Outline of Chapter 21:

         Introduction         An Introduction to Psalm 21

         Inscription            Psalm 21 Inscription

         vv.     1–6           God’s Blessings to the King

         vv.     7–12         God Defeats His Enemies

         v.      13              Doxology

         Addendum          Psalm 21 Addendum

Charts, Short Doctrines and Maps:

         Introduction         Barnes’ Outline of Psalm 21

         Introduction         Matthew Henry Outlines Psalm 21

         Inscription 

         v.       1              The Ministry of Holy Spirit to Jesus Christ

         v.       1              Jesus in the Hebrew of the Old Testament

         v.       2              The Prayers of Jesus

         v.       2              Psalm 20:4 and Psalm 21:2

         v.       5              Glory = Kâbôwd

         v.       5              Majesty = Hôwd

         v.       5              Majesty = Hôwd Part II

         v.       5              Splendor = Hâdâr

         v.       5              Splendor = Hâdâr Part II

         v.       5              A Summary of Kâbôwd, Hôwd and Hâdâr

         v.       5              How Majesty and Splendor are Placed Upon David

         v.       5              How Majesty and Splendor are Placed Upon Jesus Christ

         v.       5              How Majesty and Splendor are Placed Upon the Church Age Believer

         v.       6              Psalm 21:4–6 and the Davidic Covenant

         v.       7              God’s Essence and Character as Found in the Psalms

         v.       7              What God Does for Man, according to the Psalms

         v.       9              The Baptism of Fire

         v.       9              The Lake of Fire Judgment (notes by Robert McLaughlin)

         v.       9              The Places of Judgment after Death

         v.      11              The Doctrine of Evil (R. B. Thieme Jr.)

         v.      11              Satan’s Programs to Attack the 4 Divine Institutions in the United States

         v.      11              They Plot Evil But It Will Not Stand

         v.      12              Links to the Doctrine of the Angelic Conflict

         v.      13              David Recognizes how God has Blessed him Personally

         Addendum          The Two Faces of Psalm 21: a Psalm about David

         Addendum          The Two Faces of Psalm 21: a Psalm about David’s Greater Son

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Psalm 21

An Introduction to Psalm 21

I ntroduction: Psalm 21, like many psalms, has two meanings. David writes this psalm as an application to his own life and how God has interceded and blessed him throughout his life. Some would place this psalm with 2Sam. 8 or 2Sam. 10, as in the latter half of the psalm, God destroys all of David’s enemies. We partially agree with Barnes, who writes there is, however, no certain intimation at what time of his life, or on what occasion, it was composed, and it is impossible to determine these points. However, David mentions a crown of gold in v. 3, which correlates nicely with a crown of gold that he takes when His army defeats the Ammonites in Rabbah (2Sam. 12:29–30). This would be a fascinating time for David to have written this psalm, because this occurs after his sin with Bathsheba and while still under discipline. For this reason, I will place this psalm with the exegesis of 2Sam. 12.

2Sam. 12 is the reasonable placement for this psalm, and that David, because of his victory over the Ammonites, was inspired to write this psalm. Because he was inspired, David begins to enumerate the many blessings which God had bestowed upon him, culminating with the blessing of victory on the battlefield. Because of this great victory, David knows that he will be recognized by peoples and powers, and he exalts God because of what God has done in his life (first and last verse).

Similarly, we may apply this psalm to the King Who is to Come, Jesus Christ, Who will destroy all of His enemies in the last days. This 2^nd interpretation also helps us to understand why David refers to himself in the 3^rd person throughout this psalm (i.e., as the king) and yet includes himself in the 1^st person in some places (e.g., the 1^st person plural of v. 13b).

Although this psalm is never directly quoted in the New Testament as referring to the Messiah, it is clearly a psalm which speaks of our Lord. J. Vernon McGee writes: The great Talmudic scholar, Rabbi Solomon Isaaci, known as Rashi, born in a.d. 1040, endorsed this interpretation but suggested that it should given up because of Christians making use of this psalm as an evidence that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah. I feel that this is a very good testimony to the fact that this psalm does refer to the Lord Jesus.

You may object to applying two fundamentally different interpretations to this (or to any) psalm. The Bible, and even to some degree, our own lives, are designed to parallel divine truths. The Old Testament continually teaches by recording particular historic incidents (e.g., Gen. 22 or Psalm 22), which parallel divine truths (our Lord’s sacrifice for sins; our Lord’s death on the cross). Jesus Christ taught by means of parables throughout His teaching ministry, where He laid out a typical human situation which His hearers all understood, and then He would often explain that this story revealed divine truths (e.g., Matt. 20–22). In fact, one ought to be concerned if, after reading several chapters of historical narratives, he does not see that, in several instances, divine truth is being revealed. For instance, theologians for centuries never understood the bringing back of Samuel from the dead—was this real, was this an apparition?—and, if one accepts it as a real occurrence, why would God bring Samuel back to life for Saul, who was about to die the sin unto death? If you understand what Samuel’s resurrection represented (that Samuel is a type of Christ, and therefore, bringing him back to life parallels our Lord’s resurrection), then it all comes together and makes sense [see my exegesis of 1Sam. 2 (The Parallels between Samuel and Christ Jesus) and 28]. Therefore, we ought to expect such parallel interpretations not only in the psalms but in the historical narratives as well.

Every portion of Scripture has a human and a divine author. Therefore, the human author may be emphasizing one thing (here, David emphasizes how God is exalted because of how He has publically blessed David); and the divine Author may be emphasizing something different. God the Holy Spirit uses this psalm to point forward into time when the Great King, David’s Greater Son, will come (an event we call the 2^nd Advent).

Understanding this interplay of human and divine authorship will open up many portions of the Bible to you, particularly, the psalms. This explains hy some historical incidents are recorded (e.g., the offerings of Cain and Abel) whereas other significant historical events are barely acknowledged (the moving of the Tabernacle, for instance, and the reason for).

