1 The king rejoices in your strength, Lord.
    How great is his joy in the victories you give!

2 You have granted him his heart’s desire
    and have not withheld the request of his lips.
3 You came to greet him with rich blessings
    and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.
4 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him –
    length of days, for ever and ever.
5 Through the victories you gave, his glory is great;
    you have bestowed on him splendour and majesty.
6 Surely you have granted him unending blessings
    and made him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord;
    through the unfailing love of the Most High
    he will not be shaken.

8 Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies;
    your right hand will seize your foes.
9 When you appear for battle,
    you will burn them up as in a blazing furnace.
The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath,
    and his fire will consume them.
10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth,
    their posterity from mankind.
11 Though they plot evil against you
    and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed.
12 You will make them turn their backs
    when you aim at them with drawn bow.

13 Be exalted in your strength, Lord;
    we will sing and praise your might.

This is prayer after the battle. When David showed up on the battlefield, the God to whom he had prayed also showed up (see v.9a). In fact, He was there first! It’s been pointed out that in verse 3 the verb ‘to get there ahead of/get there first’ is used of the Lord ‘anticipating’ our needs. Where we maybe expected trouble, He meets us with ”rich blessings”. Also note that what is life for the king (God’s presence on the field: compare verse 6 – it’s the same word) is death to his foes.

In answering David’s prayer God gave him a form of glory as king (5). But the thrust of this psalm is David and all the people saying, ‘To God be all the glory.’ Read through the psalm again, and you will see that the emphasis is totally upon the Lord and what He has done. For sure, David played his part, but all that he did was in the ”strength” of his divine enabler (1,6).

May we never neglect to give the Lord the thanks and glory that are due to His Name (Lk.17:11-19).