Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 67:6
[Then] shall the earth yield her increase; [and] God, [even] our own God, shall bless us.
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).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Then shall the earth yield her increase – The word rendered increase – yebul – 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;
(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.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 67:6
Then shall the earth yield her increase.
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
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
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.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
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 Israels God in a peculiar manner, by that everlasting covenant which he hath made with us.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6, 7. The blessings of afruitful harvest are mentioned as types of greater and spiritualblessings, under which all nations shall fear and love God.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
[Then] shall the earth yield her increase,…. Not literally the land of Israel, as in some copies of the Targum, and as Kimchi interprets it; see Le 26:3; but mystically and spiritually the church of God in the times of the Messiah, Eze 34:23; the word of God preached in the world is the seed sown in it; converts to Christ are the increase or fruit of it; and the church is God’s husbandry, where it is yielded or brought forth; and this increase is of God, and is owing to the efficacy of his grace attending the ministration of the word, 1Co 3:6; it had its accomplishment in part in the first times of the Gospel, when it was preached by the apostles throughout the earth, and brought forth fruit everywhere, Col 1:5; and has been fulfilling more or less ever since, and will appear more abundantly in the latter day; a large increase and a plentiful harvest of souls shall be brought in, both Jews and Gentiles: or this may be understood of the fruitfulness of believers in Christ, who may be called “earth”, because of their common original from the earth with the rest of mankind; because they are inhabitants of the earth; and because they have earthly as well as heavenly principles in them; but more especially because they are the good ground on whom the seed of the word falls and becomes fruitful; or are the earth which drinks in the rain of the Gospel, and of grace, and brings forth fruit meet for them, by whom it is dressed, and receives blessing of God, Mt 13:23; these yield the fruits of the Spirit, increase in grace, and abound in the exercise of it; bring forth fruits meet for repentance, being filled with the fruits of righteousness by Christ; for the increase and fruit yielded by them are owing to the grace of God, to their grafting into Christ the vine, and to the influence of the blessed Spirit. Some of the ancients understand this of the incarnation of Christ; see
Ps 85:11; then “the earth” is the Virgin Mary, who was, as to her original, of the earth, earthly; of whose earthly substance Christ took flesh, and is called the fruit of her womb; yea, the fruit of the earth, Lu 1:42; for though he is the Lord from heaven, as to his divine nature, and came down from thence, not by change of place, but by assumption of nature; yet, as to his human nature, he was made of a woman, and is the seed of the woman, the promised seed, in whom all nations of the earth were to be blessed; and it here follows:
[and] God, [even] our own God, shall bless us; not as the God of nature and providence only; but as the God of grace, as a covenant God in Christ, in which sense he is peculiarly his people’s own God, so as he is not others; and as such he blesses them with all spiritual blessings in Christ: or the repetition of the word “God”, with the affix “our own”, may denote the certainty of the divine blessing, the assurance had of it, and the great affection of the persons that express it: and some think, because the word is repeated three times in this verse and Ps 68:7, respect is had to the trinity of Persons in the Godhead; God the Father blesses his people in Christ with the blessings of justification, pardon, adoption, and eternal life: the Son, who is Immanuel, God with us, God in our nature, our own God, God manifest in the flesh; he blesses with the same blessings of grace, peace, and eternal happiness; he was raised up of God as man and Mediator, and sent to bless his people, Ac 3:26.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
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.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(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.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
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.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 67:6. Then shall the earth yield her increase Or, as the words may be better rendered, according to the ancient versions, The earth hath yielded, or given her fruits. This is an argument to enforce the universal confession, acknowledgment, and service of God, Psa 67:5. St. Paul uses the same argument to the heathens, Act 14:17. The 7th verse would be best rendered in the form of a benediction, like the first verse: God bless us, even our God, i.e. “Confer still further and greater blessings upon us at the coming of the Messiah.”
REFLECTIONS.David, as a lively member of the church of God, pours forth his prayers to him for its prosperity, and that desirable event, the conversion of the Gentile world.
1. He prays in particular for the church of God. God be merciful unto us, and forgive and pardon us, as sinners ever need to pray, and bless us; which comprehends all we can ask or think, and God sees useful for us: and cause his face to shine upon us; comforting our souls and cheering us, causing the sun of righteousness to arise with healing in his wings; and these are requests which every faithful believer will never cease to offer for himself and his brethren.
2. He prays for a diffusion of gospel light and grace throughout the world, that all nations might know the saving health revealed in Jesus Christ, and the way of justification through his blood and merits, and of sanctification by his Spirit.
3. That in consequence thereof they might be led to praise God, as for the light and truth dispensed, so for the protection and grace promised. For thou shalt judge righteously, vindicating thy believing people from every charge laid against them, and saving them from every enemy; and govern the nations upon earth, who shall be happy under thy safe and gentle sway. Note; (1.) The service of Christ is the perfect freedom and happiness of his people. (2.) The faithful shall have cause to all eternity to bless the day when first their neck was bowed to his easy yoke.
4. Great, he foresees, will be the increase of the church, under the divine blessing, by the preaching of the gospel. The earth, the various nations of it, shall yield a plenteous harvest of converted souls; and God for ever bless his faithful people, putting his fear into their hearts; and be their everlasting confidence and joy. Note; (1.) When we can say God is our God, we may confidently add, he will bless us. (2.) They who are interested in his love, have the increase of earth, and every creature-comfort, heightened by a sweet savour of Christ in them.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
The earth, with all her blessings, shall be sanctified to the church in her use of them; for by the fall thorns and briers only were to be her product; but now in Jesus all is sweetened, sanctified, and blessed. And the foundation and security of all these mercies are in the covenant relationship between God and his people. If God be our God, our own God in Christ, we may be well assured that he will give us his blessing having given us his only begotten Son, will he not with him freely give us all things? Reader, let you and I convert these sweet words into a prayer, then act faith upon it, and be assured that the blessing will most certainly follow. From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. Isa 24:16 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
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.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
God . . . God. Figure of speech Epizeuxis. App-6.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Then: Psa 85:9-12, Lev 26:4, Isa 1:19, Isa 30:23, Isa 30:24, Eze 34:26, Eze 34:27, Hos 2:21, Hos 2:22, 1Co 3:6-9
our own: Psa 48:14, Gen 17:7, Exo 3:15, Jer 31:1, Jer 31:33
Reciprocal: Gen 26:12 – an hundredfold Gen 32:26 – thou bless Lev 25:19 – General Psa 24:5 – receive Psa 85:12 – our land Psa 91:2 – my God Psa 95:7 – For he Isa 4:2 – the fruit Isa 19:25 – the Lord Eze 36:8 – ye shall Joe 2:22 – for the tree Zec 8:12 – the seed Act 3:26 – sent
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
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 Israels 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.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
67:6 [Then] shall {d} the earth yield her increase; [and] God, [even] our own God, shall bless us.
(d) He shows that where God favours there will be abundance of all other things.