If you have been following along in my study of the Book of Samuel, I have approached this from a different way. Although we hear a bit about the Ark and the Tabernacle, these are not the focus during the time of King David, even though David was the greatest king of Israel with strong spiritual interests. Because of his interest in things spiritual, we would have expected his reign to focus in on the Ark and the Tabernacle (and later, Temple). However, instead, David himself is the focus, because he is a type of Christ. He represents Jesus Christ in many ways. In fact, more specifically (and I have made this point in the book of Samuel), David represents Jesus in His 1^st and 2^nd Advents, and Solomon, his son, represents Jesus in his Millennial reign. So, David does not build the Temple; Solomon builds the Temple. The permanent structure of the Temple with Solomon as king are better associated with Christ in His rule over the earth from Jerusalem for 1000 years.

Men wrote down the history of Israel in the Bible. They did so with great accuracy. However, God the Holy Spirit guided these men so as to record incidents which help to teach us spiritual truths. Abraham lived over 100 years, so, quite obviously, there were many significant experiences in his life which are not recorded in Scripture. However, God the Holy Spirit made certain that specific instances of his life were recorded. For instance, Abraham took his son, whom he loved, to Golgotha, to offer him up as a sacrifice to God, and God allowed Abraham to sacrifice a substitute animal instead—all of this was a picture of our Lord going to the cross on Golgotha and giving His life for ours as a substitute. This does not necessarily mean that every single historical incident in the Bible has a spiritual parallel; however, an inordinately large percentage of them do.

The more that you study the Word of God, the more you come to realize that it is the Word of God.

On occasion, I will go to websites or read books which claim that the Bible is not the Word of God, and what they will do is, tell us about all of the contradictions in the Bible. The first thing I notice is, how intellectually dishonest such writers are. They will post a contradiction, yet, when a credible explanation is given for that contradiction, the contradiction is not removed. That is entirely dishonest. However, the author of such a site or such a book does not care. They do not mind being dishonest. Their approach is, if you throw enough crap up against the wall, some of it will stick, and that is what they want. Although Charley Brown may be able to easily explain the first 3 contradictions, Lucy cannot. The anti-Bible author will take this. Maybe he cannot shake Charley Brown’s faith, but he can shake Lucy’s. That is good enough for him. A hunter shoots into a flock of geese; he does not expect to kill every one of them; he is happy to see one fall from the sky. So it is with the anti-Bible author. If he can post the conundrum where did Cain get his wife? or point out the genealogies of Jesus are different in Matthew and Luke, an average Bible student can answer those problems. However, a weak or a new believer cannot. That is the goose which is shot out of the sky. The explanation is simple: the anti-Bible author believes that the Bible is not the Word of God, and if he can somehow get someone else to change their mind about this, then he has done a good thing (in his own mind). Maybe he lists a few things which he knows are not contradictions. He doesn’t really care. The end game is to shoot a goose or two. That is what he is after.

I have gone out on a few tangents. Let’s return to the original point, and add to it:

As is often true when a psalm has more than one application, there are verses which appear to apply more accurately to one interpretation than to the other.

At the completion of this psalm, I will give the two separate interpretations along side the nearly literal translation.

In the first half of this psalm, God gives the king happiness (v. 1a), salvation (v. 1b), his heart’s desire (v. 2a) and all that he has asked for (v. 2b). God has bestowed upon the king great blessings (v. 3a), a crown of gold (v. 3b), and long life which the king had requested (v. 4). Vv. 3–4 appear to be the fulfilment of vv. 1–2. In vv. 5–6, it becomes even more apparent that David is speaking of the King of Kings.

V. 7 is hard to place with this outline, as it appears to fit easily with the previous 6 verses or with those which follow. David speaks of the king [King] placing his [His] trust in God, and therefore, he [He] is not shaken. In vv. 8–12, God’s wrath against the king’s [King’s] enemies is revealed. These enemies will be found (v. 8), and thrown into a fiery oven (v. 9) along with all of their children (v. 10). Vv. 11–12 seem to backtrack, as the king’s [King’s] enemies plot against him [Him], and these plots are foiled (v. 11), as they retreat from God’s attacks (v. 12).

In vv. 8–12, the 2^nd person verbs and suffixes will more clearly be applicable to Jesus Christ.

David praises God’s strength and power in the final verse.

——————————

The text for the inscription of Psalm 21 (including the commentary) is identical to that found in Psalm 20.

One change in my approach, which has become more pronounced in this exegetical study is, if someone else has covered a particular doctrine reasonably well, then I either refer to or include this doctrine in my exegesis, which allows me more time to complete the exegesis rather than to redo that which has been done reasonably well.

Psalm 21 Inscription

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation ; George Lamsa’s translation , and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Latin Vulgate                          Unto the end. A psalm for David.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        To the preeminent one; a psalm to David.

Septuagint (Greek)                For the end, a Psalm of David.

Significant differences:           Instead of having to the preeminent one, both the Greek and Latin have to the end. This is also the case with Psalm 4 5 6 etc. Although I have not checked each and every psalm where this word occurs, I would be surprised if the Greek or Latin translated this word differently elsewhere in the psalms. However, whereas the KJV and the Hebrew maintain some continuity in passages outside the psalms, the Greek and Latin do not. For this reason, the Hebrew is likely correct in every instance of this word (although, as we will see below, this does not automatically give us the English meaning for this word).

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       (A psalm by David for the music leader.)

Easy English (Churchyard)    (This is) a Psalm of David for the music leader

The Message                         A David psalm.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

God’s Word™                         For the choir director; a psalm by David.

New American Bible              To the director; A Psalm of David.

NIRV                                      For the director of music. A psalm of David.

New Life Bible                        Song Of Praise For Being Kept Safe

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Bible in Basic English             To the chief music-maker. A Psalm. Of David.

Complete Apostles’ Bible      For the end, A Psalm of David.

HCSB                                     For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.

JPS (Tanakh—1917)               For the Leader. A Psalm of David.

NET Bible®                             For the music director; a psalm of David. When it comes to making an actual material change to the text, the NET Bible® is pretty good about indicating this. Since most of these corrections will be clear in the more literal translations below and within the Hebrew exegesis itself, I will not continue to list every NET Bible® footnote.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Concordant Literal Version    A Davidic Psalm.

