Commentary - Psalm 21:13

Bird's-eye view

Psalm 21 is a royal psalm, a companion piece to Psalm 20. In the previous psalm, the people prayed for the king's victory. Here, in Psalm 21, they are celebrating the glorious answer to those prayers. The king has been given his heart's desire, victory over his enemies, and a crown of pure gold. But as with all the psalms, our vision must not terminate on the earthly king, whether that be David or some other son of David. The lens here is Christological. This is a psalm about King Jesus, the ultimate Son of David, and the victory He has secured. The psalm concludes with this magnificent doxology in verse 13, which is both a prayer and a declaration of praise. It is a fitting response to the catalog of blessings and triumphs that God has granted His anointed one. The people, the church, see the strength of God displayed in their victorious King, and their only proper response is to erupt in song.

This final verse functions as a hinge, turning from the description of God's mighty acts to the congregation's resultant worship. It is a recognition that God's self-revelation in power demands a response from His people. We see His strength, and we cannot help but sing. This is not a grim duty, but a spontaneous and joyful overflow. God's exaltation is our exultation. His might is the theme of our music. And ultimately, the strength we celebrate is the resurrection power that brought Jesus forth from the grave, securing a victory so total that it becomes the subject of our eternal song.

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 13 Be exalted, O Yahweh, in Your strength;

The verse opens with a petition that is also an acclamation. "Be exalted, O Yahweh." This is not a request for God to become something He is not. God is, in Himself, eternally exalted. Rather, this is a plea for God to display His exalted nature, to manifest His glory in the sight of men. It is a prayer that says, "Lord, show everyone who You truly are." And the specific sphere in which they desire to see this exaltation is "in Your strength." The people have just witnessed the king's deliverance, and they correctly attribute this victory not to the king's armaments or strategy, but to the strength of Yahweh. God's strength is His inherent power, His capacity to act, to overcome, to save, and to judge. When God acts in power, He is putting His own character on display. He is exalting Himself. We are asking God to do what He loves to do, which is to glorify His own name through mighty acts. This is a prayer that is always in season and is always answered. God will be exalted in His strength, whether it is in the salvation of His people or the overthrow of His enemies, as the preceding verses make clear (Ps. 21:8-12).

This is ultimately a prayer for the advancement of the Kingdom of Christ. When we pray "Be exalted, O Yahweh, in Your strength," we are praying for the gospel to run and be glorified. We are asking God to demonstrate His resurrection power in the saving of sinners and the discipling of nations. Christ's ascension was the ultimate exaltation in strength, where He was seated at the right hand of the Majesty on High, far above all rule and authority. Our prayer is for that reality to be made manifest here on earth as it is in heaven.

v. 13 We will sing and praise Your might.

The second clause is the necessary response to the first. When God is exalted in His strength, the saints cannot remain silent. "We will sing and praise Your might." Notice the resolve: "We will." This is the fixed determination of the redeemed. Because God has shown Himself strong, we will show ourselves grateful. Worship is the reflexive, creaturely response to the display of divine glory. God acts, and we sing. He reveals His might, and we praise it.

The two words here, "sing and praise," are important. "Singing" points to the corporate, joyful, and musical nature of our worship. God's mighty acts are not meant to be analyzed in silent, sterile laboratories; they are meant to be celebrated with melody and harmony in the congregation of the righteous. "Praise" (or "sing praise," "make music") points to the content of that singing. Our songs are not about us, our feelings, or our experiences, except as they are a response to Him. The object of our praise is His "might." We are celebrating His power, His omnipotence, the very strength we asked Him to display. We are telling the story of His powerful deeds back to Him, and to one another, and to the watching world. This is what the church does. We are the choir that sings of the victorious might of our God, displayed most fully in the cross and resurrection of our King, Jesus. When God is exalted in His strength, His people become a symphony of praise.

Outline

Context in Psalms

Psalm 21 is inextricably linked to Psalm 20. They are two panels of the same diptych. In Psalm 20, the people prayed, "May Yahweh answer you in the day of trouble... May he send you help from the sanctuary... May he grant you your heart's desire" (Ps. 20:1, 2, 4). Now in Psalm 21, the celebration erupts because God has done precisely that: "The king rejoices in your strength, O Yahweh... For you have given him his heart's desire" (Ps. 21:1-2). Verse 13 is therefore the culminating response of the congregation. Having seen their prayers for the king answered so spectacularly, they turn their voices directly to God. The entire movement is from petition for the king, to celebration of the king's victory, to direct worship of the God who gave the victory. It teaches us that the end of all answered prayer is the praise of God. The blessings He gives are not ends in themselves; they are fuel for the fire of worship.

Key Issues

The Christological King

We cannot read a royal psalm like this without seeing Christ. The earthly king of Israel was a type, a shadow, of the true King to come. The victory celebrated here is a down payment on the final victory of Jesus. When the psalmist says the king has been given "length of days forever and ever" (Ps. 21:4), this points beyond any mortal monarch to the eternal Son. Therefore, the strength of Yahweh that is celebrated is the very power that raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him at God's right hand. The exaltation we pray for in verse 13 is the exaltation of Christ over all things. And the songs we sing are songs about His might, His triumph over sin, death, and the devil. To read this psalm rightly is to see King Jesus at the center of it, and to join the chorus of the saints in praising the might of the Father who vindicated and exalted His Son.

Application

This verse provides a simple, two-part diagnostic for the health of our faith. First, are we praying for God to be exalted in His strength? This is a prayer against all forms of humanism and self-reliance. It is a prayer that asks God to show up and do things that only He can do, so that only He gets the glory. We should pray this for our own lives, for our families, for our church, and for our nation. We should want to see God act so powerfully that no one can mistake it for the work of man. We should desire a world where the manifest strength of God is the central talking point.

Second, when He does act, is our immediate and sustained response to sing and praise His might? True theology always results in doxology. If our knowledge of God's power does not lead us to worship, then we don't really know it at all. Our worship services, our family devotions, and our private prayers should be filled with recounting the mighty acts of God. We are to be a people who are constantly pointing to the strength of God and then singing about it. This is our primary vocation. God exalts Himself in His strength, and we exalt Him with our song. This is the rhythm of the Christian life, and it is the rhythm of eternity.