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Psalm Sixty-seven
New King James Version (NKJV)
YLT
To the Overseer, with stringed instruments. -- A Psalm, a Song.
INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 67
To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm cf15I or Song.
According to the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, this
psalm is a psalm of David; and very probably it was written by him, since the
spirit and language of it agree with that sweet singer of Israel, though his
name is not in the title; wherefore Aben Ezra says, we know not who composed
it: and so the inscription of the Syriac version pronounces the same uncertain;
which adds,
"the
people sung it when they brought David over Jordan;'
meaning
after Absalom's rebellion was over, 2 Samuel 19:41; but
what follows better expresses the occasion and intent of it;
"but
to us it intimates a prophecy in it concerning the calling of the Gentiles, and
the preaching of the apostles; likewise concerning the judgments of the Lord:'
and
it seems indeed to breathe out the desires of the church after the coming of
Christ, and spiritual blessings by him, and the spread of the Gospel among the
Gentiles, as what would bring forth much fruit in the earth, and be the
occasion of great joy. The ancient JewsF9Debarim Rabba, s. 1. fol.
233. 4. Yalkut Simeoni in loc. apply it לצתיד לבא, "to future time"; the world to come, the
times of the Messiah: and Kimchi understands it of the gathering of the present
captivity when the Messiah comes, and of the destruction of Gog and Magog. Of
the word "neginoth", See Gill on Psalm 4:1, title.
Psalm 67:1 God
be merciful to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us, Selah
YLT
1God doth favour us and
bless us, Doth cause His face to shine with us. Selah.
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 usF11יחננו
"miserebitur", Gejerus, Schmidt. , 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,
"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 Numbers 6:24.
Selah; on this word; see Gill on Psalm 3:2.
Psalm 67:2 2 That Your way may be known
on earth, Your salvation among all nations.
YLT
2For the knowledge in earth
of Thy way, among all nations of Thy salvation.
That thy way may be known upon earth,.... God's way
and method of grace, in the salvation of sinners; the contrivance of it in
Christ, the impetration of it by him, and the application of it by his Spirit;
and the way of sinners to him through Christ, the way, the truth, and the life,
the new and living way to the Father; and the way of life and salvation, which
is grace, and by Christ alone; and the Gospel which points out this way, and is
itself called the way of God, Acts 18:25;
together with the ordinances of it, which are ways of pleasantness, and paths
of peace; all this was made known by the apostles and first preachers of the
Gospel; not only in the land of Judea, but throughout the whole earth;
thy saving health among all nations; or "thy
salvation"; or "thy Jesus"F12ישועתך
"salutem tuam", Pagninus, Montanus, &c. "i.e. salvatorem
cujus nomen erit Jesus", Gejerus. ; whose name signifies a Saviour; and
who is the only one, and an able and willing one, and is God's salvation, of
his appointing, promising, and sending; salvation is by him, and by him only;
he came to obtain it, and he is the author of it; health is also by him, he is
the physician of souls, and his blood the balm that cures every disease; so
that he is the Saviour, salvation, and saving health, to his people; this was
unknown to the nations of the world until the Gospel came among them, until the
grace of God bringing this salvation appeared unto them, and shone upon them, Titus 2:11.
Psalm 67:3 3 Let the peoples praise You,
O God; Let all the peoples praise You.
YLT
3Praise Thee do peoples, O
God, Praise Thee do peoples, all of them.
Let the people praise thee, O God,.... Let them have
occasion to praise God, the people of the Jews, for the mission of Christ, and
for the blessings of grace and peace with him;
let all the people praise thee; all the nations of the
world, for making known the way of life and grace, and the saving health or
salvation of God unto them: the word used signifies to "confess"F13יודוך "confiteantur", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus,
&c. ; and so the Targum,
"the
people shall confess before thee, O God; all the people shall confess before
thee;'
that
is, shall confess their sins, being made sensible of them; and confess the true
and living God, turning from their idols to serve him; and Christ to be the
only Saviour and Redeemer, being now made known unto them, through the
preaching of the Gospel.
Psalm 67:4 4 Oh, let the nations be
glad and sing for joy! For You shall judge the people righteously, And govern
the nations on earth. Selah
YLT
4Rejoice and sing do
nations, For Thou judgest peoples uprightly, And peoples on earth comfortest.
Selah.
O let the nations be glad and sing for joy,.... As they
were glad, and did sing for joy, and glorified God, when Christ was made known,
and the Gospel was preached unto them, Acts 8:5.
for thou shalt judge the people righteously; meaning not
the people of the world at the last day, at the general judgment, which will be
a righteous one; when God will judge the world in righteousness, according to
the strict rules of justice and equity, by him whom he has ordained, Psalm 96:1; but
either the righteous judgment which will be executed on the enemies of Christ's
church and people; particularly on antichrist, which will be matter of great
joy, Revelation 19:1;
and Kimchi interprets it of the judgment of the nations which shall come with
Gog and Magog; or else the judging and vindicating the Lord's own people,
defending their cause, righting their wrongs, and suffering no weapon to
prosper against them;
and govern the nations upon earth; or "lead them"F14תנחם "duces eas", Montanus; "deduces",
Junius & Tremellius, Cocceius; "deducis", Piscator. ; not to
punishment, as Kimchi, who interprets this clause as the other; but by his
grace and Spirit, into the knowledge of his way, and saving health; or as a
shepherd leads his flock into green pastures, and beside the still waters; or
as a king leads and governs his people, as David guided the people of Israel,
with the skilfulness of his hands; so Christ leads and governs his people,
protects and defends them, holds them by his right hand, guides them with his
counsel, and then receives them to glory; see Psalm 23:2.
Selah; on this word; see Gill on Psalm 3:2.
Psalm 67:5 5 Let the peoples praise
You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You.
YLT
5Confess Thee do peoples, O
God, Confess Thee do peoples -- all of them.
Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. See Gill on Psalm 67:3. This is
repeated from that preceding verse to show the earnest desire of the church that
it might be so; or that there might be an occasion for it; the ardour of her
mind, and fervency of her petitions, and how much she was solicitous for the
praise and glory of God; or to declare the certainty of it, she most strongly
believing that so it would be; as the Targum, "the people shall
confess", &c. because of a new favour to be enjoyed, mentioned in Psalm 67:6.
Psalm 67:6 6 Then
the earth shall yield her increase; God, our own God, shall bless us.
YLT
6Earth hath given her
increase, God doth bless us -- our God,
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 Leviticus 26:3; but
mystically and spiritually the church of God in the times of the Messiah, Ezekiel 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, 1 Corinthians 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, Colossians 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, Matthew 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 Psalm 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, Luke 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 Psalm 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, Acts 3:26.
Psalm 67:7 7 God shall bless us, And
all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.
YLT
7God doth bless us, and all
ends of earth fear Him!
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, Hosea 3:5.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)