GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
Be glad and find joy in the LORD, you righteous people. Sing with joy, all whose motives are decent.

King James Bible
Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye just, and glory, all ye right of heart.

Darby Bible Translation
Rejoice in Jehovah, and be glad, ye righteous; and shout for joy, all ye upright in heart.

English Revised Version
Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.

Webster's Bible Translation
Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.

World English Bible
Be glad in Yahweh, and rejoice, you righteous! Shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart!

Young's Literal Translation
Be glad in Jehovah, and rejoice, ye righteous, And sing, all ye upright of heart!

Cross References

Psalm 7:10 My shield is with God, Who saves the upright in heart.

Psalm 33:1 Sing for joy in the LORD, O you righteous ones; Praise is becoming to the upright.

Psalm 35:27 Let them shout for joy and rejoice, who favor my vindication; And let them say continually, "The LORD be magnified, Who delights in the prosperity of His servant."

Psalm 58:10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.

Psalm 64:10 The righteous man will be glad in the LORD and will take refuge in Him; And all the upright in heart will glory.

Psalm 68:3 But let the righteous be glad; let them exult before God; Yes, let them rejoice with gladness.

Psalm 71:23 My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to You; And my soul, which You have redeemed.

Psalm 97:12 Be glad in the LORD, you righteous ones, And give thanks to His holy name.

Psalm 125:4 Do good, O LORD, to those who are good And to those who are upright in their hearts.

Commentary

Matthew Henry's Whole Bible Commentary

Verses 7-11

David is here improving the experience he had had of the comfort of pardoning mercy.

I. He speaks to God, and professes his confidence in him and expectation from him, v. 7. Having tasted the sweetness of divine grace to a penitent sinner, he cannot doubt of the continuance of that grace to a praying saint, and that in that grace he should find both safety and joy. 1. Safety: "Thou art my hiding-place; when by faith I have recourse to thee I see all the reason in the world to be easy, and to think myself out of the reach of any real evil. Thou shalt preserve me from trouble, from the sting of it, and from the strokes of it as far as is good for me. Thou shalt preserve me from such trouble as I was in while I kept silence," v. 3. When God has pardoned our sins, if he leaves us to ourselves, we shall soon run as far in debt again as ever and plunge ourselves again into the same gulf; and therefore, when we have received the comfort of our remission, we must fly to the grace of God to be preserved from returning to folly again, and having our hearts again hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. God keeps his people from trouble by keeping them from sin. 2. Joy: "Thou shalt not only deliver me, but compass me about with songs of deliverance; which way soever I look I shall see occasion to rejoice and to praise God; and my friends also shall compass me about in the great congregation, to join with me in songs of praise: they shall join their songs of deliverance with mine. As every one that is godly shall pray with me, so they shall give thanks with me."

II. He turns his speech to the children of men. Being himself converted, he does what he can to strengthen his brethren (Lu. 22:32): I will instruct thee, whoever thou art that desirest instruction, and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go, v. 8. This, in another of his penitential psalms, he resolves that when God should have restored to him the joy of his salvation he would teach transgressors his ways, and do what he could to convert sinners to God, as well as to comfort those that were converted, Ps. 51:12, 13. When Solomon became a penitent he immediately became a preacher, Eccl. 1:1. Those are best able to teach others the grace of God who have themselves had the experience of it: and those who are themselves taught of God ought to tell others what he has done for their souls (Ps. 66:16) and so teach them. I will guide thee with my eye. Some apply this to God's conduct and direction. He teaches us by his word and guides us with his eye, by the secret intimations of his will in the hints and turns of Providence, which he enables his people to understand and take direction from, as a master makes a servant know his mind by a wink of his eye. When Christ turned and looked upon Peter he guided him with his eye. But it is rather to be taken as David's promise to those who sat under his instruction, his own children and family especially: "I will counsel thee; my eye shall be upon thee" (so the margin reads it); "I will give thee the best counsel I can and then observe whether thou takest it or no." Those that are taught in the word should be under the constant inspection of those that teach them; spiritual guides must be overseers. In this application of the foregoing doctrine concerning the blessedness of those whose sins are pardoned we have a word to sinners and a word to saints; and this is rightly dividing the word of truth and giving to each their portion.

