Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 21:7
For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.
7. The grounds of this blessing: on the king’s side, trust; on God’s side, lovingkindness (Psa 18:50). This verse forms the transition to the second division of the Psalm.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For the king – David, the author of the psalm.
Trusteth in the Lord – All these blessings have resulted from his confiding in God, and looking to him for his favor and protection.
And through the mercy of the Most High – The favor of Him who is exalted above all; the most exalted Being in the universe. The word mercy here is equivalent to favor. He had already experienced Gods favor; he looked for a continuance of it; and through that favor he was confident that he would never be shaken in his purposes, and that he would never be disappointed.
He shall not be moved – He shall be firmly established. That is, his throne would be firm; he himself would live a life of integrity, purity, and prosperity; and the promises which had been so graciously made to him, and which extended so far into the future, would all be acomplished. The truth taught here is, that however firm or prosperous our way seems to be, the continuance of our prosperity, and the completion of our hopes and our designs, depend wholly on the mercy or the favor of the Most High. Confiding in that, we may feel assured that whatever changes and reverses we may experience in our temporal matters, our ultimate welfare will be secure. Nothing can shake a hope of heaven that is founded on his gracious promises as made through a Saviour.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 7. The king trusteth in the Lord] It was not by my skill or valour that I have gained this victory, but by faith in the strong, protecting, and conquering arm of JEHOVAH.
He shall not be moved.] Perhaps this may be best understood of him who was David’s prototype. His throne, kingdom, and government, shall remain for ever.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Or removed, from his kingdom, as Saul was.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. The mediate cause is theking’s faith, the efficient, God’s mercy.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For the King trusteth in the Lord,…. That is, the King Messiah, as the Targum paraphrases it; he trusted in the Lord for his support and sustenance as man, for assistance and help in his time of trouble, and for deliverance out of it; he trusted in the Lord that he would hear him for himself, and for his people; and that he would glorify him with all glory, honour, majesty, and blessedness, before spoken of; see Ps 22:8;
and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved; God the Father is the most High; Christ is called the Son of the Highest, and the Spirit the power of the Highest, Lu 1:32; there is mercy with him, which is a ground of hope and trust, in his people, and also in the Messiah; see Ps 89:28; and some versions make the mercy of the most High to be what the King Messiah trusts in, reading the words b, “for the King trusteth in the Lord, and in the mercy of the most High”; but the accent “athnach”, which distinguishes the propositions, will not admit of it; but the sense is, that because of the mercy, grace, goodness, and faithfulness of God in making and keeping his promises, Christ would not be and was not moved from his trust and confidence in the Lord; nor shall he even be removed from his throne of glory on which he sits; nor from the glorious and happy state in which he is: nor will it ever be in the power of his enemies to displace him; for these in time will be destroyed by him, as the following words show.
b So Genebrard, Muis,
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(Heb.: 21:8-9) With this strophe the second half of the Psalm commences. The address to God is now changed into an address to the king; not, however, expressive of the wishes, but of the confident expectation, of the speakers. Hengstenberg rightly regards Psa 21:8 as the transition to the second half; for by its objective utterance concerning the king and God, it separates the language hitherto addressed to God, from the address to the king, which follows. We do not render Psa 21:8: and trusting in the favour of the Most High – he shall not be moved; the mercy is the response of the trust, which (trust) does not suffer him to be moved; on the expression, cf. Pro 10:30. This inference is now expanded in respect to the enemies who desire to cause him to totter and fall. So far from any tottering, he, on the contrary, makes a victorious assault upon his foes. If the words had been addressed to Jahve, it ought, in order to keep up the connection between Psa 21:9 and Psa 21:8, at least to have been and (his, i.e., the king’s, enemies). What the people now hope on behalf of their king, they here express beforehand in the form of a prophecy. (as in Isa 10:10) and seq. acc. (as in 1Sa 23:17) are distinguished as: to reach towards, or up to anything, and to reach anything, attain it. Supposing to represent the accusative, as e.g., in Psa 69:6, Psa 21:9 would be a useless repetition.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| The Subject’s Hope. | |
