1 May God be merciful to us, bless us, and cause his face to shine on us.
2 That your way may be known on earth, and your salvation among all nations,
3 let the peoples praise you, God. Let all the peoples praise you.
4 Oh let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you will judge the peoples with equity, and govern the nations on earth.
5 Let the peoples praise you, God. Let all the peoples praise you.
6 The earth has yielded its increase. God, even our own God, will bless us.
7 God will bless us. All the ends of the earth shall fear him.
KJVKing James Version
1 God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.
2 That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.
3 Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.
4 O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.
5 Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.
6 Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.
7 God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.
Show all 3 translations
JPSJPS Tanakh (1917)
1 (67-1) For the Leader; with string-music. A Psalm, a Song. (67-2) God be gracious unto us, and bless us; may He cause His face to shine toward us; Selah
2 (67-3) That Thy way may be known upon earth, Thy salvation among all nations.
3 (67-4) Let the peoples give thanks unto Thee, O God; let the peoples give thanks unto Thee, all of them.
4 (67-5) O let the nations be glad and sing for joy; for Thou wilt judge the peoples with equity, and lead the nations upon earth. Selah
5 (67-6) Let the peoples give thanks unto Thee, O God; let the peoples give thanks unto Thee, all of them.
6 (67-7) The earth hath yielded her increase; may God, our own God, bless us.
7 (67-8) May God bless us; and let all the ends of the earth fear Him.
Psalms 4:6(v1)Many say, “Who will show us any good?” Yahweh, let the light of your face shine on us.
2 Corinthians 4:6(v1)seeing it is God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory…
Titus 2:11(v2)For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,
Psalms 98:9(v4)Let them sing before Yahweh, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.
Leviticus 26:4(v6)then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
Show all 86 cross-references
Romans 15:10-11(v4)Again he says, “Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.” Again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Let all the peoples praise him.”
Numbers 6:24-27(v1)‘Yahweh bless you, and keep you. Yahweh make his face to shine on you, and be gracious to you. Yahweh lift up his face toward you, and give…
Psalms 4:1(v1)Answer me when I call, God of my righteousness. Give me relief from my distress. Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
Psalms 9:8(v4)He will judge the world in righteousness. He will administer judgment to the peoples in uprightness.
Psalms 98:2-3(v2)Yahweh has made known his salvation. He has openly shown his righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered his loving…
Psalms 22:27(v7)All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to Yahweh. All the relatives of the nations shall worship before you.
Psalms 31:16(v1)Make your face to shine on your servant. Save me in your loving kindness.
Psalms 67:3(v5)let the peoples praise you, God. Let all the peoples praise you.
Psalms 67:5(v3)Let the peoples praise you, God. Let all the peoples praise you.
Psalms 80:1-3(v1)Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock, you who sit above the cherubim, shine out. Before Ephraim and Benjamin and…
Psalms 119:135(v1)Make your face shine on your servant. Teach me your statutes.
Exodus 3:15(v6)God said moreover to Moses, “You shall tell the children of Israel this, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of…
Psalms 74:21(v3)Don’t let the oppressed return ashamed. Let the poor and needy praise your name.
Psalms 80:7(v1)Turn us again, God of Armies. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved.
Psalms 80:19(v1)Turn us again, Yahweh God of Armies. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved.
Isaiah 42:10-12(v4)Sing to Yahweh a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is therein, the islands and…
Isaiah 45:22(v7)“Look to me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.
Acts 18:25(v2)This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning…
Isaiah 52:10(vv2, 7)Yahweh has made his holy arm bare in the eyes of all the nations. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Genesis 17:7(v6)I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to…
Psalms 45:17(v3)I will make your name to be remembered in all generations. Therefore the peoples shall give you thanks forever and ever.
Psalms 82:6(v4)I said, “You are gods, all of you are sons of the Most High.
Psalms 85:9-12(v6)Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. Mercy and truth meet together. Righteousness and peace…
Psalms 119:175(v3)Let my soul live, that I may praise you. Let your ordinances help me.
Psalms 138:4-5(v4)All the kings of the earth will give you thanks, Yahweh, for they have heard the words of your mouth. Yes, they will sing of the ways of…
Isaiah 24:14-16(v4)These shall lift up their voice. They will shout for the majesty of Yahweh. They cry aloud from the sea. Therefore glorify Yahweh in the…
Isaiah 30:23-24(v6)He will give the rain for your seed, with which you will sow the ground; and bread of the increase of the ground will be rich and…
Jeremiah 31:33(v6)“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” says Yahweh: “I will put my law in their inward…
Ezekiel 34:26-27(v6)I will make them and the places around my hill a blessing. I will cause the shower to come down in its season. There will be showers of…
Hosea 2:21-22(v6)It will happen in that day, I will respond,” says Yahweh, “I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth; and the earth…
Matthew 6:9-10(v5)Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Luke 2:30-31(v2)for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before the face of all peoples;
Luke 3:6(v2)All flesh will see God’s salvation.’ ”
Acts 13:26(v7)Brothers, children of the stock of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, the word of this salvation is sent out to you.
Ephesians 1:3(v1)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
Genesis 12:2-3(v7)I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and…
Genesis 18:25(v4)May it be far from you to do things like that, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be like the wicked. May…
Deuteronomy 32:43(v4)Rejoice, you nations, with his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants. He will take vengeance on his adversaries, and will…
Psalms 2:8(v4)Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession.
Psalms 65:5(v7)By awesome deeds of righteousness, you answer us, God of our salvation. You who are the hope of all the ends of the earth, of those who are…
Psalms 96:10–97:1(v4)Say among the nations, “Yahweh reigns.” The world is also established. It can’t be moved. He will judge the peoples with equity. Let the…
Psalms 142:7(v3)Bring my soul out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name. The righteous will surround me, for you will be good to me.
Isaiah 38:18-19(v3)For Sheol can’t praise you. Death can’t celebrate you. Those who go down into the pit can’t hope for your truth. The living, the living, he…
Isaiah 55:4(v4)Behold, I have given him for a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander to the peoples.
Malachi 1:11(v7)For from the rising of the sun even to its going down, my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my…
Acts 13:47(v7)For so has the Lord commanded us, saying, ‘I have set you as a light for the Gentiles, that you should bring salvation to the uttermost…
Romans 2:5(v4)But according to your hardness and unrepentant heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath, revelation, and of the…
Revelation 15:4(v7)Who wouldn’t fear you, Lord, and glorify your name? For you only are holy. For all the nations will come and worship before you. For your…
Psalms 29:11(v7)Yahweh will give strength to his people. Yahweh will bless his people with peace.
Psalms 43:5(v2)Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God! For I shall still praise him: my Savior, my helper, and my…
Psalms 48:14(v6)For this God is our God forever and ever. He will be our guide even to death.
Psalms 66:1-4(v2)Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth! Sing to the glory of his name! Offer glory and praise! Tell God, “How awesome are your deeds!…
Isaiah 1:19(v6)If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land;
Isaiah 43:6(v7)I will tell the north, ‘Give them up!’ and tell the south, ‘Don’t hold them back! Bring my sons from far away, and my daughters from the…
Isaiah 49:6(v2)Indeed, he says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of…
Jeremiah 31:1(v6)“At that time,” says Yahweh, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”
Acts 2:28(v7)You made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
Acts 17:31(v4)because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained; of which he has given…
1 Corinthians 3:6-9(v6)I planted. Apollos watered. But God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the…
2 Corinthians 13:14(v1)The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s love, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
Galatians 4:27(v4)For it is written, “Rejoice, you barren who don’t bear. Break out and shout, you who don’t travail. For the desolate have more children…
Revelation 11:15-17(v4)The seventh angel sounded, and great voices in heaven followed, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord, and…
Deuteronomy 21:8(v1)Forgive, Yahweh, your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, and don’t allow innocent blood among your people Israel.” The blood shall be…
Esther 8:15-17(v2)Mordecai went out of the presence of the king in royal clothing of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a robe of fine…
Psalms 28:9(v1)Save your people, and bless your inheritance. Be their shepherd also, and bear them up forever.
Psalms 33:8(v7)Let all the earth fear Yahweh. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
Psalms 72:17(v7)His name endures forever. His name continues as long as the sun. Men shall be blessed by him. All nations will call him blessed.
Psalms 98:3(v7)He has remembered his loving kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of…
Psalms 117:2(v2)For his loving kindness is great toward us. Yahweh’s faithfulness endures forever. Praise Yah!
Micah 5:4(v7)He shall stand, and shall shepherd in the strength of Yahweh, in the majesty of the name of Yahweh his God: and they will live, for then he…
Zechariah 8:20-23(v2)Yahweh of Armies says: “Many peoples, and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come; and the inhabitants of one shall go to another,…
Zechariah 9:10(v7)I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow will be cut off; and he will speak peace to the…
Malachi 4:2(v7)But to you who fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings. You will go out, and leap like calves of the…
Acts 13:10(v2)and said, “You son of the devil, full of all deceit and all cunning, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to pervert the…
Galatians 3:9(v7)So then, those who are of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham.
Psalms 6:1(v1)Yahweh, don’t rebuke me in your anger, neither discipline me in your wrath.
Isaiah 54:1(v4)“Sing, barren, you who didn’t give birth; break out into singing, and cry aloud, you who didn’t travail with child: for more are the…
Matthew 28:19(v2)Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Acts 9:31(v2)So the assemblies throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace, and were built up. They were multiplied, walking in the fear of the…
Acts 22:4(v2)I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
Galatians 3:14(v7)that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
86 distinct cross-references across this passage (87 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (28 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
John Calvin1540 · Public DomainOn vv1, 2, 3, 61 God be merciful unto us, and bless us…
1 God be merciful unto us, and bless us The psalm contains a prediction of Christ’s kingdom, under which the whole world was to be adopted into a privileged relationship with God; but the Psalmist begins by praying for the Divine blessing, particularly upon the Jews. They were the first-born, (Exodus 4:22,) and the blessing was to terminate upon them first, and then go out to all the surrounding nations. I have used the imperative mood throughout the psalm, as other translators have done, although the future tense, which is that employed in the Hebrew, would suit sufficiently well, and the passage might be understood as encouraging the minds of the Lord’s people to trust in the continuance and increase of the Divine favor. The words, however, are generally construed in the form of a prayer, and I merely threw out this as a suggestion. Speaking, as the Psalmist does, of those who belonged to the Church of God, and not of those who were without, it is noticeable that yet he traces all the blessings they received to God’s free favor; and from this we may learn, that so long as we are here, we owe our happiness, our success, and prosperity, entirely to the same cause. This being the case, how shall any think to anticipate his goodness by merits of their own? The light of God’s countenance may refer either to the sense of his love shed abroad in our hearts, or to the actual manifestation of it without, as, on the other hand, his face may be said to be clouded, when he strikes terrors into our conscience on account of our sins, or withdraws the outward marks of his favor.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv1, 2, 4, 6, 7That is, move our hearts with his holy Spirit,…
That is, move our hearts with his holy Spirit, that we may feel his favor towards us.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv1–7Psa 67:1 « To the chief Musician on Neginoth,…
Psa 67:1 « To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm [or] Song. » God be merciful unto us, and bless us; [and] cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.
Ver. 1. God be merciful unto us] sc. In sending his Son, and calling his elect, both among Jews and Gentries, to the participation of that gift, Joh 4:10; that benefit, 1Ti 6:2.
Read full note →
And bless us] Specially with all spiritual blessings in heavenly things in Christ Jesus, Eph 1:3.
And cause his face to shine upon us] Giving us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, 2Co 4:6, who is the brightness (or glittering refulgency, απαυγασμα) of his Father’s glory and the express image of his person, Heb 1:3, the dayspring from on high, Luk 1:78, Sereno suo vultu nos irradiet (Beza). In this prayer the psalmist plainly alludeth to that blessing pronounced upon the people by the high priest, Num 6:23-27, and showeth that all cometh from Christ, the true Aaron, the High Priest of the new covenant.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv1, 2, 3, 4, 6Unto us, thy people of Israel. As thou hast…
Unto us, thy people of Israel. As thou hast hid thy face and favour from us, so now do thou manifest it to us. For the phrase, Num 6:25,26; Psa 31:16.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry1710 · Public DomainOn v1The composition of this psalm is such as denotes…
The composition of this psalm is such as denotes the penman's affections to have been very warm and lively, by which spirit of devotion he was elevated to receive the spirit of prophecy concerning the enlargement of God's kingdom.
I. He begins with a prayer for the welfare and prosperity of the church then in being, in the happiness of which he should share, and think himself happy, Psa 67:1. Our Saviour, in teaching us to say, Our Father, has intimated that we ought to pray with and for others; so the psalmist here prays not, God be merciful to me, and bless me, but to us, and bless us; for we must make supplication for all saints, and be willing and glad to take our lot with them. We are here taught, 1. That all our happiness comes from God's mercy and takes rise in that; and therefore the first thing prayed for is, God be merciful to us, to us sinners, and pardon our sins (Luk 18:13), to us miserable sinners, and help us out of our miseries. 2. That it is conveyed by God's blessing, and secured in that: God bless us; that is, give us an interest in his promises, and confer upon us all the good contained in them. God's speaking well to us amounts to his doing well for us. God bless us is a comprehensive prayer; it is a pity such excellent words should ever be used slightly and carelessly, and as a byword. 3. That it is completed in the light of his countenance: God cause his face to shine upon us; that is, God by his grace qualify us for his favour and then give us the tokens of his favour. We need desire no more to make us happy than to have God's face shine upon us, to have God love us, and let us know that he loves us: To shine with us (so the margin reads it); with us doing our endeavour, and let it crown that endeavour with success. If we by faith walk with God, we may hope that his face will shine with us.
Read full note →
II. He passes from this to a prayer for the conversion of the Gentiles (Psa 67:2): That thy way may be known upon earth. "Lord, I pray not only that thou wilt be merciful to us and bless us, but that thou wilt be merciful to all mankind, that thy way may be known upon earth." Thus public-spirited must we be in our prayers. Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come. We shall have never the less of God's mercy, and blessing, and favour, for others coming in to share with us. Or it may be taken thus: "God be merciful to us Jews, and bless us, that thereby thy way may be known upon earth, that by the peculiar distinguishing tokens of thy favour to us others may be allured to come and join themselves to us, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you," Zac 8:23.
1. These verses, which point at the conversion of the Gentiles, may be taken, (1.) As a prayer; and so it speaks the desire of the Old Testament saints; so far were they from wishing to monopolize the privileges of the church that they desired nothing more than the throwing down of the enclosure and the laying open of the advantages. See then how the spirit of the Jews, in the days of Christ and his apostles, differed from the spirit of their fathers. The Israelites indeed that were of old desired that God's name might be known among the Gentiles; those counterfeit Jews were enraged at the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles; nothing in Christianity exasperated them so much as that did. (2.) As a prophecy that it shall be as he here prays. Many scripture-prophecies and promises are wrapped up in prayers, to intimate that the answer of the church's prayer is as sure as the performance of God's promises.
2. Three things are here prayed for, with reference to the Gentiles: -
(1.) That divine revelation might be sent among them, Psa 67:2. Two things he desires might be know upon earth, even among all nations, and not to the nation of the Jews only: - [1.] God's way, the rule of duty: "Let them all know, as well as we do, what is good and what the Lord our God requires of them; let them be blessed and honoured with the same righteous statutes and judgments which are so much the praise of our nation and the envy of all its neighbours," Deu 4:8. [2.] His saving health, or his salvation. The former is wrapped up in his law, this in his gospel. If God make known his way to us, and we walk in it, he will show us his saving health, Psa 50:23. Those that have themselves experimentally known the pleasantness of God's ways, and the comforts of his salvation, cannot but desire and pray that they may be known to others, even among all nations. All upon earth are bound to walk in God's way, all need his salvation, and there is in it enough for all; and therefore we should pray that both the one and the other may be made known to all.
(2.) That divine worship may be set up among them, as it will be where divine revelation is received and embraced (Psa 67:3): "Let the people praise thee, O God! let them have matter for praise, let them have hearts for praise; yea, let not only some, but all the people, praise thee," all nations in their national capacity, some of all nations. It is again repeated (Psa 67:5) as that which the psalmist's heart was very much upon. Those that delight in praising God themselves cannot but desire that others also may be brought to praise him, that he may have the honour of it and they may have the benefit of it. It is a prayer, [1.] That the gospel might be preached to them, and then they would have cause enough to praise God, as for the day-spring after a long and dark night. Ortus est sol - The sun has risen. Act 8:8. [2.] That they might be converted and brought into the church, and then they would have a disposition to praise God, the living and true God, and not the dumb and dunghill deities they had worshipped, Dan 5:4. Then their hard thoughts of God would be silenced, and they would see him, in the gospel glass, to be love itself, and the proper object of praise. [3.] That they might be incorporated into solemn assemblies, and might praise God in a body, that they might all together praise him with one mind and one mouth. Thus a face of religion appears upon a land when God is publicly owned and the ordinances of religious worship are duly celebrated in religious assemblies.
(3.) That the divine government may be acknowledged and cheerfully submitted to (Psa 67:4): O let the nations be glad, and sing for joy! Holy joy, joy in God and in his name, is the heart and soul of thankful praise. That all the people may praise thee, let the nations be glad. Those that rejoice in the Lord always will in every thing give thanks. The joy he wishes to the nations is holy joy; for it is joy in God's dominion, joy that God has taken to himself his great power and has reigned, which the unconverted nations are angry at, Rev 11:17, Rev 11:18. Let them be glad, [1.] That the kingdom is the Lord's (Psa 22:28), that he, as an absolute sovereign, shall govern the nations upon earth, that by the kingdom of his providence he shall overrule the affairs of kingdoms according to the counsel of his will, though they neither know him nor own him, and that in due time he shall disciple all nations by the preaching of his gospel (Mat 28:19) and set up the kingdom of his grace among them upon the ruin of the devil's kingdom - that he shall make them a willing people in the day of his power, and even the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ. [2.] That every man's judgment proceeds from the Lord. "Let them be glad that thou shalt judge the people righteously, that thou shalt give a law and gospel which shall be a righteous rule of judgment, and shalt pass an unerring sentence, according to that rule, upon all the children of men, against which there will lie no exception." Let us all be glad that we are not to be one another's judges, but that he that judges us is the Lord, whose judgment we are sure is according to truth.
III. He concludes with a joyful prospect of all good when God shall do this, when the nations shall be converted and brought to praise God.
1. The lower world shall smile upon them, and they shall have the fruits of that (Psa 67:6): Then shall the earth yield her increase. Not but that God gave rain from heaven and fruitful seasons to the nations when they sat in darkness (Act 14:17); but when they were converted the earth yielded its increase to God; the meat and the drink then became a meat-offering and a drink-offering to the Lord our God (Joe 2:14); and then it was fruitful to some good purpose. Then it yielded its increase more than before to the comfort of men, who through Christ acquired a covenant-title to the fruits of it and had a sanctified use of it. Note, The success of the gospel sometimes brings outward mercies along with it; righteousness exalts a nation. See Isa 4:2; Isa 62:9.
2. The upper world shall smile upon them, and they shall have the favours of that, which is much better: God, even our own God, shall bless us, Psa 67:6. And again (Psa 67:7), God shall bless us. Note, (1.) There are a people in the world that can, upon good grounds, call God their God. (2.) Believers have reason to glory in their relation to God and the interest they have in him. It is here spoken with an air of triumph. God, even our own God. (2.) Those who through grace call God their own may with a humble confidence expect a blessing from him. If he be our God, he will bless us with special blessings. (4.) The blessing of God, as ours in covenant, is that which sweetens all our creature-comforts to us, and makes them comforts indeed; then we receive the increase of the earth as a mercy indeed when with it God, even our own God, gives us his blessing.
3. All the world shall hereby be brought to do like them: The ends of the earth shall fear him, that is, worship him, which is to be done with a godly fear. The blessings God bestows upon us call upon us not only to love him, but to fear him, to keep up high thoughts of him and to be afraid of offending him. When the gospel begins to spread it shall get ground more and more, till it reach to the ends of the earth. The leaven hidden in the meal shall diffuse itself, till the whole be leavened. And the many blessings which those will own themselves to have received that are brought into the church invite others to join themselves to them. It is good to cast in our lot with those that are the blessed of the Lord.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv1–6God be merciful unto us, and bless us,.... That…
God be merciful unto us, and bless us,.... That is, God, of his unmerited mercy, of his rich grace and free favour, bless us with the coming of his Son, the promised seed, in whom all nations are to be blessed; and with the blessings of peace, pardon, and righteousness in him; all which with him spring from the tender mercy of God, the riches of his grace, and his great love; than which nothing could be more desirable to the Old Testament saints, who were shut up under the law, until faith came; and though children, they differed nothing from servants, being in a state and under a spirit of bondage: for the psalmist seems to represent the whole church under that dispensation: some understand the words as a prophecy, expressing the certainty of what would be; and, as the words may be rendered, "God will be merciful", or "gracious to us (k), and he will bless us"; as he has promised to do;
and cause his face to shine upon us; that is, grant his gracious presence, and the discoveries of his love; that he would favour with communion with himself through Christ, and a greater knowledge of him in him; or that he would cause him, who is his face, his image, the brightness of his glory, to appear and shine forth; the great light, the sun of righteousness, and dayspring from on high, that was to arise and shine upon the people of God. The Targum is,
Read full note →
"and cause the splendour of his face to shine with us always;''
there seems to be some reference to the high priest's form of blessing in Num 6:24.
Selah; on this word; see Gill on Psa 3:2.
(k) "miserebitur", Gejerus, Schmidt.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv1, 2, 4, 6A prayer for Israel, ver. 1. For the conversion…
A prayer for Israel, ver. 1. For the conversion of the Gentiles, ver. 2-5. A prospect of glorious times, ver. 6, 7. To the chief musician on Neginoth, A psalm or song.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv1–7The psalmist prays for the enlargement of God's kingdom,…
PSALM LXVII
The psalmist prays for the enlargement of God's kingdom, 1, 2;
Read full note →
calls upon all nations to serve him, because he judges and
governs righteously, 3-5;
promises prosperity to the faithful and obedient, 6, 7.
NOTES ON PSALM LXVII
The title here is the same with that of Psalm iv., where see the notes. See Clarke on Ps 4:1. It is supposed to have been written at the return from the Babylonish captivity, and to foretell the conversion of the Gentiles to the Christian religion. The prayer for their salvation is very energetic.
