Psalms 110:7
in Psalms 110He will drink from the brook by the road; therefore He will lift up His head.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He will drink of the brook in the way: Therefore will he lift up the head.
KJV
He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.
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This verse in Psalms 110
Commentary
14 notes on this verseHe shall drink from the torrent in the way. Who shall drink from the torrent in the way? This one, to whom it was said, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand: this one who heard, You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedech: this one who shattered kings in the day of his wrath, who judges the nations, shall fill up the ruins, shall crush the heads in the land of many: what else will this one do? He shall drink from the torrent in the way.
This site's exposition
drink from the brook by the road
The last picture is a brook by the road. He drinks there, and therefore He lifts up His head. The lifted head answers the seat at the right hand in verse 1, so the psalm closes where it opened.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"He shall drink of the brook in the way, therefore shall he lift up his head" [Psalm 110:7]. Let us consider Him drinking of the brook in the way: first of all, what is the brook? the onward flow of human mortality: for as a brook is gathered together by the rain, overflows, roars, runs, and by running runs down, that is, finishes its course; so is all this course of mortality. Men are born, they live, they die, and when some die others are born, and when they die others are born, they succeed, they flock together, they depart and will not remain. What is held fast here? what doth not run? what is not on its way to the abyss as if it was gathered together from rain? For as a river suddenly drawn together from rain from the drops of showers runneth into the sea, and is seen no more, nor was it seen before it was collected from the rain; so this hidden rain is collected together from hidden sources, and floweth on; at death again it travelleth where it is hidden: this intermediate state soundeth and passeth away. Of this brook He drinketh, He hath not disdained to drink of this brook; for to drink of this brook was to Him to be born and to die. What this brook hath, is birth and death; Christ assumed this, He was born, He died. "Therefore hath He lifted up His head;" that is, because He was humble, and "became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross: therefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a Name which is above every name; that at the Name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things in Heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ the Lord is in the glory of God the Father." [Philippians 2:8-11]
Therefore, beloved, He rejoiced as a giant to run His course. What course, if not the mortal path which He deemed worthy to share with us? That is the path through which humankind passes. For they pass through it by being born and by dying. And this river of the human race flows perpetually from the hidden veins of nature from the beginning to the end. From this rapid and turbulent river Christ deigned to drink. You have just heard in the psalm: "He drinks from the torrent in the way." This torrent led us to birth, and led us to death. As from a hidden spring, Christ received the abyss of the sea. For us, He was both born and died. And because men, positioned in the middle of this river, often delight in the flatteries and allurements of the world, which are involved in the silt of this torrent, and they are submerged into the depths of hell, who, eagerly drinking the passing waves, are thus killed by trying to stand in the precipitous torrent and seeking firm steps in its republic: thus the Lord drank from the torrent in the way. What does it mean, "He drank in the way"? He drank while passing through. For He drank and passed through, He did not remain: nor did He stand in the way of sinners. Again, men fear death; because it is necessary for all to be hurled by the force of this torrent: but Christ could not fear the death He voluntarily accepted; thus it is said: "And He rejoiced as a giant to run His course." For He descended and ran: ascended and sat. ...If we ask why all these things were done, dearest ones, we will find they were done for us. For He descended, so that we might ascend; died, so that we might live; rose again, so that we might rise again; ascended into heaven, so that we might learn to despise worldly things and to lift our hearts upward. […]
The Medieval Church1 voice
Hence it is also well said through the Psalmist: "He shall drink of the torrent in the way, therefore shall He lift up His head." For indeed from the very beginning of the world a torrent of death had flowed forth in the human race: but the Lord drank of this torrent in the way, because He tasted death in passing. And therefore He lifted up His head, because what He laid in the tomb by dying, He raised above the angels by rising again; and from that point He struck down the ancient enemy forever, from the very place where He temporarily permitted the hands of persecutors to rage against Him.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Waters in scripture frequently signify sufferings. To drink of them, signifies to feel or bear them. Therefore - He shall be exalted to great glory and felicity.
Some have called this psalm David's creed, almost all the articles of the Christian faith being found in it; the title calls it David's psalm, for in the believing foresight of the Messiah he both praised God and solaced himself, much more may we, in singing it, to whom that is fulfilled, and therefore more clearly revealed, which is here foretold.
7 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Christ drank of this brook when he was made a curse for us, and therefore, when he entered upon his suffering, he went over the brook Kidron, John xviii. He drank deeply of this black brook (so Kidron signifies), this bloody brook, so drank of the brook in the way as to take it out of the way of our redemption and salvation.
He shall drink of the brook in the way,.... This some understand of the sufferings of Christ, compared to a brook, a flow of waters, because of the abundance of them, as in Psa 69:1, his partaking of which is sometimes expressed by drinking, Mat 20:22 and this was in the way of working out the salvation of his people, and in his own way to glory, Luk 24:
The Nineteenth Century5 voices
He shall drink of the brook in the way. So swiftly shall he march to conquest that he shall not stay for refreshment, but drink as he hastens on. Like Gideon's men that lapped, he shall throw his heart into the fray and cut it short in righteousness, because a short work will the Lord make in the earth. "Therefore shall he lift up the head." His own head shall be lifted high in victory, and his people, in him, shall be upraised also.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
As a conqueror, "faint, yet pursuing" [Jud 8:4], He shall be refreshed by the brook in the way, and pursue to completion His divine and glorious triumphs.