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 (v. 1), and therefore we will be thankful; the king trusteth in God (v. 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 (Ps. xvi. 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, v. 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, Joh 15:23; Joh 15:25. 2. The designs of his enemies (v. 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,” v. 11. Their malice is impotent, and they imagine a vain thing, Ps. ii. 1. (4.) The discovery of them (v. 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 xix. 27); they shall be swallowed up and devoured, v. 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, v. 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, v. 12. That will be the lot of daring enemies that face God. The fire of God’s wrath will consume them (v. 9); they shall not only be cast into a furnace of fire (Matt. xiii. 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 (v. 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.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
7. For the king trusteth. Here again the pious Israelites glory that their king shall be established, because he relies upon God; and they express at the same time how he relies upon him, namely, by hope or trust. I read the whole verse as one sentence, so that there is but one principal verb, and explain it thus:- The king, as he places by faith his dependence on God and his goodness, will not be subject to the disasters which overthrow the kingdoms of this world. Moreover, as we have said before, that whatever blessings the faithful attribute to their king, belong to the whole body of the Church, there is here made a promise, common to all the people of God, which may serve to keep us tranquil amidst the various storms which agitate the world. The world turns round as it were upon a wheel, by which it comes to pass, that those who were raised to the very top are precipitated to the bottom in a moment; but it is here promised, that the kingdom of Judah, and the kingdom of Christ of which it was a type, will be exempted from such vicissitude. Let us remember, that those only have the firmness and stability here promised, who betake themselves to the bosom of God by an assured faith, and relying upon his mercy, commit themselves to his protection. The cause or the ground of this hope or trust is at the same time expressed, and it is this, that God mercifully cherishes his own people, whom he has once graciously received into his favor.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
7. The king trusteth in the Lord The son of Sirach repeats an inspired truth: ( Sir 2:10 😉 “Look at the generations of old, and see; did ever any trust in the Lord, and was confounded?” See Heb 10:35
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
DISCOURSE: 525
TRUST IN GOD RECOMMENDED
Psa 21:7. The king trusteth in the Lord, and through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved.
THERE is an inseparable connexion between the duties and privileges of a Christian. It is his privilege to enjoy composure under all difficulties and dangers; but this he cannot possess, unless he repose his confidence in God. Nevertheless in relying upon God his mind shall be kept in perfect peace. David had known the storms of trouble as much as any man; but in the midst of all maintained a full assurance of divine protection. He records his experience in the words before us.
We shall consider them,
I.
According to their original import
This psalm, like many other parts of Scripture, has a double sense
In an historical view it speaks of David himself
[David had long been habituated to trust in the Lord. When he was yet a youth, he withstood a lion and a bear in dependence upon God [Note: 1Sa 17:36-37.]; nor feared to encounter him, who filled all the hosts of Israel with terror [Note: 1Sa 17:45; 1Sa 17:47.]. During the persecutions of Saul he still held fast his confidence; and, under the most imminent danger and accumulated trouble, encouraged himself in God [Note: 1Sa 30:6.]. Sometimes, indeed, his faith for a moment began to fail him [Note: 1Sa 27:1.]; but, on the whole, he was strong in faith, giving glory to God. Nor was he less sensible of his own insufficiency when he was a king: he still made the Most High his only and continual refuge [Note: Psa 91:2; Psa 56:2-4.]: and God approved himself faithful to his believing servant. There were indeed some occasions wherein David was greatly moved [Note: 2Sa 15:30.]; but these only served more fully to evince the power and faithfulness of his God [Note: 2Sa 23:5.].]
In a prophetical sense the words are applicable to Christ
[The whole psalm has an evident reference to the Messiah. Christ is that King who was raised to sit upon the throne of David [Note: Luk 1:32.]; and, as for every other good thing, so was he eminent for trust in God. He disregarded the plots of his most powerful enemies [Note: Luk 13:32.]; and, undaunted, renewed his visit to those who had lately sought to stone him [Note: Joh 11:8.]. He well knew that, till his hour was come, no power on earth could touch him [Note: Joh 19:11.]; nor was he ever left destitute of the divine protection. He seemed indeed to be moved when he was crucified through weakness; but he soon shewed how vain were the attempts of his adversaries. In his resurrection and ascension he led captivity itself captive: and he will in due season put all his enemies under his feet.]
In both these views the text sets before us an instructive example
But we may consider it further,
II.
In reference to the present occasion
The solemnities of this day prove that the former part of the text is exemplified also in our own monarch [Note: This was preached on occasion of the king going to St. Pauls to present the colours taken in three different engagements with the French, Spanish, and Dutch fleets.]