Updated Emphasized Bible    To the Chief Musician. A Melody of David.

English Standard Version      To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

exeGeses companion Bible   To His Eminence; A Psalm by David.

MKJV                                     To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

Young's Updated LT              To the Overseer. A Psalm of David.

The gist of this verse:          This psalm is written by David and handed over to the chief musician.

Translation: To the Preeminent One;... As we have seen with the numerous translations above, no one is clear as to who this person is. This psalm could be dedicated to God, which is essentially how I have translated it; however, it could be designed to be conducted by the chief musician, which is how Rotherham understands it. Most translators assume that this is given over to the choir director or the conductor or the one in charge of those who sang.

We find this word as a Piel infinitive in 1Chron. 15:21 23:4 2Chron. 34:12 Ezra 3:8–9. 1Chron. 23:4 indicates that this does not have to be a supervisory position, as it reads: Of these [38,000 Levites], 24,000 were to oversee the work of the house of Yahweh; and 6000 were officers and judges. Quite obviously, you cannot have 24,000 chiefs and no Indians, these were all of the Levites assigned to work on the Temple (Ezra 3:8–9 finds this word used in this same way). However, the supervisory nature of this word seems to be clear in 1Chron. 15:21 2Chron. 34:12.

Unfortunately, the exact meaning of the lâmed preposition is also hard to determine. We find several psalms which are ascribed to David written to David; but the idea is, the psalm belongs to David. The lâmed preposition is used more often when something is given to someone else or something is for someone else, the chief meanings of the lâmed preposition. Despite the use of the lâmed preposition with David throughout the book of Psalms, I have taken this to me that this psalm is written for whomever this Preeminent person is.

Barnes comments on this portion of the inscription: This phrase in the title, “To the chief Musician,” occurs at the beginning of 53 psalms, and at the close of the hymn in Habak. 3:19. It is uniformly rendered “to the chief Musician,” and means that the psalm was intended for him, or was to be given to him, probably to regulate the manner of performing it. In no one instance does the title imply that he was the author. The word rendered “Chief Musician” is derived from [ a Hebrew word] properly meaning “to shine,” but not used in the Qal. In the Piel form it means to be conspicuous; to be over anything; to be chief; to be superintendent (2Chron. 2:2, 18 34:12) and then it means to lead in music. The meaning of the form used here, and in the other places where it occurs as a title to a psalm, is “Chief Musician,” or precentor; and the idea is, that the psalm is to be performed under his direction; or that the music is to be directed and adapted by him.

Even though we have the same preposition used here as we find used with David, when he is the author, the many times that this phrase is found in combination with the author’s name suggests more that there is a musical organization and that this song was delivered over to the Choirmaster (or conductor) of that organization to be sung and performed at various functions.

The NIV Study Bible has its opinion on this matter: [For the director of music is] probably a liturgical notation, indicating either that the psalm was to be added to he collection of works to be used by the director of music in Israel’s worship services, or that when the psalm was used in the temple worship, it was to be spoke [or, sung?] by the leader of the Levitical choir—or by the choir itself (see 1Chron. 23:4–5, 30 [Of the overseers over the works of the house of the Lord there were twenty-four thousand, and there were six thousand scribes and judges; and four thousand gatekeepers, and four thousand to praise the Lord with instruments which he made to praise the Lord...to stand in the morning to praise and give thanks to the Lord, and so in the evening] 25 [assignments are given to the sons of Korah, among others]). In this liturgical activity the Levites functioned as representatives of the worshiping congregation. Following their lead the people probably responded with “Amen” and “Praise the Lord” (Hallelujah); see 1Chron. 16:36 Neh. 5:13; compare 1Cor. 14:16 Rev. 5:14 7:12 19:4.

Translation: ...a psalm of David. There are three words translated psalm; this is one of them which is found a little less than a third of the time. I’m not yet ready to differentiate between these three words, nor am I confident that there is an important lesson hidden in differentiating them.

What I would have expected to find, but have never found, is by David, where the bêyth preposition is used.

Perhaps the idea here is, this psalm is both written by David and it is for David, as a gift from God.

——————————

God's Blessings to the King

Here is how others have handled this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation ; George Lamsa’s translation , and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Latin Vulgate                          In Your strength, O Lord, the king will joy; and in Your salvation he will rejoice exceedingly.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        Y^ehowah, in Your Strength, the king rejoices;

and in Your salvation [or, in Your Jesus], how He runs in a circle in joy greatly.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    THE king shall rejoice in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!

Septuagint (Greek)                O Lord, the king shall rejoice in Your strength; and in Your salvation he shall greatly exalt.

Significant differences:           There is no how in the LXX, although it is found in the Latin and Syriac. The verb to run in a circle also means to rejoice (the idea is, being so happy, that you just have to get out there and run about, a concept which may escape some of you, unless, of course, you own a child.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       Our LORD, your mighty power makes the king glad, and he celebrates victories that you have given him.

Easy English (Churchyard)    LORD, the king is enjoying your power.

He is very happy.

You gave him help to win.

Easy-to-Read Version            Lord, your strength makes the king happy.

He is so happy when you save him.

Good News Bible (TEV)         The king is glad, O LORD, because you gave him strength; he rejoices because you made him victorious.

The Message                         Your strength, GOD, is the king's strength. Helped, he's hollering Hosannas.

New Century Version             Lord, the king rejoices because of your strength;

he is so happy when you save him!.

New Life Bible                        O Lord, in Your strength the king is glad! How great is his joy in Your saving power!

New Living Translation           How the king rejoices in your strength, O Lord!

He shouts with joy because you give him victory.

New Simplified Bible              The king finds joy in your strength, O Jehovah. What great joy he has in your salvation!

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          O Jehovah: The king will gladly submit to Your power, and for Your salvation he calls out in joy.

God’s Word™                         The king finds joy in your strength, O LORD. What great joy he has in your victory!

New American Bible              LORD, the king finds joy in your power;

in your victory how greatly he rejoices!

