The earth has yielded its increase. God, even our own God, will bless us.
Parallel Translations
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The earth has yielded its increase. God, even our own God, will bless us.
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Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.
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(67-7) The earth hath yielded her increase; may God, our own God, bless us.
Cross-references (12)
Passages linked to Psalms 67:6 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Leviticus 26:4 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.
- Exodus 3:15 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 Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations.
- Genesis 17:7 I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your offspring after you.
- Psalms 85:9-12 Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. Mercy and truth meet together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth springs out of the earth. Righteousness has looked down from heaven. Yes, Yahweh will give that which is good. Our land will yield its increase.
- Isaiah 30:23-24 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 plentiful. In that day, your livestock will feed in large pastures. The oxen likewise and the young donkeys that till the ground will eat savory feed, which has been winnowed with the shovel and with the fork.
- Jeremiah 31:33 “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 parts, and I will write it in their heart. I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
- Ezekiel 34:26-27 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 blessing. The tree of the field will yield its fruit, and the earth will yield its increase, and they will be secure in their land. Then they will know that I am Yahweh, when I have broken the bars of their yoke, and have delivered them out of the hand of those who made slaves of them.
- Hosea 2:21-22 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 will respond to the grain, and the new wine, and the oil; and they will respond to Jezreel.
- Psalms 48:14 For this God is our God forever and ever. He will be our guide even to death.
- Isaiah 1:19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land;
- Jeremiah 31:1 “At that time,” says Yahweh, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”
- 1 Corinthians 3:6-9 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 increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are the same, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s farming, God’s building.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 6 The earth has given its increase Mention having…
6 The earth has given its increase Mention having been made of the principal act of the Divine favor, notice is next taken of the temporal blessings which he confers upon his children, that they may have everything necessary to complete their happiness. And here it is to be remembered, that every benefit which God bestowed upon his ancient people was, as it were, a light held out before the eyes of the world, to attract the attention of the nations to him. From this the Psalmist argues, that should God liberally supply the wants of his people, the consequence would be, to increase the fear of his name, since all ends of the earth would, by what they saw of his fatherly regard to his own, submit themselves with greater cheerfulness to his government.
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 He showeth that where God favoreth, there shall be…
He showeth that where God favoreth, there shall be abundance of all other things.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 67:6 [Then] shall the earth yield her increase;…
Psa 67:6 [Then] shall the earth yield her increase; [and] God, [even] our own God, shall bless us.
Ver. 6. Then shall the earth yield her increase] Omnia opera nostra erunt prospera, All shall go well with us, and we shall abound with blessings of both lives. The gospel is a cornucopia; and they that receive it shall have all that heart can wish or need require; all creatures shall conspire to make them happy. The earth, which was cursed for man’s sin, and hath lain bedridden, as it were, ever since, shall put forth her utmost strength for good people’s use. God will hear the heavens, and the heavens shall hear the earth, &c., Hos 2:21-22, when once men’s hearts bear fruit to the Lord, Mat 13:19; Mat 13:23 Heb 6:7. Jerome interpreteth these words of the Virgin Mary bringing forth the child Jesus. Others thus, Then shall the earth bring forth innumerable servants of God.
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 When the people of the earth shall be converted…
When the people of the earth shall be converted to the worship and service of the true God, God will take away his curse from the earth, and cause it to yield them abundance of all sorts of fruits; under which one blessing promised under the law to them that obey God, all other blessings both temporal and spiritual are comprehended, as is very usual in the Old Testament.
Our own God; he who is Israel’s God in a peculiar manner, by that everlasting covenant which he hath made with us.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain God shall bless us,.... The Holy Spirit blesses with…
God shall bless us,.... The Holy Spirit blesses with regenerating and renewing grace; with faith, comfort, joy and peace, by shedding abroad in the heart the love of the Father and the Son; by applying precious promises; by testifying adoption; by making meet for heaven and happiness, and working up for the selfsame thing eternal glory;
and all the ends of the earth shall fear him; the one God, Father, Son, and Spirit, the object of religious fear, internal and external; for this includes the exercise of that inward grace of filial fear, and the performance of all divine worship, public and private; and which in the latter day will be found among Jews and Gentiles, in all the inhabitants of the earth, even to the ends of it, Hos 3:5.
