For you make him most blessed forever. You make him glad with joy in your presence.
Parallel Translations
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For you make him most blessed forever. You make him glad with joy in your presence.
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For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.
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(21-7) For Thou makest him most blessed for ever; Thou makest him glad with joy in Thy presence.
Cross-references (15)
Passages linked to Psalms 21:6 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Acts 2:28 You made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
- Psalms 45:7 You have loved righteousness, and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.
- Psalms 16:11 You will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. In your right hand there are pleasures forever more.
- Galatians 3:9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham.
- Luke 2:10-11 The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people. For there is born to you today, in David’s city, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
- Acts 3:26 God, having raised up his servant Jesus, sent him to you first to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your wickedness.”
- Genesis 12:2 I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing.
- Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
- Psalms 43:4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my exceeding joy. I will praise you on the harp, God, my God.
- Psalms 63:2-5 So I have seen you in the sanctuary, watching your power and your glory. Because your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you. So I will bless you while I live. I will lift up my hands in your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with the richest food. My mouth shall praise you with joyful lips,
- Luke 2:30-32 for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before the face of all peoples; a light for revelation to the nations, and the glory of your people Israel.”
- Galatians 3:14 that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
- 1 Chronicles 17:27 Now it has pleased you to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever before you; for you, Yahweh, have blessed, and it is blessed forever.”
- Psalms 4:6-7 Many say, “Who will show us any good?” Yahweh, let the light of your face shine on us. You have put gladness in my heart, more than when their grain and their new wine are increased.
- Psalms 72:17-19 His name endures forever. His name continues as long as the sun. Men shall be blessed by him. All nations will call him blessed. Praise be to Yahweh God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. Blessed be his glorious name forever! Let the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and amen.
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Explain this verse (17 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 6. For thou hast set him to be blessings…
6. For thou hast set him to be blessings for ever. Some explain these words simply thus, That God had chosen David to be king, in order to pour upon him his blessings in rich abundance. But it is evident that something more is intended by this manner of speaking. It implies, that the king had such an exuberant abundance of all good things, that he might justly be regarded as a pattern of the greatness of the divine beneficence; or that, in praying, his name would be generally used to serve as an example of how the suppliant wished to be dealt with. The Jews were accustomed to speak of those being set to be a curse, who were rendered so detestable, and on whom the dreadful vengeance of God had been inflicted with such severity, that their very names served for cursing and direful imprecations. On the other hand, they were accustomed to speak of those being set to be a blessing, whose names we propose in our prayers as an example of how we desire to be blessed; as if a man for instance should say, May God graciously bestow upon thee the same favor which he vouchsafed to his servant David! I do not reject this interpretation, but I am satisfied with the other, which views the words as implying that the king, abounding in all kind of good things, was an illustrious pattern of the liberality of God. We must carefully mark what is said immediately after concerning joy: Thou hast gladdened him with joy before thy countenance Walford reads this clause — “Thou hast made him glad with the joy of thy presence.”
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Thou hast made him thy blessings to others, and…
Thou hast made him thy blessings to others, and a perpetual example of thy favor forever.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 21:6 For thou hast made him most blessed…
Psa 21:6 For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.
Ver. 6. For thou hast made him most blessed for ever] Heb. Thou hast set him to be blessings. For as the wicked, when destroyed by some horrible judgment, are examples to others of God’s curse, Isa 65:15 Jer 29:22 2Pe 2:6 Iudaeus sim, si fallam, Let me be Judus if I lie, say the Turks at this day, when they would assure anything for a certainty; so the godly, when in a special manner blessed, are patterns of blessings to others, that in them they may bless themselves or others, Psa 72:17; Psa 128:4 Gen 12:2; Gen 48:20 Rth 4:11-12 Psa 37:26. So here they shall say, Tanto rerum successu polleas, quanto David, Mayest thou be as successful as ever David was.
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Thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance] One good cast whereof David long since preferred before all the world’s good, Psa 4:6. See the note there.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Thou hast made him most blessed, Heb. thou hast…
Thou hast made him most blessed, Heb. thou hast set (or, made, as this verb is used, Psa 40:5; 89:42; 91:9; Lam 3:45) him blessings; i.e. either,
1. The author or instrument of manifold blessings to the world, and especially to thy people; which David was in a good measure, but Christ much more truly and eminently. Although this may not seem very suitable to the context, which only speaks of the blessing conferred by God upon this king, and not at all of the blessings flowing from him to others. Or,
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2. The great example of all blessings, whom the Israelites in all ages shall propound to themselves, in all their forms and pronunciations of blessings. They shall say, God make thee as blessed as this king, either David or the Messias; compare Gen 12:2; 48:20; or rather most blessed, as we translate it; the abstract form and the plural number being here used emphatically, as they commonly are, as Eze 34:26; Psa 5:10; 19:10; 35:6, to note a man in whom all sorts of blessings are united and met together, filled with blessings, and as it were a man of blessings, made up altogether of blessings, as Christ upon a like reason was called a man of sorrows, Isa 53:3. And possibly the word man may be understood here, as it is in many other places, as I have showed before, and the place rendered thus, thou hast made him a man of blessings. Forever; of which See Poole "Psa 21:4".
