“Bless Us” - Psalm 67 (Day 1)

Greetings, and welcome back to our Summer Sabbath devotional series. With a new week comes a new Psalm to sit with, meditate on, and soak up its goodness. In our divided and jaded world, Psalm 67 brings us hope while giving us responsibility for its restoration. Amid our selfish, me-focused culture, the beautiful liturgy that is Psalm 67 challenges us to take our attention off ourselves and set our focus outward. These words sung for centuries among different faith traditions and various languages across the globe are a melody of mission, a tune for togetherness, and a hymn dedicated to His name glorified among the nations. So before we begin, I want to provide space for you to pause and prepare your heart for this week’s message by praying for the world around you. 

Unlike many psalms we've studied during our Summer Sabbath experience, where individuals pour their hearts out to God about their specific circumstances, Psalm 67 is a communal hymn, one more than likely sung during public worship. Scholars are unsure who wrote Psalm 67 or when they penned these words - with its title simply referencing the “chief musician.” Although it's only seven short verses, its importance and implications are profound on our faith journey and relationships with others. There are very few passages of Scripture more foundational in shaping our understanding of the purpose of the Church, our responsibilities as Christ-followers, and the posture we take when engaging and serving the world around us. 

With this in mind, I invite you to read Psalm 67. As you do, pay attention to its repetition and make note of any words, phrases, or themes that stand out to you.

Psalm 67 says this:

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.

Take a moment to reflect on what you read:

• What is the purpose and focus of this prayer? How would you describe the author’s mindset?

The opening two verses undoubtedly brought a sense of comfort and familiarity to its Israelite audience. They shared these words with the next generation while passing down tales of God's faithfulness, stories like God's covenant promise to Abraham in Genesis 12, or the Aaronic blessing of Numbers 6. God's favor and blessing rested upon them; His gracious face shined on them and gave them peace. Yet, this undeserved favor wasn't for their sole benefit; God made them a great nation so their gladness in God would spread to all the world. In a practical sense, Psalm 67 is a missionary psalm - not just back in the day for the Israelites, but also for us today as Christ-followers.

The Old Testament anticipation of every nation proclaiming God's goodness finds its fulfillment in the cross. Christ dismantled and destroyed the dividing wall of "Us" versus "Them" and replaced it with a welcoming table of "Us" for "Them." He offers unconditional forgiveness, limitless love, and undeserved mercy to EVERYONE. And for those who embrace, trust, and walk in His ways, He not only calls them a child of God and accepts them into the body of Christ; God gives them a purpose and call. Knowing where hope resides, we spend our days pointing people to it. We carry with us the message of reconciliation and we proclaim it not just with words, but the way we live our lives. We don’t hoard our hope, but we give it away in everything we do. God blessed us so we could be a blessing to others. 

Take a moment and consider…What implications should understanding God blessed you so you can be a blessing to others have on your life?

Read today’s passage slowly one more time.

Psalm 67 says this:

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.

In his letter to the church in Corinth, the Apostle Paul compares spiritual maturity to a child growing up. We expect a toddler to speak, think, and reason like a little one. Yet, we shake our heads and stand shocked when an adult acts like a grown man child. God calls us to be selfless - not spoiled. We display immaturity if our sole focus is our needs, desires, and wants. Some of us are guilty of being part of the "blessing brigade" when we continually ask (and sometimes demand) God to bless us while having little concern for anyone else. We love the first verse of Psalm 67 but lose sight of the "so that" that begins and connects the second because it requires something from us. 

It makes sense that the Apostle Paul closes out 1 Corinthians 13, his famous chapter on love, discussing spiritual maturity. Consider the qualities of love - it's patient and kind; it bears, hopes, and endures all things; it's not arrogant, rude, self-seeking, or insists on its way. A personal encounter with God's grace, mercy, and forgiveness does not invite us to self-satisfied ease but compels us to others-focused love. Knowing God means we want to make Him known so those around us can experience the One who causes our soul to come alive.

So, as we begin to wrap up our time together, we want to provide you some space to respond to what we read and maybe to what God is trying to say to you through Psalm 67. First, take a moment to process this question…Where does others-focused love need to define a relationship you have?

Another question to consider is this…How can you intentionally be a blessing to that individual this week?

PRAYER

Father God,

It would take the rest of my days to count the ways You’ve shown Yourself faithful.

I am blessed beyond measure with Your presence, provision, and peace. . 

May Your love transform my heart so profoundly that it transforms everything about me - not for my benefit, but for others.

Your blessing isn’t in short supply so I need not fear sharing it with those around me. Amen.