God Blesses His People So the Nations May Praise Him

67:1 May God show us his favor and bless us! May he smile on us! (Selah) 67:2 Then those living on earth will know what you are like; all nations will know how you deliver your people. 67:3 Let the nations thank you, O God! Let all the nations thank you! 67:4 Let foreigners rejoice and celebrate! For you execute justice among the nations, and govern the people living on earth. (Selah) 67:5 Let the nations thank you, O God! Let all the nations thank you! 67:6 The earth yields its crops. May God, our God, bless us! 67:7 May God bless us! Then all the ends of the earth will give him the honor he deserves. Psalm 68 For the music director; by David, a psalm, a song.

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible®, copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Psalm 67 asks God to bless his people and make his face shine on them. The goal is not selfish comfort. It is that the nations may know God’s saving way, thank him, rejoice in his just rule, and honor him to the ends of the earth.

This psalm is a short prayer for blessing. The people ask God for favor, saying, “May God show us his favor and bless us.” The image of God making his face shine on them means his good presence and acceptance. It is not just a wish for ease.

The psalm then shows why this blessing is wanted. God’s way and his salvation are to become known on the earth among all nations. Israel is meant to be blessed in a way that reveals who God is. The nations are called to thank him and rejoice because he rules them with justice. He is not only Israel’s God. He is the righteous ruler over all the earth.

The psalm returns again to blessing, this time in the setting of fruitfulness. The earth gives its crops, and the people ask God to bless them again. In that covenant setting, harvest and well-being are signs of God’s care. But the blessing is still not an end in itself. The goal is that all the ends of the earth will give God the honor he deserves.

• God’s blessing is gracious and personal.
• God’s people ask for blessing so that God’s saving way will be known among the nations.
• The nations are called to thank and rejoice in the LORD.
• God rules the peoples of the earth with justice.
• Harvest and fruitfulness are signs of God’s provision in the covenant setting.
• Blessing is meant to lead to worldwide honor for God.

• Warning: do not treat this psalm as a promise of easy prosperity apart from its covenant setting.
• Warning: do not make material blessing the main goal of the psalm.
• Command: let the nations thank the LORD.
• Command: let all the nations rejoice before God.
• Command: ask God for blessing in a way that serves his glory.
• Promise: God’s blessing can display his saving rule to the nations.
• Promise: God’s just rule calls for thanksgiving and honor from the ends of the earth.

Psalm 67 fits the Bible’s larger story that God blessed Israel so the nations could learn his ways. It reaches back to the promise that all families of the earth would be blessed through Abraham’s line. In the Bible’s wider movement, this hope points forward to the Messiah and to blessing reaching the nations.

God’s people should pray for blessing, but not for selfish reasons. We should want God’s favor so that others may see his goodness. Worship should include a desire for the nations to know and praise the LORD. We should receive provision with gratitude and remember that God’s rule is over all peoples.

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