Psalms 21:2
in Psalms 21You have granted his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, And hast not withholden the request of his lips. [Selah
KJV
Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.
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This verse in Psalms 21
Commentary
10 notes on this verseThou hast given him his heart's desire,.... Which the church had prayed for in Psa 20:4; whatever Christ's heart desired, or his lips requested, has been given him; and hast not withholden the request of his lips.
This site's exposition
the king rejoices in Your strength
on Psalms 21:1-2
The king's joy is in God's strength and God's salvation, both of them God's gift. Verse 2 reports the answer, his heart's desire granted and the request of his lips not withheld. Spurgeon reads Psalm 20 and this psalm as prayer and thanksgiving.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"You have given Him the desire of His soul" [Psalm 21:2]. He desired to eat the Passover, [Luke 22:15] and to lay down His life when He would, and again when He would to take it; and You have given it to Him. [John 10:18] "And hast not deprived Him of the good pleasure of His lips." "My peace," says He, "I leave with you:" [John 14:27] and it was done.
Having prophesied the promises made earlier to David, he then explains the reason why these things are going to happen. For what is that reason unless hope in God in which the one who has received mercy does not falter and in that very hope granted by God most high he does not waver from a firm and steady foundation?
The Medieval Church1 voice
"The desire." Here the cause of the joy is set forth, which is the fulfillment of desire: Prov. 13: "A desire fulfilled delights the soul." As desire relates to joy, so does motion relate to rest, which is reached through motion. Hence first the fulfillment …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
): Thou hast given him his heart's desire (and there is no prayer accepted but what is the heart's desire), the very thing they begged of God for him, Ps. xx. Note, God's gracious returns of prayer do, in a special manner, require our humble returns of praise.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
"Thou hast given him his heart's desire." That desire he ardently pursued when he was on earth, both by his prayer, his actions, and his suffering; he manifested that his heart longed to redeem his people, and now in heaven he has his desire granted him, for he sees his beloved coming to be with him where he is. The desires of the Lord Jesus were from his heart, and the Lord heard them; if our hearts are right with God, he will in our case also "fulfil the desires of them that fear him."
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
"Thou hast given him his heart's desire." That desire he ardently pursued when he was on earth, both by his prayer, his actions, and his suffering; he manifested that his heart longed to redeem his people, and now in heaven he has his desire granted him, for he sees his beloved coming to be with him where he is. The desires of the Lord Jesus were from his heart, and the Lord heard them; if our hearts are right with God, he will in our case also "fulfil the desires of them that fear him." "And hast not withholden the request of his lips." What is in the well of the heart is sure to come up in the bucket of the lips, and those are the only true prayers where the heart's desire is first, and the lip's request follows after. Jesus prayed vocally as well as mentally; speech is a great assistance to thought. Some of us feel that even when alone we find it easier to collect our thoughts when we can pray aloud. The requests of the Saviour were not withheld. He was and still is a prevailing Pleader. Our Advocate on high returns not empty from the throne of grace. He asked for his elect in the eternal council-chamber, he asked for blessings for them here, he asked for glory for them hereafter, and his requests have speeded. He is ready to ask for us at the mercy-seat. Have we not at this hour some desire to send up to his Father by him? Let us not be slack to use our willing, loving, all-prevailing Intercessor. "Selah." Here a pause is very properly inserted that we may admire the blessed success of the king's prayers, and that we may prepare our own requests which may be presented through him. If we had a few more quiet rests, a few more Selahs in our public worship, it might be profitable.
Thou hast given him his heart’s desire - This seems to refer to the prayers offered in the preceding Psalm; see especially Psa 21:1-4.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Thou hast given him his heart’s desire - See the notes at Psa 20:4. This had been the prayer of the people that God would “grant him according to his own heart, and fulfil all his counsel,” and this desire had now been granted. All that had been wished; all that had been prayed for by himself or by the people, had been granted. And hast not withholden - Hast not denied or refused. The request of his lips - The request, or the desire which his lips had uttered. The meaning is, that his petitions had been filly granted. Selah - See the notes at Psa 3:2.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| תַּאֲוַ֣ת | taavat | [the] desire of | H8378 → | 20 times |
| לִ֭בּוֹ | libo | heart his | H3820 → | 595 times |
| נָתַ֣תָּה | natatah | you have given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לּ֑וֹ | lo | to him | ||
| וַאֲרֶ֥שֶׁת | vaareshet | and [the] request of | H782 → | |
| שְׂ֝פָתָ֗יו | sefatav | lips his | H8193 → | 176 times |
| בַּל־ | bal- | not | H1077 → | 73 times |
| מָנַ֥עְתָּ | mana'ta | you have withheld | H4513 → | |
| סֶּֽלָה׃ | selah | Selah | H5542 → | 74 times |
תַּאֲוַ֣ת[the] desire of
taavatH8378 →20 times
לִ֭בּוֹheart his
liboH3820 →595 times
נָתַ֣תָּהyou have given
natatahH5414 →2011 times
לּ֑וֹto him
lo
וַאֲרֶ֥שֶׁתand [the] request of
vaareshetH782 →
שְׂ֝פָתָ֗יוlips his
sefatavH8193 →176 times
בַּל־not
bal-H1077 →73 times
מָנַ֥עְתָּyou have withheld
mana'taH4513 →
סֶּֽלָה׃Selah
selahH5542 →74 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 37:4Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.
it leads to
- John 15:7
If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
- Psalms 145:19
He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them.
- John 15:16
You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will remain—so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.
- Isaiah 58:14
then you will delight yourself in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage of your father Jacob.” For the mouth of…
- 1 John 5:14–15
And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
- John 15:7
Through
Hebrews 7:25Therefore He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.
it leads to
- Romans 8:34
Who is there to condemn us? For Christ Jesus, who died, and more than that was raised to life, is at the right hand of God—and He is interceding for us.
- 1 John 2:1–2
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
- 1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
- Romans 8:34
About Psalms
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 21; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 1; Eusebius of Caesarea, COMMENTARY ON PSALMS 21:3-7; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.