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Next: Psalms Chapter 68
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 Them - When the people of the earth shall…
Them - When the people of the earth shall be converted to God, God will cause it to yield them abundance of all sorts of fruits. Under which one blessing, all other blessings both temporal and spiritual are comprehended. Our own - He who is Israel's God in a peculiar manner.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 6. The earth yield her increase] As the…
Verse 6. The earth yield her increase] As the ground was cursed for the sin of man, and the curse was to be removed by Jesus Christ, the fertility of the ground should be influenced by the preaching of the Gospel; for as the people's minds would become enlightened by the truth, they would, in consequence, become capable of making the most beneficial discoveries in arts and sciences, and there should be an especial blessing on the toil of the pious husbandman. Whenever true religion prevails, every thing partakes of its beneficent influence.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Psa 67:6-7. Then shall the earth yield her increase…
Psa 67:6-7. Then shall the earth yield her increase — When the inhabitants of the earth shall be converted to the worship and service of the true God, he will take away his curse from the earth, and cause it to yield them abundance of all sorts of fruits. Under which one blessing all other blessings, both temporal and spiritual, are comprehended. And God, even our own God — Who is Israel’s God, in a peculiar manner, by that covenant which he hath made with us; shall bless us — Confer still further and greater blessings upon us at the coming of the Messiah, when all the ends of the earth shall fear him — Shall remember and turn unto the Lord, and worship before him, Psa 22:27.
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 Then shall the earth yield her increase - The…
Then shall the earth yield her increase - The word rendered “increase” - יבול yebûl - means properly produce, or that which the earth produces when properly cultivated. It is rendered “increase,” as here, in Lev 26:4, Lev 26:20; Deu 32:22; Jdg 6:4; Job 20:28; Psa 78:46; Psa 85:12; Eze 34:27; Zec 8:12; and fruit, in Deu 11:17; Hab 3:17; Hag 1:10. It does not elsewhere cccur. The Hebrew verb here is in the past tense - “has yielded her increase,” but the connection seems to demand that it shall be rendered in the future, as the entire psalm pertains to the future - to the diffusion of the knowledge of the way of God, Psa 67:2; to the desire that the nations might praise him, Psa 67:3-5; and to the fact that God would bless the people, Psa 67:6-7. Thus understood, the idea is, that the prevalence of true religion in the world would be connected with prosperity, or that it would tend greatly to increase the productions of the earth. This, it would do,
(a) as such an acknowledgment of God would tend to secure the divine favor and blessing on those who cultivate the earth, preventing the necessity, by way of judgment, of cutting off its harvests by blight, and drought, and mildew, by frost, and storm, and destructive insects, caterpillars, and locusts;
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(b) as it would lead to a much more extensive and general cultivation of the soil, bringing into the field multitudes, as laborers, to occupy its waste places, who are now idle, or intemperate, or who are cut down by vice and consigned to an early grave.
If all who are now idle were made industrious - as they would be by the influence of true religion; if all who by intemperance are rendered worthless, improvident, and wasteful, were made sober and working people; if all who are withdrawn from cultivating the earth by wars - who are kept in standing armies, consumers and not producers - or who are cut down in battle, should be occupied in tilling the soil, or should become producers in any way; and if all who are now slaves, and whose labor is not worth half as much as that of freemen, should be restored to their equal rights, - the productions of the earth would at once be increased many times beyond the present amount. The prevalence of true religion in the world, arresting the cause of idleness and improvidence, and keeping alive those who are now cut off by vice, by crime, and by the ravages of war, would soon make the whole world assume a different aspect, and would accomplish the prediction of the prophet Isa 35:1 that the “wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad, and that the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose.” The earth has never yet been half cultivated. Vast tracts of land are still wholly unsubdued and uninhabited. No part of the earth has yet been made to produce all that it could be made to yield; and no one can estimate what the teeming earth might be made to produce if it were brought under the influence of proper cultivation. As far as the true religion spreads, it will be cultivated; and in the days of the millenium, when the true religion shall be diffused over all continents and islands, the earth will be a vast fruitful field, and much of the beauty and the fertility of Eden be reproduced in every land.