NIRV                                      Lord, the king is filled with joy because you are strong.

How great is his joy because you help him win his battles!

New Jerusalem Bible             Yahweh, the king rejoices in your power; How your saving help fills him with joy!

Today’s NIV                          The king rejoices in your strength, LORD.

How great is his joy in the victories you give!

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Bible in Basic English             The king will be glad in your strength, O Lord; how great will be his delight in your salvation!

Context Group Version          The king shall joy in your strength, O YHWH; And in your rescue how greatly he shall rejoice!

NET Bible®                             O LORD, the king rejoices in the strength you give; [Heb "in your strength." The translation interprets the pronominal suffix as subjective, rather than merely descriptive (or attributive).]

he takes great delight in the deliverance you provide. When it comes to making an actual material change to the text, the NET Bible® is pretty good about indicating this. Since most of these corrections will be clear in the more literal translations below and within the Hebrew exegesis itself, I will not continue to list every NET Bible® footnote.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Concordant Literal Version    O Yahweh, in Your strength is the king rejoicing, And in Your salvation, how exceedingly is he exulting!

exeGeses companion Bible   The sovereign cheers in your strength,

O Yah Veh;

how mightily he twirls in your salvation:

Hebrew Names Version         The king rejoices in your strength, LORD! How greatly he rejoices in your yeshu`ah!

MKJV                                     The king shall rejoice in Your strength, O Jehovah; and in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!

Thieme                                   O Jehovah/God . . . in Your Omnipotence/Integrity {`oz} the King {David} will 'express his happiness'/celebrate {based on having capacity from doctrine resident in his soul}.

And, in Your victory/deliverance {y@shuw`ah - can mean salvation, but here deliverance is better} how greatly shall he 'overtly rejoice'/'dance for happiness'

{giyl - outer expression of Joy - dancing in a circle}!.

WEB                                      The king rejoices in your strength, Yahweh! How greatly he rejoices in your salvation!

Young’s Updated LT             Jehovah, in Your strength is the king joyful; In Your salvation how greatly he rejoices.

The gist of this verse:          This psalm addresses Jehovah and speaks of the king, who is joyful in Jehovah’s strength and who rejoices in Jehovah’s salvation.

Translation: Y^ehowah, the king will rejoice in Your Strength;... Psalms can be written with parallel or contrasting thoughts in adjacent lines. God is addressed as Y^ehowah, which usually refers to the 2^nd Person of the Trinity, but can refer, actually, to any member of the Trinity. Jesus instructed His disciples to pray to God the Father (Matt. 6:9). For this reason, and based upon what follows, David is addressing God the Holy Spirit.

As discussed in the introduction, there will be a parallel meaning throughout. On the one hand, the king refers to David himself; and, on the other, the King refers to Jesus Christ.

In the next half of v. 1, David will great rejoice over Jesus, so it is reasonable to understand Strength here to refer to God the Holy Spirit. The members of the Trinity have specific functions in relationship to us, and we can relate these functions to the building of a house. A house must be planned and committed to paper first. In theology, this is known as the plan of God or the divine decree, and they were developed by God the Father in eternity past. The homeowner may or may not see the architect; we do not see God the Father (I am trying to keep this analogy going). What is often ignored in the process of building a house is energy or power or strength. This is God the Holy Spirit. No house can be built apart from energy or power. Nowadays, if there is no source of power (electricity or a generator), then most workers will not even work. The 2^nd member of the Trinity is the One Who executes the plan of God using the energy provided by God, and that is Jesus Christ, the revealed Person of the Trinity. In the analogy, this would be the builder of a house, with whom you may have face to face contact. So a house requires a planner, a builder and energy in order to build a house, this well-illustrates the functions of the Trinity.

Given the context, one must interpret king to refer to David, or to anyone sitting upon the Davidic throne. David, as the king of his country and as a great warrior, he appreciates all that God has provided, and how God has delivered him repeatedly in war.

However, on the other hand, when our Lord became true humanity, He depended upon the strength of the Holy Spirit. The humanity of Jesus Christ depended entirely upon the power of God the Holy Spirit.

Translation: ...and how he rejoices in Your salvation [or, in Your Jesus]. For those of you who recall your childhood, or for those of you who jog and love it, you can understand being so excited about something, or so enthused, that you can hardly wait to get out of the house a run a few miles. At one time, I felt this way. As I get older, I still get out there and run, but not nearly as fast or with the same enthusiasm. However, there are times which I recall when, the temperature outside was 60 or 65°, there was a light breeze blowing, and particularly uner a bright full moon or an early morning light, I would be personally jazzed about getting outdoors and running. I realize to some of you, that makes little or no sense. But that is the connotation of this verb. You are so happy and so excited, that you just want to run (or here, more specifically, run about in a circle). If you have a happy child and if you see them ready to burst out in the world—perhaps you are taking him to a playground, and he can hardly wait to get to it—that may help you to understand the verb.

It is very common, in the Hebrew, to have the direct object come first, then the verb, and then the noun. Although this does give some emphasis to the direct object, throwing in the exclamatory particle does so even more. It somewhat separates the direct object from the verb, giving greater emphasis to the direct object.

So, we have David the king, speaking of all 3 members of the Trinity in this first verse: Y^ehowah [God the Father], the king will rejoice in Your Strength [God the Holy Spirit]; and how he rejoices in Your salvation [or, in Your Jesus].

As I have already pointed out, the King can refer to Jesus Christ as well. Y^ehowah, the King will rejoice in Your Strength; and how He rejoices in Your salvation. God the Father planned out our salvation; God the Son executed God’s plan, and receives many brothers (us) to Himself (Rom. 8:29). God the Holy Spirit provided the power for God the Son to execute God the Father’s plan.

Those in the Old Testament understood that their Savior to Come would be King as well: For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be on His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. There is no end of the increase of His government and peace on the throne of David, and on His kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from now on, even forever. The zeal of Jehovah of Hosts will do this (Isa. 9:6–7). This was confirmed by the wise man who came out of the east to worship the One called King of the Jews (Matt. 2:2), which Jesus is now sitting on the throne at the right hand of God (Heb. 12:2).

