Psalm 21:3

3 For thou hast prevented him with blessings of goodness: thou has set upon his head a crown of precious stone.

Psalm 21:3 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 21:3

For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness
Not temporal, but spiritual blessings, which spring from the grace and goodness of God, and consist of it; and relate to the spiritual and eternal welfare of those for whose sake he receives them, and who are blessed with them in him: his being "prevented" with them denotes the freeness of the donation of them; that before he could well ask for them, or before he had done requesting them, they were given him; and also the earliness of the gift of them, they were put into his hands before his incarnation, before he was manifest in the flesh, even from the foundation of the world, and before the world began, ( Ephesians 1:3 Ephesians 1:4 ) ( 2 Timothy 1:9 ) , and likewise the order in which they were given; first to Christ, and then to his people in him, as the passages referred to show;

thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head;
which is expressive of his victory over all enemies, sin, Satan, and the world, death and hell; and of his being possessed of his throne and kingdom; and has respect to his exaltation at the right hand of God, where he is crowned with glory and honour: and this crown being of "pure gold" denotes the purity, glory, solidity, and perpetuity of his kingdom; this is a crown, not which believers put upon him by believing in him, and ascribing the glory of their salvation to him, or what the church, called his mother, has crowned him with, ( Song of Solomon 3:11 ) , but which his father put upon him, who has set him King over his holy hill of Zion, ( Psalms 2:6 ) ( 8:5 ) ; compare with this ( Revelation 14:14 ) . The Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions read "a crown of a precious stone"; and so Apollinarius; and seem to refer to the crown set on David's head, which had precious stones in it, ( 2 Samuel 12:30 ) ; Josephus ^F24 says it had a sardonyx. Fortunatus Scacchus ^F25 fancies the topaz is meant, and that the Hebrew text should be read "a crown of topaz"; mistaking the sense of the word "phaz", which never signifies a topaz, but the best gold, pure solid gold.

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FOOTNOTES:

F24 Antiqu. l. 7. c. 7. s. 5.
F25 Elaeochrism. Sacr. l. 3. c. 40. p. 1003.

Psalm 21:3 In-Context

1 O Lord, the king shall rejoice in thy strength; and in thy salvation he shall greatly exult.

2 Thou hast granted him the desire of his soul, and hast not withheld from him the request of his lips. Pause.

3 For thou hast prevented him with blessings of goodness: thou has set upon his head a crown of precious stone.

4 He asked life of thee, and thou gavest him length of days for ever and ever.

5 His glory is great in thy salvation: thou wilt crown him with glory and majesty.

6 For thou wilt give him a blessing for ever and ever: thou wilt gladden him with joy with thy countenance.

7 For the king trusts in the Lord, and through the mercy of the Highest he shall not be moved.

8 Let thy hand be found by all thine enemies: let thy right hand find all that hate thee.

9 Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven at the time of thy presence: the Lord shall trouble them in his anger, and fire shall devour them.

10 Thou shalt destroy their fruit from the earth, and their seed from among the sons of men.

11 For they intended evils against thee; they imagined a device which they shall by no means be able to perform.

12 For thou shalt make them turn their back in thy latter end, thou wilt prepare their face.

13 Be thou exalted, O Lord, in thy strength: we will sing and praise thy mighty acts.