"The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah. For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head. He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever. His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him. For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance. For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved. Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee. 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. Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men. For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform. Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them. Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power." (Psalm 21:1-13)

            This psalm is a companion to the previous psalm. Psalm 20 was a prayer written by David for himself, for use by Israel before he went into battle. This psalm details God's answer to that prayer. One of the major lessons of this psalm is that if we pray to God and He answers our prayers we should praise God for that blessing. If we fail to praise God for what He has done for us we deserve it if our request is denied the next time we pray. This psalm points us to the King of Kings that we all must honor. The next psalm will take us to the cross!

            Blessings from God -- Psalm 21:1-7: Many blessings that David received from God are listed in a general way in this section of Scripture. These blessings were answers to the prayer of Psalm 20. God does answer the prayers of His faithful children. Every good blessing is ascribed to the Lord. Strength and salvation originate with God. Let the king and all rulers rejoice in the Lord. Then nations can be blessed. This does not mean that all troubles will be removed, but instead God's strength will be there to help in time of trouble. God had literally given David the desire of his heart! It should be our goal to match the desire of our heart to the will of God. We pray for God's will to be done and our desire should be to accept and respect His will. We are so blessed that often blessings come even before we ask. David was the least kingly of all of Jesse's sons and yet God "placed a crown of pure gold on his head." God protected David and gave him long life as king. Life is good though, based only on how it is used. God made David a great king. David's story is "from shepherd boy to Israel's greatest king." The blessings that God gave David led to eternal blessings. "Surely You have granted him eternal blessings and made him glad with the joy of Your presence." Those who trust in God enjoy His unfailing love.

            Misery for the wicked -- Psalm 21:8-12: God will provide victory over the wicked and over evil. Do not worry about why the wicked prosper. God will take care of that! God gave David victory and we serve the same God! Why would anyone be so foolish as to remain an enemy of God? "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Hebrews 10:31) The psalmist wrote, “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." (Psalm 21:9) God's people are victorious but the schemes of the wicked are frustrated. "They intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform." (Psalm 21:11)

            Praise God for His blessings -- Psalm 21:13: David concluded the psalm saying, "Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power." He concluded by praising God for His goodness. David praised God for His strength and His goodness. We too should sing praise to God for His greatness. We have been blessed by God far beyond what our words could ever express. However, let us live our lives in thankfulness to God for His goodness! 

            Life is not always easy. Therefore there is urgency in having God with you in life. Be thankful to Him for His blessings. To become a Christian you must hear the gospel (Romans 10:17), believe in Jesus as the Christ (Mark 16:16), repent of all sins (Acts 17:30), confess Christ as Lord (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized for remission of sins. (Acts 2:38) After baptism remain faithful to God. (Revelation 2:10) Heaven is too glorious to miss.