Thanksgiving Fit for a King

Psalm 21

This psalm is the testimony of a king, specifically, King David. Not only is the psalm entitled, “A Psalm of David,” but the king speaks three times in these thirteen verses: the king rejoices in the strength of the Lord (1), the king trusts in the Lord (7), and God has set a crown of fine gold upon his head (3). The king is giving thanks, trusting in the Lord for future deliverance, and praising the beauty and greatness of the Lord. 

King David’s thanksgiving is vast. He is specifically thankful to the Lord for giving him his hearts’ desires (2), answering his prayers (2), meeting him with rich blessings (3), setting a crown of gold upon his head (3), giving him long life (4), bestowing upon him splendor and majesty (5), making him most blessed forever (6), and making him glad with the joy of the Lord’s presence (6). 

King David totally trusts in the Lord to find out all of His enemies (8), to find out those who hate the Lord (8), to make them as a blazing oven (8), to swallow them up in His wrath (9), to destroy their descendants from the earth (10), and to put them to flight (12). The king is well aware that there are enemies of the Lord who plan evil against Him, and against His people, but they will not succeed for the Lord will put them to flight. 

David’s thanksgiving for the manifold graces of God upon him, and his confidence in the Lord’s ability and willingness to defeat His enemies, leads David to begin and end the prayer with praise: we will sing and praise Your power (13). 

I am impressed with the king’s robust thanksgiving. He doesn’t just issue a blanket prayer of thanksgiving (as we do, “thank You for Your many blessings”). Instead, he enumerates specific ways the Lord has blessed the king: strength, blessings, long life, answered prayers, and delivering him from his enemies. Eight times in seven short verses, David makes it clear that the Lord is the One responsible for his blessings. 

But I am more impressed with David’s intercession. In many of the psalms, David asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies. But in this prayer, the request is that the Lord conquer the Lord’s enemies. While it is true that the enemies of the Lord are also enemies of His people, David is very clear that the Lord is the One fighting the battle and winning the victory. Your hand will find out Your enemies (8). Your right hand will find out those who hate You (8). You will make them as a blazing oven (9). You will destroy (10). You will put them to flight (12). Seven times in six verses, David makes it clear, the Lord is the One doing the delivering. 

How does this prayer function for new covenant believers? 

For starters, the promised King of Kings is the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus is the fulfillment of all of David’s prayers of thanksgiving and intercession. The Father has put a crown of fine gold upon His head, raised Him to life eternal, bestowed splendor and majesty upon Him forever, and Jesus knows the joy of the presence of the Most High forever and ever. In addition, the wrath of God was satisfied through the atoning sacrifice of Christ. Furthermore, the Father delivered the Son from all of His enemies, putting all of them to flight. 

But this also speaks to those who are fellow sons of God, brothers and sisters in Christ, children of the King. We also give our thanksgiving to the Lord for meeting us with rich blessings, blessing us forever, giving us abundant and eternal life, and making us glad with the joy of His presence. Further, as children of the King, we also rejoice that the King will find out His enemies and make them as a blazing oven. The spiritual forces of darkness that we do battle with every day are no match for the King of Kings. Though they devise mischief and plan evil against us, they will not succeed (11), for the King of Kings will put them to flight (12). 

Finally, this psalm was very meaningful to me personally. I read this psalm on the Monday morning after a church-wide celebration for my 20th anniversary of being the pastor of FBC Benbrook. Though I am by no means the “king” of FBC, I can certainly identify with David’s words even as the shepherd of this great church. Like David, I am thankful for the strength God provides, for answering my prayers, for meeting me with rich blessings, for giving me long life and a long tenure, for making me most blessed, and for making me glad with the joy of His presence. 

And as I continue in this calling, I do so by trusting in the Lord along with King David. While the enemy schemes against me and this church, no weapon formed against us will succeed for the Lord will put them to flight. The Lord will find those who hate Him, and the Lord will swallow them up in His wrath. 

This psalm led me to give specific thanks to the Lord on multiple levels, and emboldened my trust in Him, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

This article is part of a yet to be published work by Pastor Todd Pylant entitled, “Ancient Problems, Modern Prayers.”