Verse 1. God be merciful unto us] Show the Jewish people thy mercy, bless them in their bodies and souls and give a full evidence of thy approbation. This is nearly the same form of blessing as that used Nu 6:25, where see the notes. See Clarke on Nu 6:25.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv1, 3, 6Psa 67:1-2. God be merciful to us — Thy…
Psa 67:1-2. God be merciful to us — Thy people Israel. And cause his face to shine upon us — As thou hast hid thy face, or withdrawn the tokens of thy favour from us, so do thou now manifest them to us. That thy way may be known upon earth — The way wherein thou requirest men to walk, the way of thy precepts, the way of truth, or the true religion; that by the peculiar and distinguishing tokens of thy favour to us, the heathen world may be convinced of the truth and importance of our religion, may be induced to renounce their idols and their vices, to believe in thee the only living and true God, and embrace thy worship and service, expecting no good but from thee. Thy saving health — Hebrew, ישׁועתךְ, thy salvation, termed, God’s way, in the preceding clause, and both expressions, taken together, signify the way of salvation, which the psalmist desires may be known among all nations. This the ancient and godly Jews expected would be the case at the coming of the Messiah, who is called God’s salvation, and also the way, the truth, and the life, Luk 2:30; Joh 14:6. And so the sense of the passage is, Deal thus graciously with thy people Israel, that the Gentile world may at last be allured to unite themselves to them, to become proselytes to their religion, and receive their Messiah for their King and Saviour, when he shall be manifested, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you, Zec 8:23.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv1–7God be merciful unto us, and bless us -…
God be merciful unto us, and bless us - There is, perhaps (as Prof. Alexander suggests), an allusion, in the language used here, to the sacerdotal benediction in Num 6:24-26 : “The Lord bless thee, and keep thee; the Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.” The prayer is that God would bestow upon his people the blessing implied in the form of benediction which he had directed the ministers of his religion to use. The first cry is, of course, for mercy or favor. The beginning of all blessings to mankind is the favor or mercy of God. There is no higher blessing than his favor; there is none that comes from him which should not be regarded as mercy.
And cause his face to shine upon us - Margin, With us. That is, among us. It is an invocation of his presence and favor. On the phrase “cause his face to shine,” see the notes at Psa 4:6.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures1864 · Public DomainOn v1Psalms 67
Psalms 67
To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm or Song
Read full note →
1 God be merciful unto us, and bless us;
And cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.
2 That thy way may be known upon earth,
Thy saving health among all nations.
3 Let the people praise thee, O God;
Let all the people praise thee.
4 O let the nations be glad and sing for joy:
For thou shalt judge the people righteously,
And govern the nations upon earth. Selah.
5 Let the people praise thee, O God;
Let all the people praise thee.
6 Then shall the earth yield her increase;
And God, even our own God, shall bless us.
7 God shall bless us;
And all the ends of the earth shall fear him.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Analysis of Contents.—Since the Hebrew tenses are capable of many references to time, it would be admissible to regard Psa_67:3; Psa_67:5 as statements respecting the praise of God by all nations, which had already occurred (De Wette), which fact would then admit of various explanations in accordance with its value and reality, as well as with respect to its reasons and its significance. The same remarks apply to the final clause in which the fear of God takes the place of His praise. We might likewise find in the harvest mentioned by the perfect as finished (Psa_67:6 a), a statement of the fact of the blessing (Psa_67:6 b), and the pledge of its continuance (Psa_67:7 a). The latter reference is, however, for the Israelites, contained in the fruits of the harvest (Lev_26:4), and it would be more in accordance with the tone of the prayer to find in these words the expression of a wish for the continuance of universal blessings, this wish having originated from the recent appropriation of the pledge resting upon Divine promises. This interpretation is still further recommended by the fact that in the two lines, Psa_67:6 b and 7a, the same tense is used as in Psa_67:1 a, where the optative is certainly meant, since there is there indeed not an answer of the people (J. D. Mich., Stier), but an appropriationand free repetition of the blessing of the High Priest, Num_4:24 sq. When now Psa_67:2 puts this blessing of Israel in direct relation to the making known God’s ways and the salvation (יְשׁוּעָה) therein to be obtained by deliverance, it is much more natural to give the words which follow, a Messianic reference in the universal sense, which is contained in the blessing of Abraham (Gen_12:3), and to recognize the missionary character of this Psalm, which appears likewise in the hymn of Luther: “Es woll’ uns Gott, genädig sein,” than merely to find here a manifestation of the goodness of God in general, and a lyrical transition from the national to the universal stand—point, embracing mankind (Hupfeld), in which God, in accordance with the nature of Monotheism, is designated as the object of the praise and reverence likewise of the heathen. In this state of the case, likewise, it is most natural to regard Psa_67:3 sq. as optative, and only to let the final clause conclude with the future. For thus the clauses, which constantly implore, in believing appropriation, the blessings promised and bestowed, are entwined with those which proclaim and wish for, in accordance with the promises and in the joy of faith, the salvation to be obtained through the blessings in Israel, and praise of God among the heathen. Thus there is formed a chain; the end of which not merely bends back towards the beginning, but has partly an internal progress, partly opens an infinite prospect. Hence the spiritual interpretation of the fruitfulness of the earth, (Luther, Stier, after the older interpreters) seems to be arbitrary. We are to think of a blessed harvest, which we have reason to consider not merely as an occasion for the composition of the Psalm (Kôster, Ewald, Hitzig), but at the same time as an occasion for far—reaching thoughts, (Calvin, Hengst.), and as the pledge of more (Venema, J. H. Mich.), if not the type of higher blessings (Stier). The attempts to put the composition in the time of the Maccabees (Olsh., Hitzig), or the restoration of the kingdom after the exile (Ewald), or after the deliverance from the Assyrians under Hezekiah (Venema, and Von Leng.), are entirely without proofs and support.
Str. I. Psa_67:1. Cause His face to shine among us.—The change of the phrase “upon thee,” (Num_6:25) into “among us” is connected on the one side with the entire appropriation of the blessing of the High Priest, on the other side with the purpose directly expressed, which latter is already prepared by the change of Jehovah into Elohim, and appears as the principal thought of the Psalm by the transition from the indirect to the direct discourse. The expression: among or with us, accordingly does not indicate the nearness of the help (Geier), but the accompanying (Hengst.), or better, the guiding presence of God.
[Psa_67:2. Thy way—Thy salvation.—Alexander: “Thy way, i.e., Thy mode of dealing with Thy people, referring more particularly here to providential favors, the knowledge of which he hopes to see extended to all nations, as a means to the promotion of still higher ends. The pleonastic phrase, saving health, retained by the A. V. from an older one, has nothing corresponding to it in the Hebrew, but the single word which always means salvation, and is commonly so rendered.”—C. A. B.]
[Str. 2 Psa_67:4. For Thou judgest.—This is not the judicial condemning and punishing, but as Psa_72:12 sq.; Isa_11:3 sq., the righteous government of the royal ruler.—[Thou leadest.—Perowne: “The verb is the same as in Psa_23:3, God being the great Shepherd of all nations.”—C. A. B.]
[Str. 3 Psa_67:6. The earth hath yielded her increase.—Moll, with most interpreters, renders the verb in its natural sense. Some, however, as the A. V., regard it as the prophetic past, and translate as future. Ewald translates it as present. The natural reference is to a recent harvest, on the basis of which the Psalmist prays the final prayer that: “God our God may bless us, and all the ends of the earth may fear Him.”—C. A. B.]
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. The congregation of the Lord can have no wish more acceptable to God, than that He should bestow upon them blessings spiritual and bodily, in order that their welfare and its manifest cause may make known to the heathen the salvation which God gives to those who fear Him, and the ways upon which He brings this to pass. The congregation thus maintains its true historical and redemptive position, and fulfils at the same time its missionary calling.
2. The ground upon which this hope, which has grown up out of faith in the truth of God’s promises is based, that the heathen will attain their destiny, is the government of God in the history of the world, which is manifest to all nations, and is as righteous as it is gracious. The occasion of a prayer of this kind is given in the bestowal of a blessed harvest, partly as a testimony of His power and goodness in general, partly as a seal of His promises, partly as a pledge of additional gracious guidance.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
God’s blessing is to be implored in faith, received with thanksgiving, used in accordance with God’s will.—The gifts of God to His people should benefit the whole world.—The righteous government and the gracious guidance of men are as worthy objects of praise, as valuable foundations of hope.—The congregation is not only called to receive the Divine blessing, but likewise to spread it abroad, and should allow itself to be properly prepared and guided thereto. The aim, hope, and right of missionary work.—The end, basis, and means of hope in missions.—The end, way, and guardian of our pilgrimage.—God would not only reign as monarch of the world, but men should know likewise the ways in which He leads them.—God not only guides His people in the right ways, but He quickens them under the way, Isa_58:11.—God has made known His ways (Psa_25:10) to His people (Psa_103:7) that they may walk therein, and teach other nations to do this.—The land has given its increase; how is it with the people in general?—How with the congregation? How with thee?
Starke: The pious share their bodily blessings with the ungodly, but these are properly no blessings to the latter; but spiritual blessings belong only to the children of God.—All depends upon properly knowing God, and the way of life pointed out by Him.—In the kingdom of God it is demanded of each and every member, to be fruitful in good works.—God’s grace makes no man poor, but may make him rich.
Franke: God’s grace, blessing, the light of His countenance, are not for temporal blessedness, but for eternal life.—Tholuck: Longing after the most spiritual of all blessings that the salvation from God should arise in Israel and its light shine over all the heathen on earth.—Guenther: These are the true prophets and teachers, upon whose countenance the glance of the Divine light still remains.—Taube: Prophetic glance at the erection of the kingdom of God among all nations.
[Matt. Henry: We need desire no more to make us happy than to have God’s face shine upon us, to have God love us, and let us know that He loves us.—We shall have never the less of God’s mercy, and blessing, and favor, for others coming in to share with us.—It is good to cast in our lot with these that are the blessed of the Lord.—Barnes: The happiness of man depends on a knowledge of the principles on which God bestows His favors; for all men are, in all things, dependent on Him. Individuals and nations, as they follow the counsels of God, are safe and happy; and in no other way.—Spurgeon: Our love must make long marches, and our prayers must have a wide sweep; we must embrace the whole world in our intercessions.—We never know God aright till we know Him to be ours, and the more we love Him the more do we long to be fully assured that He is ours.—C. A. B.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv2, 3, 6thy way--of gracious dealing (Isa 55:8), as explained by--
thy way--of gracious dealing (Isa 55:8), as explained by--
saving health--or literally, "salvation."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 71. God be merciful unto us—An invocation, repeated in…
1. God be merciful unto us—An invocation, repeated in Psa_67:6-7, and founded on the form of blessing by the high priest, Num_6:23-26
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv1–61. The Psalm begins with words taken from the…
1. The Psalm begins with words taken from the priestly blessing of Num_6:24 ff:
“Jehovah bless thee and keep thee:
Read full note →
Jehovah cause his face to shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee:
Jehovah lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace:” as the following Ps. begins with the invocation used when the Ark started on a journey, Num_10:35. Other echoes of the priestly blessing may be found in Psa_4:6; Psa_29:11; Psa_31:16; Psa_80:3; Psa_80:7; Psa_80:19.
God be merciful] Rather, as in Num_6:25, be gracious unto us. God is substituted for the original Jehovah according to the usual practice of the editor of the ‘Elohistic’ collection of Psalms.
upon us] Lit. with us. For the simple preposition of the original (unto or upon) the Psalmist substitutes one which suggests the thought of God’s gracious favour abiding with His people. Cp. “The blessing of God Almighty … be amongst you and remain with you always.”
Selah (if it is in its right place) marks a musical interlude following upon and emphasising this echo of the priestly benediction. But it may have been accidentally transferred from the close of Psa_67:2.
1, 2. The final object of the blessing for which Israel prays is that the whole world may know God.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv1, 2, 3, 4, 6(1) This verse is an adaptation of the priestly…
(1) This verse is an adaptation of the priestly benediction (Num_6:24-26).
Upon us.—Rather, with, or among us; a variation from the formal benediction.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv1–7ACCORDING to some, this psalm, like Psalm 65, is…
ACCORDING to some, this psalm, like Psalm 65, is a harvest thanksgiving (Hengstenberg, Cheyne). But the single expression (in ver. 6) on which this view is grounded seems insufficient to support it, more especially as that expression may well be understood figuratively. (see Psa_85:12 Jer_8:20 Hos_6:11Jo Hos 3:13 Mat_9:37, etc.) The real idea of the psalm appears to be an aspiration after the general conversion of the world, to be effected by God"s special manifestation of his mercy upon Israel. This will draw all nations to him. The psalm is one of three stanzas, consisting respectively of two, two, and three verses. The second and third stanzas have the same initiatory refrain (vers. 3, 5). In the first stanza the "selah" is a pause of reverence, not a break in the sense.
God be merciful unto us, and bless us. An echo of the priestly blessing, (Num_6:24, Num_6:25) but not necessarily uttered by a priest. The substitution of Elohim for Jehovah is natural, considering the universalist character of the psalm. And cause his face to shine upon us; literally, with us. "With us" especially, as the people of God; but not "with us" exclusively, as the whole psalm makes manifest.
Read full note →
Vers. 1, 2. "God be merciful," etc.
No wonder this beautiful little psalm has been enshrined so prominently in the worship of the Christian Church. Its most remarkable character is its world wide breadth of sympathy, hope, and prayer. It is like a beam from the unrisen sun of Christianity. The more one studies the intense narrow national sentiment of the Jews, the more plain is it that strains like these could be inspired only by the Spirit of God. The psalm is Hebrew of the Hebrews sung probably for ages in the temple. Yet its aspirations can be fulfilled only by the gospel and kingdom of Christ.
I THE MEANING OF THIS PRAYER. "That thy way may be known saving health.
1. God"s way is:
(1) The revelation he has made of himself in his dealings with mankind. In its widest sense this includes his universal providence. (Act_14:17 Pro_8:22 Isa_55:8, Isa_55:9)
(2) The revealed path of man"s duty. (Psa_25:9 Mat_22:16)
(3) The way of salvation; of return, reconciliation, access to God. (Act_18:26 Joh_14:6)
2. God"s "saving health" is salvation (simply another translation of the same Hebrew word). Not simply "the way of salvation the knowledge of the gospel, and provision for our salvation; but actual experience of deliverance from sin, pardon, peace with God, strength for holiness. Salvation, in the Scriptures, means both safety and health. Illust.: Mat_8:25 Luk_18:42 Luk_7:50.
II THE SCOPE OF THIS PRAYER. "On earth;" "among all nations." St. Paul says that the gospel was preached beforehand to Abraham, in the promise that in his offspring all nations should be blessed. We are apt to take too narrow a view both of the gospel and of salvation. We think and speak of "saving souls." That is the beginning; for there is no reconciliation to God but by personal repentance, faith, turning to God. But nations have their life; their collective action, righteousness, guilt, growth, decay, prosperity, ruin. Knowledge of God"s truth, and obedience to God"s law, are the conditions of national welfare. We have a message to "all nations" as well as to "every creature." We are to labour as well as pray, that God"s will may be "done on earth, as it is in heaven.
HOMILIES BY W. FORSYTH Vers. 1-7. This is a song of salvation.
It teaches that
I SALVATION IS FROM GOD. Hence God"s mercy is specially invoked. It is as God causes his face to shine upon us in Christ Jesus (2Co_4:6) that his "way" is made known, and his "salvation" enjoyed (vers. 1, 2).
II SALVATION IS THE HIGHEST BLESSING FOR MAN. When the high priest blessed the people, he spoke for God. (Num_6:22-27) Salvation is "saving health." Man is corrupt. There is no "soundness" in him. But God brings healing. Salvation is to be restored to health in body and soul and spirit. (1Th_5:23)
III SALVATION IS IMPARTED THROUGH HUMAN AGENCY. God works by means. He uses man to help man. "The Law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ". (Joh_1:17; cf. Rom_5:12-15) When we believe on Christ, we may say, with Simeon, "Mine eyes have seen thy salvation". (Luk_2:30) And what Christ has won for us he would have us make known to others. All Christians are missionaries. "God does with us as we with torches do." Every lamp that is lighted is lighted in order to shine. We are to receive and reflect the light. (1Th_1:6-8 Mat_5:16)
IV SALVATION IS DESTINED TO SPREAD AMONG ALL NATIONS. It was not limited to Israel. There is no exclusiveness in the gospel. There is no brand of reprobation on any man"s brow. The salvation of Christ is for all people the Jew first, but also for all men. "The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations". (Rev_22:2) This we have seen in part, and greater fulfilments are near. Paul could say, (Rom_15:19) "From Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ." But how great has been the advance since then! Nations that Paul never knew have heard the joyful sound, and the most distant isles of the sea have been blessed in Christ.
V SALVATION WILL ULTIMATELY FILL THE EARTH WITH JOY AND PEACE. Harvest is the time of joy. The great harvest-home of the world is coming. W.F. (Isa_2:2, 3 Zep_3:9 Zec_14:16)
HOMILIES BY C. SHORT Vers. 1-7. A missionary psalm.
The psalmist prays "that the favour of God towards the chosen people may become visible, in order that, by its splendour, it may lead the heathen to the hope of sharing in it." The salvation of the heathen is here felt to depend upon the following conditions:
I THE SALVATION OF THOSE WHO CLAIM TO BE HIS CHURCH. (Vers. 1, 2) If it is God"s "way" to save any, he must be able and willing to save all. And if his face shone upon them, his "saving health" would be made manifest to all peoples. This is the force of the prayer here used.
II THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD"S RIGHTEOUS GOVERNMENT OF THE WORLD. (Ver.
4)
1. God, as the experience of Israel shows, governs men upon righteous principles. The psalm was most probably written after the Exile a terrible part of their history, which taught them how God punishes sin.
2. God is leading the world forward upon a Divine course. (Ver. 4) He "governs" or leads the nations as a shepherd leads his flock. To this truth the Hebrews bore emphatic testimony.
III GOD"S BOUNTY TO THE EARTH IS HIS BOUNTY TOWARDS MAN. (Ver. 6) "The earth yields her increase; God, our God, blesses us." But the harvest is only a single, though a splendid, instance of God"s goodness towards men; he blesses them in a thousand ways, which, when considered, are adapted deeply to impress the heathen mind. S.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon1885 · Public DomainOn vv1–7To the Chief Musician. Who he was matters not,…
To the Chief Musician. Who he was matters not, and who we may be is also of small consequence, so long as the Lord is glorified. On Neginoth, or upon stringed instruments. This is the fifth Psalm so entitled, and no doubt like the others was meant to be sung with the accompaniment of "harpers harping with their harps." No author's name is given, but he would be a bold man who should attempt to prove that David did not write it. We will be hard pushed before we will look for any other author upon whom to father these anonymous odes which lie side by side with those ascribed to David, and wear a family likeness to them. A Psalm or Song. Solemnity and vivacity are here united. A Psalm is a song, but all songs are not Psalms: this is both one and the other.
Ver. 1. God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us. This is a fit refrain to the benediction of the High Priest in the name of the Lord, as recorded in Nu 6:24-25. "The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: the Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee." It begins at the beginning with a cry for mercy. Forgiveness of sin is always the first link in the chain of mercies experienced by us. Mercy is a foundation attribute in our salvation. The best saints and the worst sinners may unite in this petition. It is addressed to the God of mercy, by those who feel their need of mercy, and it implies the death of all legal hopes or claims of merit. Next, the church begs for a blessing; bless us --a very comprehensive and far reaching prayer. When we bless God we do but little, for our blessings are but words, but when God blesses he enriches us indeed, for his blessings are gifts and deeds. But his blessing alone is not all his people crave, they desire a personal consciousness of his favour, and pray for a smile from his face. These three petitions include all that we need here or hereafter.
Read full note →
This verse may be regarded as the prayer of Israel, and spiritually of the Christian church. The largest charity is shown in this Psalm, but it begins at home. The whole church, each church, and each little company, may rightly pray, bless us. It would, however, be very wrong to let our charity end where it begins, as some do; our love must make long marches, and our prayers must have a wide sweep, we must embrace the whole world in our intercessions.
Selah. Lift up the heart, lift up the voice. A higher key, a sweeter note is called for.
Whole Psalm. How admirably balanced are the parts of this missionary song! The people of God long to see all the nations participating in their privileges, "visited with God's salvation, and gladdened with the gladness of his nation" (Ps 106:5). They long to hear all the nationalities giving thanks to the Lord, and hallowing his name; to see the face of the whole earth, which sin has darkened so long, smiling with the brightness of a second Eden. This is not a vapid sentiment. The desire is so expressed as to connect with it the thought of duty and responsibility. For how do they expect that the happy times are to be reached? They trust, in the first instance, to the general diffusion of the knowledge of God's way, the spreading abroad of the truth regarding the way of salvation. With a view to that, they cry for a time of quickening from the presence of the Lord, and take encouragement in this prayer from the terms of the divinely appointed benediction. As if they had said, "Hast thou not commanded the sons of Aaron to put thy name upon us, and to say: The Lord bless thee and keep thee; the Lord cause his face to shine on thee and be gracious to thee? Remember that sure word of thine. God be gracious unto us and bless us, and cause his face to shine upon us. Let us be thus blessed, and we shall in our turn become a blessing. All the families of the earth shall, through us, become acquainted with thy salvation." Such is the church's expectation. And who shall say it is unreasonable? If the little company of a hundred and twenty disciples who met in the upper chamber at Jerusalem, all of them persons of humble station, and inconspicuous talents, were endued with such power by the baptism of the Holy Ghost, that within three hundred years the paganism of the empire was overthrown, one need not fear to affirm that, in order to the evangelisation of the world, nothing more is required than that the churches of Christendom be baptised with a fresh effusion of the same Spirit of power. William Binnie.
Whole Psalm. There are seven stanzas; twice three two line stanzas, having one of three lines in the middle, which forms the clasp or spangle of the septiad, a circumstance which is strikingly appropriate to the fact that the psalm is called "the Old Testament Paternoster" in some of the old expositors. Franz Delitzsch.
Ver. 1. God be merciful unto us, and bless us, etc. God forgives, then he gives; till he be merciful to pardon our sins through Christ, he cannot bless or look kindly on us sinners. All our enjoyments are but blessings in bullion, till gospel grace and pardoning mercy stamp and make them current. God cannot so much as bear any good will to us, till Christ makes peace for us; "On earth peace, good will toward men." Lu 2:14. And what joy can a sinner take, though it were to hear of a kingdom fallen to him, if he may not have it with God's good will. William Gurnall.
Ver. 1. God be merciful unto us. Hugo attributes these words to penitents; Bless us, to those setting out in the Christian life; Cause his face to shine upon us, to those who have attained, or the sanctified. The first seek for pardon, the second for justifying peace, the third for edification and the grace of contemplation. Lorinus.
Ver. 1-2. Connect the last clause of Ps 67:1 with the first of Ps 67:2, and observe that God made his face to shine upon Moses, and made known to him his way. "He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel, "as if the common people could only see the deeds of the Lord, but his way, his plans, his secrets were revealed only to him upon whom the light of God's face had shone. C. H. S.
Ver. 1.
I. Here is mercy in God the Father.
II. Here is blessing as the fruit of that mercy in God
the Son.
III. Here is the experience of that blessing in the
comfort of the Holy Ghost.
Ver. 1. The need of seeking a blessing for ourselves.
Ver. 1-2. The prosperity of the church at home, the hope for missions abroad.
In "The Works of JOHN BOYS, "1626, folio, pp. 42-45, there is an Exposition of this Psalm.
Psalms 67:2*
Ver. 1-2. See Psalms on "Ps 67:1" for further information.
Ver. 1-2. The prosperity of the church at home, the hope for missions abroad.
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn vv1, 6God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and…
Psa_67:1-7
God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause His face to shine upon us.
