Psalm Devotional
Fields White for Harvest
Written by C.J. Williams. This devotional was first published in the September 2008 issue of The Reformed Presbyterian Witness.
The spirit of this psalm can be traced back to the Abrahamic promise that the people of God would be both blessed and made a blessing to all the world (Gen. 12:1-3). The psalm begins with a petition for “us” but is thereafter focused on the peoples of the world. It relates what is in store for them when the blessing that has reached “us” reaches them as well. Although the setting of harvesttime may be the historical context, verses 5-7 describe the worshiping world as the harvest yielded by the earth—a metaphor that was undoubtedly in Christ’s mind when He pictured the work of the gospel as a great harvest of people (Matt. 9:36-38; John 4:35-37).
Verse 1 clearly echoes the Aaronic blessing (Num. 6:24-26), while verse 2 gives that classic blessing new force of purpose in the plan of salvation. We see the Aaronic blessing going global as the good news of salvation spreads. God’s blessing upon His people is a means by which many others will be blessed with the knowledge of truth and salvation, just as it was promised to Abraham. Here is the Great Commission in the Old Testament.
Verse 3 is more than an appeal for robust singing; it is a prayer with great prophetic vision and expectation that the worshipers of God will come from among every people and nation. The Old Testament foresees and welcomes the worldwide spread of the gospel because the true God was never a tribal deity, and true religion cannot be circumscribed by national boundaries. The call to joyful praise in verse 4 is because God is a sovereign king and judge who rules with equity. The government of the nations is an honor that now belongs to the risen Christ (Isa. 9:6-7; Eph. 1:20-23).
Verses 5 and 6a form a striking parallelism. The peoples praising God are the harvest of the earth. This metaphor, common to both Old and New Testaments (see Isa. 55:10-13; Matt. 9:36-38), encourages us to see the world around us as a fertile field that is ready for the seed of the gospel, and to do our part in sowing that seed. Adam was placed in the garden of Eden to “till and keep” the land; thus mankind’s original vocation was destined to portray our great commission. We were all meant to be farmers of some sort.
As the psalmist concludes with more exclusive language (“our own God will bless us”), it is now clear that this blessing is not to be hidden or hoarded. It is a blessing that entails the commission to be a witness, so that “all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.”
The worldwide spread of the gospel is such a vast promise. It is easy to see that as only belonging to the grand metanarrative of redemptive history. It is more challenging to see our personal part in it from day to day. This psalm challenges us to think of the big picture and to remember that we play a real part in it through our witness to those around us. In the vast harvest of men that this psalm envisions, we must remember that people are brought to faith in Christ one at a time through the patient and loving witness of individual Christians. We see in part the unfolding of the promise of this psalm today, and one day we will see it fulfilled in its fullest dimensions. But today there remains work to be done.
