Psalm 67

Psalms 67:1

“May God have mercy on us and bless us. Let him not be our judge, but be merciful. May God have mercy on us. This is the voice of the apostles speaking to the people gathered from the nations: You have indeed believed at our voice; behold, this Church is gathered together in the name of God; therefore we say, May God have mercy on us and bless us, that by his blessing he may undo the first curse laid upon man. May he make his countenance shine upon us.”

Psalms 67:1

“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.”

Psalms 67:2

“That thy way may be known upon earth. As showers which first fall upon the hills afterwards run down in streams into the valleys, so the blessing of the Most High comes upon the world through the church. We are blessed for the sake of others as well as ourselves. God deals in a way of mercy with his saints, and then they make that way known far and wide, and the Lord's name is made famous in the earth.”

Psalms 67:2

“Thy way - The way of truth, or the true religion; the same which in the next clause is called his saving health, and both together signify the way of salvation; deal so graciously with thy people, that thereby the Gentile-world may at last be allured to join with them.”

Psalms 67:3

“Let the peoples confess to you, O God, let the peoples confess to you. The Jews? No: all peoples. Just as all the nations, so also all peoples. Let the peoples confess to you, O God. What should they confess? Surely their sins — or at least let them confess that your image is in you: let them confess you in the Son, in him let them see you, in him let them adore you.”

Psalms 67:4

“Let the nations be glad and rejoice. Because they have been freed from the captivity of the devil; because those who before were bent down to adore idols, wood and stones, now with upright face look upon the heavens. Because you judge the peoples in equity. Wherever there is equity and judgment, there is not gladness, but the dread of sinners. And how did he say, May God have mercy on us and bless us; and now he says, Let the nations be glad and rejoice, because you judge the peoples in equity? It seems to be contradictory.”

Psalms 67:5

“These words are no vain repetition, but are a chorus worthy to be sung again and again. The great theme of the psalm is the participation of the Gentiles in the worship of Jehovah; the psalmist is full of it, he hardly knows how to contain or express his joy.”

Psalms 67:6

“What is this fruit? May God bless us, our God; may God bless us. God — the Father; our God — the Son. For he himself is our God. "And you shall call," he says, "his name Emmanuel" — that is, God with us. Our God. May God bless us — the Holy Spirit. See the mystery of the Trinity comprehended in one little verse, The earth has given its fruit with many; in this fruit the mystery of the Trinity is contained. May God bless us, our God.”

Psalms 67:6

“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.”

Psalms 67:6-7

“Thus was the psalmist carried out by the spirit of prophecy to foretel the glorious estate of the Christian church, in which Jews and Gentiles should unite in one flock, the beginning of which blessed work ought to be the matter of our joy and praise, and the completing of it of our prayer and hope, in singing this psalm.”

Psalms 67:7

“And let all the ends of the earth fear him. He did not say, Let all the ends of the earth love him: "for perfect love casts out fear." To fear belongs to beginners, to love belongs to the perfect. He who still fears is placed at the start, he does not have perfect and full faith; but he who loves God, all things turn out to good for him. This little sentence seems brief and simple: but let us fan it out, and in these simple words we shall discover immense mysteries.”

Psalms 67:7

“God shall bless us. The prayer of the first verse is the song of the last. We have the same phrase twice, and truly the Lord's blessing is manifold; he blesses and blesses and blesses again. How many are his beatitudes! How choice his benedictions! They are the peculiar heritage of his chosen. He is the Saviour of all men, but specially of them that believe. In this verse we find a song for all future time.”