And God, even our own God, shall bless us - The true God; the God whom we adore. That is, He will bless us with this abundant fertility; he will bless us with every needed favor.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain The blessings of a fruitful harvest are mentioned as…
The blessings of a fruitful harvest are mentioned as types of greater and spiritual blessings, under which all nations shall fear and love God.
Next: Psalms Chapter 68
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 6. Then shall the earth yield her increase—Which shows…
6. Then shall the earth yield her increase—Which shows that godliness has “promise of the life that now is.” 1Ti_4:8; Psa_85:12. The Hebrew prophets always associated the complete dominion of God in the earth with righteousness, peace, and plenty to all mankind; and that such a state would obtain in Messiah’s reign was their expectation. Isa_2:1-5; Psalms 72, and Psa_96:10-13. But the verb is in the perfect tense, “The earth has yielded her increase,” as if in acknowledgment of a recent, abundant harvest, which the author accepts as a pledge of universal blessing yet to come.
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 6. Then shall the earth &c.] Render, The land…
6. Then shall the earth &c.] Render, The land hath yielded her increase, according to the promise of Lev_26:4; cp. Psa_85:12; Psa_65:9 ff. God, our God, is the Elohistic editor’s substitution for Jehovah our God.
shall bless us] Here and in the following verse the verbs might be taken as a prayer: may God bless us. But it is better to render doth or shall bless us. Pointing to the abundant harvest (Psa_67:6 a), the thankful people declare that God is blessing them, and express their faith that He will continue to bless them, with the result that the remotest nations of the world will become ‘fearers of God,’ worshippers of the only true God, the God of Israel (Psa_66:16).
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 (6) Then shall the earth yield her increase.—It seems…
(6) Then shall the earth yield her increase.—It seems more in keeping with the expression of thanks to render here with the LXX. and Vulg., “The land hath yielded her increase.”
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 Then shall the earth yield her increase; literally, the…
Then shall the earth yield her increase; literally, the land hath given her increase a quotation from Lev_26:4, but probably in a metaphorical sense. An abundant spiritual harvest is seen by the psalmist as the result of the entrance of the Gentiles into the Church an immense "increase" in the fruits of righteousness hitherto yielded and this is spoken of as a result already obtained, through the perfect assurance of the writer that his prayers are granted and the result determined on in the Divine counsels. And God, even our own God, shall bless us. "Our own God" must certainly be Jehovah; but the writer, in his broad universalism, will not use the expression.
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 Ver. 6. Then shall the earth yield her increase.…
Ver. 6. Then shall the earth yield her increase. Sin first laid a curse on the soil, and grace alone can remove it. Under tyrannical governments lands become unproductive; even the land which flowed with milk and honey is almost a wilderness under Turkish rule; but, when the principles of true religion shall have elevated mankind, and the dominion of Jesus shall be universally acknowledged, the science of tillage shall be perfected, men shall be encouraged to labour, industry shall banish penury, and the soil shall be restored to more than its highest condition of fertility. We read that the Lord turneth "a fruitful land into barrenness, "for the wickedness of them that dwell therein, and observation confirms the truth of the divine threatening; but even under the law it was promised, "The Lord shall make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land for good." There is certainly an intimate relation between moral and physical evil, and between spiritual and physical good. Alexander notes that the Hebrew is in the past tense, and he concludes that it is ungrammatical to render it in the future; but to us it seems that the prophet bard, hearing the nations praise the Lord, speaks of the bounteous harvest as already given in consequence. On the supposition that all the people praise Jehovah, the earth has yielded her increase. The future in the English appears to be the clearest rendering of the Hebrew.