Read full note →
Illumining the life
Let us mark the two extremes of the psalm. It begins with God be merciful unto us, and it ends with Then shall the earth yield her increase. There is some mysterious but very real connection between the fertility of nature and the character of man. Nature is not to reach her consummation until man himself is at his best. God be merciful unto us. That is where human possibility begins, in the mercy of God. But this word mercy has grown very thin by common usage, and in ordinary currency it has lost much of its essential worth. We too often interpret it from the standpoint of the magisterial bondage, and it becomes significant of the summary dismissal of an action, and the release of the prisoner. We shall never really understand the inner content of the Scriptural word until we get far away from the court of law. It is infinitely more than a cold acquittal. The innermost element of the word is suggestive of stooping, the stronger bending toward the weak. And bless us. And what shall we say of this great word? There is no commoner word to be found in the speech of prayer. Now, perhaps I can best suggest the inconceivable wealth of the word if I say that it includes all the many significances of the English words beginning with bone. Let my hearers take these words, and apply every one of them to the ministry of the Almighty, and they will obtain a glimpse and a hint of the manifold meaning of the blessing of God. Take the word benevolence, and the word benediction, and the word benefaction, and then let the single colours mingle, and the result will give us some faint conception of the benefits of the Lord. Cause Thy face to shine upon us. It is a plea for the light of Gods presence. It is a prayer that He would countenance our goings out and our comings in. It is to walk all day beneath Thy smile. It is more than that. When the light of the Lords countenance falls upon us we, too, become illumined. They looked unto Him and were lightened. That is to say, they were lit up! Their faces caught the glory of the Lord, as I have seen a cottage window shining with the reflected radiance of the sun. These, then, are the three great preliminaries in the making of a noble life, which shall witness to the power of the King. We are to receive the mercy of God, and the blessing of God, and the shining presence of God. And what is the purpose of it all when these gifts have been received? That Thy way may be known upon earth. That is the purpose of it. All these earlier phrases have described the making of the Lords witness, and now we are told what is to be the ministry of the witness. We are lit up in order that we may reveal the Lord. We are to be illumined in order that men may see our God. That Thy way may be known upon earth. We are to make known the Lords beaten tracks, His manners, His modes of action, His course of life. Men are to see our beauty, and through it discern the Lords habits. And Thy saving health among all nations. Our healed life is to be the witness of the Great Physicians power of healing. If I may reverently say it, the radiance of our character is to advertise the glory of the Lord. What are the signs that the witness is effective, and that the saving health is become pervasive? Let the people praise Thee, O God. That would be the first token of an effective ministry. Thy people will begin to praise. They will fall into the attitude of reverent worship. Let the nations be glad. That is to be the next step in the noble sequence. The people are to be brightened, cheered up, made merry I They are to become optimistic in their hopes, and full of encouragement in their speech. Then shall the earth yield her increase. I do not wonder at it. As I have already said, in the opening of this meditation, we shall have finer gardens when we are finer men. The field will put on richer garments when we are clothed in white robes. (J. H. Jowett, M. A.)
The greatest need of foreign missions
The psalm was intended, commentators tell us, for some great temple festival, possibly the Feast of Tabernacles, in a year of exceptional increase. But what strikes me as I read it is its universal note. There is nothing local, particular, or Jewish about it. The psalm is as much at home in the Christian Church as in the Jewish Temple, as much at home centuries after Christ as it was centuries before He came.
I. The first remark I wish to make is that this psalm, in the scope and sweep of its petitions, supplies us with a pattern and example for our prayers. God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause His face to shine upon us. That is how the psalm begins. The psalmists first thought is for his own people, for his own kindred, according to the flesh. But that is not where the psalm ends. In the very next verse the horizon recedes, the outlook broadens, the national need gives Way to the universal need. He has scarcely offered up his prayer for his nation before his compassions are running out to the countries beyond, and in the very next breath he is interceding for all nations and for the wide earth. There is nothing local, there is nothing exclusive about this prayer. The psalmist overleaps all national boundaries, and brings the wide world before God. He has all Christs passion for those other sheep which are not of the Jewish fold. He has all Pauls desire that the Gospel may be preached to those who have not heard it. True prayer is always world-wide and universal. It is right to begin where this prayer begins--at home; it is not right to finish there. You must enlarge the scope of your petitions, and you must not rest till you have brought the ends of the earth before God. I pity the man who in his prayers never gets beyond God be merciful unto us, and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us; for he has simply not learned the elements of prayer. For that is a marred prayer, a narrow prayer, and a selfish prayer. And whatever Christianity is or is not, it is the very antithesis of selfishness. Let this mind be in you, said the apostle, which was also in Christ Jesus. What was the mind that was in Christ Jesus? It was an unselfish mind. Our Lord was always thinking about other people. His thought travelled far beyond His own kindred to those peoples lying in ignorance and sin; to all the millions who lived without God and without hope. Am I wrong in thinking that, speaking generally, Christian people do not possess our Lords wide-world outlook, that our affections are cramped by national and racial differences, that we do not realize that men everywhere are the loved of God, the redeemed of Christ, and that we do not pant and yearn for their enlightenment and salvation as our Lord did? Some do, I know. David Brainerd--his enthusiastic spirit had no rest in his passion for prayer for his Indians. This lack of concern for the salvation of the world results in parochial and narrow and selfish prayers. God be merciful unto us, and bless us--we begin there, and there oftentimes we finish. None of Christs melting passion for the other sheep creeps into our prayers. The psalmists prayer, while beginning with himself, expands till he embraces the whole earth.
II. But notice even in his personal prayer he has got the universal good before his eyes. God be merciful unto us, and bless us--what for? That Thy name may be known upon earth, Thy saving health among all nations. He does not ask for personal blessing for merely selfish ends. He asks for it that it may serve the universal good. He asks God to bless Israel in order that through Israel, so blessed, Gods way may be known upon earth, His saving health amongst all nations. The psalmist has grasped this truth, that Divine favours and blessings are never bestowed upon men or nations for merely selfish enjoyment, but they are always bestowed upon them for service. Our Lord appointed twelve, that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach. He chose these twelve men that they might be with Him to be His friends and associates, to accompany Him in all His journeys, to share His intimate fellowship. He conferred upon these twelve the highest privilege ever bestowed upon mortal men. The high privilege conferred upon the twelve was meant for the enriching of the world. He appointed twelve that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth. That illustrates a law. Gods blessings are never for selfish ends, they are always meant for the benefit of the wide world. For instance, God reveals to a doctor, let us say, some secret that makes for the health and wellbeing of mankind. He reveals it to him, not that he may hug it to himself, but that he may share it so that the whole world may be the better for it. The manifold religious privileges that this land of ours enjoys were never meant for Englands sake only. They have been conferred upon England in order that through England they may become the possession of the wide world. The light of the knowledge of the glory of God which you and I enjoy is not for our own personal gratification merely. It has been given to us that we may share it and diffuse it. You have the light. Have you shared it, diffused it, spread it abroad? Or have we, like some stagnant pool, tried to keep that Which we have received? My brethren, the Christian ought never to be represented by the pool; he ought always to be represented by the stream. The pool takes all it can get and gives nothing; receives everything, parts with nothing; and reaps the penalty of its own selfishness in putridity and stagnation. The stream is always giving itself away. It runs down the hills, and as it runs down it gives greenness to the fields, cleansing and refreshing to the dwellers in the towns. Starting in the mountain, where all is at its sweetest and loveliest, it does not linger in its mountain home. It says, There are thirsting people crying out for me; there are parched lands crying out for me, and so it hurries down the mountain slope, past the village, into the valley, through the town, on and on, so long as there is a single yard of land to be blessed by it; on and on until the great sea is reached.
III. And now, just for a moment or two further, let me ask you to notice the words with which the psalmist describes the blessings thus given to the world through the agency of Israel. It is really the blessing of salvation, but he uses two figures that describe it. He first speaks of it as Gods way, and in the second place as Gods saving health. Just look at these two figures for a moment. First, he asks that Israel may be blessed in order that Gods way may be known upon earth. Now, you see that the psalmist uses a figure which is familiar to all Old Testament writers--the figure of a man as a traveller, a wayfarer, a pilgrim; a traveller, as John Bunyan has put it, from the City of Destruction to the City Celestial. Or, if you like to put the same truth in a rather different form, let us say man is a traveller whose goal is happiness and peace, and there is a certain way along which he must travel if he is ever to reach that goal, if life is to be ever happy and peaceful in its course and triumphant at its end. Enoch walked with God--that is the way. He is the only successful traveller who walks with God. When the psalmist looks around him he sees multitudes of people out of the way. Like sheep they have gone astray, they have turned every one to his own way. That means misery, wretchedness, despair. Gods way is the only right way. There has been no other way discovered. But as I look out upon the world to-day I see millions of people out of the way, turning every one to his own way and reaping misery and unrest as the result. Now, did you never feel any desire to bring these wandering people back? He has blessed us just in order that His way may be known upon earth. And the second figure the psalmist uses is this--Gods saving health. Thy saving health among all nations. And if the first figure of the way suggests a lost and wandering world, this figure of saving health suggests a sick world. Here is the world from the Bible standpoint--The whole head is sick, the whole heart is faint; from the sole of the foot to the crown of the head there is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and festering sores. And it is not the Bible only that says it. Modern literature says it in equally plain and emphatic terms. Listen to this from Thomas Hardy: Did you say that the stars were worlds, Tess?. . . Yes. All like ours? I dont know, but I think so. They sometimes seem to me like apples on our tree, most of them splendid and sound, but a few blighted. Which do we live on, Tess?. . . A blighted one. A sick world, that is what the Bible says, that is what literature says, that is what experience says. And this is how Gods salvation comes to us--it comes as saving health. Gods purpose is wholeness for every man. Gods end for you and me is to make us morally sound. Gods salvation restores unto perfect soundness and complete health. Life becomes absolutely normal. It is saving health. The evangelist Matthew emphasizes the healing work of Christ again and again. He healed all manner of diseases and all manner of sicknesses. But it was not bodily sickness alone that Christ healed. He healed the broken and the sick soul. To the sick of the palsy He said, Thy sins are forgiven thee. It is for the Christian Church still to make Gods saving health known among all nations. Wherever the missionary goes you find a hospital. Jesus can give what no doctor can give--He can give healing to the soul. There are people who preach in these days a religion of healthy-mindedness. They tell us to ignore sin and evil and death. But sin and evil and death are here. They will not be ignored. An ostrich policy of that kind does not get rid of these things. The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin. He that believeth on Me shall never die. Well, ought we not to get the good news about Gods saving health known amongst all nailers? The world to-day is full of sick souls. India, China, Africa, are full of men and women burdened and troubled and oppressed with sin, haunted by the fear of death. Ought we not to tell them to come to Jesus Christ? Pass on the good news. Do you not think that we ought to tell every stricken soul about Him who is able to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease? Now, I lay the case of these sick souls upon your consciences--blighted by sin, and you and I know about the blood that can cleanse from it; all their lifetime in bondage through fear of death, and you and I know who can give them the victory over it. I lay the ease upon your consciences. God has blessed us and caused His face to shine upon us and been gracious unto us simply in order that His way might be known upon earth and His saving health among all nations. May He help us to spread the news, that we may share thus in the icy of the Cross that makes Christs kingdom come. (J. D. Jones, M. A.)
A universal new years prayer
I. That fresh supplies of Divine goodness are constantly needed by man. God be merciful unto us, etc. The benediction which the Almighty Himself put of old into the mouth of the high priest, to be pronounced on Israel, is the spirit and model of these words (Num_6:24-26). Hence our text is Divine, and may be used with reverent and unbounded confidence. It invokes fresh communications of His love. Bless us. Has not God always blessed us, through the whole of our life? Verily. Still we need a continuation. A rest in the flow of His beneficence would be our ruin, would terminate our being in black extinction. The words invoke also a fresh assurance of His love. Cause His face to shine upon us. The face is the symbol of the soul and the expression of its deepest things. Hence the meaning of the prayer is, Assure us of Thy love. This conscious dependence of the soul upon God is the very essence of religion.
II. That the universal diffusion of Divine knowledge is of paramount importance to man. That Thy way may be known, etc. What are the things relating to God, a knowledge of which is so devoutly sought for the race?
1. His general method of action. Thy way. God has a method by which He gives His harvests: the farmer must practically recognize and follow it, if he would have his labour rewarded by abundant crops. God has a method by which He restores exhausted energies and impaired health; the physician must follow that method, if he would succeed in his profession. God has a method by which He imparts knowledge to mankind; the inquirer must follow it, if he would obtain intelligence and wisdom. And He has a method by which fallen souls may be redeemed; and this method must be followed before salvation can be reached.
2. His special method of salvation. Thy saving health among all nations. God has a method of moral restoration. He has salvation, He has health for the diseased, liberty for the captive, knowledge for the ignorant, pardon for the guilty, and immortality for the dying. And He has a method for imparting this salvation. What is that? (Joh_6:40).
III. That Gods connection with the world is the great hope of man (Psa_67:4).
1. God judges the nations righteously.
2. God leads the nations on. And govern the nations upon earth. Margin, lead. God does not drive men, but leads them. He leads them, as a commander does his army, against the mighty hosts of evil principles, institutions, and habits.
IV. That spiritual excellence is conducive to the temporal interests of man. Then shall the earth yield her increase. The language implies that it is when all the people praise God, that all the people shall have temporal plenty, that the earth shall yield her increase. It is not difficult to see how spiritual excellence is conducive to temporal prosperity. Let the people be industrious, then they will put forth those efforts by which worldly good is generally obtained. Let them be temperate and economical, then self-indulgence and extravagance, which are the prolific sources of poverty, will cease.
V. That true worship comprehends the supreme good of man. The whole psalm implies this. (Homilist.)
That Thy way may be known upon earth, Thy saving health among all nations.
The missionary prayer
I. The right moral condition of the Church is of supreme importance.
II. The Church being morally right, She is to be the medium of making known the supreme knowledge to others. The vital possession of this knowledge gives existence to the supreme joy.
1. The joy of Divine satisfaction.
2. The joy of a Hew experience.
3. The joy of melody and praise.
What a change this knowledge produces! It turns night into morning, sadness into songs. Being the supreme knowledge, it creates the supreme joy.
IV. The prevalence of this knowledge, and the presentation of this praise, will ensure a golden harvest of prosperity. (J. O. Keen, D. D.)
Our duties in regard to missions
I. Think of the great things that God has done for us, and survey our present condition.
1. The duty of a Christian congregation to aid in sending the Gospel to Jews and heathen is not a matter of indifference or choice; it is essentially and inseparably, as it were, a part of our existence.
2. The graces of the Spirit cannot remain inactive within us. If we have love, it shows itself in the Saviours cause.
3. It is by His Church that His Church will be completed.
4. As the Lord has appointed His Church as the channel to supply the waters of grace, so He has honoured those churches and congregations especially who have been the most forward to fulfil their office; for the congregation that scattereth is that which increaseth; and they that water shall be watered also themselves.
II. The best method of fulfilling our duty in this matter.
1. Let us endeavour to have it wrought into our minds as a Christian principle, as a part of our Christianity, as a matter of course, to be concerned and interested in promoting the Redeemers glory by the extension of His Kingdom.
2. That this missionary spirit may be maintained and duly directed among us, I would counsel you to make yourselves acquainted with the progress of the Gospel in the world.
3. Seek to feel more deeply the conviction that that which lies nearest to the Saviours heart is, that the Father may be glorified in the conversion of sinners, and the building up of His Church.
4. Watch for opportunities of serving in His cause. (John Tucker, B. D.)
The extension of the Word of God abroad, intimately connected with its revival at home
I. That Gods way is not at present known in all the earth, nor His saving health among all nations.
II. That it is Gods will that His way should be known in all the earth, and His saving health among all nations. This is demonstrable--
1. From all those passages of Scripture which teach that all nations are to be blest in Christ.
2. From our Lords commission to His apostles.
3. From our Lords parables of the mustard seed and the leaven.
III. That this will be accomplished by human instrumentality.
IV. that the direct instruments to be employed in making Gods way known in all the earth are His own people. Other instruments are frequently employed as their harbingers. Such are war and commerce. These remove obstructions, level mountains, fill valleys, drain marshes, and build bridges. They have been the precursors of the Gospel in many places, particularly in the East. But the direct instruments of making the way of the Lord known, are His own people.
1. By an enlightened, pious, and zealous ministry.
2. By the consistent piety of Christs people.
3. By their individual and united exertions to promote the cause of Christ.
Conclusion.
1. If piety be necessary to usefulness, let us pray for an increase of it in ourselves and others.
2. If many of our own countrymen are yet strangers to Gods way, let us labour to instruct them.
3. If hundreds of millions in other lands are perishing for lack of knowledge, let us cheerfully contribute our mite to the support of pious missionaries, and pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth more labourers into the harvest. (Outlines of Four Hundred Sermons.)
The Churchs missionary psalm
Whatever other thoughts there may be in this comprehensive prayer, we cannot be mistaken in regarding the following as standing prominent among the blessings which it implores--the continued enjoyment of Gods forgiveness and friendship, and especially the increased experience of His love in quickened graces and enlarged spiritual strength; that the spring of His Church might ripen into summer; that the dawn might brighten into the perfect day; that, having life already, His people might have it more abundantly; and all this the effect of mercy, free and unforced, far-reaching-as the firmament, and fathomless as the sea.
I. There is a prayer for the revival of the Church.
II. There is a prayer for the increase of the Church.
III. The connection between the revived life of the Church and its beneficent influence upon the world is indicated in the words, That Thy way may be known upon earth, Thy saving health among all nations.
1. Such Church will be most secure against error and unbelief.
2. Will be most chosen of God to extend His Kingdom.
3. In such Church there will be a spirit of dependence leading to abounding prayer; great moral power; much brotherly love, and a spirit of unreserved consecration. Seek, then, above all else the Spirit of God. (Andrew Thomson, D. D.)
A plea for missions
I. We may regard these words as the prayer of British churches in reference to themselves. The text involves--
1. The avowal of conscious unworthiness. It is the prayer of the publican, God be merciful unto us, sinners.
2. The acknowledgment of dependence on God for His blessing.
3. The desire of unusual and extraordinary manifestations of Divine grace and favour.
II. The avowed faith of British churches in reference to the world. That Thy way may be known upon earth, Thy saving health among all nations. We may regard this part of our text in a threefold light: as the language of prayer; as the subject of prophetic anticipation; and as the recognition of a system of legitimate means.
1. True revival will remove many obstacles which now impede the way. By the augmentation of Christian principles it will prove the death-blow of party zeal, in all its subtle or more revealed forms.
2. It will purify all the passions of our nature. It will be the destruction of everything worldly in principle, of everything unholy in affection.
3. And will multiply agents also for the conversion of the world. (J. Morison, D. D.)
Conditions of spiritual growth
One of the most striking characteristics of the religion of the Bible is its universality. It is designed to, and does, meet the wants of all.
I. True religion is expansive both in its nature and effects. The highest form of life is exhibited in the most complex organization. In lower types we find that comparative simplicity of structure is sufficient to maintain and manifest vitality. But when we come to man, and examine the human organism, we see the highest type of life on earth. And so in the history of civilization. In the rude ages of the past little organization was needed. But how different now. The human life of man only reaches its perfect type when men are bound together with strong ties of mutual interest and dependence, sympathy and love. And so the true spiritual life of the soul seeks its growth by spreading its life-inspiring influence in every direction; by working in every possible way for the good of others, and by striving to bring the whole race into the brotherhood of the Kingdom of God.
II. In seeking Gods grace and blessing for ourselves, we shall have regard to the influence to be exerted for the glory of God and the welfare of men. We are mindful of these high motives when we are seeking to stimulate others and ourselves in preaching and teaching the Gospel, but we are not so when we pray for blessings upon ourselves.
III. All effective work for God must be the development of spiritual life and progress in our own souls. Christian life, like the light, radiates from a centre, and the brighter the light the farther its rays extend in every direction. Have, then, life in your souls. (Harvey Phillips, B. A.)
The conversion of the world
I. The principles that pervade this beautiful prayer.
1. Humility-here is no claim for justice, no word of merit, but a cry for mercy.
2. Patriotism. It is a prayer by Jews for Jews. And we may take the words for ourselves.
3. Mercy, regard for others.
4. Piety.
II. The object of this prayer--the conversion of the world. The world for Christ. This is what we are bidden seek, and for which provision has been made. There must be room for the world in your hearts, your prayers, your purses. Sink not down into a littleness which belongs not to the missionary enterprise. But for the unfaithfulness of the Church the world would have been converted ere now.
III. The means by which this object is to be accomplished. This country must be blessed in order that it may bless the world; our Churches must be blessed, in order that they may bless the country; we ministers must be blessed, in order that we may be a blessing to the Churches (J. A. James.)
Saving health
1. Our Lord graciously purposes for each of His children perfect health. He would have every power and faculty in our being working in holy vigour. Our health is our only safety.
(1) To be in any way sickly or weak is to offer welcome hospitality to the evil one. He seeks out our weak points, and at the undefended place he makes his entrance. Fulness of health is fulness of resistance. The healthy soul by its very vigour is fortified against the invasions of evil and night. Indifferent spiritual health is exposed to incessant peril. The city of Corinth abounded in evil. Epidemics of worldliness and vice pervaded every grade of social life. The Christian needed to be in perfect health if he were not to be smitten by the ill contagion. Men of weakly wills and indifferent consciences and lukewarm affections fell before the invader, and became the victims of the prevalent vanity or lust. And you will remember that the Apostle Paul, looking at the little Corinthian Church, was filled with anxiety concerning some of its members. Some are sickly! He felt that their silliness was a friendly condition to the worldliness that besieged the gates of the Church. Their weakness exposed them to its attacks. Now, the Lord purposes that we should be in perfect health. He yearns to destroy our easy susceptibility to sin, and to place the whole bias of our life in the direction of holiness. When all our powers are perfectly healthy, our very health will be our resistance to the encroachments of the devil.
(2) But spiritual health is more than self-protective; it is contagious. Common thought and common speech have made us familiar with the contagion of vice. I wish that we were equally familiar with the conception of the contagion of virtue. An evil effluence proceeds from the life of the sin-possessed; an invigorating and purifying effluence proceeds from the life of the sanctified. Out of Him shall flow rivers of living water. We impress and influence one another not only by what we say and what we do, but even more deeply still by what we are. Our presence itself is vitalizing if we are possessed by vigorous moral and spiritual health. In the home, in the workshop, in society, in the place of worship, our presence counts for something, counts for much, and virtue is going out of us as a river of operative energy in all the many relationships of our varied life. Our health is not only self-protective, it acts as a saving ministry in the lives of others.
(3) But spiritual health is not only self-protective and contagious, it is actively aggressive. Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him. The God-possessed exercise a repressive influence over the vices and passions of men. Everybody knows that we can create conditions that incite another mans temper and lust, and we can create conditions by which these fires and cravings can be suppressed and destroyed. Our medical men sometimes provide medicated atmospheres to help to heal the ailments of their patients. They can soften and moisten the air, and so give comfort to the struggling and help to regain them to health. The Christian man supplies a medicated atmosphere to his brother. His very presence helps in the creation of conditions which are unfavourable to vice and friendly to virtue.
