Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 21:13

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 21:13. Be thou exalted — Exalt thyself, O Lord - thy creatures cannot exalt thee. Lift thyself up, and discomfit thy foes by thine own strength! Thou canst give a victory to thy people over the most formidable enemies, though they strike not one blow in their own defence. God's right hand has often given the victory to his followers, while they stood still to see the salvation of God. How little can the strength of man avail when the Lord raiseth up himself to the battle! His children, therefore, may safely trust in him, for the name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous flee into it, and are safe.

Praise thy power. — God is to receive praise in reference to that attribute which he has exhibited most in the defence or salvation of his followers. Sometimes he manifests his power, his mercy, his wisdom, his longsuffering, his fatherly care, his good providence, his holiness, his justice, his truth, c. Whatever attribute or perfection he exhibits most, that should be the chief subject of his children's praise. One wants teaching, prays for it, and is deeply instructed: he will naturally celebrate the wisdom of God. Another feels himself beset with the most powerful adversaries, with the weakest of whom he is not able to cope: he cries to the Almighty God for strength he is heard, and strengthened with strength in his soul. He therefore will naturally magnify the all-conquering power of the Lord. Another feels himself lost, condemned, on the brink of hell; he calls for mercy, is heard and saved: mercy, therefore, will be the chief subject of his praise, and the burden of his song.

The old Anglo-Scottish Psalter says, We sal make knowen thi wordes in gude wil and gude werk, for he synges well that wirkes well. For thi, sais he twise, we sal syng; ane tyme for the luf of hert; another, for the schewyng of ryghtwisness, til ensampil.

ANALYSIS OF THE TWENTY-FIRST PSALM

This is the people's Eπινικιον, or triumphal song, after the victory which they prayed for in the former Psalm, when David went out to war. In this they praise God for the conquest which he gave him over his enemies, and for the singular mercies bestowed on himself. It consists of three parts: -

I. The general proposition, Psalms 21:1.

II. The narration, which is twofold, from Psalms 21:1-4. 1. An enumeration of the blessings bestowed on David, Psalms 21:1-6. 2. An account how God would deal with his enemies, Psalms 21:6-12.

III. A vow, or acclamation, Psalms 21:13, which is the epilogue of the piece.

I. The sum of the Psalm is contained in the first verse: "The king shall joy; the king shall be exceeding glad." Joy is the affection with which the king and people were transported; for all that follows shows but the rise and causes of it.

I. The rise and object of it: "The strength of God; the salvation of God." 1. His strength, by which he subdued his enemies, and contemned dangers. 2. His salvation, by which he escaped dangers, and fell not in battle.

II. 1. The narration of the goodness of God to David's person, the particulars of which are the following: -

1. God granted to him what his heart desired: "Thou hast given him his heart's desire," and what his lips requested: "and hast not withholden the request of his lips."

2. He granted him more than he asked: "Thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness."

3. He chose him to be king: "Thou hast set a crown of pure gold upon his head." In which God prevented him, and chose him when he thought not of it.

4. When David went to war, "he asked life, and thou gavest him even length of days for ever and ever:" which is most true of Christ, the Son of David. In him his life and kingdom are immortal.

5. A great accession of glory, honour, and majesty. Though his glory was great, it was in God's salvation; "Honour and majesty did God lay upon him."

All which are summed up under the word blessing in the next verse. "For thou hast made him most blessed for ever;" and God had added the crown of all, a heart to rejoice in it: "Thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance."

6. The continuance of these blessings, which is another favour, with the cause of it: "For the king trusteth in the Lord, and through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved.'' Thus far the first part of the narrative, which concerned David's person particularly.

2. The effects of God's goodness to David in outward things, and to the whole kingdom, in the overthrow of his enemies, (for without God's protection what kingdom is safe?) form the second part.

1. God would make David his instrument in delivering Israel by the overthrow of his enemies: "Thine hand."

2. He would certainly do it, for he could find them out wheresoever they were: "Thine hand shall find out thine enemies."

3. This was easy to be done, as easy as for fire to consume stubble: "Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven."

4. This destruction should be universal; it should reach even to their posterity: "Their fruit shalt thou destroy, and their seed."

5. Their judgment should be fearful and unavoidable. God would set them up as a mark to shoot at: "Thou shalt make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows."

At last the cause is added for these judgments; of the succour he will afford his afflicted, oppressed people; and the revenge he will take upon their enemies: "They intended evil against thee; they imagined a mischievous device."

III. The vow or acclamation. This is properly the epilogue, and has two parts: 1. A petition - "Save the king and the people." 2. A profession: "And we will give thanks to thee."

I. "Be thou exalted, O Lord, in thine own strength." Show thyself more powerful in defending thy Church than men and devils are in their attempts to destroy it.

