King James Version
Psalms 21
13 verses with commentary
The King Rejoices in Your Strength
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!
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!</strong> Psalm 21 functions as a thanksgiving companion to Psalm 20—where Psalm 20 prayed for the king before battle, Psalm 21 celebrates answered prayer after victory. The verse opens with the king's joy (<em>yismach</em>, יִשְׂמַח), a Hebrew word expressing exuberant gladness. This joy isn't in...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(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.*
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
19. (Ac 10:34; 2Ch 19:7; Pr 22:2; Job 31:15).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Chapter Outline
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 ...
Read full commentary →Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.
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KJV Study Commentary
God's granting of the king's heart's desire demonstrates the Reformed doctrine of prayer's efficacy within divine sovereignty. The 'Selah' pause invites meditation on this profound truth: God answers prayers according to His perfect will. The king's desires are granted because they align with God's purposes, illustrating that sanctified hearts desire what God has decreed. This points ultimately to...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **Request.**—The Hebrew word occurs nowhere else, but is connected with a root, *to be poor, *and, therefore, *in want. *The “not” is emphatic: “And the request of his lips thou hast by no means withheld.” The mention in Psalm 21:4 of a prayer for long life, or perhaps, rather, continuance of life, suggests that this “request” was uttered in sickness. On the other hand the general tone of the ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20. they--**"the rich" and "princes" who offend God.
**the people--**namely, of the guilty princes: guilty also themselves.
**at midnight--**image from a night attack of an enemy on a camp, which becomes an easy prey (Ex 12:29, 30).
**without hand--**without visible agency, by the mere word of God (so Job 20:26; Zec 4:6; Da 2:34).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Chapter Outline
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 ...
Read full commentary →For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.
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KJV Study Commentary
The word 'preventest' (KJV) means 'to go before' or 'to anticipate'—God's blessings precede human action, demonstrating prevenient grace. The crown of pure gold symbolizes divine favor and sovereign appointment. From a Reformed perspective, this verse illustrates unconditional election: God's blessings flow from His sovereign choice, not human merit. God initiates, bestows, and establishes—the kin...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Thou preventest**—*i.e., *comest to meet him. The word “prevent” is familiar in this sense in the English collect: “Prevent us, O Lord, in all our doings.” (Comp. Psalm 79:8; 1Thessalonians 4:15.) The “crown “is by some identified with that won by David at Rabbah Moab. Others make it refer to a coronation. Ewald thinks of a birthday celebration. Probably no more is intended than a symbol of ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
21. God's omniscience and omnipotence enable Him to execute immediate justice. He needs not to be long on the "watch," as Job thought (Job 7:12; 2Ch 16:9; Jr 32:19).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Chapter Outline
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 ...
Read full commentary →He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever.
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KJV Study Commentary
The request for 'life' receives an answer of eternal life—'length of days for ever and ever.' While the earthly king sought temporal life, God's answer transcends time. This Messianic overtone points to Christ, who asked for life (Heb. 5:7) and received resurrection and eternal dominion. The Reformed understanding sees God's answers exceeding our petitions according to His sovereign purposes—we as...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **For ever** **and ever.**—This is merely a term for indefinite length. (Comp. the common salutation of a king: 1Kings 1:31; Nehemiah 2:3; Daniel 3:9.) An allusion to the eternal kingdom of the Messiah is not to be forced on the passage.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**22. shadow of death--**thick darkness (Am 9:2, 3; Psa 139:12).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Chapter Outline
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 ...
Read full commentary →His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.</strong> This verse reveals the reciprocal relationship between God and His anointed king: God grants salvation, and this salvation brings the king glory. However, the verse carefully attributes the king's glory to God's saving work—'in thy salvation' his glory exists. The Hebrew word for 'glory' (<em>kavod</e...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
23. (1Co 10:13; La 3:32; Is 27:8). Better, as Umbreit, "He does not (needs not to) regard (as in Job 34:14; Is 41:20) man long (so Hebrew, Ge 46:29) in order that he may go (be brought by God) into judgment." Literally, "lest his (attention) upon men" (Job 11:10, 11). So Job 34:24, "without number" ought to be translated, "without [needing any] searching out," such as has to be made in human judgm...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Chapter Outline
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 ...
Read full commentary →For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance. made him most: Heb. set him to be blessings made him exceeding: Heb. make him glad with joy
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KJV Study Commentary
The king is 'most blessed' not through his own righteousness but through God's gracious favor. The Hebrew word for 'blessed' (barak) emphasizes divine empowerment. Reformed theology recognizes this as an expression of union with Christ—believers are blessed 'in Him' (Eph. 1:3). The 'exceeding gladness' comes from God's countenance (presence), the ultimate source of joy, not circumstances or achiev...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Most blessed.**—Literally, *blessings. *The idiom is similar to that in Psalm 1:1.
**With thy countenance.**—Rather, *In thy presence. *(Comp. Psalm 16:11.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**24. break in pieces--**(Psa 2:9; Job 12:18; Da 2:21).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Chapter Outline
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 ...
Read full commentary →For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.</strong> This verse identifies the foundation of the king's security: trust in YHWH. The Hebrew word for 'trusteth' (<em>batach</em>, בָּטַח) means to feel safe, to be confident, to have security. It's the same word used in Proverbs 3:5, 'Trust in the LORD with all thine heart.' This trust isn'...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**25. Therefore--**because He knows all things (Job 34:21). He knows their works, without a formal investigation (Job 34:24).