2. As for the secret of this saving health, it is to be found in the first verse of this psalm. The psalmist is a suppliant; he is kneeling in the presence chamber of the King. God be merciful unto us, and bless us! He is pleading with the good Lord to stoop in pity, and to lay upon him the forgiving and liberating hand. Cause Thy face to shine upon us! But that means that the suppliants face is turned towards the face of the Maker! We are renewed into the same image. Our countenances catch the light and life that we contemplate. He is the health of my countenance. We become possessed of the saving health of God. (J. H. Jowett, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible1887 · Public DomainOn v1Psalms 67
Psalms 67
THIS little psalm condenses the dominant thought of the two preceding into a series of aspirations after Israels blessing, and the consequent diffusion of the knowledge of Gods way among all lands. Like Psalms 65, it sees in abundant harvests a type and witness of Gods kindness. But, whereas in Psalms 65 the fields were covered with corn, here the increase has been gathered in. The two psalms may or may not be connected in date of composition as closely as these two stages of one harvest time.
Read full note →
The structure of the psalm has been variously conceived. Clearly the Selahs do not guide as to divisions in the flow of thought. But it may be noted that the seven verses in the psalm have each two clauses, with the exception of the middle one (Psa_67:4), which has three. Its place and its abnormal length mark it as the core, round which, as it were, the whole is built up. Further, it is as if encased in two verses (Psa_67:3, Psa_67:5), which, in their four clauses, are a fourfold repetition of a single aspiration. These three verses are the heart of the psalm-the desire that all the earth may praise God, whose providence blesses it all. They are again enclosed in two strophes of two verses each (Psa_67:1-2 and Psa_67:6-7), which, like the closer wrapping round the core, are substantially parallel and, unlike it, regard Gods manifestation to Israel as His great witness to the world. Thus, working outwards from the central verse, we have symmetry of structure, and intelligible progress and distinctness of thought.
Another point of difficulty is the rendering of the series of verbs in the psalm. Commentators are unanimous in taking those of Psa_67:1 as expressions of desire; but they bewilderingly diverge in their treatment of the following ones. Details of the divergent interpretations, or discussions of their reasons, cannot be entered on here. It may be sufficient to say that the adherence throughout to the optative rendering, admitted by all in Psa_67:1, gives a consistent colouring to the whole. It is arbitrary to vary the renderings in so short a psalm. But, as is often the case, the aspirations are so sure of their correspondence with the Divine purpose that they tremble on the verge of being prophecies, as, indeed, all wishes that go out along the line of Gods "way" are. Every deep, God-inspired longing whispers to its utterer assurance that so it shall be; and therefore such desires have ever in them an element of fruition, and know nothing of the pain of earthly wishes. They who stretch out empty hands to God never "gather dust and chaff."
The priestly blessing {Num_6:24-26} moulds Psa_67:1, but with the substitution of God for Jehovah, and of "among us" for "upon us." The latter variation gives an impression of closer contact of men with the lustre of that Divine Light, and of yet greater condescension in God. The souls longing is not satisfied by even the fullest beams of a Light that is fixed on high; it dares to wish. for the stooping of the Sun to dwell among its. The singer speaks in the name of the nation; and, by using the priestly formula, claims for the whole people the sacerdotal dignity which belonged to it by its original constitution. He gives that idea its widest extension, Israel is the worlds high priest, lifting up intercessions and holy hands of benediction for mankind. What self-effacement, and what profound insight into and sympathy with the mind of God breathe in that collocation of desires, in which the gracious lustre of Gods face shining on us is longed for, chiefly that thence it may be reflected into the dark places of earth, to gladden sad and seeking eyes! This psalmist did not know in how true a sense the Light would come to dwell among men of Israels race, and thence to flood the world; but his yearning is a foreshadowing of the spirit of Christianity, which forbids self-regarding monopoly of its blessings. If a man is "light in the Lord," he cannot but shine. "God hath shined into our hearts, that we may give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God." A Church illuminated with a manifestly Divine light is the best witness for God. Eyes which cannot look on the Sun may gaze at the clouds, which tone down its colourless radiance into purple and gold.
The central core of the psalm may either be taken as summons to the nations or as expression of desire for them. The depth of the longing or the stringency of the summons is wonderfully given by that fourfold repetition of the same words in Psa_67:3 and Psa_67:5, with the emphatic "all of them" in the second clause of each. Not less significant is the use of three names for the aggregations of men-nations (Psa_67:2), peoples, and tribes. All are included, whatever bond knits them in communities, whatever their societies call themselves, however many they are. The very vagueness gives sublimity and universality. We can fill the vast outline drawn by these sweeping strokes; and wider knowledge should not be attended with narrowed desires, nor feebler confidence that the Light shall lighten every land. It is noticeable that in this central portion the deeds of God among the nations are set forth as the ground of their praise and joy in Him. Israel had the light of His face, and that would draw men to Him. But all peoples have the strength of His arm to be their defender, and the guidance of His hand by providences and in other ways unrecognised by them. The "judgments" here contemplated are, of course, not retribution for evil, but the aggregate of dealings by which God shows His sovereignty in all the earth. The psalmist does not believe that Gods goodness has been confined to Israel, nor that the rest of the world has been left orphaned. He agrees with Paul, "That which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God manifested it to them."
The final strophe (Psa_67:6-7) is substantially a repetition of Psa_67:1-2, with the addition that a past fact is laid as the foundation of the desires or hopes of future blessings. "The earth has yielded her increase." This may show that the psalm is a harvest hymn, but it does not necessarily imply this. The thought may have been born at any time. The singer takes the plain fact that, year by year, by mysterious quickening which he recognises as of God, the fertile earth "causes the things sown in it to bring forth and bud," as an evidence of Divine care and kindliness, which warrants the desire and the confidence that all blessings will be given. It seems a large inference from such a premise; but it is legitimate for those who recognise God as working in nature, and have eyes to read the parables amid which we live. The psalmist reminds God of His own acts, and further, of His own name, and builds on these his petitions and his faith. Because He is "our God" He will bless us; and since the earth has, by His gift, "yielded her increase," He will give the better food which souls need. This the singer desires, not only because he and his brethren need it, but because a happy people are the best witnesses for a good King, and worshippers "satisfied with favour and full of the blessing of the Lord" proclaim most persuasively, "Taste, and see that God is good." This psalm is a truly missionary psalm, in its clear anticipation of the universal spread of the knowledge of God, in its firm grasp of the thought that the Church has its blessings in order to the evangelisation of the world, and in its intensity of longing that from all the ends of the earth a shout of praise may go up to the God who has sent some rays of His light into them all, and committed to His people the task of carrying a brighter illumination to every land.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary1892 · Public DomainOn v1Superscription. “To the chief Musician:” see Introduction to Psalms…
INTRODUCTION
Superscription. “To the chief Musician:” see Introduction to Psalms 57. “On Neginoth:” see Introduction to Psalms 54. “A Song or Psalm:” see Introduction to Psalms 48.
Read full note →
Neither the author of the psalm nor the occasion of its composition are known unto us.
The chief feature of the psalm is the intense desire of the Psalmist (who wrote the psalm for the Temple service) for the universal worship of God. This is quite clear from the repetition of Psa_67:3. Twice in this brief poem he exclaims, “Let the people praise Thee, O God; let all the people praise Thee.”
Homiletically, we regard the psalm as setting forth—
THE MISSIONARY PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
Consider—
I. The great object of the missionary prayer of the Church. In this psalm, the Church seeks,
1. That God may be known by all men.
(1.) As to His way. “That Thy way may be known upon earth.” The way of God is His procedure towards mankind; “the principles and methods of the Divine administration; the way in which God rules mankind, and in which He bestows His blessings on men.” It seems to us that to understand this way aright we must view it as comprising two aspects: the way of the Divine requirement, or what He demands from men; and the way of the Divine treatment, or what He does for men.
(2.) As to His salvation. “Thy saving health among all nations.” Instead of “saving health,” we should read, salvation. The Church prays that the Divine salvation may be known by all peoples—that all peoples may experience it. The heart that knows the blessedness of personal religion will seek to extend that experience to others. There is a vital connection between these two branches of knowledge. “If God make known His way to us, and we walk in it, He will show us His saving health.” In the way of Divine requirement and the way of Divine treatment, in God’s grace and his own obedience to God, man finds salvation.
2. That God may be worshipped by all men. “Let the people praise Thee, O God; let all the people praise Thee. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy.” We have here
(1.) Worship in its object. “Let the people praise Thee, O God.” It is natural and right that the kindest Being should be regarded with gratitude, the best Being with reverence. Both on account of what He is and of what He does, God should be praised. He is the only true object of worship.
(2.) Worship in its character. “O let the nations be glad and sing for joy.” The worship of God should be joyous. Its fitting expressions are songs, not groans; declarations of confidence, not the murmurs of discontent.
(3.) Worship in its extent. “Let all the people praise Thee. O let the nations,” &c. It is a prayer that all the Gentiles may be brought to know and worship the Lord God. (See on Psa_66:4.) Let us clearly and firmly apprehend the universality of the aim of this prayer. How grand this aim! A saved world joyously worshipping the one living and true God!
II. The means by which the attainment of this object is sought. These means are various; but that which is brought into prominence here is Prayer for the gracious presence of God with His Church. “God be merciful unto us, and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us.” Margin: “With us.” Moll: “ ‘Among us.’ The expression among or with us does not indicate the nearness of the help but the accompanying, or better, the guiding presence of God.” There is a manifest reference to the benediction of the High Priest (Num_6:24-26). To cause the face to shine upon any one is to look upon him with favour. It is a beautiful representation of the Divine approval and blessing. This blessing is sought as a favour, not demanded as a right. The Divine mercy, and not their own merit, is the ground on which their petition is urged. “God be merciful unto us.” How profound is the philosophy of this prayer! Superficially the idea is: Bless us with guidance, with prosperity, with outward and visible tokens of Thy blessing, so that the heathen, in the hope of sharing in these favours, may be led to acknowledge Thee. But there is a deeper and more spiritual idea here: when the Church is richly filled with the presence and blessing of her Divine Lord, men will numerously and eagerly seek to know the way and salvation of God. A living, active, holy Church would speedily result in the conversion of the world to God. What the Church most pressingly needs for the accomplishment of her great work is not more numerous agencies, not new methods of evangelisation, not increase of material wealth, but a deeper and more abiding realisation of the presence and blessing of God in her midst. Our successes in missionary enterprise, both at home and abroad, are comparatively few and small because we are spiritually feeble; we are spiritually feeble because our realisation of the presence of God with us is so fluctuating and faint; and our realisation of the presence of God with us is faint and fluctuating because we have not sought it with earnest purpose and strong faith. “These,” says Guenther, “are the true prophets and teachers, upon whose countenance the glance of the Divine light still remains.” When that light shines clearly upon the countenances of the members of the Christian Church, the day will not be far distant when “all the people” shall praise God.
III. The confidence in which this prayer is offered. Here are two things—
1. The confidence expressed. “God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.” The poet expresses the assurance that the object prayed for would be granted; that God would bless His own people, and that so the world would be won to Him in joyous worship.
2. The basis of this confidence. This is twofold.
(1) The relation of God to men, and His work for men. “Thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth.” God appears here as the righteous Sovereign of men. The great principles of the Divine government as seen in the history of the world are so righteous and gracious that the heathen will joyously give Him their allegiance. He also appears here as the gracious Leader of men. Margin: “And lead the nations” Hengstenberg: “And guidest.” Perowne: “The verb is the same as in Psa_23:3, God being the great Shepherd of all nations.” He guides in paths of safety, prosperity, peace, and life. His government and guidance are powerful incentives to trust and worship Him.
(2) The blessing bestowed upon the Church. The Hebrew verb in the first clause of Psa_67:6 is in the past tense. Conant: “The earth hath yielded her increase.” Hengstenberg: “The land gave its increase.” There is an obvious reference to a recent harvest. Calvin expresses what we hold as the meaning and bearing of the clause: “As often as God adorned that ancient people with His benefits, He, at the same time, shone upon the whole world with a burning torch, so as to allure the heathen to seek Him.” His blessings to His Church encourage and strengthen faith in the progress, and ultimately the complete triumph of His cause and kingdom. (For additional grounds of confidence see on Psa_66:4.)
CONCLUSION.—The subject presents to us a word of—
1. Encouragement. How glorious is the prospect!
2. Instruction. How wise are the means for realising it!
3. Exhortation. Let us diligently use these means. “God be merciful unto us,” &c.
GOD REALISED BY HIS PEOPLE
(Psa_67:6.)
“Our own God shall bless us.”
The heathen nations had their numerous gods,—gods for every phase of nature, for all seasons, and for all events. But these gods were senseless idols, puerile, contemptible, and valueless; so also were all those who trusted in them. (See Psalms 115.) But Jehovah was the God of Israel, and as such the object of their faith and hope. In Him they trusted, to Him gave homage, and in Him exulted, as in the text.
Observe—
I. The Divine Being, in the text—“GOD.” This Being was unknown to the heathen, but He revealed Himself to the holy patriarchs, and especially to Abraham and Moses. Our God,
1. Is a Spirit, not material. Angels are in a secondary sense spirits; but it is obvious that they have ethereal vestments, and can manifest themselves, and be seen by men; but not so God (Joh_4:24; 2Co_3:17; Col_1:15; Heb_11:27).
2. Self-existent. He, the Creator, has no maker; from Himself and in Himself,—absolutely underived; before all things (Deu_4:35; Isa_44:6).
3. Eternal. From eternity to eternity,—God. No beginning, nor capable of any end of His existence (Isa_57:15; Rom_1:20).
4. Unchangeable; or, He would not be absolutely perfect. “The same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever.” So in His essence, attributes, and purposes; of one eternal, unalterable mind (Mal_3:6; Jas_1:17).
5. Omnipotent,—of unlimited energy. Able to do all things worthy of His effectuating (Gen_17:1; Rev_19:6).
6. Omniscient,—knowing all things accurately, distinctly, infallibly. And, with these His natural attributes, possessing every moral perfection—wisdom, holiness, goodness, truth, mercy, love. Such is the Divine Being exhibited in the text.
II. His relationship to us. “Our own God.” Not merely the God of the universe, the only God, the God of the seraphim and the holy angels, but “our God.” The God—
1. Of our being. Our Maker, Father, source of existence (Gen_2:7; Job_33:4; Psa_139:14; Isa_57:6).
2. Our good Benefactor. Fountain of all goodness, the Giver of every good and perfect gift (Exo_34:6; 1Ch_16:34; Psa_33:5).
3. Our Divine Lord and Ruler. To whom we are subject, and owe all loyal obedience, and worship, and love (2Ki_19:15; 2Ch_20:6; Psa_95:3).
4. Our covenant God, who remembered us in our low estate, and in infinite condescension and mercy entered into gracious covenant relationship with His Son for our redemption and restoration to holiness and eternal life (2Sa_23:5; Jer_31:31; Heb_8:8).
5. Our gracious God, who has called us and adopted us into His Divine and heavenly family.
6. The God of our profession and worship. Ours by obedience to His call, and faith in His name, and avowal of delight in His service.
7. Our God for ever and ever,—in close, unbroken fellowship, and eternal oneness and joy. God is ours consciously by the indwelling of His Spirit, and by our union with His only begotten Son Jesus Christ.
III. The blessed assurance of this relationship,—“shall bless us.”
1. With all the good we need.
2. With the evident tokens of His favour. His Spirit, His presence, communion, &c.
3. With the rich treasures of His grace.
4. With eternal life and glory.
A few words in conclusion—
1. These blessings are of His sovereign bestowment.
2. Are laid up for us in His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom all fulness dwells.
3. Are realised by us as we ask and believe.
4. Are absolutely certain, as based on His own immutable word, ratified by His solemn oath and sealed with the precious blood of the Lord Jesus.
5. And are experienced by all His saints in the dispensation of His grace and love.
Yes; “God, our own God will bless us.” Grateful acknowledgment and entire consecration are His right and due. To our God be glory evermore.—Jabes Burns, D.D.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible1900 · Public DomainOn v1Time begins and time ends with praise; and though…
Psa 67:3
Time begins and time ends with praise; and though during its course there may seem to be many an interval of dreary silence, yet God never wants praise. He inhabiteth the praises of eternity, and even here on earth praise waiteth for Him among His people. The whole of the course of God’s saints is full of praise.
Read full note →
I. And is there not ample reason? What though sin seem to have marred the Creator’s glorious work? Is it not a glorious work still? The heavens, with all their wonders of brightness, glorify Him; the earth, with her ten thousand processes of life and organisation, is full of His power, and wisdom, and love; and man is the noblest proof of all these combined. If God’s ordinary and creation mercies should warm our hearts and find utterance of praise from our lips, how should those hearts glow with fire, and those lips burst forth in songs of joy, when we remember that all our choicest blessings are not His ordinary creation gifts, but special bestowals of undeserved mercy and inconceivable love.
II. "Let all the people praise Thee." What though to some be denied the gift of praising Him with the lips? There is a more abiding and a worthier praise than this. A thousand secret strains of melody are uttered in His ear by the consistency and devotion of holy lives, more grateful than all the offerings of the voice; and these praises all can sing.
III. "Let all the people praise Thee," not only in the church, nor on the Lord’s Day only, but through all the vicissitudes of daily life. Some in their families; others in the mean and humble dwellings of the poor; others, again, in the busy haunts of commerce and amidst the crowding and crushing of the selfish world—these all may praise Him, these and many more. Remember His own solemn words, think of them in the light of Christ’s redemption, and ponder them at the foot of His Cross, "Whoso offereth praise, he honoureth Me; and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God."
H. Alford, Quebec Chapel Sermons, vol. i., p. 334.
Reference: Psa 67:4.—Jones, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxx., p. 37.
Psa 67:6
A Psalm like this should have corrected one of the most dangerous errors of which the Jewish people were guilty. They were inordinately proud of the high distinctions which God had conferred upon them, and regarded all other men as common and unclean. In this Psalm Jewish narrowness gives place to the broadest and most generous humanity. The Psalmist passes across all intervening generations, and stands by the side of Christian Apostles, glows with the same fervour, burns with the same universal charity, exults with them in the bright vision of a regenerated and sanctified world. The general impression produced both by the Jewish and Christian Scriptures seems to me to be that in this very world, which has been made desolate by the crimes of men and by the judgments of God, truth and righteousness are to win a secure and universal victory; and we are to see how bright and blessed a thing a man’s life may be made before this mortal puts on immortality, and this corruptible incorruption. "The earth shall yield her increase."
I. When all the people praise God, we may expect a condition of universal and unexampled material prosperity. The providence of God has so ordered it that the great discoveries and inventions which are now giving to man an authority over the material world all seem to originate within the limits of Christendom, and to be intended to augment the riches and power of Christian nations. We have not yet penetrated into all the secrets of nature; as the world advances in morality and religion, so that it can be safely trusted with the control and direction of still more gigantic powers than we can now command, He from whom cometh every good and perfect gift will inspire with brightest genius the men whom He shall choose to make the more wonderful discoveries He has reserved for the future.
II. The universal triumph of the Christian faith will powerfully affect the intellectual condition of our race. The religion of Christ is an intellectual as well as a spiritual discipline. Its great facts and truths exalt and invigorate every faculty of the human mind, as well as purify the affections of the soul.
III. When the rich and the poor alike shall be educated, industrious, and upright; when every throne shall be established in righteousness, and all laws shall be just, the political and social condition of mankind will pass into a far higher and more perfect form than the world has ever witnessed yet. Separate the morals of Christianity from the Divine energies with which through nineteen centuries they have been associated, they become powerless abstractions; let them remain in living unity with the history of "God manifest in the flesh" and the perpetual presence of the Holy Ghost in the world, they will not only secure the victory of justice, purity, and generosity in individual souls, but will regenerate the laws of States, the constitution of society, and the whole temporal life of mankind.
R. W. Dale, Discourses on Special Occasions, p. 215.
References: Psa 67:6.—C. J. Vaughan, Memorials of Harrow Sundays, p. 127; Spurgeon, Morning by Morning, p. 118. Psa 67:6, Psa 67:7.—Ibid., Sermons, vol. xiv., No. 819. Psa 67:7.—Congregationalist, vol. vii., p. 406. Psa 68:4.—G. W. McCree, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xvi., p. 74.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
F. W. Grant1903 · Public DomainOn v1Complete blessing and rest.
Complete blessing and rest.
To the chief musician on stringed instruments. A psalm-song.
Read full note →
The sixty-seventh psalm is a bright and beautiful seventh: the number being emphasized as that of the verses also, of which the central one again, by its three lines instead of two, is marked out as the hinge upon which all turns, which is the reign of God upon earth. The grace of God flows through Israel, as the channel of it to the nations; they being the living example of it before the eyes of all. This the first two verses show: "God be gracious unto us" -His people Israel -"make His face to shine upon us, that Thy way may be known upon earth, Thy salvation among all nations." There follows the prediction of praise from all the earth: "Peoples shall praise Thee, O God: all the peoples shall praise Thee." And then we have the subject-matter of their praise, the joyfulness of what it is, freed from the misery of self-will and from the wills of others, to serve God and be subject to Him.
This is true blessedness at any time. How strange that it should take so long to learn it; yea, that the world should have at last to be brought by judgment into subjection! But it is the proof which all history gives of the reality of the fall. Simple it is, that creature-blessedness is found just in being creatures, -in letting God be God. "Thou shalt judge the peoples righteously, and lead the races upon earth." How necessarily that last expression fixes our thoughts upon Shepherd care, and upon the good Shepherd," in whose hands the sceptre is.
The next two verses are a good example of the fullness of meaning which the numerical structure brings out of the text. The fifth verse is but an exact repetition of the third, and its character as a third is evident. Praise belongs to the sanctuary; and in this verse there is nothing but praise. Yet precisely the same words come before us now as a fifth, and no possible division of the psalm could make both verses thirds. A fifth is most akin, by reason of its fundamental suggestion of "man with God"; and this can only be aright when God becomes enthroned in the heart, the object of his praise. Thus the fifth verse indicates that Immanuel ("God with us") has become the real characteristic of the new condition of humanity, although this is only beginning and not perfected, in the millennium itself. But it is no longer to take a people out of the Gentiles that God is working, but to produce that condition which the new earth will see accomplished, when "the tabernacle of God shall be with men."
The sixth verse, as such, speaks of the limitation and control of evil; and evil may be, as we know, either moral or physical. The last is also a check upon the first -a means of restraint, of which we all are conscious. Now the previous verse has shown us, in the winning of man’s heart to God, the power which has come in to bring about the eradication of physical evil. This therefore is now passing away: the earth is yielding her increase; the curse is removed from the ground; -the blessing of God is operative in antagonism to it.
The last verse gives the general result summed up: God is blessing Israel; all the ends of the earth shall fear Him now!
