Psalms 89:16

Psa 89:16 In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.

Ver. 16. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day] Or, every day. Bonis semper feriae , Aνηρ αγαθος πασαν ημεραν εορτην ηγειται, saith Diogenes in Plutarch. God crowneth the calendar of good men’s lives with many festivals.

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.

Psa_89:16

In Thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in Thy righteousness shall they be exalted.

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The believer exalted in imputed righteousness

I. A few propositions anent this righteousness for clearing its nature and necessity.

II. A few properties of this righteousness in which believers are exalted, from whence its excellency will appear.

1. It is in every way perfect and spotless righteousness: and how can it be otherwise, seeing it is the righteousness of God?

2. It is a meritorious righteousness.

3. It is an incomparable righteousness (Php_3:8). Compare it with Adams righteousness in a state of innocence, or yet with the righteousness of the spotless angels, they are but like glowworms when compared with this sun: the one is but the righteousness of a creature, but here is the righteousness of God.

4. It is an everlasting righteousness (Dan_9:24).

5. It is a soul-dignifying and exalting righteousness.

III. The believers exaltation by virtue of this righteousness.

1. What evils it exalts him above.

(1) It exalts him above the law as a covenant of works; yea, above both the commanding and the condemning power of that covenant.

(2) It exalts him above the world.

(3) It exalts him above the power and malice of Satan.

(4) It exalts him above death.

(5) It exalts him above all accusations, from whatever airt they may come (Rom_8:33).

2. What happiness or dignity the believer is exalted to by virtue of this righteousness.

(1) A state of peace and reconciliation with God (Rom_5:1).

(2) A state of sonship (Gal_4:4-5).

(3) A state of fellowship and familiarity with God, and access to Him with holy confidence and boldness (Heb_10:19-22).

(4) A state of endless glory. (E. Erskine.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa 89:16-18. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day — That is, in the knowledge and remembrance of thy name, or of thy infinite power and goodness, revealed and imparted to them; and in thy righteousness — Whereby thou art both inclined, and, in some sort, engaged to hear the prayers of thy people, and to save them from all their enemies; or, in and by thy mercy, for righteousness frequently means mercy; or in and through the obedience unto death of him who is the Lord our righteousness, and is made of God unto us righteousness, and through the righteousness of faith in him, Rom 4:3; Rom 4:22-24, shall they be exalted — To the dignity of thy sons and daughters here, and to the heavenly inheritance hereafter. For thou art the glory of their strength — All that strength in which they do, or may glory, is from thee as the gift of thy grace: and to thee alone belongs the glory of all their victories over their enemies, and of all their achievements. In thy favour our horn shall be exalted — The efforts of our power shall be crowned with victory and success. For the Lord is our defence — Here the psalmist assigns the reason of his confidence, that their horn should be exalted. And the Holy One of Israel is our King — Having therefore so powerful a deliverance and protector, we have no reason to despair of our restitution to our former felicity. Hebrew, ליהוה מגננו, to Jehovah belongs our shield, or, as the margin reads it, our shield is of the Lord, our King is the Holy One of Israel. Our relation to God, as his worshippers and subjects, is the ground of our confidence for deliverance and protection. If God be our ruler, he will be our defender, and who is he then that can harm us?

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16. They rejoice all the day—Psa_89:16-18 describe the happiness of the people who delight in God, and are familiar with the “joyful sound” calling them to his worship. Psa_89:15

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

17. (Psa 89:16). In thy name they shall rejoice all the day, and in thy righteousness shall be exalted. In thy name, in the display of thy perfections. In thy righteousness, i.e. in the exercise of that essential rectitude which secures the performance of God's promise and thereby the salvation of his people.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 16. In thy name shall they rejoice] Or, "greatly exult," יגילון yegilun; "all that day," היום haiyom, the jubilee, referred to above.

And in thy righteousness] In the declaration of thy righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, Ro 3:25-26.

Shall they be exalted.] They shall be justified freely from all things, be purified from all unrighteousness, grow in grace, and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ here below, and at last be exalted to his right hand to reign with him for ever. The jubilee was a type of the Gospel, and under that type the psalmist here speaks of the glorious advent of the Lord Jesus, and the great happiness of believers in him. Let it be observed that the letters in the above Hebrew words called paragogic, as nun in יהלכון yehallechuN, and יגילון yegiluN, always increase and deepen the meaning of the words to which they are attached.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

16. shall they rejoice … shall they be exalted] Render with R.V. do they rejoice … are they exalted. Jehovah’s revelation of Himself is at once the source and the subject of their joy: His unswerving adherence to His covenant is the secret of their prosperity.

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.

For thou art the glory of their strength,.... By which they walk, and do all they do, exercise every grace, and discharge their duty; they have their strength from Christ, as well as their righteousness, without whom they can do nothing, but all things through him strengthening them; and as his righteousness exalts them, his strength adorns and glorifies them; how glorious and beautiful does a believer look, that is strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might, in the grace that is in Christ, and in the exercise of faith on him, giving glory to God; on whom the power of Christ rests, and it overshadows, and in whose weakness his strength is made perfect!

and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted; either Christ, the Horn of their salvation, who in an acceptable time, in the time of God's favour, or good will, was heard and helped by him as man, carried through his sufferings and death, was raised from the dead, and exalted at his right hand; see Psa 89:24 or the saints themselves, their power and strength, kingdom and glory; by the special favour of God in Christ, their mountain is made so strong, and they so highly exalted, as that they think they shall never be moved; and in the latter day the mountain of the Lord's house shall be exalted above the hills, Psa 30:6.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

In thy name shall they rejoice - In thee shall they rejoice, or find their happiness. In thy being; thy perfections; thy protection; thy government; thy favor.