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Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Latin Vulgate                          You have given him his heart”s desire: and have not withheld from him the will of his lips.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        A desire of his heart You gave to him

and a request of his lips You did not keep back.

Selah!

Peshitta (Syriac)                    You have given him his heart’s desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips.

Septuagint (Greek)                You have granted him the desire of his spirit, and have not withheld from him the request of his lips. Pause.

Significant differences:           The Hebrew, Latin and Syriac all have heart, whereas the Greek has spirit. This could have simply been the call of the translator, where the word to him indicated the inner being. Both Brenton and the Complete Apostles’ Bible rendered this soul.

The Latin and Syriac typically lack selah.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       You did what he wanted most and never told him "No."

Easy English (Churchyard)    You gave to him what he really wanted.

You gave to him everything that he asked for. SELAH

Easy-to-Read Version            You gave the king the things he wanted.

Lord, the king asked for some things,

and you gave him what he asked for.

Good News Bible (TEV)         You have given him his heart's desire; you have answered his request.

The Message                         You gave him exactly what he wanted; you didn't hold back.

New Century Version             You gave the king what he wanted

and did not refuse what he asked for.

Selah

New Life Bible                        You have given him the desire of his heart. You have not kept from him anything that he has asked for.

New Living Translation           For you have given him his heart's desire;

you have withheld nothing he requested.

Interlude

New Simplified Bible              You gave him his heart's desire. You did not refuse the prayer from his lips.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          You have given him all that his heart desires, and not deprived him of the things that he begged for.

God’s Word™                         You gave him his heart's desire. You did not refuse the prayer from his lips. Selah

NIRV                                      You have given him what his heart longed for.

You haven't kept back from him what his lips asked for.

Selah

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Bible in Basic English             You have given him his heart's desire, and have not kept back the request of his lips. Selah.

Complete Apostles’ Bible      You have granted him the desire of his soul, and have not withheld from him the request of his lips. Pause.

HCSB                                     You have given him his heart's desire and have not denied the request of his lips. Selah

JPS (Tanakh)                         You have granted him the desire of his heart,

                                                  have not denied the request of his lips.                               Selah

Judaica Press Complete T.    You gave him his heart's desire, and the speech of his lips You have never withheld.

NET Bible®                             You grant [The translation assumes the perfect verbal forms in v. 2 are generalizing, stating factually what God typically does for the king. Another option is to take them as present perfects, "you have granted. you have not refused." See v. 4, which mentions a specific request for a long reign.] him his heart's desire;

you do not refuse his request. (Selah)

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                You have given him his heart's desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah [pause, and think of that]!

Concordant Literal Version    The yearning of his heart, You will give to him, And the proposal of his lips You will not withhold at all. Interlude

exeGeses companion Bible   you give him the desire of his heart

and withhold not the yearning of his lips.

Selah.

Thieme                                   You {God} have given him {David} the desire {ta'avah} of his 'right lobe'/heart {blessings in time},

and You have not held back {mana`} the request of his lips {all David's prayer requests were answered}.

Selah/'orchestra plays on, voices rest'. {Selah means singers rest and instruments play on - it is a picture of you resting while the Grace of God continues on}

WEB                                      You have given him his heart's desire, And have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah.

Young’s Updated LT             The desire of his heart You gave to him, and the request of his lips You have not withheld. Selah.

The gist of this verse:          Whatever the king [or, King] desired, God gave to him [Him].

Translation: You gave to him the desire of his heart... David is speaking or praying to God and desire here is in the singular. So, God is not giving him all that he wants. In the human realm, David, as king, would desire victory for his army (or deliverance).

Application: Our own Congress has gone far afield in this regard. Simply as political posturing, they voted again and again to place a timetable on the withdrawal of our troops from Iraq, win or lose. The lead Senator in our Congress pronounced this war lost several months before it became apparent that we were clearly winning. David, who no doubt prayed for victory for his troops regularly, and wrote psalms stating the same, understood the importance of victory and deliverance by God; many members of our Congress, if they could get more votes on the backs of a few dead soldiers, they would do it in an instant.

Obviously, there is also ultimate deliverance, the deliverance from death into life, and this would also be a reasonable interpretation of this verse, given the context.

Translation: ...and you did not withhold the request of his lips. This would simply be a reference to prayers, whether delivered from the knees, from a horse in battle, or in the form of a psalm.

Translation: [Musical] Pause [or, musical interlude; lit., Selah!] As described in the exegesis, this word çelâh comes from a verb which means to lift up. It is reasonable to assume that those who are playing musical instruments are to lift up these instruments and play during a pause in the singing. I believe that this is called the bridge in modern music?

Keil and Delitzsch suggest: The music, as Sela directs, here becomes more boisterous; it gives intensity to the strong cry for the judgment of God; and the first unfolding of thought of this Michtam is here brought to a close.

R. B. Thieme Jr: Selah means singers rest and instruments play on - it is a picture of you resting while the grace of God continues on.

What we are to do is to stop and to think about what David has said, particularly about the bloodless and the burnt offerings, as well as about God’s willingness to help us in all circumstances, and how closely these things are related.

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Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Latin Vulgate                          For You have prevented him with blessings of sweetness: You have set on his head a crown of precious stones.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        You precede him blessings of good;

You set to his head a crown of gold.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    For You have blessed him beforehand with the blessings of goodness; You have set a precious crown on his head.

Septuagint (Greek)                For You have anticipate him with blessings of goodness; You have set upon his head a crown of precious stone.

Significant differences:           The first Greek verb is one of the meanings of the Hebrew verb. The first Latin verb is one of the meanings of the Greek verb used, but not of the Hebrew verb. The English version of the Syriac uses another verb altogether.

I do not know that Latin. I hope that sweetness is not a good translation from the Latin.

The preposition which we would expect in the second line is not found, but the Latin, Syriac and Greek all use on or upon; the Hebrew has to, for (which will require some discussion).

