This Psalm was short enough that I quoted all 7 verses. This Psalm is apparently highly overlooked – I found this tidbit: Martin Luther wrote five large volumes of exposition on Psalms, yet for some reason he skipped Psalm 67 entirely. Interesting.
“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!” (v1-7)
It’s clear the author is asking for the correct things: God’s way and God’s power be known throughout the entire earth. This is the heart of the gospel message, that God’s saving grace be known by every person, and that every person would come to praise God.
The psalmist reinforces for us that God is a righteous and fair judge, which is another reason to celebrate who God is. We are also reminded that God is creator/provider, who causes the earth to yield increase (could be anything from population to vegetation, either way God is to be praised for it).
The psalmist then closes with a rephrase of the same plea, that all of the earth come to know and revere God. I will close today with a rephrase of this Psalm in my own words, in the form of a prayer.
Father God, the one who makes His face shine upon us and Your way known on earth, holy is Your name. You bless us abundantly with Your gracious saving power for all, freeing us from the power of sin and destruction. We praise You, and sing for joy for You are fair and righteous, allowing all people access to eternal life. We praise You Father for all the You provide, in all areas of our lives, including resources and people through whom You also bless us. Lord of Heaven and Earth, we humbly bow before You out of reverence for who You are, and pray for the salvation for all those who do not yet know you – may You alone be known in this world as savior and God.
~ Conqueror in Training