2. We will be a thankful people; we will show that we have not received this grace of God in vain: "So will we sing, and praise thy power."

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 20-21 Before and after battle

These two psalms belong together as a pair. The former is a prayer for the king before he leads the people in battle; the latter, a thanksgiving after victory.
Addressing the king, the people call down God’s power and protection upon him (20:1-2). They pray that God will remember the king’s faithfulness and give him victory (3-5). The king replies that victory is certain, because he has God’s help. God’s power is greater than military might (6-8). In response, the people offer a further plea, brief and urgent, for God’s help (9).

The people join in thanksgiving to God that he has answered their prayer of the previous psalms (see Psalms 20:4). God has given the king his heart’s desire, enabling him to lead his people to victory (21:1-4). Although the king receives glory because of his victory, the glory is not self-centred. It is glory given him by God, in whom he trusts (5-7). Having offered thanks to God, the people turn and address the king. They assure him that through God’s power he will continue to have victory over all his enemies (8-12). King and people then unite in praise to God (13).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

“Be thou exalted, O Jehovah, in thy strength: So will we sing and praise thy power.”

As the psalm began, so it ends, in the praise of God. The very purpose for which God created men was that they might exalt and glorify God. There can be no higher activity on the part of mankind than that of worshipping and praising the Creator. “To fear God and keep his commandments is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). As a matter of fact the word `duty’ in that verse is not in the text which reads, “the whole of man,” instead of “the whole duty of man.” Nothing that mortal men can do could be as important as that of acquiring and maintaining a relationship with the Creator, attended by the utmost praise and adoration.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Be thou exalted, Lord, in thine own strength - This is the concluding part of the psalm (see the introduction), expressing a desire that God “might” be exalted over all his foes; or that his own strength might he so manifestly put forth that he would be exalted as he ought to be. This is the ultimate and chief desire of all holy created beings, that God might be exalted in the estimation of the universe above all other beings - or that he might so triumph over all his enemies as to reign supreme.

So will we sing and praise thy power - That is, as the result of thy being thus exalted to proper honor, we will unite in celebrating thy glory and thy power. Compare Revelation 7:10-12; Revelation 12:10; Revelation 19:1-3. This will be the result of all the triumphs which God will achieve in the world, that the holy beings of all worlds will gather around his throne and “sing and praise his power.” The “thought” in the psalm is that God will ultimately triumph over all his foes, and that this triumph will be followed by universal rejoicing and praise. Come that blessed day!

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

13.Raise thyself, O Jehovah! The psalm is at length concluded with a prayer, which again confirms that the kingdom which is spoken of is so connected with the glory of God, that his power is reflected from it. This was no doubt true with respect to the kingdom of David; for God in old time displayed his power in exalting him to the throne. But what is here stated was only fully accomplished in Christ, who was appointed by the heavenly Father to be King over us, and who is at the same time God manifest in the flesh. As his divine power ought justly to strike terror into the wicked, so it is described as full of the sweetest consolation to us, which ought to inspire us with joy, and incite us to celebrate it with songs of praise and thanksgivings.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 21:1-13

Again, to the chief musician, the psalm of David.

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 you have not withheld the requests of his lips ( Psalms 21:1-2 ).

Now the Selah indicates, really, sort of a change of thought. It sort of introduces a new idea. It is just sort of a rest, and then introducing of a new idea, new thought pattern.

For you prevent him with the blessings of goodness: you set a crown of pure gold on his head. He asks for life from thee, and you gave it to him, even the length of days for ever and ever. His glory is great in thy salvation ( Psalms 21:3-5 ):

He is talking about the king's delight in the Lord, and how he was just so gracious for what God has done.

For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance. For the king trusts in the LORD, and through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved. Your hand shall find out all your enemies: your right hand shall find out those that hate thee. You will make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD will swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them. Their fruit will you destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men. For they intended evil against thee: they imagined mischievous devices, that they are not able to perform. Therefore thou shalt make them to turn their back, when thou shalt make ready your arrows upon thy strings against the face of them. Be thou exalted, LORD, in your own strength: so will we sing of thy praise and thy power ( Psalms 21:5-13 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 21

This royal psalm of thanksgiving is a companion to the preceding one in that it records David’s thanksgiving for the victory that he anticipated in Psalms 20.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

3. Vow to praise 21:13

Evidently David joined his people in lifting up the Lord because of His strength. They promised continued worship for His power that had brought victory.

