The King's Joy And Our Great Salvation

Introduction: The Pursuit of Joy

If you were to ask the world what it seeks, after you strip away all the layers of ambition, wealth, and power, you would find one simple, universal desire: the desire for joy.

People will climb the highest mountains, sail the widest seas, build the tallest towers—all in a relentless pursuit of lasting happiness, a settled joy.

Yet so often, this joy proves to be a fleeting phantom. The promotion brings more stress. The new possession loses its shine. The earthly victory is soon forgotten in the face of the next struggle. The world’s joy is circumstantial, dependent on things that rust, decay, and pass away.

But the Bible speaks of a different kind of joy—a joy that is not dependent on circumstances, but on a Person. A joy that is not found but given. It is this profound, God-given joy that is the subject of our text this morning. Psalm 21 is a song of victory, a psalm of thanksgiving, and most importantly, a psalm of royal joy. It was written for a king, but it speaks to every believer. In it, we see a perfect portrait of our true King, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the unshakeable joy He possesses—a joy in which we are invited to share.

Let us walk through this majestic psalm and discover three great truths:

1. The Source of the King’s Joy

2. The Scope of the King’s Victory

3. The Song of the King’s People

I. The Source of the King’s Joy (vv. 1–7)

“The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!” (v. 1)

The psalm opens with an explosion of jubilation! But notice immediately where the joy is located. The king does not rejoice in his own wisdom, his own military might, or the size of his kingdom. The verse is explicit: he shall joy in thy strength, O LORD. His rejoicing is great in thy salvation.

Here is the first and most fundamental lesson for our souls: true, lasting joy is found not in our own resources, but in God’s. David, the earthly king, knew that any victory he achieved was not his own—it was a direct result of the strength and saving power of Jehovah.

And see how God lavishes His goodness upon His anointed king:

“Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.

For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.” (vv. 2–3)

The word “preventest” in the King James English is beautiful. It does not mean to hinder but to come before or to precede. God doesn’t just wait for the king to ask; He comes forward to meet him with blessings! He anticipates our needs. He is a God of proactive, overflowing goodness. He gives the king his heart’s desire and crowns him with pure gold—a symbol of supreme value, authority, and purity.

But the greatest gift is yet to come:

“He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever.” (v. 4)

While this certainly applied to David in the promise of a lasting dynasty, can you not hear the echo of a greater King? Who else but Jesus Christ could truly be given “length of days for ever and ever”? On the cross, it seemed life was taken from Him—but He, who is the Resurrection and the Life, asked life of the Father and was raised from the grave, defeating death itself to live and reign forevermore!

This is the ultimate source of joy: our King lives! And because He lives, we too shall live. His glory, His honour, His majesty—all spoken of in verses 5 and 6—are not self-generated. The text says, “His glory is great in thy salvation,” and “honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.”

The culmination of this joy is found in verse 6:

“For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.”

The final source of the King’s joy is the very presence of God. It is not the crown, not the victory, not even the long life that is the ultimate prize—it is the face of God, His countenance, His favor, His fellowship. This is the wellspring from which all true joy flows. Our King, Jesus, now sits at the right hand of the Father, ever in His presence, full of a joy that is our inheritance.

II. The Scope of the King’s Victory (vv. 8–12)

Now the tone of the psalm shifts—from the celebration of blessings received to the certainty of victory to come. It speaks of the king’s enemies and their ultimate fate.