Psalm 67 (66):5Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Nonetheless, let the nations rejoice and exult. How so? Through that very admission. Why? Because He is good, the one to whom they confess: He desires confession to liberate the humble, while He condemns those who refuse to confess in order to chastise the proud. Therefore, lament before your confession, but celebrate once you have confessed. Recover from the burden of your conscience, which has festered with ill feelings and caused you discomfort. The Divine Healer applies healing words, sometimes cutting away the affliction through the sorrow of discipline. Acknowledge the work of the Healer; confess and let all malice pour out in your admission. Now rejoice—what remains can be easily restored.

Let the nations rejoice and exult, for You judge the nations justly. To assuage the fears of the unjust, it is said that You lead the nations on earth. The nations were corrupt, distorted, and depraved, and it was their wickedness that caused them to tremble at the coming of the Judge. Yet, His hand is extended mercifully to the nations, teaching them to walk in righteousness; why should they dread the coming of the Judge, who is first seen as the Corrector? They should surrender to His guidance, for He Himself leads the nations.

Those nations under His guidance walk in truth, rejoice in Him, and perform good deeds. Should any troubles arise, like water seeping into a ship at sea, let them diligently pump out the water—through fasting, prayer, and acts of charity—so that it does not accumulate and sink the vessel. Daily, they should say with sincere hearts, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" (Matthew 6:12). By speaking these words, they walk in safety and can rejoice on their journey, singing all the while. Fear not the Judge; before you came to faith, you encountered a Savior. He sought you, the sinner, to offer redemption; will He then abandon you, His redeemed, to destruction? Indeed, the nations on earth are led by Him.

However, the meaning of rejoicing is this: Let the nations rejoice and be glad. Why rejoice? Because You judge the nations with fairness; You do not favor any one tribe over another, for You are the God of all. It is not only the Jewish people who are favored in Your sight, but the entirety of creation belongs to You. Some may argue that we misinterpret Scripture, as it has not explicitly declared this. Yet let Scripture clarify itself when it states, “For You judge the nations with fairness.” Which nations? “And the tribes on earth You instruct.” Those tribes that once wandered in error, who walked in the wrong ways, You guide to walk in Your path, so that we may know Your ways on earth, step in those paths, and find our way to You, from whom the path originates. We cannot approach the Father except through the Son. Someone might contest, “This is an Arian belief.” Is it not the case that only through the Son can anyone be led to the Father? I assert this because through the image we come to the true presence, and in the light, we perceive the light (see Psalm 35:10); in the Son, we behold the Father. This encapsulates the mystery of God's Providence. If anyone finds this blasphemous since we claim that the Son is the way to God, let us examine what the Way itself professes: “No one comes to Me unless My Father draws him” (John 6:44). Thus, just as the Son leads us to the Father, the Father also directs us to the Son. These may be human expressions. Nevertheless, the Son takes us to the Father, and the Father ushers us to the Son; they share the same nature and essence.

This occurs when, reconciled to God, we express our confidence in the hope of salvation that has been revealed to us, and when a peace that surpasses all understanding is established within our hearts (Phil. 4:7). The explanation serves to affirm the significance of tongues: for the judgment mentioned here is not understood as strict justice, which rewards individuals according to their actions, but rather as the spiritual authority God exercises over His church, where both righteousness and the act of teaching are designated. Similar sentiments are echoed in Isaiah 11:4 and Micah 4:3.

However, it appears that this lush harvest, if indeed the primary catalyst for the psalm’s composition, would have warranted more than a passing mention (verse 7); rather, it seems the psalmist's focus was primarily on the conversion of the Gentiles, which provides a context for the brief reference to the transformation of the natural world—a result of the transformation of the hearts of men.

The psalmist calls upon God to disclose His mercy, prompting the Gentiles to place their faith in Him through this revelation (verses 2-3). Verse 2 clearly alludes to the blessing given by Moses (Numbers 6), though it could not be recited in the Tabernacle as it is literally presented within the blessings. The request to know God’s ways—תּוֹדֵעַ from Hebrew—underscores the desire that both Jew and Gentile come to understand His divine path, which encompasses the mighty deeds of God revealed particularly in Christ. Salvation, portrayed in both the Old and New Testaments, is deeply desired, and the psalmist expresses a fervent hope that this awaited time will soon arrive, when all nations, under the righteous governance of the Messiah, will glorify the Lord. With prophetic insight, he envisions the earth—nature itself—being glorified and blessed, akin to conditions during the Messianic age (verse 7). He anticipates that the Messiah will rule with righteousness, fulfilling the general expectation of that era, where truth and justice prevail across the globe (Psalms 44:7-8; 71:12; 84:11). The prophet perceives a future where the earth, currently under a curse, will ultimately yield fruit as it was intended to do (Revelation 22:2), concluding with a repeated plea for the blessings of the Messiah (verses 7-8).

Conversely, through the Virgin Mary came life, the New Adam, the Resurrection, and eternal joy. The ladder that Jacob beheld on his journey to Mesopotamia, which reached to heaven, represents the Blessed Virgin. The divinely-inspired Moses perceived the figure of the Mother of God in a burning bush that was not consumed. "Thus the Virgin has given birth to You, and the Virgin shall abide with You," like the burning bush that was not burnt up. The Mother of God stands as the glorious mountain of the Lord, surpassing all hills and peaks, exalted above the choirs of angels and men, more honorable than the Cherubim and more glorious than the Seraphim, the Virgin and the Mother of Light. The prophet Daniel described a colossal image composed of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and clay. "And the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands... And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth," for the kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome crushed the stone of our faith, Jesus Christ, who was hewn from the mountain—born of the Most Pure Virgin—who shattered the ancient pagan world and unveiled His Kingdom, the Holy Church.