He shall drink of the brook in the way. So swiftly shall he march to conquest that he shall not stay for refreshment, but drink as he hastens on. Like Gideon's men that lapped, he shall throw his heart into the fray and cut it short in righteousness, because a short work will the Lord make in the earth. "Therefore shall he lift up the head." His own head shall be lifted high in victory, and his people, in him, shall be upraised also. When he passed this way before, he was burdened and had stern work laid upon him; but in his second advent he will win an easy victory; aforetime he was the man of sorrows, but when he comes a second time his head will be lifted in triumph. Let his saints rejoice with him. "Lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh." In the latter days we look for terrible conflicts and for a final victory. Long has Jesus borne with our rebellious race, but at length he wilt rise to end the warfare of longsuffering, by the blows of justice. God has fought with men's sins for their good, but he will not always by his Spirit strive with men; he will cease from that struggle of long suffering love, and begin another which shall soon end in the final destruction of his adversaries. O King priest, we who are, in a minor degree, king priests too, are full of gladness because thou reignest even now, and wilt come ere long to vindicate thy cause and establish thine empire for ever. Even so, come quickly. Amen.
He shall drink of the brook in the way - He shall have sore travail, and but little ease and refreshment: but he shall still go on from conquering to conquer. Therefore shall he lift up the head - Or his head. He shall succeed in all his enterprises, and at last be peaceably settled in his ample dominions. But these verses, as well as the former, may be applied to our Lord. The fifth verse may be an address to Jehovah: Adonai at thy right hand, O Jehovah, shall smite kings - bring down all powers hostile to his empire, in the day of his wrath - when, after having borne long, he arises and shakes terribly the rulers of the earth. Psa 110:6 He shall judge, give laws, among the heathen - send his Gospel to the whole Gentile world. He shall fill the field of battle with the dead bodies of the slain, who had resisted his empire, and would not have him to reign over them. He shall wound the heads over many countries - This must be spoken against some person possessing a very extensive sway. Perhaps Antichrist is meant; he who has so many countries under his spiritual domination. Christ shall destroy every person, and every thing, which opposes the universal spread of his own empire. He will be a King, as well as a Priest for ever. Psa 110:7 He shall drink of the brook - he shall suffer sorely, and even die in the struggle: but in that death his enemies shall all perish; and he shall lift up the head - he shall rise again from the dead, possessing all power in heaven and earth, ascend to the throne of glory, and reign till time shall be no more. He must suffer and die, in order to have the triumphs already mentioned. While all have acknowledged that this Psalm is of the utmost importance, and that it speaks of Christ’s priesthood and victories, it is amazing how various the interpretations are which are given of different passages. […]
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
He shall drink of the brook in the way - The design here seems to be to represent the Messiah as a victorious king and conqueror pursuing his enemies. In the previous verse the psalmist had represented him under the image of one engaged in battle, and slaying his enemies with a great slaughter. He here represents him as pursuing those who should escape from the battle, and as pursuing them without fainting or exhaustion. He is like one who finds abundant springs and streams of water in his journeyings; who refreshes himself at those fountains and streams; who, therefore, is not faint and weary. He pursues his foes vigorously and with success. Therefore shall he lift up the head - Therefore shall he triumph, or be successful. The head falls when we are faint and exhausted, when we are disappointed and are ashamed, when we are conscious of guilt. It is lifted up in conscious rectitude, in success and triumph, in the exuberance of hope. The idea here is, that the Messiah would be triumphant. He would achieve the victory over all his foes; he would pursue, without exhaustion, his flying enemies, and he would return from the conquest joyous, exulting, triumphant. All this is under the image of a victorious hero; all this will be accomplished in the conquest of the world by the Gospel; in the subduing of the foes of God; in the final scene when the Redeemer shall deliver up the kingdom to God. 1Co 15:24-28.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מִ֭נַּחַל | minachal | from a wadi | H5158 → | 141 times |
| בַּדֶּ֣רֶךְ | baderekh | on the way | H1870 → | 707 times |
| יִשְׁתֶּ֑ה | yishteh | he drinks | H8354 → | 217 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | there- | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כֵּ֝֗ן | ken | -fore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| יָרִ֥ים | yarim | he lifts up | H7311 → | 190 times |
| רֹֽאשׁ׃ | rosh | a head | H7218 → | 599 times |
מִ֭נַּחַלfrom a wadi
minachalH5158 →141 times
בַּדֶּ֣רֶךְon the way
baderekhH1870 →707 times
יִשְׁתֶּ֑הhe drinks
yishtehH8354 →217 times
עַל־there-
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כֵּ֝֗ן-fore
kenH3651 →771 times
יָרִ֥יםhe lifts up
yarimH7311 →190 times
רֹֽאשׁ׃a head
roshH7218 →599 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 26:42A second time He went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cup cannot pass unless I drink it, may Your will be done.”
it leads to
- Matthew 26:39
Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Mark 14:39–40
Again He went away and prayed, saying the same thing.
- Matthew 26:39
Through
Psalms 27:6Then my head will be held high above my enemies around me. At His tabernacle I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.
it leads to
- Psalms 3:3
But You, O LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head.
- Hebrews 13:15
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess His name.
- Psalms 107:22
Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and declare His works with rejoicing.
- 2 Samuel 22:49
who frees me from my enemies. You exalt me above my foes; You rescue me from violent men.
- Isaiah 12:6
Cry out and sing, O citizen of Zion, for great among you is the Holy One of Israel.”
- Psalms 3:3
Through
John 18:11“Put your sword back in its sheath!” Jesus said to Peter. “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given Me?”
it leads to
- Matthew 20:22
“You do not know what you are asking,” Jesus replied. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” the brothers answered.
- Matthew 20:22
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms

This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 110; Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 372:3; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 5; Gregory the Dialogist, Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 25; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Homily 36, on Psalm 109; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
