Messiah’s Present Joy and Future Victory

This prayer and song is a sequel to the preceding one. Psalm 20 anticipates, this one celebrates, and celebrates a victory. What is applied to David here is also significant of his greater Son, the Lord Jesus.

The word “preventest,” in v. 3, is the old word for ‘proceedeth,’ or ‘goes before.’ God is the forerunner with all blessings. Christ ultimately changed His crown of thorns for a crown of pure gold. Those who imagine a vain thing and mischievous devices against God’s Anointed, will experience the might of His right Hand upon them in judgment. It is when we become conscious of His victory and know the defeat of His foes, we can sing His praise and sing of His power.

Pastor Jeff O’ Neil

Psalm 21

¹The king in thy great strength, O LORD,
Shall very joyful be:
In thy salvation rejoice
How veh’mently shall he!

²Thou hast bestowed upon him
All that his heart would have;
And thou from him didst not withhold
Whate’er his lips did crave.

³For thou with blessings him prevent’st
Of goodness manifold;
And thou hast set upon his head
A crown of purest gold.

⁴When he desired life of thee,
Thou life to him didst give;
Ev’n such a length of days, that he
For evermore should live.

⁵In that salvation wrought by thee
His glory is made great;
Honour and comely majesty
Thou hast upon him set.

⁶Because that thou for evermore
Most blessed hast him made;
And thou hast with thy countenance
Made him exceeding glad.

⁷Because the king upon the LORD
His confidence doth lay;
And through the grace of the most High
Shall not be mov’d away.

⁸Thine hand shall all those men find out
That en’mies are to thee;
Ev’n thy right hand shall find out those
Of thee that haters be.

⁹Like fiery ov’n thou shalt them make,
When kindled is thine ire;
GOD shall them swallow in his wrath,
Devour them shall the fire.

¹⁰Their fruit from earth thou shalt destroy,
Their seed men from among:
¹¹For they beyond their might ‘gainst thee
Did plot mischief and wrong.

¹²Thou therefore shalt make them turn back,
When thou thy shafts shalt place
Upon thy strings, made ready all
To fly against their face.

¹³In thy great pow’r and strength, O LORD,
Be thou exalted high;
So shall we sing with joyful hearts,
Thy power praise shall we.