seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Psalm 21[a] For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 The king rejoices in your strength, Lord.
How great is his joy in the victories you give!
How great is his joy in the victories you give!
2 You have granted him his heart’s desire
and have not withheld the request of his lips.(b)
3 You came to greet him with rich blessings
and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.
4 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him—
length of days, for ever and ever.
5 Through the victories you gave, his glory is great;
you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.
6 Surely you have granted him unending blessings
and made him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord;
through the unfailing love of the Most High
he will not be shaken.
and have not withheld the request of his lips.(b)
3 You came to greet him with rich blessings
and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.
4 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him—
length of days, for ever and ever.
5 Through the victories you gave, his glory is great;
you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.
6 Surely you have granted him unending blessings
and made him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord;
through the unfailing love of the Most High
he will not be shaken.
8 Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies;
your right hand will seize your foes.
9 When you appear for battle,
you will burn them up as in a blazing furnace.
The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath,
and his fire will consume them.
10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth,
their posterity from mankind.
11 Though they plot evil against you
and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed.
12 You will make them turn their backs
when you aim at them with drawn bow.
your right hand will seize your foes.
9 When you appear for battle,
you will burn them up as in a blazing furnace.
The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath,
and his fire will consume them.
10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth,
their posterity from mankind.
11 Though they plot evil against you
and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed.
12 You will make them turn their backs
when you aim at them with drawn bow.
13 Be exalted in your strength, Lord;
we will sing and praise your might.
we will sing and praise your might.
a. Psalm 21:1 In Hebrew texts 21:1-13 is numbered 21:2-14.
b. Psalm 21:2 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.
Wow.... the easy English has a little commentary on this chapter....
Word list
crown ~ a special hat that a king wears
honour ~ when people think that you are important and honest
Most High ~ here it is a name for God
work ~ here it means to happen as they wanted
arrows ~ sharp sticks shot by bows
The story of Psalms 20 and 21
In Psalm 20 the king and his army are going to war. In verses 1-5 the people pray for them. In verses 6-8 the king says that he believes that he will win as God will give him help. Then the people will say, "LORD, save the king". This probably happened in Jerusalem every time that there was a war. It started with David, but other kings after him did it. In Psalm 21 the king and his army come back. They have won the war, so they thanked God.
What Psalms 20 and 21 mean
Psalm 20: 1 – 5: "Trouble" here means "war". "Jacob" means the "Jews". God is everywhere, in heaven and earth. The Jews prayed to him on a hill in Jerusalem. They called it Zion. Later they built their temple there. "He will make you strong from Zion", means "God will give you the help that you ask for". They also gave God their offerings on the hill Zion
Psalm 20: 6 – 9: The right hand of God here means what God does on earth. Modern armies use guns and planes, not chariots and horses. Christians are like David: they trust in the LORD. "Move the king" means "make the king trust another god".
Psalm 21: 1 – 7: The king came back to Jerusalem. He had won the war. So the King and the people are happy. They can now live in peace.
Psalm 21: 8 – 13: War is very bad for everyone. This is one picture of it. There are many more in the Bible. It says: that God will find all his enemies. He will also punish them (Punish means hurt). There is no peace for these people. People think of God as being high above them.
When I opened this chapter of Psalms... and read it.... the title I got out of it was "War Song?". I thought this was about a war David and his men had to fight. The old song question "How you gonna keep em down on the farm.... " seems to get an odd answer here..... David doesn't want to go to war.... no doubt he'd rather be back with the sheep on the side of hill than messing with war and crazy insane kings trying to kill him.... after David sang to him to ease a kings worries..... Yep... it's a war song.I think it might work really well for the average everyday human wars. Know what I mean?