F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible (4th ed., 1903) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow1909 · Public DomainOn v1This short and joyful Ps. is in the first…
This short and joyful Ps. is in the first place a harvest thanksgiving (Psa_67:6), perhaps at the Feast of Tabernacles. God's goodness to Israel reveals Him also to the nations (Psa_67:2), and calls forth their praise (Psa_67:3, Psa_67:5), their submission (Psa_67:4), and their worship (Psa_67:7). There is a symmetrical parallelism on either side of the middle verse, Psa_67:5 corresponding to Psa_67:3, and Psa_67:6-7 to Psa_67:1, Psa_67:2.
1. This v. is partly taken from the priestly benediction (Num_6:24), but with the change of 'the Lord'(Jehovah) into 'God' (Elohim).
Read full note →
2. Thy way] of dealing with men. Saving health] salvation.
3. People] RV'peoples.' S o in Psa_67:4, Psa_67:5.
4. Righteously] RV 'with equity.' Govern] RM'lead,' as H e led Israel.
6. RV 'The earth hath yielded her increase.'
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield1917 · Public DomainOn vv1, 7Neginoth, stringed instruments.
Neginoth
Neginoth, stringed instruments.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein1922 · Public DomainOn v1Psalm 67
Psalm 67
The Fullest Blessing
Read full note →
This brief Psalm does not permit any division. It is closely linked with the preceding one, telling us of the fullest blessings in store for Israel and the whole earth, when the new day has dawned and the King reigns. If this little Psalm in its prophetic message were understood it would end forever all postmillennial misconceptions as to the conversion of the world. Israel prays that the Lord may be gracious to them as He will in that coming day. As a result of Israel’s conversion by the coming of the Lord, His way will be known upon the earth and His salvation among the nations. Then the peoples will praise, and the nations will be glad and rejoice. The Lord will be King of nations (verse 4) and the earth yield her increase. Here is God’s way for the full blessing the earth and the race needs. Israel prays “God shall bless us” and as the result “all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.” But Israel’s blessing is inseparably connected with the return of our Lord. No blessing and restoration till He comes again.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann1924 · Public DomainOn v1A Psalm of Praise for the Conversion of the…
A Psalm of Praise for the Conversion of the Gentiles.
To the chief musician on Neginoth, to be rendered in public services with the accompaniment of stringed instruments, a psalm or song, the inspired author himself not being known.
Read full note →
v. 1. God be merciful unto us, looking upon the suppliants with grace and favor, and bless us, He, the only Giver of every good and every perfect gift, and cause His face to shine upon us, showing them the fullness of His favor, granting them His guiding presence, Num 6:25, Selah;
v. 2. that Thy way may be known upon earth, the manner in which the Lord conducted Himself, especially with regard to the salvation of His people, Thy saving health among all nations, that is, the salvation as revealed to men in the Word of the Gospel. The prayer of the psalmist is that God would find ways and means to spread the glorious news of salvation to all mankind, that the message of Christ, the Messiah, be made known among the Gentiles everywhere.
v. 3. Let the people, the nations throughout the earth, praise Thee, O God; let all the people praise Thee.
v. 4. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy, with an exultation caused by the glorious knowledge of salvation; for Thou shalt judge the people righteously, the judging in this case being done according to His merciful and mild rule, with reference to the righteousness of the Messiah, revealed in the Gospel and accepted by faith, and govern the nations upon earth, in His wonderful Kingdom of Grace. Selah.
v. 5. Let the people praise Thee, O God; let all the people praise Thee, having accepted Him as their Lord and Savior.
v. 6. Then shall the earth yield her increase, it has, in fact, brought forth its fruit, in the person of the Redeemer with the fullness of His salvation, communicated to men by His gracious rule; and God, even our own God, truly ours by virtue of the fact that we are His children by faith in Christ Jesus, shall bless us, with all wonderful spiritual blessings in heavenly places in our Savior.
v. 7. God shall bless us, and all the ends of the earth, all the inhabitants of the world, shall fear Him, regard Him with reverent awe as the mighty Author of salvation. It is a wonderful picture of missionary endeavor and success which is here drawn, full of encouragement and inspiration to all believers.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Parallelism is common in Hebrew poetry. (See: Poetry and Parallelism)
Read full note →
For the chief musician
"This is for the director of music to use in worship"
on stringed instruments
"people should play stringed instruments with this song"
cause his face to shine on us
The writer speaks of Yahweh acting favorably towards them as if Yahweh's face shone a light on them. AT: "act favorably towards us" (See: Metaphor)
your ways may be known on earth
This can be stated in active form. AT: "people may know your ways on earth" (See: Active or Passive)
your salvation among all nations
The writer desires for everyone to know that God has the power to save them. This can be made clear in the translation. AT: "and the people of all nations may know that you have the power to save them" (See: Ellipsis and Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
Tyndale Open Study Notes2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv1, 3, 4, 6Ps 67 In this anonymous prayer for God’s blessing,…
Ps 67 In this anonymous prayer for God’s blessing, the psalmist addresses the knowledge and worship of God among the nations (cp. 64:9; 65:8). The prayer requests that God’s name be kept holy and that his kingdom come (cp. Matt 6:9-13).
67:1-2 This prayer is based on the priestly blessing found in Num 6:24-26. God’s goodness to Israel affects his reputation among the nations (see Ps 96:1-3).
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 6 1 God be merciful unto us, and bless us…
1 God be merciful unto us, and bless us The psalm contains a prediction of Christ’s kingdom, under which the whole world was to be adopted into a privileged relationship with God; but the Psalmist begins by praying for the Divine blessing, particularly upon the Jews. They were the first-born, (Exodus 4:22,) and the blessing was to terminate upon them first, and then go out to all the surrounding nations. I have used the imperative mood throughout the psalm, as other translators have done, although the future tense, which is that employed in the Hebrew, would suit sufficiently well, and the passage might be understood as encouraging the minds of the Lord’s people to trust in the continuance and increase of the Divine favor. The words, however, are generally construed in the form of a prayer, and I merely threw out this as a suggestion. Speaking, as the Psalmist does, of those who belonged to the Church of God, and not of those who were without, it is noticeable that yet he traces all the blessings they received to God’s free favor; and from this we may learn, that so long as we are here, we owe our happiness, our success, and prosperity, entirely to the same cause. This being the case, how shall any think to anticipate his goodness by merits of their own? The light of God’s countenance may refer either to the sense of his love shed abroad in our hearts, or to the actual manifestation of it without, as, on the other hand, his face may be said to be clouded, when he strikes terrors into our conscience on account of our sins, or withdraws the outward marks of his favor.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4, 6, 7 That is, move our hearts with his holy Spirit,…
That is, move our hearts with his holy Spirit, that we may feel his favor towards us.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–7 Psa 67:1 « To the chief Musician on Neginoth,…
Psa 67:1 « To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm [or] Song. » God be merciful unto us, and bless us; [and] cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.
Ver. 1. God be merciful unto us] sc. In sending his Son, and calling his elect, both among Jews and Gentries, to the participation of that gift, Joh 4:10; that benefit, 1Ti 6:2.
Read full note →
And bless us] Specially with all spiritual blessings in heavenly things in Christ Jesus, Eph 1:3.
And cause his face to shine upon us] Giving us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, 2Co 4:6, who is the brightness (or glittering refulgency, απαυγασμα) of his Father’s glory and the express image of his person, Heb 1:3, the dayspring from on high, Luk 1:78, Sereno suo vultu nos irradiet (Beza). In this prayer the psalmist plainly alludeth to that blessing pronounced upon the people by the high priest, Num 6:23-27, and showeth that all cometh from Christ, the true Aaron, the High Priest of the new covenant.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 6 Unto us, thy people of Israel. As thou hast…
Unto us, thy people of Israel. As thou hast hid thy face and favour from us, so now do thou manifest it to us. For the phrase, Num 6:25,26; Psa 31:16.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v1 The composition of this psalm is such as denotes…
The composition of this psalm is such as denotes the penman's affections to have been very warm and lively, by which spirit of devotion he was elevated to receive the spirit of prophecy concerning the enlargement of God's kingdom.
I. He begins with a prayer for the welfare and prosperity of the church then in being, in the happiness of which he should share, and think himself happy, Psa 67:1. Our Saviour, in teaching us to say, Our Father, has intimated that we ought to pray with and for others; so the psalmist here prays not, God be merciful to me, and bless me, but to us, and bless us; for we must make supplication for all saints, and be willing and glad to take our lot with them. We are here taught, 1. That all our happiness comes from God's mercy and takes rise in that; and therefore the first thing prayed for is, God be merciful to us, to us sinners, and pardon our sins (Luk 18:13), to us miserable sinners, and help us out of our miseries. 2. That it is conveyed by God's blessing, and secured in that: God bless us; that is, give us an interest in his promises, and confer upon us all the good contained in them. God's speaking well to us amounts to his doing well for us. God bless us is a comprehensive prayer; it is a pity such excellent words should ever be used slightly and carelessly, and as a byword. 3. That it is completed in the light of his countenance: God cause his face to shine upon us; that is, God by his grace qualify us for his favour and then give us the tokens of his favour. We need desire no more to make us happy than to have God's face shine upon us, to have God love us, and let us know that he loves us: To shine with us (so the margin reads it); with us doing our endeavour, and let it crown that endeavour with success. If we by faith walk with God, we may hope that his face will shine with us.
Read full note →
II. He passes from this to a prayer for the conversion of the Gentiles (Psa 67:2): That thy way may be known upon earth. "Lord, I pray not only that thou wilt be merciful to us and bless us, but that thou wilt be merciful to all mankind, that thy way may be known upon earth." Thus public-spirited must we be in our prayers. Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come. We shall have never the less of God's mercy, and blessing, and favour, for others coming in to share with us. Or it may be taken thus: "God be merciful to us Jews, and bless us, that thereby thy way may be known upon earth, that by the peculiar distinguishing tokens of thy favour to us others may be allured to come and join themselves to us, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you," Zac 8:23.
1. These verses, which point at the conversion of the Gentiles, may be taken, (1.) As a prayer; and so it speaks the desire of the Old Testament saints; so far were they from wishing to monopolize the privileges of the church that they desired nothing more than the throwing down of the enclosure and the laying open of the advantages. See then how the spirit of the Jews, in the days of Christ and his apostles, differed from the spirit of their fathers. The Israelites indeed that were of old desired that God's name might be known among the Gentiles; those counterfeit Jews were enraged at the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles; nothing in Christianity exasperated them so much as that did. (2.) As a prophecy that it shall be as he here prays. Many scripture-prophecies and promises are wrapped up in prayers, to intimate that the answer of the church's prayer is as sure as the performance of God's promises.
2. Three things are here prayed for, with reference to the Gentiles: -
(1.) That divine revelation might be sent among them, Psa 67:2. Two things he desires might be know upon earth, even among all nations, and not to the nation of the Jews only: - [1.] God's way, the rule of duty: "Let them all know, as well as we do, what is good and what the Lord our God requires of them; let them be blessed and honoured with the same righteous statutes and judgments which are so much the praise of our nation and the envy of all its neighbours," Deu 4:8. [2.] His saving health, or his salvation. The former is wrapped up in his law, this in his gospel. If God make known his way to us, and we walk in it, he will show us his saving health, Psa 50:23. Those that have themselves experimentally known the pleasantness of God's ways, and the comforts of his salvation, cannot but desire and pray that they may be known to others, even among all nations. All upon earth are bound to walk in God's way, all need his salvation, and there is in it enough for all; and therefore we should pray that both the one and the other may be made known to all.
(2.) That divine worship may be set up among them, as it will be where divine revelation is received and embraced (Psa 67:3): "Let the people praise thee, O God! let them have matter for praise, let them have hearts for praise; yea, let not only some, but all the people, praise thee," all nations in their national capacity, some of all nations. It is again repeated (Psa 67:5) as that which the psalmist's heart was very much upon. Those that delight in praising God themselves cannot but desire that others also may be brought to praise him, that he may have the honour of it and they may have the benefit of it. It is a prayer, [1.] That the gospel might be preached to them, and then they would have cause enough to praise God, as for the day-spring after a long and dark night. Ortus est sol - The sun has risen. Act 8:8. [2.] That they might be converted and brought into the church, and then they would have a disposition to praise God, the living and true God, and not the dumb and dunghill deities they had worshipped, Dan 5:4. Then their hard thoughts of God would be silenced, and they would see him, in the gospel glass, to be love itself, and the proper object of praise. [3.] That they might be incorporated into solemn assemblies, and might praise God in a body, that they might all together praise him with one mind and one mouth. Thus a face of religion appears upon a land when God is publicly owned and the ordinances of religious worship are duly celebrated in religious assemblies.
(3.) That the divine government may be acknowledged and cheerfully submitted to (Psa 67:4): O let the nations be glad, and sing for joy! Holy joy, joy in God and in his name, is the heart and soul of thankful praise. That all the people may praise thee, let the nations be glad. Those that rejoice in the Lord always will in every thing give thanks. The joy he wishes to the nations is holy joy; for it is joy in God's dominion, joy that God has taken to himself his great power and has reigned, which the unconverted nations are angry at, Rev 11:17, Rev 11:18. Let them be glad, [1.] That the kingdom is the Lord's (Psa 22:28), that he, as an absolute sovereign, shall govern the nations upon earth, that by the kingdom of his providence he shall overrule the affairs of kingdoms according to the counsel of his will, though they neither know him nor own him, and that in due time he shall disciple all nations by the preaching of his gospel (Mat 28:19) and set up the kingdom of his grace among them upon the ruin of the devil's kingdom - that he shall make them a willing people in the day of his power, and even the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ. [2.] That every man's judgment proceeds from the Lord. "Let them be glad that thou shalt judge the people righteously, that thou shalt give a law and gospel which shall be a righteous rule of judgment, and shalt pass an unerring sentence, according to that rule, upon all the children of men, against which there will lie no exception." Let us all be glad that we are not to be one another's judges, but that he that judges us is the Lord, whose judgment we are sure is according to truth.
III. He concludes with a joyful prospect of all good when God shall do this, when the nations shall be converted and brought to praise God.
1. The lower world shall smile upon them, and they shall have the fruits of that (Psa 67:6): Then shall the earth yield her increase. Not but that God gave rain from heaven and fruitful seasons to the nations when they sat in darkness (Act 14:17); but when they were converted the earth yielded its increase to God; the meat and the drink then became a meat-offering and a drink-offering to the Lord our God (Joe 2:14); and then it was fruitful to some good purpose. Then it yielded its increase more than before to the comfort of men, who through Christ acquired a covenant-title to the fruits of it and had a sanctified use of it. Note, The success of the gospel sometimes brings outward mercies along with it; righteousness exalts a nation. See Isa 4:2; Isa 62:9.
2. The upper world shall smile upon them, and they shall have the favours of that, which is much better: God, even our own God, shall bless us, Psa 67:6. And again (Psa 67:7), God shall bless us. Note, (1.) There are a people in the world that can, upon good grounds, call God their God. (2.) Believers have reason to glory in their relation to God and the interest they have in him. It is here spoken with an air of triumph. God, even our own God. (2.) Those who through grace call God their own may with a humble confidence expect a blessing from him. If he be our God, he will bless us with special blessings. (4.) The blessing of God, as ours in covenant, is that which sweetens all our creature-comforts to us, and makes them comforts indeed; then we receive the increase of the earth as a mercy indeed when with it God, even our own God, gives us his blessing.
3. All the world shall hereby be brought to do like them: The ends of the earth shall fear him, that is, worship him, which is to be done with a godly fear. The blessings God bestows upon us call upon us not only to love him, but to fear him, to keep up high thoughts of him and to be afraid of offending him. When the gospel begins to spread it shall get ground more and more, till it reach to the ends of the earth. The leaven hidden in the meal shall diffuse itself, till the whole be leavened. And the many blessings which those will own themselves to have received that are brought into the church invite others to join themselves to them. It is good to cast in our lot with those that are the blessed of the Lord.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–6 God be merciful unto us, and bless us,.... That…
God be merciful unto us, and bless us,.... That is, God, of his unmerited mercy, of his rich grace and free favour, bless us with the coming of his Son, the promised seed, in whom all nations are to be blessed; and with the blessings of peace, pardon, and righteousness in him; all which with him spring from the tender mercy of God, the riches of his grace, and his great love; than which nothing could be more desirable to the Old Testament saints, who were shut up under the law, until faith came; and though children, they differed nothing from servants, being in a state and under a spirit of bondage: for the psalmist seems to represent the whole church under that dispensation: some understand the words as a prophecy, expressing the certainty of what would be; and, as the words may be rendered, "God will be merciful", or "gracious to us (k), and he will bless us"; as he has promised to do;
and cause his face to shine upon us; that is, grant his gracious presence, and the discoveries of his love; that he would favour with communion with himself through Christ, and a greater knowledge of him in him; or that he would cause him, who is his face, his image, the brightness of his glory, to appear and shine forth; the great light, the sun of righteousness, and dayspring from on high, that was to arise and shine upon the people of God. The Targum is,
Read full note →
"and cause the splendour of his face to shine with us always;''
there seems to be some reference to the high priest's form of blessing in Num 6:24.
Selah; on this word; see Gill on Psa 3:2.
(k) "miserebitur", Gejerus, Schmidt.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4, 6 A prayer for Israel, ver. 1. For the conversion…
A prayer for Israel, ver. 1. For the conversion of the Gentiles, ver. 2-5. A prospect of glorious times, ver. 6, 7. To the chief musician on Neginoth, A psalm or song.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1–7 The psalmist prays for the enlargement of God's kingdom,…
PSALM LXVII
The psalmist prays for the enlargement of God's kingdom, 1, 2;
Read full note →
calls upon all nations to serve him, because he judges and
governs righteously, 3-5;
promises prosperity to the faithful and obedient, 6, 7.
NOTES ON PSALM LXVII
The title here is the same with that of Psalm iv., where see the notes. See Clarke on Ps 4:1. It is supposed to have been written at the return from the Babylonish captivity, and to foretell the conversion of the Gentiles to the Christian religion. The prayer for their salvation is very energetic.
Verse 1. God be merciful unto us] Show the Jewish people thy mercy, bless them in their bodies and souls and give a full evidence of thy approbation. This is nearly the same form of blessing as that used Nu 6:25, where see the notes. See Clarke on Nu 6:25.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 6 Psa 67:1-2. God be merciful to us — Thy…
Psa 67:1-2. God be merciful to us — Thy people Israel. And cause his face to shine upon us — As thou hast hid thy face, or withdrawn the tokens of thy favour from us, so do thou now manifest them to us. That thy way may be known upon earth — The way wherein thou requirest men to walk, the way of thy precepts, the way of truth, or the true religion; that by the peculiar and distinguishing tokens of thy favour to us, the heathen world may be convinced of the truth and importance of our religion, may be induced to renounce their idols and their vices, to believe in thee the only living and true God, and embrace thy worship and service, expecting no good but from thee. Thy saving health — Hebrew, ישׁועתךְ, thy salvation, termed, God’s way, in the preceding clause, and both expressions, taken together, signify the way of salvation, which the psalmist desires may be known among all nations. This the ancient and godly Jews expected would be the case at the coming of the Messiah, who is called God’s salvation, and also the way, the truth, and the life, Luk 2:30; Joh 14:6. And so the sense of the passage is, Deal thus graciously with thy people Israel, that the Gentile world may at last be allured to unite themselves to them, to become proselytes to their religion, and receive their Messiah for their King and Saviour, when he shall be manifested, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you, Zec 8:23.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1–7 God be merciful unto us, and bless us -…
God be merciful unto us, and bless us - There is, perhaps (as Prof. Alexander suggests), an allusion, in the language used here, to the sacerdotal benediction in Num 6:24-26 : “The Lord bless thee, and keep thee; the Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.” The prayer is that God would bestow upon his people the blessing implied in the form of benediction which he had directed the ministers of his religion to use. The first cry is, of course, for mercy or favor. The beginning of all blessings to mankind is the favor or mercy of God. There is no higher blessing than his favor; there is none that comes from him which should not be regarded as mercy.
And cause his face to shine upon us - Margin, With us. That is, among us. It is an invocation of his presence and favor. On the phrase “cause his face to shine,” see the notes at Psa 4:6.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v1 Psalms 67
Psalms 67
To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm or Song
Read full note →
1 God be merciful unto us, and bless us;
And cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.
2 That thy way may be known upon earth,
Thy saving health among all nations.
3 Let the people praise thee, O God;
Let all the people praise thee.
4 O let the nations be glad and sing for joy:
For thou shalt judge the people righteously,
And govern the nations upon earth. Selah.
5 Let the people praise thee, O God;
Let all the people praise thee.
6 Then shall the earth yield her increase;
And God, even our own God, shall bless us.
7 God shall bless us;
And all the ends of the earth shall fear him.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Analysis of Contents.—Since the Hebrew tenses are capable of many references to time, it would be admissible to regard Psa_67:3; Psa_67:5 as statements respecting the praise of God by all nations, which had already occurred (De Wette), which fact would then admit of various explanations in accordance with its value and reality, as well as with respect to its reasons and its significance. The same remarks apply to the final clause in which the fear of God takes the place of His praise. We might likewise find in the harvest mentioned by the perfect as finished (Psa_67:6 a), a statement of the fact of the blessing (Psa_67:6 b), and the pledge of its continuance (Psa_67:7 a). The latter reference is, however, for the Israelites, contained in the fruits of the harvest (Lev_26:4), and it would be more in accordance with the tone of the prayer to find in these words the expression of a wish for the continuance of universal blessings, this wish having originated from the recent appropriation of the pledge resting upon Divine promises. This interpretation is still further recommended by the fact that in the two lines, Psa_67:6 b and 7a, the same tense is used as in Psa_67:1 a, where the optative is certainly meant, since there is there indeed not an answer of the people (J. D. Mich., Stier), but an appropriationand free repetition of the blessing of the High Priest, Num_4:24 sq. When now Psa_67:2 puts this blessing of Israel in direct relation to the making known God’s ways and the salvation (יְשׁוּעָה) therein to be obtained by deliverance, it is much more natural to give the words which follow, a Messianic reference in the universal sense, which is contained in the blessing of Abraham (Gen_12:3), and to recognize the missionary character of this Psalm, which appears likewise in the hymn of Luther: “Es woll’ uns Gott, genädig sein,” than merely to find here a manifestation of the goodness of God in general, and a lyrical transition from the national to the universal stand—point, embracing mankind (Hupfeld), in which God, in accordance with the nature of Monotheism, is designated as the object of the praise and reverence likewise of the heathen. In this state of the case, likewise, it is most natural to regard Psa_67:3 sq. as optative, and only to let the final clause conclude with the future. For thus the clauses, which constantly implore, in believing appropriation, the blessings promised and bestowed, are entwined with those which proclaim and wish for, in accordance with the promises and in the joy of faith, the salvation to be obtained through the blessings in Israel, and praise of God among the heathen. Thus there is formed a chain; the end of which not merely bends back towards the beginning, but has partly an internal progress, partly opens an infinite prospect. Hence the spiritual interpretation of the fruitfulness of the earth, (Luther, Stier, after the older interpreters) seems to be arbitrary. We are to think of a blessed harvest, which we have reason to consider not merely as an occasion for the composition of the Psalm (Kôster, Ewald, Hitzig), but at the same time as an occasion for far—reaching thoughts, (Calvin, Hengst.), and as the pledge of more (Venema, J. H. Mich.), if not the type of higher blessings (Stier). The attempts to put the composition in the time of the Maccabees (Olsh., Hitzig), or the restoration of the kingdom after the exile (Ewald), or after the deliverance from the Assyrians under Hezekiah (Venema, and Von Leng.), are entirely without proofs and support.