The Hebrew has a crown of gold; the Latin and Greek both have a crown of precious stone (s). This is the most problematic difference in the texts, but it does not cause a problem in the overall understanding.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       You truly blessed the king, and you placed on him a crown of finest gold.

Easy English (Churchyard)    You met him and gave to him such good things:

you put a crown of the best gold on his head.

Easy-to-Read Version            Lord, you really blessed the king.

You put the gold crown on his head.

Good News Bible (TEV)         You came to him with great blessings and set a crown of gold on his head.

The Message                         You filled his arms with gifts; you gave him a right royal welcome.

New Life Bible                        For You meet him with gifts of good things. You set a crown of pure gold on his head.

New Living Translation           You welcomed him back with success and prosperity.

You placed a crown of finest gold on his head.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Before he asked You gave him great blessings, and placed a gemmed crown on his head.

God’s Word™                         You welcomed him with the blessings of good things and set a crown of fine gold on his head.

New Jerusalem Bible             For you come to meet him with blessings of prosperity, put a crown of pure gold on his head.

Revised English Bible            You welcome him with blessings and prosperity

and place a crown of finest gold on his head.

Today’s NIV                          You came to greet him with rich blessings

and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Bible in Basic English             For you go before him with the blessings of good things: you put a crown of fair gold on his head.

Complete Apostles’ Bible      For You have blessed him with blessings of goodness; You have set upon his head a crown of precious stone.

Context Group Version          For you meet him with the esteem { pl } of goodness: You set a crown of fine gold on his head.

HCSB                                     For You meet him with rich blessings; You place a crown of pure gold on his head.

JPS (Tanakh)                         You have proffered him blessings of good things,

have set upon his head a crown of fine gold.

NET Bible®                             For you bring him rich [Heb "good."] blessings; [You bring him rich blessings. The following context indicates that God's "blessings" include deliverance/protection, vindication, sustained life, and a long, stable reign (see also Pss 3:8; 24:5).]

you place a golden crown on his head.

NIV – UK                                You welcomed him with rich blessings and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

American KJV                        For you prevent him with the blessings of goodness: you set a crown of pure gold on his head.

Concordant Literal Version    For You shall succor him with blessings of good; You shall set a glittering gold crown on his head.

English Standard Version      For you meet him with rich blessings; you set a crown of fine gold upon his head.

exeGeses companion Bible   For you anticipate him

with the blessings of goodness;

you set a crown of pure gold on his head;.

LTHB                                     For You will precede him with the blessings of goodness; You set a crown of pure gold on his head.

MKJV                                     For You go before him with the blessings of goodness; You set a crown of pure gold on his head.

Thieme                                   For You {God} have proceeded him {David} with the blessings { Bârakah - plural} of the {divine} good { towb} {blessings in time - SG2 blessings from the integrity of God}.}.

You {God} have placed on his head a crown of pure/fine gold {God provided the crown to David - the Glory is the Lord's}.

Young’s Updated LT             For You put before him blessings of goodness, You set on his head a crown of fine gold.

The gist of this verse:          God has arranged for there to be blessings for the king [King], where were set in place in eternity past. A crown of gold is placed upon his head.

Translation: You precede him [with] blessings of good;... The prepositions used and not used in this verse are interesting, and I don’t know that I can explain why they were chosen. The verb here indicates that God goes before someone or anticipates someone or meets someone (in this case the king). We would expect God to anticipate and go before David and meet him with blessings, but there is no preposition here. According to Gesenius, to bring is a good translation of the verb, when the verb is followed by the bêyth preposition (which it is not). The blessings which God brings to the king are anticipatory blessings of good, which can indicate divine blessings which are in accordance with God’s plan as, perhaps, a reward, God knowing what will happen.

We find the promise of rich and abundant blessing throughout the Bible. How great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You; You have worked for those who trust in You before the sons of men! (Psalm 31:19). Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ (Eph. 1:3).

Recall that we may understand this psalm to apply to David the king and to Jesus the King. In the first case, God has designed many blessings for David, and these blessings were designed for him in eternity past. Similarly, God the Father designed blessings for Jesus Christ—blessings for Him in His humanity—and these were laid out for Him during His 1^st Advent and will be there for His 2^nd Advent as well. You may wonder what sort of blessings did Jesus receive, and there are two which come immediately to mind: friends and food; and Jesus is associated with both throughout the gospels.

Translation: ...You place a crown of gold upon his head. Again, we have a problem with the preposition. Here, we have a preposition, but it is not what we would expect. We expect God to place upon or on the head of David a crown of gold. However, this literally says, You place with reference to his head a crown of gold. The idea here is, we are not speaking of a literal crown of gold. God is not literally placing a crown of gold on David’s head, but the preposition in regards to, with reference to suggests, instead, that these are real blessings, but not a real crown of gold. What is probably in view here is divine reward for David’s actions; this divine reward to take place in the future. A crown illustrates this reward (commonly found throughout the Bible to explain our eternal rewards), and such a crown represents power, authority, and material blessing; so that we can expect such a crown—or what it represents—ourselves.

Barnes writes: This does not refer to the time of his coronation, or the period when he was crowned a king, but it refers to the victory which he had achieved, and by which he had been made truly a king. He was crowned with triumph; he was shown to be a king; the victory was like making him a king, or setting a crown of pure gold upon his head. He was now a conqueror, and was indeed a king.

This verse probably connotes the literal crown of gold which was taken from the King of Ammon (2Sam. 12:29–30: And David gathered all the people and went to Rabbah [the capitol of Ammon], and fought against it and took it. And he took the king's crown from off his head, the weight of which was a talent of gold, and a precious stone in it. And it was set on David's head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance.). That would place this psalm in a very unusual place. In 2Sam. 12, David is beginning to receive punishment for his affair with Bathsheba. However, even though David is under discipline, God is still taking care of Israel and still giving them victory over their enemies.

The NIV Study Bible suggests that the warrior king returns from a successful campaign, and his warrior’s helmet is replaced with a crown of gold.