When God’s people experience victory over their spiritual enemies, they should acknowledge that their success is the work of God for them. We can look forward to future victories in the will of God because God is loyal to His promises and strong enough to overcome every foe.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Be thou exalted, Lord, in thine own strength,.... Exert thy strength, display thy power in such manner, that thou mayest be exalted and magnified on account of it. This was fulfilled at the destruction of Jerusalem, when the kingdom of God came with power, Mark 9:1; and will be again when Babylon shall be utterly destroyed, because the Lord is strong who judgeth her, Revelation 18:8; and finally at the day of judgment, when the wicked will be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and the glory of his power, 2 Thessalonians 1:9;

[so] will we sing and praise thy power; forms of such songs of praise may be seen, as Cocceius observes, in Revelation 11:15; at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, at the victory over the beast, and his image, and at the destruction of Babylon.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      7 For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.   8 Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.   9 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.   10 Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.   11 For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.   12 Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.   13 Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.

      The psalmist, having taught his people to look back with joy and praise on what God had done for him and them, here teaches them to look forward with faith, and hope, and prayer, upon what God would further do for them: The king rejoices in God (Psalms 21:1; Psalms 21:1), and therefore we will be thankful; the king trusteth in God (Psalms 21:7; Psalms 21:7), therefore will we be encouraged. The joy and confidence of Christ our King is the ground of all our joy and confidence.

      I. They are confident of the stability of David's kingdom. Through the mercy of the Most High, and not through his own merit or strength, he shall not be moved. His prosperous state shall not be disturbed; his faith and hope in God, which are the stay of his spirit, shall not be shaken. The mercy of the Most High (the divine goodness, power, and dominion) is enough to secure our happiness, and therefore our trust in that mercy should be enough to silence all our fears. God being at Christ's right hand in his sufferings (Psalms 16:8) and he being at God's right hand in his glory, we may be sure he shall not, he cannot, be moved, but continues ever.

      II. They are confident of the destruction of all the impenitent implacable enemies of David's kingdom. The success with which God had blessed David's arms hitherto was an earnest of the rest which God would give him from all his enemies round about, and a type of the total overthrow of all Christ's enemies who would not have him to reign over them. Observe, 1. The description of his enemies. They are such as hate him, Psalms 21:8; Psalms 21:8. They hated David because God had set him apart for himself, hated Christ because they hated the light; but both were hated without any just cause, and in both God was hated, John 15:23; John 15:25. 2. The designs of his enemies (Psalms 21:11; Psalms 21:11): They intended evil against thee, and imagined a mischievous device; they pretended to fight against David only, but their enmity was against God himself. Those that aimed to un-king David aimed, in effect, to un-God Jehovah. What is devised and designed against religion, and against the instruments God raises up to support and advance it, is very evil and mischievous, and God takes it as devised and designed against himself and will so reckon for it. (3.) The disappointment of them: "They devise what they are not able to perform," Psalms 21:11; Psalms 21:11. Their malice is impotent, and they imagine a vain thing,Psalms 2:1. (4.) The discovery of them (Psalms 21:8; Psalms 21:8): "Thy hand shall find them out. Though ever so artfully disguised by the pretences and professions of friendship, though mingled with the faithful subjects of this kingdom and hardly to be distinguished from them, though flying from justice and absconding in their close places, yet thy hand shall find them out wherever they are." There is no escaping God's avenging eye, no going out of the reach of his hand; rocks and mountains will be no better shelter at last than fig-leaves were at first. (5.) The destruction of them; it will be an utter destruction (Luke 19:27); they shall be swallowed up and devoured, Psalms 21:9; Psalms 21:9. Hell, the portion of all Christ's enemies, is the complete misery both of body and soul. Their fruit and their seed shall be destroyed,Psalms 21:10; Psalms 21:10. The enemies of God's kingdom, in every age, shall fall under the same doom, and the whole generation of them will at last be rooted out, and all opposing rule, principality, and power, shall be put down. The arrows of God's wrath shall confound them and put them to flight, being levelled at the face of them, Psalms 21:12; Psalms 21:12. That will be the lot of daring enemies that face God. The fire of God's wrath will consume them (Psalms 21:9; Psalms 21:9); they shall not only be cast into a furnace of fire (Matthew 13:42), but he shall make them themselves as a fiery oven or furnace; they shall be their own tormentors; the reflections and terrors of their own consciences will be their hell. Those that might have had Christ to rule and save them, but rejected him and fought against him, shall find that even the remembrance of that will be enough to make them, to eternity, a fiery oven to themselves: it is the worm that dies not.

      III. In this confidence they beg of God that he would still appear for his anointed (Psalms 21:13; Psalms 21:13), that he would act for him in his own strength, by the immediate operations of his power as Lord of hosts and Father of spirits, making little use of means and instruments. And, 1. Hereby he would exalt himself and glorify his own name. "We have but little strength, and are not so active for thee as we should be, which is our shame; Lord, take the work into thy own hands, do it, without us, and it will be thy glory." 2. Hereupon they would exalt him: "So will we sing, and praise thy power, the more triumphantly." The less God has of our service when a deliverance is in the working the more he must have of our praises when it is wrought without us.