1. Here is a word of caution to sinners, and a good reason is given for it. (1.) The caution is, not to be unruly and ungovernable: Be you not as the horse and the mule, which have no understanding, v. 9. When the psalmist would reproach himself for the sins he repented of he compared himself to a beast before God (so foolish have I been and ignorant, Ps. 73:22) and therefore warns others not to be so. It is our honour and happiness that we have understanding, that we are capable of being governed by reason and of reasoning with ourselves. Let us therefore use the faculties we have, and act rationally. The horse and mule must be managed with bit and bridle, lest they come near us, to do us a mischief, or (as some read it) that they may come near to us, to do us service, that they may obey us, Jam. 3:3. Let us not be like them; let us not be hurried by appetite and passion, at any time, to go contrary to the dictate of right reason and to our true interest. If sinners would be governed and determined by these, they would soon become saints and would not go a step further in their sinful courses; where there is renewing grace there is no need of the bit and bridle of restraining grace. (2.) The reason for this caution is because the way of sin which we would persuade you to forsake will certainly end in sorrow (v. 10): Many sorrows shall be to the wicked, which will not only spoil their vain and carnal mirth, and put an end to it, but will make them pay dearly for it. Sin will have sorrow, if not repented of, everlasting sorrow. It was part of the sentence, I will greatly multiply thy sorrows. "Be wise for yourselves therefore, and turn from your wickedness, that you may prevent those sorrows, those many sorrows."

2. Here is a word of comfort to saints, and a good reason is given for that too. (1.) They are assured that if they will but trust in the Lord, and keep closely to him, mercy shall compass them about on every side (v. 10), so that they shall not depart from God, for that mercy shall keep them in, nor shall any real evil break in upon them, for that mercy shall keep it out. (2.) They are therefore commanded to be glad in the Lord, and to rejoice in him, to such a degree as even to shout for joy, v. 11. Let them be so transported with this holy joy as not to be able to contain themselves; and let them affect others with it, that they also may see that a life of communion with God is the most pleasant and comfortable life we can live in this world. This is that present bliss which the upright in heart, and they are only, are entitled to and qualified for.

Calvin's Commentary

8. I will instruct thee, and teach thee in the way that thou mayest walk: I will counsel thee with mine eye. [666] 9. Be not like the horse or mule, which have no understanding: thou shalt bind his jaw with bit and bridle, lest they kick against [or become obstreperous against or obstinately disobey] thee. [667] 10. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but the man who hopeth in Jehovah, mercy shall surround him. 11. Be glad in Jehovah, and rejoice, ye righteous: sing all ye that are upright in heart.

8. I will instruct thee, and teach thee. That his exhortation may have the greater force, the divine speaker directs his discourse to every man individually; for the doctrine which is spoken penetrates the mind more readily, when every man applies it particularly to himself. When the way of salvation is here shown to the children of God, the greatest care must be taken that no man depart from it in the slightest degree. We may also learn from this place, that we are reconciled to God upon condition that every man endeavor to make his brethren partakers of the same benefit. David, the more strongly to mark his care about them, describes it by the sight of the eye. [668] By the way it should be observed, that those who are solicitous about our welfare are appointed by the Lord as guides of our way, from which it appears how great is the paternal solicitude which he has about us.

9. Be not like the horse or mule. David now briefly explains the amount of the counsel which he formerly said he would give. He exhorts all to learn with quietness, to lay aside stubbornness, and to put on the spirit of meekness. There is much wisdom, too, in the advice which he gives to the godly to correct their hardihood; for if we were as attentive to God's corrections as we ought, every one would eagerly hasten to seek his favor. Whence is so much slowness to be found in all, but that we are either stupid or refractory? By likening the refractory, therefore, to brute beasts, David puts them to shame, and at the same time declares that it will avail them nothing to "kick against the pricks." Men, says he, know how to tame the fierceness of horses by bridles and bits; what then do they think God will do when he finds them intractable?

10. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked. Without a figure he here declares what will be the condition of the rebellious and stiff-necked. [669] He mentioned before that God wanted not bridles and bits with which to restrain their frowardness; and now he adds, that there would be no end or measure of their miseries until they were utterly consumed. Although God, therefore, may spare us for a time, yet let this denunciation fill us with fear, and preserve us from hardening ourselves, because we are as yet unpunished; nor let our prosperity, which is cursed by God, so deceive us as to close our minds against reflecting on those unseen sorrows which he threatens against all the wicked. And as the Psalmist has told us, on the one hand, that God is armed with innumerable plagues against the wicked, so he adds, on the other hand, that he is furnished with infinite goodness, with which he can succor all who are his. The sum is, that there is no other remedy for our afflictions but to humble ourselves under God's hand, and to found our salvation on his mercy alone; and that those who rely on God shall be blessed in all respects, because, on whatever side Satan may assault them, there will the Lord oppose him, and shield them with his protecting power.

