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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.

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, Psalm 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.

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 Psalm 4:6.

Happy the people whose king makes God's strength his confidence, and God's salvation his joy; who is pleased with all the advancements of God kingdom, and trusts God to support him in all he does for the service of it. All our blessings are blessings of goodness, and are owing, not to any merit of ours, but only to God's goodness. But when God's blessings come sooner, and prove richer than we imagine; when they are given before we prayed for them, before we were ready for them, nay, when we feared the contrary; then it may be truly said that he prevented, or went before us, with them. Nothing indeed prevented, or went before Christ, but to mankind never was any favour more preventing than our redemption by Christ. Thou hast made him to be a universal, everlasting blessing to the world, in whom the families of the earth are, and shall be blessed; and so thou hast made him exceeding glad with the countenance thou hast given to his undertaking, and to him in the prosecution of it. The Spirit of prophecy rises from what related to the king, to that which is peculiar to Christ; none other is blessed for ever, much less a blessing for ever.