**in the night--**suddenly, unexpectedly (Job 34:20). Fitly in the night, as it was in it that the godless hid themselves (Job 34:22). Umbreit, less simply, for "overturneth," translates, "walketh"; that is, God is ever on the alert, discovering all wickedness.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**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 ...
Read full commentary →Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
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KJV Study Commentary
God's sovereign power to find and judge all enemies demonstrates His omniscience and omnipotence. The parallel structure ('hand'/'right hand') emphasizes completeness—no enemy escapes God's notice or power. Reformed theology sees this as an expression of God's justice: His wrath against sin is certain and exhaustive. This also points to Christ's future judgment when every knee shall bow (Phil. 2:1...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Thine.**—The psalm has hitherto been addressed to Jehovah. It now turns in prophetic strain to the king.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**26. He striketh them--**chasteneth.
**as--**that is, because they are wicked.
**sight of others--**Sinners hid themselves in darkness; therefore they are punished before all, in open day. Image from the place of public execution (Job 40:12; Ex 14:30; 2Sa 12:12).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**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 ...
Read full commentary →Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.
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KJV Study Commentary
The imagery of God's wrath as a 'fiery oven' consuming enemies reveals His holy hatred of sin and sovereign judgment. Reformed theology emphasizes God's wrath as a necessary attribute of His holiness—He cannot tolerate evil. This verse anticipates final judgment when God's enemies will face His consuming fire (2 Thess. 1:7-9). The king serves as God's instrument, but ultimate judgment belongs to t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Thou shalt make . . .**—As it stands the figure is most obscure. Lamentations 5:10 is not analogous. Here the fire and not the blackness of the smoky oven is the object of comparison. A very slight literal change gives the sense obviously required: *Thou shalt put them into a fiery oven. *The figure is not drawn from Sodom and Gomorrah, but from a smelter’s furnace. (Comp. Isaiah 31:9; Malac...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
27-28. The grounds of their punishment in Job 34:26. Job 34:28 states in what respect they "considered not God's ways," namely, by oppression, whereby "they caused the cry," &c.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**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 ...
Read full commentary →Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.
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KJV Study Commentary
God's judgment extends to the 'fruit' (descendants) and 'seed' (progeny) of the wicked, emphasizing the comprehensive nature of divine justice. From a Reformed perspective, this illustrates corporate solidarity in sin and judgment. However, it also reminds us of God's mercy in Christ, who bore the curse so that believers' 'seed' might be blessed (Gal. 3:13-14). Judgment is both individual and gene...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **Their fruit.**—More fully, “fruit of the womb” (Psalm 127:3; Psalm 132:11).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
27-28. The grounds of their punishment in Job 34:26. Job 34:28 states in what respect they "considered not God's ways," namely, by oppression, whereby "they caused the cry," &c.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**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 ...
Read full commentary →For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.
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KJV Study Commentary
Human schemes against God are futile—'they are not able to perform.' This verse expresses the Reformed doctrine of divine sovereignty: God's purposes cannot be thwarted by creature rebellion. The wicked 'imagine' evil, but God ordains all things according to His will (Prov. 19:21). Their inability demonstrates human impotence against divine omnipotence, a truth that both warns rebels and comforts ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **For they.**—Better, though they have intended evil against thee, have plotted mischief, they have no power at all.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
29. (Pr 16:7; Is 26:3).
**make trouble--**rather, "condemn" (Ro 8:33, 34). Maurer, from the reference being only to the godless, in the next clause, and Job 34:20 translates, "When God keeps quiet" (leaves men to perish) Psa 83:1; [Umbreit] from the Arabic (strikes to the earth), "who shall condemn Him as unjust?" Job 34:17.
**hideth ... face--**(Job 23:8, 9; Psa 13:1).
**it be done--**Wheth...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**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 ...
Read full commentary →Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them. shalt thou: or, thou shalt set them as a butt back: Heb. shoulder
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KJV Study Commentary
God causes His enemies to 'turn their back' in defeat—their flight is sovereignly ordained. The imagery of God preparing arrows 'against the face of them' depicts active divine judgment. Reformed theology sees God not merely permitting evil's defeat but actively bringing it about. God is the warrior who fights for His people; victory comes through His direct intervention, not human effort alone.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12*)* **Therefore.**—Literally, *for thou shalt put them shoulder *(*pones eos dorsum, *Vulg.). *Upon thy strings thou shalt aim against the face of them. *Ewald renders: “Shalt strike them back;” but the English version seems to explain rightly To “give the neck of an enemy” (Psalm 18:4) is a similar form of expression.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**30. Ensnared--**into sin (1Ki 12:28, 30). Or rather, "enthralled by further oppression," Job 34:26-28.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**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 ...
Read full commentary →Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.</strong> The psalm concludes with a doxology that redirects all praise from the king back to YHWH. 'Be thou exalted' (<em>rumah</em>, רוּמָה) is a prayer for God to manifest His supremacy, to be lifted high above all rivals and acknowledged by all creation. This exaltation is 'in thine own strength' (<em>be...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Thou.**—Again the song turns to address Jehovah.
**So will we sing and praise.**—Better, *We will both with song and lyre celebrate Thy power.*
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
31. Job accordingly says so (Job 40:3-5; Mi 7:9; Le 26:41). It was to lead him to this that Elihu was sent. Though no hypocrite, Job, like all, had sin; therefore through affliction he was to be brought to humble himself under God. All sorrow is a proof of the common heritage of sin, in which the godly shares; and therefore he ought to regard it as a merciful correction. Umbreit and Maurer lose th...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**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 ...
Read full commentary →