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The King Rejoices in the Lord’s Strength
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
21 O LORD, in your strength the king rejoices,
and in your salvation how greatly he exults!
You have given him his heart’s desire
and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
For you meet him with rich blessings;
you set a crown of fine gold upon his head.
He asked life of you; you gave it to him,
length of days forever and ever.
His glory is great through your salvation;
splendor and majesty you bestow on him.
For you make him most blessed forever;
you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
For the king trusts in the LORD,
and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.
Your hand will find out all your enemies;
your right hand will find out those who hate you.
You will make them as a blazing oven
when you appear.
The LORD will swallow them up in his wrath,
and fire will consume them.
You will destroy their descendants from the earth,
and their offspring from among the children of man.
Though they plan evil against you,
though they devise mischief, they will not succeed.
For you will put them to flight;
you will aim at their faces with your bows.
Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength!
We will sing and praise your power.
(ESV)
Psalm 21 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
There is a theme of kingship within this psalm. It’s likely it was originally composed for recital during the ceremony of enthronement for a king. In his commentary titled “Psalms,” James Luther Mays writes, “the theological purpose of Psalm 21 is to subordinate the human king to the divine king. Everything the king is, has, and does comes from God.” We can expand this truth to our current context. Whatever kind of leadership or position of authority that you find yourself in, it’s important to understand that God placed you there. The standard for those who have been given much is that much is expected and required.
There is the temptation to interpret this psalm as asking for whatever we want from God and expecting Him to deliver. The framing of these requests are done in a relationship with God from what He has birthed in us. Take a look at verse 2.
You have given him his heart’s desire, And You have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah.
Psalms 21:2 NASB
It’s fascinating to consider that many of us do not get close enough to Jesus to know what to ask Him for. If God knows the deepest desires of our heart and wants to bless us with those, wouldn’t it make sense that we should lean into that relationship to uncover those desires. It can be stated that these blessings will not occur unless we request them.
If God places a burden on your heart to switch professions, He will faithfully give you the peace, courage, and provison to make that transition. It may not come easily, but it will come faithfully. Living this way can be scary because there is risk involved. This is why we must stay focused and invested in our relationship with Jesus. If you look back on the reasons that Hank listed (from David Guzik) for why we do not see answers to prayer, they all stem from a refusal to abide in Jesus.
So the challenge today is to seek God in order to know how to pray. It should come as a natural progression. We observe the faithfulness of God, lean into Him, and receive holy instruction on how and where to direct our prayers. Consider the possibility that the deepest desires of our hearts have not even been realized because of our refusal to seek God and step out in faith.