With respect to our Lord, although there may be real blessings, the crown represents His Kingship and authority. Again, the use of the lâmed preposition instead of upon or on indicates that this is not necessarily a real crown, but represents that which a crown suggests. This may have occurred to David to write because of this crown taken from Rabbah, but the meaning is certainly more spiritual than actual here.

Along these lines, Calvin writes: The Psalmist makes express mention of the crown, because it was the emblem and ensign of royalty; and he intimates by this that God would be the guardian of the king, whom he himself had created. But as the prophet testifies, that the royal diadem, after lying long dishonored in the dust, shall again be put upon the head of Christ, we come to the conclusion, that by this song the minds of the godly were elevated to the hope of the eternal kingdom, of which a shadow only, or an obscure image, was set forth in the person of the successors of David.

John saw the Lord wearing a gold crown in Rev. 14:14.

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Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Latin Vulgate                          He asked life of You: and You have given him length of days for ever and ever.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        Lives he asked from You;

You give to him length of days forever and perpetuity.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    He asked life of You, and You gave it him, even length of days for ever and ever.

Septuagint (Greek)                He asked life of You, and You gave him length of days forever and ever.

Significant differences:           We have the plural of life in the Hebrew; it is singular in the other ancient translations. A difference like this can simply indicate the difference between languages (we find the word faces in the Hebrew when we would use the singular face in English). In the second phrase, we have the preposition to in the Hebrew, but we do not find that in the Greek (or in the English of the Latin and Syriac). Although prepositions exist in the Greek, some prepositions can be indicated simply by the case of the Greek noun or pronoun. The accusative singular him in the Greek is a reasonable translation of the phrase to him in the Hebrew.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       He asked to live a long time, and you promised him life that never ends.

Easy English (Churchyard)    he wanted to stay alive and you let him

his life will go on, it will never finish.

Easy-to-Read Version            God, the king asked you for life.

And you gave it to him!

You gave him a long life that continues forever and ever.

Good News Bible (TEV)         He asked for life, and you gave it, a long and lasting life.

The Message                         He wanted a good life; you gave it to him, and then made it a long life as a bonus.

New Century Version             He asked you for life,

and you gave it to him,

so his years go on and on.

New Living Translation           He asked you to preserve his life,

and you granted his request.

The days of his life stretch on forever.

New Simplified Bible              He asked you for life. You gave him a long life, forever and ever (perpetuity) (long lasting time).

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          When he asked for life, You gave him long days, into the ages of ages.

NIRV                                      He asked you for life, and you gave it to him.

You promised him days that would never end.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Bible in Basic English             He made request to you for life, and you gave it to him, long life for ever and ever.

JPS (Tanakh)                         He asked You for life; You granted it;

a long life, everlasting.

NET Bible®                             He asked you to sustain his life, [Heb "life he asked from you." Another option is to translate the perfect verbal forms in v. 4 with the present tense, "he asks.you grant."]

and you have granted him long life and an enduring dynasty. [Heb "you have granted him length of days forever and ever." The phrase "length of days," when used of human beings, usually refers to a lengthy period of time (such as one's lifetime). See, for example, Deut 30:20; Job 12:12; Ps 91:16; Prov 3:2, 16; Lam 5:20. The additional phrase "forever and ever" is hyperbolic. While it seems to attribute eternal life to the king (see Pss 61:6-7; 72:5 as well), the underlying reality is the king's enduring dynasty. He will live on, as it were, through his descendants, who will continue to rule over his kingdom long after he has passed off the scene.]

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Concordant Literal Version    He asked life from You; You will give it to him:Length of days for an eon and further.

exeGeses companion Bible   he asks life of you

and you give him length of days

eternally and eternally:.

Thieme                                   He {David} has asked You for life/'prosperity' {chay - means asks for God to save his life when Saul might destroy him but RBT says is also an idiom referring to the

categories of blessings in time},

and You have given it to him {David} extension/length { 'orek} of days {referring to long life to enjoy the blessings in time} {prosperity} forever and ever {referring to blessings in eternity future also}.

WEB                                      He asked life of you, you gave it to him, Even length of days forever and ever.

Young’s Updated LT             Life he has asked from You, You have given to him—length of days, Age-during—and forever.

The gist of this verse:          David asks life from God and it is given to him in abundance.

Translation: He asked from You a vigorous [and sustained] life;... This psalm is consistent throughout as to person. You refers to God, and he refers to David, the writer (as well as to anyone who reads the psalm). David requests from God to have a full, refreshing and vigorous life. At another time, David prayed: Prolong the life of the king; may his years endure to all generations! (Psalm 61:6).

If our understanding of the context is correct—that this occurs after David’s sin with Bathsheba—then this is all the more meaningful. There are portions of David’s life which are exemplary, and God has poured great blessing upon David during those times. However, in his affair with Bathsheba, David behaved despicably. He not only committed adultery but then he had her husband killed. Yet, after great discipline, God restored David to a place of great blessing and gave him a rich and long life. Furthermore, God’s promises to David and to his line remained intact.

God’s promises to David included: He [David] shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever (2Sam. 7:13). Your house [referring to David’s house; i.e., his bloodline which culminates in Jesus Christ] and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever (2Sam. 7:16). Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever (Psalm 18:50).

If we apply this to Jesus Christ, then it takes on a whole new meaning. Jesus will pay for our sins on the cross and then He will die physically. His death for our sins has no meaning unless God raises Him from the dead, giving Him a vigorous and sustained life. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, and Christ has not been raised from the dead, then we are of all men most miserable (1Cor. 15:19, 17a). Jesus being raised from the dead is the basis of our hope. We are accepted in the Beloved because God approved of His sacrifice.

Translation: ...[and] You gave him length of days forever and ever. God responds to David by giving him a long life and giving him eternal life as well. This is not something promised only to David; there are promises about long life to many other believers as well: With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation (Psalm 91:16).

Furthermore, God does not remove from David His promises to his line, which continues to Jesus Christ. Jesus, speaking to God the Father in prayer, said, “You have given Him [the Son of God = Jesus Christ] authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom You have given Him.” (John 17:2).