And God, even our own God, shall bless us. He will make earth's increase to be a real blessing. Men shall see in his gifts the hand of that same God whom Israel of old adored, and Israel, especially, shall rejoice in the blessing, and exult in her own God. We never love God aright till we know him to be ours, and the more we love him the more we long to be fully assured that he is ours. What dearer name can we give to him than "mine own God." The spouse in the song has no sweeter canticle than "my beloved is mine and I am his." Every believing Jew must feel a holy joy at the thought that the nations shall be blessed by Abraham's God; but every Gentile believer also rejoices that the whole world shall yet worship the God and Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who is our Father and our God.
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Ver. 6. Then shall the earth yield her increase. An increase of wealth is but the natural result of increased piety and intelligence. There are certain qualities essential to temporal prosperity. These are industry, economy, moderation; and such are the qualities begotten of godliness...
Nor is it an unreasonable expectation that our globe should, under the reign of righteousness, yield all those temporal advantages of which it is capable. Science, favoured by piety, may greatly add to the earth's fruitfulness; and mechanical genius may still farther abbreviate human toil, and increase human comforts. The great inventions and discoveries of science, by which toil is lessened and comfort enhanced, are all the product of Christian minds... Can we, then, doubt that in the era to which we look forward, labour shall cease to be a burden? Can we believe that the life of the labouring classes is to continue to be all but a ceaseless round of toil and vexation--every hand stretched out to procure something that is needed, or to ward off something that is feared? Scripture predicts the mitigation of the curse; and, in the discoveries of science, and the inventions of mechanics, we see the means by which the prediction is to be accomplished. This consummation may still be in the distant future; but if we do not grudge the oak years for its growth, the glory to be revealed is surely worthy of a process as gradual. William Reid, in "Things to Come Practically Considered, "1871.
Ver. 6. God, even our own God, shall bless us. What a rapturous expression is that: God, even our own God, shall bless us! and that, "Thy God, thy glory!" Upon interest in God follows their interest in his glory and blessedness; which is so much the dearer and more valuable, as it is theirs; their glory from their God. They shall be blessed by God, their own God; "drink waters out of their own well." How endearing a thing is propriety! Another man's son is ingenuous, comely, personable; this may be a matter of envy; but mine own is so, this is a joy. I read in the life of a devout nobleman of France, (Monsieur de Renti) that receiving a letter from a friend in which were inserted these words: "Deus meus et omnia, "my God and my all, he thus returns back to him: "I know not what your intent was to put into your letter these words, `Dues meus et omnia, My God and my all:' only you invite me thereby to return the same to you, and to all creatures. `My God and my all: my God and my all; my God and my all.' If, perhaps, you take this for your motto, and use it to express how full your heart is of it, think you it possible I should be silent upon such an invitation, and not express my sense thereof? Likewise be it known unto you, therefore, that he is `my God and my all; 'and, if you doubt of it, I shall speak of it a hundred times over. I shall add no more, for anything else is superfluous to him that is truly penetrated with `my God and my all; 'I leave you, therefore, in this happy state of jubilation, and conjure you to beg for me, of God, the solid sense of these words." And do we think, "my God and my all." or, "my God and my glory, "will have lost its emphasis in heaven? or that it will be less significant among awakened souls? These things concur, then, concerning the object; it is more excellent, even divine, entire, permanent, and theirs: how can it but satisfy? John Howe, in "The Blessedness of the Righteous."
Ver. 6. Our own God. How inexpressible was the inward pleasure wherewith we may suppose those words to have been uttered. How delightful an appropriation! as if it were intended to be said, the blessing itself were less significant, it could not have that savour with it, if it were not from our own God. Not only, therefore, allow but urge your spirits thus to look towards God, that you may both delight in him as being in himself the most excellent one, and also as being yours; for know, you are not permitted only, but obliged to eye, accept, and rejoice in him as such. John Howe.