Str. I. Psa_67:1. Cause His face to shine among us.—The change of the phrase “upon thee,” (Num_6:25) into “among us” is connected on the one side with the entire appropriation of the blessing of the High Priest, on the other side with the purpose directly expressed, which latter is already prepared by the change of Jehovah into Elohim, and appears as the principal thought of the Psalm by the transition from the indirect to the direct discourse. The expression: among or with us, accordingly does not indicate the nearness of the help (Geier), but the accompanying (Hengst.), or better, the guiding presence of God.
[Psa_67:2. Thy way—Thy salvation.—Alexander: “Thy way, i.e., Thy mode of dealing with Thy people, referring more particularly here to providential favors, the knowledge of which he hopes to see extended to all nations, as a means to the promotion of still higher ends. The pleonastic phrase, saving health, retained by the A. V. from an older one, has nothing corresponding to it in the Hebrew, but the single word which always means salvation, and is commonly so rendered.”—C. A. B.]
[Str. 2 Psa_67:4. For Thou judgest.—This is not the judicial condemning and punishing, but as Psa_72:12 sq.; Isa_11:3 sq., the righteous government of the royal ruler.—[Thou leadest.—Perowne: “The verb is the same as in Psa_23:3, God being the great Shepherd of all nations.”—C. A. B.]
[Str. 3 Psa_67:6. The earth hath yielded her increase.—Moll, with most interpreters, renders the verb in its natural sense. Some, however, as the A. V., regard it as the prophetic past, and translate as future. Ewald translates it as present. The natural reference is to a recent harvest, on the basis of which the Psalmist prays the final prayer that: “God our God may bless us, and all the ends of the earth may fear Him.”—C. A. B.]
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. The congregation of the Lord can have no wish more acceptable to God, than that He should bestow upon them blessings spiritual and bodily, in order that their welfare and its manifest cause may make known to the heathen the salvation which God gives to those who fear Him, and the ways upon which He brings this to pass. The congregation thus maintains its true historical and redemptive position, and fulfils at the same time its missionary calling.
2. The ground upon which this hope, which has grown up out of faith in the truth of God’s promises is based, that the heathen will attain their destiny, is the government of God in the history of the world, which is manifest to all nations, and is as righteous as it is gracious. The occasion of a prayer of this kind is given in the bestowal of a blessed harvest, partly as a testimony of His power and goodness in general, partly as a seal of His promises, partly as a pledge of additional gracious guidance.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
God’s blessing is to be implored in faith, received with thanksgiving, used in accordance with God’s will.—The gifts of God to His people should benefit the whole world.—The righteous government and the gracious guidance of men are as worthy objects of praise, as valuable foundations of hope.—The congregation is not only called to receive the Divine blessing, but likewise to spread it abroad, and should allow itself to be properly prepared and guided thereto. The aim, hope, and right of missionary work.—The end, basis, and means of hope in missions.—The end, way, and guardian of our pilgrimage.—God would not only reign as monarch of the world, but men should know likewise the ways in which He leads them.—God not only guides His people in the right ways, but He quickens them under the way, Isa_58:11.—God has made known His ways (Psa_25:10) to His people (Psa_103:7) that they may walk therein, and teach other nations to do this.—The land has given its increase; how is it with the people in general?—How with the congregation? How with thee?
Starke: The pious share their bodily blessings with the ungodly, but these are properly no blessings to the latter; but spiritual blessings belong only to the children of God.—All depends upon properly knowing God, and the way of life pointed out by Him.—In the kingdom of God it is demanded of each and every member, to be fruitful in good works.—God’s grace makes no man poor, but may make him rich.
Franke: God’s grace, blessing, the light of His countenance, are not for temporal blessedness, but for eternal life.—Tholuck: Longing after the most spiritual of all blessings that the salvation from God should arise in Israel and its light shine over all the heathen on earth.—Guenther: These are the true prophets and teachers, upon whose countenance the glance of the Divine light still remains.—Taube: Prophetic glance at the erection of the kingdom of God among all nations.
[Matt. Henry: We need desire no more to make us happy than to have God’s face shine upon us, to have God love us, and let us know that He loves us.—We shall have never the less of God’s mercy, and blessing, and favor, for others coming in to share with us.—It is good to cast in our lot with these that are the blessed of the Lord.—Barnes: The happiness of man depends on a knowledge of the principles on which God bestows His favors; for all men are, in all things, dependent on Him. Individuals and nations, as they follow the counsels of God, are safe and happy; and in no other way.—Spurgeon: Our love must make long marches, and our prayers must have a wide sweep; we must embrace the whole world in our intercessions.—We never know God aright till we know Him to be ours, and the more we love Him the more do we long to be fully assured that He is ours.—C. A. B.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 6 thy way--of gracious dealing (Isa 55:8), as explained by--
thy way--of gracious dealing (Isa 55:8), as explained by--
saving health--or literally, "salvation."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 1. God be merciful unto us—An invocation, repeated in…
1. God be merciful unto us—An invocation, repeated in Psa_67:6-7, and founded on the form of blessing by the high priest, Num_6:23-26
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1–6 1. The Psalm begins with words taken from the…
1. The Psalm begins with words taken from the priestly blessing of Num_6:24 ff:
“Jehovah bless thee and keep thee:
Read full note →
Jehovah cause his face to shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee:
Jehovah lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace:” as the following Ps. begins with the invocation used when the Ark started on a journey, Num_10:35. Other echoes of the priestly blessing may be found in Psa_4:6; Psa_29:11; Psa_31:16; Psa_80:3; Psa_80:7; Psa_80:19.
God be merciful] Rather, as in Num_6:25, be gracious unto us. God is substituted for the original Jehovah according to the usual practice of the editor of the ‘Elohistic’ collection of Psalms.
upon us] Lit. with us. For the simple preposition of the original (unto or upon) the Psalmist substitutes one which suggests the thought of God’s gracious favour abiding with His people. Cp. “The blessing of God Almighty … be amongst you and remain with you always.”
Selah (if it is in its right place) marks a musical interlude following upon and emphasising this echo of the priestly benediction. But it may have been accidentally transferred from the close of Psa_67:2.
1, 2. The final object of the blessing for which Israel prays is that the whole world may know God.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 6 (1) This verse is an adaptation of the priestly…
(1) This verse is an adaptation of the priestly benediction (Num_6:24-26).
Upon us.—Rather, with, or among us; a variation from the formal benediction.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1–7 ACCORDING to some, this psalm, like Psalm 65, is…
ACCORDING to some, this psalm, like Psalm 65, is a harvest thanksgiving (Hengstenberg, Cheyne). But the single expression (in ver. 6) on which this view is grounded seems insufficient to support it, more especially as that expression may well be understood figuratively. (see Psa_85:12 Jer_8:20 Hos_6:11Jo Hos 3:13 Mat_9:37, etc.) The real idea of the psalm appears to be an aspiration after the general conversion of the world, to be effected by God"s special manifestation of his mercy upon Israel. This will draw all nations to him. The psalm is one of three stanzas, consisting respectively of two, two, and three verses. The second and third stanzas have the same initiatory refrain (vers. 3, 5). In the first stanza the "selah" is a pause of reverence, not a break in the sense.
God be merciful unto us, and bless us. An echo of the priestly blessing, (Num_6:24, Num_6:25) but not necessarily uttered by a priest. The substitution of Elohim for Jehovah is natural, considering the universalist character of the psalm. And cause his face to shine upon us; literally, with us. "With us" especially, as the people of God; but not "with us" exclusively, as the whole psalm makes manifest.
Read full note →
Vers. 1, 2. "God be merciful," etc.
No wonder this beautiful little psalm has been enshrined so prominently in the worship of the Christian Church. Its most remarkable character is its world wide breadth of sympathy, hope, and prayer. It is like a beam from the unrisen sun of Christianity. The more one studies the intense narrow national sentiment of the Jews, the more plain is it that strains like these could be inspired only by the Spirit of God. The psalm is Hebrew of the Hebrews sung probably for ages in the temple. Yet its aspirations can be fulfilled only by the gospel and kingdom of Christ.
I THE MEANING OF THIS PRAYER. "That thy way may be known saving health.
1. God"s way is:
(1) The revelation he has made of himself in his dealings with mankind. In its widest sense this includes his universal providence. (Act_14:17 Pro_8:22 Isa_55:8, Isa_55:9)
(2) The revealed path of man"s duty. (Psa_25:9 Mat_22:16)
(3) The way of salvation; of return, reconciliation, access to God. (Act_18:26 Joh_14:6)
2. God"s "saving health" is salvation (simply another translation of the same Hebrew word). Not simply "the way of salvation the knowledge of the gospel, and provision for our salvation; but actual experience of deliverance from sin, pardon, peace with God, strength for holiness. Salvation, in the Scriptures, means both safety and health. Illust.: Mat_8:25 Luk_18:42 Luk_7:50.
II THE SCOPE OF THIS PRAYER. "On earth;" "among all nations." St. Paul says that the gospel was preached beforehand to Abraham, in the promise that in his offspring all nations should be blessed. We are apt to take too narrow a view both of the gospel and of salvation. We think and speak of "saving souls." That is the beginning; for there is no reconciliation to God but by personal repentance, faith, turning to God. But nations have their life; their collective action, righteousness, guilt, growth, decay, prosperity, ruin. Knowledge of God"s truth, and obedience to God"s law, are the conditions of national welfare. We have a message to "all nations" as well as to "every creature." We are to labour as well as pray, that God"s will may be "done on earth, as it is in heaven.
HOMILIES BY W. FORSYTH Vers. 1-7. This is a song of salvation.
It teaches that
I SALVATION IS FROM GOD. Hence God"s mercy is specially invoked. It is as God causes his face to shine upon us in Christ Jesus (2Co_4:6) that his "way" is made known, and his "salvation" enjoyed (vers. 1, 2).
II SALVATION IS THE HIGHEST BLESSING FOR MAN. When the high priest blessed the people, he spoke for God. (Num_6:22-27) Salvation is "saving health." Man is corrupt. There is no "soundness" in him. But God brings healing. Salvation is to be restored to health in body and soul and spirit. (1Th_5:23)
III SALVATION IS IMPARTED THROUGH HUMAN AGENCY. God works by means. He uses man to help man. "The Law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ". (Joh_1:17; cf. Rom_5:12-15) When we believe on Christ, we may say, with Simeon, "Mine eyes have seen thy salvation". (Luk_2:30) And what Christ has won for us he would have us make known to others. All Christians are missionaries. "God does with us as we with torches do." Every lamp that is lighted is lighted in order to shine. We are to receive and reflect the light. (1Th_1:6-8 Mat_5:16)
IV SALVATION IS DESTINED TO SPREAD AMONG ALL NATIONS. It was not limited to Israel. There is no exclusiveness in the gospel. There is no brand of reprobation on any man"s brow. The salvation of Christ is for all people the Jew first, but also for all men. "The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations". (Rev_22:2) This we have seen in part, and greater fulfilments are near. Paul could say, (Rom_15:19) "From Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ." But how great has been the advance since then! Nations that Paul never knew have heard the joyful sound, and the most distant isles of the sea have been blessed in Christ.
V SALVATION WILL ULTIMATELY FILL THE EARTH WITH JOY AND PEACE. Harvest is the time of joy. The great harvest-home of the world is coming. W.F. (Isa_2:2, 3 Zep_3:9 Zec_14:16)
HOMILIES BY C. SHORT Vers. 1-7. A missionary psalm.
The psalmist prays "that the favour of God towards the chosen people may become visible, in order that, by its splendour, it may lead the heathen to the hope of sharing in it." The salvation of the heathen is here felt to depend upon the following conditions:
I THE SALVATION OF THOSE WHO CLAIM TO BE HIS CHURCH. (Vers. 1, 2) If it is God"s "way" to save any, he must be able and willing to save all. And if his face shone upon them, his "saving health" would be made manifest to all peoples. This is the force of the prayer here used.
II THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD"S RIGHTEOUS GOVERNMENT OF THE WORLD. (Ver.
4)
1. God, as the experience of Israel shows, governs men upon righteous principles. The psalm was most probably written after the Exile a terrible part of their history, which taught them how God punishes sin.
2. God is leading the world forward upon a Divine course. (Ver. 4) He "governs" or leads the nations as a shepherd leads his flock. To this truth the Hebrews bore emphatic testimony.
III GOD"S BOUNTY TO THE EARTH IS HIS BOUNTY TOWARDS MAN. (Ver. 6) "The earth yields her increase; God, our God, blesses us." But the harvest is only a single, though a splendid, instance of God"s goodness towards men; he blesses them in a thousand ways, which, when considered, are adapted deeply to impress the heathen mind. S.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain On vv1–7 To the Chief Musician. Who he was matters not,…
To the Chief Musician. Who he was matters not, and who we may be is also of small consequence, so long as the Lord is glorified. On Neginoth, or upon stringed instruments. This is the fifth Psalm so entitled, and no doubt like the others was meant to be sung with the accompaniment of "harpers harping with their harps." No author's name is given, but he would be a bold man who should attempt to prove that David did not write it. We will be hard pushed before we will look for any other author upon whom to father these anonymous odes which lie side by side with those ascribed to David, and wear a family likeness to them. A Psalm or Song. Solemnity and vivacity are here united. A Psalm is a song, but all songs are not Psalms: this is both one and the other.
Ver. 1. God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us. This is a fit refrain to the benediction of the High Priest in the name of the Lord, as recorded in Nu 6:24-25. "The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: the Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee." It begins at the beginning with a cry for mercy. Forgiveness of sin is always the first link in the chain of mercies experienced by us. Mercy is a foundation attribute in our salvation. The best saints and the worst sinners may unite in this petition. It is addressed to the God of mercy, by those who feel their need of mercy, and it implies the death of all legal hopes or claims of merit. Next, the church begs for a blessing; bless us --a very comprehensive and far reaching prayer. When we bless God we do but little, for our blessings are but words, but when God blesses he enriches us indeed, for his blessings are gifts and deeds. But his blessing alone is not all his people crave, they desire a personal consciousness of his favour, and pray for a smile from his face. These three petitions include all that we need here or hereafter.
Read full note →
This verse may be regarded as the prayer of Israel, and spiritually of the Christian church. The largest charity is shown in this Psalm, but it begins at home. The whole church, each church, and each little company, may rightly pray, bless us. It would, however, be very wrong to let our charity end where it begins, as some do; our love must make long marches, and our prayers must have a wide sweep, we must embrace the whole world in our intercessions.
Selah. Lift up the heart, lift up the voice. A higher key, a sweeter note is called for.
Whole Psalm. How admirably balanced are the parts of this missionary song! The people of God long to see all the nations participating in their privileges, "visited with God's salvation, and gladdened with the gladness of his nation" (Ps 106:5). They long to hear all the nationalities giving thanks to the Lord, and hallowing his name; to see the face of the whole earth, which sin has darkened so long, smiling with the brightness of a second Eden. This is not a vapid sentiment. The desire is so expressed as to connect with it the thought of duty and responsibility. For how do they expect that the happy times are to be reached? They trust, in the first instance, to the general diffusion of the knowledge of God's way, the spreading abroad of the truth regarding the way of salvation. With a view to that, they cry for a time of quickening from the presence of the Lord, and take encouragement in this prayer from the terms of the divinely appointed benediction. As if they had said, "Hast thou not commanded the sons of Aaron to put thy name upon us, and to say: The Lord bless thee and keep thee; the Lord cause his face to shine on thee and be gracious to thee? Remember that sure word of thine. God be gracious unto us and bless us, and cause his face to shine upon us. Let us be thus blessed, and we shall in our turn become a blessing. All the families of the earth shall, through us, become acquainted with thy salvation." Such is the church's expectation. And who shall say it is unreasonable? If the little company of a hundred and twenty disciples who met in the upper chamber at Jerusalem, all of them persons of humble station, and inconspicuous talents, were endued with such power by the baptism of the Holy Ghost, that within three hundred years the paganism of the empire was overthrown, one need not fear to affirm that, in order to the evangelisation of the world, nothing more is required than that the churches of Christendom be baptised with a fresh effusion of the same Spirit of power. William Binnie.
Whole Psalm. There are seven stanzas; twice three two line stanzas, having one of three lines in the middle, which forms the clasp or spangle of the septiad, a circumstance which is strikingly appropriate to the fact that the psalm is called "the Old Testament Paternoster" in some of the old expositors. Franz Delitzsch.
Ver. 1. God be merciful unto us, and bless us, etc. God forgives, then he gives; till he be merciful to pardon our sins through Christ, he cannot bless or look kindly on us sinners. All our enjoyments are but blessings in bullion, till gospel grace and pardoning mercy stamp and make them current. God cannot so much as bear any good will to us, till Christ makes peace for us; "On earth peace, good will toward men." Lu 2:14. And what joy can a sinner take, though it were to hear of a kingdom fallen to him, if he may not have it with God's good will. William Gurnall.
Ver. 1. God be merciful unto us. Hugo attributes these words to penitents; Bless us, to those setting out in the Christian life; Cause his face to shine upon us, to those who have attained, or the sanctified. The first seek for pardon, the second for justifying peace, the third for edification and the grace of contemplation. Lorinus.
Ver. 1-2. Connect the last clause of Ps 67:1 with the first of Ps 67:2, and observe that God made his face to shine upon Moses, and made known to him his way. "He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel, "as if the common people could only see the deeds of the Lord, but his way, his plans, his secrets were revealed only to him upon whom the light of God's face had shone. C. H. S.
Ver. 1.
I. Here is mercy in God the Father.
II. Here is blessing as the fruit of that mercy in God
the Son.
III. Here is the experience of that blessing in the
comfort of the Holy Ghost.
Ver. 1. The need of seeking a blessing for ourselves.
Ver. 1-2. The prosperity of the church at home, the hope for missions abroad.
In "The Works of JOHN BOYS, "1626, folio, pp. 42-45, there is an Exposition of this Psalm.
Psalms 67:2*
Ver. 1-2. See Psalms on "Ps 67:1" for further information.
Ver. 1-2. The prosperity of the church at home, the hope for missions abroad.
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv1, 6 God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and…
Psa_67:1-7
God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause His face to shine upon us.
Read full note →
Illumining the life
Let us mark the two extremes of the psalm. It begins with God be merciful unto us, and it ends with Then shall the earth yield her increase. There is some mysterious but very real connection between the fertility of nature and the character of man. Nature is not to reach her consummation until man himself is at his best. God be merciful unto us. That is where human possibility begins, in the mercy of God. But this word mercy has grown very thin by common usage, and in ordinary currency it has lost much of its essential worth. We too often interpret it from the standpoint of the magisterial bondage, and it becomes significant of the summary dismissal of an action, and the release of the prisoner. We shall never really understand the inner content of the Scriptural word until we get far away from the court of law. It is infinitely more than a cold acquittal. The innermost element of the word is suggestive of stooping, the stronger bending toward the weak. And bless us. And what shall we say of this great word? There is no commoner word to be found in the speech of prayer. Now, perhaps I can best suggest the inconceivable wealth of the word if I say that it includes all the many significances of the English words beginning with bone. Let my hearers take these words, and apply every one of them to the ministry of the Almighty, and they will obtain a glimpse and a hint of the manifold meaning of the blessing of God. Take the word benevolence, and the word benediction, and the word benefaction, and then let the single colours mingle, and the result will give us some faint conception of the benefits of the Lord. Cause Thy face to shine upon us. It is a plea for the light of Gods presence. It is a prayer that He would countenance our goings out and our comings in. It is to walk all day beneath Thy smile. It is more than that. When the light of the Lords countenance falls upon us we, too, become illumined. They looked unto Him and were lightened. That is to say, they were lit up! Their faces caught the glory of the Lord, as I have seen a cottage window shining with the reflected radiance of the sun. These, then, are the three great preliminaries in the making of a noble life, which shall witness to the power of the King. We are to receive the mercy of God, and the blessing of God, and the shining presence of God. And what is the purpose of it all when these gifts have been received? That Thy way may be known upon earth. That is the purpose of it. All these earlier phrases have described the making of the Lords witness, and now we are told what is to be the ministry of the witness. We are lit up in order that we may reveal the Lord. We are to be illumined in order that men may see our God. That Thy way may be known upon earth. We are to make known the Lords beaten tracks, His manners, His modes of action, His course of life. Men are to see our beauty, and through it discern the Lords habits. And Thy saving health among all nations. Our healed life is to be the witness of the Great Physicians power of healing. If I may reverently say it, the radiance of our character is to advertise the glory of the Lord. What are the signs that the witness is effective, and that the saving health is become pervasive? Let the people praise Thee, O God. That would be the first token of an effective ministry. Thy people will begin to praise. They will fall into the attitude of reverent worship. Let the nations be glad. That is to be the next step in the noble sequence. The people are to be brightened, cheered up, made merry I They are to become optimistic in their hopes, and full of encouragement in their speech. Then shall the earth yield her increase. I do not wonder at it. As I have already said, in the opening of this meditation, we shall have finer gardens when we are finer men. The field will put on richer garments when we are clothed in white robes. (J. H. Jowett, M. A.)
The greatest need of foreign missions
The psalm was intended, commentators tell us, for some great temple festival, possibly the Feast of Tabernacles, in a year of exceptional increase. But what strikes me as I read it is its universal note. There is nothing local, particular, or Jewish about it. The psalm is as much at home in the Christian Church as in the Jewish Temple, as much at home centuries after Christ as it was centuries before He came.
I. The first remark I wish to make is that this psalm, in the scope and sweep of its petitions, supplies us with a pattern and example for our prayers. God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause His face to shine upon us. That is how the psalm begins. The psalmists first thought is for his own people, for his own kindred, according to the flesh. But that is not where the psalm ends. In the very next verse the horizon recedes, the outlook broadens, the national need gives Way to the universal need. He has scarcely offered up his prayer for his nation before his compassions are running out to the countries beyond, and in the very next breath he is interceding for all nations and for the wide earth. There is nothing local, there is nothing exclusive about this prayer. The psalmist overleaps all national boundaries, and brings the wide world before God. He has all Christs passion for those other sheep which are not of the Jewish fold. He has all Pauls desire that the Gospel may be preached to those who have not heard it. True prayer is always world-wide and universal. It is right to begin where this prayer begins--at home; it is not right to finish there. You must enlarge the scope of your petitions, and you must not rest till you have brought the ends of the earth before God. I pity the man who in his prayers never gets beyond God be merciful unto us, and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us; for he has simply not learned the elements of prayer. For that is a marred prayer, a narrow prayer, and a selfish prayer. And whatever Christianity is or is not, it is the very antithesis of selfishness. Let this mind be in you, said the apostle, which was also in Christ Jesus. What was the mind that was in Christ Jesus? It was an unselfish mind. Our Lord was always thinking about other people. His thought travelled far beyond His own kindred to those peoples lying in ignorance and sin; to all the millions who lived without God and without hope. Am I wrong in thinking that, speaking generally, Christian people do not possess our Lords wide-world outlook, that our affections are cramped by national and racial differences, that we do not realize that men everywhere are the loved of God, the redeemed of Christ, and that we do not pant and yearn for their enlightenment and salvation as our Lord did? Some do, I know. David Brainerd--his enthusiastic spirit had no rest in his passion for prayer for his Indians. This lack of concern for the salvation of the world results in parochial and narrow and selfish prayers. God be merciful unto us, and bless us--we begin there, and there oftentimes we finish. None of Christs melting passion for the other sheep creeps into our prayers. The psalmists prayer, while beginning with himself, expands till he embraces the whole earth.
