Psalms 67:1-7·~1 min

May God Cause His Face to Shine upon Us

The psalm begins by asking God to be gracious, bless his people, and make his face shine upon them. That blessing is requested so that God's ways may be known on earth and his salvation among all nations. The result sought is not private comfort alone but a chorus of praise from all peoples to God.

F¹or the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Psalm. A song. ²that Your ways may be known on earth, ³Let the peoples praise You, O God;

The nations are called to be glad because God judges the peoples with equity and guides the nations on earth. The refrain of universal praise is repeated, and then the earth's yielded harvest is named as evidence of God's blessing. Because God continues to bless, the psalm ends with the expectation that all the ends of the earth will fear him.

⁴Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, ⁵Let the peoples praise You, O God; ⁶The earth has yielded its harvest; ⁷God blesses us,

Section summaryThe psalm opens with a prayer for God's mercy, blessing, and shining face so that his saving way may be known on earth. That prayer expands into repeated calls for all peoples to praise him and for the nations to rejoice because he judges justly and guides the earth. The closing verses connect the earth's harvest with God's ongoing blessing and envision the ends of the earth learning to fear him.

Role in the chapterThis section turns received blessing into a vision of worldwide praise, showing that God's favor on his people is ordered toward the joy and reverence of all nations.