Psalms 4:7
in Psalms 4You have filled my heart with more joy than when grain and new wine abound.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thou hast put gladness in my heart, More than they have when their grain and their new wine are increased.
KJV
Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.
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This verse in Psalms 4
Commentary
17 notes on this verseThe meaning of this little verse is consistent with the verses that precede it. For what else is the light of the countenance of the Lord over his righteous ones than a heart full of joy? That very thing which we feel through the sensation of joy becomes a partaker of his divinity when it contemplates God.
This site's exposition
Shine the light of Your face
on Psalms 4:6-7
The answer to the crowd's question is a prayer for the light of God's face, as in Numbers 6:25. Verse 7 sets the joy of that face above the harvest of grain and new wine. Spurgeon set Christ in the heart above corn in the barn.
This site's exposition
more joy than when grain and new wine abound
In Hebrew the grain and new wine are theirs, the harvest of the many who asked in verse 6 who could show them good. Their joy rises and falls with the crop. The joy of verse 7 is God's gift to the heart, and it stands whatever the harvest.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
[Psalm 4:7] "You have put gladness into my heart." Gladness then is not to be sought without by them, who, being still heavy in heart, "love vanity, and seek a lie;" but within, where the light of God's countenance is stamped. For Christ dwells in the inner man, [Ephesians 3:16-17] as the Apostle says; for to Him does it appertain to see truth, since He has said, "I am the truth." [John 14:6] And again, when He spoke in the Apostle, saying, "Would you receive a proof of Christ, who speaks in me?" [2 Corinthians 13:3] He spoke not of course from without to him, but in his very heart, that is, in that chamber where we are to pray.
And elsewhere he thus speaks concerning our most necessary food, which the summer tropic perfects, and continues to give us for three months successively: They have been increased with their corn and wine and oil —here again in a remarkable way, in the giving of …
The forms of your providence are inscribed and indelibly etched, as it were, on each person's heart; after all, who is the provider and who the supplier of what is needed from without for life? In fact, perhaps it was for this reason also that …
He did not say simply, "You have made me the gift of joy" but "of heart," suggesting that the joy is not in external things, not in … gold or silver, not in clothing or groaning tables, not in the extent of sovereignty or the size of one's house. Such joy is not of heart but of eyes only. Many people with these possessions, at any rate, think life not worth living; they carry around with them in their soul a furnace of despondency, exhausted by the multitude of concerns and oppressed by unceasing apprehension.… If present realities give you joy, and you learn God's providence from them, gain a greater and deeper learning from future realities, for the reason that they are better, more stable and permanent. You see, if you believe God's providence takes the form of you being in wealth and prosperity, let your having wealth in heaven bring you much more to this conviction. If, however, you inquire, "Why is it that these things are kept in store in hope and are not immediately obvious?" I should give this reply, that we believers regard the objects of hope to be more obvious than those that are obvious; such, after all, is the certainty of faith. But if you were to inquire again, "Why is it that we do not gain rewards here and now?" I should give this reply, that the present is the time for struggles and contests, the future is the time for wreaths and laurels. And this is an effect of God's providence, the gathering together of difficulties and sweat in this brief and passing life, on the one hand, and on the other the continuance of laurels and wreaths throughout an everlasting and ageless eternity.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Then when he says, "You have given," he sets forth his preeminence over those sinners in goods: as if they were saying to him, you exhort us regarding your benefits, but we have everything; therefore he compares temporal things with spiritual things. And first he …
9 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening5 voices
This is gladness in the heart, inward, solid, substantial joy. The mirth of worldly people is but a flash, a shadow; even in laughter their heart is sorrowful, Prov. xiv. "Thou hast given gladness in my heart;" so the word is.
This psalm was committed to one of the chiefs, to be sung on neginoth--stringed instruments ( Hab. iii. 19 ), which were played on with the hand; with music of that kind the choristers were to sing this psalm: and it should seem that then they only sung, not the people; but the New-Testament appoints all Christians to sing ( Eph. v. 19;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Be still - Compose your tumultuous minds. Offer - Unto God, that he may be reconciled to you. Righteousness - Righteous sacrifices; which requires that the persons offering them be righteous and do righteous things, and offer them with an honest mind, with faith and true repentance.
Thou hast put gladness in my heart,....
They enquire for good that may be seen, seeming good, sensible good; and they show no concern for the good things that are out of sight and are the objects of faith only. The source of idolatry was a desire of gods that they might see, therefore they worshipped the sun; but, as we must be taught to worship an unseen God, so to seek an unseen good, 2 Cor. iv.
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
"It is better, " said one, "to feel God's favour one hour in our repenting souls, that to sit whole ages under the warmest sunshine that this world affordeth." Christ in the heart is better than corn in the barn, or wine in the vat. Corn and wine are but fruits of the world, but the light of God's countenance is the ripe fruit of heaven. "Thou art with me, " is a far more blessed cry than "Harvest home."
"It is better, " said one, "to feel God's favour one hour in our repenting souls, that to sit whole ages under the warmest sunshine that this world affordeth." Christ in the heart is better than corn in the barn, or wine in the vat. Corn and wine are but fruits of the world, but the light of God's countenance is the ripe fruit of heaven. "Thou art with me, " is a far more blessed cry than "Harvest home." Let my granary be empty, I am yet full of blessings if Jesus Christ smiles upon me; but if I have all the world, I am poor without him. We should not fail to remark that this verse is the saying of the righteous man, in opposition to the saying of the many. How quickly doth the tongue betray the character! " Speak, that I may see thee!" said Socrates to a fair boy. The metal of a bell is best known by its sound. Birds reveal their nature by their song. Owls cannot sing the carol of the lark, nor can the nightingale hoot like the owl. Let us, then, weigh and watch our words, lest our speech should prove us to be foreigners, and aliens from the commonwealth of Israel.
Thou hast put gladness in my heart - Thou hast given my soul what it wanted and wished for. I find now a happiness which earthly things could not produce. I have peace of conscience, and joy in the Holy Ghost; such inward happiness as they cannot boast who have got the highest increase of corn and wine; those Two Things in the abundance of which many suppose happiness to be found. To corn and wine all the versions, except the Chaldee, add oil; for corn, wine, and oil, were considered the highest blessings of a temporal kind that man could possess.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Thou hast put gladness in my heart - Thou hast made me happy, to wit, in the manner specified in Psa 4:6. Many had sought happiness in other things; he had sought it in the favor of the Lord, and the Lord had given him a degree of happiness which they had never found in the most prosperous worldly condition. This happiness had its seat in the “heart,” and not in any external circumstances. All true happiness must have its seat there, for if the heart is sad, of what avail are the most prosperous external circumstances?
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Offer up sacrifices of righteousness Perform righteous deeds, and it will be as if you are offering up sacrifices.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| נָתַ֣תָּה | natatah | you have put | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| שִׂמְחָ֣ה | simchah | joy | H8057 → | 94 times |
| בְלִבִּ֑י | velibi | in heart my | H3820 → | 595 times |
| מֵעֵ֬ת | meet | more than a time | H6256 → | 296 times |
| דְּגָנָ֖ם | deganam | <of> [when] grain their | H1715 → | 40 times |
| וְתִֽירוֹשָׁ֣ם | vetirosham | and new wine their | H8492 → | |
| רָֽבּוּ׃ | rabu | they abound | H7231 → | 21 times |
נָתַ֣תָּהyou have put
natatahH5414 →2011 times
שִׂמְחָ֣הjoy
simchahH8057 →94 times
בְלִבִּ֑יin heart my
velibiH3820 →595 times
מֵעֵ֬תmore than a time
meetH6256 →296 times
דְּגָנָ֖ם<of> [when] grain their
deganamH1715 →40 times
וְתִֽירוֹשָׁ֣םand new wine their
vetiroshamH8492 →
רָֽבּוּ׃they abound
rabuH7231 →21 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
Psalms 37:4Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.
it leads to
- John 15:7
If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
- Psalms 145:19
He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them.
- John 15:16
You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will remain—so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.
- Isaiah 58:14
then you will delight yourself in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage of your father Jacob.” For the mouth of…
- 1 John 5:14–15
And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
- John 15:7
Through
Psalms 43:4Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my greatest joy. I will praise You with the harp, O God, my God.
it leads to
- Isaiah 61:10
I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom…
- Habakkuk 3:17–18
Though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold…
- Isaiah 61:10
Through
Psalms 92:4For You, O LORD, have made me glad by Your deeds; I sing for joy at the works of Your hands.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 2:14
But thanks be to God, who always leads us triumphantly as captives in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him.
- 2 Corinthians 2:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Psalms
This page draws on 15 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 4; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 1; Cosmas Indicopleustes, The Christian Topography, Book 8; Diodorus of Tarsus, COMMENTARY ON PSALM 4; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 4:10; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, SELECTIONS FROM THE PSALMS 4:7 and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.