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Psalms 67

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Prayer for Divine Blessing and Light 1–2

1
God be merciful unto us, and bless us, And cause his face to shine upon us; [Selah ​
2
That thy way may be known upon earth, Thy salvation among all nations. ​

A Call for Nations to Praise 3–5

3
Let the peoples praise thee, O God; Let all the peoples praise thee.
4
Oh let the nations be glad and sing for joy; For thou wilt judge the peoples with equity, And govern the nations upon earth. [Selah ​
5
Let the peoples praise thee, O God; Let all the peoples praise thee.

The Fruit of God's Blessing 6–7

6
The earth hath yielded its increase: God, even our own God, will bless us. ​
7
God will bless us; And all the ends of the earth shall fear him. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Psalms 67

Verse 1

God be merciful unto us, and bless us — The prayer follows the priestly blessing: 'The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee' (Num 6:25). 'Merciful' is chanan, to be gracious, the verb of Num 6:25; 'bless' is barak and 'shine' is or, to give light, as in Ps 4:6, 'lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us'.

Verse 2

thy saving health among all nations — 'Saving health' is yeshuah, salvation, and this is the only place in the KJV where it is so rendered. 'Way' (derek) is God's road of life, 'the way of the Lord' (Acts 18:25). Ps 98:2–3 states the same purpose: 'The LORD hath made known his salvation… in the sight of the heathen.'

Verse 4

thou shalt judge the people righteously — 'Righteously' is mishor, evenly, the word translated 'plain' in 'lead me in a plain path' (Ps 27:11). 'Govern' is nachah, to lead, the verb of Ps 23:3 and 'thou leddest thy people like a flock' (Ps 77:20). Paul cites the nations' joy: 'Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people' (Rom 15:10).

Verse 6

the earth yield her increase — Yebul is the produce of the ground, the word of 'the land shall yield her increase' (Lev 26:4) and Ps 85:12, 'the LORD shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase'. 'Yield' is literally 'give', and the blessing that follows is put as the one already prayed for in v.1.

Verse 7

all the ends of the earth shall fear him — 'Bless' (barak) comes in vv.1, 6 and 7, and the blessing ends in the fear of God reaching 'the ends of the earth'. This is the promise to Abraham, 'in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed' (Gen 12:3), carried to the nations as 'salvation unto the ends of the earth' (Acts 13:47).