The King shall joy in Thy strength, O Lord …” Psalm 21:1 KJV
O LORD, in Your strength the king will be glad… Psalm 21:1 NASB
Psalm 21 pictures a victorious King who has been richly honoured and blessed by God. There may be reason to link this with King David. But he is only a faint picture of a greater King worthy of greater honour. His victory was far more important than any victory that David ever enjoyed.
The Psalm details for us some of the honours that God will heap upon His Son for all eternity. It will be manifest in a millennial kingdom, but it will segue into His everlasting Kingdom.
We are told that Jehovah has granted Him the desire of His heart. What was the Saviour’s greatest desire? I would think that among the many things for which He made request in the Upper Room (John 17), it was to glorify the Father. His death, resurrection, and ascension have done all of that. He asked to be glorified that He might in resurrection glory continue to bring glory to the Father and to manifest His Name (John 17:1).
Then, in verse 3, there are the blessings of goodness that He has received. What do you think these might include? He has been given the authority to give eternal life to all who trust Him. He has poured out the Spirit of God to form a Body, the Church. He has given the Spirit to indwell us on our journey home. These are only a few of the blessings He received to shower on us.
Upon His head, there now rests a crown of pure gold. Hebrews 2 tells us that God had crowned Adam with glory and honour, but that crown rolled in the dust after the fall in Eden. But the last Adam has triumphed and will one day reign over a new creation. The crown will never fall from the head of this Last Adam.
In verse 4, we are told that the king requested life and to Him has been given length of days forever and ever. Resurrection means a literal man has entered heaven in the power of a life that will never end. And since He is the firstfruits from the dead, we shall enjoy that same resurrection life. God has given Him that honour in resurrection. “He was heard in that he feared” (Heb 5:7).
He is clothed in garments of honour and majesty. Men clothed Him in mockery and then stripped all His clothes from Him. God not only has reversed that but has exchanged the garments of shame and dishonour for garments of glory and majesty. He wore a garment on earth that could not be rent; it was symbolic of His perfect person. He shall be clothed eternally in garments of glory and beauty as our Great High Priest. He will outshine Aaron and execute a priesthood far superior to his as well.
But the list of honours closes with a mention of the gladness He enjoys with the countenance (appearing in v 9 is the same word) of God. Psalm 16 reminds us that “in Thy presence is fullness of joy” (v 11). How significant and poignant, then, that the very next Psalm begins with a cry of desolation because of the loss of the enjoyment of that countenance (Ps 22:1).
The final step in the glory accorded to this Son-King is in verse 7. “He shall not be moved.” The security of His eternal glory is unshakeable. His glory and the blessings linked with His victory are assured to Him and to His people forever.
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The remainder of the Psalm, vv 8-13, details what God will do to His foes. This may well be a song that the millennial saints will sing, looking back on the victory of the Lord Jesus, not only at Calvary but at Armageddon.