We may therefore hope that the latter part also shall be accomplished in him
[The religious conduct of kings is of great importance to a nation. Their piety indeed is not more meritorious than that of others; but it is often more beneficial to the community than that of a private person. In the days of old, God paid especial regard to the prayers of princes [Note: 2Ch 14:11-12; 2Ch 20:5-6; 2Ch 20:12; 2Ch 20:15; 2Ch 20:17; 2Ch 34:27 and Isa 37:21-22; Isa 37:33-34.]: even when they were of an abandoned character, he heard them [Note: 1Ki 21:29.]. How much more may we hope that he will respect those offered to him this day! The mercy of the Most High has hitherto been signally manifested towards us, and if we trust in him it shall yet be continued to us. We say not indeed but that, as a nation, we may be greatly moved. It is certain that we deserve the heaviest calamities that can fall upon us; but we shall not be given up to ruin if we cry unto God for help. To the end of the world shall that promise be fulfilled to repenting nations [Note: Jer 18:7-8.].]
Sure we are that they who trust in God for spiritual blessings shall never be disappointed
[Our thoughts on this occasion are not to be confined to temporal concerns. Much as we are interested in national mercies, the welfare of our souls is yet more important: yea, our spiritual progress is the great means of obtaining Gods protection to the state. Trust in God therefore, for spiritual blessings, is not foreign to the business of this day. Whatever our political sentiments may be, we are all equally concerned to seek acceptance through Christ. We all need to trust in the promises made to us in him; and, if we do, the gates of hell shall not be able to prevail against us. Though we have been led captive by our lusts, we shall have redemption through his blood; and though we have still to conflict with sin and Satan, we shall be made more than conquerors. The mercy of the Most High shall assuredly be extended to us. Sooner shall heaven and earth pass away than that promise fail of accomplishment [Note: 2Ch 20:20.].]
Application
[Let us habituate ourselves to view the hand of God in all our mercies, and to trust in him both for personal and national blessings; but let us not think, we trust in God, when in reality we do not. Trust in God necessarily implies a renunciation of all creature-confidence: it also supposes that we sincerely commit our cause to God, and that we plead the promises made to us in his word. If we seek not the Lord in this manner, we trust rather in chance, or in our own vain conceits, than in him. Let us then be earnest in our applications at the throne of grace. Let us be exceeding thankful to God for the mercies we have received, and in every difficulty, temporal or spiritual, confide in him. Thus shall we see an happy issue to our present troubles, and be monuments of Gods truth and faithfulness to all eternity.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
I do not interrupt the reading of these verses, that I may not swell the Commentary unnecessarily: they all refer to one and the same thing. The King Mediator having, by his own personal victories, established his kingdom, and committed his church into the hands of his Father, now being returned to glory (see Joh 17:11 , etc.), is assured that his church and redeemed shall be preserved in the earth, until their time comes to follow him to his kingdom. Hence all the different expressions contained in these verses are directed to one and the same end. The enemies of the cross may and will oppose; but the ultimate termination shall be victory to all the army of Jesus. The kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. Rev 11:15 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 21:7 For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.
7. For the king trusteth in the Lord ] So then his joy was the joy of faith, which is unspeakable and full of glory; and he must needs be safe who relieth upon God, Isa 26:4 .
He shall not be moved
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 21:7-13
7For the king trusts in the Lord,
And through the lovingkindness of the Most High he will not be shaken.
8Your hand will find out all your enemies;
Your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9You will make them as a fiery oven in the time of your anger;
The Lord will swallow them up in His wrath,
And fire will devour them.
10Their offspring You will destroy from the earth,
And their descendants from among the sons of men.
11Though they intended evil against You
And devised a plot,
They will not succeed.
12For You will make them turn their back;
You will aim with Your bowstrings at their faces.
13Be exalted, O Lord, in Your strength;
We will sing and praise Your power.
Psa 21:7 the king trusts in the Lord This is an affirmation of the king’s faith orientation (BDB 105, KB 120, Qal active participle, cf. Psa 4:5; Psa 9:10; Psa 13:5; Psa 22:4-5; Psa 22:9; and many more). The king has strength, joy, and deliverance only through YHWH.
the lovingkindness of the Most High The special covenant term, lovingkindness (hesed, BDB 338, see Special Topic: Lovingkindness ) means YHWH’s covenant loyalty. YHWH is always faithful, the King and the nation will be also, if they continue to trust (BDB 105, KB 120) in Him (cf. Psa 125:1). Nehemiah 9 is a record of YHWH’s faithfulness and Israel’s unfaithfulness!
For Most High (Elyon, BDB 751) see Special Topic: Names for Deity .
