Embrace the Word for Friday, February 6, 2026
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Psalm 21, which as the superscription states, is a Psalm of David. Psalm 21 is a celebration of the answered prayers of Psalm 20. Psalm 20 ended with a statement about the king: “O LORD, save the king! May he answer us when we call” (20:9). Now Psalm 21 opens with a statement about the king: “O LORD, in your strength the king rejoices, and in your salvation how greatly he exults!” (21:1). Psalm 21 begins with an expression of praise and thanksgiving for how the Lord answered the prayers for the king offered in Psalm 20. You might recall the interpretive matter mentioned at the outset of our look at Psalm 20. It is my perspective that Psalm 20, and thus, now Psalm 21, serve as prayers that David offered on behalf of the future king. I believe that the end of Psalm 18 supplies the catalyst for an understanding of who is praying in Psalm 20 and Psalm 21. Psalm 18 ends with David referencing his promised offspring:“Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever” (See Psalm 18:50). As Psalm 18 was David’s celebration for how the Lord delivered him from the wicked and raised him up as king over his enemies, Psalm 20 was David’s petitions for the Lord to do the same with the future king that will come from his line. Psalm 21 is David’s acknowledgment of what the Lord would bring to pass for his offspring.
Psalm 21 opens with an appreciation of the king’s strength: “O LORD, in your strength the king rejoices, and in your salvation how greatly he exults!” (21:1). It will close with the same focus of appreciation: “Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power” (21:13). David is describing, specifically in the opening verse, that the king will be glad and rejoice in the Lord’s strength. David had prayed in Psalm 20 for the Lord’s strength to be the king’s salvation: “Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand” (20:6). David had also prayed in Psalm 20 for all the desires of his offspring to come to fulfillment: “May he grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans!…May the LORD fulfill all your petitions!” (20:4,5b). Now David recognizes that the Lord will fulfill the desires and petitions of his offspring: “You have given him his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah” (21:2). All that David yearned for concerning the future king, he now celebrates as being realized for the future king.
David praises the Lord for all the things that He promised He would do for the future ultimate king elsewhere in Scripture. David knew the Scriptures; such was the requirement of Israel’s kings (See Deuteronomy 17:18-20). David knew the Bible and thus David knew the God of the Bible. David’s prayers for his offspring reflect his grasp of what God has promised, in His Word, to do for the king who would come. For instance, David described the blessings that the Lord would grant to the king: “For you meet him with rich blessings” (21:3a). David is acknowledging the Lord’s fulfillment of the promises to Abraham of blessings (See Genesis 12:1-3). David described the king’s crown: “you set a crown of fine gold upon his head” (21:3b). David is acknowledging the Lord’s fulfillment that kings would come through Abraham (See Genesis 17:6). David described the king’s long life: “He asked life of you; you gave it to him, length of days forever and ever” (21:4). David is acknowledging the Lord’s fulfillment that through his own house would come one who would live and rule forever (See 2 Samuel 7:13). David is even describing the bestowal of glory and splendor and majesty upon the future king: “His glory is great through your salvation; splendor and majesty you bestow on him” (21:5). David is linking what he had stated in Psalm 8 about himself as king, to Adam’s original placement in the Garden as a ruler (See Genesis 1:26-28). David also associates the joy that he experienced in the presence of the Lord (see Psalm 16:11), with the Lord’s joyful presence in his offspring: “For you make him most blessed forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence” (21:6).
David’s confidence in the outcome of his offspring is rooted in the mighty love of God working trust into his offspring: “For the king trusts in the LORD, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved” (21:7). Remember, once again, how Psalm 18 ended, referencing his promised offspring:“Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever” (18:50). The Lord showed His steadfast love to David and his offspring. Such steadfast love would forge the king to have such a trust in the Lord that both he as king as well as his kingdom would never teeter, but always be strong and stable. There would be moments in Israel’s subsequent history that the Davidic descendant ruling the nation did not possess David’s trust in the Lord and therefore obedience to the Lord. Many of the Davidic kings were rascals and rebels. The Covenant that the Lord made with David made provision for such offspring: “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him” (See 2 Samuel 7:14-15a). But the Lord’s steadfast love would preserve the line of David and raise up an offspring who would truly trust in the Lord. But even after the Davidic line of kings would be carried away into exile and the nation leveled, the Lord would reiterate His promises: “And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. My steadfast love I will keep for him forever, and my covenant will stand firm for him. I will establish his offspring forever and his throne as the days of the heavens” (See Psalm 89:27-29).
Verse 7 is the hinge of this Psalm. As David continues celebrating his offspring’s ascendancy to the throne, the focus of Psalm 21 shifts to highlight some of the ultimate success of the future Davidic king: “Your hand will find out all your enemies; your right hand will find out those who hate you” (21:8). The true reign of the king requires the defeat of his enemies. Just as David praised the Lord when his enemies were defeated (See Psalm 18:3,17,37,40,48), so it would be concerning the enemies of David’s offspring. Judgment upon the enemies of David’s offspring would be total: “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” (21:9-10). The enemies would be consumed with fire and destroyed. Just as David praised the Lord when his enemies were consumed by fire (See Psalm 18:8,12,13), so it would be the same for the enemies of David’s offspring. The language of judgment by fire occurs often in association with God’s plans (See Isaiah 26:11; 66:15-16; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8; and 2 Peter 3:5-7). Such total judgment would be just: “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” (21:11-12). The enemies of the offspring would not prevail, for the offspring himself would aim his bow and release his arrows. When the offspring of David defeats his enemies the ultimate celebration will erupt: “Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power” (21:13). When the Lord establishes His king (See Psalm 2), then the people of the king’s kingdom will respond in songs of praise. Perhaps one song to be included has already been previewed for the church: “After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants” (Revelation 19:1-2).
As we reflect on Psalm 21 we must consider the destruction of the enemies of God and His king. With the further unfolding of God’s revelation, we now know that Jesus is the offspring that David prayed for: “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (See Luke 1:32-33). When Jesus returns, He will fulfill the destruction that David speaks of as sure and certain: “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” (21:9-10). But David is not the only writer of Scripture that speaks of such certainties. The Apostle Paul does as well: “when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction” (See 2 Thessalonians 1:7b-9a). When the Lord Jesus returns, the ultimate triumph of the King will be fully manifested. The King will fully and forever rule and reign. But this means that all enemies of God will be destroyed at that time. So, when we pray, “Come, Lord Jesus!” (See Revelation 22:20), we are praying that the wicked who remain unrepentant will be destroyed.
That’s all for Embrace the Word for Friday, February 6, 2026. I look forward to being back with you for the Monday, February 9, 2026 episode of Embrace the Word as we take a look at Psalm 22.