The psalmist here has asked for a full and abundant life, and God gives him length of days which extend into eternity. Matthew Henry writes: God's gracious gifts and responses to prayer often exceed our petitions and hopes, and, in this way, infer how rich He is in mercy to those that call upon Him.

Quite obviously, Jesus Christ is given length of days, forever and ever. This was promised in the Davidic Covenant: I will establish his offspring forever and his throne as the days of the heavens...His seed will endure forever, His throne as long as the sun before Me. Like the moon it shall be established forever, a faithful witness in the skies. (Psalm 89:29, 36–37). In His humanity, He died physically, but God raised Him from the dead. In this way, our Lord will rule forever. Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over Him (Rom. 6:9b). Or, as Jesus said to John when He appeared to him in a vision: “I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” (Rev. 1:17a–18).

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Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Latin Vulgate                          His glory is great in Your salvation: glory and great beauty will You lay upon him.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        Great [is] His glory in Your Jesus [or, salvation];

and majesty and splendor You set upon him.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    His glory is great in thy salvation; honor and majesty hast thou bestowed upon him.

Septuagint (Greek)                His glory is great in Your salvation; You will crown him with glory and majesty.

Significant differences:           I gave the words of the first phrase in the order that they are found in the text. However, the subject and verb should be turned around, as we find in all of the ancient translations and in my nearly literal translation. In the final phrase, the English translation from the Latin has great beauty instead of splendor; however, these words are not far removed in meaning.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       The king is highly honored. You have let him win victories that have made him famous.

Easy English (Churchyard)    ...he has great glory because you gave him help to win

you gave to him honour and he now remains as king.

Easy-to-Read Version            You led the king to victory

and gave him great glory.

You gave him honor and praise.

Good News Bible (TEV)         His glory is great because of your help; you have given him fame and majesty.

The Message                         You lifted him high and bright as a cumulus cloud, then dressed him in rainbow colors.

New Life Bible                        His honor is great because of Your help. You have given him greatness and power.

New Living Translation           Your victory brings him great honor,

and you have clothed him with splendor and majesty.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          In Your saving power You've made his glory great, and placed gracious majesty upon him.

God’s Word™                         Because of your victory his glory is great. You place splendor and majesty on him.

New American Bible              Great is his glory in your victory;

majesty and splendor you confer upon him.

NIRV                                      His glory is great because you helped him win his battles.

You have honored him with glory and majesty.

Revised English Bible            Your victory has brought him great glory,

you invest him with majesty and honour.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Bible in Basic English             His glory is great in your salvation: honour and authority have you put on him.

Complete Apostles’ Bible      His glory is great in Your salvation; You will crown him with glory and majesty.

Context Group Version          His public honor is great in your rescue: Honor and majesty you lay on him.

HCSB                                     His glory is great through Your victory; You confer majesty and splendor on him.

JPS (Tanakh)                         Great s his glory through Your victory;

You have endowed him with splendor and majesty.

Judaica Press Complete T.    His glory is great in Your salvation; majesty and beauty You place upon him.

NET Bible®                             Your deliverance brings him great honor; [Or "great glory."]

you give him majestic splendor [Heb "majesty and splendor you place upon him." For other uses of the phrase וְהָדָר הוֹד (hod v^ehadar, "majesty and splendor") see 1Chr 16:27 Job 40:10 Pss 96:6 104:1 111:3.].

New International Version      Through the victories you gave, his glory is great;

you have bestowed on him splendor and majest.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                His glory is great because of Your aid; splendor and majesty You bestow upon him.

Concordant Literal Version    Great is his glory through Your salvation; Splendor and honor shall You poise on him.

English Standard Version      His glory is great through your salvation; splendor and majesty you bestow on him.

LTHB                                     His glory is great in Your salvation; You have laid honor and majesty on him.

Thieme                                   Great . . . {is} His {God's} glory in your {David's} victory/deliverance.

Honor {howd - referring to David's ability from doctrine to handle his promotion to King - It is harder to handle a prosperity test then tests of depravation. David handled both beautifully} and majesty { hadar} have You {God} laid/bestowed upon him {David}. {the nations around him bestowed gifts and praise on him - see 2Samuel 8:9-12 but he immediately sanctified it to God}.

Young’s Updated LT             Great is his honour in Your salvation, Honour and majesty You place on him.

The gist of this verse:          The psalmist proclaims that David’s honor is great in Jesus. God places glory and majesty upon David.

Translation: His glory [is] great by means of [or, in] Your Jesus [or, salvation];... His glory refers to the glory of David, which is also the glory of the one reading this psalm. This, in fact, refers to David’s glory, abundance, and honor. All of this is great, and it comes by means of (or, in) Jesus Christ, Who is David’s salvation. David is saved in Christ; his salvation is Christ; and all that David has by glory, abundance and honor is due to Jesus Christ. Furthermore, this is a great and incredible honor for the humanity of Jesus Christ to come through the line of David. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my Mighty Rock, my refuge is God. Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us (Psalm 62:7).

We have already gone through letter-by-letter explaining that salvation here is equivalent to the Greek word Jesus.

We may also apply this verse to Jesus: Jesus was glorified in God’s salvation. God’s plan involved our Lord dying for our sins and then being raised again, which glorified Him. When Judas had left with the intention of betraying Jesus, our Lord told His disciples: “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him.” (John 13:31b). After the crucifixion, Jesus came to some of His disciples walking along a road, and after a little discussion about what had happened, He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:25–26). And, as John wrote of Jesus: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:1–3, 14).

The word glory in v. 5a and majesty and splendor in v. 5b are words which may wash over the average believer with little or no meaning. Attempting to differentiate these words or to exegete this passage is difficult, so that I am going to embark on a more careful examination of these words. I don’t know if anything like this can hold your interest. I know that I am going to take 1 or 2 pages to examine each word, to further clarify its meaning, which is not exactly like reaching a dramatic turning point in a pot-boiling novel. However, for me, after spending a few hours on this verse, I was still walking away with little to show for it. Therefore, we are going to dig a little bit.

For the average person, you can essentially skip over most of this and find where the summation is, and read that. Everything else painstakingly tells how we reach those conclusions.