II. But notice even in his personal prayer he has got the universal good before his eyes. God be merciful unto us, and bless us--what for? That Thy name may be known upon earth, Thy saving health among all nations. He does not ask for personal blessing for merely selfish ends. He asks for it that it may serve the universal good. He asks God to bless Israel in order that through Israel, so blessed, Gods way may be known upon earth, His saving health amongst all nations. The psalmist has grasped this truth, that Divine favours and blessings are never bestowed upon men or nations for merely selfish enjoyment, but they are always bestowed upon them for service. Our Lord appointed twelve, that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach. He chose these twelve men that they might be with Him to be His friends and associates, to accompany Him in all His journeys, to share His intimate fellowship. He conferred upon these twelve the highest privilege ever bestowed upon mortal men. The high privilege conferred upon the twelve was meant for the enriching of the world. He appointed twelve that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth. That illustrates a law. Gods blessings are never for selfish ends, they are always meant for the benefit of the wide world. For instance, God reveals to a doctor, let us say, some secret that makes for the health and wellbeing of mankind. He reveals it to him, not that he may hug it to himself, but that he may share it so that the whole world may be the better for it. The manifold religious privileges that this land of ours enjoys were never meant for Englands sake only. They have been conferred upon England in order that through England they may become the possession of the wide world. The light of the knowledge of the glory of God which you and I enjoy is not for our own personal gratification merely. It has been given to us that we may share it and diffuse it. You have the light. Have you shared it, diffused it, spread it abroad? Or have we, like some stagnant pool, tried to keep that Which we have received? My brethren, the Christian ought never to be represented by the pool; he ought always to be represented by the stream. The pool takes all it can get and gives nothing; receives everything, parts with nothing; and reaps the penalty of its own selfishness in putridity and stagnation. The stream is always giving itself away. It runs down the hills, and as it runs down it gives greenness to the fields, cleansing and refreshing to the dwellers in the towns. Starting in the mountain, where all is at its sweetest and loveliest, it does not linger in its mountain home. It says, There are thirsting people crying out for me; there are parched lands crying out for me, and so it hurries down the mountain slope, past the village, into the valley, through the town, on and on, so long as there is a single yard of land to be blessed by it; on and on until the great sea is reached.
III. And now, just for a moment or two further, let me ask you to notice the words with which the psalmist describes the blessings thus given to the world through the agency of Israel. It is really the blessing of salvation, but he uses two figures that describe it. He first speaks of it as Gods way, and in the second place as Gods saving health. Just look at these two figures for a moment. First, he asks that Israel may be blessed in order that Gods way may be known upon earth. Now, you see that the psalmist uses a figure which is familiar to all Old Testament writers--the figure of a man as a traveller, a wayfarer, a pilgrim; a traveller, as John Bunyan has put it, from the City of Destruction to the City Celestial. Or, if you like to put the same truth in a rather different form, let us say man is a traveller whose goal is happiness and peace, and there is a certain way along which he must travel if he is ever to reach that goal, if life is to be ever happy and peaceful in its course and triumphant at its end. Enoch walked with God--that is the way. He is the only successful traveller who walks with God. When the psalmist looks around him he sees multitudes of people out of the way. Like sheep they have gone astray, they have turned every one to his own way. That means misery, wretchedness, despair. Gods way is the only right way. There has been no other way discovered. But as I look out upon the world to-day I see millions of people out of the way, turning every one to his own way and reaping misery and unrest as the result. Now, did you never feel any desire to bring these wandering people back? He has blessed us just in order that His way may be known upon earth. And the second figure the psalmist uses is this--Gods saving health. Thy saving health among all nations. And if the first figure of the way suggests a lost and wandering world, this figure of saving health suggests a sick world. Here is the world from the Bible standpoint--The whole head is sick, the whole heart is faint; from the sole of the foot to the crown of the head there is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and festering sores. And it is not the Bible only that says it. Modern literature says it in equally plain and emphatic terms. Listen to this from Thomas Hardy: Did you say that the stars were worlds, Tess?. . . Yes. All like ours? I dont know, but I think so. They sometimes seem to me like apples on our tree, most of them splendid and sound, but a few blighted. Which do we live on, Tess?. . . A blighted one. A sick world, that is what the Bible says, that is what literature says, that is what experience says. And this is how Gods salvation comes to us--it comes as saving health. Gods purpose is wholeness for every man. Gods end for you and me is to make us morally sound. Gods salvation restores unto perfect soundness and complete health. Life becomes absolutely normal. It is saving health. The evangelist Matthew emphasizes the healing work of Christ again and again. He healed all manner of diseases and all manner of sicknesses. But it was not bodily sickness alone that Christ healed. He healed the broken and the sick soul. To the sick of the palsy He said, Thy sins are forgiven thee. It is for the Christian Church still to make Gods saving health known among all nations. Wherever the missionary goes you find a hospital. Jesus can give what no doctor can give--He can give healing to the soul. There are people who preach in these days a religion of healthy-mindedness. They tell us to ignore sin and evil and death. But sin and evil and death are here. They will not be ignored. An ostrich policy of that kind does not get rid of these things. The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin. He that believeth on Me shall never die. Well, ought we not to get the good news about Gods saving health known amongst all nailers? The world to-day is full of sick souls. India, China, Africa, are full of men and women burdened and troubled and oppressed with sin, haunted by the fear of death. Ought we not to tell them to come to Jesus Christ? Pass on the good news. Do you not think that we ought to tell every stricken soul about Him who is able to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease? Now, I lay the case of these sick souls upon your consciences--blighted by sin, and you and I know about the blood that can cleanse from it; all their lifetime in bondage through fear of death, and you and I know who can give them the victory over it. I lay the ease upon your consciences. God has blessed us and caused His face to shine upon us and been gracious unto us simply in order that His way might be known upon earth and His saving health among all nations. May He help us to spread the news, that we may share thus in the icy of the Cross that makes Christs kingdom come. (J. D. Jones, M. A.)
A universal new years prayer
I. That fresh supplies of Divine goodness are constantly needed by man. God be merciful unto us, etc. The benediction which the Almighty Himself put of old into the mouth of the high priest, to be pronounced on Israel, is the spirit and model of these words (Num_6:24-26). Hence our text is Divine, and may be used with reverent and unbounded confidence. It invokes fresh communications of His love. Bless us. Has not God always blessed us, through the whole of our life? Verily. Still we need a continuation. A rest in the flow of His beneficence would be our ruin, would terminate our being in black extinction. The words invoke also a fresh assurance of His love. Cause His face to shine upon us. The face is the symbol of the soul and the expression of its deepest things. Hence the meaning of the prayer is, Assure us of Thy love. This conscious dependence of the soul upon God is the very essence of religion.
II. That the universal diffusion of Divine knowledge is of paramount importance to man. That Thy way may be known, etc. What are the things relating to God, a knowledge of which is so devoutly sought for the race?
1. His general method of action. Thy way. God has a method by which He gives His harvests: the farmer must practically recognize and follow it, if he would have his labour rewarded by abundant crops. God has a method by which He restores exhausted energies and impaired health; the physician must follow that method, if he would succeed in his profession. God has a method by which He imparts knowledge to mankind; the inquirer must follow it, if he would obtain intelligence and wisdom. And He has a method by which fallen souls may be redeemed; and this method must be followed before salvation can be reached.
2. His special method of salvation. Thy saving health among all nations. God has a method of moral restoration. He has salvation, He has health for the diseased, liberty for the captive, knowledge for the ignorant, pardon for the guilty, and immortality for the dying. And He has a method for imparting this salvation. What is that? (Joh_6:40).
III. That Gods connection with the world is the great hope of man (Psa_67:4).
1. God judges the nations righteously.
2. God leads the nations on. And govern the nations upon earth. Margin, lead. God does not drive men, but leads them. He leads them, as a commander does his army, against the mighty hosts of evil principles, institutions, and habits.
IV. That spiritual excellence is conducive to the temporal interests of man. Then shall the earth yield her increase. The language implies that it is when all the people praise God, that all the people shall have temporal plenty, that the earth shall yield her increase. It is not difficult to see how spiritual excellence is conducive to temporal prosperity. Let the people be industrious, then they will put forth those efforts by which worldly good is generally obtained. Let them be temperate and economical, then self-indulgence and extravagance, which are the prolific sources of poverty, will cease.
V. That true worship comprehends the supreme good of man. The whole psalm implies this. (Homilist.)
That Thy way may be known upon earth, Thy saving health among all nations.
The missionary prayer
I. The right moral condition of the Church is of supreme importance.
II. The Church being morally right, She is to be the medium of making known the supreme knowledge to others. The vital possession of this knowledge gives existence to the supreme joy.
1. The joy of Divine satisfaction.
2. The joy of a Hew experience.
3. The joy of melody and praise.
What a change this knowledge produces! It turns night into morning, sadness into songs. Being the supreme knowledge, it creates the supreme joy.
IV. The prevalence of this knowledge, and the presentation of this praise, will ensure a golden harvest of prosperity. (J. O. Keen, D. D.)
Our duties in regard to missions
I. Think of the great things that God has done for us, and survey our present condition.
1. The duty of a Christian congregation to aid in sending the Gospel to Jews and heathen is not a matter of indifference or choice; it is essentially and inseparably, as it were, a part of our existence.
2. The graces of the Spirit cannot remain inactive within us. If we have love, it shows itself in the Saviours cause.
3. It is by His Church that His Church will be completed.
4. As the Lord has appointed His Church as the channel to supply the waters of grace, so He has honoured those churches and congregations especially who have been the most forward to fulfil their office; for the congregation that scattereth is that which increaseth; and they that water shall be watered also themselves.
II. The best method of fulfilling our duty in this matter.
1. Let us endeavour to have it wrought into our minds as a Christian principle, as a part of our Christianity, as a matter of course, to be concerned and interested in promoting the Redeemers glory by the extension of His Kingdom.
2. That this missionary spirit may be maintained and duly directed among us, I would counsel you to make yourselves acquainted with the progress of the Gospel in the world.
3. Seek to feel more deeply the conviction that that which lies nearest to the Saviours heart is, that the Father may be glorified in the conversion of sinners, and the building up of His Church.
4. Watch for opportunities of serving in His cause. (John Tucker, B. D.)
The extension of the Word of God abroad, intimately connected with its revival at home
I. That Gods way is not at present known in all the earth, nor His saving health among all nations.
II. That it is Gods will that His way should be known in all the earth, and His saving health among all nations. This is demonstrable--
1. From all those passages of Scripture which teach that all nations are to be blest in Christ.
2. From our Lords commission to His apostles.
3. From our Lords parables of the mustard seed and the leaven.
III. That this will be accomplished by human instrumentality.
IV. that the direct instruments to be employed in making Gods way known in all the earth are His own people. Other instruments are frequently employed as their harbingers. Such are war and commerce. These remove obstructions, level mountains, fill valleys, drain marshes, and build bridges. They have been the precursors of the Gospel in many places, particularly in the East. But the direct instruments of making the way of the Lord known, are His own people.
1. By an enlightened, pious, and zealous ministry.
2. By the consistent piety of Christs people.
3. By their individual and united exertions to promote the cause of Christ.
Conclusion.
1. If piety be necessary to usefulness, let us pray for an increase of it in ourselves and others.
2. If many of our own countrymen are yet strangers to Gods way, let us labour to instruct them.
3. If hundreds of millions in other lands are perishing for lack of knowledge, let us cheerfully contribute our mite to the support of pious missionaries, and pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth more labourers into the harvest. (Outlines of Four Hundred Sermons.)
The Churchs missionary psalm
Whatever other thoughts there may be in this comprehensive prayer, we cannot be mistaken in regarding the following as standing prominent among the blessings which it implores--the continued enjoyment of Gods forgiveness and friendship, and especially the increased experience of His love in quickened graces and enlarged spiritual strength; that the spring of His Church might ripen into summer; that the dawn might brighten into the perfect day; that, having life already, His people might have it more abundantly; and all this the effect of mercy, free and unforced, far-reaching-as the firmament, and fathomless as the sea.
I. There is a prayer for the revival of the Church.
II. There is a prayer for the increase of the Church.
III. The connection between the revived life of the Church and its beneficent influence upon the world is indicated in the words, That Thy way may be known upon earth, Thy saving health among all nations.
1. Such Church will be most secure against error and unbelief.
2. Will be most chosen of God to extend His Kingdom.
3. In such Church there will be a spirit of dependence leading to abounding prayer; great moral power; much brotherly love, and a spirit of unreserved consecration. Seek, then, above all else the Spirit of God. (Andrew Thomson, D. D.)
A plea for missions
I. We may regard these words as the prayer of British churches in reference to themselves. The text involves--
1. The avowal of conscious unworthiness. It is the prayer of the publican, God be merciful unto us, sinners.
2. The acknowledgment of dependence on God for His blessing.
3. The desire of unusual and extraordinary manifestations of Divine grace and favour.
II. The avowed faith of British churches in reference to the world. That Thy way may be known upon earth, Thy saving health among all nations. We may regard this part of our text in a threefold light: as the language of prayer; as the subject of prophetic anticipation; and as the recognition of a system of legitimate means.
1. True revival will remove many obstacles which now impede the way. By the augmentation of Christian principles it will prove the death-blow of party zeal, in all its subtle or more revealed forms.
2. It will purify all the passions of our nature. It will be the destruction of everything worldly in principle, of everything unholy in affection.
3. And will multiply agents also for the conversion of the world. (J. Morison, D. D.)
Conditions of spiritual growth
One of the most striking characteristics of the religion of the Bible is its universality. It is designed to, and does, meet the wants of all.
I. True religion is expansive both in its nature and effects. The highest form of life is exhibited in the most complex organization. In lower types we find that comparative simplicity of structure is sufficient to maintain and manifest vitality. But when we come to man, and examine the human organism, we see the highest type of life on earth. And so in the history of civilization. In the rude ages of the past little organization was needed. But how different now. The human life of man only reaches its perfect type when men are bound together with strong ties of mutual interest and dependence, sympathy and love. And so the true spiritual life of the soul seeks its growth by spreading its life-inspiring influence in every direction; by working in every possible way for the good of others, and by striving to bring the whole race into the brotherhood of the Kingdom of God.
II. In seeking Gods grace and blessing for ourselves, we shall have regard to the influence to be exerted for the glory of God and the welfare of men. We are mindful of these high motives when we are seeking to stimulate others and ourselves in preaching and teaching the Gospel, but we are not so when we pray for blessings upon ourselves.
III. All effective work for God must be the development of spiritual life and progress in our own souls. Christian life, like the light, radiates from a centre, and the brighter the light the farther its rays extend in every direction. Have, then, life in your souls. (Harvey Phillips, B. A.)
The conversion of the world
I. The principles that pervade this beautiful prayer.
1. Humility-here is no claim for justice, no word of merit, but a cry for mercy.
2. Patriotism. It is a prayer by Jews for Jews. And we may take the words for ourselves.
3. Mercy, regard for others.
4. Piety.
II. The object of this prayer--the conversion of the world. The world for Christ. This is what we are bidden seek, and for which provision has been made. There must be room for the world in your hearts, your prayers, your purses. Sink not down into a littleness which belongs not to the missionary enterprise. But for the unfaithfulness of the Church the world would have been converted ere now.
III. The means by which this object is to be accomplished. This country must be blessed in order that it may bless the world; our Churches must be blessed, in order that they may bless the country; we ministers must be blessed, in order that we may be a blessing to the Churches (J. A. James.)
Saving health
1. Our Lord graciously purposes for each of His children perfect health. He would have every power and faculty in our being working in holy vigour. Our health is our only safety.
(1) To be in any way sickly or weak is to offer welcome hospitality to the evil one. He seeks out our weak points, and at the undefended place he makes his entrance. Fulness of health is fulness of resistance. The healthy soul by its very vigour is fortified against the invasions of evil and night. Indifferent spiritual health is exposed to incessant peril. The city of Corinth abounded in evil. Epidemics of worldliness and vice pervaded every grade of social life. The Christian needed to be in perfect health if he were not to be smitten by the ill contagion. Men of weakly wills and indifferent consciences and lukewarm affections fell before the invader, and became the victims of the prevalent vanity or lust. And you will remember that the Apostle Paul, looking at the little Corinthian Church, was filled with anxiety concerning some of its members. Some are sickly! He felt that their silliness was a friendly condition to the worldliness that besieged the gates of the Church. Their weakness exposed them to its attacks. Now, the Lord purposes that we should be in perfect health. He yearns to destroy our easy susceptibility to sin, and to place the whole bias of our life in the direction of holiness. When all our powers are perfectly healthy, our very health will be our resistance to the encroachments of the devil.
(2) But spiritual health is more than self-protective; it is contagious. Common thought and common speech have made us familiar with the contagion of vice. I wish that we were equally familiar with the conception of the contagion of virtue. An evil effluence proceeds from the life of the sin-possessed; an invigorating and purifying effluence proceeds from the life of the sanctified. Out of Him shall flow rivers of living water. We impress and influence one another not only by what we say and what we do, but even more deeply still by what we are. Our presence itself is vitalizing if we are possessed by vigorous moral and spiritual health. In the home, in the workshop, in society, in the place of worship, our presence counts for something, counts for much, and virtue is going out of us as a river of operative energy in all the many relationships of our varied life. Our health is not only self-protective, it acts as a saving ministry in the lives of others.
(3) But spiritual health is not only self-protective and contagious, it is actively aggressive. Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him. The God-possessed exercise a repressive influence over the vices and passions of men. Everybody knows that we can create conditions that incite another mans temper and lust, and we can create conditions by which these fires and cravings can be suppressed and destroyed. Our medical men sometimes provide medicated atmospheres to help to heal the ailments of their patients. They can soften and moisten the air, and so give comfort to the struggling and help to regain them to health. The Christian man supplies a medicated atmosphere to his brother. His very presence helps in the creation of conditions which are unfavourable to vice and friendly to virtue.
2. As for the secret of this saving health, it is to be found in the first verse of this psalm. The psalmist is a suppliant; he is kneeling in the presence chamber of the King. God be merciful unto us, and bless us! He is pleading with the good Lord to stoop in pity, and to lay upon him the forgiving and liberating hand. Cause Thy face to shine upon us! But that means that the suppliants face is turned towards the face of the Maker! We are renewed into the same image. Our countenances catch the light and life that we contemplate. He is the health of my countenance. We become possessed of the saving health of God. (J. H. Jowett, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v1 Psalms 67
Psalms 67
THIS little psalm condenses the dominant thought of the two preceding into a series of aspirations after Israels blessing, and the consequent diffusion of the knowledge of Gods way among all lands. Like Psalms 65, it sees in abundant harvests a type and witness of Gods kindness. But, whereas in Psalms 65 the fields were covered with corn, here the increase has been gathered in. The two psalms may or may not be connected in date of composition as closely as these two stages of one harvest time.
Read full note →
The structure of the psalm has been variously conceived. Clearly the Selahs do not guide as to divisions in the flow of thought. But it may be noted that the seven verses in the psalm have each two clauses, with the exception of the middle one (Psa_67:4), which has three. Its place and its abnormal length mark it as the core, round which, as it were, the whole is built up. Further, it is as if encased in two verses (Psa_67:3, Psa_67:5), which, in their four clauses, are a fourfold repetition of a single aspiration. These three verses are the heart of the psalm-the desire that all the earth may praise God, whose providence blesses it all. They are again enclosed in two strophes of two verses each (Psa_67:1-2 and Psa_67:6-7), which, like the closer wrapping round the core, are substantially parallel and, unlike it, regard Gods manifestation to Israel as His great witness to the world. Thus, working outwards from the central verse, we have symmetry of structure, and intelligible progress and distinctness of thought.
Another point of difficulty is the rendering of the series of verbs in the psalm. Commentators are unanimous in taking those of Psa_67:1 as expressions of desire; but they bewilderingly diverge in their treatment of the following ones. Details of the divergent interpretations, or discussions of their reasons, cannot be entered on here. It may be sufficient to say that the adherence throughout to the optative rendering, admitted by all in Psa_67:1, gives a consistent colouring to the whole. It is arbitrary to vary the renderings in so short a psalm. But, as is often the case, the aspirations are so sure of their correspondence with the Divine purpose that they tremble on the verge of being prophecies, as, indeed, all wishes that go out along the line of Gods "way" are. Every deep, God-inspired longing whispers to its utterer assurance that so it shall be; and therefore such desires have ever in them an element of fruition, and know nothing of the pain of earthly wishes. They who stretch out empty hands to God never "gather dust and chaff."
The priestly blessing {Num_6:24-26} moulds Psa_67:1, but with the substitution of God for Jehovah, and of "among us" for "upon us." The latter variation gives an impression of closer contact of men with the lustre of that Divine Light, and of yet greater condescension in God. The souls longing is not satisfied by even the fullest beams of a Light that is fixed on high; it dares to wish. for the stooping of the Sun to dwell among its. The singer speaks in the name of the nation; and, by using the priestly formula, claims for the whole people the sacerdotal dignity which belonged to it by its original constitution. He gives that idea its widest extension, Israel is the worlds high priest, lifting up intercessions and holy hands of benediction for mankind. What self-effacement, and what profound insight into and sympathy with the mind of God breathe in that collocation of desires, in which the gracious lustre of Gods face shining on us is longed for, chiefly that thence it may be reflected into the dark places of earth, to gladden sad and seeking eyes! This psalmist did not know in how true a sense the Light would come to dwell among men of Israels race, and thence to flood the world; but his yearning is a foreshadowing of the spirit of Christianity, which forbids self-regarding monopoly of its blessings. If a man is "light in the Lord," he cannot but shine. "God hath shined into our hearts, that we may give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God." A Church illuminated with a manifestly Divine light is the best witness for God. Eyes which cannot look on the Sun may gaze at the clouds, which tone down its colourless radiance into purple and gold.
The central core of the psalm may either be taken as summons to the nations or as expression of desire for them. The depth of the longing or the stringency of the summons is wonderfully given by that fourfold repetition of the same words in Psa_67:3 and Psa_67:5, with the emphatic "all of them" in the second clause of each. Not less significant is the use of three names for the aggregations of men-nations (Psa_67:2), peoples, and tribes. All are included, whatever bond knits them in communities, whatever their societies call themselves, however many they are. The very vagueness gives sublimity and universality. We can fill the vast outline drawn by these sweeping strokes; and wider knowledge should not be attended with narrowed desires, nor feebler confidence that the Light shall lighten every land. It is noticeable that in this central portion the deeds of God among the nations are set forth as the ground of their praise and joy in Him. Israel had the light of His face, and that would draw men to Him. But all peoples have the strength of His arm to be their defender, and the guidance of His hand by providences and in other ways unrecognised by them. The "judgments" here contemplated are, of course, not retribution for evil, but the aggregate of dealings by which God shows His sovereignty in all the earth. The psalmist does not believe that Gods goodness has been confined to Israel, nor that the rest of the world has been left orphaned. He agrees with Paul, "That which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God manifested it to them."