NASB, LXX,
JPSOAhe will not be shaken
NKJV, NRSVhe shall not be moved
TEVhe will always be secure
NJBwill keep him from falling
The verb (BDB 556, KB 555, Niphal imperfect) means totter, shake, or slip. It can be used in several senses.
1. place on the throne
2. security in life
3. godly lifestyle
To see the different senses see Psa 10:6; Psa 15:5; Psa 16:8; Psa 21:7; Psa 30:6; Psa 62:2; Psa 62:6; Psa 112:6; Pro 10:30; Pro 12:3. There is stability in YHWH but not in a fallen world.
Psa 21:8-12 These verses describe what YHWH (i.e., through the king’s army) will do if the king and people stay faithful.
1. power over your enemies
2. your enemies will be destroyed
3. your enemies and their descendants will be cut off and disappear
4. your enemies will not succeed in their plans (i.e., to plan against YHWH’s king and covenant people is to plan against Him, cf. Psa 21:11 a; Psa 2:1-3; Psa 83:1-5)
5. your enemies will retreat in battle
Some scholars (AB) see these verses as describing YHWH’s actions in battle on behalf of His covenant king and people.
hand This is a Hebrew idiom of the power to act. See SPECIAL TOPIC: HAND .
Psa 21:9 The Lord will swallow them up This verb (BDB 118, KB 134, Piel imperfect) is an idiom for complete destruction (cf. Job 2:3; Job 10:8; Lam 2:2; Lam 2:5; Lam 2:8).
Psa 21:13 This verse concludes the Psalm with commanded praises of YHWH.
1. Be exalted BDB 926, KB 1202, Qal imperative, cf. 2Sa 22:47; Psa 18:46; Psa 46:10; Psa 57:5; Psa 57:11; Psa 108:5
2. We will sing BDB 1010, KB 1479, Qal cohortative
3. We will praise BDB 274, KB 273, Piel cohortative
Your strength This mantra begins the Psalm (cf. Psa 21:1) and closes (cf. Psa 21:13) the Psalm. God is the chief character of the Bible. It is His book; it is about Him!
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.
1. How are Psalms 20, 21 related?
2. Does Psa 21:4 imply eternal life?
3. List the military imagery in Psa 21:7-13.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
trusteth = confldeth. Hebrew. batah. App-69.
mercy = lovingkindness, or grace.
MOST HIGH. Hebrew. Elyon.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 21:7
Psa 21:7
“For the king trusteth in Jehovah;
And through the loving-kindness of the Most High he shall not be moved.”
“The Most High” (Psa 21:7). This is the God who was worshipped by Melchizedek, and also by Abraham who identified the Most High as identical in every way with Jehovah (Gen 14:22). This title for Almighty God, “Signifies supreme dignity, unhampered power, and universal sway.
“The worship of Yahweh as `God Most High’ is widely evidenced in the Psalms (Psa 9:2; Psa 46:4; and Psa 92:1).” This might very well have resulted from David’s capture of Salem (Jerusalem). the city of Melchizedek, associated with the title, `God Most High’ in Genesis 14.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 21:7. David trusted in the Lord, not in the might of war chariots as did the heathen. (Psa 20:7.)
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
trusteth (See Scofield “Psa 2:12”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
For the: Psa 13:5, Psa 18:2, Psa 20:7, Psa 20:8, Psa 26:1, Psa 61:4, Psa 61:6, Psa 61:7, Psa 91:2, Psa 91:9, Psa 91:10, 1Sa 30:6, Mat 27:43, Heb 2:13
most: Psa 9:2, Deu 32:8, Deu 32:9
he shall: Psa 16:8, Dan 7:14
Reciprocal: Num 24:19 – shall destroy 1Sa 2:10 – he shall Psa 16:5 – thou Psa 36:11 – hand Pro 20:28 – his Act 2:25 – I should not
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 21:7. For the king trusteth in the Lord Confides in him, who never fails to perform his promises; and through the mercy of the Most High, &c. Through his kindness who is superior to all other beings, and has all events in his hands and under his control; he shall not be moved The throne of David, and of his seed the Messiah, shall stand fast, though all the powers on earth should combine to overturn it. The throne of Christ, as man, says Dr. Horne, was erected and established by his trust and confidence in the Father during his humiliation and passion. Faith in God, therefore, is the way that leadeth to honour and stability.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
David saw his victory as a reward for his trust in Yahweh. Because the Most High King was faithful to His promises, David could be confident that he would remain securely on his throne.