Psalms 115:14 Meaning and Explanation
“The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →Blessings that name our children carry a particular weight, since most of us worry about what we are handing on more than about what we currently hold. Verse 14 speaks to that worry directly, promising an increase that God himself supplies and that does not stop with the people standing in the room.
A word of blessing spoken over the worshipping community: the LORD himself will add to them, and the increase reaches beyond the present generation to include their children.
The Context of Psalms 115:14
After the long description of idols in verses 4 through 8, Psalm 115 calls three groups to trust the LORD: Israel, the house of Aaron, and all who fear him. Verses 12 and 13 answer with assurance that the LORD has been mindful and will bless those same groups, small and great alike. Verse 14 extends that assurance into the future. Verse 15 grounds it in the LORD as maker of heaven and earth, and verse 16 speaks of the earth given to the children of men. The psalm ends in verse 18 with a vow to bless the LORD for ever.
What Does Psalms 115:14 Mean?
The subject of the sentence is the LORD, and the verb belongs to him alone. Increase here is something granted rather than achieved, which fits a psalm that opened by refusing glory for Israel. 'More and more' renders a doubled expression of continual addition, so the promise concerns a process rather than a single deposit. Then the beneficiaries are named twice over: 'you and your children'. The second phrase widens the blessing across time. Whoever first heard these words was being told that God's generosity would still be working after they had finished listening, and that their households were included in the reckoning.
The promise gathers up a very old thread. God told Abraham that his seed would be multiplied, and Moses blessed Israel with a wish that the LORD would make them a thousand times more numerous. Psalm 115 places that inheritance in the mouth of a congregation standing in the shadow of the nations' taunt. The comparison with idols has just been made, and this verse shows what the living God does that carved images cannot: he gives life and adds to it. Blessing in Scripture regularly runs along family lines without ever becoming automatic, since each generation is called in turn to trust the LORD.
Peter used strikingly similar language at Pentecost, telling the crowd that the promise was to them and to their children and to all afar off, as many as the Lord our God would call (Acts 2:39). The pattern of Psalm 115:14 carries straight into that sermon: God's blessing named over a present company and their descendants together. Growth in the New Testament is described in the same terms, with the Lord adding to the church daily. Households continue to matter in that account, and the increase remains his gift, sought in prayer and received with thanks.
Psalms 115:14 in the Original Language
yasaph (יָסַף), 'increase' -- a common Hebrew verb meaning to add or to do again. The doubled construction here conveys addition upon addition, so the promise describes God continuing to give more, with no suggestion that the giving reaches a limit.
Bible Verses Related to Psalms 115:14
“(The LORD God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as he hath promised you!)”
- Deuteronomy 1:11
“That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;”
- Genesis 22:17
“For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.”
- Acts 2:39
“Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth.”
- Psalm 115:15
Where Psalms 115:14 Echoes in Scripture
Isaiah 44:3 promises water on the thirsty ground and the LORD's Spirit poured upon the offspring of his people, with his blessing on their descendants. The prophet is speaking to a discouraged nation, much as Psalm 115 speaks to a taunted one. Both passages tie God's generosity to generations rather than to a single moment, and both make him the source. Read together they suggest that praying for our children stands on solid ground, since God has said this kind of thing about them first.
How to Apply Psalms 115:14 Today
Praying for our children with confidence is the most direct use of this verse. It gives words for parents, grandparents, teachers, and anyone who carries young people in mind, and it locates the outcome with God rather than with our own performance. The verse also reframes what we think we are building. Whatever grows in a family or a congregation is being added by the LORD, which takes some pressure off and puts gratitude in its place. Naming our children before God this week, one by one, is a good way to take the promise seriously.
Reflection & Prayer
Whose name would we most like to see written into this promise, and have we ever said it out loud to God? A prayer to borrow: LORD who made heaven and earth, you have promised to increase your people and their children. Remember the ones I love by name. Add to them what I cannot give, and let them know you for themselves. Amen.