With thy countenance, to wit, smiling upon him, as it must necessarily be understood from the foregoing words, i.e. by thy grace and favour manifested and imparted to his soul, and by the effects of it in saving him from all his enemies and calamities.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain For thou hast made him most blessed for ever,....…
For thou hast made him most blessed for ever,.... Not as God, for as such he is over all blessed for ever, and not made so; but as man and Mediator; the words may be rendered, "thou hast set him to be blessings for ever" (z); which design the blessings which are laid up in Christ for his people, and which he imparts unto, them, and they are blessed with in him; so that he is made a blessing, or rather blessings to them; such as redemption to free them from, bondage, righteousness to justify them, sanctification to make them holy, wisdom to direct and guide them, and strength to assist and support them; through whom they have the forgiveness of sins, by whom they have peace with God, and from whom they receive all their joy and comfort, and at last eternal life and happiness; and all these are for ever, they are irreversible blessings, are never repented of, nor taken away: or this blessedness may be understood of that which Christ himself enjoys as man; which lies in his human nature being exalted to union with the Son of God; in being heard and helped in the day of salvation; in being raised from the dead, and glory given him; in being set at God's right hand, angels, authorities, and powers, being subject to him; and in seeing the travail of his soul with satisfaction: the particular instance of his blessedness follows;
thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance; the glorious presence of God in heaven; Christ having done his work on earth ascended to heaven, where he was received by his Father with a cheerful countenance, was made to sit down on the same throne with him, being well pleased with his obedience, righteousness, and sacrifice; and being now in the presence of God, in which is fulness of joy, and at his right hand, where are pleasures for evermore, the human nature of Christ is filled with an excess of joy; the words may be rendered, "thou hast made" or "wilt make him glad with joy (a), with thy countenance"; see Psa 16:11.
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(z) "posuisti vel pones eum benedictiones", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus; so Ainsworth, Cocceius, Gejerus. (a) "laetificabis eum in laetitia", Pagninus, Montanus, Michaelis; so Junius & Tremellius, Gejerus.
Next: Psalms Chapter 22
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Countenance - Smiling upon him, by thy grace and…
Countenance - Smiling upon him, by thy grace and favour.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 6. Thou hast made him most blessed for…
Verse 6. Thou hast made him most blessed for ever] Literally, "Thou hast set him for blessings for ever." Thou hast made the Messiah the Source whence all blessings for time and for eternity shall be derived. He is the Mediator between God and man.
Thou hast made him exceeding glad] Jesus, as Messiah, for the joy that was set before him, of redeeming a lost world by his death, endured the cross, and despised the shame, and is for ever set down on the right hand of God.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Psa 21:6. Thou hast made him blessed for ever…
Psa 21:6. Thou hast made him blessed for ever — Hebrew, תשׁיתהו ברכות, teshitheehu berachoth, Thou hast set him to be blessings for ever; that is, to be the author of all felicity to his subjects and servants: see Gal 3:8, where we learn, that Christ, by his death and passion, having removed the curse, became the fountain of all blessedness to his people, in time and in eternity; being himself the blessing promised to Abraham, and the chief subject of the patriarchal benedictions. Thou hast made him exceeding glad — Thus Christ says of himself, Psa 16:9-11, My heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; in thy presence is fulness of joy, &c., and the psalmist says of him, Psa 45:7, Thy God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain For thou hast made him most blessed for ever…
For thou hast made him most blessed for ever - Margin, as in Hebrew, “set him” to be “blessings.” The expression in our translation, as it is now commonly understood, would mean that God had made him “happy” or “prosperous.” This does not seem to be the sense of the original. The idea is, that he had made him a blessing to mankind or to the world; or, that he had made him to be a source of blessing to others. Blessings would descend through him; and though in the consciousness of this fact he would be “happy,” and in that sense be “blessed,” yet the idea is rather that blessings would be imparted or scattered through him. Blessings would abound to others through his own reign; blessings through the reigns of those who should succeed him in the throne; blessings would be imparted to men as far as the import of the promise extended, that is, forever, Psa 21:4. The word “forever” here undoubtedly, as it was used by the Spirit of inspiration, was designed to refer to the eternal blessings which would descend on mankind through the Messiah, the illustrious descendant of David. How far David himself understood this, is not material inquiry. He was undoubtedly directed by the Spirit of inspiration to use such language as would fairly and properly express this. It is right, therefore, for us so to regard it, and so to interpret and apply it.
Thou hast made him exceeding glad - Margin, as in Hebrew, “gladded him with joy.” The Hebrew phrase means, as it is expressed in our translation, that he had been made very glad, or very happy. The favors of God to him, alike in his protection and in the promises which had been made in reference to the future, were such as to make him happy in the highest degree.
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With thy countenance - With thy favor. By lifting the light of thy countenance upon him; or, as we should express it, by “smiling” upon him. See the notes at Psa 4:6.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain made him most blessed--or set him "to be blessings,"…
made him most blessed--or set him "to be blessings," as Abraham (Gen 12:2).
with thy countenance--by sight of thee (Psa 16:11), or by Thy favor expressed by the light of Thy countenance (Num 6:25), or both.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 6. Thou hast made him most blessed for ever—Thou…
6. Thou hast made him most blessed for ever—Thou hast constituted him blessings for ever. Compare “And thou shalt be a blessing.” Gen_12:2; Gen_28:4; Gal_3:3-14.
Exceeding glad with thy countenance—The parallel passage, almost verbatim, is Psa_16:11, where “fulness of joy” is said to be in the divine presence: quoted by Peter, (Act_2:28,) and applied to Christ.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 6. R.V. For thou makest him most blessed for…
6. R.V. For thou makest him most blessed for ever:
Thou makest him glad with joy in thy presence.
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Lit. thou makest him blessings, the possessor and the medium of blessing. Cp. Gen_12:2. The victory is a pledge of Divine favour and fellowship, an evidence that the king walks in the light of Jehovah’s countenance. Cp. Psa_4:6; Psa_16:11; Psa_89:15; Psa_140:13.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (6) Most blessed.—Literally, blessings. The idiom is similar to…
(6) Most blessed.—Literally, blessings. The idiom is similar to that in Psa_1:1.
With thy countenance.—Rather, In thy presence. (Comp. Psa_16:11.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain For thou hast made him most blessed for ever;…
For thou hast made him most blessed for ever; literally, for thou settest him to be blessings for ever. Thou makest him, i.e. , to be a perennial source of blessings to men. As all mankind were blessed in Abraham, (Gen_12:3 Gen_18:18 Gen_22:18) i.e. in his seed, so were they all blessed in David"s seed. Thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance; i.e. with thy favour and protection, so frequently and so markedly extended to him.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 6. For thou hast made him most blessed…
Ver. 6. For thou hast made him most blessed for ever. He is most blessed in himself, for he is God over all, blessed for ever; but this relates to him as our Mediator, in which capacity blessedness is given to him as a reward. The margin has it, thou hast set him to be blessings; he is an overflowing wellspring of blessings to others, a sun filling the universe with light. According as the Lord sware unto Abraham, the promised seed is an everlasting source of blessings to all the nations of the earth. He is set for this, ordained, appointed, made incarnate with this very design, that he may bless the sons of men. Oh that sinners had sense enough to use the Saviour for that end to which he is ordained, viz., to be a Saviour to lost and guilty souls.
Thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance. He who is a blessing to others cannot but be glad himself; the unbounded good doing of Jesus ensures him unlimited joy. The loving favour of his Father, the countenance of God, gives Jesus exceeding joy. This is the purest stream to drink of, and Jesus chooses no other. His joy is full. Its source is divine. Its continuance is eternal. Its degree exceeding all bounds. The countenance of God makes the Prince of Heaven glad; how ought we to seek it, and how careful should we be lest we should provoke him by our sins to hide his face from us! Our anticipations may cheerfully fly forward to the hour when the joy of our Lord shall be shed abroad on all the saints, and the countenance of Jehovah shall shine upon all the blood bought. So shall we "enter into the joy of our Lord."
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So far all has been "the shout of them that triumph, the song of them that feast." Let us shout and sing with them, for Jesus is our King, and in his triumphs we share a part.
Ver. 6. Thou hast made him exceeding glad: literally, "brightened him, "possibly in allusion to the brightness of Moses' face. Dalman Hapstone, M.A., in "The Ancient Psalms... A Literal Translation and Notes, "etc., 1867.
Ver. 6. Thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance. Though this be metamorphically used for favour, yet is the speech not all metaphor, and that well experienced Christians will tell you. Zachary Bogan, in "The Mirth of a Christian Life, "1653.
Ver. 6. (first clause). Literally, as in the Bible marginal translation, "Thou hast set him to be blessings for ever." Most truly said of the King in whom all the nations of the earth were to be blessed. Richard Mant.
Ver. 6. The blessedness of Jesus.
Psalms 21:7*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain For Thou hast made him most blessed forever: Thou…
Psa_21:6
For Thou hast made him most blessed forever: Thou hast made him exceeding glad with Thy countenance.
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Exceeding gladness
You have heard a great many sermons upon the Man of Sorrows, you cannot have heard too many; but probably you have never listened to a discourse upon the Man of Joys! I venture thus to name the Christ of God. We do not meditate enough upon the happiness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, it was for the joy set before Him that He endured the Cross; and the expectation of joy is joy. The light of that expectation shone on His daily path. Sin is the mother of sorrow, and Jesus knew no sin. He was the Prince of Peace, even when He was despised of men. He had the joy of knowing that His Father heard Him always, and that His every word and act were blessings to fallen men. A man cannot be full of such benevolence as that of Christ and be utterly miserable. Unselfishness necessarily brings with it a measure of joy. The fountain which yields such streams of blessing has its own flash and sparkle; we feel sure of it. As pearls may lie in plenty in caverns over which there rolls a dread tempestuous sea, so there slept in the heart of Jesus treasures of joy even when the ocean of His holy soul was lashed with hurricanes of woe. And what must not His joy be now in heaven! To this the text and the verses preceding primarily refer. As God, as Mediator, He is filled with joy; for His work is finished. Consummatum est is written at the foot of His throne. And He is the fountain of priceless, numberless, endless blessings to men. Thou hast made Him blessings forever, for so our text may be read. It is ever good to be the channel of blessing to others; what, then, must be the joy of Christ? Think, too, of His joy in the conversion, the comfort, the justification, the salvation of every soul that comes to Him. We read, There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. Nearly all readers take this as telling of the angels joy. And no doubt they do rejoice. But the Word does not say so. It says, There is joy in the presence of the angels; that is to say, they are present where there is joy, they look upon the face of Christ, and see the joy which fills His heart. And He has joy in all the deeds of His saved people, and in their patient suffering, and especially in their joy. He is the blessed Leader of a blessed company. And now, turning to His people--
I. That gladness is the peculiar privilege of saints. Why should we not be glad?
1. It is all right between us and God. There is no quarrel between the believing soul and God. And--
2. Many are their present solaces. We can count our sorrows, we are quite au fait at adding them up. But recapitulate your joys with equal readiness. Why not? Review the shining ranks of your mercies Are they not new every morning? I heard a brother in a prayer meeting say, The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we desire to be glad; and I wanted to jump down that mans throat, and pull that passage back again, and put it into its natural shape. What business had the brother to mend the Bible and talk such wretched stuff. Whereof we desire to be glad! Why, if the Lord has done great things for us, we are glad.
3. We have a brilliant future before us. And--
4. All blessings secured to them. In the parable it is said, they began to be merry, and it is not said they ever left off. Let us also begin.
II. Their gladness is of a peculiar sort.
1. God has wrought it.
2. It is permanent.
3. Exceeding. Who would think it to see many Christians? I am told that many shopkeepers are so poor that they put the most of their goods in the shop window; but this is a method which few Christians follow, for the opposite is the fact; their window is badly set out, and yet they have a costly stock upon their shelves. The children of this world are wiser in their generation in this as in other things. I would recommend such believers to dress their windows a little, and show some of their better things. Put your ashes into the backyard, but pour out the oil of joy in the parlour. Let people see it.
4. It comes to us in one way--with Thy countenance. Have you not sometimes been made very glad with the look of a friends face? But what must the countenance of God be to us, when He smiles on us as reconciled, as approving us, when listening to us?
5. But through many channels. Read the Psalm--The King shall joy in Thy strength, and in Thy salvation. Answers to prayer are told of. Preventing With the blessings of goodness, giving us mercies before we seek them. Then, be glad in the Lord, as we are bound to be.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Saviour, Jesus Christ,
Who hath blessed us with such blessings, all uncounted and unpriced;
Let our high and holy calling, and our strong salvation be
Theme of never-ending praises, God of sovereign grace, to Thee.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
The light of Gods favour
Flowers, when deprived of the rays of the sun, lose their bright colours, and become pale and sickly. This is generally seen in the night-blossoming plants, which are, for the most part, pale and unattractive. The soul that has not found God will lose all joy, and the beauty of life will fade without the presence and love of Christ. If it is to flourish, it must be ever basking in the healing rays of the Sun of Righteousness.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 21:6 God’s eternal blessings also bring fullness of life…
21:6 God’s eternal blessings also bring fullness of life in the present (see Ps 133).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.