11. Be glad in Jehovah. After teaching how ready and accessible true happiness is to all the godly, David, with much reason, exhorts them to gladness. He commands them to rejoice in the Lord, as if he had said, There is nothing to prevent them from assuring themselves of God's favor, seeing he so liberally and so kindly offers to be reconciled to them. In the meantime, we may observe that this is the incomparable fruit of faith which Paul likewise commends, namely, when the consciences of the godly being quiet and cheerful, enjoy peace and spiritual joy. Wherever faith is lively, this holy rejoicing will follow. But since the world's own impiety prevents it from participating in this joy, David, therefore, addresses the righteous alone, whom he denominates the upright in heart, to teach us that the external appearance of righteousness which pleases men is of no avail in the sight of God. But how does he call those righteous, whose whole happiness consists in the free mercy of God not imputing their sins to them? I answer, that none others are received into favor but those who are dissatisfied with themselves for their sins, and repent with their whole heart; not that this repentance merits pardon, but because faith can never be separated from the spirit of regeneration. When they have begun to devote themselves to God, he accepts the upright disposition of their hearts equally as if it were pure and perfect; for faith not only reconciles a man to God, but also sanctifies whatever is imperfect in him, so that by the free grace of God, he becomes righteous who could never have obtained so great a blessing by any merit of his own.

Footnotes:

[666] "Ou, je guideray de mon oeil." -- Fr. marg. "Or, I will guide thee with mine eye."

[667] This verse in the Hebrew is very elliptical and obscure. Hence, besides the translation of Calvin, which agrees very well with the scope of the passage, various other translations have been given of it. In our English Bible, the last clause is rendered, "lest they come near unto thee," that is, to attack thee. But this is evidently an incorrect translation. This is not the common practice of these animals, which are timid, and not ferocious; bits and bridles are not used for the purpose of keeping them away from us, but of subduing, guiding, and making them subservient to our will; and were this the sense, the figure would be inappropriate, since the object of the Psalmist is to induce men to approach God. The clause, therefore, is rendered by many critics, "Or they will not come nigh unto thee;" that is, they will flee from thee. The Hebrew for this last phrase is, "There is not a coming to thee."

[668] Most commentators consider Jehovah as the person speaking in this verse. Calvin, however, views David as the speaker. In this opinion he is followed by Walford. "In Psalm 51:13," says this critic, "written about the same time and on the same occasion, David urges as a reason why God should restore to him the joy of his salvation, that he might be enabled to teach transgressors his ways, and that sinners might be converted to him. So in the passage before us, he addresses himself to sinners, and says, I will instruct time, and teach thee the way in which thou shalt go.'"

[669] Fry reads, "Many are the wounds of the refractory;" on which he has the following note:- "We perceive in this place the exact idea of vsts, in its allusion to the restive, disobedient, unyielding, ungovernable mule or horse. It is opposed to vtch, to confide in, to yield to, or succumb, as the gentle beast fully confides and yields himself to the management of his guide."

Footnotes:

[659] "Pour lequel nous avons traduit, Donnant instruction." -- Fr.

[660] Where it is said, "I will instruct thee and teach thee."

Links

Psalm 32 Commentaries: Barnes • Calvin • Clarke • Darby • Gill • Geneva • Guzik • JFB • Keil / Delitzsch • KJV Translators' • Henry's Concise • Matthew Henry • Scofield • TSK • Treasury of David • Wesley

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December the Thirtieth the Blessedness of Forgiveness
"Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven." --PSALM xxxii. It is the blessedness of emancipation. The boat which has been tethered to the weird, baleful shore is set free, and sails toward the glories of the morning. The man, long cramped in the dark, imprisoning pit, is brought out, and stretches his limbs in the sweet light and air of God's free world. Black servitude is ended; glorious liberty begins. It is the blessedness of education. For when we are freed we are by no means perfected. …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

Self-Scrutiny in God's Presence.
ISAIAH, i. 11.--"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." These words were at first addressed to the Church of God. The prophet Isaiah begins his prophecy, by calling upon the heavens and the earth to witness the exceeding sinfulness of God's chosen people. "Hear, O heavens, and give ear O earth: for the Lord hath spoken; I have nourished and brought up children, …
William G.T. Shedd—Sermons to the Natural Man

Confession of Sin Illustrated by the Cases of Dr. Pritchard and Constance Kent
See, dear friends, the value of a truthful grace-wrought confession of sin; it is to be prized above all price, for he that confesseth his sin and forsaketh it, shall find mercy. Now, it is a well known fact, that when God is pleased to bestow upon men any choice gift, Satan, who is the god of counterfeits, is sure very soon to produce a base imitation, true in appearance, but worthless in reality: his object is deception, and full often he succeeds. How many there are who have made a worthless confession, …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 11: 1865

Bit and Bridle: How to Escape Them
After a man is pardoned, anxiety is awakened as to how he shall be kept from sin in the future. The burnt child dreads the fire; and although his burns have all been healed, he dreads the fire none the less, but all the more. These who have been scorched by sin tremble at even a distant approach to the flame. You will always know whether you are delivered from the guilt of sin by answering this question--Am I delivered from the love of sin? He who lost his way yesterday feels his need of a guide …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891