Ver. 6-7. The promise refers directly to the visible fertility of the renewed earth at the time of Israel's recovery, but it includes a fuller reference to higher things; for the true increase yielded by any of God's works is the revenue of praise which redounds to his holy name. Such, then, is the promise I have to bring before you. In its widest sense, the lower creation is now made subject to vanity, because of man's sin; but in the kingdom of Christ this curse will be removed, and all God's works will yield their full increase--a tribute of unmingled honour and praise to his name. Let us consider
1. The preparation for this increase.
2. The increase itself.
3. The blessing of God, which will crown it.
I. THE PREPARATIONS FOR THIS INCREASE. What are the
means? What is the way of its accomplishment? Whence
does it proceed? Our Psalm is full of instruction.
Consider--
1. Its fountain: the free mercy of God. The Psalm begins, God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us. Whatever the details and steps of the work of redemption, all must be traced up to this original fountain, the sovereign grace and mercy of our God... The eternal, free, unchangeable, inexhaustible mercy of our God revealed through his dear Son Jesus Christ; this is the fountain head of the blessed increase here foretold...
2. The order in which this increase is granted may next be considered. Salvation is given to the Jew first, and then also to the Greek. The prayer of this Psalm is, Cause his face to shine upon us; that thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations. It is the divine plan first to choose his people and bless them, and then to make them a blessing, as we see in Abraham, the father of the faithful. It is through his church that God blesses the world... The same principle is true in every revival of pure religion... But all this order of divine mercy has yet to be more fully seen in what is before us; in the restoration of Israel, and in its effect upon the world at large...
3. The immediate precursor of this increase is the return of our Lord from heaven, the coming of Christ to judge the earth and reign over all nations. The Psalm calls all nations to rejoice in this: O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth.... The world craves, and will crave more and more for righteous government. The Lord has promised to supply this natural want of the human heart, though he take vengeance on his hardened enemies. Even in the coming of the Lord to judgment, goodness will so finally triumph that the nations are to be glad and sing for joy... It is the Lord judging the people and governing the nations, and all the people praising him, that prepares directly and immediately for the promised blessedness. Then shall the earth yield her increase.
II. THE INCREASE ITSELF. This increase has many aspects.
Let us view them in a climax of benefits.
1. Natural fertility. The first sentence of curse and barrenness, of thorns and thistles, was pronounced on Adam's fall, and renewed on Cain's murder. It seems to have been specially removed after the deluge... Even now, two thirds of our world are ocean, incapable of increase; half of the rest, and perhaps more, is almost desert, and of the remainder the largest part is very imperfectly tilled. There is room, even in the latter, for a vast increase, when the whole earth might become like the garden of the Lord.
2. The redemption of art. Its activity, its talent, and discoveries are now great and wonderful; but it is mainly turned to human self sufficiency and vanity, and bears little fruit to God's glory and the highest benefit of man. But in the period predicted in this Psalm, every creature, when redeemed to man's use, shall be also reclaimed to God's glory...
3. The redemption of science....
4. Society will yield its increase to God.... Men now live as without God in the world, full though it be of proofs of his wisdom and love... What a change when every social circle shall be a fellowship of saints, and all bent to one great purpose, the divine glory and the blessedness of each other.
5. The soul shall yield its increase. The earth is only the figure of the human heart, a soil ever fertile for good or evil. Thus the apostle, in his Epistle to the Hebrews, regards it: "For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God; but that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak." Then the thorns and briers of a crooked and perverse generation will cease... The fruits of righteousness will abound from the human race to the glory of God. Much praise, much zeal, much reverence, much humility, will distinguish his servants. Faith, hope, and love will all be in the fullest exercise. Christ will be all and in all, and every power will be consecrated to him. This is the best increase the earth yields to God.
6. The large number of God's true servants, thus yielding themselves to him, is another part of this blessedness...
7. The perpetuity of this increase has to be added to this glory. This is according to the promise made to the Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Condensed from Edward Bickersteth's Sermon in the "Bloomsbury Lent Lectures, "1848.