All the day - That is, continually. It is their privilege, and it is their duty to rejoice always. Thou art always the same, and the happiness which is found in thy being and attributes at one time may be found at all times; thy promises are ever the same, and thy people may find happiness in them always. There is no reason why the people of God should not be constantly happy; they who have such a God, and such hopes as they are permitted to cherish, should be so. Compare the notes at Phi 3:1; notes at Phi 4:4.

And in thy righteousness - Under thy righteous government; or, in the knowledge of thy righteous character.

Shall they be exalted - See Pro 14:34. The effect of that knowledge shall be to exalt or to elevate them in moral character, in happiness, in the esteem of others, and in true prosperity. Compare 1Ti 4:8.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

In thy name; in the knowledge and remembrance of thy name, i.e. of thy infinite power and goodness, revealed and imparted to them.

In thy righteousness; whereby thou art both inclined and in some sort engaged to hear the prayers of thy people, and to save them from all their enemies.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 16. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day. And good cause they have for so doing, for to the soul which, in Christ Jesus, has entered into covenant with God, every attribute is a fountain of delight. There is no hour in the day, and no day in our life, in which we may not rejoice in the name, person, and character of the Lord. We need no other reason for rejoicing. As philosophers could make merry without music, so can we rejoice without carnal comforts; the Lord All sufficient is an all sufficient source of joy.

And in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. By the Lord's righteous dealings the saints are uplifted in due time, however great may have been the oppression and the depression from which they may have suffered. In the righteousness which the covenant supplies, which is entirely of the Lord, believers are set on high in a secure and blessed position, so that they are full of sacred happiness. If God were unjust, or if he regarded us as being without righteousness, we must be filled with misery, but as neither of these things are so, we are exalted indeed, and would extol the name of the Lord.

Ver. 16. And in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. In these words briefly we may notice,

1. The believer's promotion; he is exalted. In the first Adam we were debased unto the lowest hell, the crown having fallen from our heads; but in Christ, the second Adam, we are again exalted; yea, exalted as high as heaven, for we "sit together with him in heavenly places", says the apostle. This is an incredible paradox to a blind world, that the believer who is sitting at this moment upon the dunghill of this earth, should at the same time be sitting in heaven in Christ, his glorious Head and representative, Eph 2:6.

2. We have the ground of the believer's preferment and exaltation; it is in thy righteousness. It is not in any righteousness of his own; no, this he utterly disclaims, reckoning it but "dung and loss", "filthy rags", dogs' meat: but it is in thy righteousness; that is, the righteousness of God, as the apostle calls it: Ro 1:17 Php 3:9. The righteousness of God is variously taken in Scripture. Sometimes for the infinite rectitude and equity of his nature: Ps 11:7, "The righteous Lord loveth righteousness." Sometimes for his rectorial equity, or distributive justice which he exerciseth in the government of the world, rewarding the good and punishing evil doers: Ps 97:2, "Righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne." Sometimes it is put for his veracity and faithfulness in accomplishing his word of promise, or in executing his word of threatening: Ps 36:5-6, "Thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds: thy righteousness is like the great mountains." Sometimes it is put for the perfect righteousness which Christ the Son of God, as our Surety and Mediator, brought in, by his obedience to the law, and death on the cross, for the justification of guilty sinners: and this as I said, is frequently called the righteousness of God; and in this sense I understand it here in the text: "In thy righteousness shall they be exalted." Ebenezer Erskine.

Ver. 16.

1. Exultation.

(a) "In thy name", etc., as rich in mercy as the God of

salvationof all graceof all consolation.

(b) At what season"all the day", morning, noon, and

night.

2. Exaltation. "In thy righteousness", etc. (a) How not exalted. Not in their own righteousness. (b) How exalted. "In thy", etc. Procured for them by a divine person (thy) imputed to them. Ours, though thine. The righteousness of God as God could not exalt us, but his righteousness as God man can. Exalted above hell, above earth, above Paradise, above angels. Exalted to friends of God children of Godone with God, to heaven.

Ver. 16. (second clause). Consider,

1. What the believer is exalted above or from, by God's righteousness.

(a) It exalts him above the law.

(b) Above the world.

(c) Above the power and malice of Satan.

(d) Above death.

(e) Above all accusations (Ro 8:33-34.)

2. To what happiness or dignity the believer is exalted by virtue of that righteousness. (a) To a state of peace and reconciliation with God. (b) To sonship. (c) To fellowship and familiarity with God, and access to him. (d) And finally, to a state of endless glory.

E. Erskine.

Psalms 89:17*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

In thy Name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. The "Name" and the "righteousness" of God form the glory of the Church, and are a perpetual source of rejoicing to her.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Name - In the knowledge and remembrance of thy name, of thy infinite power and goodness.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

that know the blasting of the shofar Who know how to appease their Creator on Rosh Hashanah with the blasts, upon which they arrange the blessings of “malchuyoth” (manifestations of God’s dominion), “zichronoth” (remembrances), and “shofaroth.”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.