Psalm 67 - Blessed to Bless
- Chad Werkhoven
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
God blesses you so that you can bless others.
Psalm 67
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine on us—
2 so that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
3 May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples with equity
and guide the nations of the earth.
5 May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
6 The land yields its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.
7 May God bless us still,
so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.
Canons of Dordt
Point 4 - Irresistible Grace
Article 15: Responses to God's grace
God does not owe grace to anyone.
For what could God owe to those who have nothing to give that can be paid back?
Indeed, what could God owe to those who have nothing of their own to give but sin and falsehood?
Therefore
those who receive this grace owe and give eternal thanks to God alone;
those who do not receive it either
do not care at all about these spiritual things and are satisfied with themselves in their condition,
or else in self-assurance foolishly boast about having something which they lack.
Furthermore, following the example of the apostles,
we are to think and to speak in the most favorable way
about those who outwardly profess their faith and better their lives,
for the inner chambers of the heart are unknown to us.
But for others who have not yet been called, we are to pray to the God who calls things that do not exist as though they did.
In no way, however, are we to pride ourselves as better than they, as though we had distinguished ourselves from them.
Summary
Today's Summary and Dig Deeper post is condensed from Professor Mark Futato's excellent commentary on Psalms.
We often pray that God would bless us in all sorts of ways. But if we are honest, it is far too easy for those blessings to become ends in themselves. We pray to be blessed simply so that we might be blessed. Psalm 67 challenges us instead to seek blessing with God’s own outcome in view. [In other words, asking God to Align our lives with His will must be a big part of our prayer structure!]
Psalm 67 is chiastically arranged [the wedge shape outline we see so often in ancient Hebrew poetry in which the principle point comes in the middle]:
v1–2 pray for blessing that leads to the nations knowing God’s salvation
v3–5 pray that the nations might glorify and enjoy God
v6–7 return to blessing that again spills outward to the nations.
The structure itself pushes us away from a narrow view of blessing. God blesses us for the sake of others.
The psalm begins with words that echo the Aaronic benediction. At the heart of the blessing is God’s shining face—his favorable presence with his people. This is further described as “your saving power,” which means salvation in all its fullness. To be blessed is to know God near in mercy and grace.
Dig Deeper
At the center of the psalm is the prayer that the nations would enjoy God himself. They will know the joy of God’s just rule, setting right what is broken in their world. They will know the joy of God’s guidance, as he once led Israel through the wilderness into the promised land. And this joy will overflow in grateful praise.
Glorifying God and enjoying him always go hand in hand. To experience his salvation is to be filled with joy. To be filled with joy is to give him glory. This is the vision of Psalm 67 for the whole earth.
The psalm closes with confidence: God will bless us. His blessing will be tangible, like an abundant harvest. His blessing will be visible, so that people everywhere see and desire it. And those people will join in worshiping the true and living God.
In this way, Psalm 67 teaches us to long for blessing—not merely so that we might have more, but so that others too might know God’s abundant life. We want to be blessed and be a blessing, that we might experience great joy in God and give great glory to him. And ultimately, we see the heart of this psalm in Christ himself, through whom Jews and Gentiles are blessed by faith.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, God, our God, who blesses us;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that God's ways will be known on earth through your words and deeds;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Timothy 3
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