)

Psalms 21 Commentary

Chapter 21

Thanksgiving for victory. (1-6) Confidence of further success. (7-13)

Verses 1-6 Happy the people whose king makes God's strength his confidence, and God's salvation his joy; who is pleased with all the advancements of God kingdom, and trusts God to support him in all he does for the service of it. All our blessings are blessings of goodness, and are owing, not to any merit of ours, but only to God's goodness. But when God's blessings come sooner, and prove richer than we imagine; when they are given before we prayed for them, before we were ready for them, nay, when we feared the contrary; then it may be truly said that he prevented, or went before us, with them. Nothing indeed prevented, or went before Christ, but to mankind never was any favour more preventing than our redemption by Christ. Thou hast made him to be a universal, everlasting blessing to the world, in whom the families of the earth are, and shall be blessed; and so thou hast made him exceeding glad with the countenance thou hast given to his undertaking, and to him in the prosecution of it. The Spirit of prophecy rises from what related to the king, to that which is peculiar to Christ; none other is blessed for ever, much less a blessing for ever.

Verses 7-13 The psalmist teaches to look forward with faith, and hope, and prayer upon what God would further do. The success with which God blessed David, was a type of the total overthrow of all Christ's enemies. Those who might have had Christ to rule and save them, but rejected him and fought against him, shall find the remembrance of it a worm that dies not. God makes sinners willing by his grace, receives them to his favour, and delivers them from the wrath to come. May he exalt himself, by his all-powerful grace, in our hearts, destroying all the strong-holds of sin and Satan. How great should be our joy and praise to behold our Brother and Friend upon the throne, and for all the blessings we may expect from him! yet he delights in his exalted state, as enabling him to confer happiness and glory on poor sinners, who are taught to love and trust in him.

Chapter Summary

To the chief Musician, a Psalm of David. This psalm was either written by David; and therefore called a "psalm of David"; or it was written, as it may be rendered, "for David," by some other person, on account of his victories and triumphs; or rather "concerning David" {s}; that is, concerning the Messiah, the son of David, as Kimchi says some expound it; or concerning the Messiah, who is called David, Ezekiel 37:24; and Jarchi observes, that their Rabbins interpret it of the Messiah; but, says he, it is right to explain it, moreover, of David himself, for an answer to the heretics (Christians) who err in it; and various passages in this psalm are by the Jewish writers understood of the Messiah; as "the King," in Psalm 20:1 is in the Targum called the King Messiah; Psalm 21:4 is in the Talmud applied {t} to him; Psalm 21:3 are in Zohar {u}, and in the Midrashes {w}, interpreted of him; and many Christian writers understand the whole of him; which is right: though Theodoret thinks it was penned on the account of the health of King Hezekiah, and his restoration from his disease; which is not likely.

{s} dwdl "pro Davide, vel de Davide," Vatablus. {t} T. Bab. Succah, fol. 52. 1. Vid. Nachman. disput. "cum fratre Paulo," p. 36. Ed. Wagenseil. {u} In Numb. fol. 68. 3. 4. {w} Midrash Tillim apud Viccars. in loc. & in Galatin. l. 3. c. 9. Bemidbar Rabba, fol. 212. 4. & 218. 1.