The final strophe (Psa_67:6-7) is substantially a repetition of Psa_67:1-2, with the addition that a past fact is laid as the foundation of the desires or hopes of future blessings. "The earth has yielded her increase." This may show that the psalm is a harvest hymn, but it does not necessarily imply this. The thought may have been born at any time. The singer takes the plain fact that, year by year, by mysterious quickening which he recognises as of God, the fertile earth "causes the things sown in it to bring forth and bud," as an evidence of Divine care and kindliness, which warrants the desire and the confidence that all blessings will be given. It seems a large inference from such a premise; but it is legitimate for those who recognise God as working in nature, and have eyes to read the parables amid which we live. The psalmist reminds God of His own acts, and further, of His own name, and builds on these his petitions and his faith. Because He is "our God" He will bless us; and since the earth has, by His gift, "yielded her increase," He will give the better food which souls need. This the singer desires, not only because he and his brethren need it, but because a happy people are the best witnesses for a good King, and worshippers "satisfied with favour and full of the blessing of the Lord" proclaim most persuasively, "Taste, and see that God is good." This psalm is a truly missionary psalm, in its clear anticipation of the universal spread of the knowledge of God, in its firm grasp of the thought that the Church has its blessings in order to the evangelisation of the world, and in its intensity of longing that from all the ends of the earth a shout of praise may go up to the God who has sent some rays of His light into them all, and committed to His people the task of carrying a brighter illumination to every land.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 Superscription. “To the chief Musician:” see Introduction to Psalms…
INTRODUCTION
Superscription. “To the chief Musician:” see Introduction to Psalms 57. “On Neginoth:” see Introduction to Psalms 54. “A Song or Psalm:” see Introduction to Psalms 48.
Read full note →
Neither the author of the psalm nor the occasion of its composition are known unto us.
The chief feature of the psalm is the intense desire of the Psalmist (who wrote the psalm for the Temple service) for the universal worship of God. This is quite clear from the repetition of Psa_67:3. Twice in this brief poem he exclaims, “Let the people praise Thee, O God; let all the people praise Thee.”
Homiletically, we regard the psalm as setting forth—
THE MISSIONARY PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
Consider—
I. The great object of the missionary prayer of the Church. In this psalm, the Church seeks,
1. That God may be known by all men.
(1.) As to His way. “That Thy way may be known upon earth.” The way of God is His procedure towards mankind; “the principles and methods of the Divine administration; the way in which God rules mankind, and in which He bestows His blessings on men.” It seems to us that to understand this way aright we must view it as comprising two aspects: the way of the Divine requirement, or what He demands from men; and the way of the Divine treatment, or what He does for men.
(2.) As to His salvation. “Thy saving health among all nations.” Instead of “saving health,” we should read, salvation. The Church prays that the Divine salvation may be known by all peoples—that all peoples may experience it. The heart that knows the blessedness of personal religion will seek to extend that experience to others. There is a vital connection between these two branches of knowledge. “If God make known His way to us, and we walk in it, He will show us His saving health.” In the way of Divine requirement and the way of Divine treatment, in God’s grace and his own obedience to God, man finds salvation.
2. That God may be worshipped by all men. “Let the people praise Thee, O God; let all the people praise Thee. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy.” We have here
(1.) Worship in its object. “Let the people praise Thee, O God.” It is natural and right that the kindest Being should be regarded with gratitude, the best Being with reverence. Both on account of what He is and of what He does, God should be praised. He is the only true object of worship.
(2.) Worship in its character. “O let the nations be glad and sing for joy.” The worship of God should be joyous. Its fitting expressions are songs, not groans; declarations of confidence, not the murmurs of discontent.
(3.) Worship in its extent. “Let all the people praise Thee. O let the nations,” &c. It is a prayer that all the Gentiles may be brought to know and worship the Lord God. (See on Psa_66:4.) Let us clearly and firmly apprehend the universality of the aim of this prayer. How grand this aim! A saved world joyously worshipping the one living and true God!
II. The means by which the attainment of this object is sought. These means are various; but that which is brought into prominence here is Prayer for the gracious presence of God with His Church. “God be merciful unto us, and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us.” Margin: “With us.” Moll: “ ‘Among us.’ The expression among or with us does not indicate the nearness of the help but the accompanying, or better, the guiding presence of God.” There is a manifest reference to the benediction of the High Priest (Num_6:24-26). To cause the face to shine upon any one is to look upon him with favour. It is a beautiful representation of the Divine approval and blessing. This blessing is sought as a favour, not demanded as a right. The Divine mercy, and not their own merit, is the ground on which their petition is urged. “God be merciful unto us.” How profound is the philosophy of this prayer! Superficially the idea is: Bless us with guidance, with prosperity, with outward and visible tokens of Thy blessing, so that the heathen, in the hope of sharing in these favours, may be led to acknowledge Thee. But there is a deeper and more spiritual idea here: when the Church is richly filled with the presence and blessing of her Divine Lord, men will numerously and eagerly seek to know the way and salvation of God. A living, active, holy Church would speedily result in the conversion of the world to God. What the Church most pressingly needs for the accomplishment of her great work is not more numerous agencies, not new methods of evangelisation, not increase of material wealth, but a deeper and more abiding realisation of the presence and blessing of God in her midst. Our successes in missionary enterprise, both at home and abroad, are comparatively few and small because we are spiritually feeble; we are spiritually feeble because our realisation of the presence of God with us is so fluctuating and faint; and our realisation of the presence of God with us is faint and fluctuating because we have not sought it with earnest purpose and strong faith. “These,” says Guenther, “are the true prophets and teachers, upon whose countenance the glance of the Divine light still remains.” When that light shines clearly upon the countenances of the members of the Christian Church, the day will not be far distant when “all the people” shall praise God.
III. The confidence in which this prayer is offered. Here are two things—
1. The confidence expressed. “God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.” The poet expresses the assurance that the object prayed for would be granted; that God would bless His own people, and that so the world would be won to Him in joyous worship.
2. The basis of this confidence. This is twofold.
(1) The relation of God to men, and His work for men. “Thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth.” God appears here as the righteous Sovereign of men. The great principles of the Divine government as seen in the history of the world are so righteous and gracious that the heathen will joyously give Him their allegiance. He also appears here as the gracious Leader of men. Margin: “And lead the nations” Hengstenberg: “And guidest.” Perowne: “The verb is the same as in Psa_23:3, God being the great Shepherd of all nations.” He guides in paths of safety, prosperity, peace, and life. His government and guidance are powerful incentives to trust and worship Him.
(2) The blessing bestowed upon the Church. The Hebrew verb in the first clause of Psa_67:6 is in the past tense. Conant: “The earth hath yielded her increase.” Hengstenberg: “The land gave its increase.” There is an obvious reference to a recent harvest. Calvin expresses what we hold as the meaning and bearing of the clause: “As often as God adorned that ancient people with His benefits, He, at the same time, shone upon the whole world with a burning torch, so as to allure the heathen to seek Him.” His blessings to His Church encourage and strengthen faith in the progress, and ultimately the complete triumph of His cause and kingdom. (For additional grounds of confidence see on Psa_66:4.)
CONCLUSION.—The subject presents to us a word of—
1. Encouragement. How glorious is the prospect!
2. Instruction. How wise are the means for realising it!
3. Exhortation. Let us diligently use these means. “God be merciful unto us,” &c.
GOD REALISED BY HIS PEOPLE
(Psa_67:6.)
“Our own God shall bless us.”
The heathen nations had their numerous gods,—gods for every phase of nature, for all seasons, and for all events. But these gods were senseless idols, puerile, contemptible, and valueless; so also were all those who trusted in them. (See Psalms 115.) But Jehovah was the God of Israel, and as such the object of their faith and hope. In Him they trusted, to Him gave homage, and in Him exulted, as in the text.
Observe—
I. The Divine Being, in the text—“GOD.” This Being was unknown to the heathen, but He revealed Himself to the holy patriarchs, and especially to Abraham and Moses. Our God,
1. Is a Spirit, not material. Angels are in a secondary sense spirits; but it is obvious that they have ethereal vestments, and can manifest themselves, and be seen by men; but not so God (Joh_4:24; 2Co_3:17; Col_1:15; Heb_11:27).
2. Self-existent. He, the Creator, has no maker; from Himself and in Himself,—absolutely underived; before all things (Deu_4:35; Isa_44:6).
3. Eternal. From eternity to eternity,—God. No beginning, nor capable of any end of His existence (Isa_57:15; Rom_1:20).
4. Unchangeable; or, He would not be absolutely perfect. “The same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever.” So in His essence, attributes, and purposes; of one eternal, unalterable mind (Mal_3:6; Jas_1:17).
5. Omnipotent,—of unlimited energy. Able to do all things worthy of His effectuating (Gen_17:1; Rev_19:6).
6. Omniscient,—knowing all things accurately, distinctly, infallibly. And, with these His natural attributes, possessing every moral perfection—wisdom, holiness, goodness, truth, mercy, love. Such is the Divine Being exhibited in the text.
II. His relationship to us. “Our own God.” Not merely the God of the universe, the only God, the God of the seraphim and the holy angels, but “our God.” The God—
1. Of our being. Our Maker, Father, source of existence (Gen_2:7; Job_33:4; Psa_139:14; Isa_57:6).
2. Our good Benefactor. Fountain of all goodness, the Giver of every good and perfect gift (Exo_34:6; 1Ch_16:34; Psa_33:5).
3. Our Divine Lord and Ruler. To whom we are subject, and owe all loyal obedience, and worship, and love (2Ki_19:15; 2Ch_20:6; Psa_95:3).
4. Our covenant God, who remembered us in our low estate, and in infinite condescension and mercy entered into gracious covenant relationship with His Son for our redemption and restoration to holiness and eternal life (2Sa_23:5; Jer_31:31; Heb_8:8).
5. Our gracious God, who has called us and adopted us into His Divine and heavenly family.
6. The God of our profession and worship. Ours by obedience to His call, and faith in His name, and avowal of delight in His service.
7. Our God for ever and ever,—in close, unbroken fellowship, and eternal oneness and joy. God is ours consciously by the indwelling of His Spirit, and by our union with His only begotten Son Jesus Christ.
III. The blessed assurance of this relationship,—“shall bless us.”
1. With all the good we need.
2. With the evident tokens of His favour. His Spirit, His presence, communion, &c.
3. With the rich treasures of His grace.
4. With eternal life and glory.
A few words in conclusion—
1. These blessings are of His sovereign bestowment.
2. Are laid up for us in His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom all fulness dwells.
3. Are realised by us as we ask and believe.
4. Are absolutely certain, as based on His own immutable word, ratified by His solemn oath and sealed with the precious blood of the Lord Jesus.
5. And are experienced by all His saints in the dispensation of His grace and love.
Yes; “God, our own God will bless us.” Grateful acknowledgment and entire consecration are His right and due. To our God be glory evermore.—Jabes Burns, D.D.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain On v1 Time begins and time ends with praise; and though…
Psa 67:3
Time begins and time ends with praise; and though during its course there may seem to be many an interval of dreary silence, yet God never wants praise. He inhabiteth the praises of eternity, and even here on earth praise waiteth for Him among His people. The whole of the course of God’s saints is full of praise.
Read full note →
I. And is there not ample reason? What though sin seem to have marred the Creator’s glorious work? Is it not a glorious work still? The heavens, with all their wonders of brightness, glorify Him; the earth, with her ten thousand processes of life and organisation, is full of His power, and wisdom, and love; and man is the noblest proof of all these combined. If God’s ordinary and creation mercies should warm our hearts and find utterance of praise from our lips, how should those hearts glow with fire, and those lips burst forth in songs of joy, when we remember that all our choicest blessings are not His ordinary creation gifts, but special bestowals of undeserved mercy and inconceivable love.
II. "Let all the people praise Thee." What though to some be denied the gift of praising Him with the lips? There is a more abiding and a worthier praise than this. A thousand secret strains of melody are uttered in His ear by the consistency and devotion of holy lives, more grateful than all the offerings of the voice; and these praises all can sing.
III. "Let all the people praise Thee," not only in the church, nor on the Lord’s Day only, but through all the vicissitudes of daily life. Some in their families; others in the mean and humble dwellings of the poor; others, again, in the busy haunts of commerce and amidst the crowding and crushing of the selfish world—these all may praise Him, these and many more. Remember His own solemn words, think of them in the light of Christ’s redemption, and ponder them at the foot of His Cross, "Whoso offereth praise, he honoureth Me; and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God."
H. Alford, Quebec Chapel Sermons, vol. i., p. 334.
Reference: Psa 67:4.—Jones, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxx., p. 37.
Psa 67:6
A Psalm like this should have corrected one of the most dangerous errors of which the Jewish people were guilty. They were inordinately proud of the high distinctions which God had conferred upon them, and regarded all other men as common and unclean. In this Psalm Jewish narrowness gives place to the broadest and most generous humanity. The Psalmist passes across all intervening generations, and stands by the side of Christian Apostles, glows with the same fervour, burns with the same universal charity, exults with them in the bright vision of a regenerated and sanctified world. The general impression produced both by the Jewish and Christian Scriptures seems to me to be that in this very world, which has been made desolate by the crimes of men and by the judgments of God, truth and righteousness are to win a secure and universal victory; and we are to see how bright and blessed a thing a man’s life may be made before this mortal puts on immortality, and this corruptible incorruption. "The earth shall yield her increase."
I. When all the people praise God, we may expect a condition of universal and unexampled material prosperity. The providence of God has so ordered it that the great discoveries and inventions which are now giving to man an authority over the material world all seem to originate within the limits of Christendom, and to be intended to augment the riches and power of Christian nations. We have not yet penetrated into all the secrets of nature; as the world advances in morality and religion, so that it can be safely trusted with the control and direction of still more gigantic powers than we can now command, He from whom cometh every good and perfect gift will inspire with brightest genius the men whom He shall choose to make the more wonderful discoveries He has reserved for the future.
II. The universal triumph of the Christian faith will powerfully affect the intellectual condition of our race. The religion of Christ is an intellectual as well as a spiritual discipline. Its great facts and truths exalt and invigorate every faculty of the human mind, as well as purify the affections of the soul.
III. When the rich and the poor alike shall be educated, industrious, and upright; when every throne shall be established in righteousness, and all laws shall be just, the political and social condition of mankind will pass into a far higher and more perfect form than the world has ever witnessed yet. Separate the morals of Christianity from the Divine energies with which through nineteen centuries they have been associated, they become powerless abstractions; let them remain in living unity with the history of "God manifest in the flesh" and the perpetual presence of the Holy Ghost in the world, they will not only secure the victory of justice, purity, and generosity in individual souls, but will regenerate the laws of States, the constitution of society, and the whole temporal life of mankind.
R. W. Dale, Discourses on Special Occasions, p. 215.
References: Psa 67:6.—C. J. Vaughan, Memorials of Harrow Sundays, p. 127; Spurgeon, Morning by Morning, p. 118. Psa 67:6, Psa 67:7.—Ibid., Sermons, vol. xiv., No. 819. Psa 67:7.—Congregationalist, vol. vii., p. 406. Psa 68:4.—G. W. McCree, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xvi., p. 74.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
F. W. Grant 1903 · Public Domain On v1 Complete blessing and rest.
Complete blessing and rest.
To the chief musician on stringed instruments. A psalm-song.
Read full note →
The sixty-seventh psalm is a bright and beautiful seventh: the number being emphasized as that of the verses also, of which the central one again, by its three lines instead of two, is marked out as the hinge upon which all turns, which is the reign of God upon earth. The grace of God flows through Israel, as the channel of it to the nations; they being the living example of it before the eyes of all. This the first two verses show: "God be gracious unto us" -His people Israel -"make His face to shine upon us, that Thy way may be known upon earth, Thy salvation among all nations." There follows the prediction of praise from all the earth: "Peoples shall praise Thee, O God: all the peoples shall praise Thee." And then we have the subject-matter of their praise, the joyfulness of what it is, freed from the misery of self-will and from the wills of others, to serve God and be subject to Him.
This is true blessedness at any time. How strange that it should take so long to learn it; yea, that the world should have at last to be brought by judgment into subjection! But it is the proof which all history gives of the reality of the fall. Simple it is, that creature-blessedness is found just in being creatures, -in letting God be God. "Thou shalt judge the peoples righteously, and lead the races upon earth." How necessarily that last expression fixes our thoughts upon Shepherd care, and upon the good Shepherd," in whose hands the sceptre is.
The next two verses are a good example of the fullness of meaning which the numerical structure brings out of the text. The fifth verse is but an exact repetition of the third, and its character as a third is evident. Praise belongs to the sanctuary; and in this verse there is nothing but praise. Yet precisely the same words come before us now as a fifth, and no possible division of the psalm could make both verses thirds. A fifth is most akin, by reason of its fundamental suggestion of "man with God"; and this can only be aright when God becomes enthroned in the heart, the object of his praise. Thus the fifth verse indicates that Immanuel ("God with us") has become the real characteristic of the new condition of humanity, although this is only beginning and not perfected, in the millennium itself. But it is no longer to take a people out of the Gentiles that God is working, but to produce that condition which the new earth will see accomplished, when "the tabernacle of God shall be with men."
The sixth verse, as such, speaks of the limitation and control of evil; and evil may be, as we know, either moral or physical. The last is also a check upon the first -a means of restraint, of which we all are conscious. Now the previous verse has shown us, in the winning of man’s heart to God, the power which has come in to bring about the eradication of physical evil. This therefore is now passing away: the earth is yielding her increase; the curse is removed from the ground; -the blessing of God is operative in antagonism to it.
The last verse gives the general result summed up: God is blessing Israel; all the ends of the earth shall fear Him now!
F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible (4th ed., 1903) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 This short and joyful Ps. is in the first…
This short and joyful Ps. is in the first place a harvest thanksgiving (Psa_67:6), perhaps at the Feast of Tabernacles. God's goodness to Israel reveals Him also to the nations (Psa_67:2), and calls forth their praise (Psa_67:3, Psa_67:5), their submission (Psa_67:4), and their worship (Psa_67:7). There is a symmetrical parallelism on either side of the middle verse, Psa_67:5 corresponding to Psa_67:3, and Psa_67:6-7 to Psa_67:1, Psa_67:2.
1. This v. is partly taken from the priestly benediction (Num_6:24), but with the change of 'the Lord'(Jehovah) into 'God' (Elohim).
Read full note →
2. Thy way] of dealing with men. Saving health] salvation.
3. People] RV'peoples.' S o in Psa_67:4, Psa_67:5.
4. Righteously] RV 'with equity.' Govern] RM'lead,' as H e led Israel.
6. RV 'The earth hath yielded her increase.'
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv1, 7 Neginoth, stringed instruments.
Neginoth
Neginoth, stringed instruments.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 Psalm 67
Psalm 67
The Fullest Blessing
Read full note →
This brief Psalm does not permit any division. It is closely linked with the preceding one, telling us of the fullest blessings in store for Israel and the whole earth, when the new day has dawned and the King reigns. If this little Psalm in its prophetic message were understood it would end forever all postmillennial misconceptions as to the conversion of the world. Israel prays that the Lord may be gracious to them as He will in that coming day. As a result of Israel’s conversion by the coming of the Lord, His way will be known upon the earth and His salvation among the nations. Then the peoples will praise, and the nations will be glad and rejoice. The Lord will be King of nations (verse 4) and the earth yield her increase. Here is God’s way for the full blessing the earth and the race needs. Israel prays “God shall bless us” and as the result “all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.” But Israel’s blessing is inseparably connected with the return of our Lord. No blessing and restoration till He comes again.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v1 A Psalm of Praise for the Conversion of the…
A Psalm of Praise for the Conversion of the Gentiles.
To the chief musician on Neginoth, to be rendered in public services with the accompaniment of stringed instruments, a psalm or song, the inspired author himself not being known.
Read full note →
v. 1. God be merciful unto us, looking upon the suppliants with grace and favor, and bless us, He, the only Giver of every good and every perfect gift, and cause His face to shine upon us, showing them the fullness of His favor, granting them His guiding presence, Num 6:25, Selah;
v. 2. that Thy way may be known upon earth, the manner in which the Lord conducted Himself, especially with regard to the salvation of His people, Thy saving health among all nations, that is, the salvation as revealed to men in the Word of the Gospel. The prayer of the psalmist is that God would find ways and means to spread the glorious news of salvation to all mankind, that the message of Christ, the Messiah, be made known among the Gentiles everywhere.
v. 3. Let the people, the nations throughout the earth, praise Thee, O God; let all the people praise Thee.
v. 4. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy, with an exultation caused by the glorious knowledge of salvation; for Thou shalt judge the people righteously, the judging in this case being done according to His merciful and mild rule, with reference to the righteousness of the Messiah, revealed in the Gospel and accepted by faith, and govern the nations upon earth, in His wonderful Kingdom of Grace. Selah.
v. 5. Let the people praise Thee, O God; let all the people praise Thee, having accepted Him as their Lord and Savior.
v. 6. Then shall the earth yield her increase, it has, in fact, brought forth its fruit, in the person of the Redeemer with the fullness of His salvation, communicated to men by His gracious rule; and God, even our own God, truly ours by virtue of the fact that we are His children by faith in Christ Jesus, shall bless us, with all wonderful spiritual blessings in heavenly places in our Savior.
v. 7. God shall bless us, and all the ends of the earth, all the inhabitants of the world, shall fear Him, regard Him with reverent awe as the mighty Author of salvation. It is a wonderful picture of missionary endeavor and success which is here drawn, full of encouragement and inspiration to all believers.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3, 5, 7 General Information:
General Information:
Parallelism is common in Hebrew poetry. (See: Poetry and Parallelism)
Read full note →
For the chief musician
"This is for the director of music to use in worship"
on stringed instruments
"people should play stringed instruments with this song"
cause his face to shine on us
The writer speaks of Yahweh acting favorably towards them as if Yahweh's face shone a light on them. AT: "act favorably towards us" (See: Metaphor)
your ways may be known on earth
This can be stated in active form. AT: "people may know your ways on earth" (See: Active or Passive)
your salvation among all nations
The writer desires for everyone to know that God has the power to save them. This can be made clear in the translation. AT: "and the people of all nations may know that you have the power to save them" (See: Ellipsis and Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
translationWords
psalm
God
mercy
bless
face
selah
know
save
nation
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3, 4, 6 Ps 67 In this anonymous prayer for God’s blessing,…
Ps 67 In this anonymous prayer for God’s blessing, the psalmist addresses the knowledge and worship of God among the nations (cp. 64:9; 65:8). The prayer requests that God’s name be kept holy and that his kingdom come (cp. Matt 6:9-13).
67:1-2 This prayer is based on the priestly blessing found in Num 6:24-26. God’s goodness to Israel affects his reputation among the nations (see Ps 96:1-3).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.