Psalms 21:1

The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord,.... Either in that strength which is in Jehovah himself, in whom is everlasting strength; and which is seen in the works of creation and providence, and is

The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! This 21st forms a pair with the 20th Psalm.

Psalms 21 The subject of this Psalm is the same with the former, both being made for the people’ s use, concerning the king; only the prayers there used are here turned into praises for the blessings received in answer to their prayers. And as David was an illustrious type of Christ, so in many of these expressions he may seem to look beyond himself unto Christ, in whom they are more properly and fully accomplished, and of whom divers of the ancient Hebrew doctors understand it. David, out of a sense of God’ s answering his prayers for all he asked, professeth his joy and gladness in him, . His confidence for further success, ; that God will find out and consume his enemies, . He prayeth that God would exalt his strength, that he might praise his power, . In thy strength conferred upon him, and put forth by thee on his behalf against his enemies.

Psalms 21:1 « To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. » The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!Ver. 1. The king shall joy in thy strength] This psalm dependeth upon the former, and is therefore fitly set next unto it. Some call it David’ s triumphant song of praise, for victory gotten over the Ammonites and Syrians. For that victory it was certainly which he and the people had begged so fervently, Psalms 20:1-9, and promised solemnly to rejoice in God’ s salvation &c., Psalms 21:5, as here is done accordingly. Vow and perform unto the Lord your God: bring presents, &c., Psalms 76:11. And in thy salvation] All is God’ s. As Joab once sent to David to come and take the honour of the victory over Rabbah of the Ammonites; so dealeth David by the Lord. His posy was, Non nobis, Domine; not by us, O Lord, his practice was to drive a holy trade between earth and heaven, receiving and returning, importing one commodity and transporting another: prayers and praises were his whole life.

(1) The king shall.—Rather, the king is exulting in thy might (which has secured the victory he prayed for), and in thy help how greatly glad is he.

PSALM XXI The psalmist returns thanks to God for giving him the victory over his enemies; which victory he had earnestly requested, 1, 2. He enters into a detail of the blessings that in consequent of the victory he had obtained, 3-7. He predicts the destruction of all those who may hereafter rise up against him, 8-12; and concludes with praising the power of Jehovah, 13. NOTES ON PSALM XXI In the title of this Psalm there is nothing particularly worthy of remark. The occasion of it is variously understood. Some think it was composed to celebrate the victory obtained over Sennacherib; others, that it was made on the recovery of Hezekiah, and the grant of fifteen years of longer life; see Psalms 21:4. Others and they with most appearance of propriety consider it a song of rejoicing composed by David for his victory over the Ammonites, which ended in the capture of the royal city of Rabbah, the crown of whose king David put on his own head, see Psalms 21:3, and to procure which victory David offered the prayers and sacrifices mentioned in the preceding Psalm. Lastly, many think that it is to be wholly referred to the victories of the Messiah; and it must be owned that there are several expressions in it which apply better to our Lord than to David, or to any other person; and to him the Targum applies it, as does likewise my old Anglo-Scottish Psalter in paraphrasing the text. Verse 1. The king shall joy] מלך משיחא melech Meshicha, "the King Messiah." - Targum. What a difference between ancient and modern heroes! The former acknowledged all to be of God, because they took care to have their quarrel rightly founded; the latter sing a Te Deum, pro forma, because they well know that their battle is not of the Lord. Their own vicious conduct sufficiently proves that they looked no higher than the arm of human strength. God suffers such for a time, but in the end he confounds and brings them to naught.

1–7. The people’s thanksgiving for Jehovah’s favour to their king.

The king shall joy in thy strength - King David, who had achieved the victory which he had desired and prayed for, Psalms 20:1-9.

1. The king shall joy—Chaldee, the king Messiah. In thy strength— Because through the strength of Jehovah alone he had triumphed.