Revelation 5 is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. It consists mainly of waves of praise directed at “a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain” (v. 6)—in other words, our Savior, Jesus Christ. The four living creatures and 24 elders begin. They are joined by hosts of angels and finally by “every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them” (Rev. 5:13).
Revelation 5 answers the prayer of Psalm 67: “May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you” (vv. 3, 5). In this psalm, “harvest” is a picture of the Lord’s blessings. The parallelism in verse 6 treats the two as equivalent. This is often true in the psalms, for example: “The LORD will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest” (Ps. 85:12). “Harvest” is a powerful image of abundance in an agricultural society.
This entire psalm is structured like a sandwich: Prayers for God to bless (vv. 1–2 and 6–7) are placed on either side of a call for the people to praise Him (vv. 3–5). Verse 1 echoes the Aaronic blessing (Num. 6:24–26), with the petition for God’s face to “shine on us” indicating a prayer for His favor and a close relationship. The purpose is not simply blessings for them, but more importantly, “so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.” It’s all about His glory!
The middle section (vv. 3–5) calls for the nations, not only Israel, to praise the Lord for His justice and wise sovereignty. Then the psalm returns to its original theme, combining gratitude for present blessing with a prayer for future blessing and God’s glory. The “fear” in verse 7 is not human fear but the “fear of the Lord,” or worship.
Go Deeper
Given that most of us aren’t farmers, what does “harvest” or God’s blessings look like in your life? Do the people in your life know that all the credit belongs to the Lord?
Pray with Us
God, You provide for us with lavish abundance. Please make us the kind of people who are quick to thank You for all You have done. May Your praise be ever on our lips.
The land yields its harvest; God, our God, blesses us.Psalm 67:6