Ver. 6-7. Double blessings from God--temporal and spiritual, blessings peculiar to the Jews, and blessings suited to Christians. O Lord, I refuse not the temporal blessings it pleases thee to send me; I will receive them with humble gratitude as the gift of thy goodness: but I entreat from thee especially for spiritual blessings; and that thou wouldest treat me rather as a Christian than as a Jew. Pasquier Quesnel (1634-1719), in "Les Psaumes de David avec des Reflexions Morales."
Ver. 6-7. See "Spurgeon's Sermons, "No. 819: "The Minstrelsy of Hope."
Psalms 67:7*
Ver. 6-7. See Psalms on "Ps 67:6" for further information.
Ver. 6-7. See Psalms on "Ps 67:6" for further information.
Ver. 6-7. See "Spurgeon's Sermons, "No. 819: "The Minstrelsy of Hope."
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 Then shall the earth yield her increase.
Psa_67:6
Then shall the earth yield her increase.
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The influence of Christianity on the temporal future of mankind
The universal knowledge and service of God are connected with more abundant material prosperity. The earth is to yield her increase; the grapes are to hang in heavier clusters; the oil is to flow tit richer streams; the corn is to yield a more golden harvest; the pastures are to be covered with more numerous flocks; mans temporal life is to be happier, nobler, more beautiful, when the whole race is brought back to the love and worship of the Creator. For this psalm, apt as the Jews were to forget it, and think only of themselves, foretells Gods bounty to the whole race, and not to any one part of it. There is a golden age for men in this world, in which the dreams of reformers, philanthropists and fools shall be more than fulfilled. Christianity, conversant as it is with the realities of the unseen, the spiritual and eternal, is not, as some say, without interest for the wealth, the learning, the refinement, the beauty, belonging to this transitory life. Human life, though brief, is worth our care and culture. Christ eared for this life and blessed it. He healed the sick and fed the hungry, and looked at the lilies of the field, and observed that their beauty was richer and fairer than the robe of a king. They are perverted conceptions of the Christian life which have led many good men to shrink from the touch of every secular interest and to devote themselves to a life of solitude and meditation. They forget that we are put in this world to prepare for eternity, not to be always thinking about it. True, great saints have been indifferent to the common occupations of life, but in them--the few elect souls--the Divine fire burned with such intensity as to consume their interest in all inferior things. But Christianity is not, therefore, to be censured as hostile to mans temporal welfare. Though John Howard cared for nothing but the sorrows and injuries of the outcasts of society, philanthropy is not, therefore, charged with indifference to commerce, art and the various occupations and pursuits of men. We believe, then, that the triumph of the Christian faith will be marked by a vast uplifting of the material, intellectual, and social condition of our race. (R. W. Dale, D. D.)
Harvest sermon
Apply these words--
I. To the material or physical increase of the earth. How varied and great is this increase. But at present it is only partial. Hereafter it shall be full and complete.
II. To the earths spiritual increase. There will be--
1. Reverent acknowledgment of Gods majesty (Psa_67:7).
2. The reverence of praise which is Gods due (Psa_67:5).
3. The prevalence of Gods kingdom upon earth (Psa_67:4).
4. The joy and gladness of the people (Psa_67:4).
5. The harvest of redeemed souls (Psa_67:2). (J. Bennett.)
God, even our own God, shall bless us.
Gods blessing
I. Contemplate Him who blesses His people. God, even, etc. God. Our God. Our own God, for He has chosen us, and we have chosen Him.
II. The nature of the blessing. Forgiveness, grace, joy, hope.
III. The manner in which God blesses His people. Seasonably, bountifully, through Jesus Christ, eternally.
IV. Reasons why God does this. Because He loves them, would further the cause of Christ and His own glory. (T. Lewis.)
The minstrelsy of hope
God, even our own God. What an exceedingly sweet title! What a loveliness and liveliness of heart must have been in the man who first applied that name to God. That word own, or our own, seems always to throw an atmosphere of delicious fragrance about anything with which it is connected. If it be our country,
Lives there a man with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said
This is my own, my native land?
