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 begins with echoes of Aaron’s familiar words of blessing in Numbers 6: “The Lord bless you and keep you.” I have had many shut-ins tell me that after hearing these words they have a strange sense of peace. “That is what the words are designed to do,” I tell them. “They give the peace that they promise.” But these powerful words are meant to be shared with all people—“that your way may be known…among all nations.” The psalmist prays that “all the nations sing for joy, and that all the peoples praise God.” We imagine an inclusive joy, and an inclusive hope—not just for us, but for other people too—even those we do not know. I am reminded of the song from the 1960s, “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”
Prayer
May God be gracious to us, and bless us, and may we pass that blessing along, both in our words, and in our actions. In your name. Amen.