Sunday, September 18, 2011

Ps 67

May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
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. Selah
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!

Psalm 67. This psalm, like Psalm 65, seems to be a thanksgiving for a fruitful harvest. Unlike Psalm 65, it is not really a thanksgiving hymn; it is rather a prayer that God will bless his people Israel so that the rest of the world may come to know the true God. Verses 3 and 5 of Psalm 67 are the same, marking the ends of their stanzas; they summarize the desire of this psalm, “Let all the peoples praise you!” Singing this helps Israel to keep its own calling in view: their blessing is not simply for themselves but for the Gentiles too (cf. Gen. 12:2–3). Each Israelite is a player in a grand story that stretches far beyond the boundaries of his own life, or even of his own land.

67:2 Salvation is to be made known among the nations, anticipating the spread of the gospel to the nations (Luke 24:47).

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