Whether it be a land of barren heath, or shaggy wood, or a far extended plain--all men love their own fatherland. And so with regard to our homes, our friends, our books, etc. But what shall we say of our own God? Words fail to express the depth of joy and delight which this name contains. They seem to be used here as a kind of argument and assurance of the blessing which is foretold God shall bless us. But we propose simply to keep to the words, God shall bless us, God shall bless us. They have been sounding in my ears like far-off bells, singing their way with a march of music into the deeps of my soul. Three personified passions will now speak to us, and we with them.
I. Fear. Fear lodges with some as an abiding guest, and is entertained as though she were a dear, familiar friend. She is ever inquiring, Will God bless us? and she is full of misgivings and forebodings. But our text makes answer, God shall bless us, God shall bless us.
II. Desire. Quick of step, bright of eye, warm of heart, Desire saith, Ah, God shall bless us, but oh, that we had the blessing! We hunger and thirst after it. The reply to her is, that it will come through the revival of the Church. Then the longed-for conversion of sinners will be seen. God will give us His blessing in measure correspondent to our faith. And it will come when the Church is filled with intense desire for it, and sets herself to pray for it. To the more spiritual there are certain signs which assure them that the blessing is coming. As to Elijah, the signs of abundance of rain were evident; and to Columbus, of land not far off by the sight of land birds and floating pieces of sea-weed, and broken pieces of wood. So to the spiritually minded there are sure signs of coming blessing.
III. Hope. Behold her--the sweet, bright-eyed maiden, Hope. Have you never heard the story of her matchless song? She learned in her youth a song which she sings evermore to the accompaniment of a well-tuned harp. Here are the words of her enchanting lay, God will bless us, God will bless us. She has been known to sing this in the midst of tempests, and calms have followed the soothing song. She has been often heard singing this in the night, and lo! stars have suddenly shone out of the black sky. Once on a time, certain strong labourers were sent forth by the great King to level a primeval forest, to plough it, to sow it, and to bring Him the harvest. They were stouthearted and strong, and willing enough for labour, and well they needed all their strength, and more. One stalwart brother was named Industry--consecrated work was his. His brother, Patience, with thews of steel, went with him, and tired not in the longest days, under the heaviest labours. To help them they had Zeal, clothed with ardent and indomitable energy. Side by side, there stood his kinsman Self-denial, and his friend Importunity. These went forth to their labour, and they took with them, to cheer their toils, their well-beloved sister, Hope; and well it was they did, for the forest trees were huge, and needed many sturdy blows of the axe ere they would fall prone upon the ground. One by one they yielded, but the labour was immense and incessant. At night when they went to their rest, the days work always Seemed so light, for as they crossed the threshold, Patience, wiping the sweat from his brow, would be encouraged, and Self-denial would be strengthened, for they heard a sweet voice within sing, God will bless us, God, even our own God, will bless us. They felled the giant trees to the music of that strain; they cleared the acres one by one; they tore from their sockets the huge roots; they delved the soil, they sowed the corn, and waited for the harvest, often much discouraged, but still in silver chains and golden fetters by the sweet sound of the voice which chanted so constantly, God, even our own God, shall bless us. They never could refrain from service, for she never could refrain from song. They were ashamed to be discouraged, they were shocked to be despairing, for still the voice sang out clearly at morn and eventide, God will bless us; God, even our own God, will bless us. You know the parable, you recognize the voice; may you hear it in your souls always. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
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Psa_68:1-35
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 67:6-7 Bountiful harvests are evidence of God’s blessing (Gen…
67:6-7 Bountiful harvests are evidence of God’s blessing (Gen 26:12; Isa 30:23). • all over the world: See Pss 2:8; 96:1-3. • All will fear him, joining with Israel to acknowledge the God of Israel.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.