Heroes and Heroines (Whitsunday. )
PSALM xxxii. 8. I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. This is God's promise; which he fulfilled at sundry times and in different manners to all the men of the old world who trusted in him. He informed them; that is, he put them into right form, right shape, right character, and made them the men which they were meant to be. He taught them in the way in which they ought to go. He guided them where they could not guide themselves. But …
Charles Kingsley—The Good News of God

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(Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity.) Psalm xxxii. 1-7. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions …
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The Tears of the Penitent.
Adversity had taught David self-restraint, had braced his soul, had driven him to grasp firmly the hand of God. And prosperity had seemed for nearly twenty years but to perfect the lessons. Gratitude had followed deliverance, and the sunshine after the rain had brought out the fragrance of devotion and the blossoms of glad songs. A good man, and still more a man of David's age at the date of his great crime, seldom falls so low, unless there has been previous, perhaps unconscious, relaxation of the …
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Innumerable troubles are come about me. My sins have taken such hold upon me, that I am not able to look up; yea, they are more in number than the hairs of my head, and my heart hath failed me.--Ps. xl. 15. I acknowledge my faults, and my sin is ever before me. Against Thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight.--Ps. li. 3. I said, I will confess my sins unto the Lord; and so Thou forgavest the wickedness of my sin.--Ps. xxxii. 6. Blessed is the man whose iniquity is forgiven, and …
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"Now God Himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you. And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: To the end He may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints."--1 THESS. iii. 11-13. There are few more precious subjects for meditation and imitation than the prayers and intercessions of the great Apostle. …
W. H. Griffith Thomas—The Prayers of St. Paul

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Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

A Description of Heart-Purity
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8 The holy God, who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity' calls here for heart-purity, and to such as are adorned with this jewel, he promises a glorious and beatifical vision of himself: they shall see God'. Two things are to be explained the nature of purity; the subject of purity. 1 The nature of purity. Purity is a sacred refined thing. It stands diametrically opposed to whatsoever defiles. We must distinguish the various kinds …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Repentance
How shall a man be just with God? How shall the sinner be made righteous? It is only through Christ that we can be brought into harmony with God, with holiness; but how are we to come to Christ? Many are asking the same question as did the multitude on the Day of Pentecost, when, convicted of sin, they cried out, "What shall we do?" The first word of Peter's answer was, "Repent." Acts 2:37, 38. At another time, shortly after, he said, "Repent, . . .and be converted, that your sins may be blotted …
Ellen Gould White—Steps to Christ

Of the True Church. Duty of Cultivating Unity with Her, as the Mother of all the Godly.
1. The church now to be considered. With her God has deposited whatever is necessary to faith and good order. A summary of what is contained in this Book. Why it begins with the Church. 2. In what sense the article of the Creed concerning the Church is to be understood. Why we should say, "I believe the Church," not "I believe in the Church." The purport of this article. Why the Church is called Catholic or Universal. 3. What meant by the Communion of Saints. Whether it is inconsistent with various …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

The Best Things Work for Good to the Godly
WE shall consider, first, what things work for good to the godly; and here we shall show that both the best things and the worst things work for their good. We begin with the best things. 1. God's attributes work for good to the godly. (1). God's power works for good. It is a glorious power (Col. i. 11), and it is engaged for the good of the elect. God's power works for good, in supporting us in trouble. "Underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deut. xxxiii. 27). What upheld Daniel in the lion's den? …
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

The Godly are in Some Sense Already Blessed
I proceed now to the second aphorism or conclusion, that the godly are in some sense already blessed. The saints are blessed not only when they are apprehended by God, but while they are travellers to glory. They are blessed before they are crowned. This seems a paradox to flesh and blood. What, reproached and maligned, yet blessed! A man that looks upon the children of God with a carnal eye and sees how they are afflicted, and like the ship in the gospel which was covered with waves' (Matthew 8:24), …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

The Consolation
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received at the LORD 's hand double for all her sins. T he particulars of the great "mystery of godliness," as enumerated by the Apostle Paul, constitute the grand and inexhaustible theme of the Gospel ministry, "God manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Man's Inability to Keep the Moral Law
Is any man able perfectly to keep the commandments of God? No mere man, since the fall, is able in this life perfectly to keep the commandments of God, but does daily break them, in thought, word, and deed. In many things we offend all.' James 3: 2. Man in his primitive state of innocence, was endowed with ability to keep the whole moral law. He had rectitude of mind, sanctity of will, and perfection of power. He had the copy of God's law written on his heart; no sooner did God command but he obeyed. …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments