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Psalms 60:7

Adam Clarke
Bible Commentary

Gilead is mine - This country was also beyond Jordan, and Manasseh and Ephraim are put for the tribes that formed the kingdom of Israel. All these, after the return from the captivity, formed but one people, the Jews and Israelites being united.

The strength of mine head - It shall be the principal support of the new-found kingdom, when all distinctions shall be buried.

Judah is my lawgiver - This tribe was chief of all those who returned from the captivity; and Zerubbabel, who was their leader, was chief of that tribe, and of the family of David. As this part of the Psalm appears to relate to the return of the captives from Babylon, and their repossession of their own land, the psalmist may refer, not only to the promises of their restoration, but also to the principal person under whose superintendence they returned.

Albert Barnes
Notes on the Whole Bible

Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine - That is, My dominion or authority is extended over these regions - Gilead, Manasseh, Ephraim, and Judah. The idea here is substantially the same as in the former verse, that his dominion extended over the country on both sides of the Jordan; or that in the direction of east and west it embraced all that had been promised - “from the great sea to the river Euphrates.” In verse 6, this idea is expressed by selecting two spots or towns as representatives of the whole country - Shechem on the west, and Succoth on the east; in this verse, the same idea is expressed by a reference to the two regions so situated - Gilead and Manasseh on the east, and Ephraim and Judah on the west. Gilead was on the east of the river Jordan, properly embracing the mountainous region south of the river Jabbok, Numbers 32:26, Numbers 32:29, Numbers 32:39. Hence, in this place, it is put for the region occupied by the tribes of Reuben and Gad. “Manasseh” refers to the district or region occupied by the half tribe of Manasseh, on the east of the Jordan. These two portions - Gilead and Manasseh - or, Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh - would, therefore, embrace the whole of the land of promise, north and south, on the east of the Jordan. The limits of these regions to the east were properly the banks of the Euphrates; that is, the original promise would embrace this. David had gone to carry the boundaries of his country to those assigned limits 2 Samuel 8:3, and he now says that he had completed that undertaking.

Ephraim also - Ephraim and Judah were the principal tribes on the west of the Jordan, and they would well represent that part of Canaan. The idea is, that the whole of the promised land, east and west, was now under his control. There needed only the territory of Edom, on the south, to complete the conquest, and place the whole of the promised land under his dominion, Psalm 60:8-9.

Is the strength of my head - This means that Ephraim constituted his chief strength, or was that on which he mainly relied. It was that which protected him, as the helmet does the head; that on which his very life in battle depended. This honor is given to the tribe of Ephraim because it was one of the largest tribes, and because it was situated in the very center of the land.

Judah is my lawgiver - This means that the tribe of Judah, by its position, its numbers, and the prominence given to it in the prophecies Genesis 49:8-12, actually gave law to the nation. Its influence was felt in all the institutions of the land. The controlling influence went out from that tribe in the time of David; and its authority in this respect was recognized, perhaps partly in anticipation of what it had been said would be its importance in future times: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh come.” Genesis 49:10.

Matthew Henry
Concise Bible Commentary
If Christ be ours, all things, one way or another, shall be for our eternal good. The man who is a new creature in Christ, may rejoice in all the precious promises God has spoken in his holiness. His present privileges, and the sanctifying influences of the Spirit, are sure earnests of heavenly glory. David rejoices in conquering the neighbouring nations, which had been enemies to Israel. The Israel of God are through Christ more than conquerors. Though sometimes they think that the Lord has cast them off, yet he will bring them into the strong city at last. Faith in the promise will assure us that it is our Father's good pleasure to give us the kingdom: But we are not yet made complete conquerors, and no true believer will abuse these truths to indulge sloth, or vain confidence. Hope in God is the best principle of true courage, for what need those fear who have God on their side? All our victories are from him, and while those who willingly submit to our anointed King shall share his glories, all his foes shall be put under his feet.