Psalm 67 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 67 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
Verse 2that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations.
Verse 3Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
Verse 4Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
Verse 5Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
Verse 6The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, has blessed us.
Verse 7May God continue to bless us; let all the ends of the earth revere him.
Devotion
The Psalmist echoes Aaron’s benediction and applies it to a harvest festival. Israel, like God’s people through the ages, wanted to think of itself as being special to God.
I recall vividly the plaque at the Blood River memorial in South Africa. It was a terrible battle in 1838 in which the Dutch Vortrekkers said that if God gave them victory over the Zulus they would build a temple for God in the wilderness. They saw themselves as specially favored by God and they used that view to tyrannize others.
Israel faced the same temptation. The Psalmist reminds them and us that all people (even people we do not like) need to know the greatness and goodness of God. We need to avoid the sense of being special to God, and to develop the sense that we have the wonderful responsibility of sharing the goodness of God with others.
Prayer
Merciful God, we thank you for your amazing care. Please give us your Holy Spirit so that we rejoice in your goodness, and always seek to have others know your greatness, your daily and eternal care. Amen.